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SQJ
07-07-2011, 12:16 AM
This is the opening post the my first adventure RP.

The goal of the RP is reaching Egoli and remainnig alive and intact on the way. Its the first chapter of this RP as the character within it want to reach every major city in the Black Thorne. this openeing post wil be used to give a little data about the first city and the terrtories within it.

I'm contemplating using real maps over not a real map, as the real maps are being used in real books ^_^

Anyway.

The capital city of Tuang is Egoli(The city of gold) – The city of capital city of Tuang like many other Taung cities is lined with wide and high walls capable of holding up to 5 rows of archers with high tower mounts. Inside of the walls lies the Egoli farm lands their main purpose was for surviving long sieges against enemies. The lands consist of mainly eating grass and vegetables. The eating grass is mainly for domestic animals such as goats and cows. Hay and other eating grass is harvested and used to feed carts and wilds animals brought into the city.


Major Roads and Trade Routes.


Black thorn Road or the Wagon’s Wheel

This is the single longest road in the whole Black Thorn Continent.
This road Travels around the whole continent and then through it again. The whole road leading to the school at some point.

Mapped out cross the continent the Black Thorn Road has the appearance of a Wagon’s wheel. A full circle showing the path around the coasts of each nation representing the wheel’s rim and the break off travelling in through to the school where the match with other roads that had travelled in.

The black thorn road *or the Wagon’s wheel* is one of the most commonly used roads in the continent. The main reason being that each roads passes through the capital city of every nation.

The roads are also the most protected with sentries watching at various points throughout the continent.


Taung Trade Web
A heavy complex of trade routes

The trade routes all combine in on the city of Egoli

The web stretches across the whole nation.

This makes Egoli the Nation’s central hub.

Even though agriculturally and minerally the Taung Nation is not the strongest, the small nation’s population size and efficiency of the Web creates an abundant source of wealth.

SQJ
07-07-2011, 12:16 AM
Valentine slid out the window of his farm house, which wasn’t exactly one of his best ideas but the only way he could think of escaping without waking up any of his brothers. He jumped from the second floor, barely catching the pile of wheat he’d set up the day before. The heap itself wasn’t much, help his back hurt. It left him stiff and sore and took a while for him to recover enough.

Looking up after while he saw it was still dark out and all the lights in the house were still of. A good sign, it was unlikely the others would be on the road waiting for him. He stared up at the window of his room. If one looked hard enough, they could make out the edge of the double bed he shared with the youngest of the family.

Suddenly it downed on him exactly how sad it was going to be without any of his brothers. It hit like a weight and he sat down slowly, covering his face.

Once again he took the time to compose himself before he set off. The first light of dawn started to break on the town when he reached the city’s limits where he waited.

Ava
07-07-2011, 01:18 AM
The night was silent, except for the howling of the wind. Ava walked down the hall, jumping when the floor creaked. She waited, heart pounding, to be found. The scenario played out in her head as she waited. How her father would ask what she was doing out of her room so late at night, and why she had her shoes on. He would get angry, his face taking on the red-ish hue that she had come to fear....

Snap out of it! Ava told herself, waiting a moment more before slipping back down the hallway. It's time to leave, nothing is keeping you here. She continued, trying to reasure herself. A light whistling snore greeted her as she passed an open doorway. Ava paused, her eyes drifting to the small shrivled figure huddled underneath the covers.

Without real thought she walked to the figures bedside, leaning closer to take a look. Grandpa, when Im gone....who will take care of you? She thought, her eyes going to the bedside table where a glass of water stood. Someone who is not me.

I have cleaned this room thousands of times.... She thought to her grandfather, too scared to speak aloud. I know what you keep under the bed. She went to her knees, taking care not to make any sound. She reached under the bed blindly, praying that he would not wake up.

There was a hot pain as her palm slid across something cold. Stiffling a sqeak she pulled on the cool object, feeling warmth roll down her fingers. With a scraping sound she was sure would wake her Grandfather the object slid into view. An old rusty semi-sword sat in front of her, a small section of the edge shaded with crimson. Just like her hand.

Ava went to pick up the sword, but felt something tug at the hilt. Pulling harder she noticed a small pouch tied to the end. What have we here? She thought to herself. There was a disturbance in the normal breathing pattern of her grandfather, and she instantly stood pulling the sword against her chest. She watched the man for a moment, but he did not rise.

Wasting no more time Ava quickly left the house, the cool night air carresing her skin. Heading towards the road Ava walked among the stalks, feeling them comfort and console her every time the wind blew. Holding her wounded hand to her chest she walked further into the darkness, away from the seemingly warm home behind her. The sword and the pouch that was tied to it was resing on her shoulder, the flat of the blade cool through the thin fabric of her shirt.

I know I'm making the right choice. She thought, a smile crossing her face. The cornstalks stood tall around her, almost as if they were guarding the young woman. Today is the day my life truly begins. And she marched on, not once looking back.

Mordecai
07-08-2011, 04:32 AM
"Bye, Daddy," Ella whispered. It was the last thing she said to him before she quietly closed the door to his suite. The girl took a large breath as she walked down the elaborately decorative hallway and into the farthest room: hers. The dark haired girl flicked on the lights and closed the door so she could take a good last look at her home. The walls were a cream color, to compliment the rich maroons and off whites of her imported bed spread. In the center of a room sat an ovular bed with translucent curtains framing the area. Half of the bed was covered in pillows, neatly arranged so that it formed an aesthetically pleasing half circle without falling off of the bed.

The girl walked around the perimeter of the room, taking it all in one last time. The two large windows: one overlooked the forest, as they sat right outside of the city, and another overlooked the comfy little town in which she'd come to live. One wall was dedicated entirely to paintings that she'd created personally. Pictures of plants, flowers, sunsets, waterscapes, city sky lines, and a few miscellaneous still lives adorned her wall. One picture stood out from the rest. A few years ago, Ella had repainted a photo. The picture that rested on her father's nightstand had transformed into a painted portrait that hung beside his daughter's window.

"I'm gonna miss you, Mom," Ella said quietly, looking up at the old portrait of a young woman. She sat in a field of flowers with a simple, white sundress. Her sapphire eyes sparkled with life, and her smile matched her dress. The sad thing about the picture, Ella thought, was her large stomach. It protruded from her body like she'd swallowed a watermelon. A small tear ran down her face as Ella, once again, realized that it was the only picture she'd ever take with her mother. She ran away from a small town, too, because she knew that she didn't belong there. With a new resolve, Ella packed her things.

She filled a small satchel with all that she really needed to survive. Her journal, writing utensils, a few drawing supplies. There were so many clothes in the small room that she called a closet. It would be so hard to choose which to take, she just opted not to take any. How hard would it be to live off of the land? After she'd gathered the few items that she wanted, Ella let out a sigh. The girl realized that... she had no money. Father kept his in a bank vault in Egoli. After all, it was the City of Gold. It was the most protected. He had spare change, but where he actually kept it... well, that was a mystery to her. Ella had often used her father's account, seeing as she managed his finances before. If they reached Egoli, she could have as much money as she needed to survive. They just had to make it there.

The shag carpet absorbed her footsteps so that she walked down the hall silently. Even her small bag didn't jingle as it rubbed against her leg. Ella was going to leave home. A small rush of excitement surged through her. She'd snuck out plenty of times before, but to actually leave and not come back... Calen would have been proud, if he'd known. Maybe she would get lucky and find him. A sudden thought caused the girl to stop outside a door two away from her bedroom.

"I wonder..." Ella said to herself. As she bit her bottom lip, Calen's door opened with a slight creak. After all, it wasn't as if anyone regularly entered it. The hinges weren't exactly greased. Ellie observed the room with sad eyes. Everything was here as he left it, untouched. Her father hadn't bothered to clear it out. The only thing that was different was his bed. Instead of being in a heap on the floor, she noticed that it was made. They didn't have servants in the manor, and Calen never made his bed. A small bit of sadness washed over Ella as she began to have second thoughts.

Would this be how her father reacted to her leaving, as well? Would he leave her room exactly as she left it, possibly hoping that she would return home? Her dark hair hit her face as Ella shook her head, shaking the depressing thoughts away. It didn't matter. There was no way she was going to stay in this town. Ella walked over to a glass shelf on one wall. She muttered a small apology to her brother as she slid open the casing, revealing his treasured items. A bunch of old, worn arrows clumped together in a leather quiver, dyed black. The heads were ruined due to over use. They couldn't pierce anything, let alone paper, if you used force. The fletchings at the end clumped together in places and, in others, were completely absent. Beggers couldn't be choosers, and apparently, he'd taken his nice set. At least it was better than nothing.

With that, Ella quietly closed the door and made her way down the stairs and out of the large house. The front door creaked, as always, seeing as it was a large, elaborate wooden door, but her father didn't wake from his sleep. He didn't even stir. The girl wrapped the bow around her body, arrows secured. She made sure that the bag containing her journal was wrapped snugly around her waist before she took off into the night, joining the two figures who had already reached their meeting point.

infernai
07-09-2011, 09:53 PM
Sebastion slowly made his way down the hallway: Unlike Valentine or some of the others in the town, he didn't live in a two story building just a one story one. On the plus side, it meant less territory to cross to get to the front door, but the downside was that if he made too much of a sound he would alert the other members of his family almost immediately.
He had made sure to grab his short-sword: It had been a birthday gift some years back, even if he barely used the thing, but all the same he'd held onto it in case he needed it one day. He just never expected that he would have ever needed to use it for an adventure!

He was a bit intimidated by the prospect of dangers and monsters, but that was all washed away by one thing: Money! He wasn't called silver tongue Jones for nothing, he was good at winning people over (Hell, it was probably the only reason the others even considered bringing him along for this) and with all knew possible patrons waiting for him, he was all to happy about leaving. As he moved into the lounge-room, the house still quiet as a whisper, he spotted his grandfather passed out on his normal chair, a bottle of rum fallen to the floor and out of his hand.
Sebastions expression saddened: He had a fondness for the old man, a bit more-so then his other family members. He'd never done any wrong by him, and he still remembered fondly the stories he had been told. He was a drinker, sure, but he'd always done right by him and the family. He moved over slowly, gently picking the bottle up and replacing it in the elderly mans hand, who didn't stir due to being passed out.
"Farewell old Man, and thanks for everything..".He whispered to the man fondly, smiling sadly before moving to the vase near the door, sinking a hand in to procure a small bag of coins, as well as a tomato that had made it's way there for some reason. He raised an eyebrow, looking the fruit over with a curious look before shrugging and pocketing it.

He soon left the front door, closing it gently behind him as he snuck out of the house. Reaching the fence, he looked back, his expression sad once more. It dawned on him this would likely be the last time he saw his family: He could either be killed or become so successful that he'd forget all about them..while he somewhat hoped for the latter, it didn't change the fact he still felt sad about leaving them behind. He raised a hand, waving to the house before jumping the fence, his mood changing as he made it down the block, starting to smile excitedly. Adventure lay ahead! He moved a bit more quickly down the road, heading towards the meeting place. He raised a hand up in a wave to them, noticing three others had gotten there.
This was it, no turning back now: His new life begun now!

Mat
07-11-2011, 04:21 AM
Mitch opened the door that connected his bedroom and the hallway and peeped his head out. The dark corridor was empty, and he could hear his grandma snoring in the room next to his. He frownd as he thought to himself, Well there's one person who's not going to miss me. I'm a little worried about mom and dad though... But I'm sure they'll understand. He opened the door further and stepped out into the hallway. He winced as the floorboards beneath him creaked loudly, and he froze in place as he listened to see if anyone woke up. But after a few moments of silence, he crept on to the door to his basement.

Mitch opened it up and slipped inside, hurrying down the stairs to the bottom. He went straight for the crates where his dad kept his old stuff and opened one of the ones in the back. He took an old leather sling and a pouch of rocks. He looked inside, there were about five or six of them. Mitch sighed, Six rocks. I don't know how long that's going to last me. Oh well... He closed the crate and snuck back upstairs. He opened the door and went to step up out of the basement, but he tripped on the last step and went through the door falling instead. Mitch made a loud oomph! when he hit the floor, immediately biting his lip and cursing under his breath.

Just a few moments later, a door opened up at the end of the hallway and his grandma stepped out, instantly spotting him lying on the floor. "What the hell are you doing?" She asked in her raspy voice. Mitch stood up and dusted himself off, straightening himself and speaking in a mature voice, "Grandmother, I'm, uh, leaving. I'll be gone for a while, but I'll be back, eventually." He swallowed and continued, "I'm not sure if you'll miss me as much as everyone else will, but... I just wanted to let you know I always loved you."

They both stood there silently for a while, Mitch's grandmother just staring at him with her usual angry expression. Finally, she said, "About damn time. I was wondering when you'd finally leave." She turned to walk away and Mitch added, "You're not going to tell father or mother, right?"

His grandmother turned around and cackled harshly, "What, and have them go out and drag you back? No. I'm not going to pass up this chance to be rid of you, you no good ugly bas-" But Mitch didn't even wait to hear what else she had to say, immediately bolting quietly towards the door. He opened it and smiled. The hard part was done, now it was just time to get out of here.

He walked through the town, eventually spotting the silhouettes of four people farther down the road. As he got closer he could clearly make out the apperences of "Silver Tongue" Jones, and Valentine, along with Avalina and Ella. He remembered all the times they had gotten into trouble together when they were younger, usually ending with Sebastion talking their way out of punishment when they got caught. But thinking about those situations made him remember all the other good times he had enjoyed in Inkani. He looked back at the town sadly, but eventually turned his back to it and walked over to the rest of the group.

He didn't want to be trapped here his entire life, and it was now or never.

Auki
07-12-2011, 12:50 PM
The door closed with a soft click and she nodded approvingly; the worn-out hinges could often squeak but she had relied on them to stay silent this one night. Their compliance had meant the difference between success and failure. Had she been hoping for noise? No. She could feel the relief bubbling in her gut, the excitement welling up as she turned. The town that lay before her had never looked the same. Before, it was familiar, old; she knew the exact scene would greet her the following sunrise and likely the one after that. Now, even in the darkness of night, she took in each detail, drinking them in feverishly. The small burn marks on the house next door of a bonfire gone awry. The dips in the ground that threatened to steal footing with each cautious step. The low, laboured breaths of the old milk cow the Johnsons insisted on keeping – Olivia was sure the animal must have dried by now. She would probably never see it again. At least, not if everything went to plan tonight.

Her bag tugged at her right shoulder but she leant the frying pan in hand on the left to act as counter-balance. She didn’t know how long she would keep the tool – It was not as light as she’d anticipated – but she didn’t want to be unarmed in the midst of the unknown. If they were going to eat on the road, it would serve them purpose as well. Anything that made their travels easier was a welcome addition. She almost wished she had the moral ambiguity to dip into her parent’s savings; they left the pot within clear sight in the front room as though just to tempt human nature as she passed. Would she have enough to survive by herself? The last thing she wanted was to be a burden to Val.

Val… She had expected this day since the start of their relationship, whether he knew it or not at the time. Two years last month and still counting; most the children within the town would not have known such commitment if it slapped them in the face. It was trying at times – ‘Relationships always are’ her mother said – but to her, he was the one. They might say it was puppy love and chuckle behind wrinkled hands but tonight would prove them wrong. One day they would return to visit. They’d have a hundred stories each just waiting to share and they would still be together; Olivia was determined to prove their doubt wrong if nothing else. Her pace slowed for a second as she stared towards her destination. ‘Follow your heart, not your head’; another of her mother’s wise words. The woman could not say her daughter was not listening to her advice. Releasing a breath she didn’t even realise she was holding, she continued on towards the group.

LatexRevolver
07-12-2011, 08:44 PM
Kati looked at the small clock on her wall for about the hundreth time this night and felt her heart skip a beat. She was sooooo late already and the baby wouldn't shut up. These so called parents of hers only spoiled this child and NEVER made it do anything, they loved it too much. So now, even after an hour of crying and fussing, they still did everthing to it's beck and call. Out of her window, she could hear the whining of Spirit, the wolf who seemed to know that they were running late just about as much as she did.

Her wolf, that beautiful creature with the snowy white pelt, was really her only friend in this world, and she was as intelligent as any human being in this small town. Man, she hated this piece of shit town and her piece of shit parents who, just to make this clear, weren't even blood related. And now, when the chance for her to disappear had risen, she would probably still be stuck here.

You see, she hadn't exactly been invited to go along as much as had overheard that Val was setting this up. She didn't really know anyone, not even him, but during one of her trips to the mart, she had hunted Val down and nearly scared him to death. She had that affect for some reason, appearing out of nowhere. She had asked, practically begged to be allowed to come along, and had made the offer of bringing gold for him if she could. This was odd just because she rarely talked to anyone, and when he said yes, she had given him a big hug and ran off.

Now, he chance would be gone. They most likely wouldn't wait for her, but she'd go to the meeting place anyway, if she could ever get out of the damn house. Just as she was about to get up to go yell at her parents, a thundering boom on her door jumped her. "Go shut that damn mutt up! She's scaring the baby!" Her father yelled before stomping back down the stairs.

This was...actually a good thing, if she thought about it. The few things she needed were hidden outside in Spirits den, and when she walked out, she could just leave. Hurriedly, she opened her door and moved down the stairs, ignoring the disgusted look her father was giving her. She would never miss this place, and she would never come back. With that, and a good string of profanities about them muted by the baby's screaming, she went out the door and into the cool night air.

Instantly, she was greeted with a bark and a tackle of a big furry mass. Spirit's ears were perked and her tail wagging faster than the eye could see and process. As soon as she had stood up she felt her hand being grabbed and herself being tugged towards the little burrow that was Spirits den. At this, Kati understood just what had happened. Spirit understood that they were late, that they needed to leave so she did what Kat's father hated the most, whined and made noise. She did this whenever she wanted Kati, and by doing it now, it gave her a chance to escape.

She watched Spirit move down into the hole and pul out the small bag that contained her little dagger and the pouch of gold, the gold that had been her fathers savings. Kati wished she could be there when he found it missing, but she would always be left wondering. Instead, she focused on just getting to the meeting place. Luckily, they lived fairly close.

Spirit led the way, bounding ahead and coming back in both excitement and protection, and only when they were near where all the other's stood, did Spirit stay at her heels. She wasn't afraid, neither of them were, but they always stuck together, and now was when they needed it the most. Quietly as ever, she had managed to find herself behind Val and held out the pouch of gold coins that she had promised him, 15 in all. A finger tapped him on the shoulder. Whether he jumped or not, she didn't know, and if he was angry, she couldn't tell until he looked at her, but she knew she hadn't told him about her companion. She would see what happened.

SQJ
07-12-2011, 10:11 PM
The worst thing I ever did was let that boy learn how to read. This was the sentence most used by his father. He blamed himself. he blamed Val's mother he blamed the schools and, as it turned, he was absoultely right to.
Afterall there Val was, sitting on a tree stump with about three changes of clothes, three blankets, two awful and thin, one thick and expensive, flint bits of paper and charcoal sticks with which to write with.

All those tools for running away from home and to make it worse, he was running away with almost a fifth of the town's seventeen to eighteen year olds. That was all his fault or rather his father's fault for allowing Val to read.

From the moment he'd read up upon the Black Air Raiders, human like creatures with wings who lived on massive out growths in earth that were called Needles or the Isikali poepe with dragon scales upon thier backs capable of rolling themselves into balls and spinnning at high speed without ever losing thier balance. And that was just the start. There was no way he could stay in that suffocating land. It wasn't possible.

And now here he was on the brink, the edge of adventure. On step away from a new world...

And he was stuck waiting for everyone to arrive. The first to arrive was Ava, they didn't really know each other that well. He wasn't even sure his invatation had come but it had. There was all the chance Via had been the one to invite her or maybe he had during one of his messaging runs. It was awkward at first with him hugging his pockets, pulling his hand out and waving before hugging his pockets once agian. "Hey, he said meekly."

Ten minutes past before Elle arrived with her bow around her. It made him smile. He was glad she'd arrived. It set off a good note. She didnt' seem to be carrying much, though the bo wwas nice. He didn't say anyhitng instead welcoming her brightly. Sebastion appeared half an hour later.

It was cold out but it wasn't cold enough to justify the way Val was hugging himself. His nerves were getting to him. He dind't tell anyone besides Vai yet but the truth of the matter was that they weren't just trying to make good time to Egoli. They were going to be hunted, very much like wild animals.

His brothers were kind hearted, easy going but violent and strong willed. More so than he's father. So many, if any of them running away like were to come to thier attention they'd take it upon themselves to bring everyone back. Only his brothers weren't small/ Val was big but a runt in comaprison to his brothers. Few poeple held the record of losing consciousness 47 times in thier lives from something as simple as rough housnig. Val did. He knew what would happen.
Ten minutes before day break his oldest brother would wake his own internal alarm system setting off. The sound of choas would fill the house as every brother was woken up to wash and work. there was harvest to made. They would find him gone and swear revenge before working on the harvest.
Soon after the work was done they would go to the town bar then Vai home to find Val.
When Vai was found gone. The man hunt would start and they'd be dragged back. Thankfully no one had horses but they would not need them only momentum. If the group didn't leasve soon there'd be trouble.

MItch appeared while Val paniked internally. They greeted warmly, with Val fighitng hard to conceal his worry. Had it been anyone but Vai who was so late he'd have left them to be dragged back. Only it was her. Damn! He thought to himself as he started to pace, checking his bags. there wnas't much food there. Nothign to last the three day trek to Egoli.

An hour passed, he could feel the dark of night start to fade as day broke over the horizen. His teeth gritted he stood up and adressed the group.
"Hey, everyone. I wanted to give my thanks to you all. This was quite a strong step for all of you to have taken. It means so much to know that I was not alone in my need to step beyond this cage we once called home. But I feel I must ask the unreasonable of you. I ask that you move on into the Taung Trade web without me and I will follow." The Taung trade web was a series of roads such as the one they were on which interlapped very much like a collosal maze, with all lroads leading to a town like thiers or Egoli, if one knew the roads well enough. He couldn't leave her. Even if it meant losing track of the othes for a moment. He needed to fetch Vai.

A wave of relief washed over him when he saw her in the distance moving quickly towards the group. He's never felt so releived before in his life. For a moment his reality had ended. All had been lost and now everything was as it was. It was almost to good to be true. They stood a chance.

Val was tapped on the shoulder from a forgein source and he pictured his brothers he jumped a little reaching for his axe handle and raising it. As it turned it was a the girl who'd accosed him a few days back. eh'd almsot forgotten about her. She smiled, looking rather pleasant even more so with all that gold in her hand. He grinned in releif. "Kati I think I may just be frightened to death before I leave these lands." He laughed taking the money and throwing it to Ella. "Giving it to Elle, I'm not sure if you know her or the others but she's quite trustworthy with numbers. She'll most likely be the one counting all the money we earn for each other." He said loudly with a laugh. He thought he heard an animal sound and looked past Kati for the first time. there was a wolf behind her.
He exlcmialed pulling Kati's wrist and pulling her to him while raising his handle to the dog. He swore in Xhosa, the language of the Black Air Raiders, not the common Ndebele tongue, he'd taught Vai too but doupted anyone knew what he was saying. "get away!" He yelled at the animal.

Mordecai
07-13-2011, 12:12 AM
Ella smiled once she'd finally caught up to the group; "the group" being Val, the boy who'd come up with this crazy scheme, and Ava, a quiet girl. When Ella had first moved to this town, she didn't exactly talk to everyone in an attempt to make friends. Out of all the teenagers in the small town (although, it isn't like there were boatloads of them), Ava was the first one she'd managed to establish some sort of friendship with. It turned out that the older Ava seemed to have a thing for hiding. Ironically enough, Ella loved to explore. While their small town of Inkani wasn't exactly a paradise, there was more than enough to wander around and discover. As fate would have it, Ella discovered Ava hiding from her family, and the two had become friends ever since.

Valentine wasn't exactly someone Ella would have considered a close friend. He was more of an acquaintance whom she'd come to know through other people. Namely, through his girlfriend Olivia. Honestly, the oil magnate's daughter wasn't particularly good friends with either of them, but she held them in good regards. Olivia wasn't a loud mouthed type of girl, but she was lively and fun to be around. She was like a magnet that just made Ella want to be friends with such a lovely person. Through Olivia, Ella had come to accept Val and all of his quirks. He was a boy who loved to talk, but he had a good heart and for that reason, Ella accepted him.

In the silence, Ella had taken a seat on a cool rock. She rolled a few pebbles underfoot as they waited for the rest of their party to arrive. Sebastion was the next to make his appearance. At his entrance, Ella smiled and gave him a nod, the same greeting in which Val had given her, before she continued fiddling with pebbles. Val's mother was the source of the Regent family's tomatoes. Given her father's occupation, Ella didn't have to worry about the "outrageous prices" she'd placed on the fresh produce. Ella didn't know Sebastion too well. He was one of the few people in town she'd never actually spoken to directly. According to some of the girls, he was just an attractive liar. She didn't really know whether or not it was true, but she'd never taken the time to find out. It wasn't as if Ella attended the local school. Instead, her father had bought her books from the city. He didn't do very much during the day, so he figured he would attempt to teach her himself. It was a wonder that Ella knew as many people as she did.

Val had begun to pace as the time went on. Ella wasn't quite sure how many others were supposed to join them, but she had a feeling that there were some people missing. Olivia, for one. Val wouldn't just leave his girlfriend, would he? The girl turned to the sound of another approaching. Mitchell Farstride. Ella gave him the once over, and then found interest in a bug that had chosen to nestle on her foot. Like Sebastion, Ella had never spoken to Mitchell, either. Rumor was that he was "a no good trouble maker," and there was "nothing good that could come of hanging around that boy." The words came directly from her father. Despite his success, apparently he still managed to keep a few friendships with people he'd grown up with; it was from them that he learned about the horrid Mitch Farstride, trouble maker of the town. Town gossip often included him and a girl Ella knew vaguely being found in someone's barn or crop field. As far as she was concerned, there really was no need to gain a friend like that. Apparently, she was going to have to tolerate him for a time being.

After greeting Mitch and more pacing, Val turned towards the group. In the moonlight, Ella could see his eyes moving as he acknowledge every individual who had come tonight. He thanked them all, mentioning how it was a "strong step" to take. The female touched her brother's bow as doubt began to creep in her mind. She listened quietly as his small speech went on, but she had never guessed that he would have asked the group to carry on without him. He was the one who called this meeting, he was the one who orchestrated this. There was no way. Ella and her father had traveled via the Taung Trade Web. She knew how to get back to the city, she'd had a feeling there was going to be a future use for the knowledge, but the thought of using it without Val...

"Val, there's someone else coming," Ella said quietly, standing up. She pointed in the direction of a small figure making her way towards them. Ella assumed that it was Olivia, the final person to join. She hadn't expected yet another girl to come on the journey. Ella looked up just in time to see Kati appear behind Val. The boy turned quickly, startled, but Ella allowed a smile to cross her face as he laughed and greeted Kati. It seemed that the girl had brought a small bag of gold, which was thrown promptly in Ella's direction. She raised two hands instinctively, and with luck, her fingers had found their way around the bag without letting gold spill. Reflexes were not her forte.

Ella's cheeks turned a slight pink as Val praised her. Since she'd moved to town, friendless and jobless, she offered to help some people manage their money and savings, offering financial advice here and there. For a young girl, she knew quite a lot, having done it for her father for years. She hadn't realized that the people her age were actually aware of this. Ella didn't charge for her services; she didn't need to. There was no need to rob the people of this town when, in reality, she lived in the largest house and lived off of her father's savings.

The girl resumed her seat on the rock, dumping the contents of the bag just to check how much was in there. 15 gold pieces. It was actually quite a lot for someone of Kati's age to hold. The adults in Inkani still struggled with their money, it wasn't quite normal for most teenagers to hold money like this. Ella began to place the money back in the small bag, feeling guilty despite the fact that she hadn't been the one to steal her family's money. The sound of a sudden cry from Val was startling. Ella frowned. She didn't know what he was saying, but it was something she'd heard before. He howled at a creature that Ella hadn't even noticed before: a marvelous white wolf. The girl's eyes widened in surprise. She'd seen the creature before while she explored, but she'd never expected it to have followed them. Ella turned her head to the side, observing the beautiful beast. It had previously been sitting quietly, not making a sound. Did it belong to someone...?

infernai
07-13-2011, 11:29 AM
Sebastion flashed a rather charming looking smile at Ella, nodding back at her, seeming to look her over. He hadn't talked much to Ella, knowing the woman as something of a customer among he and his parents business of tomatoes.
"Evening, Ella was it? I'm sebastion, Pleasure to meet you".He answered, still smiling at her as he did so, his hands in his pockets. He didn't take the tomato out to eat yet, not yet prepared to chow down on the fruit just yet. Most would have brought something else with them, but sebastion figured he could probably haggle something on the way from one of the bars in a town or something like that. And if not, he'd think of something else...hopefully.

He was brought out of his trail of thought by Mitch arriving, making him smirk slightly."Here i thought you'd gotten scared and chickened out on us Mitch!"He chuckled, his words obviously meant as a joke. He normally was prepared to joke and laugh around Mitch, viewing him as something of his friend as well as a little bit of a rival for the town-girls affections. Then again, he didn't realize most just viewed him as an 'attractive liar', but all the same the two were something of trouble-makers of a sort. He soon heard Val start to speak, just giving a nod of understanding towards the male.
He wasn't too familiar with Val as some of the others, but they weren't on bad terms at all so that was something. Plus, Sebastions reputation as a good speaker and liar probably had something to do with him being chosen he thought, but all the same he chose not to dwell: He always viewed things with opportunity, and this was one that he just knew he couldn't pass up. At the order of giving Elle his money, he raised an eyebrow. He wasn't quite sure if he was ready to trust his money to anyone but him, but...well, Val wasn't one to be a bad judge of character, so he figured he could trust him."Here, take mine too.."He took out the small bag of coins he had, handing it to Elle as well.

Olivia was the next one to arrive, seeming fashionably late as normal. He couldn't be mad with her though, having always thought the girl to be rather cute if a bit too innocent for his tastes. Plus, Val would have had his head if he'd tried to put the moves on the girl at all. But, there was two other girls in this band of adventurers which he could work over, one who didn't know him too well. But, they were still missing one more person...
Almost as if on cue, Kati arrived from the shadows, making Sebastion jump back in surprise before shaking his head. He then heard swearing, making him look around.
"Val, I don't think our company would appreciate that kind of language"He asked, having managed to understand atleast that curse word..Xhosa wasn't his strongest language out of the three he'd learned, but he knew some of the basics of it as well as one or two insults. He then looked at the wolf, then back at Kati before looking at the wolf again."Kati...Umm, there's a wolf behind you"

Ava
07-13-2011, 05:35 PM
Ava watched the others with hidden interest, her eyes bright with the feeling of not being at home any longer. She was free, unless the hunted for them....unless they found her agian. Would she be locked in chains? Beaten with a whip? Surly they would not kill the only person who really knew how to take care of them....surly not. Ava shook her head to clear those thoughts and watched as the others interacted with one another. Ella was here at least. She smiled at her friend, one of the very few.

Ella had found her when she had been hiding from her family. Her father had been angry, oh so angry, when he found out that she did not do all of the chores he had set for her in time. And of course Shelby had to tell him that she had taken a walk outside that day. Angry and unforgiving his eyes promised pain for what she had not done. So, she ran. She could still remember what it felt like, pushing herself to the limit to reach the corn stalks. His footsteps that grew ever louder, even when she could not run any faster. She remembered that as she ran, the corn left small papercuts everytime they brushed agianst her. She still had many thin and tiny silver scars from where they had sliced her skin.

When Ava had been sure she was out of his sight for the moment, she threw herself to the side, getting many more cuts in the process. Having almost no time left she threw herself to the ground, and held her breath. He had run past her, and she lay there for hours as the sun slowly made its decent from the heavens. Thats when Ella stumbled apon her. She must have seen the wild eyed fear that was left over in Ava's eyes. For she was very very sweet to her. They became fast friends.

Ava let her gaze run over all who were there. Val, the mastermind of this whole thing. He had said hey to her earlier, she had only nodded to him. There was Ella of course, then Sebastion. He had been known as a little of a ladies man, and it showed. Mitch came next, Oliva who she knew was dating Val, and then Kati followed by a beautiful white beast of a wolf. Ava watched it for a moment before walking over to Ella.

"Hello Ella." She said with the smallest smile, she glanced over at Sebastion, then back at the wolf. "I trust you with this." She said, handing over the small pouch that had been tied to her sword. "There's 12 gold in there. I checked." Her eyes strayed to Kati and the Wolf once again.

LatexRevolver
07-13-2011, 06:21 PM
The female's blonde hair fell in her face while she listened quietly to what the man had to say. She felt kind of stupid for not knowing who to send the gold to, but how was she supposed to know? As a matter of fact, as she looked around the meeting place she realized she knew no one here, not even Val, really. With a small sigh, she realized that one way or another, she'd have to get through this. First things first, she'd slowly find a way to get to know those that were here, but for now, maybe she'd just stick with Spirit. Speaking of which....

Kati panicked when she was dragged suddenly towards Val, only to giggle lightly when she realized what caused the whole thing. The man was freaking out because of the giant wolf that was behind her. To make things even funnier, he seemed to be the only one that was having this sort of reaction towards her magnificient beast. Every one else that she noticed just seemed to look towards the situation, one saying something about the wolf following her.

Spirit seemed unphased by Val's show of him trying to send her away. She padded right up to him and in a display of 'agression' jumped up and gave him a solid lick on the face. From there she placed all four feet back on the ground and sat, an ear tilted downwards and tail wrapped towards her paws.

Kati giggled again and pulled away from Val, resting herself on her knees to hug the canine. "Don't yell at her, please? It's not very nice." She whispered before turning her attention fully on the animal. No matter how uncomfortable she felt around these people, having Spirit here would make it so much easier. In response to her hands running through her fur, the snowy creature placed both front paws on Kati's shoulders and began scent-rolling on her chest. (Wolves typically do this not to give their scent, but to take the scent of the object they're rubbing on back to their pack. It's an affectionate, almost like a hug towards humans.)

"This is Spirit, and she's with me." Kat finally told them, standing and keeping a hand between the the wolf's shoulderblades. Breathing deeply, she began taking in all those who were here, letting her eyes wander over all the different character types that she could, however, she was horrible with personalities. It did give her some relief to see that she wasn't the only girl. "I hope that's okay. She's a great hunter, it's how we got meat at home and extra money."

(Sorry for the poor quality of this post, I'll do better on the next one.)

SQJ
07-13-2011, 11:48 PM
{Gaint wolf enters scene, only one person even mildly upset. Makes perfect sense. XD}

It took a moment for it to all come together. This wasn't an attack. Everything was okay. No one was actualyl trying to bring him or everyone else for that matter back. His shoulders dropped.

Bad move. The wolf ounced on him, taking him by enough of a suprise to be knowed off his feet by the beast. He held his breath as the beast slobered over him and he pushed the animal off, swearing once again in Xhosa, thuogh mostly to himself.

He smiled, it was a hellishly nervous one. How much time did they have left before they were chased? There were no horses in thier town but there was a horse farm only half a day's trek from the mine shaft. His brothers knew of the horse farm
"Everyone. Everyone. Things appear to have changed, everyone is here. We are all able to move to any place we can across this wonderous land. I look forward to going on this journey with the rest of you. Vai!" He called, rushing to his future wife, if everything went right and they made it to the land of the Black Air Raiders.

When he caught up to her he put his arm around her and held her tight as though seeing her for the first time. "[I thought you were caught. I thought everything was over for us. There's so much I have to tell you.]"
He said speaking in Xhosa.

"Everyone is here and day has broken. We need to make as much ground as possible before the sun sets. Who knows what bandits come out at night." He lied. In all honestly, it was llikely that any bandits around would travel by day. After all it was easier to maim and kill by daylight than night. Holding Vai's hand he started to walk.

Mat
07-14-2011, 01:56 AM
Mitch joined the group and stood with them, waiting for the last people to show up. He looked over everyone who was already here. He really didn't know Ava too well, but he did see her around the town sometimes, although he never talked to her. Glancing over at Ella, a small smirk grew on his face. What was she doing here? Mitch had never expected someone like her to come along on this trip. And he really couldn't think of a reason why she'd want to come in the first place. Compared to everyone else in this town, her family was fairly prosperous. But then again, he didn't really know what other issues she might have, so he couldn't really judge her.

After a while he could see a figure approaching down the road. Eventually he was able to see that it was Val's girlfriend, Olivia. Mitch rolled his eyes and sighed. Of course Val had to bring along his grilfriend. Mitch like Olivia of course; any girl good enough for Val was good enough for him. He just hoped that Val wouldn't spend the entire trip worrying and looking after her. Sometimes he just loved her too much.

Not long afterwards Val began speaking to someone and Mitch looked over, spotting Kati, who had somehow shown up without any of them noticing. Well, she always was quiet. She handed Val a bag of gold and he tossed it to Ella, saying, "Give it to Ella, I'm not sure if you know her or the others but she's quite trustworthy with numbers. She'll most likely be the one counting all the money we earn for each other."

Mitch frowned at this but took his pouch of gold out anyway. He didn't like anyone else holding onto his money, but he guessed that if had to be someone, Ella was probably the most responsible one here. A startled shout from Val broke his attention and made him look up from the gold in his hand. Right behind Kati was a wolf. But Kati quickly began to giggle and explained the entire thing. He still felt uncomfortable with the wolf around, but he supposed that as long as it was friendly, he would be fine.

He turned to Ella and gave her his tiny pouch of gold, "Theres eight pieces in there. Just... Try not to lose it." He parted with his gold and turned back to Val, who was already speaking, "Everyone. Everyone. Things appear to have changed, everyone is here. We are all able to move to any place we can across this wonderous land. I look forward to going on this journey with the rest of you."

Then he stopped and ran over to Olivia. Mitch just laughed and moved over to Sebastion, quietly saying, "Don't you wish we had true love like that? Just imagine, being bound to one girl forever..." Mitch grinned slyly at him, showing that he was obviously joking.

Auki
07-14-2011, 07:52 AM
She stood… awkwardly at the edge of the group for a few moments. It was impossible to tell the cause of commotion, having entered the fray midway, but that wasn’t really her concern. The majority of the group didn’t appear flustered, just Val. Was he holding Kati’s hand? The morning light was still dim; she couldn’t see properly. They were standing close but no, he wouldn’t do that. Not now of all places. She listened to the girl’s explanation of her pet with a cool glare – thankfully hidden by the shadows – before shaking it from her face. If they were going to travel together, they would all need to start out on good terms. She couldn’t help but grin as she looked over the rest of the group; they were an odd assortment.

She gave a small wave to Ella when their eyes met; they might not be close but someone had to be welcoming to her. The girl didn’t have any good friends within the party. Everyone seemed to be handing her money. Olivia didn’t. It was not that she didn’t trust Ella – the very opposite was true – but she had heard of Val’s fears. Bandits, his brothers, monsters; there were going to be many a person after them. In the unfortunate chances of Ella being caught, they didn’t want to lose all their money with her.

Five gold was not much but it was a small amount to fall back on in need.

"Everyone. Everyone. Things appear to have changed, everyone is here. We are all able to move to any place we can across this wondrous land. I look forward to going on this journey with the rest of you.”

Her grin turned to a soft smile as she listened. Watching him take charge was certainly an attractive feature but his nerves made the announcement seem somewhat adorable in her eyes. She would never admit it, especially to him. The more he took lead, the more confident he would learn to appear – It was just a matter of time and she was not going to put him off at the first hurdle.

“Vai!"

Oh, he’d finally noticed her. She quickly erased that bitter thought too. Or more, it melted the minute he clung onto her. She leant against his chest, breathing in deeply – It was a rough, earthly scent but it was him. The anxious knot in her stomach was eased for that moment, allowing her to relax against him.

"[I thought you were caught. I thought everything was over for us. There's so much I have to tell you.]"

She nodded. Her words were disjointed and hesitant in her inexperience but the warmth of tone was still obvious as she spoke, “[It’s not so easy to get rid of me, Val.]” She squeezed his hand fondly as they began to walk, managing to ignore the growing ache of the pan’s weight on her shoulder.

infernai
07-16-2011, 06:26 AM
Sebastion chuckled at Spirit jumping on Sebastion, smirking a bit as he witnessed the 'attack'. He hadn't been to phased by the beast, although that was mostly due to the fact that the creature hadn't attacked them: There were more of them then it, so in this case the wolf would have just run off had it been threatened. His grandfather had told him this, although in all fairness the man was only partly sober when he'd explained this logic, so Sebastion hadn't yet had the opportunity to test it. All the same, there was strength in numbers, which was something this little entourage had going for them. He moved over beside Kati a moment, smiling again.
"Spirit? What a beautiful name, although it's not the only thing of beauty in this group".

The group had only just barely come together, in a rush to get out of the village before their absence was noticed, and he was already flirting with a girl he barely knew. He soon looked in the direction of the wolf, looking at it for a moment. His expression was one of curiosity and uncertainty, as if..slightly intimidated by the creature: People were easy to judge, to understand. Animals? Not so much. Still, the creature seemed playful, so he had a feeling that this 'spirit' wouldn't try to tear his throat out...hopefully.
Before long, they had set off, Sebastion starting to walk along as well before Mitch came up and whispered in his ear. He grinned back in a sly manner before saying."Oh, i know! My heart absolutely LEAPS every time i consider the prospect".He whispered back in a sarcastic manner, obviously sharing his friends sentiments.

SQJ
07-17-2011, 04:47 PM
[Burrowed the wolf for a moment]

Eight hours passed. With little being said all round. at first he'd been fine with the silence, mostly because of his growing fears but even more so to do with the fact that he didn't really know what to say to them. What was there to be said? The most he must have said in a single go had been to Vai when he'd told her about his brothers and the likely hood of them all being dragged back and that had been only to her. They'd made a few stops but fortunately surrounding the lands ahead of Epikuni were the orchards of Zenani. Food stops were not really required.

--

Val had underestimated how quickly his brothers had found out. The harvest was ready. There was work to be done. They had woken up early had he lingered his home a moment longer he'd have seen it himself and gotten caught.

The men of his family had started harvest early calling aid and pulling workers from the neighbouring families quickly, calling in favours from the harvests they had aided in and they had aided in every single harvest of Epikuni for the town was to small and poor to afford people willing to work for more than a favour.

Though as soon as the youngest son had returned from Olivia's home discovering that she was gone too, the harvest had come to an immediate halt. One by one homes were checked, even the home of the Regent family. It was quickly discovered that Val and Vai were not the only ones missing.

It didn't take long for a search party to be organised. Only the brothers weren't there for the discussion as all of them had left quickly to the lands behind Epikuni and to the horse range there, each of them taking a horse and as a group taking the role of front runners in the hunt.

--

It was time for another break, he was getting tired and it looked like everyone was too. How long had it been since they had last stopped? Val had no idea, he only knew they would need to stop again before they came to Zenani. Which, upon thought was perhaps not the best place to stop. His brothers would stop there, ask people if they had seen him or Vai. They would be found.

Val raised his hands and turned to th e right of the group. "This is the time in which a rest would be good. We are almost at Zenani but I fear we cannot enter the town itself, we will need to take one of the coming paths that branch away, pass through one of the orchards." Val said.
He looked down when Spirit's perked and he started to growl. The wolf turned look back down the road they had taken.

Far into the distance the road disappeared behind brown cloud. The cloud appeared to be growing quickly. His heart sank before Val's mind was able to identify with the cloud. Memory pulled him back to the times when his brothers would ride together. The way the road always created that cloud in the dusty lands.

Panic started to set itself in and for the first time he took a closer look to the layout of the land surround them. They were caught between two embankments with nothing but road in front bad behind, offering Little to no place to hide. The embankments were high up reach, what Val guessed to be shoulder height. The apple tree around were thin, young, definitely not enough to hide behind. not without climbing or breaking down to use as a tool with which to hide.

"Everyone. We are in grave danger of being sent back by threat of agony! Climb the embankments! Hide behind the trees deeper in then lie down behind them it is the only way. Dont hide with your bags! They will only make you more conspicuous! Vai, Ava, Kati with me on the left, the rest hide on your right! If your caught tell them the rest went another way!"

With he reached for Vai and ran up the embankment to the orchard above where as he knew there was little there to hide them. Each tree was set in perfect rows. Showing everything from the first tree to the trees ten rows in and beyond. He reached for the thinnest tree he could find and jumped up, grabbing a thick branch and pulling down with hiss full weight the entire tree broke in half touching the ground where he slide to the ground and called for Vai.

Ava
07-18-2011, 02:27 AM
The constant beat of the groups footsteps had lulled Ava into a sort of trance. She kept her eyes fowards, and kept time with the others, but that was it. Thoughts drifted in and out of her head. Some made her slightly smile, others seemed to make her flinch.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice when Val raised his hand for them to stop. She bumped into Kati before taking notice of her surroundings. Murmring a 'sorry' to Kati she watched Val with tired eyes. But you couldn't really blame her. The night before she had been kept up doing chores till the early morning, where she got an hour's sleep before being woke up to start her day chores. She did not sleep the night of her escape, she was too scared of sleeping too long and missing the group.

"This is the time in which a rest would be good. We are almost at Zenani but I fear we cannot enter the town itself, we will need to take one of the coming paths that branch away, pass through one of the orchards." Said Val. Ava let out the smallest of sighs, then she heard Spirit growl.

Whipping her head around she saw the cloud of dust moving towards them at a breakneck pace. She felt a sob rise, but it did not surface. Now was a time of action, not of defeat.

"Everyone. We are in grave danger of being sent back by threat of agony! Climb the embankments! Hide behind the trees deeper in then lie down behind them it is the only way. Dont hide with your bags! They will only make you more conspicuous! Vai, Ava, Kati with me on the left, the rest hide on your right! If your caught tell them the rest went another way!"

Ava perked up at her name and instantly ran towards the left embankment. If she had not been so painiced she would have marveled at how fast she could run. Her feet hit the slope and she felt her stomach drop when her foot slid, causing her to slam to the ground.

Struggling back to her feet Ava forced her way up the embankment. She saw Val break a tree and call to Olivia, but Ava knew that she would risk them getting caught if shhe tired to hide there.

She scanned the orchard looking for something...anything to hide her. Hide, hide, hide, hide. Her age old mantra streamed through her head. A tree.

She wasn't strong enought to break one, but she could climb one. Racing behind one she stabbed her sword down, keeping the sword along the trunk. Ava jumped, catching a low branch and pulled herself up into the heart of the tree.

Heart pounding she settled in the middle of the tree, her back agaisnt the trunk. She faced more of the orchard, her back was to the road. Please dont find me. Please dont find me. She thought, calming her breathing and keeping as still as possible.

infernai
07-19-2011, 11:34 PM
Sebastion followed along with the other members of the group, his hands in his pockets as he walked along after them. He was probably the one who was most calm and confident about success out of the rest of the group, and while there was a tinge of sadness at leaving behind his loved ones, he was just as excited to finally be able to go out and see the world. Finally, he'd have the opportunity to make a name for himself like the heroes of old!

He had never been in a situation that he could not just talk his way out of, which was something he preferred to do rather then resort to violence. He'd fight if there was no other way, but not until he tried to negotiate first, it was just how he worked and he wasn't about to change it.
Throughout the rest of the walk for the few hours, Sebastion spent his time flirting somewhat with Kati, seeming to be trying his hand at his luck, as well as making some passes at a few other female members...well, all except Val's Girlfriend, who was 'off-limits' in his eyes. Besides, it wasn't sporting to go after another mans woman, it just lead to bad luck and lots of annoyances later on. He also chatted with Mitch at times, reminiscing slightly on misadventures and trouble the two of them had been in during the past in the village. It was also during this time he ate his tomato, namely because he got hungry

When they came to a stop, he blinked, shrugging before taking one or two apples from an one of the few apple tree's that actually had some fully grown apples, namely for later as he hadn't packed any extensive food. It was probably stealing, true, but as of right now there didn't seem to be anyone who minded, and if anyone did come along and ask? He'd just say he was an inspector and he'd received word that the shipment was contaminated, needing to take some apples for testing.

He soon was brought to reality as he heard Val say they were in danger, looking up to see the brown cloud, hearing val claim they were in danger. The male just sighed, shaking his head.
"So much for an easy trip.."He grumbled, moving to climb over the other embankment and run a bit further in. Much like val, he grabbed one of the smaller, weaker tree's and pulled a thick branch down in order to cover him better as he lay down, hoping the he he wouldn't be found.

Auki
08-05-2011, 08:37 AM
One moment, she was hugging close to Val’s side, idly swinging their hands and listening to his occasional concerns. The next, there was panic.

"Everyone. We are in grave danger of being sent back by threat of agony! Climb the embankments! Hide behind the trees deeper in then lie down behind them it is the only way. Dont hide with your bags! They will only make you more conspicuous! Vai, Ava, Kati with me on the left, the rest hide on your right! If your caught tell them the rest went another way!"

She let out a small squeak as she peered down the road, the dust cloud of many horses spewing up into the air. Olivia had no idea what to do; if not for Val, she might have just stood their dumbstruck until the men behind snatched her up and carried her hope. Her parents… Her parents would be furious. She would never be allowed out their sight again, certainly never allowed to see any of the village boys. They would be blaming this all on puppy love and foolish youth; the very condescension she was running to avoid.

She allowed her boyfriend to tug her up the embankments, her feet sinking into the dirt much to her dislike. He took control almost instantly, leaving her to stand there dumbly whilst he founded their hiding spot. It was a hasty attempt – in all honesty, she had doubts about how successful it would be – but there was no time for better. Sliding to the ground beneath their shelter, she grabbed onto Val’s hand tightly and pressed her face against his body, closing her eyes and praying that they would be okay.

Mat
08-06-2011, 05:02 AM
Mat walked along with the rest of the group, slowly passing the time by looking around the countryside. It wasn't much, just a lot of open fields, but it wasn't Inkani, and that made it ten times better. After a while, Val told them all to stop and rest, and began to explain the situation concerning the next town. They couldn't enter it because they would be on the lookout for them; It made sense.

But suddenly, Val began to looked panicked. "Everyone. We are in grave danger of being sent back by threat of agony! Climb the embankments! Hide behind the trees deeper in then lie down behind them it is the only way. Dont hide with your bags! They will only make you more conspicuous! Vai, Ava, Kati with me on the left, the rest hide on your right! If your caught tell them the rest went another way!"

Mat looked over his shoulder and saw the oncoming smoke cloud and the soft but steady drum of hooves. He scrambled off the road and into the nearby orchards. Spotting a suitable tree, he hastily scrambled up it and flattened himself against one of the thick upper branches. He tried to slow down his breathing as he waited, and he gritted his teeth and closed his eyes as the horses riders got closer...

SQJ
08-14-2011, 04:45 PM
The rush of hooves came by and everyone held their breathe for a moment. The horses weren't slowing. They were passing through. Val chanced a glance, and breathed a sigh of relief. One of the horses reared and slid to a halt while the others passed.

Val held his breath holding Vai's hand.

His youngest brother got off his horse and looked around. Eyeing the embankments looking left and right, then left again. He climbed back on and rode away at a slow trot.

Val stood up watching his brothers leave. He'd always hated those horses. They were a special breed brought down from the base of the entire Black Thorne from lands that made their own look like wonderful dreams in comparison. Their bodies were thick and muscular. Their fur pitch black, they reminded him so much of their brothers, who through infighting and yard work were their own mercenary army.

Val stood up and crossed his arms as he watched his youngest brother trot out of sight. He swore, then swore again kicking the soil up. This wasn't supposed to happen until they crossed the town of
Zenani still quite a few hours away. There wasn't much of a way to Egoli without going through Zenani.

What were the options outside of passing through Zenani? Simply two in total.

Passing east through to the black forest, this was an option outside of options. The black forest was a land that was considered a land of hunters, wizards and warriors. It was off the trade web. They'd have to spend three days heading east across over a dozen farm lands and then turn at the heart off forest which would take them directly to Egoli. They'd have to eat from the fat of the land and nothing else as the only people they would see would be over protective farmers and equally untrusting farm workers pulled from the nearby towns determined to earn the little money they'd get for that time during the year. All that was before the Black forest itself where the creatures were so massive they were legend. They weren't near the required strength to manage, maybe once they passed through Egoli but other wise no.

Passing west through the high grounds, they would have to pass right through the trade web only this would take six days and they'd have to pass a mountain range, go through it just to get to Egoli. That of course was ignoring the blistering cold of the ice lands the awaited just beyond. If any one thought Humans were unfriendly they had yet to hear of the Sefefo people. This didn't seem like a real option either.

Val relayed all this to everyone. “this leaves the third option. We try sneak into Zenani. Its the best way of getting to Egoli but holds potentially the most risk, but only in terms of capture. Not in terms of anything else, where the other options hold risk in terms of losing out lives. But -” Val stopped holding Vai hand. “Where is Elle?” Val's heart sank. Elle had their money and she was no where to be seen. They didn't have time for this. Val risked raising his voice. “Elle! ELLE!!!”