Dreadlords The Lost Ones

[Davi]

Night had drawn across the sky in her midnight chariot, her dress trailing sparkling stars across the sky, by the time that Davi reappeared by the Initiate's fire. Within his mouth was a plump though small looking mountain goat which he dropped beside the fire. He'd been unsure whether the group would have had the energy to get something to eat after the ordeal and the scent of the goat had been too much to resist when he had smelt it was hurt.

The wolf them promptly collapsed next to the fire himself, too exhausted to use his magic to change his full form back. He had run for what had felt like miles there and back and tracked the scent of the horses and men who had taken the ambassador. He'd found them but it would take an age for the group to catch up with them without horses.

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

After all the healing and all the running, Drast could say he was very tired. And he would lay on his back, hands behind his head as he looked up to the stars. With how dark it was and how dark his clothing was, he was barely visible to the naked eye.

He welcomed the rest. As they waited, he would check on Ralene's injury, applying more of the paste as needed, but for the most part, it seemed to be working. Kinda.

There was one person on his mind. One. And he was intent on getting back to them. One hand would move from its place behind his head and casually tap along the pack that held Rupert, whistling lowly to himself.

Eventually the grasses would shift and break under the arrival of Barkolomew, that was his secret nickname for Davi, at least now. So when the wolf collapsed beside the fire in exhaustion, Drast would roll with a yawn and take a bowl from his pack and his waterskin and pour the goodest boy a drink, before setting it beside his snoot. "Here Davi." He would muse before tucking the waterskin away. "Spirits, anyone?" He asked, pulling his flask free.

Edric Ralene Davi

 

[Edric]

"Don't worry." He told Ralene quietly, crouching besides her. "I'm pretty sure I can eat your soul before he brings it back."

From his face, it was hard to tell if he was being serious.

Edric himself still didn't quite understand just what it was that his magic took. Life. The soul. Something more intrinsic to the body. The Proctors had tried to find out, experimented. One had even tried using Chasmine, though without her knowledge as to what she was doing, to try and figure it out.

None had been successful.

It had gotten to the point where Edric simply didn't think about it. The mystery was one he wouldn't solve, least not any time soon.

When Davi returned and plopped himself down onto the ground Edric stepped over towards him. He glanced at Drastus as he offered a flash, head shaking. "No."

A hand reached out, touching Davi. That same trickle of life flowed from him as before, giving the other Initiate just enough strength to do what he needed.

"None of us can speak Dog, Davi." He said. "Unless you feel like scratching us a message in the ground."

They'd sent him out for a reason after all.

Davi | Ralene | Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Samantha Black]

That was not reassuring at all, but Ral didn't have quite the spirit to send back a quick retort on the matter. As soon as Edric drifted from her side, she loosed a wavering breath and decided that spending any effort being concerned over the state of herself after death was not a terribly good use of the energy he'd given her. Instead, she let her eyes shut to rest. Ralene quickly fell asleep leaning back against the tree and did not wake when Davi returned some time later.

 

[Davi]

If wolves could glare, a glare would be issued at the bowl being placed by his nose and a deeper one directed at Edric for his quip. The young initiate was still grappling with the 'otherness' of his powers and these little gestures only heaped upon him more insecurities and internal struggles as he tried to align what he could do with what he had been taught his entire like; that it was wrong.

Eventually his body shifted and morphed back into the shape of a boy sat on his hunches. Even with the energy given to him he looked like shit. He didn't hesitate to pick up the bowl and drain the contents before holding a hand out towards the offered flask. Once he'd wet his lips with something stronger he ran a hand through his curls and begun his report.

"They're at least 50 miles ahead of us. They've stopped at a small village to change their horses - from what I could gather they had them stabled there already for them. This has been carefully planned," which only confirmed their suspicions with the rune work at the portal.

"We're going to need horses to keep up, with fresh mounts they could easily do another 50 miles tomorrow," and whilst they were on foot they'd be lucky to do 25.

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drast would take his flask back from Davi before taking another pull and tucking it away.

Fifty miles. At their current pace, they would have to buy several horses at the village and ride each one til they died from exhaustion to even come close to catching up.

"Davi... you see any large bones between here and there? I have an idea that's a long shot. But if it pays off.. we might be able to catch them." He would push himself to his feet. If they could find the bones of any sort of beast, preferably a dragon, they could at least.. close some of that distance. He'd never tried anything that big before, so he would definitely need Ruperts help for it.

Edric Ralene Davi

 

[Edric]

Fifty miles? Fuck.

With Ral in tow in the state she was in they'd be lucky to do fifteen, much less twenty five. Lips thinned for a moment as he considered the state of his companions, looking to each one in turn. A long breath dragged into his chest.

It was looking like they would fail, fall short, and then Drastus spoke.

Edric's gaze almost immediately flickered towards him, lips thinning. He knew enough about the Initiate's magic to guess at what he was thinking. It was a grim thought, but also perhaps their only way of catching up to whomever was running from them.

He glanced over towards Davi.

Hopeful.

If he said no, if they had to keep going. The only way was to take something from the next village...and he would probably have to carry Ral.

 

[Samantha Black]

Ral slept.

 

[Davi]

Davi tugged his knees to his chest and stared into the fire. The energy Edric had given him was beginning to wane now the initial shot had worn off and he knew sleep was hovering like a dark cloud on the horizon. Sleep they didn't really have time for him to take but he would need it nevertheless. Even if it was just a few hours.

His eyes were beginning to drift when Drast asked his question.

"Bones?" he repeated as if not quite understanding. His tired brain took a few moments to tick it over before realisation dawned and he thought about it some more. "I was more focused on the hu-- mission," he pressed his lips into a thin line. "I didn't pay much attention to bones. But I did smell a rotting mammoth carcass a few 30 miles from here."

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drast would grin slowly. What better than for the Inked Elephant to ride after their quarry on a re-animated mammoth. Better yet, a nimble mammoth could walk around one hundred and thirty miles a day.. dead, even half that would be good. Better yet? It didn't need to rest.

"Thirty miles, yeah?" Fifty miles was surely the closest town so there was no point in asking that. It was a long shot, but it was hope. "Edric, juice me up to the max. You guys rest for a few hours, Ral and Davi need it, then head to catch up to me. Once I have it active, I'll double back for you guys, maybe meet halfway. I'll bring Rupert with me, so don't worry about protection."

He would crouch back near his pack and remove some more wraps and some of the last bits of the paste. "Before you guys leave, add moisture to the paste and change her wraps."

The hunt was back on. He just had to make it to the mammoth.

Edric Ralene Davi

 

[Edric]

Edric considered for a few moments, and then nodded his head.

Drastus and his...creations were the best shot they had to get where they needed to go. These people were simply outpacing them, and even if they stopped at the village up ahead it would be days before the Initiaties could even hope to catch up.

With a grunt he stood, stepping over towards Drastus and laying a hand on his shoulder. The boy would feel a sudden jolt. Stolen life and energy flowing into his body as Edric allowed his reserve to flicker and falter. By the time he was finished Edric fell down onto his rump.

"Go." He grunted in discomfort. "I'll see to Ral."

A frown pulled at his face. And maybe Davi.

Edric thought to himself as he looked at the state of the other Initiate. It seemed as though he were about to pass out.

"I'll make sure we meet you half way." He told Drastus, cementing it in place, even if he had to carry the other two.

 

[Davi]

As Drast ambled off into the darkness along a hastily sketched out map Davi had managed to cobble together, the young initiate stretched and finally allowed himself to flop back into the grass. He could practically feel Edric's eagerness to be off on the hunt after their comrade.

"They've stopped for the night Edric," he murmured as he pulled his scarf from around his neck and pillowed it behind his head. His eyes, already closed, caused his eyelashes to through long shadows over the sharp cut of his cheekbones. He looked entirely at peace - a stark contrast to the situation the group found themselves in. "We at least have a few hours. I just need two and I'll be good to go," that was what most of them had trained to survive on.

Perhaps he'd have enough energy to shift into something that could carry Ral if she was still comatose when he woke.

 

[Samantha Black]

She slept.

She didn't know how long she slept, but Edric finally roused her to change the bandage. Felt like a fever dream she couldn't quite recall. She'd been lucid and responsive, but the entire ordeal and any conversation slipped immediately from memory. Ralene couldn't say when the party decided to depart, nor could she remember forcefully declining help to walk.

Couldn't remember the journey back out into the wilderness that left their little campsite behind. The agonizing trudging through the smog of internal fire that continued to spread. Or getting another dose of energy from Ed. Or telling Davi she liked his wolf form and hoped he'd start using it more often.

Or happening upon Drast and whatever amalgamation of bones he'd bewitched to do his bidding.

Edric Davi Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

For years to come, Drast would retell this story in a manner that depicted him running endlessly, making his mark for the greater good.

That simply would not be true. He would run about eight miles, well out of their sightlines and take about eight minutes to summon Rupert. Then, he would ride on Ruperts shoulders as his trusty companion ran the rest of the way. Rupert didn't get tired, Drastus did. So it was only a purely sensical option. And better yet, Rupert made damn good time.

Two hours was all it would take Rupert, the rest of them would take three or four depending on Ralene. Luckily for them, it would take a fully energized Drast ten minutes to re-animate his spirit animal, who would be able to make it to them in about an hour.. or less. Thankfully, he didn't happen upon any enemies or predators. It was.. just a little disappointing.

So.. about three hours after he left, the trio would see the haunting visage of an undead mammoth doing the truffle shuffle their way. The lumbering, yet surprising fleet of foot abomination would come to a stop and Drast would shoot each of them with a finger gun. "Hop on nerds, we're going to catch some assholes. This thing is going to be in sport mode so we'll gain on them. We won't need sleep. They do. You can also sleep on Wilbur, thats his name. Rupert can do some round the clock security."

Edric Davi Ralene

 

[Veithir]

From when hues of blue on blue began to darken the sky until the group of wayward trainees set off, a pair of eyes had patiently observed them through the thicket. Though far off as Veithir was from them, no amount of mastery he possessed over stealth and concealment could mask his abundant vitality, nor the spiritual connection he shared with the deteriorating Ralene.

The huntsman stalked the trail left behind by the three, and for each passing breath, he could feel the young woman's condition worsen. It was a gradual spiral towards an untimely and agonizing end, merely delayed by her cohort's commendable but ultimately futile efforts.

As they met with the fourth, who had gone ahead, Veithir paused and circled the group, crouching low in the underbrush some distance away from the group. Scanning over them, he regarded the reanimated behemoth with a tinge of seething. It was a vile, disgusting practice that would restrict the soul from rebirth. It was a sickening blot on the beauty of life and an oh-so-human thing to do.

But this did not spur Veithir to take action, and he vigilantly watched on.

 

[Edric]

Edric had quietly sat and watched as his two companions slept. He'd remained quiet, vigilant. Davi was on the edges of exhaustion, and Ral seemed utterly lost to the state she found herself in. Whatever injury she had taken before the portal was wearing on her.

Perhaps the journey had not helped with it either. The magic had been broken, that much was clear. Tapping into a well that should not have been. The Portal Stones were complex things, impossibly so, and whatever these men had done offered naught but complications. Least that was how it seemed.

When The Fae approached, Edric did not stir.

He had sensed it.

It was hard not to. Such a font of life stood out among the background of dead grass and lifeless earth. A few months ago he might have missed it, not even noticed, but the lesson he'd been taught by Henk made the creature practically glow.

Fingers tightened, but he did not move. Instead he lingered, stayed. Knowing that whatever fight might break out would be one he took onto his own shoulders.

Despite that, the reserve reached out. Tendrils stretching, extending. Almost greedy for the power that lay just within reach. Each time he felt their reach, his will pulled them back. Staying their power until finally Drastus returned.

"Good, you're back." He said, words quick and terse.

Edric said with a brief glance towards the other Initiate. "Help me pull them up."

Davi and Ral still needed to rest, still needed to sleep. Slowly he stepped over towards the former, pulling the boy up into his arms as he walked over towards Drastus. As he reached him he leaned in, quietly whispering into his ear. "Something's out there. Watching. Be careful."

His words were quiet, warning.

 

[Davi]

"I can bloody walk," Davi grumbled in slurred manner. He just needed a damned minute to wake up that was all. His head was pounding from dehydration and hunger and he cursed himself for not having eaten something before he went to sleep. He felt the worse for it. He fumbled in embarrassment to get out of the other initiates grip and all but fell on his backside for doing it. Thankfully the horrific abomination that had been gifted a name of all things was there beside him to act as a wall of support. Craning his neck back to peer at just how far he had to climb up he took a breath.

Begrudgingly he accepted a leg up from Edric and a hand from Drast to hurl him the rest of the way.

"I'll be fine in a bit," he muttered more to himself than the others and rubbed at his face. "It certainly beats running." Even if it did stink.

 

[Samantha Black]

Ralene was certainly looking worse for wear. All the color had drained from her face and the whites of her eyes were beginning to take on a tinge of yellow. Exhaustion plagued her, but not nearly as badly as the pain. Stoic and stubborn to a fault, the Initiate set her jaw and pushed herself through both to get back to her feet when Edric came to collect her from the ground.

She'd be fine. She just needed a bit more rest. There was nothing in all of Arethil that would stop her from seeing whoever or whatever had done this to her and fucked up their mission, and putting them face-first in the dirt.

But first... that was a really fucking tall pachyderm.

"Drast," she breathed, face twisted in an amalgamation of emotions, none of which were anything close to wonder, approval, or praise, "what the fuck?"

But what the fuck would have to do. She was being legged and hauled up onto the poor creature, and she sat unsteadily trying to catch her own balance. This was definitely not kosher.

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drast would be oblivious to the Fae, at least at first. Rupert, however, would shift his ethereal gaze to focus on the being at the outskirts, his hatred for the Fae suddenly stringing its way along his connection to Drast. The initiate would be confused at first, though it would make sense when Edric whispered. They weren't alone. He offered Edric a knowing nod.

He would help Davi up and give him a pat on the back. "Here we go. Rest up a bit more if ya need it." He offered his trademark grin.

Then there was Ralene. Always a peach, especially when she was succumbing to the remaining poison in her bloodstream that he couldn't get. "Well, Ral, if you can shape-shift into a dragon and come equipped with a saddle or two, knock yourself out. If not, cut your bitching or else we'll never catch em. So you can sit here and wait for you to magically catch up to them or, you can hop on." He rolled his eyes at her ignorance. They were only trailing because someone couldn't avoid getting stabbed. Was that fair? No. But he was not in the mood for snippy. If she died, he was definitely going to give Davi an arm to chew on and re-animate her.

Edric didn't give her a choice, so Drast would help her up and sit her at the rear of the mammoth. Then finally Edric was hauled aboard. "Alright, let's go. Wilbur, show us the truffle shuffle." He wasn't sure if squeezing his heels in actually did anything, but Wilbur would begin to move forward, picking up speed until they were just cruising along the terrain.

Edric Davi Ralene

 

[Veithir]

After they mounted the abomination and took off into the night, Veithir would soon follow with long, graceful strides guided by his connection to Ralene, whose presence dwindled by the second, and the massive tracks left by the reanimated beast.

Keeping a safe distance from them, Veithir maintained a steady pace. And as was the fae's nature, when the young apprentices would finally arrive at their destination, he hid himself and watched from afar.

 

[Edric]

Edric didn't say anything as he climbed aboard Drastus' abomination. He didn't complain like Davi did, nor did he comment like Ral.

His focus was drawn onto the thing just a few hundred meters from them. He could not tell what it was, just that it wasn't human. Power reached from it, life the like which Edric had never felt before. It called to him. The reserve yearned for it.

Pulling away from that power was almost painful for Edric.

For their entire journey Edric did not speak, did not say a word to the others.

They rode for hours atop Willbur, the group of Initiates closing the distance between them and their foes silently as they continued to move forward. Fifty miles. Edric would have thought it impossible, but somehow the undead amalgamation that Drastus pulled from the earth managed it.

By the time dawn came, they had managed to close the distance. Ahead of them the very same town that Davi had described began to take shape in their view.

They were still behind, they surely had to be, but they were closer.

Now they just had to figure out where the men had gone.

 

[Davi]

Davi managed to catch a few more snatches of sleep atop the abominable mammoth. The stench of death from its matted fur meant he had decided to keep his human senses and not shift any subtly, and thus he had no idea of who followed them and why Edric and Drast seemed so on edge. He put it down to the situation and pondered on it himself. The best they could hope for was that the kidnappers had stayed to rest and hadn't pressed on straight away. The worst case was that they had left and they had more catching up to do, though hopefully only a few hours and not a day.

Feeling far better than he had Davi slid from the beast when it stopped outside of the town.

"Best not to cause a scene with a giant, dead mammoth," he commented and hiked his pack up his shoulder before glancing to Ral, then the others.

"There was a horse dealer, you can find better mounts there. I'll go see if I can pick up their scents where I left them."

 

[Samantha Black]

At some point Ralene's fever broke, and though that should have been a good sign - her body temperature instead began to plunge. Over the evening hours of their ride she slipped in and out of consciousness, managing to maintain her seat on the lumbering beast only by the arm wrapped around Edric's waist.

When they came to a stop she was dozing with her head leaned into the back of Ed's shoulder. She woke to the steady churn of fire in her veins, no longer contained to her side and middle but now spread into her limbs and most pressingly, into her head. The searing ache in her skull burned against the back of her eyes, blurring the vision she finally woke up to.

Ral couldn't remember a time when the mere act of lifting her head and opening her eyes had resulted in so much pain. There was a part of her that sensed the inevitable outcome of her current state, but it was quite small in comparison to the part of her that wouldn't allow for failure or weakness. She listened to Davi's plan and pushed herself to sit up.

Words formed in her mind to add to the plan, to put herself in a position or role that would serve the mission. Instead she felt the welling of fire from her stomach, leaned over, and vomited black bile down the backside of their ride.

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

They couldn't believe it, but Drast could. Nothing on this earth could rival Wilbur's shuffle. This was now an indisputable fact. Somehow, his seemingly useless powers were actually coming in handy during a mad tracking mission. The ride seemed to have been weeks long, despite only being a few hours. After realizing this wasn't the chatty bunch, he decided to take a nap and catch up on some sleep.

When he awoke and they finally arrived at the outskirts of the town, Wilbur would take a position behind a large bluff, couldn't let the common man see an undead mammoth just sulking about. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he shifted in his seat and gave Edric that look. The one that asked if they were still being followed.

Rupert had taken up a vigil over Wilbur and now surveyed the area as Davi prepared to look around for the dealer. Operation Dogman Two: Electric Boogaloo was now taking place as the Initiate once more proved he was the goodest boy without being a fluffer. "Sure thing, Davi. Make some noise if you need backup." It was decided, Drast was going to get himself a hound whistle.

"How's she doing?" Drast asked, nodding to Ralene who seemed to be giving Edric the saddest fully clothed reach around. He wasn't a doctor, but she looked like absolute shit. Hell, Rupert seemed to await her soul, a thought that was shelved for later.

Edric Ralene Davi @AbductorFae

 

[Veithir]

The fae's every sinew strained, his taut and trained muscles tensing as he exerted every last ounce of self-control upon watching Ralene regurgitate black bile down the beast's backside. Enough was enough, he thought and had nearly lept into action.

But his patience bore fruit as one of them went ahead. Veithir would wait ten seconds. Fifteen. Thirty. The look that had been pointed towards Edric from the necromancer needn't an answer as the Hound emerged from his recess in a nearby thicket, his long, graceful stride full of purpose. There was no concealing himself as he approached from the grove, so Veithir raised his hands as he approached and called out.

"Peac-c-ce upon you," Veithir raised his hands higher and came to a stop, "Peac-c-ce."

The huntsman assessed the two other fledglings: one, a practitioner of necromantic arts, the other appearing to be some approximation of a fighter if Veithir were to believe only his eyes. Ralene had freed herself of the Winter Queen's dreamscape. Quite the feat. It was only safe to assume the measure of her companions to be of comparable faculties.

"The girl is-s-s in a grave way," he hissed, not one to frolic about a discussion nor mince his words, "It is-s-s beyond your ken to treat her. Hand her to me, les-s-st you'd s-s-see her peris-s-sh."