To Walk a Dragon's Path, Chapter 3-Grievences of a Queen

[Calaethis Dragonsbane]

The elf's voice was grim, "Who said I was going after her?" His tone implied that he wished to go after the bastards that did this. It looked like he had some of Alliene's blood in him after all...

[Lady Blue03]

Verloren glanced breifly at the downed silver, counting the spears. There were seven. She gulped a bit and looked back at Calaethis,
"That's not what I meant, Calaethis. I don't want you getting killed. Not by those dragoons, but by Alliene. I won't stop you though. She's killed 3 of them already. Try to stay out of her way, and I mean it." Sighing she turned back to Avalon's sister and lay her hand ponderously on a tasseled spear.

[Skydracgrrl]

During this time Skye was looking worriedly around, trying to see how far they were from the mountains that they were to meet with their "guide." Walking up to Verloren she asked timidly "Would my bardic abilities be of any use? Perhaps to calm her, or lessen what ever.." she paused, giving Avalon a sideways glance, "...pain she may be in?" she finished helplessly.

[Calaethis Dragonsbane]

Calaethis sighed, "If that is your wish, then I shall obey it." the young elf said, obvious disappointed he wouldn't get to kill anything, "I owe you my life and more; I shall respect your wishes." By his tone, he might have been a slave answering to his mistress; not a yoke of guilt, but a bond of love. Verloren could tell that he respected her greatly and would do as she commanded; she had more control over him then his own mother would have, and he'd made it clear several times.

[Lady Blue03]

"Thank you, cousin, that means the world to me." Verloren ran a hand through her hair and gave Skye a sideways glance, her eyes slowly moving from her, to Avalon, and to his sister. Avalon was obviously too greif ridden to give his opinion, so Verloren made it for him,
"Skye, if you know a song that will put her into a pleasant sleep, that would be best. At least her brother is here." another shout is heard in the distance.

[Calaethis Dragonsbane]

erm, so what now LB? wait for Skye?

[Lady Blue03]

yes, yes we are [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Skydracgrrl]

ooc- DAMN history finals!!!

ic- Skye nodded and proceeded to play a slow, haunting tune. Watching the dragon carefully, she stopped once her eyes remained closed. "She's in a deep, dreamless sleep right now... I had to stop playing, otherwise she would not have been able to wake," she explained.

Once those words were out of her mouth, a shout was heard in the distance, and Skye's ears seem to perk up. After some crashing and clashing in the underbrush a medium sized group of people rushed up to those surrounding the female silver. They easily recognized their "guide," who had a sorrowful look appear on his face when he spotted the fallen dragon.
"So we were too late... Lord Lyulfe will be greatly upset," he said to himself agitatedly, then looked at the others. "Are the rest of you unharmed?" With a nodd, the rest of his group went scurrying into the surrounding forestry. "Lord Lyulfe has been trying to put an end to those..." he paused and carefully reworded his original sentence, "them. It's illegal in these parts to harm dragons, unless in self-defense. Or, it's supposed to be." Giving them all a concentrated look he asked abruptly "Where is the rest of your party? One of you seems to be missing."

ooc- ah, remember those annoying times when the games would say "where is the rest of your party/wait for the rest of your party?" [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img] ah, memories..

[Lady Blue03]

like baldurs gate- You must gather your party before venturing forth *stabs monotone narrator*

Verloren stepped up, "My sister, Alliene, is getting rid of the men.." she stopped abrubtly as there was some rustling in the nearby bushes, her hand on Isan.
The rustling turned out to be Alliene, her face grim, eyes cold. 7 spears were slung over her shoulder, tassels dangling limply. She threw them on the ground at Avalon's massive paws and bowed deeply. Avalon grunted and lifted a claw under her chin, tilting her head up so he could look at her for a moment. When the moment passed he removed his claw and hunched down. Alliene looked at the newcomers in mild surprise.
"I've eliminated the ones that took this dragon," she said, pulling a stick out of her hair, "I don't know if there are more out there, but they won't be hunting dragons when they see their comrades."
She disappeared into the bushes again, and came back, pushing a huge stone in front of her...no it was an egg. She pushed it in front of Avalon, whose paws wordlessly and gently wrapped around it.
A tear trickled unbidden out of Verloren's eyes, which she brushed quickly away. She looked at the new men.
"Are you here to guide us to this Lord? I think we've had enough stress for a week."

[Skydracgrrl]

ooc- brace yourself.. [img]graemlins/evillaughter2.gif[/img]

The sage bowed politely to Verloren. "Yes, and I thank you, with this he turned and bowed towards Alliene, "For bringing those men to a justice of sorts. Lord Lyulfe has had many hunt for them for quite a time, but has been unable to catch them. He will be very upset to find that the lady silver was critically wounded before we could stop them.” He shook his head sadly, then uttered a piercing whistle. The armed men he had come with appeared from the surrounding brush. "Well then, let us be off. But first…” He took out a bottle and poured a liquid on the fallen silver’s head while muttering an incantation. After the silver smoke that had appeared dissipated, a lovely woman was in its place. Making a few gestures, the sage had her placed into a sling a bore by some of the soldiers. "Follow me please, this forest is very dangerous,” the sage warned them pleasantly, then head off.

After traveling for some while, made faster thanks to the sage’s hidden paths, he called the company to a halt. "We shall rest here, it is almost dark and the next building is a ways from here,” he explained. "Well, that’s okay, we’ve all slept outside before,” Skye said with a confused look on her face. "Why don’t we continue traveling for awhile so we’ll have less distance to travel tomorrow?” The sage shook his head vehemently. "No! Not if you value your life and are not a fool.” Noticing the looks he was receiving, he continued on gently. "The last lord of this land, before Lord Lyulfe, did not keep good care of it and much fell under darkness. We have since then been able to cure it, except for this forest. I will warn you now, it is dangerous to travel in here, even during the daylight. Traveling at night is certain death. There are a few buildings, however, that seem to keep the darkness away for some reason, from some previous civilization. We will rest in one such building.” "Ooohh,” Skye breathed in understanding. "Well, lead the way then, uh… err…” she rubbed her left ear, embarrassed, and the sage smiled with amusement. "Pardon me, I believe I never told any of you my name. I am Genshatoki, royal sage and advisor to Lord Lyulfe. Please, follow me.”

After bowing politely to the group, he led them into a mostly intact ruins of a large building carved of wood and stone, with intricate patterns of nature scenes and odd hieroglyphics all over its surfaces. Entering a large room with a highly vaulted ceiling, Genshatoki stopped and whispered something, causing all the torches and candles in the room to light up. The light revealed a room filled with beautiful tapestries and treasures, and plush fabrics, silken pillows, and velvety blankets covered the floor. "How this wealth got here, and is still intact is unknown to us even today,” he said in explanation. "The only reason we can think of is that it is part of the enchantment that keeps the darkness out.” Waving towards the many entrances and doors he added, "Feel free to explore if you wish, there’s a spell that if you get lost you will somehow find your way back to this room. Just be careful near the gardens, since the spell seems to be weaker there and… things have a tendency to get in. Nothing you can’t handle though.” With a bow to them, he retired to one side of the room where he could keep a watch silver. The armed men retired to various alcoves along the walls, where they kept watch over the room. Skye turned towards the others. "So, anyone want to explore a bit with me before we turn in? It’s still daylight for about three hours more,” she asked.

ooc- I'm assuming that the female silver is dead..? If she is, Genshatoki is keeping watch "religiously," per-say if she isn't but is near death, then he's keeping a watch over her to make sure she doesnt get any worse. [img]smile.gif[/img] Erm, what's her name, btw? ^^;

[ 06-15-2003, 01:23 PM: Message edited by: Skydracgrrl ]