Fidem In Discrimen (Poison)

[Eridanus]

"I thank you then, Stranger, for your kind assistance in these troubling circumstances. Since you already know my name, how do you prefer me to address you as?"

As the hooded man began to carry the unconscious survivor, Eridanus began to dismantle the various shields he placed throughout their position. Though he was a practitioner of magic, he believed that djed should only be allowed to be sustained when it served a purpose. Now that the purpose of the shields were gone, he did not want them to remain. Unlike novice shielders who could simply just drop their focus for their shields to collapse, his own shields were longer-lasting.

Instead, he fiddled with the internal thread structure of the shields, adding various glyphs of dissipation and destruction while messing up the arcane foundations of the djed structure. His knowledge of glyphing was insufficient to instantly dismantle his shields, but his tinkering was enough to accelerate the degradation of the djed constructs, and he was assured that the shields would fully dissipate in about four bells.

"Alright, let's go," The vantha declared, sheathing his long swords in his weapon harness. Doing a quick check of the dead adventurers' bodies, he quickly pocketed all coins and anything of possible value, placing them in the different compartments in his robes and cloak. As he did so, he made sure to remember which items - and which pocket correspondingly - came from which adventurer, and he memorized their faces studiously before moving on to the next dead one.

Upon safe return to Alvadas he would return whatever he found to the families of those killed in action, only keeping anything when no friends or families were found. That much was fair enough.

Aiding the wounded female as he helped her hobble across, he stepped outside the clearing for the first time in quite a while, quickly scanning the dark, quiet surroundings as he whispered to the stranger.

"Lead the way."

[Poison]

The stranger smiled apologetically under his hood as Eridanus asked him for his name. „I’m afraid I cannot tell you who I am right now. It’s just not the right time. Everything shall be revealed later though.“ He held the unconscious survivor, trying to find whatever position would make it easiest to carry the man all the way to the rescue party’s camp while Eridanus dismantled his shields. Once Eridanus informed him that he was ready, he nodded curtly, as if he had problems carrying the man and speaking at the same time.

None of the dead adventurers had a lot of money. They had gone into the wilderness to investigate what had happened after the djed storm, and money was unncessary in the wilderness. Neither did they carry a lot of other valuables. They just had their weapons, their armor and a few supplies in case their trip took longer than expected or something happened.

The grove where Eridanus and the survivors had hidden for the last little while was still shrouded in darkness, but the rain had fortunately stopped completely now, and it wouldn’t take too long until the sun rose again. It was still quiet around them, but not as quiet as it had been before. All those little sounds that were common in a forest had returned.

The stranger led the way through the forest. Due to the fact that he had to carry the unconscious man and Eridanus had to help the woman, and it was still relatively dark, they were moving slowly. Under normal circumstances it would have taken them less than a bell to reach the rescue party, but as it was it seemed to take an eternity. After a while there were hints of orange and pink in the sky, a sign that the new day wasn’t far away.

The stranger stopped every now and then to check on the survivor. For now he was still alive, but how much longer?

As they neared their destination, Eridanus could notice a most unusual, sickly sweet smell in the air. The stranger had informed him that the rescue party was camped in a small clearing. There were signs of a fight everywhere, grass that had been flattened, scratch marks on trees, but if the stranger had safely made it to Eridanus, whatever had attacked the rescue party was probably long gone … or was it?

[Eridanus]

"If you wish, Stranger," Eridanus nodded in response. It was pointless to push the man further, and as they had already secured his assistance there was no need to continue interrogating him.

The travel took an excruciating long amount of time, and it was made worse in the silence. Eridanus did not want to waste his energy in meaningless conversation, and so they trudged on silently. The four of them, moving as quickly as they could, but not as fast as they wanted to.

Finally, they reached the clearing where the stranger claimed the rescue party were camping at, but they could not find anyone there. Just like in the grove earlier, the signs of combat was everywhere, ranging from the scratch marks and the unnatural shapes of the foliage and shrubbery throughout.

"Holy..." The ethaefal wondered in frustration. Scanning the environment quickly, he soon realized that there was an unnatural smell throughout the clearing, and he shot the stranger a quick glance, muttering, "I'm not imagining this, am I Stranger? We are not alone."

With that, he slowly edged towards the man, ready to unload his human cargo on his hooded helper to free himself for inevitable conflict.

[Poison]

„No, we are not alone“, the man replied. He was strangely calm as he surveyed the clearing. „They are camped at the edge of the clearing, behind those bushes.“ He pointed at the other side of the clearing. If Eridanus looked carefully, he would be able to see something, a bit of armor, the tip of a sword, the top of somebody’s head. „They’ve decided to hide in case their attackers come back. After what has happened they are fairly paranoid. Besides that they are tired and exhausted. How will you approach them, Eridanus, to make sure that they don’t mistake you for one of their attackers?“

While Eridanus let go of the woman, the stranger carefully placed the man he had been carrying under a tree. Once he had done that he rubbed his arms as if they hurt from carrying him all the time, but then he went over to the woman and put his arm under her shoulder to support her.

She quietly thanked him for that despite her earlier suspicion.

Once the stranger he taken care of the survivors he turned to Eridanus once more. „I’m afraid I cannot fight the creatures with you, my friend“, he told him. He had lowered his voice as if he expected the monsters that had attacked the rescue party to be nearby. „I’m unarmed. Rest assured that I will do what I can to make sure that you are strong enough and that everybody safely makes their way back to Alvadas though.“

[Eridanus]

Eridanus placed a comforting hand on the stranger's shoulder briefly after he deposited his 'cargo' with the hooded man, remarking in an assuring voice, "You do not have to fight them with me, O helpful Stranger. If you can do what you promised, I am more than happy. Leave them to me, and together we shall try our best to keep everyone safe and alive."

Turning to the clump of shrubbery the man pointed out, his eyes adjusted to the light to finally make out uneven textures within the bushes that pointed out what the man described.

"In the name of Ionu, and Alvadas the City of Illusion, hear my words! I am Eridanus, a rightful and loyal citizen of Alvadas dispatched quite a few bells ago to investigate the non-return of a scouting mercenary band. I have retrieved only two survivors who are in appalling states and must be rushed to Ionu's Mercy as quickly as possible. It is I who released the magical flare, and I have reasons to believe that you may be the rescue party sent to retrieve me."

Turning his head to the stranger as if to reaffirm his promise, he added, "I have a companion who is holding on to the survivors. Those who are healthy enough, support the wounded and follow my friend to safety. Leave everything else to me, and just go."

It was an arrogant declaration, but he knew that he needed to rush the wounded to safety as fast as possible. Having the healthy stay back to fight would only make the evacuation procedure slower. However, it was not pure bravado, for the ethaefal beheld a combat skill rarely found in Mizahar. He could only hope that it was enough to save all of them.

[Poison]

At first nobody reacted to Eridanus‘ words, as if the rescue party or whatever was left of it were afraid that he was one of them, one of the creatures that had attacked them and made it impossible for them to reach their destination. After a while the leaves of the bushes the stranger had said they were hiding behind began to rustle, and a red haired man, clearly of Inarta descent, appeared and looked at Eridanus warily.

„Thank the gods that you are here!“ he called out to the Ethaefal. „We were trying to get to you, but we were attacked by the monsters as well. We have two wounded, and one of our companions is dead.“ He wanted to say more, but then he heard Eridanus‘ orders, and all he could do was stare at him. He didn’t know the extent of the Ethaefal’s skill with the sword.

„By the gods!“ he exclaimed. „This is suicide! How do you expect to stand a chance when we didn’t?“

It was then that the hooded stranger stepped forward and raised his hand. „Do not worry about Eridanus. He is one of the best swordsman in this part of Mizahar and courageous beyond measure. Simply take your wounded and follow me to safety.“

He turned to Eridanus and said to him, „Look at your palm, my friend. I have utter faith in you.“ With that he turned around and gestured for the survivors to come with him.

If Eridanus inspected the palm of his dominant hand, he would notice a dark letter there, the letter ‚Y‘.

Above him the sun began to rise, and bright light illuminated the clearing.

„I will expect you at the gates of Alvadas when the fight is over“, the stranger spoke as he left.

As he left with the survivors, Eridanus could hear them move through the forest. The creatures were coming, trying to finish what they’d begun.

[Eridanus]

There was some difficulty in rallying the group, but they eventually listened to his commands, thanks to the assurance of the stranger. To that, he nodded gratefully to the hooded man. The last footsteps of the survivors pattered away, and though he knew that he was going to be alone in this upcoming battle, there was not an ounce of uneasiness in him. He had done what he came here to do, and managed to evacuate the ill-prepared band of mercenaries.

Eridanus's soul was singing, and the blades now gripped firmly in his hand no longer felt heavy. The fatigue from the prior engagements somehow faded away. He did not look at his palm and did not notice the 'Y', for he was busy attuning himself to the situation. Calling upon the gods that he paid patronage to, he muttered their names as he closed his eyes briefly with his face in the sky.

As Syna began to take precedence in the heavens, the celestial child's image flickered and instantly changed into that of a mortal vantha. The horns vanished, and the beautifully surreal hair transformed into a mess of aurora streaks.

The vantha opened his eyes, his body calm and his mind steely, pupils glistening to crimson as he stared in the direction of the approaching mob, his blades raised in preparation. Mentally he was firm in his path, for he had no regrets as to his decision. He had decided on this and he would face the consequences accordingly. With that determination he prepared his mind, silently grasping on the flux streams within his body, ready to be activated.

He may soon be in grave danger, but his heart was light.

And that was enough.

[Poison]

More of the deformed creatures that had attacked both parties arrived, but this time the darkness didn’t protect them. The sun had fully risen, and the clouds had disappeared. Above Eridanus was a flawless, clear blue sky. He could see everything around him with utmost clarity, the trees, the grass beneath his feet, the dead bodies, the blood – the monstrosity that raced towards him.

It was impossible to tell what it had once been. The face almost resembled a man, a man with a thick beard, but there was nothing human, no hint of intelligence in its dark eyes. The creature’s body was covered with thick, black fur so that it resembled the same one he had killed in the grove. Two smaller creatures were following it. Their fur was dark brown.

Those members of the search party that hadn’t been killed or wounded positioned themselves behind Eridanus and readied their weapons. Surprise was visible on their faces for a few moments as he changed from Ethaefal to human, but there was no time to talk about it.

Three more creatures had to be killed.

[Eridanus]

Eridanus had been preparing for an all-out onslaught of creatures, massive wave after wave of abominations to be dispatched. What greeted him caused him to raise a brow in surprise.

Only three?

Perhaps there were more, but at this rate he would not need the assistance of those behind him. Rushing forward nimbly, he engaged the three monsters head-on, his dual blades attacking in a concerted motion akin to a choreographed performance. The beauty of the dance matched its lethality and ferocity, and combined with the strategic use of a little flux in certain muscle groups at the right time, he completely destroyed the djed-infused monsters ahead of him.

They might once be men, but the humanity in them have already died, leaving in place a dangerous husk. There was no mercy and no pity in his execution, the only trace left being in his swift dispatch of the creatures.

Flicking the blade to the sides to free them of blood and gore, crimson eyes glazed to light red as they surveyed the ground, now on which lay the fresh three bodies.

"Are we done?" He whispered, gazing ahead intently for any new threats.

[Poison]

The creatures fell quickly under Eridanus‘ blades despite their size. At this point there was little in this wilderness that would pose a serious challenge to him.

The warriors he had rescued allowed themselves to relax slightly once they were dead. Just like Eridanus they had expected there to be more monsters, a repetition of the night’s horrors that had cost their colleagues their lives, but apparently the gods had finally decided to be merciful.

„I think it’s over“, one man said and breathed a sigh of relief. „I think we can safely return to Alvadas now.“ One of his companions wasn’t sure about that though and took a look around the area, just in case. For a moment he thought that he could see a dark shadow in the sky, but there was nothing.

It was really over.

„Are you coming with us?“ he asked Eridanus. „You saved a lot of lives tonight. The gods must have blessed you.“