Open Chronicles A small settlement within the mountains.

[YuriTatsuki]

Yuri emerged from the plains dragging behind her something that looked like a wolf, she looked around and noticed dusk approaching. Letting out a soft sigh the girl muttered "I guess i should hurry and find a place to set up camp... perhaps that abandoned village i passed on the way here could give me some shelter." The girl once again started dragging the wolf along behind herself "Oww-" She put her left hand on her left thigh that was wrapped with a slightly bloodied cloth "That stupid frostwolf was faster than i thought". She kept walking for a few more hours while dragging the dead frostwolf behind her when the girl stumbled into the abandoned settlement "Now where should i go?" She softly asked herself as her eyes lit upon a house that still looked somewhat intact. Yuri looked up to the sky and noticed stars had started appearing "I should hurry inside, i pity those that are outside in the wild right now" She dragged the dead wolf inside the house which seemed to be the house of what used to be this village's mayor. Putting the dead wolf infront of the closed door in hope it would stop someone or something from coming inside without her noticing she looked around for some blankets and pillows to sleep under.

Once she found enough cushioning for her to sleep on she pulled a blanket up to cover herself, not being able to get good sleep because of her wound she sat up to treat it better. Her face grimaced as she touched it then she suddenly got reminded of something, looking around angrily she spoke in a raised voice "Where are you hiding Sai? Do tell me why you did not help me defeat that monster over there!". Yuri let out a small squeel as her guardian spirit Saito let his hands rest on her shoulders out of nowhere "Saito: worry not milady, i didn't help because i knew you wouldn't need it. Besides... wounds are like trophies.. you should be happy". Turning around in reaction to his voice the girl put her left hand on her thigh in pain, with some help of Saito she treated the wound up to the point where it didn't hurt as much. Then she stared at the ceiling above her untill she finally fell asleep.

 

[Gilbert Goblinson]

The monsters marched through the abandoned village checking a few houses at random. After a few minutes with nothing being found the scouts returned, and reported that the village was indeed abandoned. Gilbert looked over the houses before ordering the group to find a storehouse for the large lads. He watched as the various scouts of many species ran through the town searching for such a building. It felt nice to finally be able to leave Dioltas alone while he explored one of the islands he'd heard of. With less threat of war hanging over their heads, Gilbert was no longer needed to sit around doing paperwork, and micromanaging every other thing.

The scouts returned once more, and the party headed off to the storehouse that had been found. The larger members made beds to sleep within, while Gilbert and those of roughly human or smaller proportions headed to nearby homes. Gilbert made sure some of his men stood guard while he laid in an old bed for the night. He did not go straight to sleep however, instead he called his cartographer, and general in to discuss what plans he had in mind. Gilbert looked at the little that had been added to the map of the island so far, only their path to this point.

"We have traveled pretty far inland so far, so let us hope we are somewhere close to the center. In the morning send ten groups of three scouts out in every direction. We need to learn what we can about this island so make sure they are provided with paper and charcoal to draw the land as best they can. Make sure that they know that their main priority is to explore this land. The group that will be heading the way we came is to return to Dioltas, tell them what we have seen and request reinforcements.

Finally the rest of us will be staying here and setting up a base of operations for now. The first priority for that will be to build up some defences. we don't have enough man power to hold this whole village so we will have to adapt it to our needs. General feel more than willing to use my ogres to do so. Second we will need to secure a sustainable food source, and as for our third priority we should try to recruit some more manpower, as we will be quite short on it here for a while. Alright I will leave it to you guys, but for now let us all get some sleep, make sure everyone knows their guard times."

Gilbert laid his sword across his chest as he let himself drift off to sleep.

 

[Luna Slateforge]

Luna cursed as she saw the monsters sweep through the village she had been hoping would be her shelter for the night, however as she watched from her perch in the trees she saw the force wasn't apparently large enough to even take over the entire village. leaving the outskirts prime for a quick camp out. Soon she could leave this wretched place.

She just needed to find a few more of the more rare herbs that her tome rumored grew here, then she could return to her tundras and snow. However this monster horde was going to make moving around the island difficult. She could handle a scouting party if they attacked her for some reason, but she was a priestess and a healer, not a warrior. Being out numbered and over powered would be something that could happen very quickly and easily. So not wanting to waste time she dismounted from her perch gracefully before moving towards the village outskirts. She avoided a fast moving scouting party as they searched houses at random.
She stuck to the shadows before slipping into a battered cottage with half of its roof caved in. a splintered oaken door hung by a single rusty hinge as she opted to climb in through the roof. She landed in a dank hole of a building. It smelled of rotting wood and old straw. Luna sighed as she simply plopped down in a corner and wrapped herself in her cloak. now that she was in the city she felt a powerful spirits presence.

Whether it was evil or not was too far away for Luna to gauge, but he was quite powerful and very much there somewhere. She wondered if the spirit was working with the monsters or if it was just a lost soul of one of the inhabitants of this long forgotten village. One thing she did know was if she sensed it. it could sense her, and that was not always a good thing... she sighed hoping to not wake up at the end of a sword point and flipped up her eye patch as she pulled her cloak tighter and settled in for sleep how she had for as long as she could remember. With one eye open. Answers would come....They always did...

 

[Quoril]

The island Quoril had landed on was completely foreign to him. Carrying nothing but a small alchemy set and a little bit of food, the elf had wandered the southwestern part of the island looking for new ingredients for his potions. He had ended up getting completely lost and eating through all of his rations, eventually coming to what appeared to be a sorry excuse for a campsite. The exhausted alchemist lit a small fire, laid down, and eventually drifted off to sleep.

Quoril awoke to the sound of birds singing. He rose and headed north, hoping to find a settlement - or at the very least some food. After half a day, he found a dirt road that led right into a rundown abandoned town. Walking around, the elf saw nothing but dilapidated buildings and crumbling houses with no apparent signs of life. Suddenly he heard the sound of marching feet coming from behind him. Quickly, he scrambled up a tall oak tree that grew nearby. Quoril peered down from the top and shuddered. Coming into the town was a large number of goblins and other creatures he hadn't seen before. They split into smaller groups and ran around the town haphazardly searching through houses. The monstrous creatures converged at a large storehouse. The elf saw some of the larger creatures head inside while the smaller ones disappeared into the surrounding houses. He also noticed a white cloaked figure climb into another house far away from the creatures out of the corner of his eye.

As it was now close to dark Quoril wrapped his cloak around himself and decided to spend the night in the tree.

 

[Gilbert Goblinson]

Gilbert woke to the sounds of buildings being demolished, good it was important to have as quick a start on defence as possible. Who knew what had already noticed their presence there? Part two of the settlement plan became more important now. An ogres loyalty only lasts as long as there is food to buy it, a lesson Gilbert knew well. Gilbert thought on this while he had his breakfast of smoked, and dried meat. He made sure to pay a visit to his general once he'd finished his meal. General Kenoki, a cat-folk with an identifiable large beard, noticed Gilbert from a way's off, and saluted and offered a casual greeting.

"Hello there!"
"General Kenoki, heheh. You are a bold one!" As Gilbert said these words he raised his sword causing all to fall silent.
"S-sir?!?"
Gilbert put his sword away once silence had fallen in the makeshift camp. "With all the noise you were making, I wouldn't have been surprised if we had alerted the whole island to our presence. I understand that creating our defences will create some noise, but the noise of ogres slamming house after house is not something we need. We could also use some of the material from those houses. I need you to do more then point at a house and say 'go at it,' I need you to become a leader to them, direct them a little, man. Anyways we need to get some real hunting done, or these big loafs will find better pickings. I.E. us.

I am going to take some men, and see what the game is like in this area. I will also steal some of your crew to go, and find the fields this town had to have used to sustain itself. It will provide food for those willing to eat it, and nourishment for any livestock we can find. While I am out hunting, however, I had better not hear more than a peep from your crew, or... well you know I can't afford to lose you, but that doesn't mean I can't make you wish you were expendable."

Kenoki was amazed at what had just happened: King Gilbert had actually reached out to him, and had called him 'man' Only his closest feel ever got to feel so close to him. Gilbert had even gone so far as calling him irreplaceable, an invaluable compliment from Gilbert, if he'd ever heard one. There was no way he was going to let him down! He was so distracted by all this he almost forgot to respond.
"You can count on me, Sir!"

Gilbert, a ways down the road, dismissively waved off whatever the general yelled after him. Going hunting, that was something he hadn't done in ages, and now there was no one to insist they do it for him, or tell him he had other responsibilities to take care of. Gilbert was pretty much glowing as he divided the men into hunting parties. He had to come up with excuses to get away from Dioltas more often.

 

[Luna Slateforge]

Luna had awoken quite suddenly as the house next to her collapsed as a wall of flesh that turned out to be an ogre had attacked it with reckless abandon. She wasnt positive it was an ogre but there was no being she could think of large enough in the monsters ranks that could push a house over so easily. The roar it let loose afterwards confirmed her theory as once you heard an ogre roar you never forgot it. She kicked open the front door without a second thought as she heard the lumbering footsteps approach her hiding place. Diving across the street she landed in a roll and rolled into an alley to the monsters left and out of its line of sight. praying that it hadnt seen her.

It hadnt, as it seemed to be quite enjoying knocking down the houses. If ogres laughed she was sure it was right now. Even if everything sounded like a bone chilling roar. She turned to leave but held back as she saw hunting parties gathering and spreading out. Shit..she cursed herself for not thinking of such a thing in advance. of course they would need food...she had been tired and foolish....she bit her lip and waited for the parties to move on before trying to beat a hasty retreat to the woods herself. She was so focused on the larger groups she hadnt noticed she was placing herself directly in the line of sight of a lone orc striding by himself confidently, letting the other hunting parties go ahead of him. "he sees you.." the voice whispered as she turned and they locked eyes. The woods were her only chance. even if different from her tundras, a forest was a forest and she needed more cover. "better be a bad shot.." she half joked, half prayed as she ran for the forest, ready to draw her bow and return an arrow if she saw him fire

 

[Quoril]

Quoril awoke with a start as the house closest to his hiding tree came crashing down with a bang. Peering through the branches he saw that most of the houses near the tree had been demolished. An ogre roared madly below him as it paused to locate its next target. As the ogre trundled towards another house a small distance away, the alchemist weighed his options. He had his backpack, but none of the usual potions and defensive mixtures he almost religiously carried with him. A weapon of some sort could be created through magic, but the elf didn't have the strength after not having eaten for 2 days. No, there was only one option left, and Quoril didn't like his odds of success.

"First things first," he muttered to himself, climbing down the tree being careful not to be spotted. Quoril slowly moved in the direction with the least amount of goblins and other monsters until he reached the edge of the surrounding forest. As soon as he was sure he wasn't being watched, he dashed in and hid behind a large boulder. The elf crawled his way around the edge of the forest. Finally, he arrived at his first stop- the back door of the storehouse. Once he had snuck inside, Quoril started searching the bags of the monsters for anything remotely edible. Cheese. Without a second thought, he shoved the whole chunk into his mouth. He was so hungry that it tasted like the best thing he had ever eaten.

Suddenly, Quoril's enhanced hearing picked up the sound of conversation. His hazel eyes darted to the front entrance. He couldn't clearly make out what was being said; something or other about "hunting". Then the racket of footsteps coming towards the storehouse. The alchemist started making his way back towards the rear exit, grabbing a canteen and a small loaf of bread on the way, stuffing them into his backpack. As he got to the exit a sword leaning against the wall to his right caught his eye. Quoril had rarely seen a sword like this in his life. A shiny brass guard with a cord wrapped hilt protruded from a deep crimson sheath. A long ochre tassel was affixed to a ruby gem pommel. The quality of the weapon seemed way too high for anything a lowly goblin would use.

The footsteps that he had heard earlier suddenly stopped. Slowly turning around, the elf stood face to face with a band of goblins who had come to retrieve their weapons. His blood ran cold with fear. The goblins started screaming and hopping around as soon as he turned to face them. Panicking, Quoril grabbed the sword for protection and sprinted outside. After nearly running headlong into a raven-haired woman in a white cloak, he mumbled an apology and kept running. Having strapped the sword to his back he bolted into the forest.

 

[YuriTatsuki]

Waking up to the sound of feet marching around the town and buildings collapsing Yuri quickly threw the blanket aside, she looked around and noticed Saito peering out a small crack in the door while he used his Fox form. He seemed serious as the hairs in his neck stood on end.. Yuri whispered softly "What is it Sai? Monsters? People? Are they... aggressive?". Saito just growled softly as he transformed himself to his human shape "I do not know Milady, I see goblins walking around and sense a magic user nearby. Maybe even just a few meters away, what do you want to do?". Yuri brought the nail of her left thumb to her mouth as she softly closed her teeth on it, her right hand held her left elbow as the thought of what to do in this situation.

After a few minutes she came to a decision, she softly clapped her hands together and smiled at Saito. Knowing this could never bode well for him he sighed "Okay, what's your plan Milady?". Yuri looked sad because of her thoughts being discovered so easily then spoke up "I guess the only thing we can do for now is get out of this village, let us leave it to the goblins. We will move back south west towards the Western Woods and set up a small camp there.. Seeing how my wound still has to recover before we can continue onward towards the Redmont Sanctuary, I need you to carry me there". She winced a little as a small stab of pain came from the treated wound on her left thigh. Yuri spoke again "I want you to take possession of this frost wolf's body and carry me over to the woods so we can set up camp there, I will cause a diversion by creating a blizzard and summoning some snow goblins. Take that moment to rush past them".

Saito looked in amazement at the little girl in front of him, to think of such a plan in such a short amount of time is crazy. He nodded at her plan "What do you want me to do about the magic user Milady? Should we just let them be?". Yuri nodded then said "Yes, they've done us no harm so far.. these goblins however.. don't sound too friendly, do remember however this plan will use up most of my magic so i won't be able to fight with you if anything happens". Saito smiled and gave her a thumbs up, he knew Yuri would most likely pass out. She hadn't recovered her magic powers to it's fullest yet since her fight with the frost wolf, maybe half an hour? Maybe longer? Who knew... at any rate he would have to protect her until she woke up again after she passed out.

 

[Luna Slateforge]

A goblin hunting party seemed to surface from no where as she almost made it to the woods, as an arrow whizzed past her head she felt a pinch in her back causing her to stumble before returning an arrow herself, leaving one goblin clucthing his throat as he gurgled the rest of his life away as she fled back to the cover of the village. She sensed the spirit only a few meters away. whether it was evil or not she would take the risk. She needed an ally if she was going to make it out of this village in one piece. She burst through one side ally with the source of the spirit being in the house directly ahead. She opened a window and slipped in as the other members of the hunting party passed by. hopefully an alarm wouldnt be raised too quickly. She paused as she heard voices in the room to her right.

"Okay, what's your plan Milady?"

"I guess the only thing we can do for now is get out of this village, let us leave it to the goblins. We will move back south west towards the Western Woods and set up a small camp there.. Seeing how my wound still has to recover before we can continue onward towards the Redmont Sanctuary, I need you to carry me there"

Who ever they were it seemed a male and a female. discussing escape so Luna guessed they werent goblin allies, and one was hurt. luna could help with that. She continued to listen as it seemed they were discussing her.

"What do you want me to do about the magic user Milady? Should we just let her be?"

"Yes, they've done us no harm so far.. these goblins however.. don't sound too friendly, do remember however this plan will use up most of my magic so i won't be able to fight with you if anything happens"

Luna nodded the probability was high the spirit felt her presence by now anyway might as well show herself. Spirits could be rather unforgiving if they felt you were a threat, besides the pinch in her back was getting wet...she paused..wet?
She reached and felt the arrow shaft she already knew would be sticking out. her armor had stopped it mostly but the point had punched through enough to break the skin. she yanked it out with a curse throwing it aside.

Her tome radiated its aura sensing the presence of a strong spirit. Any living thing always felt a sense of dread and even fear down to the pit of their stomach for a few fleeting minutes when she was around, but spirits in particular were not fans of her tome. she opened the door slowly as to not alarm..she was a priestess after all and besides her aura she didnt appear that threatening. "H..hello?" she asked as the room went silent. no doubt both persons looking at the door. "I heard you were hurt..Im..Im a healer.." she said opening the door fully to show she wasnt a goblin.

 

[Gilbert Goblinson]

Gilbert's good mood had been ruined. He was not going to be able to go hunting at the moment, because apparently there was trouble in the village already. Gilbert was disgusted to find that when he asked General Kenoki to bring him his sword, apparently the General had managed to lose it somehow, and to one of the invaders no less. Gilbert was forced to make do stabbing Kenoki threw the leg with a hunting spear, pinning him to the ground.

"Now tell me, what did these invaders do?" Gilbert waited for any response, "Can anyone tell me what these invaders actually did besides stealing a sword from one incompetent man?... Idiots! We are not here to start a war! Now, go and find these invaders without your weapons. If you die consider it your own fault for proving you didn't deserve them, and payment for attacking them. Tell your brothers the same. Oh, and Kenoki, keep the ogres working quietly while I handle your mess!"

Gilbert joined the manhunt, while most of his men headed out into the surrounding forest to search for the invaders, Gilbert kept to the town. Gilbert eventually found a small trail of blood, and followed it. Eventually it lead to robed figure standing in a doorway. They seemed to be talking to someone. Gilbert motioned a few monsters over and ordered them to surround the house quietly, he then had a lizardman, and a half kitsune follow him, as he approached the door as well, after a bit of time.

 

[Quoril]

Sensing the goblins closing in, Quoril drew the sword as he ran. At first, the clear, slightly pink crystal blade sat heavy in his hand but gradually began feeling lighter and more well balanced as though some kind of magic was adjusting it to suit the carrier. So this was how a small creature such as a goblin could wield a sword that was clearly meant for a man or elf.

Quoril took a look over his shoulder to see how close the goblins were, only to see that instead of weapons, they were waving around branches. The elf knew better than to judge a goblin on its weapon- especially when there was more than one of them. He had learned swordsmanship over his years of traveling around the main continent, but it definitely wasn't his preferred method of fighting. The alchemist would've much rather have thrown a few smoke bombs behind him, and hidden.

As Quoril careened through the forest, he hacked at the bushes and branches in his way. The sword cut through everything as though it was made of paper. The elf found an area where a huge slab of rock had fallen off the face of a giant hill. Sheathing the sword and climbing up, he sat on top and watched the goblins mill around the forest in confusion. After what seemed like ages they left headed back in the direction of the rundown settlement.

Watching the goblins leave was a huge burden off Quoril's shoulders so he decided to do some foraging. He managed to find some herbs, berries, and even a few mushrooms. Breaking off a branch he tied a vine to fashion a sort of fishing pole. Using his last bit of strength, he molded a hook out of a stone he found nearby with magic. He then began fishing in a pond he had seen from the top of the hill.

 

[YuriTatsuki]

As they were about to set their plan into motion they heard a voice from a door that supposedly lead to somewhere else in the building, both Yuri and Saito their heads jerked toward the direction of the female standing in the door opening. Saito immediately placed himself between the woman and Yuri and spoke in a threatening voice "Be careful Milady.. they seem to have something that makes it possible for them too sense me, there is a strong type of magic emitting from that person".

Yuri slowly walked around what seemed to be air, while in reality she walked around Saito. She had a hunch.. that the female was only able to sense and hear her guardian spirit "Oh don't be silly Saito, now then.. if you are a healer as you say you are, why don't you heal your own wound first?". The girl slightly tilted her head to one side in wonder, she kept herself standing up by leaning against the wall to her right. Saito kept a careful eye on the woman in front of them, noticing Yuri giving him a sign with her left hand he changed to his fox form with which he would be able to take over the dead frost wolf's body.

Clearly Yuri had noticed something they had not? What it could be Saito had no idea. The girl spoke softly to both Saito and the woman standing in front of them "If you can heal us you'd better do it fast, we seem to be having some guests. I think it's time to start putting our plan in motion Sai, for now keep laying against the door after you took over the wolf's body". Saito nodded, he knew the door opened into the house instead of opening toward the outside.

 

[Luna Slateforge]

She knelt and placed her book in front of her as she began to un wrap the strips of cloth around her hands revealing two brands one on her right and one on her left. They began to glow as she muttered a few words in a old forgotten language. The tome seemed to radiate cold for a moment before dying down as any flowers and plants peaking through the floorboards whithered to dust. She gestured for Yuri to approach.

"Usually i could simply heal it with a touch, but with it being a frost wolf there could be a curse attached to the bite. cleansing before healing it will require payment." she said in a bland, monotone voice. "Now where is the wound?" she asked. Holding out her right hand for Yuri to take. The rune branded into her right glowed blue as she held it out. and with her left she reached into her cloak and pulled out a large rat clutching it tight as the branded rune glowed a deep blood red.

The whispers she heard seemed to drift around the room around her like ghosts. If Saito became uneasy she wouldnt blame him but the spirit seemed a strong one.
So strong in fact it might be a problem the longer the ritual lasted.
"He is the one..." "give us her soul as well.." "so cold.." many seemed to whisper drifting across her ear. "we are hungry. he will feed us." mixed with "many outside..ready to pounce.." she pushed those voices back. "When you take my hand ignore anything you hear please. it only encourages them.." she spoke slowly.

 

[Gilbert Goblinson]

Gilbert knocked on the open door before stepping into the open, and he waved at the people inside.

"Hello friends! Good morning to you! First off, I would like to apologize for any trouble my men may haver given you this fine morning. Believe me I will see to it that they are punished for their actions, and if you would like, you may partake to make sure they are given fair punishment to whatever degree you see fit. I ask though that if you could, in fact, find it in your hearts to forgive, and show mercy to these poor souls. You see they have lived hard lives where your kind seeing us has often meant their deaths." Gilbert shook his head solemnly as to enforce the tragedy of the situation, "I do hope you can see why these, honestly, good men have acted in such a violent manner. It was not out of any ill will towards you, but years of fear of your kind. Still, what they did was a transgression and I have come here, with several men unarmed to show we mean you no harm, to correct that transgression. Forgive me if the number I brought startled you, I just didn't want you to escape before I could right this wrong."

Gilbert clapped his hands together to show his happiness for being able to say his apology. With a large smile he moved on quickly,

"Now let us move away from such unhappy matters, please tell me all about yourselves. I was suspicious when I saw this empty town. Do you live here? Are there more of you? Does this village belong to someone? If so who? You see I, having though it abandoned, had begun repurposing it to create an outpost, and if it does in fact belong to someone I would wish to reimburse the owners, and create an embassy with them instead. I do not know what experience you have had with my kind upon this island, but we here do not wish to have sour relations if at all possible. If my kind has been a source of trouble, we would be willing to find them, and teach them to become civilized just as we have become. So what do you say?"

Gilbert gave them a warm smile with his jagged teeth, as he offered his hand forward.

 

[YuriTatsuki]

Having Saito moved away from the book the female had placed in front of her, Yuri was about to step forward when she heard something that seemed like whispers coming from the book. She guessed it were evil spirits that were captured inside of it, how they ended up there did not really matter to Yuri so she gave a slight shrug of her shoulders as she once again was about to step forward to have her thigh healed.

Instead of extending her hand to point toward the wound on her thigh she pointed to somewhere behind the female and spoke just one word "Goblin", Yuri's hand started giving off a soft white glow. Ready to cast a spell to attack the creature she had the glow fade from her hand as it spoke saying they meant no harm.
Saito who did not even care for the whispers coming from the spirits inside the book stepped up to the goblin "Well then goblin, if you really mean no harm. Why don't you have the lizard and puppy outside retreat, and let us leave after Lady Yuri's wound's been healed?". As he spoke he kept the female healer in mind not to miss any of her movements, he then said to Yuri "Why don't you have your thigh healed for now Milady? Given the situation we were in until this creature showed himself I'm sure she wouldn't mind doing it for free. If not I'd rather first hear what this payment of hers is all about".

Yuri nodded slightly "Are you sure the goblin can hear you though? It does not seem like a magical creature, want me to repeat to him what you just said?". The girl turned toward the female claiming to be a healer without waiting for an answer from Saito, instead of showing the wound she just smiled and waited for an answer to Saito's question about this payment the woman spoke about.

 

[Luna Slateforge]

"Goblin",
Luna tilted her head slightly to the side. Taking in the creature behind her in the doorway. He didnt seem hostile, nor did he appear armed. she figured if he was going to attack he would have much earlier when it wouldve been easier. The conversation continued but after seeing Saito had them covered in the event this guy turned on them Luna zoned it out as she slipped back into spell casting. She pasued as she heard the spirit speak.
"Given the situation we were in until this creature showed himself I'm sure she wouldn't mind doing it for free. If not I'd rather first hear what this payment of hers is all about".

"The price wont be yours to pay. but a price must be paid when cleansing possible curses and healing.but i do not require money it is simply. pain for pain. Life for life."

She said simply suddenly placing her hand to the wound. even through the bandages she felt warm as the glow grew brighter the warmth turned to a burning pain but as quickly as it rose to extremely painful it dissipated to a dull throb before subsiding to normal like nothing had happened.
The blood from the bandage drained and formed a pool in Luna's right hand before a small amount flowed to her left where the rat she held squealed in pain and turned to dust as the rest of her blood in her right hand evaporated in a small puff of red mist which the book seemed to suck into its open pages.

As soon as it had begun it was over as the book snapped shut and floated back into Luna's hands. she took a deep breath and exhaled the same black dust the rat had burst into with a cough and placed the book in a larger pocket in her quiver.
"There. now the only danger to your leg is yourself. " she said a flat dead tone that seemed to be the norm for her. Now that the ritual was complete she could turn her full attention to the newcomer. "I agree with Yuri. if you mean no harm, no harm will befall you. no need for friends.." she continued rising from where she sat and giving a slight wave. "I'm Luna."

 

[Elroy Linch]

Elroy waved off the ship's captain as the ship itself departed, leaving the pier. He then walked inland until he was on the actual island, opening the belt-bag hidden by his cloak, Elroy pulled out a sheet of paper, upon it was a picture of a goblin with a reward of 10 gold coins, while this was a high reward for a goblin, It was still a small bounty. The only reason Elroy accepted it was because a noble posted it, and becoming acquaintances with a noble was a good thing. Looking down at the description the bounty read 'An upstart goblin ruler has started to build an army, while this isn't a real threat, such acts bring shame us nobles who happen to live close to their whereabouts, the target was last seen heading to Aerindale. Signed: Gregory Olsworth'. "Ridiculous" Elroy said to himself as he put the bounty back in his belt-bag and continued moving inland.

 

[Gilbert Goblinson]

Gilbert quickly realized something was amiss, the conversation seemed to carry more individuals that he could not perceive. He listened carefully, he seemed to be able to just hear the presence of whispers, but had no chance of making out anything from them, they were so faint he wondered if he was only imagining them.

"I am sorry, I am used to others introducing me. I am GIlbert, King of Dioltas, Leader of Monsters, The Red Fury. As such I apologies, but I must keep my personal guard. My safety is no longer just a matter of my wellbeing. Unfortunately there is no one I trust to take my place if I were to be harmed. There is a brilliant commander, but he trains the future soldiers, and no longer see him. I met a brilliant engineer, but he is always gone or tinkering in his workshop. Finally I met a diplomat, I really trusted and would have relied on this man, but he has been away on a diplomatic mission for so long I no longer know if he will ever come back. I fear that if any harm would come to me the next to take my place is King Lionman, and while he would be a great ruler, I fear that he does not share my dream, the dream Dioltas was founded on."

While Gilbert shared this though he did go to the door and order all those that surrounded the building to return to camp.

"Besides, I doubt I could get rid of these two short of striking them down. I hope you can accept that. If it makes you feel safer I can just stay standing in the doorway?

Now if you don't mind I really do want some answers if you'd please: Do you live here? Are there more of you? Does this village belong to someone? If so who? I don't wish to insult someone by harming their property!"

 

[YuriTatsuki]

Yuri looked at Luna with interest then turned towards the goblin who had just introduced himself as Gilbert "I personally do not mind a few spirits around me, I'm used to it after all. As for your questions, I do not think any of us live here.. at least not Sai and me". The little girl smiled then continued "As for others living here you'd have to ask Misses Luna.. but this settlement seems to have been abandoned for years".

Saito moved back again to stand next to Yuri then whispered to her but loud enough so others could hear "We should be leaving now Milady, dusk is approaching and we have yet to reach the forest to deliver this frost wolf to the witch living there. Although i still do not trust that person". He walked over to the dead body of the frost wolf and looked at it with disgust "You really want me to get in this overgrown cat and carry you over there?" He sighed already knowing the answer and entered the wolf's body.

To the others it would seem to be happening out of nowhere but Yuri just watched Saito posses the wolf's body and it suddenly started moving. He growled slightly out of displeasure then spoke to Yuri on a mental level "Well you'd better get on then, we're leaving". Letting out a small giggle at the sight of her guardian's displeasure she nodded and climbed on his back, she seemed like a ant compared to the giant thing. She turned her head towards Luna and Gilbert then waved them goodbye "Buh bye for now, maybe we will meet again sometime. Do with the settlement as you please i guess". Yuri hadn't even finished her words completely and Saito started walking, hopefully Gilbert's underlings would just let them leave like that.
As they left through the door of the building they could hear Yuri speak to the wolf "A wolf is more of a dog by the way". There was another growl coming from the beast as answer to her teasing.

They arrived late in the evening at the edge of the western woods and set up camp there for the night

 

[Quoril]

Quoril had spent the remainder of the morning and early afternoon fishing and gathering materials. He was a bit annoyed as he had only found enough ingredients to make a few health potions, but he supposed it was better than nothing.

The elf decided to return to camp and test the new sword he had found. As he drew the sword he shook slightly as it consumed some of his life energy. Using it for an extended period of time would clearly take some training. His swings were clumsy at first as it had been a while since he had used any kind of real weaponry. After only using makeshift elemental daggers formed from the materials immediately around him, getting used to a much longer blade was going to be a bit of a challenge. Eventually, Quoril got to the point where he could swing the sword with precision. The blade had taken a couple of minor nicks from being swung into trees and such, but the alchemist figured he could get it repaired at a town somewhere on this island. Feeling drained from exhaustion and the weapon feeding off his energy, Quoril sat down to have a hearty feast of roasted fish and berries.

Having eaten, Quoril decided to depart and keep heading south. Exiting the forest that surrounded the abandoned village, he encountered plains that appeared to stretch for a fair distance. The sky was starting to grow dark as he made his way across the plains, and night had almost fallen by the time he reached the border of the plains and another forest. Spying a faint glow emanating from within, the alchemist summoned a small electric ball in his hand and crept towards the light. What he saw was a young woman and a white wolf sitting near a campfire. The pair didn't seem to be dangerous so the elf decided to see if he could join them. Dispelling the electric ball, Quoril stepped into the firelight and said, “My name’s Quoril. Mind if I join you?”

 

[Paranth Lorum]

The musk was getting to him. Paranth's horse hadn't had a bath in several days and it was getting bad. He had taken to rubbing a scarf with scented oils and wrapping it around his face to stave off the odor. The scarf had been bartered for at a village on the mainland, the woman who made it was very nice. He looked up at the trees, peering through the thick foliage. There was scant an hour left in the day proper before nightfall.

He looked back at his carriage. Paranth had refitted it over the past two years with fixtures along the side to hold merchandise, the interior he had turned into a bedroom and mini-library. Underneath the carriage were slots that desks, chairs, and other equipment could be carefully stored in to maximize space. He sighed, for all that he had he hadn't managed a single sale since he'd arrived on this island. He needed some extra money to pay for food and paper, how was he supposed to take notes if he had nothing to write it on? The problem vexed him.

Ronald, his horse, huffed and rolled his head as they drifted into the forest. The lanterns that hung off of his wagon providing what little light they could. Paranth leaned forward and hushed the creature before he noticed the dim light lingering in the distance among the trees. He pulled off his oil scented scarf and drew in a breath, coughing at the mixed scent of horse musk and campfire smoke. He groaned, wiping a teary eye and rubbing his ribs. The smoky odor made his stomach growl.

"Suppose there's no helping it," He muttered, urging his carriage in the direction of the camp before raising his voice to be heard. He didn't believe for a moment that travellers this deep in a forest would want his company for the evening but he did not doubt they could use supplies. "Potions for the sick, spells for the weary, tools for the skilled, and toys for the cheery!" He sang, "Honest prices and good quality!"