Eckhart and Kino travel south (closed)

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart and Kino walked through a willow forest in Fallial, taking in the sights. It had been three days since they fled Darken Vei, and the two travelers had kept a low profile since then.  As Eckhart walked he realized that despite having traveled together for a few days, he barely knew Kino. She was an odd person, never saying more than he had to unless it was to make a sarcastic joke. She certainly never revealed anything about herself, although to be fair, neither had Eckhart. He supposed he had been waiting for her to start. She had also put the plague doctor gear back on, and seemed to have some kind of attachment to the mask in particular. She never took it off, even when she ate or slept. Eckhart briefly wondered if she took it off when she bathed, and then got red in the face and stopped thinking about it.  Deciding he'd had enough of the mystery, he mustered up the courage to ask Kino directly.

"Um, uh, Kino?"
"That was a great start Eckhart" he thought. "Get it together man."
"Kino, why do you wear that mask? You seem really attached to it"."

[Alize]

"Hmph. You were bound to ask eventually," sighed Kino. "Everybody does. Here goes."

"Alchemy isn't something that a dumb kid should dabble in, y'see. Learned that the hard way. Cost me my lungs, and damn near my life. The stuff I keep burning in here..." she said, thrice tapping the hooked metal beak, "lets me breathe normally."

The woman's grating rasp echoed through the grilles in her metal veneer.  Eckhart had had trouble picking out the emotions embedded in that metallic and inhuman voice, and sometimes wondered if she even felt them at all. But now her words were unmistakably laced with bitterness and sorrow. Kino continued on.

"Priests couldn't fix it. And before you say it, no, neither could healing magics. But I don't give up easy. The reagents are real expensive. And rare. And I need a lot of 'em. But I'm pretty sure I have the formula down. That's why I travel."

An awkward silence descended.

"Don't suppose you've got any gallstones from a chimera in your bag?"

The tension lightened and they both began to laugh.

"Well, that's my story. What's yours?"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart couldn't help but feel sorry for Kino.  It was one thing to be injured beyond recovery as a child, but for it to be the fault of her own youthful foolishness must have really done a number on Kino's self-esteem. Upon hearing Kino's request for his story, Eckhart thought back to when he first discovered his magic abilities.

"I was twelve.  My older sister had been injured when an icicle fell off our roof and embedded itself in her arm. I was so scared, she was losing so much blood and we thought we'd lose her.  I panicked, and I then I grabbed her arm and healed her without realizing it. That was when I found out I had magic. The look she gave me, the knowledge that without me she'd have... died."

Eckhart paused here, and seemed to space out for a second. Abruptly, he continued.

"That really resonated with me. I began practicing with paper cuts, moved on to knife injuries, and now I can fix just about anything as long as it's just a flesh wound. When I found out that I couldn't fix broken bones and internal injuries, I decided to travel. Maybe somebody out here can teach me. And then we blew up a town, and now we're here."

More confidently, he turned to look at Kino. "You don't need to worry about your injuries. Someday I'll be able to heal every ailment, and then you'll be my first patient." With an almost hungry expression in his eyes, he went on. "I'll be the most powerful healer in the world. People will travel for miles for me to heal them."

Eckhart couldn't see Kino's expression, but he imagined it was one of encouragement.

[Grimm]

A 'Hunter' by the name of Egon Grimme was currently walking through the woods with a deer over his shoulder. He was moving rather slowly and moving through some denser brush. The deer had lead him on a chase through the forest after had hit it with his long bow. He had tried taking it down way too close and messed up his shot. Up ahead he noticed a clearing in the form of a trail of sorts.

With a breath he stumbled through the brush in front of Eckhart and Kino a couple yards ahead. Regaining his footin he came to a stop glancing around."Looks familiar..." he said to himself trying to figure out exactly where his camp was. However his thoughts were interupted when at a glance he noticed two people to his side. Blinking he looked over and then turned fully before dropping the deer. His cloak down he looked at them with his one good eye."Oh hey..." he said looking them over to see if they had anything worth stealing.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart was about to ask Kino if she had any dried fish left, when a man carrying a a deer over his shoulder popped out of the bushes.

"Oh hi" the man said.

Doing a double take, Eckhart instinctively moved behind Kino.  Remembering that that wasn't very chivalrous, he moved in front of her and drew his hammer.

"Uh, who are you?"

"Yeah, that sounded really threatening, Eckhart. Really manly."

[Alize]

Knowing that her ragged, metallic voice did little to diffuse tense situations and sudden confrontations, Kino let her companion take the initiative. As Eckhart stepped forward and drew his weapon, Kino took advantage of the way the mask prevented the stranger from seeing her eyes. She stared at him unabashedly, studying every detail.

"Muddy, worn-in boots. Hasn't shaved properly for a while. He navigated this uneven terrain with ease. He's carrying that heavy carcass like a pro. A huntsman, no question. Wait. That bow's way too big for local game. That mother looks like it could send an arrow through platemail. The leather grip on his sword's been well used, too. And that sound... the jingling of coins somewhere beneath his cloak. More coins than any honest hunter would have. No question. This guy's prey doesn't always walk on four legs."

Hidden behind her erstwhile traveling partner's back, Kino's hand slowly drifted towards an everglassknife hidden in her robe.

"Just in case..."

[Grimm]

Egon blinked as Eckhart shuffled around at first moving behind Kino and then in front of them. This was sort of amusing up until they drew their hammer. Having looked them both over he determined that they didn't have anything he wanted. So, instead of escalating the situation he thought it best to deescalate it."Hey now, no need for such big hammers." he said looking to them with a smirk now."I don't mean you any harm, though if you insist..." he said trailing off he said parting his cloak a little better revealing his arsenal. A hip quiver full of broad head arrows and a short sword."I am sure we can be friends however, I got meself a camp not to far from here. How about it? You look like you could use some fresh meat." he said with a chuckle.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart slowly lowered his weapon. His initial reaction had been one of fear, but now he began to think that this guy may be harmless.  Looking at Kino for approval but only finding an expressionless mask, Eckhart accepted the offer.

"Which way to your camp?"

[Morgan Droud]

"Freedom!"

Althris jumped through the portal, and came out in a clearing surrounded by trees. The elation from her successful escape wore off quickly as she looked around her.

Oh. Where the heck is this?

A small tent was set up nearby, with a small circle of rocks encasing the embers of a former fire, not more than a few hours old. She couldn't see anyone around, so, thanking them in her mind, she borrowed the tent for the first proper sleep she had gotten for the past month.

[Alize]

Kino had her reservations about following a potential bandit at first, but this Egon fellow turned out to be quite alright. After carefully noting that the only footprints into and out of the well-used camp belonged to him, Kino discarded the possibility of an ambush and insisted on paying the man for his meat and grog.

Two hours later, skewered strips of venison hissed and bubbled as the campfire slowly cooked them into a crispy golden-brown. The aroma of cooked meat and sound of laughter filled the twilight air as the three of them shared tales and anecdotes and bawdy jokes.

Kino swallowed a mouthful of succulent venison and downed it with a swig of mead before passing the wineskin flask to Eckhart and slipping her mask back into place. Her dark robes lay next to her pack, leaving her clad in blouse, breeches and bandolier upon bandolier of everglass knives. Feeling a glowing warmth in her stomach from the heady honey-ale, Kino had allowed herself to loosen the reins on her inhibitions and kick back. It had been a long while since she had just felt like "one of the guys." It was a nice sensation. Sighing contentedly, she continued from where she left off:

"So the senior bard is just sitting there, all dumbfounded-like. Finally he goes, "that's one hell of an act. What do you call it?" And the father grins this big-arsed grin and says... "The Aristocrats!""

Met by raucous laughter, Kino stood up and made a mock bow. Feeling nature's call, she excused herself and began to make her way away from the campfire, subtly swaying from side to side as she went. Suddenly, her ankle was caught by a tree root that was almost definitely not there the last time she looked. Mask-first, she tumbled straight into the side of Egon's tent.

[Morgan Droud]

As Kino's beaked mask stabbed into her chest, a spark of Divine energy flared within Althris. In an instant, the clearing was filled with strong winds, pushing away from her. They only lasted a second, but easily blew down most of the trees on the outskirts.

Wincing as she blinked awake, Althris looked around the the wind torn clearing, and the three people there. Mumbling the words in a still half-asleep state, she asked;

"What was that for?"

[Grimm]

Egon laughed greatly at Kino's joke before biting into some cooked venison as he sat on a log. It had been awhile since he was last in good company. As she excused themselves he would begin some chit chat with Eckhart. However, he was greatly interupted when Kino fell over onto his tent. he was about to tell them to be careful when all the sudden strong powerful winds blew him back as well as the trees sending him a couple of yards back and putting out the flames. Tumbling and rolling unexpectedly he was stopped upon hitting a now downed tree."Gah! What the!?" he shouted as he would slowely prop himself up. Looking around he saw Althris from his tent, squinting his eyes Egon grabbed his bow and a broad head arrow."Alright who are you and why are you in my tent!?" he asked approaching eyes fixed on Althris."You some kinda thief?" he asked.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart looked at the flask Kino had given him. "I'm a bit too young for this stuff" he reminded himself. As he set the flask down, the wind picked up massively and Eckhart was sent flying backwards. Landing about fifty meters from where he was sitting, he got up groggily to see a girl in Egon's tent. Eckhart went into panic mode. "Shit shit shit shit! What do I do! Who is that?"

Rushing back to the campsite, he picked up his hammer and took a defensive stance. "Alright, um, tell me who you are and why you're here!"

[Corsad]

Finally...

The thought floated through Rei's mind as he waited inside a bush. He had been tracking this particular pack of deer for a few days, learning their habit before drafted out possible locations they might be resting. And even so, it took him over a day sitting rigidly in this cold weather before a mark came near him.

Steady... steady...

Aimed his arrow at the mark, Rei calculated how the beast will move. Even with all the talisman he had, a chase between him and the dying beast was not something he in the mood for.

Now! *crash*

Crash? Just as he turned to the source of the shockwave, the mark had already run away from sight before he could even turn his head back.

Let out a sigh, Rei stretched himself and thought about the disturbance. In this kind of forest, a tree fell down due to old age was just a normal occasion, bad luck for him but still normal. However, as far as his eyes can see, no tree was high enough nor big enough for that kind of tremor. The only explanation he could give was that multiple tree had fallen as once but not even a bear can do that.

"Should I check out the site?" Curiosity got the best of him, as Rei headed toward the source, thinking that he could at least run or hide if push come to shove.

[Morgan Droud]

"Huh?"

Althris was still groggy from the abrupt awakening, and whatever was said just flew over her. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she looked over the cloaked man pointing an arrow at her.

"Whaizzit?"

[Alize]

Her inebriated jubilation swept away with the blast, Kino's mind was already clear and focused by the time she landed on all fours. A flask of concentrated teargas was already in her hand by the time she was standing. Ready to hurl it at the ground and run, she cautiously called out.

"Is everybody okay?!"

Seeing the slightly disheveled Althris at the epicenter of the blast, Kino ventured,

"Including... you?"

[Grimm]

Egon sighed looking at the intruder lowering their bow slightly. Though when Kino had asked if everyone was alright he gave a quick nod."Well I'm fine, but Eckhart flew pretty far back." he commented before looking back to Althris as he cautiously approached."Now, I ask again.' he said with pause."Why are you in my tent?" he asked."Are you with them?" he asked gesturing to Kino and then Eckhart who had been knocked away.

[Morgan Droud]

"With who?

Althris was no longer half-asleep, but still wasn't completely awake either. She took notice of the others in the clearing, but still couldn't comprehend why they were there. The small of cooked meat wafted over from the fire, and she wandered over, "borrowing" some of the venison.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart watched in stunned disbelief as the small girl walked over to what was once a fire pit, and started eating their food. "Who does she think she is?" he thought.  This was getting to be absurd.  Eckhart's initial panic had been replaced with cautious anger, he did not like having the camp ruined by somebody who seemed like she couldn't care less. He tightened his grip on his hammer, and took a step forwards.

Aware that this girl must be incredibly powerful for her to be able to knock over multiple trees at a moments notice, and trying his best not to sound too angry so as not to start a fight he'd likely lose, Eckhart repeated himself. "Tell me who you are and why you're here. I don't want trouble, but if you refuse to answer us we'll be forced to assume you're up to no good."

[Morgan Droud]

Finishing her venison, Althris looked over at the others there.Only now did she notice the weird figure a distance away, almost fading into the darkened wood with their grey robe and odd mask. Now that she thought of it, the tent probably belonged to one of these people, and she had just destroyed it. She froze up at this realization, and at the secondary one, that she was stealing what was likely this group's meal.

"I'M SORRY!"

She prostrate herself in front of the most authoritative looking person there, the man in the grey cloak, and began apologizing profusely.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry,  I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."