Quest Loot runners #6 We found a darker place

[Raigryn Vayd]

You find yourself in a a patch of barren ground in an eerily silent forest. All around piece of glass have been attached to the trunks of thick trees. They reflect what little light reaches these depths. It was morning when you entered this forest and yet the canopy is so thick it is almost as dark as night. You might wonder if the light of Arethil's two moons would even reach this place at night.

The shards of glass light up. The wizard's face appears. Grangomelle peers at the group of loot runners from all angles.

"Ah there you all are. Change of business today. I can't explain exactly what you may find today because I did not place the artefacts in these woods. I did in fact detect them with a very complicated spell. I sent some acolytes to retrieve them. That was...some days ago. If you find their remains I would be grateful if they could receive a proper burial..."

The reason that the wizard was not here in person was now remarkably obvious. A shrill cry rings out. No birds shake the canopy in response.

"Anyway...There are four items and I know a little of the land. Return the items to me for a quick study and you may then keep them.

"To the north is a narrow ravine. It is a tricky climb down. You're looking for a small wooden carving. I'm afraid a great deal of harpies have claimed those cliffs for their nests."



"To the east is the thickest forest. Vines and brambles that grow thick. It is said a Leshy or two inhabits the area. There is a heavy tome in these thickets amongst the bones of long dead dwarves."




"To the west is open ground. Vampires are wretched creatures, but these are thralls. Mindless creatures that the disease did not fully take. They know only hunger. One of them carries a flask around the neck. You may see a spirit floating within. I suggest you do not open it until I have ascertained it's purpose."




"To the south you will find bizarre shapes formed of twisted branches. They almost resemble men. I have not been able to scry any dangers but...well...something made those figures and they change every night. Seek out an old wooden doll in a hollowed out tree*



"And as usual, the grand prize*. To my choice will go my spirit lamp. All magic has a cost. If you whisper a secret you have never told another its light will show you the recently deceased so perhaps you can hear their secrets in return."


Info:

• Don't wait for DM posts. I won't be doing that. The introduction has outlined the challenges ahead and writers are expected to play them out. If anything I might throw a few new twists in along the way
• This is a quick write format. In your pairs you can posts back and forth as quickly as you want to try and reach loot
• To obtain items you can rush to them, wait to mug those who took them on the way out, or come up with new ways to find them. All I ask is that you give the challenges ahead of you some respect in your writing
• Teams of 1-3.
• Head you post with which island.
• Use PMs or discord to discuss the thread as much as you wish
• This one has a distinct horror theme. I'd appreciate people not breaking it by bringing dragons or gods.
• *open to interpretation as to the danger
• *this time I'm going to go with best horror vibes.

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

(thread unlocked)

 

[Smiling One]

East

"Ah shit here we go again."

Why does Willis always find himself in these treasure hunting adventures? While he doesn't mind exploring new lands, Willis did not like it when he was pulled randomly into unknown lands conversing with the same damn Wizard who gave them some backstory of the blighted lands and the treasure that was hidden in each one of them and the monsters who guarded them. While the unknown Wizard continued to talk, Willis crossed his arms remembering where he was before he was "chosen" to undertake this task.

He was on his way to his rental room after a couple of drinks at the Hanged Man until Azulian randomly ran up to him worried as usual that Willis would eventually have liver problems and probably contracted a disease from one of the Tavern ladies. The young man snorted to Azulian's nagging, the women working the night shift were middle aged with sagging breasts. They were fun to talk and flirt with but nothing else, however Azulian just kept on nagging wanting to give Willis a physical check up.

It got so bad that the last words Willis said before being swept were: "Hold your tongue! Or I will rip it out of you and strangle you with it!"

Oh what a lovely phrase to say to a friend, Willis was certain that Azulian will hold it over him for the rest of the search. Honestly hearing Azulian's nagging just became Willis' new version of Hell. "Right Azulian," Willis said attempting to see through the fog and nearly tripping on a loose branch. "I suppose you don't have any spells that light our way through this fog? Otherwise, our first priority is finding a light source."

Azulian may be a nag, but she is a professional Monster Hunter just like Willis. Where there's Monsters, there are Monster Hunters ready to take them on in case they try to cause harm and given the Wizard's words, they're not ones to sit down and converse over an afternoon tea. He and the red headed Elf will set their differences aside for a common goal: getting the fuck out of here.

 

[Azulian]

Azulian looks around in the fog then sighs, "Maybe, it depends on if this fog has some light-blocking enchantment on it." The healer holds her hands together and then lifts on towards the sky and a ball of light floats above them illuminating the area.

"Okay let's go." She tells Willis lowering her hand and walking ahead. That tome was something she wouldn't mind having if it allowed her to do more magic in the long run.

EAST

 

[Smiling One]

East

Willis frowned observing the surrounding forest, "this fog seems natural and not magically enhanced pretty doubtful that the fog will block it." There were a few tell tale signs to tell from a natural formation say: fire then one that is magically summoned. The most obvious one is that things formed by magic tend to be more flashy though there were some Monsters that can summon weather naturally like a Leshen.

Azulian summoned a ball of light as it began to float up in the air illuminating their surroundings. Willis blinked looking down and seeing the bones of what appeared to Dwarves along with their rusted armor. "It takes centuries for Dwarven armor to rust," Willis said careful to avoid the Dwaves bones. "This has to go back to at least the Age of Expansion."

 

[Azulian]

“My grandma told me a lot about that time, from her mom. They were alive for it because magic and all that.” Azulian replies contemplating on weather or not to burn the bones to ash, “Willis should we burn the bones? Their spirits may yet haunt this place.” She asks him doing so if he said she could. But otherwise she would simply keep up with the human as they made their way.

As few times she would take a few steps away from the dead and others she would look around for any signs of danger.

East

 

[Smiling One]

East

Willis blood ran cold, he hadn't thought of that. Ghosts were sometimes formed when the bones of an individual are not laid to rest. Those kinds of Ghosts tended to attack in a blind rage mostly due to the shock of still being in Arethril and enduring the trauma of their death. A good way to disperse a Ghost was to bury or burn their bones or kill them with a silver or magic. "They're too many corpses," Willis said observing the field. "And the bones are everywhere you're gonna need to burn every bone to get rid of a spirit."

The forest was mostly quiet which kept Willis on edge. "This is the quietest forest I've been in," he muttered. "That or I have a feeling that a Leshen is watching us."

 

[Farzad Oldsummer]

South​

A tiny fire pit spewed embers and smoke, colliding and clashing with the cavern's leaky overhead roof. He was like a signal in the darkness to adventure as he scanned from out of the cusp of his forgery of a camp, his fingers like a telescope. In a strange sense they were. He rolled his hand and he zoomed in, looking through the myriad of the dead and damned that wandered the plains. "Toot... Toot ta toot..." He spoke with mottled tones, boredom laced his face as he turned on a heel to attend his flame a large flank of meat cooked and steamed with sizzling spices. He adjusted his lantern, the depths of the cavern slightly illuminated. "Wonder when this is going to start..." He spoke at just the right moment as a looming voice boomed overhead, the world turning small to the voice of a Janus-faced god.

He kicked at his plate, the dish flipping up high as he caught the flank of meat in his mouth and tried to chew at it. A little too large, a little too fat, and salt and pepper a little too strong of a spice. He grabbed it with his spare hand, doing a careful dance of hot potato as he came to the mouth of the cave, emerging like a tongue of colour as the light illuminated behind him. He still danced the meat in his hand, taking the odd bite as he mumbled and complained.

 

[Brock]

NORTH

The air down here was deathly still. Brok felt a shiver run up his spine that was not brought on by any chill breeze. He was afraid.

It had seemed such a good idea. He had been laughed out of Elbion, none willing to take a young orc as a squire. Determined to find renown of his own he had set out. Vic the tanner had cured some leathers for him. His mother had pulled her old short sword out from under the floorboards. It was too small for him.

They had tirelessly worked off the rust and honed its edge. They had made a wooden shield and Brok had painted the crest of a dragon's head across it, mostly because they could only find red paint. As a boy he had watched the Knights pass through the streets and been entranced by their heraldry.

Perhaps, he thought to himself, he should have started with some minor act of bravery. Some roadside thieves would have been a fair challenge. Word of this competition had spread far and wide, he had though to circumvent hard work with one great deed. Now he was here, in this dark place chasing seemingly worthless items, it seemed an idiotic plan.

Brok sighed and turned North. One advantage he had was an almost encyclopedic knowledge of tales of monsters. Harpies were not brave. If they were not hungry and he found a way to avoid their nests they might completely leave him alone.


OOC/ open to partner up with anyone!

 

[Alexios Marxan]

WEST

There was a chance to claim some truly impressive items if the stories about this kind of test were true. He had signed up to participate with a partner who also appreciated the finer things in life like money, presige, money and fame. The fact that said partner wasn't human didn't faze him all too much.

What did faze him slightly was the large empty plains ahead of them that seemed to be filled with nothing but the most dense fog he had ever seen in his life. Considering he had grown up in a coastal city that said a lot about how dense it was.

Pea soup could take notes of impenetrable thickness from this damned fog.

His right hand held a bright, flickering, flame that illuminated and broke through the fog around them but only by about ten feet in a circle around him. Tugging at the reigns of his horse he sighed as he started forward.

"Come on then - let's see if we can find something to kill." he muttered with a grunt, "I miss the days when the things I thought were just humans and the occasional orc."

Though after a dragon the size of a city, he supposed even a mass of maddened vampires was less weird.

ChrisTheBarker

 

[Trovik Half-horn]

WEST

Trovik had heard there was some fancy-schmancy wizard that occasionally asked people like him to fetch some magical baubles for him to study or some other magical bullshit he didn't care about. all he knew is that they could either useful or valuable and that's all he needed to hear.

His 'partner' was a human, he was a bit disappointed he would have preferred something a bit tougher like an orc or another minotaur but still, there was an upside to it, if the human died he didn't have to share the loot, which was a nice consolation prize.

"If you've only fought humans and orc before it must have been boring" he snorted in amusement, his clan had to fend off various beats that inhabited steppe to protect their herds, he was used to fighting a variety of opponents but yet to fight vampires

He followed parallel to the human allowing him to light the way through the fog with his magical flame, his sense try to scan the fog ahead for any movement or clue to what was out there.

Nefieslab

 

[Farzad Oldsummer]

South​

Farzad cracked his knuckles, stretching himself out with a pre-dungeon workout. A star jump, a push up and an attempt to rock climb the cave before falling flat on his ass. "Yeap. As mossy as ever." He clarified to no-one. Body feeling limber with a touch of pain to make him move just an air quicker as he returned to the cusp, pulling out a thin piece of parchment as he took one more look. "Right. Easy, in grab the vial, scroll and pop outta there." He muttered with a machiavellian grin. He had located the thrall. At least he assumed so, the jingling vial around it's neck was plain to see before his gaze swept across the field. He could see them. A group of to be dissapointed travelers. "Sorry boys, Farzad's taking this one home." He continued his inner monologue except more verbal and less internal yet still to the same audience. Slowly magic trickled on his scroll, flares and pops of colour raised and flared outwards, ancient markings eroded away at the darkness of the cave as a single brilliant light shone far in the distance.

Bel Ronader Maloardae
​

And like the brilliant flash that he had dissipated through, so too was he when he popped back into reality, swinging his quarterstaff over his shoulder with a nasty thud. An immovable thud. A... A tree in the plains? "W... Wait a moment?" He looked around confused for a moment, running the butt of his staff into the ground as he leant on it, a confused expression warping his face as he looked around. "Oh Eleth be damned. I'm in the goddamn forest!" Farzad proclaimed kicking up a pile of leaf litter and debris. "I don't even know which one... Does this one have the Leshy or..." He paused as he noticed it, in the darkness of brambles, in the coldness of the wind and in the thicket of growth and nature. A shadow. A shape. A figure stood in the distance. Farzad stared deep, longing and partially worried.

"Oh, wonderful. Now I've got to go find a hollowed stump. In a forest."​

 

[XoChitl]

North - Brock

In the rear of the departing group, perched upon a tree branch, crouched a shrouded, small, but colorful figure. Bright purple and blue feathers hung from its shoulders, and two large, seemingly furred ears pointed high from its head. Was it a bird? A flying fox? Had anyone taken a glance up, they might have even believed her to be a harpy. It was fortunate that they didn't.

Large, yellow eyes had dark vertical slits for pupils, glowing faintly in the dim light. Already figures were departing to the west, east, and the south in groups. XoChitl's lips gave a tight pinch. She had to avoid the groups - more than one person made things difficult to get past. The one to the South seemed to be interested in his food, but his stance and weapons indicated he was a warrior of some sort. To the North, only one broad figure decided to brave the harpies. He was big, bulky, but the armor he wore was too small for him and that sword he had was more of a dagger than a sword. By all accounts, he appeared lost, confused, unsure.

Perfect.

A wide grin cut across XoChitl's face, the light glinting across the small silver nose ring she wore. His brawn couldn't be missed. Large and loud in his movements, there were little tells to indicate that he would be the perfect bait for the Harpies. Perhaps, he would draw their attention and allow her the opportunity to move past towards the goal!

With this plan in mind, the Raev jumped into action. Deft as a fox and as silent an owl, XoChitl gave a quick glide down to the ground, where she landed with barely any discernable sound. While the abuse of magic had cursed her kind with the loss of their wings, they still maintained their predatory instincts and movements.

Ensuring keeping her distance, she followed the Half-Orc as he sludged his way forward.

 

[Zier Xya Zythos]

West

The wonders of Arethil never cease to confuse him. How the fuck did he get here? He just couldn't stop walking. Was this his insatiable call to adventure or the impalpable hand of magic guiding him here? He honestly doesn't know. Although, it's not the first time he's appeared in a random place. A glint of light caught his eye in the trees, which he found odd considering how it appears to be night here. Even the trees of Falwood aren't this thick.

He's relatively new to Loot runners and especially Grangomelle, so why he's been chosen for this glorified scavenger hunt is beyond him. Still though, he won't complain. This couldn't have been a better opportunity to put this new Monster Hunter job to the test! Plus, he'll get something out of it!

Traveling south, he wondered what he was truly in for; slaying a vampire and retrieving the flask from around it's neck seems like an easy challenge, and he's helped slay a vampire before. Can't be too difficult, right? Every strain is different, but hopefully it'll be along the same lines.

Walking through the fog, he saw the faint flicker of what looks to be a... torch? He squinted his eyes as he stepped forward, immediately stopping in his tracks when he heard someones voice, unable to fully understand his words. "Good or Evil!?!" He shouted out to Trovic Half-horn or Alexios Marxan, (though he currently doesn't know if there's two people or not) drawing his blade and awaiting a response. A simple call to discern threats.

 

[Brock]

NORTH

Brok was vaguely aware that he was being followed. He had assumed given the size of the group that there would be several heroes heading in each direction.

That was what Brok assumed they were: heroes. His naive mind didn't even slightly lean towards the truth: that he was in a pack of professional dungeon raiders, mercenaries and thieves. Certainly, he did not think he was worthy of offering his services to any of them.

Pausing, the orc drew his wooden shield from his back and strapped it to his arm. The metal band around the rim was poorly fitted and he nearly cut himself on the edge every time he used it. He drew his short sword too.

His kind had good eyesight in the dark, but it was hard to believe it could still be day. The light itself was reticent to strike out into these depths of the forest in clear beams. Instead just a lazy haze dribbled down. Brok glanced upwards only to get vertigo as he tried to consider how far the forest towered above him.

A shriek cut through the air. Brok stopped still. Nothing moved. For all the stories he had heard, no one explained the different noises a harpy could make.

 

[Alexios Marxan]

WEST

He was going to get a lot of shit from the Minotaur he could just tell but he wasn't going to let him get to him. The dude was here to be the muscle and they both knew it - Alexios was here as the mage mercenary enough to make this whole thing rather transactional and not some kind of quest for knowledge or whatever.

Still he couldn't help the small roll of his eyes.

"Boring tended to get me paid and into a whore before the day was done."

Simple pleasures he supposed.

Moving forward, for lack of any other direction in the deep fog and darkness, he grimaced a little bit as he had to tug at his horse's lead to keep it following them. Animals had better danger senses than most sentient species so it was a little bit worrying he would admit. Hearing someone call out to them he eyed the Minotaur with him for a minute before shrugging.

"Depends who's paying!" he shouted back, "But we're not here to drain people of blood so I guess we're not the biggest bastards around. Good enough or do we need to donate to registered charities to avoid throwing hands?"

If it came to throwing hands... his money was on the mino.

 

[XoChitl]

NORTH - Brock

As a being of extraordinary hearing, XoChitl could not help but jump and jerk at the sound of a shriek. Her large ears gave a twitch and independently turned towards the direction of the sound. It was a singular shriek. Was that a Harpy? It was hard to tell.

To be frank, she'd never really interacted with Harpies. But how bad could they be? Again, she gave a word of thanks that the big green guy decided to tackle them head-on and wander into the path first.

Tucking herself behind a thick tree trunk, the Raev pressed herself close to the rough bark. This area of the forest was thick with trees and brush. It was hard enough to see and distinguish her surroundings were it not for her depth-perception. Her vertical pupils enlarged, almost drowning out the gold of her irises as she did her best to see what was going on. Up ahead was the big guy, already pulling out his shield that seen better days and a sword that could be used as a toothpick.

With as much brawn on him he'd be far more tempting to sink ones teeth into than her hollow bones. One three-toed clawed foot carefully crept close. Eyes wide and glancing around. The wind made the branches and the leaves shift, casting shadows that could make anyone think there was something out there. Watching.

A shudder went down her spine. Chin up, girl! She told herself. Think of the money you can get for whatever loot there is at the end of this gig.

Of course, where XoChitl was watching, other pairs of eyes were peering down too. Up head, three shadows would blend amidst the trees, their sharp, black claws clinging to the rough, patchworked bark.

 

[Zaid Ardin]

Theme​

Zaid said nothing as he took in the instructions. This was his first time on one of these "dungeon raids" and while he didn't have experience in that regard, he hoped that many of his other skills would come in handy here.

He had no illusions about the nature of his situation. He was fairly confident that the people here would as soon slit his throat for the prize as look at him. He would operate under the assumption that every one of them was a selfish cutthroat until proven otherwise.

From the starting line everyone set out on their own in the various directions. They rushed into the fog and monsters, but Zaid stood still for a moment. He watched as various forms vanished into the mists before picking his direction.

North.​

The climbing would suit his talents well, and he had no doubts that the monsters in any direction would be dangerous.

As soon as he'd begun his journey away from the starting point, the fog seemed to envelope him. The sound was stifled, and there was a feeling of total isolation. Not loneliness, mind you, for even in the hugging mists it felt as though there was something following. But no matter how many time he looked behind him, there was nothing but empty fog. No, it was isolation from anything protective or kind. Isolation from anything good. As if the only thing that remained in this forsaken forest was evil that had been distilled into its purest form over the centuries.

His initial decision to work alone suddenly seemed like a poor one, and he would have killed to see another face - friendly or not - that could provide him with eyes in the back of his head. Even multiple lifetimes as an assassin wasn't enough for him to shake the feeling of being hunted that was now creeping up his spine as he walked.

VigiloConfido

 

[Farzad Oldsummer]

South
Goddamn. Bullshit.
​

Farzad scuttled through the forest of empty figures and towering treelines feeling like little more than a lost insect, vulnerable and small as he curled his body over a fallen tree branch. His quarterstaff pressed forward as his only solace in the darkness, his lantern hanging on an overhang stick to illuminate his vision ahead. It was puttering out and that figure kept following him. "Do you want to stop following me? Maybe go do something productive. Like maybe, anything else?" He asked in the distance. The thing made no noise, its form seemingly like omni-serpents, rolling around and over anything in their way no matter how awkward it should've been. "No I guess not. Why would I expect anything else." On the occasion he'd have to speed up, the figure never did seem to speed up to keep pace though. Moving at the same, lackadaisical but unstoppable pace.

He continued as deadstraight as he could while navigating a forest, the darkness was all encompassing, and his vision blurred as he had to stop at each and every fallen over tree for the hollowed out doll. "Grangomelle" Farzad aspouted loudly as he saw one of the tiny flimsy crystal shards embedded on the ground. It was strange, normally they hovered. He bent over to pick it up, turning around to look at the branching forms. "This is all sorts of crap. You put a doll, in a hollowed out tree. IN A FOREST!" Farzad scream echoed through the forest, if this was a normal forest, one might have heard the shuttering of birds screech and breach the treeline. Maybe even the crawl of insects. "How am I meant to find a magic doll in a f... forest..." Farzad pocketed the gemstone crystal neatly into one of his many pouches.

He returned to his stroll, tinkering with the lantern and adding a new pint of oil as he walked along and still using his quarterstaff to navigate everything out of his way. And in this case, it seemingly was everything. From tree's, to fallen over trees, to still growing tree's and to little trees growing out the side of the other obnoxious too many tree's.

"Farzad."

"Yes Farzad?"​

"Are we Farzad not a wizard?"

"Why yes Farzad, I believe we are a wizard."​

"That's interesting. Do we have any magic on hand by chance Farzad?"

"We do Farzad, why do you ask?"​

"Just thought Farzad. Maybe because we could use that magic to scry it's location?"

"Why Farzad what a novel Idea."​

"Thank you Farzad. I couldn't agree more with such an assessment."

He monologues to himself, he turned around once and the branching was gone. "Huh. Maybe it took my advice." He said as he slowly felt it. Creeping. Cold. Calculating. It was nothing more than reaction as his quarterstaff snapped downwards and he thrusted his everything into it's motion, throwing himself back a few feet as he rotated the quarterstaff into a combat stance. His legs were pointed, both hands now sat comfortably at two-third's from the butt of each end, longways down his body as a dark sweat formed on his brow. On his everything.

That thing absorbed all the light of his lantern. The ground illuminated but the figure was black. The green softness of the leaves were like a vibrant storm of pigments compared to that branching. Farzad's breath was heavy, the thing's... Arm? Ligament? Limb? He wasn't sure just yet. But it was outstretched, it may have been a little off from his face, but it was too close for comfort. And far too close. Slowly it's arm rescinded and Farzad started his pacing again, this time eye's locked on the creature as he ran his finger through his cloth for a magic compass in it's literal sense.

 

[Azulian]

Smiling One
East!
“Aye, this is erie type of silence. Even im supposedly haunted woods animals are still active, even if it is a frog or a bug.”

Azulian takes a deep breath and sighs, “I just hope we don’t meet this leshen. Im not fond of fighting them since some of my magic is not as strong against them.” The elflooks at all the bones,

“Do you think they were after what we are after?”

 

[Smiling One]

East

Willis had a lot of experience fighting Leshens, considering that he does most of his contracts in the forests Leshens were fairly common. For some villagers, Leshens were Gods of the forest capable of summoning its inhabitants to attack on a whim. The reality was that a Leshen had a powerful mind control spell which worked on simpler animals like Wolves though more powerful Leshens can control creatures such as a Cockatrice.

"They shouldn't be too hard to kill," Willis said placing his hand on the hilt of his Cutlass. "Just hit them with a fire spell and they should retreat."

Azulian although she was a Monster Hunter didn't do too many contracts due to her being a healer. The red headed Elf was often at safehouses tending to the Monster Hunter's wounds. "Leshens don't often guard treasures or anything specific like that," Willis said. "They often mark their territory in the forest and patrol there."

 

[Trovik Half-horn]

WEST

Trovik nodded to the human's point he couldn't really argue against it, it was a really good point, he too liked a good fuck after fight the thought that perhaps this human wasn't so bad crossed his mind.

His grip tightened around his the hilt of his rhomphaia as he heard a voice call out to them, he also glanced at the human he didn't think either of them expected to hear another person out here in the fog. He let human reply since he seemed to have a way with words that he didn't.

Trovik's attention went to their surrounding, he chuckled at the man's joke but it was cut short when he saw a roughly humanoid-shaped shadow in the fog but soon as he blinked it was gone, an anxious huff escaped him. he got a distinct feeling they were being watched and he didn't like it.

Nefieslab Zier Xya Zythos

 

[Zier Xya Zythos]

Little was heard by them, but he did hear Paid and Whore, which wasn't hard to connect. Obscured in the fog, he took a few, quiet steps towards the pair.

"Depends who's paying!"

A sell sword? At least that's what he assumes. He hasn't met one before. Least it isn't a fuckin' Dreadlord.

"But we're not here to drain people of blood so I guess we're not the biggest bastards around. Good enough or do we need to donate to registered charities to avoid throwing hands?"

He wouldn't mind the charity donations but, "Yeah, it's good enough." Hopefully now they know where they stand, and there shouldn't be an issue. I guess I'm heading for the same object as you," He said as he cautiously made his way around their side, ready to run past them if things went south. "You got partners? We'll probably have to end up throwing hands anyway if you got two with you." Unfortunate but true. Although he certainly won't win with a three on one.

Trovik Half-horn

 

[Brock]

NORTH

Brok stood very still. He could see the shapes in the dark. They weren't as big as the stories told. From the looks of them they were smaller than a man.

One of them unfurled its wings. A shadow as wide as two men were tall. Brok wondered if they had seen him.

The answer came when the closest harpy dove towards him from the trees. He lifted his shield to defend his head.

The harpy wrapped its talons around the upper rim of his shield. Its weight nearly toppled him. Then, with a beat of its wings, it lifted him clear from the ground.

The harpy couldn't carry anything as heavy as Brok and released him immediately. He went tumbling to his back.

The other two harpies leapt from their perch and dove for him.

 

[Alexios Marxan]

WEST

Looked like the mino had a sense of humor! He knew he liked him for some reason. Aside from the back that if he annoyed him he was ninety percent sure that Trovik could rip his spine out with his bare hands if he pissed him off enough.

Also he was ready to use the fire not as a torch but rather as a bolt of fire if things took a shift sideways.

He blinked once at the elf as he strode into the area of the light. Shrugging a little bit, he made a show of looking around him.

"Unless the horse counts as a third then it's just the two of us." he admitted, grimacing as they were all forced to get closer to avoid being swallowed by the fog, "Fuck us over and my friend the Minotaur here will rip off your legs and shove them down your throat until you can scratch your nose with your toes."

He... didn't really care about the elf right now.

His horse was acting up and there were currents of wind through the fog. Already he could feel the phantom sensation around his neck of the noose settling in.

"... they're coming."

Zier Xya Zythos Trovik Half-horn