Closed [Bronze Woods] A Walk in the Woods (Various)

[Revali]

Revali watched with faint interest as Dove went about her business, examining the dirt in various spots off the bank and explaining the quality of the soil. Although she seemed optimistic, it also sounded to Revali as though the area was not perfect. It would require a lot of work, and plenty of time to get the would-be fields in shape. And where food was concerned, plenty of time wasn't always an option.

Keeping this in mind, Revali set his sights on the other side of the brook. The water was shallow, which was a good thing, because Revali was certainly no swimmer. As he waded across, his supplies on his back and his pant legs hoisted up, he giggled girlishly at the fish tickling his toes. He did not stay long to enjoy it though, for the water was chilled from the autumn air, and it numbed his legs quickly.

Soon, he hopped onto the opposite bank, letting his pant legs unroll themselves to protect his ankles once more. From his vantage point, he could see that the rolling hills went on and on until they touched the sky in the distance speckled all along the way with trees small and large. It seemed there would be no flatter land there, and none easier to clear. Still hopeful, Revali pivoted about, trying to find at least a direction to head. But he could see nothing past the verdure of the forest.

Disappointed and feeling slightly useless, the Kelvic kicked a pebble from its place on the bank into the water, creating a soft and satisfying ploping sound which echoed in the empty forest. He couldn't even think about the expressions of the Knighthood if they had to return with negative news.

OOCMy apologies for the short post.

[Nivel]

“Ohh right a cloak” Nivel nodded enthusiastically, despite never hearing the term before. She could only assume a cloak was just a combination of a robe and a sweater, since she wasn’t about to ask another silly question.

Nivel was glad she had inspected the plant and learned of its ill intentions before her friend had fallen into its cleverly laid trap. Nivel would have to do some investigation later in the herbology books of the Archives to see if there were any possible uses for the poisonous plant. She knew that some poisonous plants could be used to numb pain if used properly but this of course wasn’t a universal rule.

The pycon looked over the tasty clay more thoroughly, as she tried to get a better idea of how much clay there really was. When she looked at it’s aura she could only sense a thin vale of clay with some less than desirable mud underneath. Nivel wasn’t the best at these types of things but knew there certainly wouldn’t be enough clay for a new pyve of pycons.
“Hrm sadly there doesn’t seem to be much of this clay” Nivel reluctantly shared with the others. Dove had better but still less than desirable news as the soil could be used to grow food for the Tall folk but it would probably take too much work to set up a proper farm here. It sounded like this area wasn't as ideal as they had thought only moments ago.

Nivel wasn’t one to give up so easily and it seemed that others wasn’t ether. The Pycon didn’t really know what she was looking for but she decided to examine some of the other plants in the area and see if any of them held any secret benefits.

Revali crossed the river to investigate the other side and since she was responsible for their safety she was a bit weary of him getting too far away from her.
“Don’t stray too far Ravali” Nivel called out, trying to keep her voice from creating a rukus in the highly dangerous woods.

She couldn’t be sure, but her instincts or possibly even her Auristics were telling her that there was something else lurking in the woods near by. Nivel sprinted back to a location were she could be closer to the other two in case she was right.

Credit for Boxcode goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Orin Fenix]

It was odd that none of the three thought of climbing a tree to get a better vantage point, even though Dove had already pointed out that a better vantage point equaled a clearer view. Still, perhaps it was for the best, seeing as the trio between them had barely enough experience to get more than a few feet off the ground before something terrible would happen. Only Nivel had the slightest ability in this area, but it wasn’t enough to effectively climb. And for her most of all, heights were to be avoided, since a fall from a significiant height was one of the few ways in which she could die. Still, that the idea didn't even occur to them didn’t bode well for the rest of the expedition. If they had managed to get up or if they remembered the trek more clearly, they would’ve realized that although the hillock they were on might not be ideal for planting, the ground surrounding it was relatively flat or only had a small slope, both of which could support fields. Actually, this particular break in the trees was rather perfect for their purposes, though it was true they’d have to do quite a bit of work to make it both habitable and defensible. Though it naturally was situated on a particularly high point, compared to area around it, the Order would have to build walls and a road leading up to it, in addition to all the work needed for the fields. However, the water source was necessary for any self-sufficient outpost they might want to set up. Actually, they were on one of the first foothills of the Cobalt Mountains, which is where the river that fed their pond originated. Though it was a bit of a hike to get to the glade, the land could easily support crops, assuming it could be cleared enough. Obviously it was too late to cultivate this year, especially with all the work that needed to be done with the harvest, but if the Knights and citizens moved fast enough they could get a solid planting in next Spring. Unfortunately, the thickness of the forest limited sightlines enough that it wasn’t clear. Perhaps on their return journey they’d make more careful notes of the terrain. As a farmer, Dove should have a clear eye for that and Revali might be able to make topographical notes for his hastily sketched maps. As Dove worked her way around the clearing, she stumbled upon something quite remarkable. The shovel bit deeply into the dirt, slicing through the roots, and slammed into something solid. Underneath a significant portion of the hill, hidden by the dirt, was a substantial deposit of sandstone. It was the heart of this particular hillock, and was a particular hardy vein, well able to withstand the elements if used to build. While it started on the hill, it continued for some distance eastward before breaking up into looser soil. It was buried slightly there, and was closer to the surface where the three stood, partially contributing to the lack of trees, since they couldn’t quite get deep enough roots to avoid getting toppled by the storms that swept down from the mountains. Regardless if the Knighthood ended up using this particular spot, it was an important resource for the three of them to have discovered. Perhaps it could be quarried. Of course, all that was assuming that someone among the three of them had either a rudimentary grasp of geology or architecture or construction. Either that or it would take a particular bright idea from the three to realize that they’d just stumbled upon something extremely useful. It was good that Revali exited the water quickly, seeing as it was chilled from its long journey from its mountain home. The direction that Revali gazed in was opposite where they came, away from Syliras. The land sloped overall steadily upwards, although there were valleys here and there until his eyes hit the peaks of the Cobalt Mountains, which dominated the horizon. It was actually an impressive sight, even for someone who grew up in the area. They stabbed into the sky, and extended in both directions as far as the eye could see. From where the three stood, they couldn’t make out specific details beyond where the treeline stopped and where some of the mountains touched the lowest layer of clouds. It was majestic and breathtaking and certainly worth a lingering glance. Unfortunately, despite Nivel’s best efforts to keep quiet, Revali’s pebble made an unnatural sound in the forest. And there was no disguising that there were people out and about. Their chatter and their movements made a noticeable counterpoint to the music of the forest. For those who were listening, it was clear that travelers were out and about. The three Sylirans had the terrible luck of accidentally stumbling upon one of the patrol paths of the bandit horde that had taken up residence in the Bronze Woods. Rumors of the criminals had spread throughout the city although no one was really sure of their numbers or their intentions, or, indeed anything other than that there had been some unusual activity recently. Now, two of the scouts had discovered the disturbance and were watching the three from a distance, trying to determine what they were doing. However, this passive form of observation wasn’t doing enough, and the bandits had decided to creep closer and eavesdrop. They would be close enough to overhear any discussions about the merits and problems with creating a new outpost the three might discuss, but would move carefully and slowly enough to avoid detection, for now. The two were under strict orders not to engage, but the leader had determined that the information was worth the risk. At the same time, clouds were gathering. They were gray, and scattered for now, but growing in number. A storm was brewing, both in the sky and on the ground.

[Dove Brown]

Dove looked up at Nivel's words about the clay, and grimaced. Clearly the patch of clay wasn't as good as it first seemed. She glanced up again to when Revali crossed the stream and Nivel called to him. Her hands, however, kept working the shovel automatically while she looked up, and when it hit stone, the shock nearly jarred the shovel out of her grip. She winced and lifted the shovel to check if the stone had damaged the edge of the shovel blade. She slid the shovel back in more gently, at a shallower angle, hoping to peel back enough root system to find the edges of the rock she must have hit. She didn't find it, only a wide slab of more rock. It had more of a reddish tint than the stone she'd carried in the summer, but seemed just as rough and hard to break. "This," she muttered under her breath, "is one shyke of a big rock. Could almost swear it goes all the way under this hill..." She glared at the rock, scowled at the root system, and you could almost see the dawning realisation on her face. That was why the root mat was so thick! The roots couldn't go down because the stone was in the way, so they all had to go sideways! "Nivel," she asked to be sure, "can you see the depth of this rock the way you saw the depth of the clay?" While she waited for an answer, she sifted through the soil she'd moved to clear the stone, looking for pebbles. She discarded the first couple she found, since they didn't match the slab of rock, tossing them down the slope. Hands used to tossing heavier stones from the middle of a field all the way to the edge of the field made light work of the pebbles, sending them further and harder than she realised. The third pebble looked like a close match to her ignorant eyes, and she slipped off her pack, wrapped it in a scrap of cloth and tucked it in a side pocket. She fished out a small sacking bag and added a sample of soil to her takings. More knowledgeable eyes could look at it back at the castle.

It might be better to put the settlement here on the hill and the fields lower down. She didn't remember it as sloping steeply except for the last bit. "When I said flatter," she explained, "I didn't mean totally flat. Some slope is good, it means it doesn't flood when it rains. But if it's too steep," and she pointed down the steepest slope leading down from the clearing as an example, "you can't plough it - and if you can't plough, then you can't sow crops." She turned slowly. The varying height of the underbrush made it hard to tell exactly how steep any slopes were, and she couldn't see any trees with branches low enough to pull herself up. Syna went behind a cloud, and she looked up. A scattering of gray clouds showed in what sky was visible through the treetops. She smelt rain on the air, and said so quietly.

[Revali]

Revali listened intently as Dove described the ground's makeup. It seemed reasonable to Revali, that they would desire the land right near such a valuable source as rocks. They could build a quarry; that was something that Syliras didn't have yet. Perhaps they could even dig into the rock, and use it as a base for the new homes in the outpost.

Cautiously excited, Revali took out a red stick of charcoal and marked a thin red square encompassing the clearing and river area where they were investigating. It only took him a tick to realize that it might span past his little square.

"Nivel?" He asked, "Or Dove? Do you have any idea where this could end? It is just here, or is it everywhere?" His "everywhere" was accompanied by a long, loose gesture to, well, everywhere. This included the sky, which he noted was clouding ominously.

Rather than frown at the increasing darkness, Revali broke out in a grin. "If n-nothing else," He chirped, "We'll have w-water. And you can do, do a lot with that if you set your m-mind to, to it. And d-didn't you say that hills are g-good for avoiding floods? What luck, huh?"

[Nivel]

Dove asked Nivel if she could sense how big the rock she had found in the ground was and the pycon quickly gave a nod of affirmation. The tiny mage got to work investigating the stone, by focusing on it with her autistics. She didn’t want to overwhelm herself if the subject proved to be massive, so she was hesitant with how much focus she put into the task. All she was able to get was a general feel for how large it was but stopped at that before she could finish investigating.
“Well It seems like there’s a quite a lot but it’s very difficult for me to know just how much, I’ll get a sensory overload if I look too deep” Nivel hesitantly shared her findings. She felt a bit dizzy after she severed the connection and was very thankful that she applied caution. She had to subtly lean on a tree root to stabilize herself until the unpleasant feeling passed. It did so quickly but she knew she would have to be careful of the size of the things she investigated.

One thing she couldn’t help passively sensing was the presence of two new forms of life in the area. The aura’s were too strong to be regular woodland creatures or trees but she would have to look deeper to be sure. She would have to get closer to the subjects for her to do that without it being dangerous to her metal health.
“Act natural..Keep talking” Nivel whispered to the others as she walked closer to what she was certain was the auras source. She wasn’t the stealthiest creature in the world but hoped that with her small stature she would sound like a simple tree squirrel. She conceded herself under fallen leaves, roots and mossy rocks as she weaved her way ever closer. When she felt she was at a decent enough distance she focused her mind on one of the aura’s, and quickly found that it belonged to a human. She couldn’t be sure of their intentions but she could feel the subjects hand tensing in readiness at their side. She searched the area their arm was hovering over and could distinctly feel cold steal in her mind. It was definitely a weapon of some sort and Nivel felt this was enough evidence to assume they had ill intentions. She severed the connections and paused briefly to think of a plan of attack.

The weapons would certainly have to go first or at the very least the arm they use to draw their weapons. She was lucky that they were low to the ground in their stealthy crouch positions for this gave her the advantage. She planned to catch them of guard by maneuvering behind them and thrashing at their arms with long dense clay tendrils to prevent them from drawing their weapons. She would then launch herself with the power of flux and throw down two rock hard mace like arms into their legs to cripple their movement. She would hopefully land inbetween them, which would allow her to deal more damage with less long range attacks. She wasn’t big enough to steal their weapons but she would certainly do her best to minimize the threat they posed. Although If the opportunity presented self to swat a weapon out of a filthy bandits hand she would certainly take it before they were able to stand up. Nivel really didn’t like bandits one bit after what they had done to her last season.

Credit for Boxcode goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Orin Fenix]

Nivel might've thought she was being stealthily. But compared to people who had grown up in these woods her amateurs tactics wouldn't hold up. There was a fundamental difference between someone trying to sound like a natural part of the forest and something that actually belonged. Leaves rustled and branches and sticks cracked in ways they never would have if an animal had been stalking through these woods. Of course, another dead giveaway was that she was no longer actually in the area the two were examining. If a Pycon disappeared in the direction you were in, especially one who seemed to have some sort of magical sense, whether is was innate or learned, it was only logical to assume it was coming for you. And since the two bandits weren't idiotic enough to believe this group would ever have departed from Syliras without protection. So, whether Nivel was a squire or a mercenary, didn't really matter. The fact was, they were on to her, and her attack was about to backfire badly upon her. Indeed, the two bandits would've been content to just sit and watch, but Nivel had forced the confrontation. Subtly, the bandits repositioned themselves so that the dark skinned man was closer to the Pycon. It allowed the woman with the fiery hair and willowy build pull an arrow from her quiver, notch it, and, as the squire approached, pull it, target, and loose. The arrow flashed out and grazed Dove's cheek, leaving a shallow scratch and as quick as thought, another was at the ready, obviously aiming for the farmer girl. Her gaze didn’t waver, and the arrow tracked whatever movement Dove might make. These two clearly weren’t the desperate bandits who normally roamed these hills, preying on helpless travelers. Indeed, they were distinctly unflinching in the face of Nivel’s attempted assault. And their equipment, along with their their build and bearing, quite belied the normal image of bandits as starving and slovenly. These two seemed almost military, evidence of the many years they’d actually spent as mercenaries before descending into the criminals they were now. The very speed and skill with which the woman had struck should give the three companions pause. As would her friend's subsequent warning. The bandits were both standing at this point, clearly outlined against the trees behind them. The man straightened up and unsheathed his sword, pointing it directly at the Pycon's hiding spot. When he spoke, his gravelly voice boomed out across the clearing, reaching the ears of everyone. "You're probably pretty fast, Pycon. But are you faster than arrows? Trust me when I say that by the time you get through me to my companion your friends will be dead. She's just that good. Do you wanna risk that? I wouldn't. Indeed, I don't actually want this to get physical, not any more than you do." That part was true, although it wasn't because he had any qualms about cold-blooded murder. Rather, he liked to have overwhelming odds in a fight. "I'm guessing that your orders are not to attack, but rather protect your charges. Perhaps you might want to think about the intelligence of fighting us when your two fellow travelers are oh so exposed and don't seem to be carrying weapons on them." He laughed and it was cruel and cutting. "Now, if you tell me what you're up to here in the middle of nowhere I'll spare your friends and we can all go on our merry way."[b] Indeed, the situation still could end without more violence, if Nivel was just willing to back down. If she didn't, though, this could devolve into something very ugly, very fast. Still, Nivel had neglected to bring her mount along with her, so as long as the bandits could put some distance between themselves and the three explorers, they had a strong chance of making their escape. However, it all depended upon getting Nivel to back off. He smiled grimly, but it didn’t reach his eyes. [b]”Now I’ll give you five ticks to back off, before we start shooting. After that you can take some time to deliberate with your friends. I warn you, though, I’m hardly the most patient man.” The sky flashed in the distance, accompanied quickly by a rumble of thunder, making an ominous counterpoint to the man’s words. ”Five…” Hopefully the squire would make the sensible choice.

[Dove Brown]

"Stay functional," Dove agreed when Nivel said the rock area was big - too big to safely test. "This is just the preliminary search, after all." Revali seemed cheerful enough about the rain, but Dove had worked outside in all weathers for long enough to be resigned to it. "Rain is rain. It gets you wet," she said as Nivel told them to act normally and vanished into the undergrowth. "It makes things grow, and you still get wet. Maybe it's nicer when you're inside and dry." She tried to follow Nivel's passage and failed. The next she knew of it was a thud as the arrow hit a tree behind her. She turned to look and felt her left cheek beginning to sting. When she lifted her hand to touch it she felt a dampness as blood came away on her fingers. Her hand dropped lower, smearing blood on the old scar across her jaw, and just for a moment, her eyes went hard and empty as if she was looking bleakly back in time, to the harsh cruelty of a rampaging riot.

Her brother yelling at her to get out of the way, to get her back to a wall, and the stinging as a knife slashed down... She hadn't fought back, not then. She'd tried to hide and failed, and gotten hurt for it. Never again.

She jammed the tip of her tongue hard against the edges of her teeth and let that pain drag her back to the present. There were no walls here, and if she stood against a tree she couldn't swing her sling. That was an early lesson she'd learned well. She didn't see the arrow pointed at her back as her hands dropped the shovel and moved instinctively under the shielding cloak. She drew the sling from her belt and fumbled a bullet from the belt pouch. She got it into the sling despite her hands trembling and twisted one end of the sling round her fingers so that the sling wouldn't follow the bullet out of her hand. The man's voice sounded around her, mocking, cruel, but what she heard was the voice of the riot. She closed her eyes, drew two slow breaths to try and calm herself - without much success - and then spun herself round as she swung the sling up around her head as fast as she knew how. She'd never aimed at people before, but the woman was stationary, and the distance made her look almost the same size as the practice post behind Dove's cottage. She found herself staring down an arrow, and sent up a silent prayer to any one listening that the bullet would at least go in the right direction. It was too late to stop, and she let fly before the momentum of her own spin dragged her past the target. Perhaps it was luck, or perhaps someone was listening, but the bullet flew fairly straight, tore noisily through a high piece of leafy undergrowth, and smacked into a tree near the woman's elbow. Dove had been aiming rather for the bandits themselves, but she'd take whatever she could get.

"Not quite unarmed," she told them as the man counted down, her mouth as dry as her voice, blood streaked across her face like red war paint. Her hands, habituated by hours of practice, reached for another bullet. Her guts told her to run and keep running. She overuled her gut instinct, and hoped she hadn't just done something stupid enough to get herself killed. "Consider that a warning shot - like yours."

[Nivel]

Nivel was sprung back in shock as the arrow flew overhead, She quickly shot her head back to see that the arrow had narrowly missed Dove and lodged itself in a tree nearby. The pycon was frozen in terror, not so much for herself but for those she was meant to protect. Nivel looked up to spot the the glimmer of a sword was pointed in her direction. She was so certain that her tactics were fool proof that she didn’t think of what would happen if they didn’t work. The man holding the sword spoke and Nivel forced herself to listen. She hated bandits but she thought she could think of a plan to get them out of this situation in one piece. The man shared his proposition and their somewhat reasonable demands caught Nivel of guard. These were not the savage scum she had encountered before and it made her all the more uneasy. The bandit started his count down but Nivel didn’t respond right away, she wanted to quickly run over her slim range of choices. The only options coming to mind were to run, fight or try and negotiate. It made her insides turn but she had to believe the scoundrel was really willing to let them go if she complied, they didn’t have any reason to lie since they seemed to have the advantage.

Nivel was about to speak when a rock bashed into the tree near by and thumped to the ground. The situation was twisting her clay into knots as it got more and more tense with each passing moment. Nivel lost her voice the second time around but forced her way through and said what needed to be said. “We were looking for resources but came up with only rocks and some poisonous plants.” Nivel didn’t exactly lie but she was with holding all of the important information. It was a good thing that she was a pycon talking to talk folk though because her small stature, natural poker face and odd sounding voice gave her a definite advantage in this area. She hoped they wouldn’t press for more information and leave them be.
“We are of no use to you, now please let us go and we will do the same.” Nivel said boldly as she slowly stepped back.

Credit for Boxcode goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Dove Brown]

NoteDue to the time constraints for this thread, we agreed at the beginning that if someone stopped posting we'd skip them temporarily and go on as best we could. This included Orin, so I'm wrapping this up as best I can.

A second arrow tore through Dove's cloak as she spun, but the third didn't come. She didn't dare look round to see if Revali was ok. As Nivel stepped back the man studied each of them as if memorising their faces. He flicked a glance sideways at the tree as Dove's bullet hit it, and then at the loaded sling in her hand. Faced with odds that were even less overwhelming than the initial encounter, he gave a hand signal to the woman. "I don't want to see any of you here again," he told Nivel harshly. "If I do, there won't be a second warning. Those people you're supposed to be protecting will be dead before you even know we're here. Look for resources elsewhere." He and the woman faded back into the woods almost as silently as they came, taking a very round-about route back to their camp in case anyone followed them.

Once they were out of sight, Dove's legs gave way to shock and she sat down hard on the ground. She wasn't dead after all. She had half expected to be, staring down that arrow and knowing that she couldn't follow up if her bluff was called. "I'm ok," she said to worried enquries. She tried to smile, but that made her cut cheek hurt and she winced instead. "It looks worse than it is. Face wounds always bleed a lot. I remember from the last one." She pointed to the scar on her jaw. Getting shakily to her feet, she put her sling and unused bullet away, then went over to the stream and splashed water on her face with her hands. The cold water steadied her, even as it rinsed off the worst of the blood, and she moved on to collect the shovel and pack she'd dropped. "Let's go before they come back. We have a lot to report."