Under a Dark Sun(2nd Ed. AD&D)

[Armen]

Tamora

Tamora smiled reassuringly at Anne. “Don’t worry,” she said as the party walked away from the elves and back towards Balth, “if they spoke the truth then they are only here to capture fugitive criminals from Achen”.

“I believe you are right Bas,” she answered the druid, “and no, only the purpose of that group of elven hunters. Do you think we should talk to anyone here about the lizardmen? Jonas maybe? We could ask him to speak with the people here. They might welcome allies or at least neutral forces near them if they have already been attacked by the halflings.” The ranger looked troubled at this. “We will have to be more alert. I did not realise that they would operate so close to the lizardman territory”

[dplax]

Anne

Anne sighed. She would have to trust Tamora and Bas more. She glanced around and saw that no one was close enough to overhear.

"I do not want to go into details now, with so many around, but that is exactly the reason why I would not like to be close to those elves."

She listened to Tamora's thoughts on the halflings.

"Indeed, for now it seems that those here are not capable of moving against the lizardmen and are more occupied with their own problems. Still, much could happen while we choose to go and find our other companions. We would not know how many days or weeks we'd be gone."

[Armen]

Tamora

The young ranger raised a quizzical eyebrow at Anne’s statement but said nothing. What did she care about the laws of human cities? Anne had proven a trustworthy and selfless companion where it mattered – in the forest. Still, if the elven posse were after Anne that would make Tamora’s job a lot harder. She listened to Anne’s thoughts on the portal camp.

“True,” she responded, “and if we are to go perhaps we should head in that direction soon. And, Anne, if you are prepared to talk about that other matter it might be useful to know what we might have to deal with.”

[dplax]

Anne

She eyed Tamora for several long seconds, before releasing another long sigh. The former thief paused for a second in her step.

"Not here, not now, but I shall tell you about that part of my life. Have they not recognized me or on the chance that they aren't specifically here for me, I'd prefer not to alert those in this camp to the details of my past."

[Armen]

Tamora

Tamora smiled at Anne. “Later then,” she said as the group arrived back at Jonas’ campfire. “Jonas, we are going to leave soon to look for our companions but can I speak with you first?” Receiving a nod of assent she continued. “The village that you directed us to is populated by lizardman hunters. They appear to be simple and neutral people but our presence here is making some of them nervous and there is a risk that they could attack out of fear as the halflings did. Can you use your influence here to persuade these others to leave them be and avoid provoking them. I believe that the last thing this settlement needs is to fight two hostile tribes and, besides, we are the intruders here.”

Tamora stopped after this uncharacteristically long speech and suddenly appeared unsure and eager to see how her speech had gone down. While she waited for a reaction she addressed Balth. “What are your plans now Balth? Do you wish to remain here? Return to your people? We would welcome your company again if you wish it.”

Following this, and if the others agree, Tamora will lead the party off in the direction of the ruins, aiming to intercept the others likely route there.

[PurpleXVI]

Lorath, Ulik, Evon, Jarval

Ulik seemed to suddenly become untalkative, as though something was bothering him. Dropping whatever thread of conversation he had been pursuing, he went about loading Jarval unto the gurney in a business-like manner.

With both Lorath and Ulik somewhat injured, and no member of the party particularly muscular, the three took turns carrying the gurney on the way out of the swamp and towards the lizardman village. Even so, they had to take a lot of breaks to get rid of the feeling that their arms were about to drop off.

On the way back towards the lake, they had a time to get a better look at the wounded man. What of his clothes weren't stained dark with blood, filth and worse were obviously of fine quality, and some parts where covered in symbols that could either have been just symbols, or writing. Whatever they were, though, they were indecipherable and meaningless to Lorath and Ulik. The only observation they could make was that stylized animals and suns seemed common.

Beneath the grime, dirt and paleness brought on by being near death, Jarval looked to have dark skin, dark hair and dark just about everything. He didn't look like anyone they'd ever met on Achen.

(OOC: With climates between arctic and temperate, most people on Achen tend towards looking somewhat European.)

It was nighttime when they left the ruins to splash through the dark water, but by the time they'd gotten out of the murky, stinking area and unto solid ground again, the sky was already starting to visibly brighten behind the mountains to the east. Once they reached the lakeshore, it was well above the peaks.

Looking across the still waters towards the lizardman village, they saw what Tamora, Bas and Anne had seen the previous day: The formerly tiny village had expanded severely in the time since they'd last seen it, and there were armed guards most of the way around the edge. None of them looked obviously hostile, however.

(OOC: Do not look directly at the Time Paradox, do not feed the Time Paradox, do not agitate the Time Paradox.)


Bas, Anne, Balth, Tamora

Jonas stopped halfway through telling Balth a joke about a centaur, an orc and an elf who walked into an inn when Tamora approached, Anne and Bas with her, something obviously on the ranger's mind.

He gave her a friendly, if slightly condescending, smile, "Miss, I don't have much influence here," he told her, "Hell, my friends hardly listen to me half the time. But if I see anyone new to the area looking like they're headed for the lake, I'll let them know that the lizardmen are friendly unless they try to start something, that's all I can promise. And only till we all recover, we're adventurers, after all."

Balth didn't even spend a second considering her words to him, and instantly replied, leaping to his feet, "You're not quite rid of me yet," he said, "I'm sticking with you for a while." After saying his farewells to Jonas' group, he eagerly followed his three companions.

(OOC: Going to, for the sake of expediency, assume that no one is disagreeing with Tamora's course of action.)

Tamora's direct route took them through dense forest, though that was nothing unusual, with few tracks and clearings. After a few hours of wandering and hacking their way through dense brush, they reached the edge of the murky swamp. Ahead of them stretched leagues of rotting marshland with no noticeable trails, most tracks gone in a matter of minutes and no apparent ruins visible from the edge.

"And you were hoping to find your friends here?" Asked Balth, as the group paused, momentarily surveying the foul-smelling landscape ahead of them before entering, "Wouldn't it be a better idea to wait somewhere they'd be likely to go once they were finished with their business? I don't like the idea of getting lost in that place."

[Kazilan]

Bas nodded as Balth spoke. "I agree, wandering around in this swamp could be dangerous as well as fruitless. I suggest we search the edge of the forest for their tracks, terrain that I am more familiar with and I assume Tamora is as well."

The druid glanced at the trail they had hacked through the forest.

"Perhaps this could be a chance for you," Bas gestured at Anne, "to rest your leg, While Tamora and I search. We should be able to find a decent spot back a ways to mark as base camp for our search, or you could wait here and watch the swamp for any sign of the others. Balth, if you are willing to help search that would speed our progress. What do you all think?"

[Armen]

Tamora

Tamora, who had been eyeing the swamp with ill-concealed distaste, nodded at Bas’ suggestion. “Agreed. We should skirt the marshes in a north westerly direction first as our route here is most likely south and east of the direct route to and from the lake.” The ranger indicated her suggested path with her spear as she spoke, shading her eyes as she looked into the distance. “We can follow the forest edge to start with and look for tracks from either the others or the lizardman hunters the shaman told us had been watching for their return. If the ground becomes too soft to hold a mark we can move further into the forest”

She looked over to Anne then back to Bas. “It could easily be a couple of hours before we intercept the trail. I’d be wary of separating that far. Anne,” this spoken directly to the rogue, “you are fit to continue I’m sure?”

[ 04-25-2007, 03:21 PM: Message edited by: Armen ]

[Man Who Fights Like Woman]

Upon seeing how much the village had expanded, Lorath wondered how long he had actually been out. They hadn't spent more than a couple of days, three at the most, investigating the ruins, and surely that wasn't enough time for this sort of expasnion. Ultimately he chalked it up to their foreign practices, guessing that a group had just migrated to merge with this village, or it was only a vanguard to begin. He shrugged and headed to the village with the other three, sure that the guards wouldn't attack a group escorting a wounded man.

Once in the village he began looking for a familiar face. Finding one of those among a race totally alien to his own seemed unlikely, but he did it anyways. If he couldn't find a familiar face he would look for the lizardman who seemed to be in charge, and show him the wounded man. Since there was probably still a significant language gap, once he showed them Jarval he would pantomime putting a bandage on one of his already bandaged wounds, and then a gesture that he thought would mean rest, and then went in a circle with his finger pointing outward followed by a shrug. Hopefully this would communicate that they were looking for a place to leave him so that he could be healed by magical means or recover on his own.

[dplax]

As she prepared to reply to Tamora, Anne thought back to her conversation she had had with the ranger not so long ago.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Talk had not been easy during the first few hours of their trek towards the swamp. Tamora had been ever at the front, scouting out the easiest path. It had been when Balth took the lead to allow Tamora a few minutes reprieve that Anne finally had had a chance to talk to her companion. She had softly cleared her throat as though it were necessary to get Tamora’s attention. It had been clearly visible from Anne’s posture and her movements that this was a conversation she was going to be uneasy about.

Pushing a large, green leaf out of her face, she had spoken softly, not wanting to alert even more creatures of the jungle to their presence and because the subject wasn’t a casual one.

“Your question and your suspicions about me have been unanswered long enough Tamora. It is a subject I would be wary of talking of in front of Balth and possibly even Bas. As another woman, you’ll probably understand me quite better than they would. Before I start, I’d like you to know that I have never been as honest with anyone before as I’m preparing to be with you now.”

Tamora, had looked momentarily uncomfortable to Anne, glancing up to the front of the party as if she wished she hadn’t relinquished her scouting role. In contrast to the city-dwelling thief Tamora often seemed more at ease in the quiet of the wilderness than in company so the hunter’s response did not surprise (or offend) Anne as much as it might have done. “You should probably avoid touching the leaves as much as possible Anne, you never know what might be clinging to the other side and some plants themselves are poisonous.”

Anne had watched Tamora for a moment before reacting. It did seem that where she was pushing and fighting her way through the forest, Tamora seemed to move with much less effort and with much less disturbance to the plants around her. Anne looked at the seemingly impenetrable wall of greenery and sighed just as Tamora continued. “I would be honoured to be entrusted with your story Anne.” Anne looked to Tamora but the elf’s face remained in the same impassive, restful alertness she always adopted in the forest, her eyes scanning for whatever it was elven rangers scanned for at such times.

“It will be the easiest if I start at the beginning. When I was thirteen years old, my mother committed suicide. My father having died nine years earlier again from suicide after having lost both of his legs in an accident, I was left alone with my two twin brothers, who were born mere months earlier. I tried bringing them up on my own. I quickly found that I was unsuited for physical work and that playing my flute did not bring in enough for us to survive. I turned towards the only possible source of income…common thievery. At first it was just an apple here, a loaf of bread there, but slowly with the income my activity generated I was able to build the semblance of a life for my brothers and myself.”

Anne had paused, allowing Tamora a few moments to digest what she had said. From up ahead Bas looked back and waved a hand. Tamora returned the gesture gave a thumbs-up to indicate all was well and then waved Bas forward. Stopping now she turned to Anne. “Go on,” she said.

“I moved onto richer targets quite fast. I hate to admit it, but I grew to like the rich lifestyle that I was easily able to lead. I went through so many false identities in a month that sometimes even I myself lost contact with the true me. One day I was Helen Viels, a rich noble’s wife, visiting from the north, the next I was Agnes Hunt, a rich widow, sometimes Anne Olafson, using my uncle’s name. I always was plain Anne Evasdottir when I went to see my brothers though.”

Another pause, longer this time. Tamora merely nodded for Anne to continue.

“The illusion of a life I was leading fell apart soon after my brothers eleventh birthday. To this day I do not know how I was found out, but soon more and more of my assumed identities had rewards put on them. Knowing that hard times were to come, I paid several years of tuition fees for my brothers in a prestigious academy. For more than twenty months after saying farewell to my brothers, who never once knew where the money for the life we had been able to lead came from I was on the run, having several very close calls, the last one coming just on the other side of the portal.”

“In a nutshell, that is why I did not want to stay for long near those elves. I can not know whether they know who I am and whether they are here for me or others.”

Tamora glanced in the direction the others had gone, now out of sight in the density of the jungle. They would have to start moving soon but there was time. “Anne, I’m not sure what to say. The life you describe to me is almost beyond my comprehension. In my home community there are barely two hundred people, all known to each other. Thievery as you describe it is unknown and indeed only my bow and my knives would I count as my own possessions and even those I would surrender if someone’s need was greater than my own.”

Tamora looked into the distance as she recalled the life she had known just a few short weeks ago. “I cannot judge you by the standards of your people. It seems to me that your initial motives were noble and that your later activities only robbed people of unnecessary luxury. I do not understand how you were seduced by such luxury yourself but that only you can know.” She smiled at the young human. “I am sorry if telling this tale has caused you pain but it matters not to me what you have done before we met. I can only judge you by the standards that I know and you have been a loyal and courageous companion in the forest.”

“As you yourself said, I did only take superfluous riches that those people flaunted. I think I set myself some sort of moral code very early on,” the rogue replied, “I never stole from the poor, or those in need, only from those who were well off. As to being seduced by the lifestyle…” Anne paused for several seconds, collecting her thoughts. “I guess it is a weakness of humans to be drawn to material riches, as much as dwarves are drawn to mountains, mines and precious metals and elves to beautiful forests.”

Tamora nodded “I do miss the forest but I love it here too and have no desire to possess either”. She grinned, “it sounds like all this time in the fresh air will probably be good for you,” then became more sober. “I do need you to help me understand how serious these crimes were among your own people however and whether the hunting party is likely to have been sent for you.”

“My downfall was probably that by stealing from the powerful I acquired powerful enemies. I know for a fact that the law and its agents were after me in several cities back in our home world. I also met on two occasions mercenaries sent to get me. Probably one or two of my former victims thought that the law wasn’t working fast enough and judged it necessary to take the matter in their own hands. Just before I stepped hastily through the portal, guards from a nearby town were chasing me. Luckily for me they probably dared not enter the portal without orders from their superiors.”

As Anne spoke Tamora’s expression settled back into one of watchful alertness. She narrowed her eyes as she peered back in the direction they had come, a thoughtful frown shadowing her features. “I wouldn’t worry,” she said as she turning back to Anne and brightening, “I can’t imagine they’d have let you leave the clearing if they could have stopped you there but we’ll keep an eye open anyway. Shall we catch up with the others?”

“Let’s,” had the uncharacteristically short reply been. Tamora and Anne had accelerated their pace, but Anne still had had one more thing to ask. “Can I ask you not to tell the others about what I have just told you about?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anne came back from her daydreaming. Only a few seconds had passed as her mind had flashed through these events.

“Indeed, I would prefer if we stayed together. This jungle does not seem to be friendly to solitary travellers.”