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To Kill a Mage (Minfeveer)

Started by HighLordMhoram, July 30, 2017, 04:54:26 AM

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HighLordMhoram

Graven had suspected that something big had been brewing down in the city, but now Fawn had confirmed his suspicions. He looked around the cave; it was nowhere near as easy to defend as his old home. And now he had only two once-dead left. If they came at him in any force, his death was almost assured. His death...and Fawn's.

He stared into the fire for a long while, lost in thought. Finally, he said, "Thank you for coming here to warn me. You didn't have to put yourself at risk like that. I appreciate it." He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger, struggling to come up with a plan. Finally, he opened his eyes again.

"You'll leave tomorrow. I'll put you in Cal's hands; he'll get you to the other side of the mountains. you can escape into Serendipity there. He'll leave you at the base of the mountains and return here, so you'll want to make sure that you know the way. Just tell the border guards that you're a refugee mage, and they should let you in. There's no need for you to die here with me."

Minfever

Fawn watched him quietly as he spoke of his plan to help her escape.  She smiled, and then let out a trickle of laughter, clear and bright.  It wasn't a mocking sort of laughter.  Rather, it came from a source of disbelief.

"Graven, I had hoped you would know me better than that."

Feeling warm at last she scooted a little closer to Graven and placed a hand over his.

"I'm not leaving you to fend for yourself.  You have two men, and you have me.  Your odds will be substantially greater if I help you.  Now that you've helped me escape the mordecai perhaps I can shift and go out into the city and gather some information.  Perhaps I can lure a few Connlaothian soldiers here so you can build up your number of men.  No matter what, you'll at least have a fighter in me."

HighLordMhoram

Graven looked up at Fawn, feeling grateful and frustrated at the same time. He couldn't find it in himself to return her smile, given how she had just placed herself in mortal danger on his account, but he did say gruffly, "Thank you. I'll rest easier with you watching my back." He looked around. "Well, there's four of us now, against the entirety of the Connlaothan army. I suppose we'd better get to work."

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Helena spread out a map of the mountains over the table she, Thearon, and three other mordecai stood around. The group had bedded down in an inn in the town closest to the mountains for the night. Now it was morning, and Helena wanted to brief everyone on her plan before they set out. "A groupd of soldiers led by two mordecai managed to chase the shifter in this direction not two days ago," she said, indicating a point on the map. "They never returned. I think that's a pretty strong indicator that the Graven has made his new lair in that location. The shifting rat would scurry back to its master for safety. We'll have to do a careful sweep of that mountain pass."

(By the way, I made a character profile for Helena if you're interested: http://www.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=24130.0 )

Minfever

(I did read it!  You've made a great character!)

Thearon nodded as Helena spoke, watching her fingertip as she moved it around the map to demonstrate where she generally believed Graven and the shifter were hiding.

"It shouldn't be hard to handle that mountain pass.  Besides, the Graven will be easy to lure out if we find the shifter first.  Either way, he will be easy to root out since there aren't many hiding places on that side of the mountain."

Thearon then glanced at Helena for confirmation.

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It had been a couple of days since Fawn had inadvertently made it to Graven's hideout.  Fawn had  managed to lure several Connlaothian city guards in the direction of Graven's hideout, where they met their end at the hands of the two once-dead, Graven and Fawn.  This had helped bring up the number of men Graven had to fight against the Connlaothians, however, it still wasn't going to match the numbers they were up against.

Fawn had left to hunt down some food and scavenge, and came back to the cave with three rabbits over her shoulder.  She brought the meat to the center of the room by the fire and began to empty her bag of the roots she had found.  She sat down by the fire and took out her knife, beginning to cut the roots into manageable pieces.

"There's no one out there." Fawn remarked, patiently cutting a root, careful not to cut herself, "It's been too long.  They're planning something big.  I was thinking...  It might be wise to make camp elsewhere.  Find another cave in the mountain further away, if there is one."

She glanced at Graven and continued to toss the diced pieces into a pot, the beginnings of a crude stew.

HighLordMhoram

Helena nodded to Thearon. "However, we shouldn't become arrogant. I want us in two teams of three, and close enough that one team can aid the other if neccessary. Thearon, Veronica and I will sweep the east side of the pass. Logan, Hal and Saren will take the west. Be sure to stay away from areas where you could be easily am=bushed on multiple sides. If you think you've found where they are, don't engage. Send up a flare and the other team will find you so you can assault together." Having said that, she placed a handful of flare rockets fresh from the local Connlaothan gunsmith on the table. "Three flares for each team, one for each member."

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Graven pulled out his knife and stabbed it into one of the rabbits, drawing out any residual life energy left in it. He had built up some stores over the past months, but he still didn't have nearly as much now as he had before. "It's a good thought," he said in reply to Fawn," But I'm afraid my men have scoured everything up to the Serenian border, and there's not a cave to be found on this side that could support the numbers we've gathered." He indicated the new once-dead Fawn had supplied him with; eight in total. With Cal, Bron, Graven and Fawn, that brought their total up to twelve. "We'd have to split into two or three small groups, which isn't viable seeing as my men rely on me for more life energy. Not to mention that we'd be completely isolated if one of the cells was found."

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