Private Tales Into The Wilds

[Jorg]

"I KNOW!" Jorg yelled loudly as he drew back his sword and cut through the leg completely.

Strangely enough, the steel of the blade did not bubble or melt away even while completely covered in the Spiders blood.

Of course, just as he said the words the spider seemed to reel back, seemingly doing it's best to actually throw it's own acidic blood at him. A curse escaped his throat, and he had to roll across the ground in order to not get a face full.

Some splashed on his calf, eating the leathers there and quickly biting into his skin. "Shit."

He swore, though had no real time to worry about the wound before the Spiders other foreleg went to strike at him.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

She gasped, hazel eyes looking on as Jorg rolled out of the spider's way, though not entirely. With its focus on him though, it gave her a window of opportunity to make her move. With a break she sprinted toward the still burning coals of the fire, piping hot embers glowing like radiant gemstones.

In one quick motion her covered hand reached down, scooping up several of the coals that still had form, and flung them towards the abdomen of the arachnid. As they cut through the air she held out her arm and uttered a few words beneath her breath.

Just as the barrel had earlier, so too did the coals expand. Rather than small pebbles they became fist sized charges that, as they were just about to strike the spider, exploded into multiple radiant bursts of scorching heat intended to hopefully frighten the creature away.

 

[Jorg]

Explosions erupted beneath the spiders carapace, it squealed and shrieked in anger. The sound of it's clackering jaws erupted in the clearing.

Blood and broken shards of it's thickened flesh fell down from the creatures underbelly, but instead of running the beast suddenly turned all eight of it's eyes towards Gabrielle. It's gaze was fierce, and with a sudden lurch it launched itself forward.

Jorg let out a curse, and then rushed forward.

Before the creature struck out at his charge Jorg lashed out with his sword. The blade struck another of the creatures leg, cutting cleaning through and then doing the same to another. The beasts weight caught up with it, and suddenly the Spider went tumbling to one side.

It fell to the ground, skittering, reaching out towards Gabbrielle in a desperate attempt to attack and consume her. "Kressim."

Jorg said quietly, his voice more at ease now.

"These things never want to die." Almost lazily he walked around the now dying beast, stopping in front of it's head and stabbing his sword through it's skull.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

Gabby recoiled a bit at the sound of the blade piercing the creature's skull, followed by the slick slosh of wet, gooey matter within. The arachnid's life extinguished in that moment, lying still as the light from the mage's flare began to slowly wither above the trees.

"Thanks." She said, feeling the pounding of her heart ringing in her own ears. "Not exactly the wake-up call I was expecting." Her eyes drifted down to Jorg's leg, gesturing towards the injury.

"We should take care of that before it gets infected."

It wouldn't be good for either of them if her guide spent the next week limping about with a lame leg. Especially if he was intent on protecting the two of them throughout the course of the trip.

 

[Jorg]

He glanced down a this leg for a moment, pulling his sword free of the spiders body and slowly nodding his head.

"Neat bit of magic, that." Jorg said as he gestured towards the spider. "If you hadn't done it I would've been toast."

He was man enough to admit when something had caught him over his head. The Arachnid was called a Waywater Spider, though this one was larger than they usually grew. It was odd seeing it here, mostly because they tended to stick to rivers.

"Thank you." Jorg said.

Though as if by some ominous omen, the moment he did there was a flash of lightning above...and then it began to pour.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

She nodded, "Of course." Hazel eyes looked over at the spider one last time, just for reassurance that it wasn't going to suddenly get up again. "I've been caught in more than one tricky situation while making these kinds of excursions." Gabrielle smiled, motioning with her head for them to head beneath the cover of the tree as the rain began to fall.

"Though I won't pretend like you didn't do the real work there. I really just distracted it."

Reaching for her bag she removed the waterskin, a small, clean rag, a bandage, a small jar of honey, and a bit of ginger. "Sit." She instructed. "We'll have to clean the wound and dress it, otherwise it will get worse. Unfortunately I'm not quite familiar with healing magic, and I'd rather not test on you unless we really have no other choice."

Natural remedies would have to suffice for now.

 

[Jorg]

"Mm." Jorg grunted, clearly soured by the fact that he had just been soaked in the rain in an instant.

His head shook, and he moved beneath the tree, washing off his sword with the rain for a second before continuing.

"It was a good idea nonetheless." Jorg told her. "If we were anywhere but in the Wilds the thing would have run."

Unfortunately, the monsters within this jungle did not run. When they were threatened they tended to attack. Self preservation here was a chance at killing whatever was trying to eat you, a lesson many needed to learn.

Slowly, he moved himself over to a broken off piece of wood, extending his leg so the wound could be properly treated. "Should be alright after a little while, I've always healed fast."

A gift of the wolf.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

"It's going to hurt. Just keep still please."

She poured some of the water onto the clean rag and gently padded the site to clean off the dirt and debris around the area. Once done Gabby removed the lid of the jar containing the sticky sweet golden liquid. Taking a small wooden spreader she dipped it into the jar and proceeded to lightly cover the burn.

From there she placed a thin sheet of ginger onto the skin, using the honey as a bond before covering the job with a clean bandage, wrapped around the leg.

"There. Just don't scratch at it. It should start to heal in a few days."

At least for any normal person.

 

[Jorg]

Jorg let out a loud hiss, biting his tongue so he didn't make a yelp as she began to clean the wound.

What she did next though caused an eyebrow to shoot up. At first he was going to stop her, but then he remembered the powder. A frown touched his features, and he let her do as she pleased. "Sure you're not a nurse?"

He jested, inspecting the bandage for a second, frowning a moment as he tested how badly his leg would hurt when he moved.

When he found that it wasn't too bad, Jorg relaxed a little. Their schedule wouldn't change at the very least.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

"I just try to make sure I'm prepared for things." She explained to Jorg.

"I can't do everything with magic, so what I can't I supplement with old fashioned know how." Gabby began to pack away the items she had used to treat the wound. "I learned what sort of things are good for treating certain ailments and injuries from others I traveled with. Generally when it came time to need such information."

She smiled as she turned back to Jorg, "I'm no surgeon, but I can patch up cuts and burns with the right materials."

 

[Jorg]

"Well, you've already been more helpful than anyone else I've ever brought through the Wilds." Granted, most of the time he only did short trips between the Dwarf Holds and whatever fishing village someone had landed at.

One could make good money doing that, especially if it was a rich merchant trying to establish some sort of trade route.

"If it keeps going like this." Jorg joked. "I might ask you to marry me by the end of the trip."

His finger gently prodded at the bandage one more time, and then he gave a satisfied nod as he quickly stood up and gathered his things. Dawn would be coming soon, and despite the rain Jorg intended to keep them moving.

They had a schedule to keep to after all.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

Gabrielle let out a sort of awkward laugh. She presumed he was jesting but nonetheless the idea of marriage was so far in the back of her mind that the idea of it made her cringe. Her sister had gone that route, and it looked quite miserable, to be tied to one person, one location, permanently. No, not for her she thought.

"Perhaps I've earned a bit of my coin back then?" She said jokingly, "If I'm doing some of the work and all."

A smirk drew across her face as she too began to collect her belongings, following suit with Jorg. The rain might slow them, if it came down too heavily. Flooded paths or downed trees from intense rainwater could force them onto less traveled routes. Hopefully not, but they were at the mercy of nature.

 

[Jorg]

This time it was Jorg who broke out into a laugh, though his was genuine.

He laughed so hard in fact that he nearly found himself buckling over, catching himself only on the side of his horse as he struggled for breath. After longer than he should have, Jorg finally answered. "Tell you what."

The Mercenary started as he saddled his horse.

"Save my life twice more and I'll give you back the whole bag." It was a good little wager he thought.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

"I'm not much of a gambler," She said,

"But that's a wager I'll take. Not that I would be disappointed by losing, mind you. I much prefer the remainder of the trip go rather uneventfully in terms of giant hungry monsters out to kill us."

Gabrielle pulled on her boots, refilled their water supplies and shrunk the barrel back down to size before she climbed up onto the horse, securing her pack and gear, ready to continue on after the early start to the morning. Luckily their transportation hadn't run off during the spider attack. That would certainly have put a damper on their progress.

The rain was steadily falling now, momentary flashes of light lit up the sky and followed quickly by a low rumble. They were going to be wet today, but at least it would help with the heat some.

 

[Jorg]

"Well, I just hope the next one is smaller." Jorg had always found it better to wish for things that could actually be achieved.

A smirk was sent her way, and then they set off for the day.

It was a miserable day. The progress was slower, and by the time it reached mid-day it was clear that the rain wasn't going to let up any time soon. Jorg was soaked from head to two, even his mustache was utterly filled with water.

"Ever been through more miserable weather?" Jorg called out to his companion, deciding it was once again time for conversation. "I have to imagine Elbion is more pleasant than this."

As he spoke Jorg watched the trees, clearly far more paranoid now than he had been the day prior.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

Gabby's hair clung to her face and neck, soaked and dripping. Her shirt was drenched with water running off like a gutter down to her legs and off the leather of her boots to the ground below as they rode. She could feel water absorbed through even her socks by now, it was awful. The horse meanwhile didn't seem to mind all that much.

"Once got caught in a thundersnow storm. I'd venture to say that was perhaps worse. Subfreezing temperatures with the added bonus of both lightning and intense snowfall."

She found the rain to be more tolerable than the freezing cold. At least for traveling in.

"The rain is uncomfortable but at least we're not worried about freezing to death or being buried beneath the snow."

 

[Jorg]

"Fair." Jorg said, reaching up to scratch his chin."Where was that?"

Weather of the sort she spoke of was rare, at least out here in the West. He was not entirely sure if the same could be said for the east. "Sounds like the Spine."

Even thinking of the place sent a chill up his...spine.

The mountains were where he had been bitten. Abandoned by the Band of Mercenaries he'd been traveling with, Jorg had found himself alone, cornered, and eventually turned into a monster. He'd survived the ordeal, but never to be the same.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

"An expedition with the intention of reaching Belgrath." There wasn't much joy in her words, "It didn't go well. In fact, we never made it much past the base of the mountain." Gabrielle paused for a few moments, it was her biggest failure to date.

"The trek was cursed from the start. Our guide fell ill, then the weather crept in and forced us to take shelter. But it only grew worse. It was as if the gods themselves demanded we turn back. Most of our supplies, and two of our crew got lost in an avalanche during the worst of the weather. We never found them." She sighed,

"Four days in, having made almost no vertical progress we turned back."

 

[Jorg]

He shook his head. "I'm sorry to hear that."

In his own experience, the way to Belgrath was not to go over the mountains, but beneath them. He kept that to himself though, not because it was some sort of secret, but because saying it seemed rather insensitive at the moment.

"The Spine is harsh." Jorg said with a shake of his head. "The weather itself is a monster there."

Not to mention the wolves. "I think I prefer the giant spiders, If I'm honest."

He had not returned to the Spine since he'd left. The memories there still haunted him, and going back seemed...terrifying. His hands gripped the reins of his horse a bit tighter, lightning flashing above them.

"Do you need a rest?" He asked her.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

She nodded. "I wouldn't soon go back, myself." Despite the supposed beauty of Belgrath, and the history behind it, the memory of the attempt to reach it was still too fresh and painful to consider another expedition.

"No, I'd prefer we continue on until the rain lets up or nightfall, whichever comes first."

Stopping to rest would be nice if she could at least dry off some of her clothing, but if they were stopping just to continue getting rained on it would only cost them time. Not to mention staying put meant an easy target for other, hungrier monsters.

 

[Jorg]

Jorg nodded his head. "Onward we go then."

The rest of the day was filled with much of the same as before. Every now and again Jorg would strike up a conversation of Gabrielle would, but most of the time both of them just sat in the misery of the rain together.

Eventually though, after what seemed like hours, the rain finally stopped.

At first it slowed to a drizzle, slowly falling off, and then the clouds up above began to disperse. Jorg tilted his head up, watching suspiciously for a few moments before he finally let out a loud sigh.

"Fucking finally." The exclamation was one of utter elation. "Think we can stop now."

And start a bloody fire.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

Gabby nodded approvingly. At the very least she could empty her boots and ring out her soaked through clothing. Her hair was a matted disaster. Even the horses at this point seemed to welcome the break. She climbed down, gently patting the steed on the side as a thank you for enduring the weather.

"Ugh." She groaned. That wet, squishy feeling of stepping in wet boots. It was the worst feeling. The engineer sat herself on a nearby rock and pulled her feet free, quite literally pouring a bit of water from each boot before setting them down in the breaking sun, followed by her socks. Hopefully they would dry up a bit before they had to make off once more.

Both shirt and pants were equally as wet, soaked through to her underclothes. She sighed, then stretched out across the large rock to take in some of the warmth from the sun. She would wait until nightfall to change further. Not worth putting on fresh clothing only to potentially get wet again.

 

[Jorg]

Jorg, on the other hand, stripped down as freely as a child about to jump into a pool.

The heavy chainmail went first, and then his trousers, and then his undershirt. All of it was tossed over nearby branches, hung up in a surprisingly organized way until all that was left were his small clothes.

That was when he stopped, glancing over at his charge for a second. "Do you mind?"

He didn't want to offend her.

Back in Mallian this sort of thing was normal. Public baths were open to both men and women, nudity was more than common even on the streets. The Heat made that a necessity. He knew though that Western cities were a tad more...prudish about this sort of thing.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

"Hmm?"

She looked up to see what Jorg was asking. That was when she noticed he'd just about stripped bare, and his hands were already about ready to remove what little modesty remained. Her face instantly went red. Her cheeks felt warm.

"I..."

She turned her head to look at the trees, the sky, anything else.

Swallowing the knot in her throat she finally spoke up.

"Oh--Go ahead."

Nobody she knew was quite that bold.

 

[Jorg]

Excellent.

It seemed that Gabrielle was a bit more outgoing that most Westerners. He couldn't help but appreciate that fact. She really was the most tolerable of the clientele he had so far taken through the Wilds.

Not second guessing her answer for even a second Jorg stripped off his small clothes and quickly proceeded to hang them over the same lines as the rest of his clothing. His skin already felt better, torn away from the soaked cloth.

"I'll start a fire." The Mercenary declared chirpily, setting about quickly gathering some dried wood.

It was difficult given the storm, but luckily the Jungle held many patches of refuge from the rain. It took him almost ten minutes, but he eventually found enough tinder to at least start a fire.

All the while he strutted around entirely nude. Apparently not even knowing the word modesty.