Dead Men Tell No Tales (Clair)

[Lion]

Hothan's hair prickled on the back of his neck as he turned to face Penim.  "The spiders?  You're right, I do have packs stashed all over the forest, for emergencies," Hothan went on.  "But I didn't know there were spiders there.  Do you know how many years it's been since I passed through that part of the forest?  Since I left my cabin?  The chasm was there, but the spiders I think had only been recent."

But Thorn agreed with Penim, suspicions suddenly raised.  It didn't make much sense for Hothan to lead them through there if he knew the forest as well as he implied.  But it also would explain his intense reaction when he found the pile of skulls and bones the mist to be more than he could handle and he had to flee.  Yet, he wondered where he'd gone off to.  In the moment, perhaps it was too much to ask.

"How recent is recent?" Thorn said, eyes narrowed, gauging him.

"Hmm," Hothan said, paling as he realized just how long it'd been since he'd seen real sunlight.  "About ten years."  He sighed and looked down, walking on.

Thorn stayed behind with Penim, looking at her.  "Ten years, huh..."

[Clair]

Her brow furrowed. Ten years? While Penim was sure that that was enough time for the spiders to come and form a nesting colony... or whatever this place was to them, it was quite a long gap of time during which much could change. How old was Hothan, then? How was he so sure his emergency resources were still intact and where he'd supposedly left them?

She bit her lip and glanced at Thorn. "Do you really think we should still follow him?" she hissed. "How old is he? Do you know? It's almost as if Hothan is two people in one, what with his sprradic changes in attitude."

[Lion]

"You do have a point," Thorn nodded.  "But in truth, I never fully trust anyone.  I've known Hothan for nearly three years and in that time, I happened upon him by accident in the forest.  From what I've gauged he's a scout of some kind, and has experience in retreating into the seclusion of the forest for survival.  But what you don't understand is that all those years of isolation have addled his brain.  You wouldn't be any any condition to travel, let alone find your baby's killer, if you've been alone for ten years with no one to trust but yourself.  Besides, what other choice do we have?  He's the only man I know in a hundred mile radius that an help us.  We have to take what we can get.  But don't worry, he won't hurt you.  And if he does, I've seen you fight, I'm sure you'll have no problem gutting him.  Hurry along then, we've got to keep up with him."

[Clair]

Penim shrugged begrudgingly and followed after Hothan, staying close behind Thorn just in case. She was not so much worried that Hothan might attack them. It was two against one, and even if they got separated she was sure she could handle him herself. What concerned her was being led into another danger like the spiders and trapped.

"Hothan, do you know of any other dangers in these parts?"

[Lion]

"Dangers?" Hothan said, pausing mid-step and turned around looking around then before pressing on.  "Well, of course there's always danger, Miss Penim.  But a lot has happened in the last ten years and many things could be before us on our journey.  Just keep your eyes open and your hears open and we'll make it through!"

Hothan bounded ahead with ease as he went and Thorn looked at Penim with a smirk.  "Look over there," he said, pointing across the way from then.  He squinted and saw the path came out between two hills.  "Shit...Hothan! Get over here."

The man stopped in his tracks and turned back to Thorn.  The mist as no longer as sulfuric as before but there were shapes lingering in the distance ahead of them.  Slumped shapes that they moved closer, grunting and gurgling amongst themselves.

[Clair]

[[I am SO sorry it took me forever to reply! >.> I just moved from Maine to Washington and I've been really wrapped up in all that I completely forgot about this!]]

Penim rolled her eyes. Of course she knew that there were other dangers, she'd been wondering if he knew of anything else they might have come across. But he seemed to have misunderstood her and the young woman did not have the will at the moment to press the matter further. Rubbing her neck as if to rub away all frustrations, Penim.

Turning towards the direction of the path Thorn pointed out, she tilted her head at the sight of the two figures. Her eyes squinted and she leaned a bit forward, trying to see through the mist. The terrible sound of gurgling arose and Penim suppressed a gag that rose at the back of her throat. "What in hell's name is that!?"

[Lion]

[No worries, it happens.  And that sounds like a massive distance to travel.]

They moved like apes, grunting as they did, as if their backs were completely broken and that was the only way to move without any further effort.  Hothan stepped backwards, watching as the shapes were moving closer to them and he leaned against Thorn at last when his back collided into his chest.  The man crouched down and looked ahead.

"Trolls," Hothan said with a breath and bit his lip.  "I don't suppose you've ever come across trolls before have you Penim?  They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes of course, but these ones...are particularly savage.  We can probably sneak by them if we're real quiet.  We should stick together and move out to the right.  Go on then."

[Clair]

[It was a very long trip! And I've been really busy with getting settled. :D]

Trolls? Those were the beings of children's stories told at the cradle! A smirk slithered onto her face and she stood boldly. "How terrible can a troll be?" she laughed. But the hesitation of her companions kept her from moving forward. She wasn't a fool. Shaking her head, Penim crouched beside Thorn. "So, what... do they 'grind our bones to make their flour'?"

[Lion]

[That's okay!  I hope everything came out okay! (:]

"No, but they use our bones to pick at their teeth, and I'd rather not be a toothpick if you don't.  They'll also eat us while we're still alive, which is equally unpleasant," Thorn hissed at Penim.  "I get why you're so nonchalant, but any danger is bad danger, so please be a little more serious about this situation, please."  Hothan nodded to his words and motioned for them to follow him through the mist around the shapes that were starting to come into view.  Thorn crawled on his belly along the way, staying just underneath the brush and saw the trolls had paused, one of them sniffing the air and drawing closer to where they were hiding.