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Phantom Rain

Started by Lion, November 10, 2016, 11:46:17 PM

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Lion

There wasn't any point in wasting any more time when it came to the wound leaking from his side. If it had been any lower it would have punctured his ass, and he already had enough things trying to ride him these days. Little excusions like this kept his mind off the troubles that had been carried with the young man he used to be.  And the old man he now was, only brought on a whole lot more.

"I'm ready," he said, leaning over and bracing himself. "Believe me, I've felt worse things in my time...  At least I'm trying to convince myself that it's true."  He looked over to Boreas then back to the state of his hands, pale and thirsty for a kill.  He hadn't realized he'd been trembling, and forced himself to still, inhaling deep. 




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Incognus

"Alright, hold still now, raise your left arm over your head please.." Evelyn put her left hand just below Corvus's left pectoral to keep his shirt out of the way. She knelt beside him and leaned down to get closer to the bullet. Concentrating hard, she pinched the air with her thumb and index, as if she were grabbing the bullet itself, and started to slowly pull her hand outwards. She could feel the bullet's presence slowly getting worked out of the wound, and a couple times it 'slipped from her grasp', and she lost hold on its position. After a while, she was able to move the musket ball to just below the skin, but from there she couldn't pull it out any farther.

"Your wound is coagulated with dried blood. It's good for the cut to heal, but I need to open it again if you want the bullet out," she looked up at him and pulled a bronze knife from her waist line behind her. "This will just be a pinch." Evelyn looked back down at the injury and slowly worked her knife into the flesh opening, breaking the forming scab and twisting the blade to part the flesh. Blood began draining out once again and the mage worked quickly to finish pulling the bullet from Corvus's body. When it finally popped out, she grabbed the bandaging Corvus was previously using and started wrapping it around him again to staunch the bleeding. "You good?" she asked looking up at the man.

Lion

He did as she instructed and braced himself. Feeling the bullet moving through his body was equally unpleasant, and even when he lied to himself. He grimaced and grunted with great discomfort. He wanted to cry out, but he refused and closed his eyes tightly as she worked the bulb out, and he didn't let himself focus on the pain.

"Fuck!" he hissed, when the blade cut him open even more.  "Damn!"  Although she had warned him so it wasn't entirely her fault.  He just leaned and made no further complaints, he just wanted the damn thing out of him.  "Fuck, this must be how expectant mothers feel."

When it was finally over he felt like he was going to faint, and the blood had drained from his face.  He felt the pressure of the bandage around his waist.  "Gods be damned," he mumbled and looked at her handiwork.  "If I'm still alive, then yeah, I'm good. You've got a steadier hand than most."  He smirked at her and looked at the blood on her hands.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Incognus

Evelyn nodded gave a quick smile, wiping his blood off on the nearby grass as best she could. "I don't think we've had a chance to thank you for helping us back there sir," Evelyn said to him, getting up off the muddy ground, "What are you doing around here anyway? If you don't mind me asking that is."

Lion

After the throbbing subsided mildly, he adjusted himself on the log and shifted his clothes back down. It was nice to have the opportunity to rest after that bout of foolishness.  No doubt it would start up again at some point, but it was his very hope to not have to deal with Mordecai again.

"Thanking me is moot, my life was in an equal amount of danger. But I...would likely do it again if I had the chance, preferably not getting shot in the process."  He chuckled and looked over to Boreas.  It was rather clear he probably didn't like him. Perhaps it was for the best. "I was coming into Connlaoth at a bad time I suppose. But I guess I thought the war would distract the nuisance that is the Mordecai. You'd think they'd have enough problems chasing real rebels."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Incognus

"Hmh" Boreas grunted, "And you think we're not cut out to be real rebels?" He asked with a somewhat sharp tone. "I noticed you skirted the question my sister asked you, what is someone like you doing in Connlaoth and why would you need the Mordecai distracted for it?"

"Boreas please stop it. This man helped us, he doesn't need to be interrogated right now." Evelyn turned toward her Brother and gave him a look that told him to drop it. "I'm sure you wouldn't like it if he were to pry into our affairs." He stayed silent in response.

Evelyn walked to the driest spot in their campsite and squatted, waving her hand through the air to grow a think moss on the ground. Hopefully this keeps us from getting too wet, she thought. "We're going to get some sleep now, wake me if you get too tired. Alright?" She gave her brother a concerned look.

"Sure," he said, although he knew no such thing would happen, even if he was exhausted. Boreas turned his head and began scanning the tree line.

Lion

Corvus watched Boreas with narrowed eyes. It was easy to decide whether or not he liked someone right away. And he could tell that this Boreas was not going to make this going easy. The girl on the other hand was more amicable, and her skill...could prove useful. He didn't bother giving the young man's statement any justification. He hadn't dodged any question, he just hadn't been given any opportunity to extrapolate.

So he just laughed and shook his head.  He stood and patted Boreas a patronizing slap on the shoulder before moving toward the mossy spot.  It would provide some comfort, and frankly, he wasn't tired enough to sleep, but he could lay and pretend he was.

And he could feel the other's eyes on him the entire time.  "Is he always like that?" he quietly whispered to Evelyn.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Incognus

Evelyn gave a soft sigh, "No he's just, oh I don't know, cautious I suppose. Don't worry about him and just get some rest, he'll lighten up," she said. Hopefully.

Boreas glared at Corvus's back after he slapped him on his shoulder, tearing his attention away from the man after a few moments. Boreas decided he definitely didn't like the guy. The way he held himself, as if he were above everyone. Boreas had seen that attitude before in others, mostly from his masters when he was a slave, and they weren't good people. His mind drifted back to the skirmish they had just escaped. Evelyn may not have noticed it, but he had caught the look on Corvus's face while he strangled the man. It was a look of savagery, of bloodlust. And it told Boreas several things about Corvus, one of them was that he couldn't be trusted. He sat on the log looking out past the trees and taking occasional glaces at the two on the moss. He didn't know how long Corvus would stay around, but the sooner he left the better.

Lion

He closed his eyes long enough to let himself rest but sleep did not come. It couldn't come when he was training his ears to hear all around them. The sounds the forest made were easily differentiated from sounds men made when passing through, especially those that were looking for tracks.  Approximately two hours passed before Corvus opened his eyes and looked up to Boreas.

"It's time to move, man," he murmured and gently turned to shake Evelyn by her shoulder.  "Perhaps it's best if we traveled alongside the main road, keep touch with it. But you know this land better than I Boreas. Perhaps you should lead."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Incognus

Boreas turned towards Corvus. He was about to tell him to let Evelyn get more rest, but his logic prevailed in showing him the man was correct. They had just escaped several soldiers and it wasn't good to dwell in the same place too long when people were looking for you. He turned towards the horizon and saw the faintest sign of light peeking between the foliage. Looks like the sun will be up in an hour or so. "Alright," he said, "lets get moving. We'll find a road and stay off the path." Boreas stood from the log and stretched, his sister Evelyn sitting up and doing the same. Those soldiers could be getting close, Boreas thought.
***

Captain Izaak and his four remaining men had just begun to enter the tree line when the sun's first few rays barely began to lighten the dark sky. He was angry, the three fugitives had managed to kill off five of his men. FIVE. And the captain himself was the only one to get a half proper lick in, a bullet wound in a man's backside.

Stepping into the woods, he quickly found footprints in the mud. Idiots, he thought, they usually took more care to cover their tracks. As they followed, he began to wander if in fact they left the muddy trail on purpose, then he found the point where the indentations abruptly stopped. All three pairs of them in that exact place. Izaak raised his hand in a silent order for the men to halt, squatting at the strange occurrence. Those fuckers used magic to start covering their trail. He looked around the surrounding area. But they were in a rush because they didn't notice this until just now.

Izaak told his men to follow again and they walked in the trail's previous direction, but this time at a much slower pace. His keen eyes swept the surrounding area for any sign of the three, and he soon found one. A small branch on a plant was broken at it's fork, on further inspection he noticed the inside was still very green, meaning the break was fresh. The group had made a sharp turn right here, to try and throw his men off the trail. Not so fast now, I'm better than that. He thought, moving in the path's new direction. I'll catch up with you lot eventually, just you wait...

Lion

They couldn't afford to wait.  And with the few hours that had passed by, it had given time enough for the soil to dry in some respect. There was less mud to track their steps and slow them down. It gave Corvus the opportunity to drop the hood of cloak and better survey the area they were in. His hearing was less distracted by the rain, although the birds chirping in trees could have been left out and he wouldn't have minded either way.

"How long have they been following you two?" he asked with interest. "And how long have you managed to avoid them until now? I ask only because I'm currently calculating our chances of diversion and escape.  If it will help, I have an idea, might buy us some more time."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Incognus

Boreas chose a direction he guessed would intersect with a main road and started walking, Evelyn and Corvus following right behind. "I'm not sure exactly," Evelyn yawned, "I think the first encounter we had with this group was about a week ago. Then they found us again two days back and then just tonight. There were others. We've been on the run ever since Boreas and I found each other again..." She trailed off.

"So let's hear this idea of yours," Boreas asked turning back to Corvus.

Lion

"You go on and keep covering your tracks as you have been.  I'll divert them," Corvus said matter-of-factly. "They won't be on our trail for long.  Now go."  He didn't wait long to hear any comments or protest should there be any before he took off between the trees, going back the way they came.  There was some time between them and Izaak, but it wasn't a lot. Much of it was wasted resting, and Corvus intended to make up for it.

He ran quickly, running around where they crossed  the campsite and topped here, hands working quickly to scavenge what he could from the forest floor. He had simple tools with him, a blade, some spare thread, and other objects to fashion the traps that would linger around the camp. A pit would be a much better option, however, it would take up more time than he was willing to give, not to mention the effort involved.

So instead, Corvus created several snares around the camp, and areas where a branch would snap across the diameter of the clearing if the way he suspected they were coming would loose the string he settled between two rocks. The other traps were disguised with foliage collected from around the camp, color to color, shade to shade, branch with bush. 

Perhaps traps of a magical variety would do just as well, but he figured Mordecai were rather skilled in finding ways to dismantle those as well.

Once the traps were set up, he moved on, following back the way he had come, careful of the trees, always listening...

-

Izaak was getting sick of this game of cat and mouse.  When were they going to realize that escape was futile?  Better to give in now than to suffer the fate all rebels were to face. Whether they were actual rebels was irrelevant, they were mages and they would die like the vermin they were.

His men were dogged but careful, scouting and scanning ahead.  They couldn't be more than an hour ahead of them, perhaps less if his calculations regarding the freshly snapped branch was correct. "We're getting close, men, keep looking," he hissed, scowling between the trees.  The remnants of smoke briefly touched his nostrils...




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Incognus

Evelyn turned around, about to call out to Corvus before Boreas put a hand on his shoulder. "He'll be fine, let's keep moving," he said. Boreas was pretty confident about this, he figured it was going to take more than that to get rid of the man. Whatever he was doing to get the soldiers off of their trail would help them, although he didn't want to think about what Corvus's methods might be. Those soldiers don't deserve to die. They're just doing their jobs, Boreas thought. He wanted to follow Corvus and keep bloodshed to a minimum but he knew Evelyn and his own safety was more important at the moment. Whatever happens, either the soldiers will be off our backs, or Corvus will be gone. Either way a problem gets solved. The two continued moving towards what would hopefully be a main road, with Evelyn covering their tracks as they went.

Lion

She did well in doing so, and when he found where they previously were he had a hard time finding them as they went further on. He sniffed the air, following their trail that way and he could feel the negative traces of energy Boreas left behind. It was not to be unexpected, the young man had his sister to protect after all and not being caught to consider

Corvus was certain his traps would work, or at least make short work of a few of them, fewer to track and trace, all that much in their favor.  He saw shapes in the trees ahead, although he didn't call out, and ran as far up as he could. The bullet was gone from his side, but the aching prevailed however.

He found a break in the trees, their thickness generally unwavering, and soon saw them as they crossed.  "Thought you could take off without me huh?" he asked, somewhat out of breath.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Incognus

"Well its not like your told us what you were doing or anything, thought you'd be done sooner," Boreas turned around and replied. "Plus, if you had gotten caught, were we just supposed to sit around waiting for the soldiers?" Evelyn gave her brother an exasperated look, wishing he would stop being so short with the man that might have saved their lives. She put a hand on his shoulder but didn't say anything, he got the message.

"I'm sorry Corvus, I figured you'd be able catch up with us though." Evelyn said to the man. "What'd you do back there by the way? Did it work?"

Lion

Of course he wasn't expecting a real welcome back. And Boreas' biting comments were amusing. The boy really did have a chip on his shoulder didn't he? He concealed his amusement, and just audibly sighed. "I set up traps around the camp we were at, just snares, nothing more than to distract and mildly wound them."

Nothing more than necessary, but even if Corvus had no qualms about killing them, he didn't need to leave a troublesome trail of bodies.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Incognus

Evelyn nodded and gave Corvus a small smile. "Thank you," she said. the three continued forward and soon found themselves at a roadway carved through the forest. Boreas had the others wait as he peeked his head around the area, returning shortly.

"To the left, I think the road leads into town. The one we just came from," he informed them, "So we'll need to head to the right and stay in the trees. Hopefully we'll find a town before long." He lead the way and the group continued their journey through the woods.
***

Swish! ziiippp! One moment the man was in front of him and the next he was yelling and dangling in the air. The soldier's foot was caught in a snare trap that pulled him high up into the tree. Another one of Izaak's men rushed over to the victim from the right. "Wai-" the captain tried to call out, but it was too late. Another whip of a branch and a falling counterweight were set in motion, dragging his second man up into the leaves. "HALT!" Izaak called out.

The pursuit party was in the middle of the fugitives' campsite, and anywhere they stepped could easily cause another chain reaction to ensue. Gods blast these little fuckers. Izaak looked around his surrounding area. I should have seen this coming, he thought. "Careful where you step now gentlemen. This place is obviously rigged." The captain's eye caught the rope attached to one of the counterweights a few meters to his left. It was currently holding of one of his men aloft.

"Get me outta here capn!" A voice yelled from above.

"Quiet!" Izaak yelled back, "What do you think we're working on?!" He nodded at one of the soldiers to his left. "Ey, Davis! Make your way over to that rope and cut the man down," he instructed, "But let him down soft, a fall from that height could be serious." Davis began slowly moving towards the counter, poking at the bushes in front of him with his rifle. This would set them back, Izaak knew, and he scolded himself for falling prey to the trap so easily. I wont let this happen again. All they could do for now is get the two men down from the branches as quickly as possible. And try to avoid getting caught in another trap themselves.

Lion

With the traps buying them much needed time, it was up to them to use that time wisely, Corvus thought passively. However there was a quiet desperation growing inside of him. This was an unprecedented set back and perhaps it was his own fault for falling in with two travelers, yet he couldn't ignore the fact that he now had extra weight he did not need.  Granted, he could leave if he wished, they could go their own separate ways and no one would be any the wiser - certainly this Boreas would look upon this favorably.

The terrain was torn apart the further up the road they went, even traveling along the side of it as they did. The traces of war made the air even more foul, although the lack of rain was a plus. Corvus cut his eyes to Evelyn, then Boreas, remaining silent as they traveled along, each step growing more weary than the next.

Being a foreigner in this place wasn't exactly ideal, and made him all that much more aware of how out of water he was. While he could handle himself just fine, the case of navigating and finding a way to cope with the tensions of both sides of this war was going to be trying. He would need someone that might be more of an asset than a hindrance. And with that in mind he found himself staring overlong at Evelyn, as they trod a small overgrown path that was just thirty yards from the road.

"Belwind," he murmured. "That's the town I saw on the map on my way up here. It's where I was headed on that road before, well, y'know."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Incognus

"Belwind," Boreas repeated quietly, he had heard the name mentioned before, but knew little about the town other than it was small. "What are you visiting Belwind for?" he asked. "Not many right minded people would stick around with this damn war..." He said it in a melancholy tone, not as an attack on Corvus, as if he were thinking back to sad times. Evelyn squeezed his shoulder in comfort. The war had effected everyone in the country in terrible ways, and there wasn't anyone still around without a reason to be.

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