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The Nieven (open)

Started by Elrond, July 31, 2017, 07:02:58 AM

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Elrond

"Are you sure it's here?"

Mason wiped his brow as the sweat glistened in the morning sun. He was clearly irritated, and had been ever since they left Arca. He didn't want to go on this little expedition, he just wanted to be near Isabel. Under the Sirantil Valley sun, Isabel's coconut colored hair and bronze skin shone brightly, as if it was competing with the sun itself. Mason was captivated, and she was the only thing that inspired him to continue walking.

"Professor Harkon spent months studying the tomes, it's got to be here. Isn't that right, Cailan?"

The sun slowly crept behind the tall trees, as the forest grew denser with each step. The grass and shrubbery brushed up against their knees, and the whispers of the woodland creatures, and perhaps less friendly ones as well, grew more audible. Cailan knelt down as he looked for fauna and moss as clues to the proximity of their destination.

"I sure hope so." Cailan's relaxed response did not console Mason one bit. "Worst case scenario is that you got a little exercise out of this expedition, Mason."

Mason sighed and rolled his eyes. To him, two magic users walking into a territory consumed in internal conflict regarding magic wasn't exactly exercise. "I'm going back to camp" he said abruptly. Mason quickly turned around as the birds in the trees above chirped like trumpets announcing the entrance of a king.

"I think I'll go follow him to make sure he doesn't get into any trouble." Isabel ran off without awaiting a reply from Cailan, who was now left all alone. That's how he liked it anyway; with fewer distractions that would get in the way of his mission.

His mission, of course, was to acquire the Nieven for Professor Harkon. After deciphering and analyzing tomes for months, Harkon concluded that there exists a treaty between the fae folk of old and men, further evidence indicating Serenian ancestry of a union between fae and men. This treaty was named the Nieven, and Harkon had deciphered that it was located within an ancient commune in Sirantil Valley. Lieutenant Cailan Oberon was tasked along with two recruits to retrieve the treaty.

"Aha!" Cailan was excited, as he found partial remains of an ancient fire pit. At the very least, it was an indication that people occupied this forest long ago. He pushed aside rubble and pulled plants blocking his vision until he felt a sharp and sudden sting on his neck. He immediately became dizzy and his vision blurred as his shaking hand reached for his neck.

Poison he thought as his breaths drew slower and heavier. He attempted to look around to find the source, but could find no indication of the marksman. As he tried to stand up, he immediately fell face down into the fire pit that he was examining. Suddenly the voice of a woman crept out from the shadows as he finally fell unconscious.

Cailan finally woke up with a strong headache. His vision was still quite blurry and he was quite dizzy, but he began to sober up enough to analyze his surroundings. He was inside a small, wooden shack with no furnishings aside from an empty bookshelf and a stove. He reached for his head but was immediately rejected, as his hands were bound to the back wall. He sighed as he looked forward, noticing three figures, whom he presumed to be his kidnappers.

Cailan then looked to his left, where he noticed a figure in a similar predicament, however his vision had not returned completely and he could not make out any discernible features. "Rough day, huh" he said to the figure drowsily.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

"Rough day, huh"

Ludwig Von Musel slowly opened his eyes and looked around. "What? Where am I?" he muttered under his breath. From his surroundings, he supposed he was in some sort of abandoned house. Apart from the man who'd woken him up, there were three others in the house with him. Ludwig attempted to stand, only to find that his hands had been tied to wall behind him. "What is this nonsense?" he asked angrily. "How did I get here?"

Suddenly it came back to him- Ludwig had gone to Sirantil Valley on a research expedition. He had discovered a historical text in the library that made allusions to a battle fought in the valley five hundred years ago- a battle that no other book made reference to. Naturally Ludwig had wanted to know more, so he went to the valley himself to see if he could find any physical evidence. He had managed to find a rusty dagger, but he had collapsed not long after picking it up. "The nerve." Ludwig thought, face curled into a grimace. "Picking on an old-timer like me. No respect at all."

He looked over at the bound other man. "I don't suppose you know what this is all about?"

Elrond

Simultaneously upon hearing his fellow prisoner's words, Cailan finally sobered up. He saw before him an old man that he presumed had no business being tied up like this. Nor did he, after all, unless he had angered some deities that he was not privy to by desecrating their land in some way. Although, if they even existed, Professor Harkon surely would've disclosed such info if Cailan had not already researched it himself. But no, this was the work of mortals. Angry mortals.

"I don't." He said this sternly as he turned his attention away from the old man beside him and to the three captors in front. Before him stood three women. Each wore crude leather armor that Cailan could quickly appraise in his head in reference to the current market in Arca, estimating to be worth only a few glints each. They were camouflaged with moss and dirt, and carried an arsenal of rudimentary weapons along their belts. Cailan could see slingshots, small wooden crossbows, daggers of various sizes, and of course, darts. Each woman also carried a familiar weapon--a flintlock pistol that belonged to none other than Cailan, and one woman swung his walking stick like a baton.

They were whispering softly amongst themselves until they realized that both men had finally awoken. The woman carrying Cailan's walking stick approached the two and started speaking in a language Cailan had never heard before. He could not derive any words from current languages that he knew of, either, as all the roots and sounds were completely foreign and odd. Judging from the woman's facial expressions and inflections, she was livid and questioning the two men.

"I'm sorry I don't s-speak uh... I d-don't understand." Cailan stammered, but not due to fear but rather confusion and fatigue, still recovering from the poison dart. He looked to his new companion, which resulted in him having an epiphany. Before setting off, Professor Harkon had given one of Cailan's young recruits, Isabel, a large lexicon of ancient fae languages filled with translations and transliterations that Harkon had been working on for a few decades. Dedicating his life's work into ancient civilizations, Harkon discovered small, secluded communities that spoke languages of the fae and different dialects. Some were even close descendants of the ancient fae, only having bred with men until a few generations ago. Perhaps this was one such community that Harkon was not aware of, and finding the lexicon would be the key to not only being released but also retrieving the Nieven. However, he had no idea where he was let alone Isabel. 

Cailan returned his attention to the old man, but still thinking of possible escape scenarios. "Can you understand her?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Ludwig let out a huff as the man admitted to being just as clueless as he was. "Bah! Typical youngster. You should try paying more attention!" He glowered at the women. "Clearly these are magic users- you can tell, they're dressed like filthy pagans."

One of the women approached the man next to him, and began babbling in some incomprehensible language. She began to gibber angrily at the young man, confusing him.

"Can you understand her?"

Ludwid shook his head. "No, I can't. Perhaps if I saw this language written down I could determine what era it's from, but just from hearing it spoken? Ha." Ludwig laughed, although there was really nothing funny funny about this situation. "My area of research is military history, not... whatever this is."

Struggling with his arms tied, Ludwig managed to reach the feather pen in his back pocket. It wasn't much, but it made him feel a bit safer. "They say the pen is mightier then the sword- and these mages don't have swords." Ludwig smiled bitterly. "Oh, who am I kidding- I'm fucked, aren't I?"

Elrond

Out of the corner of his eye, Cailan noticed the old man sneak an object out from his back pocket. Unfortunately their captors were within earshot, so they did not have time to formulate a strategy. Instead the woman kept bickering, reaching for Cailan's pistol and drawing it near his face.

He quickly glanced at the old man. Perhaps he could buy him some time to do something with the object he had in his hands. Luckily, both men had unbound legs, so there was a sliver of hope in achieving freedom.

Cailan swung his right leg up suddenly, while crouching with his left. His bound arms made this quite difficult and put a strain on his body, but he was well trained enough in martial arts to pull of an effective upswept round house kick.

The woman closest to the two men shrieked and recoiled, as Cailan's foot struck her jaw, causing her to drop the pistol and be knocked unconscious. The other two women, both shocked at what just happened, started circling their hands in a motion that could only mean they were about to cast a spell.

"Magic users?" Cailan gasped. He was not prepared for this. Just as he let that out, a bolt of frost shot towards Cailan, which he was able to dodge at the very last minute. The frost struck the wood behind him and broke the wall, allowing him to momentarily see where he was--albeit all he could see where trees upon trees and green shrubbery practically everywhere.

In addition to the broken wall, the metal fixture where the crude vines and rope that bound Cailan's arms was dented and cracked due to the impact of the spell. If he had more time he could perhaps kick the metal to break it and detach himself from the wall, but still have his hands bound. However, the woman to his right finished channeling her spell, summoning a giant spider that quickly advanced towards Cailan.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Ludwig watched in shock as the other man proceeded to kick one of the women in the face. "Sweet Ansgar boy! Are you trying to get us killed?" The other two women- who were just as shocked as Ludwig was- proceeded to fire off a few spells in their direction. Ludwig managed to duck out of the way, and the ray of cold blasted through the wall behind him, freeing him. "Huh. Well, that was convenient."

One of the women promptly summoned a giant spider, much to Ludwig's dismay. "Damn it, really?" he groaned. "I'm too old for this shit." Noticing that the other man was still attached to the wall, Ludwig pulled a letter opener from his coat pocket and quickly cut the rope binding him. Stepping out of the hole in the wall, he began to run. "Come on you whelp, we can't fight that thing!" he yelled to the other man. "Unless you want to get killed!"

Elrond

Cailan quickly latched onto his stolen cane and clumsily tumbled through the opening. One of the women let out one last frost blast, which landed short of Cailan's fleeing body.

The giant spider continued to chase the duo. He ran straight into the woods, following his elderly companion. However, almost immediately after entering the dense forest, the conjured spider stopped and turned back to its master. They were not being pursued for the time being, which was quite odd considering the trouble their captors must have gone through in order to capture them.

Cailan panted and bowed forward. He rested his palms against his legs and waited a moment to regain his stamina. While still bent forward, Cailan tilted his head upwards. His eyes squinted under the partial lighting from the sun's rays that sneaked through the foliage from above. He looked at the man he had followed.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced."

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