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A traveller arrives...

Started by Anonymous, January 11, 2006, 11:59:43 PM

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Anonymous

((I've got to stop skipping straight to the bottom of threads. I almost missed your post again Arcangl.))

Damn. No chance of catching up with the boy now. He no doubt knew this place better than Jarrus did, and had a sizeable lead.

Jarrus shook his head and stood up. The woman- no, Storm- had put her guard up.

"Relax, my fight's not with you." Jarrus stretched. That fight had been, quite simply, a disaster. A few months ago Jarrus would have eaten the boy for breakfast within 30 seconds. If he hadn't been surprised... if he hadn't been out of shape... if he hadn't been out of practice... if he hadn't lost his family sword. If, if if! Jarrus was getting lax. It wouldn't do.

"I am Jarrus, of house Sariet. Not that it means anything anymore." Jarrus examined Storm "So? Why were you following us?"

Anonymous

"Well met Jarrius. Storm Eagleyes." She introduced herself as she extended her hand in a warriors clasp. At the same time she slid her unstrung bow into a special slot built into the quiver located on her back. Armed to the teeth discribed her well."Simple, I saw a murder in the making. I was expecting that fool to ambush you. I was also expecting you to wipe the floor with him, but he surpised me with the arua blasts. By the way that was an impressive shield." It had surpised her to see two who had powers like that in one location. The other got away, but she didn't worry about it. She did have to start using her special arrows however.

She was glad to see the read she had gotten off of them at the tavern was correct. "I actually want to discuss buisness. Thats why I had teh barkeep give you a message you ignored."

Anonymous

Yes, the blasts had surprised him as well. Was everyone here some sort of incredibly powerful warrior?

"Message? I'm afraid we must have been too deep in our argument to notice. But yes, I am looking for a job. Perhaps you can tell me the details in a more comfortable setting though? I'm completely drenched."

((Sorry, a short one. Not sure what else needs to be said.))

Anonymous

Sol's aura faded as he escaped further and further, unhindered by his 'pursuers.' Their auras seemed more in tune, now, as he had adjusted to their unusual bend. Time would pass and, if he were lucky, he could even catch that fool off-guard again. Maybe the...? No. He still had enough dignity left where he wouldn't outright attack a woman. As he reached one of the last buildings in the row, just inside the city's walls, Solari slid down and landed on an alleyway's floor. No one around... Perfect.

Placing one ear to the wall facing the way he'd fled, Sol shut his eyes in focus, and attempted to 'know' the signature of that man. Time passed, indeed, and the feeling of the man's strings reverberating became more and more pronounced. Though, at the same time, the aura-user felt that his little crusade was a little unjust. He wasn't admitting responsibility -- hell no! -- but maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be wise to kill someone and leave a corpse inside city limits. Even if he took the risk of hiding the body, he'd be identified and placed on a wanted list for sure. That... was not acceptable.

So, with a sigh and a heave, Sol lifted his lids, and pulled himself straight, walking through the turbulent night air to the edge of the alley, where he laid down, crouched, and relaxed, though he kept his legs in such a position where he could retaliate to any threat. At this point, it was a watch-and-see sort of thing, so he would only be able to wait until he saw the rain let up. He would get wet, yeah, but it wasn't like he was going to melt or anything. Time to relax...

(( I'll be a few houses down at this point, crouched in the dark alley with my legs bent into a sort of leaned back position. What should I do now? I could continue posting here, if you still have business with me, or I could make my own thread. I'm at a bit of a loss. ))

Anonymous

((Um up to you. You can start your own if you want, or jump into this one later.))

Storm laughed. "I like this type of weather." It was true, a ranger loved nature in all of it's forms. She approched an alley and jumped down to street level from there. "We can discuss it at my home if you wish. It's a twenty minute run from here. Follow me." With that she started off at a fast pace. When she said run, she meant it. They ran threw the outskirts of the city until they reached some woods closeby. She led the way up a hill before entering the woods to reveal a simple cabin.

Anonymous

((Hmm, yeah. It really depends on where you want to go from here.))

By the time they reached the cabin, Jarrus was gasping for breath. Yes, it was definetely time to get back into shape. He hoped he'd have time to rest awhile before starting on this woman's job. It had been quite a day. Still, with any luck he'd have some coin soon and then he could make plans for himself. In the meantime, he should probably set some wards in place just in case he was attacked again.

"Nice place," Jarrus glanced around the cabin. "a little small, but home is home eh?" He peeled his coat off his body and held it up. "err, where should I put this?"

Anonymous

Storm opened the door to reveal a tiny room. It consisted of a tiny bed, a small table, two chairs, and a small wardrobe with only one door. She pointed at a hook next to the wall in answer to his question. She was soaking wet herself so she removed her cloak and placed it there. "I wish to hire you to assist me in getting rid of some rouge giants nearby." She explained as she went to her wardrobe. She unlaced herself and removed her leathers. She then removed her undergarments which had also soaked through. She stood there compleaty bare as she open her wardrobe and started looking inside. She bent over to pick up a new set of undergarments. "They have been attacking the vilage on and off for a few months. They are too strong for me to take on by nyself." Storm explained as she slipped on the undergarments and then a linen shift not making any particular hurry. "You looked like know what you were doing."

Anonymous

Jarrus hung up his coat and turned back to Storm. She was naked. Well this was awkward. Women didn't generally do this back home did they? He certainly couldn't remember any who could. Jarrus tried to stop himself from staring. She was attractive certainly, but he knew nothing about her, and this wasn't the time to get involved in anything. He tried to examine her motives rather than her... uhh...

Jarrus was relieved when she put some clothes on. Back to business. So...

"Giants huh? Do you know how many?" Jarrus thought for a second "Giants can be pretty damn hard to kill. How much are you offering? As you said, I know what I'm doing, but I don't come cheap."

What was it about her that made him so uneasy? It must just be the strain of the day. A lot had been happening lately.

Anonymous

Storm raised an eyebrow when she saw him staring. "See something you like?" she asked with an impish smile as she gyrated her hips. To be honest the shift she was wearing wasn't much better as one could see right threw it. "To answer your question, about a dozen. They are teh smalelst, a breed known as verbee. They are rouglhy 10 feet tall. How much do you need? To be honest I was going to hire both of you, but can't help that now."

Anonymous

Dammit Jarrus! Stay focused! She might be trying to swindle you out of some money somehow. It wouldn't do to let his guard down! Jarrus chose to ignore her first comment, skipping directly to the giants.

"A dozen small ones? Shouldn't be too much of a problem." and now for the money... "Honestly, I don't know what the currency is here. I've just arrived, and what little money I had I made by selling some of my possessions. I expect I didn't get a fair price for them either." Hell, was he going to tell his whole story to this woman too? Certainly he hadn't had that much to drink tonight. Best change the subject. "First though, I'd like to know more about the giants. Will I have to fight them all at once? Do any of them know magic? How skilled are they? You know, that type of thing. I'd prefer to be as prepared as possible."

Anonymous

Storm sat down and montioned for him ot do the same. She started to braid her hair lightly for sleep.  "Well if we do our job properly, we won't have to deal with more then two or three at a time." She paused in what she was doing and went to a cabinet and pulled out a bag. She tossed it on the table. Even though she lived simply, she had a fair amount of money for emergancies like this. "Thats 100 gold pieces. If you spend it wisely, it should be enough for the rest of your life." She finished the braid as she went to her bed and bent down to reach something underneath. She pulled out a thick rool of parchement and a heavy steel nubed pen. She sat down again and started to an image on the parchment. "As for your other questions, I'm not sure. I expect the chieften to be tough at the very least and who knows, all of them can be trained soldiers. As for teh other, they might have a shaman around who can cast magic." she told him as she finished up. She pushed the parchment to him. "This is a rough idea what thier lair looks like. It's a small series of caves in the nearby mountains."

Anonymous

Enough for his entire life? For a few pitiful giants? This woman must really be desperate. Either that or there was a catch of some kind. Was she playing him for a fool?

Enough. Jarrus wasn't in the mood for speculation right now.

"I accept your offer Storm. You've found the right man for the job. However, first I'm going to require a few things. First, I need a good night sleep. It's been a busy day for me. Secondly, I'd like to pick up a few more daggers, and maybe even some light armour. As I said, I'd like to be prepared. Ah yes, and most importantly," Jarrus grinned, "I need a good scabbard."

Anonymous

Storm nodded when he accepted the job. "I can help you with all but the armor. Armor is not really going ot help if you get hit by a giant anyway." She told him as she approched a chest. What she said wasn't compleatly true, about the giants and the armor also. There were suits of armor that could protect one, but suits like that cost a fortune. She cracked open the chest and pulled out a scarbard as well as a pair of fine daggers. Her inherentance came into handy sometimes, that was for sure. "You can sleep here for free." Teh problem was that there really wasn't enough room on the floor unless they moved all the funiture over. That meant that they would have to share the bed.

Anonymous

"Okay, mobility it is then." Truly, Jarrus didn't think the armour would be much use against giants anyway, but he might as well try and get as much out of this as he could. He gratefully accepted the daggers and scabbard. This was nice stuff? Where did Storm get so much money anyway, and why was she living in this tiny cabin? Jarrus resolved to ask her in the morning when he had some more energy.

Wait... share the bed? Was she serious, or was this her idea of a joke?

Anonymous

Storm went into the chest again and pulled out a couple of bundles of arrows. All the while she debated wiether to tell Jarrus the truth. She resovled to in the morning. "We have an early start. I suggest you start preparing for sleep." She told him as she went through her inventory and selected some very powerful arrows. They would take a long time to replace if she ever could, but the mission required it. After chossing her ammo for the next day she shut off all the lamps after creating a floating globelight with a wishpered cantrip. She got into the bed and slid over as much as possible. "What, don't you want to share a bed with a woman like me?" she teased him with a smile as he stood there.

Anonymous

Enough of this. Jarrus was tired of hiding his thoughts.

"Frankly, I don't know what a 'woman like you' is like. We've just met, and if you recall, your first action was to hit me accross the knees while I was about my own business. I don't trust you, and I think there's some sort of catch to this job. How come someone with your wealth is living in such a tiny cabin anyway? You're an incredible archer. In fact, I think you could handle 2 or 3 giants at a time without my help. What exactly is your game Storm?"

Perhaps a little too forward. But it hadn't been a good day, and Jarrus was damn tired of all this.

Anonymous

Storm sat up and nodded. "Take a seat, it's a long story." she told him as she reached out and turned the lamps back on. He was quick, that boded well for what she had planned. "I haven't been telling you the whole truth. What I told you about the giants is true. However there are a few things that I left out. The giants are very rare and unique. That makes them especially dangerous." She started. Before he could ask a question she continued "They are all psionics." she explained, naming the rare people who could create magical effects using just thier minds. "Not only that, but they are just the servents of my real target. He is a mage known as Incánus. Incánus is a powerful summoner, someone who specializing in controling dangerous creatures. His speciality is demons and fiends. Now you see why I needed help. I'm not even sure all the defense we have to worry about." She finished telling him. "My story is my own. I will tell you if we survive tomorrow." she informed him in response to his first question.

Anonymous

"Thank you for your honesty Storm. I apologize if I was rude, but I dislike being lied too. This way I'll be more prepared for tommorow as well." Jarrus sighed. He hadn't always been this way. Why couldn't he control his temper anymore? It was unbecoming of a Sariet. Still, at least he had recieved answers. "Very well," he sighed, looking at the tiny bed. "Let's get some sleep."

Anonymous

"Yes we have an early morning ahead of us." Storm replied as she shut of teh lamps again and layed down. "For what its worth, I was going to tell you in the morning." she apoligzied to him. After that she closed her eyes and attempted to sleep.

Anonymous

Jarrus woke up early as he always did. It would be a tough day, and he'd like some time to prepare. Taking care not to wake Storm, he crawled out of the tiny bed. He quickly grabbed his coat and weapons, and headed outside.

Jarrus ran through some swordplay excersices. Warming up for the coming fight. He checked his magical wards and performed a few practice spells as well, exulting as he made impossible leaps and flips. He hadn't felt this good in quite a while. It was time to forget his past trials, and start over.