Fable - Ask The Gods, The Command, and The Great Tree

[Kiros Rahnel]

With the wind to his front, he trudged through the land leaving behind imprints in the soft snow with each weary step he took. The skies above were clear of both clouds and snowfall, and as he departed the spine the layer of snow coating the earth thinned further Still, it was horribly cold. Robes rippled in the wind, worn atop a thick gambeson that, while warm, was hardly sufficient barrier against the cold for one so used to desert climate. He had been in these uncomfortably frigid lands before and was quite bitter at the need to return. Were it up to him, he’d have never returned.

But as a man beholden to the divine it was not up to him, and his preference held no weight in the matter. Divine orders were the cause for his arrival, having been tasked to seek out the great tree Eolydiir. Much as he despised any geas imparted upon him by Her, this one seemed almost sensible. Given that the tree held the same name as the world-ending artifact the deity Seneschal guided them to preserve, he almost believed this quest might hold purpose. He still held his doubt; if Itra was undertaking actual divine duties, he'd be genuinely surprised.

As it were, the quest had already hit such an obstacle that threatened to steer it off course. The presence of another divine had come to Her attention, a concern the goddess made his own though Her command. There was no mention of direction nor description. All he could be ceartain of was that this deity did not belong to the Annunaki. He had made certain of that, though the mere mention of his concerns had cost him a painful migraine. The past pain of mind his deity inflicted was a bargain for the present peace of mind, knowing that She hadn’t set him out to betray the pantheon. That She felt so slighted by the inquiry was oddly reassuring; Her reaction a stronger implication than Her word alone.

Still, he was stuck here for the time being. Departure had been declared forbidden until he found out more of this other deity, and he had truly little to go on. Despite aching muscles and a haggard state, Kiros pushed himself to continue in careful exploration of his surroundings. The sooner he discovered more, the sooner he could leave; and the beholden priest was rather eager to do just that.

Though the wind rustled through the trees, the lands devoid of settlement and barren of wildlife. Such solitude made his vague and unspecified task that much easier in his mind. If She had expressed concerns about another god’s presence, that god’s follower or shrine should be nearby. He scanned around in search for nearly anything that was out of place, yet even after hours of exploration he had found nothing.

After a day’s exploration through the snow covered foothills, he was ready to break camp for the evening. It was only after he had gathered firewood and set up a shelter that the sight of another caught his eye. It was hard to tell who or what it was from such a distance away, but he had discerned enough to conclude that it wasn’t wildlife. Though the sun was setting and he longed for a night of sleep, his want to continue his travels was greater.

With the possible end of his delay in sight he packed away his gear and set off again, careful to tread quietly as he approached. Without any specific detail to work with, he hoped that this was the one She had been concerned about; a probable conclusion, given how few people he had seen at all in his trek. It gave him both hope that his delay might come to an end, and concern given the sizable stature of the other off in the distance.

But he was beholden to Her orders, and as before his concerns mattered not. Hesitantly, but obligingly, he ventured out further towards whomever it was he suspected was the root cause of Her concerns.

 

[Tol]

Snow and ice wasn't something that was new to Tol for he has lived through a few colder winters where even the Bayou Garramasima. That did not make today easier though as while Tol couldn't explain it he felt the winters of the Bayou completely different the the cold snowy days of the spine but still he was a Swamp Troll and Trolls are hardy creatures that could survive most environments. Still Tol knew the further he marched the closer he would get to lands that without proper preparations he would freeze up. but for now he had more pressing issues to manage.

Since he reached the start of the spine and the cold started making a thin layer of ice cover the top of his barrel of holy water each day Tol would be woken up by what he could only call nightmares or dark visions and what made matters worse was that his divine powers were greatly weakened something he expected as he travelled further away from the swamp but not this early in his quest. The visions themselves showed a forest of blood and darkness where voices screaming in agony could be heard.

The Swamp had never given visions like these to Tol before and they made the Troll's heart beat in fear every time he awoke from them. One message was clear to Tol however and that it was The Swamp wanted him to find this dark forest for whatever reason be that to clear the darkness or simply a test of resolve.

Tol stopped walking and took his barrel off his back for his barrel had once again frozen over luckily the floating pieces of weeds and other plantlife in the barrel made it easier for tol to break the layer of ice and scoop it out his barrel. As soon as the last piece of ice was scooped out a jet of the water came rushing out of the barrel freezing mid air and falling to the ground. Tol looked in the direction the water was going and saw a figure slowly heading towards him.

Tol quickly strapped the barrel across his back again, straightened his posture to look a bit more 'civil' and in a loud booming voice more akin to a roar he shouted "WHO GO DER!!"
While Tol hoped this person or thing wouldn't be a threat the recent visions made him weary of unknown strangers

Kiros Rahnel

 

[Cauldwin Talson Valfnyr]

Two lightly armed and armored men were fishing in deep river at edge of a forest with their spears. They had been running for days. Not more than a week ago: they, their brothers-in-arms, and their regiments captain had decided that they had had enough of being deployed as cannon fodder for some fat delusional imperial general. They went rogue, choosing to fight for themselves, rather than an empire that barely knew they existed.

Things went swimmingly for the first few days. They could go anywhere they wanted, they could eat and drink as much as they pleased, and any desire they needed sated could be taken. Villages had the supplies they needed and would give it gladly if it meant not being pillaged. Militia kept a wide berth from them, not able to compete with their force, and even large armies had to resort to harassment tactics on the warband or they would be cutting it close. It even seemed they would soon be able to siege and take a small kingdom for themselves: turning Captain Asmyr into King Asmyr, and they from footsoldiers to knights.

Then that thing attacked their camp at the dead of night, more than half of the entire company died to the abomination on it's first charge... crushing skulls through helms, breaking spines, tearing men in two as they begged for mercy... The other half retreated in every which direction, most of them being found by what remained of their warband, strung up. Torn apart, executed, defiled... broken. Day after day, their numbers whittled down, being picked off by that rusted behemoth, their sacrifices buying those who remained precious minutes to escape.

It seemed only Conner and Mully were left. Though it had been many sleepless nights of running, it seemed they had managed to survive the monster. They could finally rest, and fish for food. The birds chirped in the trees, it was cold but crisp. The water of the river rushed downward, in the clear weter salmon swam downstream. They had already caught half a baskets worth but they needed just a few more to ensure enough supply for the next few days.

Conner, who was almost waist deep shouted to Mully as he speared a large trout, "Ay! Conner! Look at the size off~" ,he was cut off at a large rusted mailed hand darted out from the deep water and cupped around his face and head. The large rust plated creature rose out from the river, Conners muffled screams only barely audible as it began to crush his skull. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" , Mully screamed with a mix of despair and hatred as he charged the monstrosity with his spear, impaling it in the gap between it's breast plate and the hanging plates above it's armored legs. He drew black acidic tar from the creature that burned the flesh from his hands and face, half-blinding him, and leaving him incapable of fighting.

He fell back and sat defeated as his actions proved worse than merely futile. The creature crushed Mully's skull and his corpse fell to the ground. The being towered over him, and in it's shadow their gaze met, it bright green glowing eye in one of the abyssal caverns bored into it's vissagless helm... or face. In that moment Conner understood what this thing was, what it's purpose was.

It's only purpose: to hunt down and destroy him, his compatriots, and men like him. At any cost, across any distance. Their was no negotiating, no mercy, no stopping it. He took a shaky breath and looked up at the creature. There was no escape.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cauldwin with a single strike caved in the man's skull, he then strung of up the two bodies of the brigands with sheet rope made from their own clothing. With the last of the large group of bandits slain, he looked towards the oddly dark forest. Murky visions flashed in his mind, it seemed the War-Father wished him to act upon this place in some fashion. As usual their was no clear answer as to what and how, but he had no doubt that he would soon find it. So it was, Cauldwin continued his march into the woods.

Kiros Rahnel​

Tol​

 

[Kiros Rahnel]

He continued to approach the other figure, and though he took care to step quietly he took no measures to conceal himself. To do so would only make himself appear suspicious, and he didn’t want to be mistaken for a bandit. Further, for all he knew this being might be able to sense his presence regardless; Kiros could not know what divine magic this other one held, were he a fellow disciple of the divine.

As he drew closer he was eventually able to get a clearer view; the one he followed appeared to be a troll. Odd that he would find one here, though the Kaliti priest was certainly out of place himself. Upon noticing the upright shift in posture, Kiros paused. He could infer two things from the reaction; that the being was even taller than he initially assessed, and that he himself had likely been noticed. In short time he could be sure of the latter, as chilly air carried the troll’s booming words of inquiry to his presence.

He took a couple of steps forward, as if to answer the question by making his presence overt. He was clad in white robes, markedly different from the common apparel most local humans wore. The design appeared ceremonial and befitting a human priest, albeit not of Celestialist design; were Tol familiar with such. Despite being human, he might appear to be quite out of place himself, given his surroundings.

“Kiros.” He replied, shouting his response into the air with his staff held upright in hand. Curious as to whether this troll was the cause of Her concerns, he was further concerned that matters might escalate into confrontation. To fight with an opponent of such size could not possibly end well, and making it clear that he held the presence of the divine seemed best to address both of his concerns. If this troll were a cleric as he suspected, he might respond favourably. If not, he might be averse to violence upon one who carried the will of a divine, should his claim even be believed.

“A priest of the west; present on divine orders.” he followed up, his plain tone masking his tension. He couldn’t appear fearful lest his bluff be called out. He could neither appear suspicious; escape was untenable, that would cause the troll apt concern. That She had her attention upon him was a matter that could not be compromised.

“But who makes the inquiry?” He added. Musing and wondering would only get him so far. If this was the cleric of another god, best to find out.

Tol Cauldwin Talson Valfnyr

 

[Tol]

While Kiros might look out of place to humans and creatures that live in the spine for Tol he had no knowledge of the proper customs or clothing humans are meant to wear here and with how few humans he has seen these recent weeks he could only assume this was the proper attire. As for Tol he was practically naked with a simple loin cloth as his only source of clothing.

It seemed this human was of no threat as he responded to Tols question promptly. The human introduced himself as Kiros a simple name for Tol to remember unlike other creatures he had encountered still Tol was weary as few 'civil' creatures he had encountered across his travels in the wilds showed little to no fear of Tol unlike this Kiros.

Tol was taken aback when Kiros stated he was a priest of the west here on divine orders, such a thing could not be mere coincidence but Tol did not know this God known as West. Tol pondered for a moment before remembering that West is infact a direction so maybe this Kiros was merely stating the direction his god is in so clearly if Kiros is the priest of the West and came from the opposite direction to Tol then Tol must be moving west where it is colder.

Now Kiros was asking Tol who make the Inquiry. How was Tol meant to know who makes the Inquiry he doesn't even know what this Inquiry is. Once again Tol pondered trying to figure out what this thing call an Inquiry was and then it hit Tol. Kiros was on a divine quest and since he is asking Tol who is also a priest on a divine quest who makes the Inquiry then The Inquiry is some holy object that they are both looking for and since The Swamp was telling Tol to go West this other priest was lost and going the wrong way.

It was up to Tol to help his fellow priest even if this priest may worship a different god for both their gods clearly planned this meeting. First Tol would need to introduce himself and he honestly felt a bit embarrassed that he hadn't introduced himself before doing all this pondering.
"I am Tol" Tol would point towards kiros and mutter west and then quietly say the other directions trying to remember what was the opposite of west "Priest of Sou... no East" Tol would then point the direction he came from "I serve Da Swamp". Tol would then face Kiros again and in a more cheerful yet loud voice "I help you find Holy Inquiry but you go wrong direction, it west not east" Tol would start to walk again attempting to pass Kiros and expecting him to follow.

Kiros Rahnel Cauldwin Talson Valfnyr

 

[Cauldwin Talson Valfnyr]

Cauldwin marched forwards, the birds in the trees around him scattered to other areas in the forest, the wolves that neared him growled and ran in fear. Most Nordenfiir had this kind of effect on animals, having the earthly scent of a bear on them, but this was something new entirely that he had become quite privy to. The majority of natural, lesser creatures in the world had begun to regard him as death, as something to flee from at all costs, something he found both flattering and very melancholy.

As he marched forth, the landscape became familiar to him. Reminding him of one of the siege battles he had taken part in on the defensive in his life before... He knew this was definitely a part of the spine. Looking at the path ahead of him he could see small, shallow boot tracks on the snow beneath, prints belonging to that of a hunter or some other form of civilian. This along with the occasional broken branch of shrubbery made it clear to him that he was not alone in these woods. The best course of action then was to follow these tracks and see if he could not find the owner. Perhaps he/she/it had information on this land, and it's current state that he might find use in.

(OOC: you two will probably be aware of Cauldwin's presence before either party has visual contact, so I leave first impressions to you.)

Kiros Rahnel​

Tol​

 

[Kiros Rahnel]

It was truth then; the troll was a priest, no doubt the very one that had given Her concern and reason for his delay in these cold, detestable lands. While he hadn’t known what to expect from his search, that a troll was the target of interest had been a surprise. But who was the god then, and why was he present here? A truly strange and unusual situation was presented before him, and he had little clue what to make of it.

Subterfuge seemed useless; he was as out of place as Tol was. If the troll was tasked with seeking him out, there would be little he could do to cover for himself; or so he thought. Tol seemed...a touch slow. Which was probably typical of trolls as he figured, though had yet to hear one speak his broken words through anything other than uttered threats. Never had he heard one speak such tone of casual conversation before. He introduced himself as a ‘Priest of the swamp’, a clue, but hardly a complete answer. A deity of the swamp could be one of many; and he knew not a thing about the pagan gods of the brutish races. He would not have even felt certain of their existence; but that Itra held such concern removed any such doubt.

Kiros hardly knew what to make of the troll’s mention of ‘Inquiry to the West’. Yet another oddity to stack upon the growing pile. But before he could question it, Tol continued to march on; though eastward towards the great tree he had originally been bid to seek out. The encounter could have been over then and there, but he had yet to retrieve the answers to the questions that had caused Her such irritation. Given the direction Tol gave, the shared destination, and his implicit invitation to follow; it seemed prudent to do just that.

“You’ll help me find it?” He asked, careful to keep his words simpler now that he had hear Tol speak himself.

“Then you know more of it. Can you...tell me anything?” He followed up, picking at the troll with questions to hopefully gain some more enlightenment of his divine matters.

* * *​

The two travelled for quite some time. Kiros was content that the direction was eastward; a direction that would regrettably take him back towards the spine and it's intolerable cold. After several hours of trekking though the snow-covered hills, the time would come time to rest. Kiros prepared to light a fire to cook the day’s meal before a sight in the distance gave him reason to pause the activity. He had no clue who it was, but it was travelling towards them from the path they had travelled on.

Kiros looked on with suspicion, without a clue whom it might be. The person looked familiar somehow, despite their heavy suit of armour. But why was he following? Perhaps Tol might know, for he surely did not.

“Do you know that one?” He turned to Tol with the straightforward question, a finger pointed at the distant figure for identification.


Tol Cauldwin Talson Valfnyr

 

[Tol]

Tol wasn't sure how he was really meant to help Kiros find this thing other than tell him which direction to go but he suspected as they got closer to whatever the Inquiry was The Swamp would provide more insight. "Of course Tol will help Kiros, Da Swamp help all who are strong." One issue that has annoyingly popped up is that Kiros thinks Tol would know more about this Inquiry which Tol had really no knowledge about at all. Tol could lie about it but he doubted The Swamp would be pleased with such an action and Tol was not the best liar to begin with. With a disappointed sigh Tol spoke softly this time "I no know anything about da Inquiry"

As Tol finished the sentence an image pierced his mind causing him to nearly fall to the ground in pain. The image was like the scenes he was having in his dreams of dark monsters surronding the stump of what seemed to be a giant tree. It seemed The Swamp was telling Tol that what ever they were looking for is deep within the dark forest. "Da Swamp tell me it is found under a Tree that reaches Da Gods, it guard by beasts of death"

As Tol continued to march east which he still thought was west he could see the sky getting darker and darker. Kiros seemed to have decided to make camp. One thing Tol knew when humans made camps was that they liked to make fires which Kiros was clearly about to do. To Tol's relief something caught Kiros' eye which stopped the priest of the west from lighting the fire. It seemed Kiros spotted a man or beast off in the distance. "I do not know that one"

Unlike when he saw Kiros, Tol felt unease with whatever was approaching them at the time of the setting sun assuming it was approaching them which it may not be doing but Tol could not tell. Tol did not have as good long distance eye sight as humans so for now he would have to rely on Kiros "Is it threat?"

Kiros Rahnel Cauldwin Talson Valfnyr

 

[Cauldwin Talson Valfnyr]

Cauldwin stared at the odd pair of obscured creatures at an unlit campfire from a distance. His silhouette being black against the greyish light of night air, matching with the trees around him. These two would likely be able to pick out the contrast. His focus was on the smaller of the two, the one in the priestly robes. It was very de-ja-vu, though he could not recall in what vision or dream he had seen the man in. He didn't seem like any spirit or undead, so he could root out any vengeful revenant.

His gaze then shifted to the larger of the two, the troll or large ogre. Daft things but could easily crush him, a welcomed challenge should there meeting come to blade-and-blow. He had met a troll only once or twice in his earlier watch days, his lead watchmen convinced the creature that the cow he had stolen was toxic to his kind, and that turned into a bloodbath...

He considered that as possibility, that this priest may be the creatures captive, either chattel or... a 'wifey'. Cauldwin shuttered violently for a moment before marching forwards to the campsite, his approach making his form more clear. Maintaining an upright posture with his damaged hand folded behind his back and his right on the hilt of his blade. He kept a respectable distance from the two, the green glowing eye in his helm looking directly into those of the exceptionally green giant. He then spoke to break the silence, in his voice that was even toned, deep, and guttural with a metallic pranging between every word emanating from his vissageless helm, "Hail, green one! Long way from your den, huh?"

Kiros Rahnel​

Tol​

 

[Kiros Rahnel]

Kiros paused for a moment. The one in the distance appeared to be no one he recognized; but whether or not they held friendly intent was another matter. There must be some reason for his approach; Kiros reasoned that it was most likely to slay the troll. Tol mentioned had travelled from afar, ample time and opportunity to gain the unwanted attention of the ‘noble’ races – for lack of a better term. If the newcomer was here to slay the troll and remove his presence through death, that would remove Her concerns and finally enable his departure from these frozen lands.

If.

Even were Tol was the root cause of this delay, handling him was already less of a concern; and hardly required violence. There was, of course, likely possibility that it was Kiros himself who this newcomer travelled in search of. Perhaps he was the one in possession of the very divine presence She was fretful over. Were it the case, Tol would be a particularly advantageous ally to have; a prime target for his blessing of might. The strength of a troll would be helpful, but the strength of several was an obstacle their company was unlikely to be prepared for if he was the one who had irked Her.

If.

Having to rely on assumption hardly made Kiros comfortable. To have both around seemed useful; at least until could be sure of who was friend and who was foe. Best to wait then, until the traveller approached enough to signal his intentions; be it through word or action. As it were, he chose the former. And of all things, he addressed the troll instead of him!

“I am fluent in common tongue, easterner.” Kiros uttered the words with a tone of offended disgust, eyes glaring into Cauldwin's lone green one.

Tol Cauldwin Talson Valfnyr

 

[Tol]

Tol stared at the creature heading towards them. Sure Tol had encountered humans wearing armour before but this thing was different. Tol could not tell if it was a man or just a giant suit of walking armour which wasn't helped by the glowing green eye. When the creature spoke it did not help clear Tols suspicions at all with the metal sound of its voice sounding unnatural to the Troll. One thing Tol did notice was some sort of symbol his armour one that seemed familiar to Tol but it he was still too far to tell what it was.

On the good side for now the large man didn't seem to be hostile at least for now and simply asked the Troll why he was so far from his Den. While Tol didn't have a den it was still clear enough that the man was asking why Tol was so far from the swamp that his kind normally live in. Tol was now unsure if he should tell this man his quest inc ase this being turned out to be a threat.

Before Tol could say a word Kiros was for somereason mad at the large man. Tol wasn't sure how Kiros could tell but apparently the large man didn't think Kiros could speak the common tongue. On the good side Kiros knew where the man came from since he called the man an easterner. So if they were going West(actually east) and behind them was East(actually west). Tol now understood why the symbol looked familiar because that's the Allirian guard symbol, of course this man didn't look like any Allirian guard Tol had encountered before.

"I ask you same question. Tol no head to alliria so why guard here"

Kiros Rahnel Cauldwin Talson Valfnyr

 

[Cauldwin Talson Valfnyr]

“I am fluent in common tongue, easterner."

Cauldwin did not move his gaze from the creature who had revealed himself as Tol, but the evidence was mounting against this priest being the hulking creature's chattel.

"I ask you same question. Tol no head to alliria so why guard here"

Cauldwin's eye narrowed in annoyance. This troll was trying to deflect his questioning... strike one. Cauldwin figured that if these two were to be so guarded he owed them no transparency, he considered carefully how he would answer the creature's question before speaking, "I ain't out here guarding, Tol. I was sent to hunt down a large group of brigands, the remainder of that group led me here. Now my orders from up high say somethin's going down in these woods, and I'm supposed to get to the bottom of it. Wouldn't happen to know anythin' about that?"

Kiros Rahnel​

Tol​

 

[Kiros Rahnel]

Kiros let out an annoyed sigh through his teeth. Despite being a great distance from the city, this lone guard apparently travelled through desolate wilderness in attempt to enforce the law. The incident in Dornoch had been one matter; this was absurd.

“Was a troll among the suspect? A foreign priest?” He barked the words bitterly.

“Perhaps we ought cut to the point; I’m aware of what you want.” muttering a few choice Kaliti vulgarities as he began to reach for a small coin pouch on his belt. To him, it seemed the man wished for a bribe; it seemed to make the most sense of his behaviour. Upon unsecuring the pouch, he tossed the small bag of coins towards the tall armoured one, to land either in his hands or against his armour with a clatter.

“I trust this concludes matters.” He added, his expression telling of his annoyance.

 

[Tol]

From what Tol could understand it seemed like some brigands did some crime in Alliria and ran all the way to the forest but this dedicated guard chased them all the way and hunted them down. Now this guard said that his higher ups ordered him to investigate these woods and since Tol could see no other guards around clearly this guard meant which ever human gods he follows ordered him to like how The Swamp ordered Tol in a sense to come this way.

Kiros seemed to be quite unhappy with with this explanation most likely due to the fact the guard was from the east thus followed an eastern human god yet Kiros seemed to get along with Tol enough to not show contempt despite the fact he and Tol also follow a different god. Then to Tols surprise Kiros threw the guard a pouch full of gold. While at first Tol never understood the concept of gold, during his travels he has come to apricate and understand them while also growing fond of the little golden pebbles which humans call coins.

Since Tol and Kiros weren't trying to enter the city that meant Kiros gave the guard gold randomly for a different reason and one thing Tol learnt humans use gold for when not trading is hiring warriors to fight for them and so clearly this guard was waiting for payment to assist in exploring the forest which Kiros reluctantly provided.

Tol did a little clap and smiled completely misunderstanding the reason the Guard was questioning Tol and the reason Kiros gave the guard coin "Da Gods bring us all together to search forest for Da Inquiry. Now that Kiros pay guard to join us as Mersory. But first we rest, when sun is back we go deeper in forest"

 

[Cauldwin Talson Valfnyr]

(OOC: sorry for the late reply, I accidently unwatched this thread and didn't realize Tol had replied.)

Perhaps we ought cut to the point; I’m aware of what you want.” muttering a few choice Kaliti vulgarities as he began to reach for a small coin pouch on his belt. To him, it seemed the man wished for a bribe; it seemed to make the most sense of his behaviour. Upon unsecuring the pouch, he tossed the small bag of coins towards the tall armoured one

Cauldwin's hand raised quickly to catch the coin purse, before saying, "Bribing a watchman is a serious offence..." , strike two. He finished the sentiment in a distorted, beastial, almost demonic voice, "And you are aware of little.", Throwing the small bag back at the priest, beaning him with the coin purse. His stance and gaze however remained transfixed on the Troll who could prove to be an actual threat should the two decide to be exceptionally uncooperative.

Tol did a little clap and smiled completely misunderstanding the reason the Guard was questioning Tol and the reason Kiros gave the guard coin "Da Gods bring us all together to search forest for Da Inquiry. Now that Kiros pay guard to join us as Mersory. But first we rest, when sun is back we go deeper in forest"

Did this creature refer to their meeting as providence? At this point Cauldwin had seen abyssal realms, dragons, armies of the damned, a deranged talking sword... anything was possible at this point, and the troll seemed understanding enough. Worse comes to worse, and this is a ploy, Cauldwin figured the element of surprise wouldn't help the two much. Cauldwin's stance relaxed and his hand left the hilt of his sword to his side, before he replied to the creatures invitation, "Very well, as the gods would will it. But I do this as a lawbringer, not a merc." He finished giving the troll a small nod, signifying a silent respect.

Kiros Rahnel​

Tol​

 

[Kiros Rahnel]

OOC: All good, I’ve been engrossed in the board story myself; s'why taken me a bit longer than usual to post too.
Also; Itra may have inadvertently helped save Arethil, and it involves a relic that shares the same name with the tree. I may retcon Kiros’ motives since it’s still early in the thread; plot and action will remain the same. Probable changes would see Tol share his objective in reaching the tree as an unlikely companion on their holy quest.

---

Tol too had viewed their new company with animosity, though such attitude took a notable turn once the bag of coin was tossed his way. The troll seemed to believe Kiros did so to hire a mercenary; likely lacking the context of both guardsmen and bribery. An innocent interpretation, though not quite what the priest wanted.

Neither was it what the armoured one wanted, which he made evident with explicit rejection of the offer. His brow shifted at the notable malevolent turn his tone took, though he restrained himself from giving much further visible reaction. He had been debating whether or not Tol was the target of Itra’s ire, or the newcomer. The dilemma then had come to a close; and it was clear the one who spoke so demonically had been the bringer of his trouble.

He caught the bag of coin on the corner of his forehead, clasping a hand to it while continuing to leer back at the armoured one. Despite his mention that matters worked differently in Alliria, he would have been more trustworthy in Kiros’ mind had he simply taken the money. The Kaliti found his rejection ludicrous; honestly, this stranger would have seemed more trustworthy had he simply accepted the money. That would have been something he could understand. He then tucked the rejected pouch back into his belt; no sense in letting good coin go to waste.

He looked to Tol, and then to Cauldwin without a clue what he was planning. By now, Kiros had written off any possibility it was benign. It was further clear that Cauldwin wouldn’t simply leave. If coin wouldn’t encourage his egress, it was doubtful much else would. Better to keep the troll close then; to be alone with this armoured mountain of a main would be an unfortunate matchup for a cloth-clad priest.

He gave them both one more look, silence implying his approval before he gave it confirmation with a nod.

“As the gods will it, indeed.”

 

[Tol]

Tol would look at the two men with a slight worry on his face. If the gods truely did have them all meet together for a common cause they could have atleast made sure their chosen got along together which in this case didn't look that way. Hopefully Kiros and the Watchman would become friends by the end of this holy quest and their clear disdain for each other would not negatively impact what ever challenges they face.

"As da gods will it" Tol would join in before laying his barrel on the ground quite a distance from the yet to be finished campfire lest he be burnt by the dangerous flames. By now the sun would have set and Tol would have fallen asleep hoping his two companions would not kill each other in the night. It did not take long before the dream to begin


--------------------

Tol would find him self deep within a forest yet despite there being no sun in sight the forest itself was lit up by some unnatural light. As Tol walked he could hear music off in the distance. Tol would follow the sound until he reached a clearing with a camp set up. The camp had multiple tents and at the outskirts of the camp were large logs stacked next to each other indicating that this camp was ran by loggers, the music itself came from the middle of the camp so Tol proceeded to enter the camp and investigate. Once Tol entered the camp he saw a group of people crowding around a wagon in the middle of the camp with two bards on said wagon playing their instruments.

Tol was perplexed for when he looked at the camp before he could not see anyone in it nor the wagon which he was sure he would have seen from outside the camp, furthermore as Tol payed more attention he realised that these peoples had no faces and other than the music being played by the bards there was no other sound not even from the people who looked like they were cheering. Luckily none of the people seemed to notice or acknowledged that a giant troll appeared out of nowhere and entered their camp.

Just then both of the bards dropped his instrument and jumped off the wagon before running as fast as he could into the forest. The other people looked quite confused even without faces and then would turn around and look in the direction of Tol, they pointed in his direction and the part of their faceless head where the mouth should be distorted most likely representing a scream with most turning and running the direction the bards went. At first Tol thought they had finally noticed him but that thought was soon shown not be case as shadowy beasts ran past Tol into the crowd of people slaughtering those who failed to run before giving chase to those that did. The shadowy beasts themselves were ever changing not keeping to one form, one moment they would be a wolf and then the next moment a half horse half human creature with a shadow blade for an arm.

Tol watched as the shadows butchered all those who had lived in the camp and off in the distance he could see the corpse of at least one of the bards. As much as Tol tried he could not seem to move his body preventing him from atleast trying to save people. Finally once to Tol's horror the last person fell to the ground dead the shadows turned and faced Tol.

Tol was now able to move his body and he instinctively went to grab his club only to find it no longer strapped to his side and even worse his barrel of swamp water was also missing. Fear now took control of Tol's mind and he ran from the beasts as fast as he could. As Tol ran for his life he could see the trees of the forest distorting and changing into unnatural forms with their unantural shapes ingraining themselves into Tol's mind. While a Swamp Troll normally wouldn't be able to run for long distances it seemed adrenaline and the fear of death kept him going until once again after running for only the gods know how long he found another clearing but this time instead of another camp it was a gigantic tree that looked to reach the skies and beyond. Before Tol had time to take in this majestic sight a shadowy blade pierced his back through his heart and came out the other side.

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Tol woke up clenching the part of his body his heart was. Tol could not tell if this dream was a vision of the past or future but now the gods showed Tol the path to the Great Tree. Now fully awake from his dream Tol shouted with still a tinge of fear in his voice "Da Gods Shape Da Path"


Kiros Rahnel Cauldwin Talson Valfnyr

 

[Cauldwin Talson Valfnyr]

At this point the dim shafts of early dawn had only slightly begun to breach through the branches of the sickly trees and fog. Cauldwin had taken a stance in front of a tree more reminiscent of a displayed suit of armor than any kind of natural pose of observation. He had silently vowed to act as sentinel in the night while the other two *men*-of-respective-gods slept, Cauldwin only tuned his head to look at Tol as he had exclaimed his epiphany in from what was doubtless a night terror. The sudden cry of enlightenment had surely woken Kiros, so he decided any continued silence would be wasted effort.

"It must have been some vision, wha'd you see?", Cauldwin asked inquisitively and with a small mark of genuine concern in his voice (something quite unusual for the stoic Cauldwin). He remained unmoving from his post or stance.

Kiros Rahnel​

Tol​

(OOC: note: I made my characters first name a synonym to save you the extra typing.)

 

[Kiros Rahnel]

He slept within eyesight of both Tol and their new companion, but remained a considerable distance from both. He still didn’t know the armoured man’s name, nor did he care to ask; having decided not to dignify him by bothering to request introduction. The relief he had after successfully negotiating with the troll had been cut short by his unwelcome and disappointing intrusion. It simply made matters more difficult and he needed no help with that; he was a priest of Hers, after all.

He rested atop his sleeping roll in his robes and gambeson; beneath a thick but short sheet of quilted cloth that was too small for a blanket, but was used as one anyway. His staff remained beside him, hooked in an arm. Cumbersome and a bit uncomfortable to do – but if he fell asleep the focus could alert him, should his companion have a sudden change in disposition. Possibly. He still wasn’t quite familiar with it’s new peculiarities and still wasn’t quite trusting of it, but it was better than not doing so.

Pretending to sleep when in true need of it is a difficult task, one Kiros was unable to sustain. He had barely done so when the troll suddenly startled him awake with a frightful shout. At once, he scrambled to his feet, tossing the length aside as he used both his staff and the tree as an aid to help himself to his feet. He took an instinctive scan of his surroundings with his quarterstaff held in an upright guard stance until his sweeping gaze caught sight of Cauldwin, standing a fair distance away.

The armoured one showed no hostilities, and even made inquiry about whatever the troll had been screaming about. Probably a nightmare, the priest figured, having done away with the notion that the noise implied sudden hostilities. With the shock incurred from the awakening abated, he eased his stance. His motions were tense as he approached the two, but far more relaxed than they had been.

With the question he cared to ask already given, Kiros was content to remain standing with his staff held in hand, awaiting answer.

Tol Cauldwin Talson Valfnyr