Spirits of the Earth

[OOC: Thread is currently getting underway, but if you have an interest in getting involved come over to the Plotting Thread (http://www.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=17998.0) and say hello.]

   'Traveler's Respite,' as the building's name and weather-beaten wooden sign out front implied, was a tavern which had obviously once been built with ambition and optimism. It was fairly large for the humble hamlet in which it resided, being three stories, and boasted both an eating establishment on the lower floor and plenty of rooms to accommodate guests.

   Equally obvious was that time had not been kind to its builders' egos. The paint was well worn, the windows often did not look entirely impervious to the weather, and even its quaint wooden sign, hanging from a post and beam out front, was chipped and weathered. None the less it was the only one of its kind for some distance in any direction which gave it enough business from the passing traffic to keep its proprietors in business and the roof from leaking.

   It was that very rural-yet-active atmosphere that had attracted its newest employee, a young man (by appearances at least) perhaps in his early twenties. As unremarkable looking as the Respite itself -yet stopping short of being called ugly- the young man had wandered in from the countryside one day carrying only the belongings he could fit into his humble pack and inquired of the establishment's owner so that he might work for his room and board. Unfortunately for young Liri, that happened to be a large and burly (not to mention surly) man who called himself 'Rich,' perhaps in reference to his obvious aspirations.

   Unlike the Respite however, Liri was not at all what he appeared. For he was in fact a young woman of the same age who had in her childhood become the victim of her own wish to be someone, ANYONE, else. Not everyone gets to have their childhood wishes come true, but to Liri it had not been a blessing. Partially because it seemed suspiciously like magic -which was forbidden in her homeland of Connlaoth- but mostly because she was totally unable to figure out how to reverse the process and appear as herself once more.

   Sometimes she pondered on the irony that she should spend her childhood wishing to be anyone and anywhere else only to spend the years since wishing she could for just one day be herself and return to the places she once called home.

   On this particular winter's day, not two days after the tavern's surly owner reluctantly agreed to take her on, she stood by the bar and watched the room's limited stock of occupants. For as long as she could remember she had always had a habit of watching strangers and idly speculating on their lives and motives. She was eternally fascinated by a good story you see, and life had frequently taught her that she could invent more interesting stories for people than they had managed to make for themselves.

   A few more private alcoves nestled up against the room's outer walls that just begged for secretive meetings and nefarious dealings, but those were all empty at the moment. Of the handful of plain wooden tables that occupied the center of the room only one was in use, taken up by a group of five rugged and travel-worn looking men prone to sudden bursts of raucous laughter while talking altogether too loudly to each other over some ale and cold soup.

   Their kind were not usual for inns such as this one, and she paid them little mind. She was more focused on the room's other occupant, a scrawny-looking young man dressed in worn traveling leathers and a full-length forest-green cloak which looked like it long been in need of a good tailor but had been forced to do without.

   The scrawny, dark-haired man looked to be no older than she was, yet haunted by demons that even a more experienced man should not have to bear. The dark circles under his eyes bespoke of too little sleep, and his eyes perpetually darted from one corner of the room to the next as if indeed expecting a demonic spirit to appear at any moment. When he turned his head a ragged red scarf could just be seen poking out from beneath the folds of his cloak. It clashed horribly with his attire and she had to wonder at its purpose.

   Yet in spite of this the thought occurred to her that he was actually kind of handsome. His smooth features gave him a gentle, sculpted look that seemed to say 'this man should have been born a noble and walk proudly in fine clothing with servants about him.' -No, she reconsidered. This strange boy should be a handsome rogue, daring with his sword and leaping about slaying evildoers and pirates. Yes that was it, she decided. A roguish swashbuckler who chased after the princess far above his station whom he could never have...

   "Ho, hey lad!" came a loud shout from the crowd at the table.

   She turned to look at them, hoping the ox of a man who had gotten her attention would simply announce what it was he wanted. Instead she saw him beckoning her towards their table with a mischievous grin. Inwardly she groaned but made her way over to him.

   When she arrived the men were all grinning at each other, and the smell of intoxication was pungent. "Don't look so glum lad," the ox spoke again, elbowing her in a conspiratorial way when she came within range. "I've got one that'll cheer you up. Made my friend here spill his drink all over 'imself. You want to hear it?"

   This, she had learned, was probably the biggest drawback to being trapped in the appearance of a man: other men expected you to act like them. Her mind raced in an attempt to think of a polite way to run the other direction. Unfortunately she wasn't fast enough.

   "So a man and his wife are arguing over which sex is better," the ox continued without waiting for her response. "The man drops his pants and says 'men are clearly superior, we're born with one of these."

   "You know I really should be-" she began during the dramatic pause.

   The ox -literally tearing up at his own joke- simply talked over her as if she hadn't spoken. "So the wife says, 'You think that's worth somethin' eh?' Then she drops her pants too and says 'well with just one of these I can get as many of those as I want!'" With that the whole table burst into laughter again as though they hadn't heard the joke already.

   'Great,' she thought bitterly as the men continued, 'I'm working for my food and now I don't even have an appetite.' She turned to make her escape but the man grabbed her arm, leaning towards her in that conspiratorial way again.

   "We're just joshin' ya lad, don't mind us. Say..." He glanced about for a moment as if to make sure his wife hadn't wandered in while he wasn't looking. "Where abouts in this little village of yours does a man go to see to his needs if you know what I'm askin' eh?" He even winked.

   His breath assaulted her and for a moment she wanted to vomit. All five of them had turned to her in expectation of her answer. Her face began to turn beet red, although she wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or frustration. "You know," she began, wandering if telling the men to go pleasure each other for all she cared would cost her the job she had only just gotten, then deciding it probably would. "... I really wouldn't know. I'm new here myself. -Excuse me I have to get back to work." With that she pulled her arm from the man's grasp and walked briskly away from the table and made for the door that led to the tavern's back rooms. She would go hide in the cellar until the men left, she decided.

   She hadn't gotten there yet when another booming voice interrupted her.

   "Boy!" called Rich from behind the bar. He never seemed to use her name, though she had given it to him a couple of times. She was only 'boy,' and probably always would be.

   Bracing herself for her second enjoyable encounter of the day she made her way over to the bar. "Yes?"

   "Look at that young man there by the door and tell me what's wrong about him eh?" he directed, nodding towards the nervous-looking young man she had been observing before.

   For a moment she just looked at Rich, surprised the man shared her interest in astute observation. Perhaps he wasn't so bad after all... "You know I saw that too. Look how he keeps glancing around the room as if memorizing the exits, and you can tell he hasn't slept. Do you suppose he's on the run?"

   Rich only looked at her for a few moments as if she were the least intelligent form of life he had ever had the misfortune of coming upon. Then he brought his right arm out from under the bar where it had apparently been holding an empty cup, and slammed it down upon the bar with such force she was sure she'd jumped a foot off the ground in shock. "Noooo... He's got no drink in his hands," he stated in the exaggerated way one might talk to an insufferable child. "I don't run a charity shelter here. Go sell him a drink or a room or tell him to move on." He walked away, shaking his head.

   With hands that were shaking slightly as she gripped the cup, she moved to do as instructed. 'That finishes it,' she thought, 'I was better off hunting rabbits in the wild and fending for myself. I'm going to wait until he gives me my promised night of food and sleep and then I'm going to tell him I quit.'

   The young man seemed to grow more nervous as she approached, until he had looked her over for a few moments and seemed to decide she was just the harmless server she appeared. Then he slumped in his chair again, not making eye contact.

   "You want something to drink?" she asked sullenly.

   The stranger seemed distracted. "Yeah," he said casually, waving a hand. "Whatever you got. -And some food too." Unlike his clearly unsettled manner his voice managed to project confidence. She wondered if it was real or practiced.

   "Fine," she said, setting the cup down in front of him. For a moment their eyes met. His were dark, like his hair, and searching. For a moment she became preoccupied with staring into their depths.

   "-Look I'm not paying for an empty cup," he barked. "Just go get whatever you got and be quick about it."

   She glared back at him for a moment, disappointed that his personality clearly didn't match his looks, then swallowed her anger and moved to fetch his order. 'Leaving in the morning,' she repeated to herself like a mantra, 'leaving in the morning...'

   The front door behind her creaked open and a cold winter draft announced the arrival of another potential customer. A middle-aged man with an athletic build and expensive-looking clothes stepped in. He had shoulder-length shiny blond hair which he kept tied back, and a hawkish face complete with a too-long, bent nose. His skin was smooth and dark. Without even bothering to look about him he strutted to one of the tables and sat down.

         Two other men followed him, both were dressed in similar-looking dark coats and sharp black trousers. They seemed... professional... she decided. Business associates or bodyguards? Their boots made a slight tapping sound on the wooden floorboards. Solid soles and warm thick leather on the outside. Practical, yet a subtle display of wealth. They all smelled of expensive cologne. Was that one... rose?
   'Stop getting distracted,' she chided herself, turning around again to face the lone stranger.
   ...Who was not there. She looked about but didn't see him anywhere in the room. 'How did he do that?' she wondered. Not even a scuffle to announce his movement.

   Then something caught her eye. It was a small medallion, or looked like one.

   She picked it up off the chair where the stranger had been sitting. It was just the right size to have fallen out of his pocket. Upon further inspection she decided it was no mere trinket. Whatever metal it was made out of reflected the light in a very strange way -refracting it into strange colors and patterns.  It seemed to have strange little pictures all over it. Or perhaps text written in a language she had never seen.

   "Boy!" came a familiar shout. She almost dropped the strange pendant as she jumped out of her skin for the second time that night. "Bring these fine gentlemen some of our best vintage!"

   She turned slowly, a venomous look on her face, but Rich wasn't even looking in her direction. He was too busy fawning over his 'new favorite customers.' She had never seen the man so jovial and smiling. Too bad she knew it for the empty performance that it was.

   "Finest vintage is it?" she asked softly, though she knew they were too far away to hear. "We only have one, and you probably brewed it from something out of the privy..." On a whim she turned in the direction opposite the bar and walked out the still-open front door, slamming it behind her. She hadn't known why or where she was going, but now that she was outside she decided she was going to go return the strangers pendant. Perhaps he would reward her with some money and she could leave this sorry little village behind.

   There was only one problem. She had no idea where he had gone to.

   "Well the town's not that big," she thought aloud as she set foot in the direction of most of the other buildings. He had to be here somewhere. It was then that she saw, or thought she saw, a shadow move against the town's smithy. No fires burned inside it this time of night nor was there an abundance of moonlight but she was certain she had seen something. Her pace quickened.

   Then stopped abruptly as a blood-curdling scream erupted from behind the building. She had never heard a scream like that. It sounded like a man's voice but there was little humanity left in it. Only pain, agony of a kind that only a soul-wrenching scream like that could every truly convey.

   Terror battled with curiosity and a desire to help inside of her. For a moment it was a stand-off, then much to her own surprise she found herself taking off at a run towards the sound of the scream. What she saw when she rounded the far corner of the smithy would be a sight she would never forget.

   For a mere heartbeat, eternity though it seemed as time slowed to a crawl, she saw the flesh of a man turn to cinders before her very eyes. The man's outer shell was all that was left of him by the time she arrived- a fire seemed to be devouring him from the inside out- and even that was flesh but for the barest of moments. A moment in which she was sure she had recognized the face of a young man with gentle features and dark hair, covered in a worn dark-green cloak and a clashing red neck scarf.

   Then the moment fled and any resemblance to a human had turned to dust – literally. All that was left of the man now was a large pile of still-smoldering ash. Not a fingernail or loose thread from his clothing had survived the immolation.

   It had all happened so fast that the still-rational corner of her mind doubted her own memory, yet the image of his face was persistent, burned into her very retinas. The face of the swashbuckling rogue distorted and twisted by pain into something wholly inhuman – a portrait to hang on the walls of the darkest imaginings of hell. And the truly gut-wrenching part was that small speck of humanity that had somehow endured in the boy's eyes, grabbing her by her very soul with the last piece of his own. Pleading, begging. Then extinguished.

   She backed up against the wall of the smithy, feeling weak. She had never before seen death. Not like that. Her heart did not want to seem to beat again, to acknowledge the return of time's normal passing. Distantly things around her began to register, but they seemed far away at first. Was someone talking to her? She turned to see someone across the road from her, coming towards her now.

   "Are you alright young miss? What happened here?"

   There was something wrong with what he had just said, she was sure of it, but her mind wasn't working right. Had he been talking to her?

   Then all at once her mind seemed to jolt awake as if shocked. Sounds seemed louder. The feel of the cold night's wind cut into her once more. She shook her head to clear it, looking back at the man crossing the road.

   He had stopped short all of a sudden, looking at her strangely as if she had not been standing there a moment before. Why was he looking at her like that? Before she could explore that thought further an overriding terror gripped her. She was standing, alone, before the ashen remains of what had been a human being. He had been murdered by... it must have been magic. How would she explain? How could she?

   Without purposefully deciding what to do she found herself bolting around the far side of the building – seeking concealment, running for all she was worth.


   Sometime into the night she had finally calmed enough to think sensibly again and, not knowing what else to do and not wanting to look suspicious by her disappearance, returned to the Respite. It seemed somewhat more populated than when she left, but she was too preoccupied to so much as glance at the new arrivals. She moved across the room towards the bar where she saw Rich idly wiping clean some glassware. Half way there however she was stopped by a hand on her arm.

   "Excuse me there." It was the hawk-faced man with the expensive clothes. "But I was supposed to meet someone here who I'm afraid is running quite late. You wouldn't happen to have seem him would you? He would be young, about your age, wearing nondescript clothing... perhaps even a red bandanna or scarf of some kind?"

   Instantly her limbs seized up and she found she couldn't move even though she was quite sure she wanted to run. She stared at the man, looking for some sign of accusation or knowledge, but he only stared back quite innocently. "I umm... No- no, I don't think so..." She winced at the sound of her voice. She was not normally such a horrible liar.

   The man narrowed his eyes at her response, staring at her with such intensity she was sure he could see into her very soul. He frowned. Then, as if nothing had passed between them, he released her arm and said casually "Very well, don't let me keep you then."

   She ordered her limbs to move once more and after a moment they obliged. Her heart still beat frantically. Did the man know something, had she been recognized at the scene of the murder?

   Rich intercepted her next, his face a portrait of disgust and anger. "So, you think you can just wander back in here after what you pulled eh boy? If you think for a moment that you're getting anything in the way of food or a bed out of me well let me tell you that I've gotten a better day's work out of my lame horse! I don't know where you came from but you're just going to have to keep on walking and don't ever let me see you back in here-" He stopped short, a gold piece flying from behind her to bounce off his chest. In a surprising feat of reflexes he caught it before it could fall halfway to the ground. "What the-"

   Hawk-face spoke up again from his seat at the table. "That might cover a few days of the young man's stay might it not?" He was talking to Rich but she turned around to see it was her he was looking at, and with a disconcerting intensity. "I think perhaps we'll talk again. Wouldn't want him to feel like he had to run off..." While it was said with a smile there was no kindness behind the expression.

   Without saying a word in reply she moved away, just stopping herself from actually running up the stairs that led to the Respite's upper floors. Upon reaching her room she paid no attention to the bed however, instead grabbing her pack with its meager possessions and moving to the window.

   It was all just too much. Someone was quite likely on the prowl who could incinerate a human being, the hawk-faced man seemed to know something, but the mysterious stranger had seemed afraid of him. A stranger who was now dead, murdered in front of her and she might even be connected to the crime. So it didn't seem wise to reveal that she had the man's only apparent possession -which now that she thought about it seemed like it just might be valuable enough to kill for. She had no idea how any of it was connected but she knew she wanted nothing to do with it. It was time to make a discreet and quick exit, ditch the medallion somewhere, and forget all about this cursed little village.

   She threw open the shutters and looked down. It was too far to jump straight down, but by luck or good fortune her room was almost above the attached stables and she was able to direct her jump to the right and onto its poorly thatched roof.

   To call her meeting with the roof a landing would turn out to be somewhat generous. She slipped as soon as she hit and rolled her way off the slanted roof, falling ungracefully to the ground in a pained heap. For a moment she could only lay there, listening to the nickering of the startled horses inside the stable. That didn't last long. Adrenaline was doing its work and she soon had got back on her feet. Her right ankle throbbed painfully but it still moved so she ignored that for now and took off at her best pace...

Temujin breathed a weary sigh of relief as he reached the little village. For tonight, he was not going to sleep on the ground. He would actually have a bed--a little luxury that in the civilized form, was a mattress raised by four wooden legs, but in nomadic form was a swath of wool blankets and spreadings, equally warm--and some hot food to go along with it. Not just the roasted hot food he'd been having for god knew how long, but hot food that was carefully seasoned and cooked and actually had some thought put into it. A little bit of wine was not so bad either, although Temujin would have preferred the creamy white airag over the commom man's watery blood-colored beverage any day.

He rode up along the village path and looked around for any indications of an inn. Most buildings were darkened or shuttered up at night, with only a few windows sporting the light of a solitary candle, so he knew neither of those was what he was looking for because inns were usually crowded places come evening. From experience, he knew to seek out a building that had both noise, good smells, and lots of light coming from within it. If it had a sign with some sort of picture on it that obviously indicated such a place, that too was a good indicator. He relied on these cues because he couldn't read in the Common language. The Horse Nomads never had a system of writing...they made their deals verbally and passed on their history and stories orally. Tribe life did not require much of a writing system.

He finally reached the inn he was looking for. It was an old, beaten down sort of building, but it was still standing and there was undoubtedly a good supply of beds in its rooms. Temujin checked his horse, tied him to a post, and walked inside to deal with the innkeeper on his lodgings. A small leather pouch tucked on his sash belt held the coins with which he would pay. When he first lost his tribe, he had thought the idea of staying in the places of the common man to be too low of an action for a tribe prince like him to commit. After a while, though, he warmed up to the idea (since it was quite reminiscent of sleeping on wool and sheepskin spreadings) and even to making money on the side, for the little coins were very helpful in obtaining supplies for him. He normally would be able to provide for himself off the land, but that took a lot of energy and time, and there were no other tribe members to help out with the more menial tasks. It was much easier to have the money to trade it off immediately for something useful instead.

As expected, the inn had customers. He noticed some well-dressed men sitting to a table, noticeably better off than most of the others, and everyone else noticed his strange nomadic garb. He ignored their stares and headed up to the counter where he dealt with a skeptical man about a room for the night and some food. When the tavern's proprietor saw that he had money, however, his expression became amiable enough. Nodding to the man, Temujin went back out to settle his horse in the stables while his food was being readied.

The young nomad gripped his horse's reins and led him round back to the stables, which were built in such a way that it was almost attached to the building's wall. Temujin found this construction of the common man to be rather curious, for Horse Nomads often kept their steeds in fenced pens together rather than these separately-stalled stables. He entered the thatched shelter and, choosing an empty stall, eased his horse into it with coaxing nomadic words. He had just finished unloading the saddle and removing the bridle when he heard a large thump! hit the roof above his head and the sound of something rolling off the slanted fixture to land loudly on the ground.

Frowning, Temujin unbuckled the last bit of the bridle, settled it on the saddle, and went outside to get a better look of what it was. He saw a young man, around his age perhaps, struggling to stand up on his feet as if he had taken a hard fall. As he was trying to get away, Temujin accosted him, "You! That was not a very smart idea, tumbling off the stable roof. For what purpose did you attempt that?"

Traveler's Respite- yeah right! Long before the scrap of a boy had asked for help, John Johnson had stumbled in asking for the very same thing- but threats and sharp teeth from 'Rich' chased him out. He was hulking and kind of scary- and at this moment- he wasn't here to pick a fight, or look for someone else to break his nose again. So he tried to play on the man's humor, to lighten the mood of the other wise grumpy individual who owned this oh so prestigious establishment he sought to make a few honest coins while staying in the little town. It made Rich hate this red haired man even more. He knew a free loader when he smelled them. And by just the way he carried himself, he wanted no part of this offered 'help'.

Well, there went plan A. Plan B it was!


Except... he had no Plan B, and he was so far from 'Home' he began to wonder why he had decided to take this mission. Sure, he was lucky, sure he was hoping to spread the word that The Gambler was here for 'good'. A hero wannabe in his own right, it seemed the promised action he was to sniff out just wasn't meant to be.

That was, until he heard the screams. 'Boy' wasn't the only one to have seen, or rather smell, the unfortunate foul magics at work, but where as she had seen it by standing in broad daylight, he was up a little higher in view, so he had a vastly different perspective all together on what had transpired- though he couldn't say he digested witnessing the death of a man any better than she. The way his flesh was charred, his body- going to ash, sunk into the pit of his belly like a rock, and burned into his mind like the branding used on cattle.

He grit his teeth. Some hero he was. Someone needed help, and he was there too late. But he wasn't about to throw himself down below from where he had been hidden on his perch on a nearby building's roof top because well...
It seemed those next to arrive on the scene weren't making it easy on the only witness there. Perhaps he could still help avenge this poor man's death? No one deserved to be killed, by a mage, or a soldier, or anyone for that matter. This also did not make the mage's side look any better. And what coward would do this and take off? Too bad he hadn't caught sight of the culprit. And he certainly didn't want to be labeled as that- the culprit. So he more or less stayed put until the boy darted from the scene of the crime. Waiting just a moment, he moved from his hidden perch,  keeping an eye on this boy and saw him disappear into the same Inn that threw him out from earlier. Well, he wasn't going to go in there- but he couldn't just let this sort of travesty fall to the way side. There were too many casualties in this war, and whatever this was, it didn't bode well for anyone.

Yep, he supposed this was the right place for him to be. Though strange how he'd be tracking after a mage.. Most of those he 'fought' against were soldiers or noblemen playing the political game. It was kind of sickening to think what they did against their ow people- soldiers and mages alike. Though he supposed both sides had villains in their own right. This war wouldn't have begun other wise. So as he made his way down the roof top, he decided to find a warmer place to keep refuge, and nestled into some hay stacks in the loft of the stables and kept an eye on the Inn from here.

It was only then did he realize just how cold the day was as his teeth began to chatter as he curled up within the confines of his stack of hay. ANd just when he found himself about to lull off to sleep, for his day and travel had been long, his eyes snapped open. There was some commotion going on outside. But he couldn't fully see it from where he was, so- like any good person hiding inside a hay stack, he shimmied his way over, still hidden beneath the haystack, to get closer towards the edge of the loft.

Still inside his hay stack, he peered down towards the the scene. It was still hard to discern just what was going on, and lucky for him he was well hidden. But hey,h e boasted luck magic on his side.

Well.......
That was, until the itchyness and scent of the dust kicked up from his movement inside the haystack tickled his nose-
and before he could pinch his nose to stop it-
He sneezed.



Freezing in place, he held his breath and hoped, no prayed they hadn't heard that. Maybe the noises of the uneasy horses below him would drown it out? Except...
It was rather quiet, and even at his sneeze- the horses didn't really react in any way that would make them make any more noise than a few clomps of their shuffling hooves. In fact, they barely reacted to the commotion outside. It seemed the horses were simply content to eat the oats recently given to them.

Maybe if anyone questioned the sneeze... they'd believe it was from a horse?
Then again, horses had an entirely different and not human sounding sneeze. Well, he'd just have to hope that the commotion was more interesting than a hay stack sneezing atop of the edge of the loft.

In another place located far from mortal reach amid a desolate dark valley stood a large intimidating structure; The Black Tower it was called by those who dwelt within its depths. Dark fog swirled around the tower with fireflies glowing about the area here and there. The sense of death and destruction was evident in this place, this realm of gloom. It's perpetual nighttime sky shone with an alien moon and equally alien stars the only light here save what oil lamps burned in the tower itself. The front doors of the structure bore an ominous look, their black twisted designs engraved upon them a real testament to what lie inside. Gargantuan gargoyles surrounded the architecture, their mouths open in equal parts rage and the perpetual need for justice at any cost, their eyes a gleaming silver of the promise of vengeance.

It was here that the Fury Morguen made her presence known in one of the rooms of the tower, emerging in a cloud of black smoke that quickly faded upon her arrival. She had just returned from her latest assignment, a rather easy assignment she had to admit to herself. The pathetic fool didn't stand a chance, especially after he decided to leave that excuse of a tavern. She didn't care why he made it so easy, for she had a task to accomplish and he literally just handed the reins entirely to her to finish it off just like that. She smiled a devious smile at another job well done. The lamp nearby the front hall glowed an eerie light, a greenish flame seeming to shine from within. Gothic designs decorated the interior with a black-framed painting hanging on the wall nearest where Morguen had entered. She had always loved that painting, for it was a depiction of her and her fellow Furies standing together in a most familial way. For indeed, they were family.

She gazed at it a moment longer before heading up to her room to check on her former employer through the black scrying orb. Each Fury had one of these, for it proved an invaluable tool in their own ventures. As Morguen made her way up the winding staircase, a movement from below caught her eye as one of the others arrived in much the same way as Morguen herself did. "Hail sister." a voice called to her, its sound like that of sharp nails and burning acid.

Morguen turned to look at the other Fury. "Ah, Acidia, I take it mission accomplished?" she asked in a curious tone. Acidia smiled, her slightly pointed teeth making her seem wolfish in that moment.

"Indeed." the other Fury said in glee. "It was most satisfying, the wretch literally peed his pants when I appeared!" she laughed wickedly, a most chilling sound that reverberated off the stone walls. "The look on his face as he died was utterly priceless! His fear was extreme." she breathed in as though savoring the moment all over again. Then her sharp red eyes focused on Morguen. "But what of you, dear sister? How goes your latest mission?"

"Everything is as it should be." Morguen told Acidia. Acidia nodded. "Too easy, it was almost disappointing in fact." she stated with an slight air of displeasure. "But the whelp got what was coming to him, I made sure of that. Although, there were a couple others who almost saw me. Luckily for them they did not." she chuckled darkly.

The two Furies conversed with each other a little more before each went her own way. The other sisters were nowhere to be found, presumably on missions of their own. Morguen continued her trek up the stairway, the glow from the blood-red torches providing ample light for her to see by. Once in her chambers, she made her way over to the orb and removed its covering before attuning it to gaze within its murky depths.

Liri had not thought her nerves could get any more on edge, but when the man spoke behind her she found herself jumping in surprise while her heart yet again tried to explode from her chest. She spun about to face the voice's owner (which caused a sharp protest from her ankle) and looked him over.

With relief she noted that he neither looked nor sounded like the men she was trying to escape. In fact he didn't look quite like anyone she had ever met. Though his clothes were ordinary enough she found herself staring at his decorated purple headband and unusually braided hair. More than that there was something about his bearing – there was an almost regal nature to it she decided. The confidence of a man who had long ago taken charge of his destiny.

He was frowning at her.

Stop staring and say something you idiot, she scolded herself. "Why was I- Oh well you see I... maintain the stables here and someone had said there was a leak and then I slipped and..." Something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye and she turned to see a man coming around the side of the building from its front. It was one of the two identically dressed men who had accompanied the hawk-faced man into the tavern. Without thinking she leaped forward, hoping the man hadn't spotted her yet.

"-I actually should check on the horses too," she said while she tried to act nonchalant as she hurried into the stables. "That's also my job you see and-"

A soft sound came from somewhere inside the stables. She spun by instinct and found herself face to face with a large brown mare. She stared at the mare. The mare stared back. Was it her imagination or had that horse just sneezed at her? -Fool! she scolded herself again, dismissing the thought. Think! "You don't have to pay me any mind," she called over her shoulder at the young man outside the stables, "I actually might be in here for a minute..."

Her eyes moved frantically around the stables. Where to hide... There was a large pile of hay for the horses in one corner, it would make a good place...

Footsteps could be heard rounding the corner of the building. No time! Knowing she must look completely the fool by now she darted behind the door, pulling it open as far as it would go. At least it was wide and tall enough to hide her with her back to the wall. Great, she thought, this is just great. I'm even worse at being stealthy than I am at tending bar...

Well, wasn't this a pickle? The boy he had seen back in that alley was now taking refuge in the stables- and well, he was pretty sure it would be no secret where he had chose to hide. And judging by those footfalls, it wouldn't be long at all before the men would scout the area. But the boy had hardly chosen an appropriate hiding place. That'd be the first place they'd look. (Though, a haystack might have been a close second), so while the boy was hiding, the haystack hissed down to him, "Pssst! Hey kid! You might want to hide someplace else-"

But before he could even offer any sort of suggestion- a group of men, who knew how many (it was hard to tell from where he was tucked away within the haystack), stormed into the place, eyes darting around like the quick whipping of the horses's tails at flies. Though when one was quick to look in the boy's direction, the man in hay stack decided to take a gamble- and did the only thing he could think of to draw their attention away from the shadow where Liri hid.

So he chucked an apple that was hidden in his pocket- and it hit one of the men square in the head.

John Johnson couldn't have been more pleased, and had he less self control, they would have heard the hay stack laugh. But now the men were growing impatient, and began to swear as their eyes cleaved around-
It seemed as if they had no idea where the apple had come from.


"Idiots," the hay-stack hider chuckled under his breath.
So he figured he'd help them figure that out. He kept a few apples on him anyway!
So pulling another one out, he threw it at the back of the same man's head-
and boy was he pissed when it hit him!

It was the hawk-nosed man that turned around, pointing a finger up to the loft.
"There! The haystack!" And when one of the men attempted to climb up the ladder- a single boot came out, and kicked it clean over. And the man clung to it as he gave a cry-


And down he went, crashing painfully onto his back.


Haystack 3- Bad Dudes 0!

The young man stared at Temujin for a while, as if in awe or shock, before finally saying, "Why was I--Oh well you see I... maintain the stables here and someone had said there was a leak and then I slipped and..." The young man's eyes seemed not to notice him anymore as they took notice of something going on behind him. Temujin arched an eyebrow and saw only the two men whom he had seen with the well-dressed man in the tavern earlier rounding the bend. For some reason this made the young man leap forward, a little past Temujin.

"--I actually should check on the horses too," he said as he hurried into the stables. "That's also my job you see and--"

There was a soft little noise that issued from within the stables which the young man had apparently heard, but not Temujin. The young man whirled around only to face a sweet-faced brown mare, staring at it for a while. His mannerisms spoke of anxiety and nervousness to Temujin, causing the nomad to wonder about this young man's integrity. When he thought back on it, the first thump! on the roof sounded a little too hard to have been a simple trip or fall. Whether there was a leak or not was debatable, since fixtures such as these were prone to leaking during and after a downpour. But still, that initial fall...

Then the young man snapped out of his trance and moved further into the stables, calling out to Temujin, "You don't have to pay me any mind, I actually might be in here for a minute..."

With a cocked eyebrow, the nomad went back inside as well to properly place the bridle of his horse on a hook. He occasionally sent glances toward the young man, who seemed rather undecided about where to go or what to do first in the stables. Before he could even say anything on the matter though the sound of footsteps drew closer, which could only have belonged to the two men he saw coming in this direction. Upon hearing that noise the young man became more skittish than ever as he hid himself behind the stable door, pulling it far back so as to cover him.

"What on earth-" Temujin was in the middle of exclaiming.

The two men then entered the stables, and without much thought to Temujin they began to look about the place. He wondered whether they were people the young man was specifically hiding from, or if the lad was just avoiding people in general. For all he knew, these two men could have just come to the stables to look for something they'd lost or forgotten, and the strange young man was over-thinking things. The nomad was undecided between furthering himself in this strange business or returning to the inn to have his meal; something didn't seem to be right, but then it was none of his business.

Things only grew stranger when apples began flying down on the men's heads from the loft. When they pinpointed the source, one of them climbed a ladder only to have it kicked down so that his back made hard contact with the ground. Out of an instinct recently beaten into him, the nomad whipped out his bow and quiver from the saddle and notched an arrow. His heart pounded as he pointed it up at the haystack on the loft. Frowning, he lowered the bow and cursed himself for being too paranoid.

I'm just not the same since...since that happened, he thought. I have to pull myself together. Whoever it was only threw apples, for goodness' sake. Still, he must not be innocent if he has to hide in a haystack.

"At any rate, you've given yourself away, you trickster," Temujin remarked as he exited his horse's stall with a lowered bow. When the fallen man's companion turned to look at him, Temujin put up a hand to indicate that he meant no harm...as long as none befell him, that was.

"Trickster?" The hay-stack hider frowned when he realized the arrow was pointed at him. He gave a shake of his head and a roll of his eyes before muttering to himself, "Great... they brought back ups."

Seeing how if he tried another apple... (and his precious supply was getting low), he decided to remain quiet. Maybe the archer would just... go away? But before he could even consider it, the man on the ground groaned while the other pulled the ladder from his back. With ladder in hand, the man thanked Temujin, but then gave him a curious look. This man was evidently not a native.

Groaning as his companion pulled him to his feet, he nursed his back and growled, "Well let's not waste any more time! Get the hay stack and.. and look for the other!"
And that's when the wooden ladder was slamming against the loft again.

The haystack groaned.
"Really?" He looked around the area, trying to consider his options. "Is it really a good day today to test my luck?"
But it seemed just about every day had been since he had discovered 'his gift'-
Though heck, most Connlaothians considered any magic a curse!

Liri's heart was racing as she darted behind the door, noting with dismay that the stranger had followed her in. By this point she knew she must look obvious but her thoughts were too panicky and she couldn't think of what else to do so she just stayed behind the door as the man's comment was cut off by the new arrivals, who immediately began searching for her.

So they had spotted her after all then. Silently she cursed herself for her stupidity in trapping herself in this stable. Had she made a run for it on open ground there at least would have been the possibility she could have lost them, after all her years spent as a vagabond hadn't left her without some skill in the wild and these men seemed more like business types... But that didn't matter now. She just had to hope the men didn't intend violence. Perhaps she should just give up, put herself at their mercy?

Then she remembered she still had the murdered boy's little medallion in her pocket. She would look guilty. Would they kill her and take the prize, torture her to know how she had gotten it?

Stop! she demanded of her scattered brain. You're acting like that scared little girl you left behind all those years ago. Are you a coward?

The men had stopped searching, they seemed distracted by something. Muttered curses could be heard, then a crashing sound and more cursing. If only she could see what was going on!

"...given yourself away you trickster," someone was saying. It was the man with the headband, she recognized his voice. Was she working with them? This was bad, worse than she had suspected. But then why had he not simply pulled the door aside, why was she not caught by now? It mattered little, she would be at any moment.

As the inevitability of her capture sunk in she found a strange calm come over her. Yes, that's it -quiet your mind. Think. She embraced the calm; her heart began to beat a little slower...

One of the men groaned, then started barking orders. "Well let's not waste any more time! Get the hay stack and.. and look for the other!"

A moment later he spoke again, his voice was a cold sheet of ice over a boiling pit of anger. "And you with the bow, why were you in here with that boy anyway? You're not leaving either just yet... Someone in here knows something I want to know, and no amount of apples will keep me from it."

Apples? What did fruit have to do with anything? Stay focused, she scolded herself, grasping the calmness again like a drowning man to a piece of flotsam. There were footfalls on the other side of the door, one of the men was close. She forced herself to take stock of her options. She had lost per pack at some point, probably when she fell off the roof, so no help there. A pail sat on the ground near her, still with water in it for the horses...

She wanted to make a move, after all what did she have to lose? Yet her limbs felt shaky and weak. So, she thought bitterly, I really am a coward it seems.

No. The thought came from somewhere inside of her, filling her, drowning the fear for a moment. "No!" she found herself shouting as she pushed with all her might against the door.

Whoever was on the other side of it grunted as he fell, clearly taken by surprise, and she quickly grabbed the water pail, launching it at the next man she saw...

The two men pulled themselves together and made mention to continue their search. They were to look in the haystack and then find 'the other', which Temujin assumed might be the boy who hid behind the door. He was hardly able to say a thing on that subject when he was also accosted by one of the men.

"And you with the bow, why were you in here with that boy anyway? You're not leaving either just yet...Someone in here knows something I want to know, and no amount of apples will keep me from it."

Temujin took the notched arrow from his bow and threw it back in the quiver. He gave the two men a sour and exasperated look, the look of a person who has had enough of trouble for one lifetime. And one who has a hot meal and warm bed waiting for him, at that. "Why else do you think I'd be here? I was settling my horse in for the night. Is that against the rules?" He phrased the last question with an an obvious ironic sting. He made a brief glance toward the door where the young man was hiding before adding, "I know nothing about what's going on here. As you can see, I'm not even FROM here. Now if we're finished, I have a meal I'd like to eat before I get any hungrier."

"We mean no trouble," the man who addressed him said as he moved closer to the door, "and yes, you don't look native, but that doesn't put you in the clear right away."

Temujin glared at him from the corner of his eye. How dare he question him like that! He, Temujin, prince of his tribe...but unsurprisingly enough, that pride was swept away with his fatigue and hunger. He found his former pride washing away from him the more he spent his days on the road, the more he was forgetting what it felt like to live has he had lived.

"No!"

Everyone turned in the direction of the shout, which came from the door behind which the young man hid. The man closest to it contorted his face from a surprised, almost ecstatic expression as he discovered what he had been looking for, to one of shock as the door flew out against him and slammed into his face. He slumped to his knees nursing his bleeding nose.

The young man was not yet finished; he grabbed a nearby pail and sent it swinging in a random direction. The other man ducked in time, and before Temujin could do anything, the pail lodged itself on his head, sinking down over his face after he bumped his back to the wall--an expert throw on the young man's part.

"Mmmmuerrrrfghlbrrtlllll!?!?" Temujin cursed, muffled by the pail.

 Despite to obscured view, 'the Gambler' saw it all, and from his hidden position, he called down to Liri, "Nice shot!" But seeing how this was as good a time as any to make any sort of escape, the red haired man burst from the haystack and half slid down the ladder. By the time he was at the bottom, the ends of his jacket were flying behind him as he smirked and rushed over to Liri, attempting to take the boy by the arm.
"I think that's our cue to go!"
And he probably made the most dashing of sights... Red hair dusted with hay remnants, hay dust mingling over his freckles, and little jutting pieces of it sticking out from his short, cropped beard. Oh, and of course, he had a playfully crooked smile to accompany his oh so stylishly disheveled look.

It would occur to Liri at some point that what she had overheard of the conversation was enough to make it clear the strange man was not working with her pursuers after all. That would be about the same moment it would occur to her that if she had been trying to make that shot, she never would have. Sadly it was hard to brag about something you did by accident and to the wrong person...

But at that exact moment none of those things were as yet going through her head. She was too shocked by her own boldness and preoccupied with the fact that even with one thug distracted by his bleeding nose there were still two of them left -and she was fresh out of buckets.

Fortunately before her fear had time to once again get the best of her a voice exclaimed "nice shot!" and the red haired man had come flying down from the loft as if he did this sort of thing every day.

She found herself staring at him in bewilderment as he glided right by the two remaining thugs (who seemed unsure of what was going to happen next and were clearly not as fast on the uptake.) "I think that's our cue to go!" he added with that strange crooked smile on his face. It seemed almost unreal: this man just dashing out of nowhere as casual as if they were all having an afternoon stroll. She would have thought she imagined him but for the feel of his very corporeal hand as he grabbed her arm.

She didn't resist as he pulled her away, though she spared a glance towards the man with the bow as something muffled came from beneath the bucket. "Er- sorry!" she called over her shoulder. At least I think, she added mentally. Her mind was still in the process of wrapping itself around who was friend and who was foe.

Everything went dark when the bucket went over his head. Temujin whirled dangerously around, his bow smacking into something that felt like a head, as he tried to regain his composure. From beyond the bucket his muffled ears could hear a strange, third voice call out "Nice shot!", then somewhere behind him the sound of the haystack rustling and the same person running over to the door and saying, "I think that's our cue to go!"

Temujin whirled around in that direction, feeling more incensed the more he thought of how the trickster in the haystack and the nervous young man might be in this strange business together. "Oogh nnnbbbp yuuguhe dnnnnttt!" Temujin retorted, although it came out muffled and unintelligible to anyone who heard. What he had really been saying was, Oh no you don't! He couldn't discern in what direction the two were leaving in, though, thanks to the bucket.

"Er - sorry!" came the semi-apologetic voice of the young man. Temujin whirled in its direction and immediately bonked his head on a nearby stall door. Cursing in muffled again, he hitched his bow behind his quiver and tried to pull the pail of his head with both hands. It seemed like an easy thing to think of doing first, but when he tried applying it, the bucket appeared to be quite stuck on his head.

Only more pressure was mounted upon him when from somewhere a well-placed knee placed a strike into the middle of his stomach. Temujin coughed from inside the pail and could hear, in a somewhat tinny voice, one of the men saying, "I've got him! Serves him right for hitting me in the head like that. Now for the others..." Rage took hold of him once more and he head-butted the thug right back in the stomach with the pail, a most unusual helmet.

"Why you...!"

Temujin swung a punch at him for good measure before ducking out of the stables. He hadn't even known he was anywhere near an exit; he just stumbled forward and then found himself in open air. Once outside he tried removing the bucket from his head again. It only appeared to be more stuck after having used it like a battering ram. He tried his hardest though, for his breath was becoming short and Temujin didn't fancy death by asphyxiation from a bucket to be a very honorable death for the last living member of his tribe. When I find those two, Temujin swore, his mind growing muddied from the lack of oxygen yet his rage still quite clear, I'll be sure to make them pay double for this!

Had John Johnson seen Temujin's skills with the bucket helmet, he would have complimented him as well, but as it were, it was perceived he was 'the enemy', and he wasn't about to stop his great escape right now! Keeping a firm hold on Liri, he shouted, "Come on! Down this way. There's a Laundry House we could probably lose 'em at!"

At such a suggestion, it might have seemed he had done this sort of thing more than once- and even in this very town! Though he'd never been here before, clothing wash houses were becoming a big thing, and he had used one elsewhere to fool a few guards. After all, what better place to run than a place that's over flowing with potential costumes to hide yourself from your enemy?

The two made for the laundry house, with Liri nervously glancing over her shoulder at every opportunity. It surprised her that no one seemed to be following -but she guessed they couldn't be too far behind. She had no way of knowing of course that her would-be captors had just been freshly schooled by a man with a bucket over his head. Just as well. For even if she had known there was no time just then to find mirth at their fate as her red-haired rescuer pulled her swiftly along, dodging between one obstruction and the next until they arrived at their destination.

Her ankle was determined to take retribution for every step she had demanded of it and to distract herself from it she turned her attention to her companion, studying him out habit. The man's care-free sort of confidence, blended with an easy smile, rugged goatee, long coat streaming behind him, all gave her an impression of someone who was incapable of ever really being out of his element. Now this man, she thought, this man could be the swashbuckling rogue if anyone could be.  -Except, well, he just didn't have that aura of carefully controlled danger about him.

At the moment she was glad. 'Safe' seemed a much more attractive attribute for the time being. Fool! she accused herself for the second time that night. To the whole world you look like a man, would it kill you to act like one long enough to get out of this?

The residual smell of lye and soap confronted her senses -though at that time of night the wash basins were not in use. They did not linger near the basins, instead continuing out the back to where a fair amount of laundry had been left unguarded on ropes in order to dry in the fresh night air. It seemed all too convenient, but then in smaller villages like this one there was little need for security. Most of the residents would know each other and theft would be rare. (Aside from the occasional seedy traveler of course -but even most of them would be interested in something more valuable than a commoner's clothes.)

She found herself hesitating. Her years as a vagabond had forced her to do what she had to in order to survive, and sometimes that had meant doing things she wasn't proud of, but even in those days she had assiduously avoided stealing. -Not that hunger hadn't forced her into raiding the garden of one or two farmers on her way. -Or for that matter there was that time she had lost her only bow and had 'borrowed' one that had carelessly been left unguarded. (She had always meant to return that...) Not the time - stay focused!

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind again. Had he been saying anything? With a start she realized she had been so preoccupied with escaping danger and her own thoughts that she hadn't even been listening enough to know. Don't worry about that now-find a disguise, stay alive...

It was refreshing, and a bit over whelming, when he rushed into the laundry house- young boy in tow. Since city streets didn't always smell the greatest (he was from a farm, after all, so the grime of the city just wasn't something he adored!) But there was just so much of the smell he nearly choked on it, but continued to rush forward, mindful of the wash house ladies who were giving the pair a look as they dashed past. There was no need to inconvenience them with their escape route- since they'd be giving them trouble soon enough!

But this place was like a maze, and he dragged Liri along, winding through the rooms and halls as a quick a pace as such confines would allow, and finally when they stumbled into a back room with a line of shirt hanging out to dry, the man's eyes lit up.

"Sweet! Looks like we hit the jack pot!" He gave a gesture with his head for Liri to follow, having now removed his hold on his wrist. "Find something you like, and quick- and oh," and he paused before a pair of nobleman's clothing before glancing over his shoulder at Liri, "Sorry about the grab and dash, but I'm a man who, you could say, likes to Gamble." ANd he gave the young man a grin that made his face blossom and his eyes seem to shrink, but he only looked all the more dashing for it, even with the remnants of hay still sticking out of his hair, beard and clothes.

As he moved forward to continue to swiftly browse the 'wares', he idly added, "Perhaps you've heard of me? Some call me.... The Gambler. And well, let's just say the name sake goes with my reputation-" If he had one! "I'm here to help in any way I can. The little man should not be brought down by the big guns, or something like that." He gave a shrug and continued to browse, wondering if any of this clothing would fit him, but he found himself going back to the nobleman's suit.

It totally wasn't his style, (he did prefer his long jacket, after all!) but perhaps he could see if it fit? Shrugging off his jacket, he began to peel the clothing off the line.
"So if you don't mind me asking- what were you running from? In trouble with the army or something?" He only asked because, well, most people he helped were. "There's a lot of that going on in Connlaoth. But just know, The Gambler's got your back!"


It was around this time, someone else using the laundry house had had enough of their conversation. She was trying not to be seen- for Liri wasn't the only one with men after her. And with her delicate condition- which she loathed, it only further aided in riling her up that these two fools would bring trouble in the place where she slept! (for she hadn't slept for days, and well- she kind of had the same idea as them once she rested off her night run), but turns out she'd have to make a hasty exit, and growled through her teeth.

The dark haired woman pushed aside and through the walls of hanging clothing that separated her from the two 'new comers' and she growled and pushed past them, snatching up the man's discarded, hay littered coat.

"For two criminals on the run, you two sure make a lot of noise!" she snapped, throwing the coat on over top of herself and hugging it around her body quick. No one needed to know she was pregnant (though it would be obvious- but the jacket worked nicely, in the moment, to conceal that large baby bump well). And as she dashed passed she only offered the pair this as parting words, "Oh, and thanks for the jacket- but I don't think that nobleman's tunic would fit you, love You're a bit on the small side!"

And The Gambler found himself only staring before shouting after her, "HEY!" And he blinked, turning to Liri, "What did she mean by small?" And his eyes went to the door as he braced himself, debating making chase after his jacket thief or committing to his plan. Sometimes being a hero was so hard!

Bursting out from the back of the laundry house, Mae'leena's (or rather The Gambler's) jacket fluttered in her wake, and thankful for the pair of hoods sewn within it, she used both to cover her head, hoping it would continue to shroud her appearance so that any men that were still left on the hunt after her would have a hard time discerning if it were, in fact The Spider- for John Johnson wasn't the only one with a name sake. Then again, she was no hero. Thieves, after, were never seen as such!

But a moment later and she found herself seeing stars, for a bucket headed man stood in her way, and she had little time to stop. Full force she crashed into him, and with a sharp cry, she went down- and god did it hurt her back to land on the cobblestone in such a manner! She grit her teeth, swearing all the while.

"Watch where you're going you moron!" she snapped. "Now get out of my way before I make that bucket a permanent fixture on your face!"

Temujin's sense of urgency increased the more the bucket's stay on his head was elongated. Air! By the gods, he needed air! It was getting harder to breathe under this infernal thing. He knew nothing of science, so he could not have known that he had already breathed in all the available oxygen and was spewing out only more carbon dioxide within the little enclosed space. Though a tiny slit of an opening was available below his neck, where the opening of the pail was too wide to completely shut his head off, it was not enough for the dizzied nomad.

He staggered up to his feet for another attempt to remove the stubborn pail. With all his remaining might, he grabbed the infernal thing and pulled as hard as he could. Just as he thought he was making progress though, another person rammed into him for the second time that day and knocked him backwards from the impact. He lay on the ground wheezing and huffing more carbon dioxide (of which he knew nothing) into the bucket as the person yelled at him, "Watch where you're going, you moron! Now get out of my way before I make that bucket a permanent fixture on your face!"

"Adsflkhgmserkoyjhwoerithfkljwe!" he retorted in muffled, although this time he was not making sense even to himself. He turned over on his side and started another fresh, although much more feeble, attempt in getting the bucket off his head. With a groan of pain, since it was quite a painful ordeal, he pulled, and pulled, and pulled, until he was able to get the bucket off in a forceful pop!

When his head was finally free of the bucket, his hair was a mess, his headband was lopsided, and his face was an equal mixture of red and blue. A few gulps of much needed air quickly got the blue out of the way and within a few moments he was more composed and able to pick up the two arrows that fell out of his quiver and recognize his sudden assailant.

A woman! She was a dark haired woman, sprawled on her back against the cobblestones, and her belly large with child. Horror crept into Temujin's features as he realized what he'd almost done. He could have unknowingly hurt her unborn child! Pregnant women were treated with much delicacy and respect in the tribe, for they were the ones who brought new tribe members into the world, and suffered for nine months before the delivery--a suffering that should only have to end at pregnancy pains and nausea, not anything else.

Her turquoise markings and streaks in her hair went largely unnoticed, or shoved aside until further notice, as Temujin went up to her with a hand extended to her. "I apologize! Are you hurt badly? It's not like I wanted to have that bucket on my head. Two fools--thieves, or tricksters, or criminals, whoever they may be--put that on me. They ran off somewhere shortly after." He also remembered the two other men in the stables, but he didn't see them at the moment, although there was some noise going on in that area. If they were going to come out, there'd only be more unwanted trouble...

Though to say she was not surprised to see another 'non-Connlaothian' suddenly before would be a lie, but her temper belayed any of that as she snorted.
"Yeah, and I'm queen of the Niafi," she sneered. "You and your bucket head hurt my back!" she snapped, rubbing at her poor lower back as she winced as she tried to stand up. Standing up was a chore on it's own, but she was 'ever so grateful' that her current life on the run had her body, and legs, in tip top shape, so with a grunt, she was able to push herself to her feet as she gave the man a glare.

Now that she was on her feet, she could utilize the hoods again and was quick to do so, concealing most of her face and hair as she hastily looked around to see if there were anymore annoy bucket headed men for her to run into. By the spirits, why did she ever come back to Connlaoth? Though a kick from inside her belly reminded her of that, and she secured the jacket more so over her belly and gave Temujin a challenging look- as if to say, 'Yeah? I'm pregnant! What of it, buckethead?'

This was turning out NOT to be her year. Damn Connlaoth. Damn Dukes. Damn War. Damn baby kicking her ribs, which made her involuntarily wince as she nursed her side.

Liri watched as her rescuer started perusing other people's clothing as if it were any other casual shopping day at the market. Her mind started processing the words she had barely been listening to. What had he called himself, the Gambler? He was asking her something. Why was she on the run? Her mind raced for a reply that was believable but preferably had nothing to do with the truth.

"I urm -Well..." I REALLY need to learn how to lie, she decided.

Fortunately she was saved from having to respond by a woman suddenly bursting from hiding, grabbing the Gambler's coat and running off.

"What did she mean by small?" the Gambler was asking.

Liri blinked, but once again she was saved from a reply by a sudden noise and harsh voices coming from the back exit where the woman had run. Quickly she jogged over to the door and peaked out. The strange woman was there, talking to an all-to-familiar man with a bucket on his head.

Wow, did he really follow us all the way here with that bucket on his head? She had to admit she was impressed, the man obviously had skills...

For a moment she considered approaching him and trying to explain what had happened. Perhaps he wasn't working with those thugs, maybe he would understand...

Images pushed to her mind unbidden: Her launching a water-filled bucket with all her might at the man in the suit... The man ducking her hasty throw... The bucket flying over his head and right onto the head of the bow-wielding man behind him... His expression the moment before the bucket made contact...

Or, she reconsidered, he might not understand...

Ducking back into the laundry room she hastily looked over the clothing and grabbed a warm and concealing-looking black travel cloak. Maybe it wasn't the ideal disguise but it would be better than nothing. Then, barely having broken stride, she made for the front door through which they had come. "Let's get out of here and I'll buy you a new coat," she promised hastily.

She threw open the door, surprising the now familiar hawk-nosed man on the other side. He was frozen mid-pose, his hand reaching for a door handle that wasn't there. For a half second the two stared at each other, then a look of victory crept across the man's face. The two thugs in matching suits stood behind him, one still nursing a bloody nose.

She closed the door quickly, almost failing to manipulate the lock before the man could force it open, and threw her back against it.

"Say," she spoke towards the Gambler, "you wouldn't happen to have another swift escape up your sleeve would you?"

---

---

The sky thundered its rage, throwing sheets of rain down upon its victims below with unguarded wrath. Lightning flashed, making everything seem bright and the stark shadows menacing for the briefest of moments, then all was shrouded in darkness. The wind howled through the trees in ferocious gusts as if to tear them from their very roots.

Yet where a deep canyon cut through the forest like a massive scar upon the land two lone figures defied the storm, each leading a distraught-looking horse through the darkness.

"We should mount up and get ourselves out of this miserable canyon!" cried the shorter of the two. He had a weak, gravelly voice -barely audible over the noise of the wind and rain.

The taller figure turned sideways and huddled deeper into her cloak as a particularly strong gust of wind buffeted her. Another clap of thunder accompanied it and her horse -'Rosebud'- reared in protest and fear. The woman nearly lost her grip on the reins as she was thrown off-balance. "No!" she called back, righting herself and trying to calm the animal. "The horses are too spooked, they'll buck us and run!"

The man uttered a disgusted grunt. "I don't know why you insisted we bring those beasts! Could have gotten a more obedient pair from any horse trader on the continent!"

The woman did not reply, but instead stroked Rosebud's head reassuringly before urging her onward.

"There's nothing in this miserable valley anyway! You must have been wrong!" the man shouted after a time.

The woman bowed her head as shame and disappointment washed over her. She was beginning to agree with him. They were nearly to the end of the canyon and had seen nothing so much as a shack, let alone the crumbling ruins of a long-forgotten tower from another age. -But her years of research, her discovery! She had been so sure it was here!

"There!" her companion shouted after another clap of thunder.

Her heart froze in her chest in that moment of hope, but following his pointing finger she saw it was only a cave in the wall of the canyon up ahead with what appeared to be firelight emanating from its mouth.

So it was only some unfortunate soul such as themselves, waiting out the storm. Her heart sank, but at least it meant shelter.

The two made their way to the cave in silence, relieved to indeed find a warm campfire burning inside. A myriad of small caves like this one honeycombed the canyons in this area she knew. Indeed it looked unremarkable enough -although it was deeper than it had at first appeared. She could not see its end past a sharp curve beyond the fire.

A thin-looking figure dressed in rags tended the flames. He was rocking gently back and forth on a log when they entered, mumbling to himself with this arms outstretched towards the fire's warmth. There was a strangeness about his scarred and weathered face. It was his expression: his eyes unfocused, a huge -almost deranged- smile on his face. He looked up at them as they approached, his eyes seeming to focus on something behind them.

For a moment no one said anything, then the man suddenly clapped his hands lightly as if to summon a servant. Coming from a bedraggled hermit alone in a remote cave the gesture was jarringly out of place. Surprisingly when he spoke it was with a voice so smooth and resonant she was sure he had missed his calling as a singer. "You're here! Oh I've waited so long! The weather's foul but there's no need to scowl! Come, sit at my table, I had it set years ago and you never came!" He waved kindly towards a log on the other side of the fire. "-But that's all behind us! Sit! Sit! Let's talk of trees -and wind -and bees!" The man chuckled as if he had said something funny.

The two did not sit, instead sharing a bewildered look before turning back to the ragged man, who continued to stare at them expectantly with that deranged smile. He began rocking back and forth again, but didn't make any threatening moves.

Great, the woman thought, I'm going to have to wait out this storm with some lunatic hermit.[/i] But her legs were tired and the fire warm, and so she led Rosebud into the shelter of the cave and took a seat on a log opposite the hermit. Her companion followed suit without comment. "You're... very kind," she said, "Would you happen to have any warm food?" Not that she liked the idea of eating food served by a crazy man, but *goodness* was she tired of cold, rain-soaked rations.

"Food!" The man clapped his hands in that strange way again. "Yes, bring us food! The storm's a beast, but let's have a feast!" He paused for a few moments as if he expected something to happen. Then he hopped up from his log, grabbed a burning branch to use as a torch, and started moving further into the cave. "They're all away, happily at play! -Looks like we'll have to get it ourselves! Follow me!"

The two wanderers exchanged another look as he rounded the curve, his voice growing fainter. Then her squat companion shrugged. "Oh what the heck," he said as he stood. She waited while he dug his dagger from his belongings, then she grabbed a makeshift torch of her own from the fire and together they followed.

The hermit led them further and further down the strange winding cave until it finally emerged into a massive cavern. It's ceiling was too far up for the torchlight to reach, and its walls too far apart. It created the eerie illusion of walking into a room floating in a black void.

As remarkable a spectacle as it was, what really caused the two travelers' breath to catch in their throats was the enormous tower made of stone which occupied the chamber. Taller than they could see but relatively narrow at its base, it was built from great cubes of stone that were (mysteriously) too large to have fit through the cave mouth. On every external surface they could see in the dim light of the torch artistic patterns and glyphs were carved into the stone.

The woman spoke first. "I don't believe it. This is it! This is the Forgotten Tower, we've found it!" She was so excited she forgot her companions and ran for the dark hole in the stone which she assumed to be an entrance. Sure enough it was, but what she found inside surprised her anew.

Despite the tower's massive size she found herself in a modest sized rectangular chamber with smooth walls with the same strange patterns carved into them, but which were otherwise unbroken by decoration, fixtures, or other exits. The room's only furnishings consisted of a long and narrow wooden table which looked like it might have been quite luxurious long ago but was now aged and covered in dust, and a set of matching wooden chairs around it. The air in the room was musty and stale. Like the cavern in which it dwelt the tower room was as silent as death.

A primitive wooden cup sat near the head of the table, its presence upstaged by a large and intricate glass sculpture of vaguely organic shapes and curves which seemed to be displayed proudly at the table's center. Where the torchlight struck the sculpture it was scattered and refracted into a rainbow of colors.

She gasped. "Great Maker! This is it!"

Her shorter companion had followed her in, his angular face scanning the room and frowning. "This is... strange. Why would an object of such value just be left here in this plain stone room? Didn't you say the legends spoke of a majestic tower and something about a 'guardian?'"

She waved the man's concerns away. "What does it matter? This tower could only have been constructed and placed here by magic. Besides which it's right where it should be. As for the guardian, who knows? Maybe he got old and died. What matters is that we've found it..." She made a move towards the glass sculpture -then stopped. "No, you should be the first."

The man bowed his head appreciatively. "As you wish." However as his hands neared the glass he too stopped, then pulled back. "No... This is wrong. I feel nothing, no aura. This object, it's not magical." He began looking around the room.

Meanwhile the woman had slipped a dagger of her own from beneath the folds of her cloak, moving up behind the man while he was distracted. How would you know you old fool? And with that thought she thrust her dagger into the man's back just so – she knew right where to hit to penetrate his heart. A broad grin spread across her face. "You know I always did like my horse better than you, you dusty old man! Consider those nights I shared your bed payment for funding my little expedition." She pulled the dagger free with a flourish and stepped back, waiting for the man to fall dead to the ground. "I hope you don't feel cheated," she added.

Except that he didn't fall to the ground. Nor did he utter so much as a cry of pain. In fact he seemed completely uninjured as he turned slowly to face her, a half-smile on his face and a stone coldness in his eyes. "Cheated? Why not at all my dear." He raised his hand, palm facing towards her -a casual gesture on his part- and she was suddenly lifted off her feat and flung backwards at a horrifying speed. Her body slammed against the far wall with a sickening crunch, then crumpled in a heap on the floor.

He didn't bother to pick up her torch, instead lifting his hand palm-upwards. A small but bright ball of light appeared there. He turned back again to face the table. "No, this just isn't right," he said casually as if the woman's death had been but a minor distraction. Then a thought struck him and his gaze shifted to the plain-looking wooden cup. He moved towards the head of the table, his hands reaching out towards the cup but not touching it. "Yes... I can feel you now. Thought to hide from me did you? Cleaver." Now that he looked more closely at it the cup it did seem to reflect the light it in a subtle yet unnatural way. "But something's still off... Where's your guardian?"

As if on cue the deranged hermit entered the chamber, that same stupid smile on his face. "Are we enjoying my little feast? Don't spare the sauce, please pass the moss! I'm afraid I couldn't find the servants-" He stopped short, noticing the woman's crumpled body against the wall. He looked confused.

The older man turned away from the cup, walking slowly towards the hermit. "No... Surely not. Could it be?"

For his part the hermit only stared back, still looking dim and confused.

"Is it really you?" the man continued. "Have you been here guarding it all these countless ages ... slowly going mad?" He raised the hand which was not holding the ball of light and with a flick of his wrist sent the confused hermit flying against the wall where he remained as if pinned by the invisible hand of a giant.

The raggedy man's smile slipped and the fog behind his eyes seemed to clear -but only some. "So'Kor?" he said faintly, as if struggling to remember.

"So'Kor, yes, I was called that once... Orook you called yourself then. I'm glad you still remember me, though at our last meeting I was but a young whelp, and you... You were so very much more. I've spent many lifetimes trying to find the Artifact once more - lifetimes spent learning the arts necessary to defeat you. Yet now that I have at last, what do I find? A wasted shadow of the being you once were..." He uttered a disappointed sigh. "Well I suppose the fault is not yours. It took me far too long, and even then it was not I that stumbled upon your new hiding place but that bright young scholar." He glanced towards her broken body. "A shame she turned out to be so duplicitous; she would have made a wonderful pupil." He turned back to the man still pinned against the wall. "It's not the ending I had envisioned but here we are. Do you have any last words?"

Arook said nothing for a moment, then that deranged smile spread over his face once more. "Your soul black with slime but it isn't the right time!"

"As you say," So'Kor scoffed, visibly bored with the whole affair. Another flick of his hand and there was an audible cracking sound as Arook's neck was twisted brutally, the crazy man's body forming another crumpled heap on the floor. "Fear not old fool, the Artifact shall have a new guardian now, but I will not waste its potential by hiding it away in dark corners of the world. Power such as this should be used..."

With that said he turned around, a triumphant expression on his face, and moved to where the cup rested peacefully on the table.

-Or rather, to where it had been resting. The table now lay empty aside from the useless glass sculpture.

So'Kor's eyes frantically scanned the room to no avail. Rage now distorting his features he turned back to Arook's corpse. "What have you done!? Curse your sly trickster's ways! Where is it?!" He spent the next few minutes raging about the room, searching not only with his eyes but with all the magic he knew for the Artifact, but it was gone. Finally he let out a scream of rage and fell to his knees in defeat and frustration.

"Where... How?" Then his back arched and his eyes flared as understanding struck him. "What was it you said... 'it isn't the right time.' That's it... That's what you've done. You've sent it to another time! It will have disguised itself again of course, I won't be looking for a cup. But that won't be a problem once I figure out your little magic trick. Once I know where -or rather when- to look..." He rose slowly then as a mad chuckle escaped his throat. "You assume I will run out of lifetimes chasing this cursed thing don't you -but I will have it yet! If it takes me to my last breath... If I end up as mad as you by the end... I WILL have what I seek!" He spun on his heals and marched swiftly from the now empty ruins. "I will!" he swore into the unanswering silence.

"Yeah, and I'm queen of the Niafi. You and your bucket head hurt my back!"

Temujin felt absolutely rotten. Sure, this woman was coming off as quite the irritable person, but that must've been because she was pregnant. And Temujin sure knew how pregnant woman could change moods! He knew because he'd seen his mother in action before, when she was bearing his two younger siblings. First she was sweet as sugar, the next she was a raging tigress. And her usual personality was a balance in between. Ah, his mother...how he missed her. Seeing this pregnant dark skinned woman reminded him of her somewhat, although it had been ages since he'd seen her pregnant. In fact, the last time she was pregnant was the last time she was ever alive.

He let out a sigh. At least she wasn't a part of the tribe casualty when that...that tragedy happened. At least she gave up her spirit way before then, mercifully spared. The charred bodies, the smoking tents, the razed ground, the unanswered questions...it was just not the right way to go. Not for anyone. His eyes must have seemed distant in that moment if Mae'leena cared to look, but he came back in time and saw her hiding the bump with her jacket and shooting daggers at him with her angry eyes.

"I'm really sorry," Temujin apologized again. "If there's anything I can do to help..."

But he was interrupted by the presence of the two thugs from the stables accompanied by that well-dressed hawk nosed man in the inn earlier. They largely ignored him and the woman, heading for the door to a dark building Temujin hadn't placed much importance on. In fact, it was only now he was realizing that he wasn't as close to the stables or the inn as he had been moments before. He supposed that during his little adventure with the bucket, he must've stumbled towards this area. He withdrew his bow, in case anything happened.

"Go while they're not paying attention," he quietly advised the pregnant woman. "I know those two men with him. They were causing trouble earlier. It's not safe." He stood protectively in front of Mae'leena to cover her and allow her to flee the scene. Whether he would follow was debatable, for while she was a pregnant woman, he also wanted answers about why he was treated so roughly by those two henchmen.

Before the hawk nosed man could open the door, the door was opened for him. For a brief moment, Temujin recognized the face of the person who opened the door. "You!" he simply shouted, his mind racing with indignation as he remembered the young man who threw that bucket on his head.

The door was quickly closed and the two henchmen rushed forward trying to force it open. Whoever was inside must have locked it in time or threw something against it, for it was not giving way immediately. Judging from the looks of it though, if all three men put their manpower to it, they could bust it down in due time.

The hawk nosed man did not join the fray just yet and turned his head coolly towards Temujin. "And who might you be?" he asked.

Temujin took a brazen step forward and pointed accusingly at him. "Your men attacked me in the stables, taking advantage of me when a bucket was covering my head." He saw one of the men pause to look back at him, but then he was preoccupied once more in trying to get the door down. "I also have a quarrel with one of the people I'm presuming you're hunting, for putting that very bucket on my head. But you seem more suspicious than ever at this moment, coming out here in the dark to force open a door! I take it you're not the authorities of this village? Otherwise, you would have called upon them to do this for you."

The hawk nosed man smiled coldly. "Hmm. This could be a problem."

"Well, considering that woman stole my sleeves, literally, no?" But he gave a shrug. "But I've always thought windows made good exit. Come on, let's just throw on some of these clothes and dash outta one." And in the chaos of the moment, The Gambler didn't realized he had accidentally snatched up a woman's dress, so as he gestured for Liri to, "Come on!" He almost stumbled over his own two feet as he held out the dress.

"What? Oh, come on! I thought I grabbed the men's suit!" How was he supposed to look dashing in this? It was PINK!
Well, dark pinkish red- But still!
That color looked TERRIBLE on him.

But that's when one of the laundry house women stepped out before them. She was as wide as the doorway she blocked and looked as mean as a boar.

"Clothes you stole, give back now!" came her foreign tongue with the snapping force of a whip.

Amongst the streets of the small village, many people milled about, most of them commoners or farmers with some craftsmen mixed in. None of them really stood out from the bunch, well except for one that is, but only if one were really paying attention. A heavily cloaked figure made her way through the cobbled streets of this unremarkable settlement, long gray hooded cloak obscuring her hair and part of her features. She was careful to blend in because her kind were not welcomed here, especially not during a time of civil war amidst the nation. Connloath, a kingdom of pride and industry, openly made their distaste and prejudice towards those of the magic-wielding type well-known amongst everyone whether they lived in the country itself or not. And to top it off, she wasn't exactly human either.

Obsidian walked carefully through the streets looking for an inn to stop at, to rest and get some much needed food. Trail rations only did so much, even journey bread which was more wholesome and filling than one's average dried fruits and nuts, had its limits. Besides she had fresh run out of journey bread, having eaten the last of it on her way here. While she didn't particularly eat much meat, a little at this time wouldn't hurt plus some soup if she could get it.

With that thought in mind the moon elf continued onwards until she found such a place to stop at. "Traveler's Respite," the dilapidated sign read, standing at a tilt from the ground. It was far from luxurious but any rate, luxury did not matter at that moment. It was warm and dry and a place where she could get some much-needed rest and a hot meal. Granted, most elves technically did not need to sleep, although that's not to say they didn't rest, entering a light meditative state where they could recharge their energies. In some cases, sleep would be required but not as often as humans needed to. Regardless, Obsidian felt the toll on her travels weigh heavily upon her as well as the reason why she was here to begin with.

After all she was not here for some mere visit especially not in this nation, not with the war going on in many parts of it. Her guild, The Elementalists' Guild had tasked her with finding out whatever she could about a very rare and powerful object. This object was said to take different forms depending on whom ever guarded it, although it is thought its current form was now that of a small medallion. The object itself, despite how its many 'variations' or physical appearance may differ, its magical essence remained unchanged-and therefore the powers it harbored within.

Supposedly the medallion contained great elemental power of an astronomical amount, able to lay waste to kingdoms and cities alike but at great cost to the wielder. For it was said the object was cursed, slowly able to erode a person's sanity over time the longer they remained in contact with it, rendering them mad eventually. The artifact's powers were also quite chaotic as such, therefore having the effect of wearing away at favorable probability, in other words, one's general luck in life. Naturally such an object was extremely dangerous as well as valuable and there was no telling what sort of chaos and mayhem could erupt from its usage.

The lunar mage had been given explicit instructions to find out what she could about its location, who currently owned it, what they planned to do with it and anything else of value to find out. However, touching it was not advised and she was to keep her distance from it as much as she could. As if this weren't difficult enough, Obsidian had to maintain a low profile while in Connloath as a whole to avoid interrogation or capture from Connloathian officials. Her staff, book and mage attire had to be left behind in favor of nondescript garments to don instead, a worn leather outfit and a gray cloak with a hood complete with black leather boots.

The moon elf stepped inside the inn and nodded her head at the innkeeper, a burly man whom she could tell right away was in this business for the money. The greedy gleam in his eyes as he spotted yet another customer revealed all to the lunar mage. "One room please and a meal as well." she got out her coin purse and paid the innkeeper who readily accepted the coins quickly, his hands fast grabbing all the money in one fell swoop, depositing them behind the counter where all the money was kept. The man nodded his head at her jovially, apparently only caring that she had the money to pay and nothing more.

As Obsidian seated herself at an empty table, something caught her attention. It was subtle at first, but there nonetheless. A faint trace of magic, its residual residue lingering in the dim of the common room where she sat. The feeling alarmed her as she could sense the destructive power behind it as well as the scent of chaos left behind by whatever had left its mark here. The object had been here there was no doubt about it, but not anymore. Otherwise the energy would be much much stronger. The residual amount that Obsidian could discern seemed to lead out the door from which she had just came in, but had not noticed at first. However, the trace was even fainter there, barely noticeable unless one really was paying close attention.

She turned her head back to the initial place where she had first noticed the magic. There was nothing out of the ordinary there, except for what she could sense. Whoever had the object was now gone, but they couldn't have been gone for too long at any rate. But none of that mattered at the moment, she needed a place to stay and she could continue her search tomorrow with this new found knowledge. Obsidian was too tired to do much of anything else now. Her food was soon brought to her and she dug in, enjoying the warmth and wholesome taste of everything.

After Obsidian finished her meal, she was given a key to one of the rooms upstairs, two doors down the hall from her right she was told. Making her way there the moon elf soon settled in for the day, the shadows of late afternoon cascading across the floor with the promise of evening to come. Her last thoughts before she laid down in the comfy bed there were, I hope I am not too late.

Liri was already moving toward the window he had indicated, then almost collided with him when he stumbled over the dress. She was at first annoyed, then she noticed what he was holding. It was a beautiful rose dress complete with decorative purple embroidery. She almost remarked 'Good choice!' but caught herself. "Wait," she said, "why did you-"

He seemed to notice it at the same time, commenting on his mistake, but no sooner had he done so than a woman came through the door demanding in her strange accent that they return the clothes.

Frustration and stress finally boiled over the surface, and Liri found herself slapping the dress-holding man in the shoulder. -Not a very manly gesture but she was beyond noticing. "Sure glad you've got my back the next time we're dress shopping, but our situation doesn't seem to be improving!" she remarked, surprising herself with her outburst.

The boar started across the room towards them, rolling up her sleeves as she did so.

((Hope you guys don't mind liberties I'm taking with Hawk Nose and his henchmen? Tell me if it bothers you and I can edit.))

-------

"Hmm. This could be a problem."

Temujin smirked. "Indeed, I'll make it well worth a problem for you. You've crossed me and humiliated me...now, who wouldn't be angry?"

"What do you want then?" Hawk Nose asked him. "An apology? Compensation?"

"Answers! What is it you're doing out here and night--and why is that young man so important to you, that you're willing to attack even innocent bystanders?"

One of the henchmen looked up from the door and remarked, "I don't recall you being so innocent--you had a notched bow!"

"Have you not heard of self-defense?"

While they bickered, Hawk Nose was silently thinking to himself, his cold eyes flitting from the door to Temujin and back again. He spoke at last, giving them a sharp order: "We don't have time to waste with this...this savage fool! He doesn't appear to know anything. Get rid of him and focus on breaking down that door."

"But, his bow--"

"Then find some way!" Hawk Nose barked. "What's inside is far more important!"

They then both left the door and looked about for a way to "get rid" of Temujin. One guy picked up a stone and threw it roughly, aiming for the nomad. He swerved out of the way to dodge it but it scored a strike on the side of his stomach. He angrily notched an arrow, drew it back, and let it loose in their general direction; not exactly aiming for them, but timing it so that it was near them. The arrow sang through and struck the door they tried to break down. The henchmen jumped out of the way out of instinct, and Temujin rushed forward to barrel the door with his shoulder. A foolhardy move, perhaps...but it was "all or nothing" at this point to the confused nomad.

The door broke open under his force, although not all the way. It was mostly bent inwards from the top, the bottom still intact, vase-shaped. Funnily enough Temujin's head and shoulders stuck through the opening while his legs and bottom were exposed to the outside air. Squirming forward on his elbows, he dropped into the laundry house and spotted his trickster and bucket assailant trying to escape through a window.

"There you are!" he exclaimed, pointing at them. "You've got a lot of ner--"

But he was cut off as he noticed a large and angry woman rushing at them--or more accurately, at him--from a door on the other side in a boar-like fashion. Temujin felt so exasperated with these sudden obstacles that kept coming his way. First the bucket--now a boar!

The 'trickster' only stared, and stared for quite a long while with his mouth gaping open before he gave a laugh. He laughed so hard, it was hurting his belly, and tossing the dress to Liri, he told him, "Here, you can have this. Now let's get the hell out of here before I die of laughter!" And without a second thought, he snatched Liri's wrist and dragged him towards a window which, obviously wasn't open- and of course, when he tried to shove it up to open it- it was stuck!

Still laughing, he brushed some of his tears from his eyes and turned to Liri.
"Okay, we gotta get out this window. Hand me that bucket of Lye. I'm gonna bust it open!"


--------


And he wasn't the only one fancying on using a bucket. Mae'leena, who was about to oblige bucket head in departing from the scene entirely, found herself hit by one of the rocks too. Oh that was it! It was not hard to anger a Saranthian woman (and she was already upset to begin with!) and muttering angerily in her native tongue,s he hefted up the bucket that had once been on Temujin's head and threw it- hard- directly at one of the henchmen's face.

"HOW DARE YOU HIT A LADY WHO'S PREGNANT!" she snapped. "That rock fucking hurt!" And she picked one up herself and threw it at the men, who were surprised when they were attacked by a woman so heavily pregnant and not very 'sweet' with her tongue.

((OOC: Let me know if this is okay or if I need to edit something.))

Meanwhile, in the Traveler's Respite Inn...

Obsidian was dreaming, involved in a mysterious, prophetic dream of sorts. She found herself in a large cavern, the very air around her seemed quite ancient. Her gaze was soon drawn to a large stone tower, while narrow at its base, it was still an impressive sight to behold. The moon elf propelled the dream forward and began walking towards this tower at a rapid pace. In the dream she was still wearing her traveler's garb, but she paid no mind to that fact and continued onward. There was an opening at the bottom that looked suspiciously like some kind of doorway.

So she entered to find herself in a room with a long wooden table, an interesting glass sculpture on it and...a seemingly plain wooden cup at the head of the table. But Obsidian was not fooled, this was no ordinary cup she knew. The destructive energies present in the object could be felt quite palpably from here, its power immense.

A movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention then. She turned to look and gasped. A strange ragged man slowly got up from the floor, his neck bent at a most awkward, uncomfortable angle. The expression on his face spoke of madness and other things Obsidian could not discern. He spoke in a smooth deep voice as though his neck being broken were no obstacle to him and said, "In this place I may be dead, but the artifact I hid in a time he think not to tread! The one who carries it now, looks like a boy does she, but is not. In a house of soap, will you find the object you seek, but quick! You must hurry for they are on the run, from an enemy whose motives to shun."

Obsidian could only stare in confusion at this strange man and his even stranger words. The man continued on his mad rampage, "Ah, my time is up, for I must depart! Look not for a cup, you will find it not but an amulet of such!" And with that he promptly collapsed back to the floor as though he were never speaking to the moon elf at all.

Obsidian stared for quite awhile, very puzzled as to what just occurred. She figured his words were a message of sorts, to tell her where to find the object the guild sought. Obsidian shook her head briefly and turned back to the table where the cup sat. Or where it used to sit. She supposed it made sense that it wasn't there, based on what the man had said. She also wondered about who the man was referring to in the beginning of his speech, this "he" fellow. Looking around once more, Obsidian realized there was nothing else here of note. It was time to move on.

Focusing on the dream itself, Obsidian propelled herself through the misty gray wastes of the dreamworld until she came to her next destination. Or rather tried to. It seemed whatever was here wouldn't allow her to come through and so she was left in the gray void of nothing for what seemed like forever but could only have been a few moments. Realizing there was naught else for her to do, Obsidian slowly reached through the fabric of the dreamworld, intent on waking up.

She soon awoke in her bed in one of the rooms of the inn. The morning was slowly approaching but still semi-dark out. Obsidian sighed at what she had learned from her dream voyage. It seemed that there was a great deal more to discover than was initially thought. For example, who was this man with the broken neck? Why was his neck broken? Who was the not-boy he was talking about? What did he mean by house of soap? The moon elf pondered on these questions some more before getting ready for the day ahead. It seemed like it would be yet another long day for her and Obsidian needed to be prepared for whatever she might face.

Liri watched dumbfounded -still stupidly holding the dress- as the Gambler laughed hysterically. She wasn't sure if was at her or the fact that an all-to-familiar headband-wearing man had just barreled through the top half of the door. It should have surprised her. She should have jumped, startled out of her wits by the crashing sound for yet another time that night. However her nerves just seemed to have reached overload. Perhaps it was just the sheer number of random and unexpected things that happened, or the fact that she hadn't been able to catch a break since finding that blasted medallion and the stress was finally getting to her, but she only watched as the man crawled over the remains of the door and said with resignation "Well, why not."

In perhaps the only good piece of luck she could recall having recently the boar-woman noticed the door being smashed to pieces and immediately lost interest in her and the Gamber's escape and changed course to intercept the new arrival – her nostrils flaring in rage.

Liri took a step back, subconsciously reaching into her pocket to grip the medallion. I wish I'd never seen you -stupid piece of metal. I should throw you away right now, let those fool thugs have you.

"Blaming jewelry for your problems now are we?"

The sudden voice from over her right shoulder made her jump for all that the smashing door had not. She spun around to face its owner and immediately froze, the blood draining from her face as terror locked her limbs in a death-grip.

It had been many years since she had seen a man known to her only as 'Father Ko.' He had been the reason she had run away from her home as a young teenager and never returned. In spite of all the years inbetween then and now she had never lost the memory of his eyes -burning coals of hatred for all of 'her kind.' She would be years older before coming to understand that he was a Mordecai, and one with an unusual loathing of all magic-users (one of which he had taken her to be.) She had never worried that he was pursuing her. He was an old man even then and it seemed unlikely – yet there before her he stood. Her mouth was suddenly dry and she felt transformed into that terrified young girl once more, incapable of understanding why this man she had never met hated her so.

"You know the truth: This is all your fault you foolish little girl. You'll be lucky if this man doesn't get himself killed trying to save you and why? He doesn't owe your filthy kind anything... You deserted your parents, you couldn't save the man who was like a father to you, and now you're going to get a good man killed. You filthy wretch. I'll get to see you burn yet..." Ko continued ranting, taking one slow and menacing step after another towards her.

Finally she got her left arm to move, lifting it shakily up to grab the Gambler by the shoulder. "Hey," she said turning to meet his eyes, "do you see-" But she didn't finish that sentence. For she had turned back to look at Ko. Except there was no Ko. No one was there at all, just empty floor.

Meanwhile the hawk-nosed man was pulling himself off the ground, a conspicuously bucket-shaped bruise covering most of his face. "Blast it all!" he swore. "You-" he pointed at one of the suits, "do something about that woman! You-" he pointed at the other one, who was currently in the process of falling all over himself, nursing his head where a rock had just come smashing into it. "-Never mind. I'll do it myself." With that he immediately grabbed a splinter from what was left of the door, then some flint from his coat pocket and set about lighting it. "No one makes a fool of me!"

Across the village's humble cobbled road from the laundry there sat a squat structure that had, in better times, been an eating establishment of some kind. Now it sat abandoned, its old sign now unreadable but still swinging from the frame of the deck. It creaked faintly in a subtle breeze – a sound barely heard over the sounds of the commotion underway across the road. Who knows what had become of its owners, perhaps bad times had come upon them, perhaps like many they had fled in fear that the war would pay a visit to even this remote hobble. Either way the building sat now watching the slow passage of time alone and untended. At least, except for that night.

On that night someone sat quietly on the aged bench under the shelter of its deck. Dressed in a concealing traveler's cloak, little of his figure could be discerned. The figure's legs were dressed in traveled but sturdy dark trews, ending in equally used leather boots. No face was visible from beneath the shadows of the cloak's hood, only a simple wooden pipe protruded. Occasionally a slight puff of smoke from its end spoke of some alertness from its owner. That, and the hood's unwavering attention on the events in and around the laundry...

The Gambler turned around, first looking at the boy, then over at the door where it appeared that the boarish woman was on a rampage, and well- she was taking out her rage full force on one of the men who dared tried to get inside- hitting him smack on the head multiple times with a broom.
To see such a sight, The Gambler laughed.

"Can this day get any better or what?" he jested, then gestured back to Liri. "Now come on," he said between laughs. "Get me that bucket. Unless you want to see me herorically kick the window open." WHich would be an awkward feat in itself. but without his jacket- well- perhaps he could try?
Backing up, he readied himself, grinning much like a playful wolf.

"Alright... here goes nothing!"
And as he kicked- rather hard, at the window, it didn't budge but suddenly he was howling.
"Ugh! My foot!" And down he went, nursing onto it as he wheezed in pain. Great, there went his thoughts that he was lucky- but just as he was inwardly cursing himself for perhaps NOT being a mage, the window cracked, and the cracked hissed into a line across the frame. This perked him up as he stood up, and limpingly jumped in victory.

"Alright!" And then taking the lye bucket up himself, he whacked the window a second time and it shattered- leaving a large, open space that they could finally escape from. With a polite gesture, he bowed to the boy and said, "After you, good sir!"


----

To see the man turn to challenge her made Mae'leena snort.
"Fool? Nobody can make you a fool when you were born one, love." And she waited no time in throwing whatever she could on the floor at the man- an old boot, pieces of a broken pot- more stones- anything to keep him back. If they thought the boar-woman was raging- she had nothing on Mae'leena.

"Stand down or I'll do more than just throw rocks at your stupid heads!" Mae'leena demanded. Though it was very unlike her to fight so directly, she was pissed!
Nobody messed with her normally, and now in her condition-
Nobody would mess with her.. PERIOD.

Liri turned to her left to where the Gambler had moved free of her hand and noticed him on the floor howling over his foot. The window before him was cracked if not shattered.

Relief washed over her as she realized he had apparently not noticed her moment of -she didn't want to use the word insanity but regretfully it seemed to fit. Was she really losing her mind?

She shook her head to banish such dark thoughts and turned her attention to the window, suddenly wanting more than ever to get out of there. Now where was that bucket? She couldn't see it any more.

"Excuse me?"

Liri almost jumped, fearing another visit from a demon from her past, but she didn't recognize the voice's owner this time. He was an older gentleman and dressed the part, complete with an expensive looking suit and solid looking wooden cane with a lion's head carved on its end.

He looked around at the commotion in the room, then apparently not knowing what to make of it continued as if he hadn't noticed. "I don't mean to interrupt but is my other suit ready?"

"Err," Liri fudged, "not just yet... Do you mind if I borrow that?" Without waiting for a reply she grabbed the man's cane and ran towards the window, smashing the lion's head into it with all her might. As it was already cracked the window began to give way one piece at a time. Soon she had an opening a human could fit through, although the edges of sharp glass made her nervous. She swept them away with the cane as best as she could before walking back over to the older gentleman and handing it back to him. "Umm, thanks."

The man stared at his ruined cane, his face white.

Without another word to the man Liri made for the window, grabbing up her procured cloak from where she had dropped it. "I couldn't find the bucket," she said as she somewhat awkwardly climbed up into the window sill. An errant piece of glass bit deeply into her hand and she muffled a curse, losing her balance and falling forward out the empty window.


Meanwhile the hawk-nose man was still fumbling with his flint under the woman's barrage. "Curse it all!" He cried in frustration. "Can't you handle one-" He stopped as the suit he was addressing stumbled backward, donning a newly acquired boot over his head. An animal growl escaped his lips, followed by an exclamation of victory as the piece of wood he had been holding finally caught flame. No sooner had he elated in his victory however than a stone nearly missed clubbing him in the head and hit the wood instead, sending it flying into the laundry house.

Back at the Respite a plump lady in plain skirts and vest was making her way from room to room on her morning errand of cleaning dirty and vacant rooms. She stopped outside an occupied room at the sudden sound of footsteps from behind her. "Late again." She stated without emotion.

Another woman dressed just as plainly -and as thin as the first woman was plump- scurried up to her. "I wouldn't have been late this morning honest, Carla, but there's some commotion goin' on like you wouldn't believe down by the laundry!"

Carla scoffed. "You always have some excuse. Nothin' ever happens in this nowhere little berg you know that." She occupied herself brushing something off of her skirts, then sniffed. "What's this supposed commotion of yours this time anyway?"

"It's true!" The twig of a woman replied. "I saw it myself. There's these scary men trying to break into the back of the place, sounds of crashing an' all sorts of things, and this crazy woman out there just luggin' things at the men for all she's worth!"

The plump woman sighed back. "Yeah, and two Mordecai came after riding a flaming Dragon. Just get your things we've got a lot of work to do. -And stop chattering so loud you'll wake the whole floor."

Contrarily the skinny woman did not 'get her things,' instead continuing to protest her honesty all the way down the hallway...

What went from an oh so glorious escape (kind of), soon turned into an 'oh crap, the laundry house is on fire!' Because sure enough, as The Gambler was trying to urge Liri to run a little faster, he heard a scream and saw smoke pouring out of the laundry house.

"Holy shit!" And despite the situation becoming far more than he had bargained for, he wore a crooked smile across his lips. He then turned to Liri. "Find some place safe. I'm going to go help put out a fire!" And as he rolled back his sleeves, he dashed back down the alley and hopped back inside the now flaming laundry house through the broken window.

After her night at the inn where she had had the prophetic dream, for she was sure it meant something important, Obsidian was now on her way out the inn door and down the streets of the small village, cloak obscuring her features once more.

As she walked down the cobbled path, she wondered for a brief second on what her next course of action should be, but that thought quickly evaporated when she smelled smoke somewhere nearby. Quickly becoming alarmed, the moon elf made her way to where she smelled the smoke.

Passing by an old abandoned building that had obviously seen better days, she noticed a figure sitting calmly, watching the proceedings across the street where the fire was, with interest as though nothing troublesome was going on. Obsidian stopped walking for a second and regarded the person, whoever it was trying to get a good look at his face. It was covered by shadow but she could make out some of the features. However she didn't have time to ponder long on this as the building across the road was on fire, the occupants inside likely needed help!

So the mage forgot momentarily the mysterious person and rushed over quickly to find some way she could be of assistance. Spotting a couple buckets of water nearby a broken window with a bar of soap lying next to them on a small low table, she hurriedly went over and hefted one of the heavy buckets and threw it at the flaming walls of the building, trying to put out the fire as best she could.

Coughing a bit on the smoke, she turned to grab the other bucket when she heard heavy booted footsteps behind her with a voice speaking in a deep baritone voice. She whirled around to face the newcomer. It was at that second, Obsidian also realized the hood of her cape had fallen down revealing her face, hair and ears. It must have fallen down while she was trying to help with the bucket of water. The building was still blazing with fire and smoke, screams could still be heard within. The man's gaze bore into her own dark eyes, with him obviously thinking of what to do next.

((Tags Icarus here with Hawk Nose Man. I'll leave it to you to control him as I'm not quite sure how to at this point. Also, since Obsidian is an elf with enhanced senses, she should be able to see the mystery man's face from across the road, under the hood of his cloak when she passed by him/her.))

((I'm just going to write what happens after the whole boar-woman/laundry house burning fiasco to get to the point. We'll assume the boar woman hit Temujin repeatedly with the broom and he managed to get her to stop--gently but firmly--and made his way out from the other side. Cue Liri's gentleman's entrance, after which his cane is ruined. And then present matters!))

After Temujin escaped from the laundry house, he made a roundabout way back to the inn, most particularly the stables. He couldn't stand this anymore. Too many things were happening to him in this blasted village to even assume that it was safe, or stable to rest in. The Common authorities might be on them at any moment, too...Ugh, he didn't even want to think about it. And then...wait...was that smoke he smelled? He turned around and saw from the building a column of smoke and the beginnings of a large flame.

He hurriedly went into the stables and found his gray dapple stallion in the stall he last left it. He hurriedly saddled it, checking only briefly to make sure everything was still there, before mounting and literally bursting out of the stable doors without so much as a second thought. He was DONE with this village. He didn't care that he lost money to the innkeeper--let him have the coin, Temujin wasn't willing to risk his neck any further!

But midway past the laundry house, the sight of the smoke and fire eerily reminded him of his tribe. The burnt down yurts; the charred bodies; the razed ground...He felt an awkward tug on his conscience that made him feel guilty for fleeing. With a resolute sigh, he wound his horse back around toward the laundry house and halted sharply at the entrance. He properly doused himself with a bucket of water before entering, unknowingly pushing past Hawk-Nose as he did so. Without regard to the fire, he helped shoulder the boar-woman out of the laundry house. For all her supposed bravado and charging, she had become limp underneath all the smoke. Temujin deposited her outside the house, eliciting a curious glance from his horse, before dousing himself in more water and dashing back in.

Moments later, The Gambler was bursting through the doors and shouldering a bunch of clothes. Behind him, as he continued to huff his way, were a gaggle of women who had refused to leave this clothing to flames. So the 'hero' had his arms full, literally and groaned and coughed out smoke the moment he was outside.

"Okay ladies, here's your clothing. Now just get to safety, alright?"

The ladies all cooed with delight, patting.the half sooted hero as they scrambled to get away from the building now in flames. But when he heard a woman scream, "My dog! My dog! My little one is stuck in his cage!"

Turning to the woman he asked, "Are there any more people inside?"


The woman shook her head.
"I... I don't think. But my Oscar... He's all I have left! Please save him! I could not live with myself if he were to die this way!"

John groaned but nodded.
"Okay, I'll get your mutt, but after I see if there are anymore people!" And turning back to the flaming laundry house, he cringed and dashed back inside, and found himself stumbling past the soaking wet Temu.

"Dousing myself in water... Why didn't I think of that?"

"Dousing myself with water...Why didn't I think of that?"

Temujin turned to look at the Gambler and recognized him, the trickster who had been escaping with Liri. Under normal circumstances, he would've tried to advance his vendetta. But there was a building that was burning, and potential victims inside it. And it seemed as though the Gambler was also trying to help diffuse the situation. So he probably wasn't all that bad...

The nomad picked up a bucket half-filled with water and suds and dumped it on the Gambler. "There. Now you've been doused."

A little ahead to his left he suddenly heard the creaking of something small and metallic and the high-pitched whine of an anxious dog. It confused Temujin, for the place was primarily water and clothes and lye...why would there be a dog?

Then it was clear up ahead that there was a small dog still stuck in its cage, frightened by the noise and smoke and fire. Temujin felt a stab of pity for it but he wondered also whether there were other people still stuck in the fire. It was then that a young woman fainted in his and the Gambler's direction, almost horizontally, so that they both might have to catch her if they didn't want her to fall.

"I'll take the lady and you'll take the dog?" Temujin asked him.

Ooc: I hope its okay to presume they both caught the fainting lady? If not, I'll edit my.post.

--------

John Johnson stood there, blowing soap and water away from his mouth, hands on his hips.
"You're the resourceful.type aren't ya? Ever heard of the phrase 'heads up?' " The Gambler asked, but didn't say anything further on the situation as he heard the whimpering cry of the dog. But before he could act, he was confronted with a fainting woman who seemed to fall into both of their arms.

He looked over at the other man with a smirk.
"Okay, but be careful! This woman's kinda heavy!" And he deposited his half of the woman into Temu's arms and bounded off towards the sound of the whimpering dog.

((Yup, they pretty much both caught her ^^))

Temujin nodded and then staggered a little as the Gambler dumped the woman fully into his arms. Temujin hefted her back up and carried her as stalwartly as he could out of the building, settling her down beside the boar-woman who was only now just coming to. Not wanting to stay behind to see if the boar-woman had gotten any less tough, he rushed back in to see if he could help the Gambler with anything.

"Hey, idiot!" Mae'leena called after him. "What the hell do you think you're doing? That whole place looks about ready to fall beneath the fire!" And as.much as it.was not her concern, she couldnt help but voice her opinion as she grabbed the man by the shirt. "You tryin' to get yourself killed?" And no sooner had she spoke did a large roaring wave of fire explode behind them, and the building suddenly collapsed, trapping the Gambler within.

"Mae'leena swore through her teeth before giving an angry shake to Temujin's sleeve.
"See? What did I tell ya? You could have been  buried alive, or squashed or somethin'!" Really, was he an idiot? Maybe there was more reasons behind the bucket that had been on his head. She frowned sourly at this whole ordeal.

Before Temujin could even get past the doors, however, the pregnant woman from earlier yelled at him and grabbed him by his tunic. Something about the place ready to fall from the fire...but Temujin could hardly have heard her. He could only think with a sense of urgency that the Gambler was still inside, as well as that poor dog, and he needed to do all he could to help before the villagers could come to help. He was going to jerk himself out of Mae'leena's grip...But then a wave of fire swept over the laundry house and the building collapsed in on itself!

"No!" Temujin yelled. His voice was equal parts horror, frustration, and guilt.

"See? What did I tell ya? You could have been buried alive, or squashed or somethin'!" She angrily shook his sleeve, but he could've cared less.

He rushed forward as much as the fire could allow him. "Heeyyy! Trickster! Are you there? Did you get the dog?" He was on the verge of panicking. "Answer me! Trickster! Hell--I didn't even know your name!"

((OOC: Wohoo! Post up at last, I'll be back in action now for a while, thanks for your patience.))

As the fires roared Liri stared in shock. She had seen the Gambler turn and run back into the building, saving others as he had saved her. Part of her had even wanted to go in after him, but something had stopped her. Somehow it wasn't like the tales and stories she had been obsessed with as a child. It was easy to talk about running into a burning building but actually doing so in face of the very real knowledge that you could die was quite another. The feeling came from deep inside her, instinctual, freezing her limbs.

The only time I've done anything remotely brave yet is to save myself, she thought bitterly as shame burned inside her hotter than the roaring fire before her.

Absently she noticed a crowd was gathering at the scene. A small flock of swooning women were still cheering the hero of their expensive laundry, while others were simply watching the scene play out with obvious fascination.

Two stood apart from the rest, not only in their proximity to the building but in appearance and bearing. One was a tall, lithe woman with distinctive gray-blue skin and flowing blue hair. Or was that the early dawn light playing tricks on her? No, she was sure, the woman had bluish hair. While she could see little of the other person beneath a long concealing cloak the figure made her uncomfortable. She wasn't sure why. For some reason she was glad the person's gaze was focused in the opposite direction.

Another woman she didn't recognize stood holding the arm of their bucket-wearing pursuer, the two seemed to be arguing about something and the man looked like he was ready to charge back into the building also.

Of the thugs she could see only the hawk-nosed man, his two suits had apparently fled already, and even as she watched he was moving away as discreetly as he could manage, apparently unwilling to draw public attention to himself. At one point he turned his head and their eyes met. His were filled with malice. 'This isn't over,' his look clearly stated, and then he turned away.

Then, with a resounding crash, the laundry collapsed in upon itself – the wood groaning its last death cries.

Despite the fire she felt cold, miserable. He saved my life and I never got the chance to thank him.

Somewhere an own hooted, a sound barely audible over the sound of the burning remains of the building.


The hooded stranger stared at Obsidian for a moment, his eyes narrowed. While to any other he might be a walking shadow beneath his heavy cloak, to her eyes a weathered, light-skinned face would be visible from beneath its folds. He had an athletic build and the hard eyes of one accustomed to harsh environments. A layer of stubble gave his face an unclean look it probably deserved.

"I didn't expect to see one of the fair folk here," the man said in a voice which was not hostile but fell short of friendly. "I don't believe in coincidences. You're here because you seek the object -of this I'm sure. Tell me. What are your intentions?" He seemed unconcerned as the building collapsed beside them, never breaking eye contact.

As the building collapsed behind the two, Obsidian noticed this but her attention was mainly centered on the man before her. She carefully and quickly put her hood back up over her head to conceal herself once more, and gave the man with the weathered face an even look. He had an aura of menace and it made the moon elf slightly uncomfortable to be in his presence for long.

"I am more concerned with what your intentions are, sir." she stated calmly, gaze not wavering from his cold eyes. "I am merely here to check on what I am able, nothing more." Adjusting her cloak some more, she added, "Now that I have answered your question, would you care to answer mine? Why do you seek this relic you speak of?"

As the smoldering remains of the building burned behind her, Obsidian closed her eyes briefly, wondering if there were any who were still trapped inside, and saddened about their fate if there were. For they most likely could not have survived that. But there was little more Obsidian could do at this point. She turned her attention back to the imposing figure before her.

If he needed a better reason to prove he had luck magic, it was probably then. For after the building had fallen and the flames engulfed every inch of it, a section near the rear began to shift, and then the charred debris, with idle flames, shook off of what appeared to be a table like a wet dog. Moment's later, a figure coated nearly completely in soot, rose up from the smoke, coughing out dust and other debris he had swallowed before taking a wobbly step forward.

Fascination kept the on lookers' eyes glued to the man, and as he managed to stumble his way out of the outskirts of the laundry house's debris, one of the women's eyes lit up as she shrieked.

"Oscar, Oscar! He's saved my Oscar!"

And a squirming little terrier, about as bad off looking as the man holding him, gave a whimpering whine and weak wag of it's tail. And as the woman rushed over to the pair, The 'trickster' gladly handed over the pup. And though he stood there, appearing heroic (and albeit very tired), he heard out the woman's thank yous before she hugged the dog, kissing it frantically while getting her own body and face covered in soot.

"I'm just happy to be of service. Though if you really want to thank me, let everyone know THe Gambler is here for the good of the people- gambling his life to help with yours.... or something." He hadn't quite come up with a heroic line or anything and the woman gave him a questioning look but smiled and hugged her dog tight, askign if he'd be okay.

After coughing out more smoke from his lungs, he gave the woman a lopsided grin.
"I think I'll survive." And she thanked him again before dashing off to where the other women were cooing and swooning over what had just happened. And as he observed that show, his smile grew a little wider before he felt the world spin around him as he dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.




And Mae'leena, who was still next to bucket head, snarled a bit as she looked at the spectacle.
"Show off," she growled. "See?" she siad, giving Temujin's arm a shake. "He survived probably because he's some sorta lucky bastard. If you would have gone in there, I'm sure the building would have smashed you flat!"

Liri continued to watch the two strangers for a few more moments. The woman with the odd appearance put her hood up and the two of them might have just been any two strangers passing through for all their appearances gave away. Too far distant to hear their conversation, she found her attention drifting once again.

It immediately latched on to the almost unbelievable sight of a walking, human-shaped cloud of ash crawling its way free of the collapsing building. Her jaw dropped while the old lady jabbered and cooed over her beloved dog -how had he survived that? Then the man collapsed after a (somewhat unpolished) speech and she realized she didn't care. He was alive!

Quickly she ran over to him, throwing a glare in the general direction of the swooning women as she did so. They stood at the sidelines, gasping and talking amongst themselves as if watching a fascinating play but did nothing to help. "Why don't you do something useful and go find a healer!" she shouted at them, not watching to see if they obeyed.

Instead she turned her attention to the unconscious man covered in soot. "Please don't die," she pleaded under her breath as she turned him over. To her relief he had not, although his breathing seemed shallow to her. Desperately she pulled at her memory. There had been a time when she had lived with an old farmer who had been kind to her and others. Now and then he would take in passing strangers who needed shelter and offer them what assistance he could. While not a remarkable healer he was familiar with some basics and helped where he could help. She had not been the most attentive of students as he had tried to impart his knowledge. Now she kicked herself for it.

With effort, one piece at a time, the knowledge dredged its way up from the recesses of her mind. Treat the burns with cool damp cloth... By luck or good fortune a bucket of water still lay nearby, probably filled with the intention of fighting the fire and then never used. She ran to it, tearing the sleeves of her tunic into rags as she did so and dipping them into the water.

But keep his body temperature up, he may be in shock...Immediately after applying the rags to the worst of his burns she flung off her borrowed cloak and draped it over him. She put a hand over his forehead, frowning. Wake up, she implored silently.


The cloaked stranger did not immediately reply to the elf's query, instead his eyes narrowed still further. After a time he seemed to decide something, and his expression vanished. The man's steel-colored eyes softened, crinkling at the corners, and his thin lips curved up at their edges in what sufficed for a smile. His hands moved to pull his hood back from his face, revealing unruly shoulder length hair that seemed to be turning gray but still had plenty of brown in it.

"Right then. Beg your pardon miss, but we don't see many of your kind this way and perhaps I've grown a bit suspicious in my travels. I've been tracking a young lad for some time now, seems he took something that wasn't his that had... sentimental value to a very well-off acquaintance of mine. I tracked him to this little berg here but seems someone else caught up to him first, and all that was left was a pile of ashes. I've been observing the roads in and out of town, generally keeping an eye out -you understand. Seen anything suspicious since you came into town? -Other than the odd building burning down that is." He nodded towards the pile of smoldering wood that had once been the laundry. "Bit of a shame that – I think it was the newest building out of all of 'em. All the others deserve to burn down."

Temujin was absolutely relieved when he saw the Gambler emerge from the collapsed building. It was unbelievable, making him think he was hallucinating at first; but then everyone else started acknowledging his heroic actions, and Temujin then knew he was not hallucinating if the people around them could see it too. Mae'leena's nasty comment went unheard by him, and even if it was, he could not have cared less. However, the sound of her voice registered to him, and he quickly turned around and gave her a big hug (not too tight, though, for fear of the baby) out of the sheer joy he felt just then.

"Thank Tengri!" he exclaimed to her just then, then released her to rush over to Liri and the Gambler as the brave hero of smoke and fire fainted under the exertions of his rescue. Temu was better disposed toward them now, he supposed, because of what the Gambler did and what happened to him afterwards. Temujin always respected a man who stood up to the dangers around him, no matter how fatal. He was also quite aware that the Gambler needed medical attention at this moment. He quickly knelt beside Liri and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

His obedient horse, trained in the nomad ways to fear little and stay close by its master, walked steadily over to Temujin with a very audible clip-clop of its hooves and nosed him in the shoulder when it came close. Temujin turned around to regard it with a pat on its nose and then unhooked his waterskin from the saddle.  He opened the Gambler's mouth a bit with a gentle but firm hand and sent a little trickle of fresh water down, just a tiny bit, see if he could get the Gambler back into consciousness. The townspeople by this time were finally mustering efforts to put out the fire.

After some moments of silence and a face-off between the two, Obsidian listened to his words, gauging the truthfulness behind them. She doubted that he was telling her the whole story, and his description of the item he sought (which she suspected was the amulet) being of 'sentimental' value to an acquaintance of his didn't seem to completely add up to the real truth. Especially if it was the same object. The man also elicited warning signs in her mind due to a sense of danger she felt from him, red flags that told her he could not be trusted. There was more to this than he was letting on. Especially with his initial accusation from before. Something of 'sentimental value' didn't warrant such hostility.

Obsidian chose her next words carefully, being careful not to reveal anything about the amulet or why she was here. The guild trusted her with this assignment and she was going to make certain she delivered her promise. His words about the thief being nothing but a pile of ashes now also concerned her. Something like that further raised the red flags in her mind and she was certain whatever had happened to him had been of a magical occurrence. How she knew this, she couldn't rightly say, her intuition told her such and that was good enough for her.

"Who was this man and what did he steal?"

Liri looked up suddenly as a well muscled pair of arms holding a water skin started dribbling water into the unconscious man's mouth. Water, what's wrong with me? Why didn't that occur to me? Then it registered he had been saying something to her.

"Oh... you're already helping-" her sentence was left hanging as she looked up and realized who it was. She fought the instinct to lurch back, her eyes becoming round with tension. Then she relaxed a little as she realized he didn't seem angry any more, in fact she was struck by his obvious compassion. Perhaps she had misjudged him. "Thank you," she said honestly.

Behind them the battle with the fire continued and even as they talked another corner of the building collapsed outward, throwing a cloud of small debris and cinders in their direction. The tiny embers burned her skin where they landed. She hissed and sputtered a cough. "We should move him, he's breathed in enough ashes for one day." She looked around. "There's a building over there with a covered porch?" she suggested, moving to grab his legs.


The stranger made a casually dismissive gesture. "Oh that trinket? Well I'll level with you miss it's nothing to get excited over, but as it happens it's quite old and worth a good bit of money you see. You know how rich folk get over their heirlooms... Well anyway so these old folks have had it for as long as they can remember, passed down to them from their folks, just sittin' around in a trunk somewhere apparently. Then a young lad comes along and steals it. Could have stole the whole homestead if he'd had a mind to, but he just takes the poor folks' family treasure. Broke my heart to hear the story, so naturally I had to take the job of gettin' it back for 'em.

He leaned in then and dropped his voice slightly, as if imparting a secret he didn't want the crowd to overhear. "Now here's where it gets interestin'. The poor ol' folks get so mad they up and put a bounty on the boy's head - at least into the ear of a few of the right people- with his description and a few pertinent details - they'd spotted 'im makin' 'is escape ya' see. So now the kid's got a whole slew of dangerous types chasin' 'im.

"Don't know if anybody ever rightly figured out his identity -not that it matters now. Somebody turned him to ashes like I said. The thing is word on the street is the heirloom's still wandering around somewhere so whoever's turnin' people to ashes is likely to try it again before they're done. -At least that's my thinkin'. All I can tell you for sure is I wouldn't want to be the one holdin' on to it right now. Why I sure wish somebody would just come forward and let me bring it back to the ol' folks and end all this craziness. You let me know if you hear somethin'..."

With that the man nodded his head politely and turned as if to move away.

Obsidian watched him go with growing unease. His comment about how the other buildings deserved to burn down unsettled her as well as his general demeanor. She supposed she would need to keep an eye on his whereabouts, but do so discreetly. He knew something, that much was certain.

As the man walked off, Obsidian waited a bit, watching to see where he went. Then she followed him, but at a distance, keeping to the shadows as much as she could.

Mae'leena couldn't believe her eyes. These people were crazy! But she found herself cringing as she observed them, and muttered several curses beneath her breath before calling over, "Don't take him over there! The head guard lives there!"
Really, did they all want to go to jail?

Looking around for a place to offer as a solution, she recalled the stables and turned back around.
"Over here!" she hissed over the smoke and debris. "Bring him to the stables! You can lay 'im down in the hay until we figure out what to do with 'im!"
Surely no one would mess with them there, right? Either way,s he was pretty much useless in her state, and was also feelign she was breathing in too much smoke herself that she began to feel ill.

Liri nodded at the pregnant woman's shouted advice, gratefully letting the poor man's body fall back to the ground, unfortunately a bit faster than she had intended. He landed with an indignant thud. Oops... I'll have to apologize for a few bruises when he wakes up... Feeling foolish she looked towards the stables where the woman was gesturing. Not for the first time, she wondered why that thought hadn't occurred to her.

Exhaling a breath she once more hefted her half of the man's body off the ground with a grunt. She might appear to all the world as a boy, but life had a habit of reminding her that in reality her body was a small-framed young woman's. Move the body I said... I just had to suggest this...She grunted again as they trudged towards the stables.


Osgald moved in an irregular pattern among the small collection of buildings the village offered, trying to look casual and periodically glancing behind him. The elf woman didn't initially appear to follow, but the third time he looked back he no longer saw her. Then he rounded a corner and was out of sight.

He kept moving towards the agreed-upon rendezvous, stopping half way there upon seeing a couple of youngsters hanging around behind the apothecary. Perfect. He ignored their surprised looks and furtive movements as he approached. He didn't care what childish mischief they were up to. "You-" He gestured towards the older of the two. "You want to earn some coin for doing almost nothin'?"

The boy perked up, and Osgald tossed him a coin. "Go watch that fire over on the edge of town like everyone else is. There's a small group of people who were involved in it: a young boy, a pregnant woman, an unconscious lad, a foreigner, and possibly a young elf woman. Any of them make a move to leave town or do anything odd you come let me know at once. Do so and there's two more coins like that waiting for you. I'll be around town making myself seen or staying at the inn. Sound good?"

Both boys nodded eagerly and raced off towards the fire. With that chore done he continued on to the meeting, glancing around. Had he seen something out of the corner of his eye? He looked again but saw nothing but an empty alley and cobbled street beyond. Fool, jumping at shadows now...

Upon reaching a sheltered meadow surrounded by trees on the outskirts of town he stopped, noting with dismay that no one was there. His employer was *never* late. Somewhere an owl screeched. He spun about, looking for signs of danger, but could see no one. Nothing but shadows. Still, he knew it to be a warning. Was he being followed? No, impossible. He had been careful. Still no use wasting time. He knew his employer would never risk revealing themselves if they sensed danger or someone watching. Time to switch to plan 'B'. He needed to find somewhere more private...

Trying to act like he had just been out for a bit of fresh air he walked casually from the trees and headed back into town, headed back to the Respite and its surly inkeep, and made arrangements for a room. The other man gave him one on the second floor, overlooking the stables. It wasn't an ideal location but it would do he supposed. At least the neighboring rooms' occupants all seemed to be elsewhere at the moment, probably downstairs getting inebriated, and a look out the window revealed no one about at the moment.

Once inside he made sure to secure the door, open the window, and wait with his back turned. Sure enough, some minutes later an almost imperceptible sound of wings could be heard followed by a sound he could never quite identify.

"Don't turn around," the voice commanded. It was neither male nor female, or perhaps both, half-human half-animal. His employer disguised their voice deliberately he knew, he had never worked for anyone so obsessed with anonymity.

"Never." He replied, familiar with the routine.

"You're getting careless. You were followed." The voice was angrier than normal.

Osgald bristled under the criticism. "Impossible... Who?"

"The elf woman."

In spite of himself he was openly shocked. "Craftly little witch... How? I never saw her."

The voice responded reluctantly, as if resentful of giving him any leeway. "I think she's a moon elf. Shadows will be her ally. If I am right, you must be more careful of her kind. Interact with her only in the full light of day if you must do so."

"Where is she now?"

The voice hissed, a sound as much animal as human. "I do not know, I lost her."

He kept the surge of satisfaction from showing on his face or in his voice. So she eluded you too. Not so high and mighty as you act eh? He thought, but instead he said, "Do you believe she's working for the enemy?"

"No," the voice replied dismissively, "he would not use one such as her."

He nodded. "I agree, I confronted her 'bout the Artifact and from her reaction I believe she's more in the dark than us. She's hidin' somethin' though, I'd bet my life on it. Intimidation won't work on her. We'll have to be more subtle. I've been putting the fear of hell into everyone I think might have the Artifact but whoever's goin' around smokin' people's doin' most of my work for me. Sooner or later whoever has it is goin' to bolt. All we have to do is wait and watch."

The voice hissed again, more vehemently this time. "Time is against us. The enemy has become suspicious that the Artifact has surfaced..."

Osgald tensed. "Is he here?"

"I don't believe so, but he searches. It may only be a matter of time."

"How?"

"He has his ways," the voice said impatiently. "Perhaps someone has been meddling in the dreamscape. It matters not. Time is critical."

He sighed, aware of his employer's impatience and trying to figure out how best to quell it. "Time's always 'critical.' We can't let that make us sloppy. Just be patient, if we stay careful we'll get your precious Artifact in good time."

The angry hiss followed again. "I'm not paying you to be careful! I'm paying you to retrieve a simple item from a bunch of commoners!" Without another word there was the same unidentifiable sound from earlier followed by a burst of flapping wings.

Osgald sighed, letting some of the tension ease from his body. After this, he promised himself, he was going to take only simple jobs – rescuing little girls' kittens from trees perhaps.

Temujin was about to help Liri carry the Gambler over to the house with the covered porch, but then the pregnant woman shouted for them to take him to the stables. The reason was that the head guard lived in that house. Temujin found Common authorities to be more corrupt than he'd originally imagined; surely it was no sin to lay an injured man to rest on your porch, if you had one to offer? But whatever. Stables it was. Temu hefted his half of the Gambler's unconscious body with Liri toward the stables. He kicked open the stable doors unceremoniously with his booted foot and helped direct the Gambler to a nice patch of hay.

He steadily let the Gambler down and said to Liri, "I'm going to check on that pregnant woman, see if she's all right. That smoke can't be too good for her." Without waiting for Liri's response, he headed out the stables and went back down the path to the burning building. He hoped that if he found Mae'leena, he could direct her to the stables as well or some other place away from the smoke. If she had found some other place already, though, he supposed that wouldn't be so bad. He would just need to make sure she was ok.

Liri nodded, watching him go before turning back to watch over the 'Gambler.' She would have to remember to ask the man his real name when he woke up.

A strange sound came from the doorway behind her - an unnatural almost-human shuffling sound. Like someone barely able to make their bare feet move properly across the hay. She turned around to look, curious, and then froze in horror.

Her mother was moving awkwardly towards her, but the woman was not as Liri remembered. Her face was a mask of unhealed wounds and blood, her body was the color of bruises from head to toe and covered in similar injuries that spoke of brutality.

"You," the half-dead woman spoke in a voice contrastingly pure and human. "You did this to me. You left me with that monster to save yourself you ungrateful little girl!"

Liri stared open-mouthed, terror stealing all coherent thoughts from her mind. Then, finally, something pushed through the fog - sorrow, shame. "I... I had to leave. That man, Ko, he was going to do things..." Her protests sounded weak, felt like excuses.

The grotesque figure of her mother continued her slow progress forward as her voice turned remorseful, even pleading. "Why did you leave me sweetheart? You know I loved you..."

Liri felt tears stream down her cheeks as she took an involuntary step backward. "You... You can't be real... This isn't really happening." She spoke the words as fact but her mind seemed to need further convincing to reject what her eyes were telling her.

((OOC: This is the amulet/Artifact once again having a bit of fun with Liri's mind, so anyone who saw anything would not see Liri's mother. It would appear as if Liri was talking to thin air. Just in case it becomes relevant.))

((I hope you don't mind me posting again so soon. I just wanted to get Temujin's horse out of the way of danger, since I'd forgotten about it in my previous post. Also wanted him to be confused by Liri ^^.))

The gray dapple horse had followed its owner into the stables when Temujin helped Liri carry the Gambler in. It was familiar with the wooden structure smelling of hay, so it obediently moved into an empty stall, watching from there as Temujin ran back out to see to Mae'leena. It was a horse trained to fear little, but it still hated smoke and fire all the same. The stall door was not closed, still hanging open, but the horse continued standing there swishing its tail at troublesome flies and training its eyes on the young human man. He suddenly acted irregular, as far as a horse could tell, and his eyes were soon streaming with those tears that often signify a human is sad. The horse felt a little uncomfortable with the forces that were influencing him, seeing as animals were sensitive to these things to a certain degree, and fidgeted slightly in its stall before clip-clopping forward and breathing a loud snort down Liri's head.

When the man had moved down through the streets, albeit somewhat haphazardly as though he was trying overly hard to seem inconspicuous, Obsidian kept to the shadowed places as best she could, using a little magic to fuel her efforts. Granted, it wasn't as strong without her staff and during the day but she managed to keep herself concealed nonetheless. Whenever she felt the magic starting to fade, she quickly reinforced it back into place so she would remain out of sight from the one she was following and from anyone else she needed to be aware of.

There was a sense that someone was watching her (someone else besides the man she was trailing after) but she couldn't detect anyone else. Still she knew better than to chalk it up to nothing. Her instincts never failed her. Obsidian supposed she would need to be even more careful than before.

Her suspicions were starting to prove themselves correctly as the stranger was making his way to an empty meadow at the edge of town, looking around impatiently as though he were waiting for someone to appear, then became agitated when no one did. Once again the magic she put in place started to fade and she quickly channeled more energy into the shadows to keep herself hidden. It seemed as though the man may have seen her, or at least thought he did for he looked right at the spot where the moon elf was cloaked in blackness, but apparently not seeing anything he continued on back to town again.

Obsidian grimaced slightly. That was once more too close for comfort. she thought. She regretted leaving her staff behind at a time like this, but it had been necessary. Walking around Connloath with a staff in hand would be a walking magnet for trouble to come for her in the form of Connloathian officials and the Mordecai. She could not risk that. True, it was risky to even use any kind of magic, but she really had no alternative. Blending into the shadows while natural for her kind, was stronger with her moon magic. And her moon magic was stronger with her staff and the presence of night. However the mage had had to do without those last two factors.

Continuing to follow the man, he went to the same inn that she had stayed at before. Hesitating a bit, Obsidian pondered whether or not she should go in after him, then decided it was too risky. So she stayed outside using even more magic to conceal herself from unwanted eyes, being careful not to give her presence away any. Heading over to an outcropping of thick bushes she stood in their incredibly dense shadows and waited, pondering what her next move should be. Not knowing what transpired inside the inn, the moon elf mage stood hidden in silence before making her way back over to the burning building again to see if there was anything there, anything at all she may have overlooked in her haste to put out the fire.

The horse wasn't the only one moved by the tears, a few stray one's fell on his face, and the unconscious man stirred.

He smelled the manure in the barn first, and that mixed with whatever was stuck inside his lungs brought the man to a much more awakened state as he began to cough and cough and cough and well... wheeze. His face was going nearly purple from the strain, but eventually he was able to catch his breath as he lay there a moment, his eyes opening in a hazy daze.

And it was Liri's tears that he saw first. Crookedly he smiled up at the boy.
"Hey, sorry if I made you cry. But your tears are wasted on me." And he patted his chest, albeit a bit weakly. "See? I'm good and alive as any-" But before he could say anymore, he was off into another coughing fit again.



Outside, Mae'leena was torn over her options. Having found herself wanting to use the fires as an excuse to slip out unnoticed from town was actually something that ended up cementing her in place. And despite being pregnant, she wasn't useless, and found herself helping a little girl find her mother. Turns out her mother was just fine, a little startled from the laundry house fire, but alive. Mae'leena couldn't help but smile to see the pair reunited as she rubbed at her distended belly- and then felt a kick in reply.

"Yeah, yeah you little infant inconvenience. You're all balls now, but just wait until you get out into this world." And she frowned, peering down at her belly. "Too bad you can't just stay in there where it's safe."

But at the very idea of her body being some safe haven, she gave a snort. Yeah right! Turning around,s he figured now was as good a time to leave as ever and as she turned to make her way down the road-s he nearly walked into bucket head.

Osgald came downstairs after the meeting, ostensibly to plan his next move. However he found himself paying more attention to acquiring some food and whatever the Respite was passing off as beer.

That was until he spotted a group of three men sitting quietly at a table in a corner, nursing drinks and more than a few bruises. They were dressed in clothes that had obviously once been nice. From their demeanor he immediately thought - petty thugs. The kind of people who looked respectable sitting around the poker table only so they could pretend to be better than animals when they had you cornered in an alley. It was a supposition that was all but proven when his mind remembered them from the fire. If he remembered correctly, they had been after the same group of strangers he himself had been watching, and that was only likely to mean one thing.

The thought troubled him. If word of the Artifact had spread to their kind, the situation was indeed getting out of control fast. His employer was right, he needed to do something and quickly.

No sooner did he have the thought then fortune smiled on him yet again. One of the boys from the alley came in the front door, scanning with his eyes for a moment before locating Osgald and making a beeline. "Sir," he said with at least sense enough to keep his voice low, "those people you told us to watch?"

"Yes?" He prompted.

"Most of them moved to the stables behind this same building. Two of them are still over by the fire. The skinny woman in the cloak went somewhere but we can't find her."

The boy shifted nervously, obviously wondering if he was really going to get his coins. Osgald let him worry over it for some moments while he pondered the information. So, they seemed to be sticking together, at least for the most part. Perhaps they knew each other and were trying to sneak the Artifact out together? It didn't matter, if they were going for the stables it seemed his plan was working, one of them must have it and they were preparing to make their exit. Perhaps he could help them out on that front...

Slowly a plan started to come together in his mind. All it would require was some tact and a bit of careful timing. -And of course some decent acting, but he could do that when it was required.

He surreptitiously slipped the promised coins under the table to the boy, then flashed five more waiting in his palm. "If the other two don't return to the stables on their own, find a way to get them there. When they're all at the stables together let me know and these are all yours too."

The boys eyes grew wide at the promised treasure and he bounded back out the door.

Returning to his drink, he allowed himself a slight smile. Perhaps the situation could be salvaged after all. There was still the problem of the elf, but his instincts told him that she, like himself, was here seeking something, which meant she didn't have it already. Besides, the shape-shifter was much more likely to be able to follow her movements than he was.

He looked towards the thugs in the corner, mentally preparing himself to play the role of the greedy informant with 'information' he thought they could use for the 'right price.' First though, he would need a cart and some horses standing by for his anticipated daring rescue...

Liri was startled by a snort and warm breath across her neck. She spun around to see meet the gentle eyes of a horse, feeling inexplicable, overwhelming gratitude at the animal's simple gesture. She lifted one hand, letting the horse take in her scent before stroking it gently between its eyes. "Thank you," she whispered to the horse, then to herself: "It's not real... It's not real..."

Somehow the interaction had granted her courage and she turned around, finding to her great relief the shade of her mother was gone. Tears escaped her eyes all over again. Why is this happening?

She didn't have time to torture herself over the question for the unconscious man below her was beginning to stir, coughing at first. "Hey, sorry if I made you cry. But your tears are wasted on me." And he patted his chest, albeit a bit weakly. "See? I'm good and alive as any-"

He broke off and began coughing again. Without thinking Liri fell to her knees and lifted the man's head, stuffing more hay underneath to try and keep him elevated. "Careful!" she scolded, too grateful to find him awake to be embarrassed, "You took in a lot of smoke. You're burns aren't bad though - considering. I've never seen someone walk out of a collapsed building like that, you're one lucky man!"

She found herself smiling stupidly at him, feeling his forehead for a temperature. You're acting like a girl again Liri, say something manly before he thinks you're simple in the head... "Never mind me by the way," she added, pulling her hand away and wiping at the tears on her face, "I was just..." How to finish that sentence? Hallucinating? Being tortured by various shades from my past? Finally losing the last spokes on whatever wheels are left turning in my apparently dysfunctional mind? "Err.. The smoke got in my eyes back there... you know..."

Good recovery... Idiot girl! With a sigh she gave it up and decided to change the subject. "I've been wanting to ask you, what's your name anyway?"

At the boy's inquiry, his eyes sparkled with pride as a grin split across his lips when he revealed, "And here I thought I told you my name." And he extended out his soot plastered hand for her to shake. "Folks call me The Gambler. I'm a vigilante... of sorts," he said, adding it through a cough. "Good luck seems to follow me and well, I aim to use to aid those in need." And he gave Liri a salute and another weak, but cocky grin. "Seems I've used it well today!" he said through a laugh, and another cough before asking, "Say.. you wouldn't happen to have any uh- water would ya? Feels like I totally breathed in that whole fire!"

Liri took the man's hand. He had a strong handshake and his hand was quite warm, perhaps naturally, from a fever, or just from the fire. As her hand was freed she noted it now had an additional layer of soot. Oh well, not like I'm the picture of cleanliness at the moment anyway, she noted, wiping her hand on her trews and feeling a sudden craving for a hot bath.

She got up and started looking around for the requested water, talking as she did so. "The Gambler... Yes, well, you did say that before now that you mention it but when I said 'name' I was thinking more along the lines of well... Your real name, if you have one." She looked back at him with a frown. "-I mean not that you have to tell me or anything. Actually, I can be kind of nosy, sorry..."

The man chuckled and coughing ensued. Once his throat was cleared, he simply smiled and replied, "Well, the idea of having an alias is the hopes that people will use it." And after a moment of smiling dumbly, he asked, "And what's your name? I take it you rescued me?" He added, that grin if his growing which made his eyes seem all the smaller.

Liri turned back to her search for water, partially to hide the fact that she was blushing. "Err, well, I didn't do that much really. I picked up a few things about healing from an old man who let me stay with him for a time. But that strange man with the headband deserves the real hero's credit," she recalled, "I seem to remember he almost charged in after you but the pregnant woman stopped him. "-And she's the one who warned us off from the head guard. He probably would have just arrested us and blamed us for the fire or something. Really it was kind of everyone. My name's Liri by the way. Sounds kind of girlish I know, funny story about that..." Too bad she couldn't think of one... "I'll... have to tell it to you sometime. -I don't usually talk this much by the way, just in case you're wondering."

She frowned at an empty bucket hiding in the corner. By now she had long since lost track of what had become of her pack and its waterskin, and unfortunately the other two weren't back yet. With a sigh she realized it was down to the watering trough.

"Well then Mr... Gambler -" that was always going to be awkward she decided - "if you don't mind we're going to have to pretend that you're a horse for just a minute because I think you really should drink and anyway I'm sure it's -" She almost gagged as she put hands to mouth and let some of the trough's captured contents dribble across her tongue. "...not entirely as bad as one might expect. Just tastes a little bit like horse is all..."

She tried to smile reassuringly as she filled a bucket and brought it to him. Guilt tugged at her but she knew the best thing he could do right now was keep up on the liquids.

"Angsar's name, I don't care if it's sewer water, I just need whatever," Cough, "Is sticking in my, "Cough, "Throat to just, "Cough" Go away". And he took what was offered and wasted no time in pouring it onto his face, half drinking it, half wearing it.
But about two gulps in the taste got to him and he sat up suddenly and lurched to the side, and puked.

And he puked more than once int he straw. After a moment, he groaned and used the back of his wrist to wipe away the vomit from his lips. And though he looked green now, his body began to shake, and he was laughing.

Liri's eyes grew wide as the man grabbed the bucket and began all but pouring it into his mouth. "Err- Actually you might want to take it slowly with that-"

Then she winced as his body violently rejected the bucket's contents. For a moment she stared in near horror, fearing he would be furious at her, but then he was laughing and she found that after a few moment she was honestly smiling probably for the first time since coming to that cursed little town. She felt even more guilty for sharing in his mirth somehow, even though she knew she really had been trying to help.

"Ok, so maybe we'll get you some better water when the others get back..." She concluded apologetically.

"I don't know if I ever got a chance to properly thank you for helping me by the way." Now that it had happened she realized it really had been sometime since anyone had shown her honest kindness and expected nothing in return. "Especially since the war started, it seems like life has gotten hard for so many people. I didn't realize how much I needed to be reminded that there are still good people in the world. -And to laugh..." She smiled again, wanting to hold on to this moment. "Do you really just go around from place to place helping people in need?"

The man's grin tugged more leftwardly on his face as his eyes danced while he watched the boy laugh with him.
"Laughing at my expense are we?" he jested, but gave a look to let Liri know he hadn't really meant it. He was still chuckling, after all! But as he listened to what the boy was going on about, he nodded along with him before replying, "You could.. say something like that. I hear there's trouble and hell, if I can help, why not?" And the way he spoke of it, it was as if it were a no brainer.
"But hey, if you hadn't already witnesses what happened today, I'd have to tell you my secret myself."
And his grin grew twice as wide before he revealed, "I'm lucky. But not just lucky. I have good luck. Like the sort of luck where you run into a burning building and can save a woman's dog, lucky. Though.. I guess I sort of mentioned that," he said, giving a sheepish scratch to the back of his head before he shrugged.

"So, Liri, huh? It does sound kinda girly." And he gave the boy a nod and pat on his shoulder. "Well, Liri, it's nice to meet you. And I'm glad that, despite just puking a few minutes ago and being covered in sweat and soot and probably burns.." And as he moved, he winced, "Well, not probably, definitely, that I'm happy to hear that at least it didn't go to waste. Seeing and hearing about hope being found in others. It's well... kinda priceless."

ANd he gave a shrug. "But don't let that get around. I don't need to let others know I'm a softy. But hey.... the world is kind of spinning and I-" And he held onto his head. It seemed his attempt to sit up was a bit too prematurely as he just sat there, waiting for the world to just...

Well, stop!

Liri smiled again, surprised at how easily those came to her when she was around this man and his easy-going manner and quick laughter. Then she watched his aborted attempt to get up and immediately felt the instinct to scold him again, to put her hand on his chest and tell him to just lie back and rest and let her worry about everything else for right now. She caught it just in time. A boy wouldn't act like that, she told herself.

Somehow the thought seemed to sap some light from the room, and she felt her smile fade. I'll be keeping up this charade the rest of my life, won't I? Forever playing the part this cursed life has assigned to me...

With a small sigh a familiar weight settled on her shoulders and her mind slipped once more into its familiar state of cautious pragmatism. She tore off a little more of her tunic (there was really nothing left of the sleeves now,) rinsing it in what was left of the trough water. She tried to match the man's grin, but somehow it felt halfhearted now. "Here," she said as she offered the makeshift rag. She guessed even horse water would have to be preferable to the poor man to vomit. If nothing else he could use a cool rag, she decided, as he still looked a little too green for her comfort.

Then she got up and looked around for a pitchfork, deciding to do something about the nearby soiled pile of hay. "Reminds me of my mother. 'A good smile is priceless,' she would say. I think you're right, seems that aught to apply to hope just much. Kindness too - the simple things in life really." She recalled the shade of her mother then shivered, suddenly wanting to change the subject. "Do you have family?"

Taking the offered wet cloth, he was certain his half muttered thank you probably sounded like something else, but he didn't care. Relief came a bit too little when the cold rag pressed to his head, but just remaining still and letting the moment pass seemed to do the trick. But he was still not going to test his luck so soon, and remained still seated as he smirked at the boy's question.


"Family? You bet. A reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally big one." And he could have laughed. Most weren't familiar with 'Home' and what it entailed, but well, that's what he saw it as anyway. A network, much like a family, working to protect it's family in any means they could. And most of the time it was without violence, simply helping those poor repressed and tormented mages and their families have a reprieve, or even try to find ways to help them get out of Connlaoth...

Well, at least for those few who were lucky. The boarders in Connlaoth were now damn near impenetrable, and those links at the boarder that were not well...
They were almost impossible to cross.

"What about you? Got a little lady somewhere? Or you too young for that?" He tried to size up Liri, but his age seemed hard to gauge.

((Hint, hint: There's a waterskin attached to the saddle of Temujin's horse :D. He should have put it back by then because there's no sense in running around town with a waterskin in his hand. At least not now.))

The gray dapple horse received Liri's pat seemingly nonchalantly, but in the animal's mind it appreciated the gesture. After snorting just one last time down the young man's head, the horse stood still and watched the unconscious man wake up and then take a few sip-fuls of trough water through a bucket (although a few bucket dump-fuls was more like it). Then he started puking and retching all over the hay in front of him. The horse took a step back from the sight and snorted irritably. Since it was still close to Liri, Liri might feel the breath of the snort travel down her back.

---

Were Temujin and Mae'leena forever destined to run into one another by, literally, running into one another? Because when the young nomad once again emerged on the scene, he was so busy scanning the people around him for her that he ironically didn't notice her just turn around in front of him and then they walked right into each other.

Temujin staggered back a step or two and looked bewilderingly at the pregnant woman. He was equal parts concerned for her and afraid of the angry tirade he was about the hear. "Sorry!" he apologized first, before she could say anything. "I was just coming out here to see how you were. I could also escort you to a safe place...the other two have retired to the stables, like you suggested. You could come with me back there." He placed a hand on her arm kind of in the manner of a man about to escort a pregnant lady somewhere, and waited for her response, however nasty.

And before Liri had a chance to answer, The Gambler peered up towards the antsy horse and his eyes caught sight of something.

A waterskin.

"I'll be damned."


While elsewhere, the pregnant woman wasn't sure she even wanted to get caught up in bucket head's mess. They were the fools trying to play hero! But when she thought she noticed someone... familiar, lurking around the crowds, she turned to Temujin and forced a grin as she took his arm.

"Yes, let's. And quickly," she said, all but nearly pushing her pregnant belly into the man to get him to go!

Back at the burned remains of the laundry house, Obsidian, still cloaked in shadows, was about to leave for the smoke was getting to her. There was nothing here anyway that she could tell, nothing except for the faint trace of destructive magic she once again detected nearby. However discerning its whereabouts would be near impossible and with the trace being just that, a trace, Obsidian doubted it was still here. Someone must have it. the moon elf figured, and as she searched around for it further away from the smoke and embers she detected a stronger path leading directly to the stables.

So she headed there, still hidden in darkness invisible to those around her, including the boys the man had tasked with the spying assignment. Obsidian made sure to stick to the shadowy corners as much as she could, and steer clear of the bright sunny areas although sometimes it wasn't entirely possible to do such. At those times, she might have seemed like a ghost fading in and out of thin air, but there was naught the moon elf could do about it. As she made her way to the stables, slowly but surely, the scent of magic became ever stronger and Obsidian was now certain she was on the right path.

Finally she arrived at the doors and peeked in around the corner, the darkness there granting her more cover as she did so. Obsidian saw clearly in the dim light a man in the hay looking rather ill and green and what looked at first to be a young lad to everyone else the moon elf saw the image of a boy to be but an illusion, and as the illusion shifted before her eyes and melted away, she saw a young girl instead in the boy's place.

Obsidian blinked in confusion. She did not know the reasons for which the girl would disguise herself as a boy, or that the magic that did so was even something the other could control. Glamour after all was magic of the fey and this girl was clearly not. So it would stand to reason that the girl had little to no control over the effects. There was something about it all that seemed rather dark and sinister, something the mage couldn't quite put her finger on. It didn't emanate from the girl however, so it must be the illusory magic that cloaked her so evenly on all sides like it was glued to her stubbornly and refused to let go. Obsidian shook her head. A puzzle to figure out indeed, she decided.

There was also a horse in one of the stalls that had ventured partially outside it and was standing over the boy-disguised-girl, looking down at the duo with the concern and curiosity only a horse could show. Obsidian turned her attention back to the girl masquerading as a boy. The destructive magic was very very strong and she was surprised she hadn't immediately noticed it when she looked in. It must have been because she was distracted by the glamour magic first. Now Obsidian knew who possessed the amulet. So she did the only thing she could. Watch and wait to see what would happen next, while standing just inside the doorway but off to the side of the entrance. Answers were close at hand here for certain. All she need do is listen and wait. Then intervene when necessary.

Liri was stopped by the man's question, frowning at the suggestion. It was an instinctive reaction, she supposed, and she scolded herself again for not being better at hiding her reactions. Learning how to be 'one of the guys' was a social skill for which she had never proven the slightest bit of aptitude. For that matter, she realized suddenly, social skills in general were an area at which she had little 'aptitude.' Somehow it came into focus in that moment how that had always served to isolate her. The moment was shared by a brief flash of envy directed at no one in particular: one more thing that would always set her apart.

She was still trying to formulate a response but the 'Gambler' spoke first, seemingly looking at the friendly horse that had comforted her before. "I'll be damned." He said.

Puzzled, she looked at the horse again. It didn't seem to care for the residual smell of vomit much, not that she could fault the creature for that. "Beautiful isn't she? You know I've always liked animals, at the farm where I grew up-" She started, then stopped.

The horse had moved again, and a sloshing sound finally registered which she knew immediately she should have noticed far sooner -and probably would have had she not been so distraught. She moved around to the opposite side of the horse and sure enough, hanging in plain sight on the saddle was none other than a water skin.

"Oh," she said dryly, "you mean that..." Well, good thing I didn't already feel like a complete moron or anything...

Granted it was kind of stealing, in a technical sense, but she hoped whoever owned the horse turned out to be as nice as the horse itself and wouldn't begrudge her borrowing the waterskin for purely medicinal purposes. Unhooking it from the saddle, she brought it over to the Gambler.

Osgald grunted as he was thrown up against the outside of the building. He stared down at the beak-nosed man before him in the still-soiled suit, who was clearly in a terrible mood. All the better for my purposes... Instinctively numerous options presented themselves -among them smashing the man's obnoxious looking nose into his face, or perhaps taking out a kneecap or two- but he held himself back. Sometimes good acting took a little personal sacrifice, and besides it was all going so well... So instead he put on an appropriately terrified expression as the man's compatriots drew knives.

"Look," beak-nose was saying, "I don't care about your petty greed. I have a score to settle with those trouble-makers and you're going to tell me what you know one way or the other. If I like what I hear, I might not leave too many scars on that ugly face of yours, understand?"

Osgald pretended to weigh his options, scanning the alleyway he already knew would be bereft of any help -he had chosen it for that reason. "Alright!" He said as if reluctantly sacrificing his pride. "Look I was watchin' the fire like everyone else right? Then I saw the four of them creeping away all suspicious-like and after I saw the way they were givin' you trouble I thought -what the hell, this guy might toss me a few coins for a little well deserved revenge eh? So I followed them... Turns out they all headed right for the stables behind that run down tavern... I figure they must be in it together, whatever trouble they're in. -Not that it's any of my business, I'm just a guy trying to earn a few coins to buy his way out of this miserable town you know?"

The other man studied him intently, anger burning clearly in his eyes. "And they're still there?"

"Oh yeah! I just went to get you as soon as I saw where they were heading, why if you move quick-"

Finally the other man released him, giving him a parting punch in the gut. "Thanks for the information."

Osgald made sure to grunt again and double over -he did have a bit of a flare for the dramatic he didn't mind admitting- and watched the men move away.

Beak-nose tossed a few coins on the ground as he moved away with a sneer, just as he might when showing charity to a common beggar. "Grab some torches and something to bar the door with," he was saying to his companions. "We're done playing games. If one of them has what we're looking for, I'll just take it off the charred remains of their body. No one makes a fool of me twice..."

"What of the horses..."

Beak nose glared at the man who had spoken. "Forget the thrice-cursed animals! We'll get new beasts from..." Their conversation continued but they were too far away now to make it out.

Osgald waited until they were completely out of sight, then got up and brushed himself off, throwing a look of loathing in their general direction. He couldn't stand their kind - no respect for life. Killing was something which was a necessary and unfortunate tool of their trade, it should never be dealt out so casually. -Besides which, they just had no panache...

"See you again boys," he promised, already relishing getting his revenge in his next role as the dashing hero. Without wasting any further time he moved off towards where he had hidden his prepped-and-ready cart...

While inside the barn hidden by the shadows that fell there and partially by her magic as well, Obsidian watched the two converse with each other, trying to gauge exactly what was what here. The girl-disguised-as-a-boy had not mentioned anything about the amulet at all, but Obsidian was positive she had it. The proximity of its nearness while disconcerting to the moon elf, was necessary until she could acquire all the information she needed before returning to the guild headquarters to report her findings. As long as she did not actually touch it, she would do what needed to be done. And right now that entailed watching the two in front of her, with them unaware of her presence.

The girl moved to get a waterskin hanging from the saddle on the horse standing there and handed it to the man sitting up in the hay. Obsidian frowned. Nothing here seemed to be amiss except for the strong magic that she could clearly feel. Being both an elf and a mage made her more sensitive to these things after all. She pondered on when was the best time to make her presence known, but something told her to wait. So wait she did.

Not too much later, the doors burst open and three thugs burst into the barn, complete with swords and knives drawn and brandishing torches! Obsidian gasped softly and quickly moved out of the way of the torchlight however the magic had started to fade rather fast once the light from the torches hit her hiding spot, the shadows scattering and therefore revealing the moon elf.

The thugs stared at her confused, with Hawk Nose Man glaring suspiciously at her while brandishing his sword in one hand, torch in the other. "Who the hell are you?" he barked at her angrily. "Come on, I haven't got all day." Then his gaze fell on Liri and the Gambler and his attention was immediately riveted to them instead, Obsidian temporarily forgotten. However the other two thugs moved up to corner her back against the wall to make sure she didn't escape. Obsidian put her hands up in the universal gesture for peace, trying her best to placate them. However, they weren't taking the hint and continued to watch her warily, knives held threateningly while their leader spoke to the others in the barn.

"Now, listen up and listen well. No one is going anywhere until some questions are answered. I don't have the patience for any more of this shit, so no funny business or mystery lady here gets it!" he threatened. Hawk Nose Man glanced around the room, his eyes searching for Temujin and Mae'leena, however he didn't see them anywhere. "Where are the others?!" he barked. "Answer me!!"

Distracted by another sinister looking man, Mae'leena almost didn't catch the three others. But when she did, she grabbed Temujin's arm and hissed, "Hold back!" And seeing them enter the barn made her curse. "Ansgar's ball sack." And she pulled Temu with her to press themselves into the shadows.
"Those friends of yours? Cause they don't look friendly."


Seeing the men who they had once oh so triumphantly duped earlier, The Gambler swore.
"Well, I'll be. You caught me. You finally caught me. And here I thought you guys were complete imbeciles. Well, what do you want to know? Oh, and hey, before you get all weird on me and start asking personal questions, yes, I'm a natural red head and no, you're not my type. I sorta like mine like, you know... Like The mysterious woman you're holding hostage. You know... A woman. But if you must know, I'm married, I weigh in well over two hundred pounds of muscle and am seven feet tall, so I'd think twice before acting if I were you. And Bertha?" He gave a nod and a toothy grin, "My wife... She really knows how to use a rolling pin so you'd best be  gentle." And he gave just the hint of a sheepish look.
"Oh and I bruise easily."

Hawk Nose Man was not impressed and retorted sharply, "Enough with the crap! I know one of you has it! Where is it?" And he advanced on them menacingly, his sword ready to deal death as he saw fit.

Back over in the corner where Obsidian was cornered by the other two thugs, the moon elf just watched everything uncertainly, not sure what to do now. There wasn't much she could do at this point. It would not be wise to move and to do what these thugs asked for now as they had the upper hand. She hoped that wouldn't be the case for long though. One of the thugs sneered at Obsidian, crooked teeth showing from his mouth, holding the knife up and waving it around in front of him as though trying to intimidate her. Obsidian only stood there calmly, knowing what his ploy was. She would not be taunted by the likes of him. Their kind was scum and one had to deal with these types very carefully or die in the process. Finally the thug gave up on trying to intimidate her and settled for just sneering idiotically at the moon elf. Obsidian only looked at him calmly, giving no indication of fear or panic. If she was feeling such emotions, she was doing a rather good job of hiding it.

Temujin was glad Mae'leena told him to hold back upon seeing the sinister men enter the barn. Not that he would've rushed over, but he might have brashly injured one or two out of pure indignation. Once in the shadows with the pregnant woman, she asked him if he knew those men in a friendly way; he shook his head. "I like the situation not," he added. He drew out his bow, but did not notch an arrow yet. "Stay here. I'll try to get close enough to listen in on them." Then he quietly moved up to the barn and leaned against the outer wall ever-so-lightly and trained his ears on the noise. The only thing he heard though was an angry question.

"Where is it?"

Where is what? Temujin wondered, and then he thought back to how he first found Liri falling down the stable roof. Hmm.

Suddenly everything was happening too fast for Liri's mind to keep up. The three thugs that had been plaguing her since she had found that blasted little medallion were back again, and this time they were all business, but far more baffling was that no sooner had they barged in the door with their torches than the strange pale-blue woman with long hair had seemingly appeared from the shadows. How had she not heard or seen the woman come in?

Liri felt like her life had become a ride on a crazed horse with no reins galloping out of control through a dark wood, while the 'Gambler' on the other hand was rattling off some clever repartee as if nothing dangerous was going on. Did everything come easy to that man?

"...Where is it?" Hawk nose was demanding. When no one immediately replied he glanced over his shoulder to the thug holding the knife towards the shadow woman. "Cut her," he said casually.

"No!" Liri spoke before her fear could override her lips. She rose quickly to her feet but hawk nose punched punched her fiercely in the gut and she doubled over immediately, surprised at how her body seemed to deflate -pain shooting through her.

"What did you say boy? You have something to tell me perhaps?" Hawk nose had a gleam in his eyes now as he loomed over her. The look of a bully who loved being what he was, and sensed things were starting to go his way.

Time seemed to slow down to Liri, and she met the man's eyes as if seeing him for the first time. A sort of realization swept across her like a fresh breeze. All my life I've thought myself a coward, she thought as she looked at him, but seeing you, I realize what a coward truly is. Deciding something, she reached into her pocket, but not to draw a knife or do something violently heroic; she was reaching for the medallion. You're welcome to it. In fact you deserve it, and all the trouble it brings with it. Go destroy yourself with your greed instead of hurting others.

But hawk-nose didn't notice the movement. He had turned away from her, he was listening to something outside.

Then she heard it too, the distinctive sound of a horse-drawn cart of some kind.

Osgald knew timing was critical, but he took the time to double check and make sure everything was laid out properly. The wagon, to his satisfaction, was covered and laden with a few goods a rural farmer might bring to town to trade or sell, but not so much that it wouldn't conveniently have room for a few passengers. The draft horses seemed fresh and in good health.

After his check was complete he climbed up into the wagon seat, grabbed the reins, and they were off. He pulled up in front of the stables a minute later nice and slow, whistling casually as if he didn't know anything was going on inside. Unfortunately he truly didn't - he just had to hope his timing was true.

Sure enough, once he had climbed down from the wagon and moved towards the stables he saw evidence of torchlight from inside and heard someone mutter a stern order to "go check it out."

A moment later one of the suits came out of the stables and moved to intercepted him, doing a bad job of looking casual. "Can't let you in there Mr, the stables are-"

Osgald smiled as recognition dawned across the man's features. However, before the suit had a chance to speak and give something away a quick punch to his throat took out the man's ability to speak.

Stumbling back the man pulled a knife as he recovered his balance, lashing out with a quick jab.

Osgald batted the thrust off course and sent a kick *hard* into the man's groin. He watched as his victim crumpled to his knees -an almost comically severe look of pain on the poor man's face. A final blow snapped the man's head sharply to one side and he fell limp to the ground. He took no pleasure in violence for its own sake, but he had to admit a little payback every once in a while sure felt good...

Still, he could not let himself get cocky. The other two men in the barn would have weapons drawn and be ready to fight. Without the element of surprise he wouldn't have such an easy time of it. All the better, he decided, moving towards the door...

Obsidian had heard the cart before any of the others had and that it was headed in this direction. She breathed an almost imperceptible sigh of relief when the thug who was about to cut her pulled away his blade when the girl shouted out her protest. She stared the sidekick in the face, her features calm and even doing her best not to give the man any incentive to try to hurt her again. He only sneered at her in response.

Hawk Nose Man ordered one of his cronies to go check out the sound of the cart which by now they all heard. "Go check it out." the leader commanded the other suit that had not drawn his blade against Obsidian.

Some words were soon spoken from outdoors then cut off in mid-sentence before the sounds of a fight were then heard. Then a few seconds later, a horrific snap and a thud! announced one of those fighting had fallen, likely dead. Hawk Nose and his remaining suit immediately readied their weapons and charged at the man that now came inside the barn. Obsidian couldn't say she was that surprised. It was the same stranger that had intercepted her from outside the burning laundry house. She could only imagine what he was trying to accomplish here. Trying to look the part of the good guy so he could also get the amulet? Not if Obsidian had anything to say about it. The moon elf did not know yet that the man was onto her, and that he knew that she had followed him.

Obsidian wasted no time and went straight over to the red-haired man and the girl who had doubled over likely from a punch in the stomach. The scent of magic got steadily stronger as she did, and she sucked in a breath at the sheer enormity of the power she felt emanating from it. Obsidian had seen the girl reach for her pocket so she surmised that must be where she kept it. The mage would be careful not to touch the medallion. The costs of doing so were too great. "Are you alright young sir?" she softly asked the girl, careful on the pronouns she used to describe her.

Since the girl was disguised to look like a boy, then there was a reason for that and Obsidian did not wish to jeopardize her position in any way. She may not know why the girl was cloaked in glamour but right now that hardly mattered. They needed to escape from here.

Osgald burst through the door and in the same stride moved against his first adversary. He couldn't afford to give them time to say something which might give away his ruse. Before he had time to react a sword was slashing its way towards his face but his reflexes responded instantly and his arm intercepted the blow. Sparks accompanied the resounding tang as the blade impacted the gauntlet he was concealing beneath his long-sleeved coat. He seldom carried a sword himself, but that didn't mean he came unprepared.

The block left an opening. Taking advantage of the moment, Osgald brought his other hand up in a hard punch to the man's face. However as the punched man stumbled back the view revealed something that Osgald quite did not expect: There, kneeling by the young boy from the burning building, was none other than the elf woman.

Shock and rage battled for dominance as his mind raced. How had she gotten here first? All this time he had taken her to be more in the dark than he was, and here she was one step ahead of him! He would have to change his whole approach now, she knew too much-

A fist slammed into his face, sending him reeling for a moment. Beak-nose had taken keen advantage of his momentary distraction. Fool! he cursed himself. A hasty return swing would have impacted but beak-nose ducked the blow and kneed him hard in the stomach.

Osgald grunted but ignored the pain and grabbed the man, trying to wrestle him, but he was pushed back and found himself losing ground. As he was slammed against a wall of the stables he cursed himself yet again, this time for underestimating the other man's strength. Then the wooden boards (which clearly were not in too good a shape) gave way and both men went went tumbling in a heap of grunts and curses to the ground outside.

Liri kept her silence as the action unfolded outside and took her hand out of her pocket. She no longer had any desire to hold on to the medallion, but she was too uncertain as to what was going to happen next to take any actions.

Then yet another stranger -although she had the sense she'd seen him somewhere before- burst through the door like it was the most natural thing in the world and started trading blows with hawk-nose. Liri only blinked. Even if she had felt a desire to intervene in the fight -which she found she did not- her body still felt shaky and besides which there was still the matter of the other knife-bearing thug in the room.

"Are you alright young sir?" A gentle voice asked.

Liri looked up to see the pale-blue skinned woman had come over to her, and nodded at the woman's question, not trusting her voice. Her stomach hurt abominably and she still felt out of breath. She looked at the woman, thinking of how she had almost been cut, and looked to the 'Gambler,' remembering how he had almost died in a fire after helping her. "I'm sorry," she managed, knowing the comment might not make any sense to anyone but not really caring. "This is all my fault."

Temujin had not been listening long when a man with a cart suddenly pulled up to the stables. He had been about to hail this man when two of the henchmen from inside came out to intercept Mr. Cart. He backed away a moment, fearful of being caught, but then Mr. Cart took care of the two suits with a good punch to the face and a very painful-looking kick to the groin.

Then he entered the stables. Temujin quickly went after him. Surely he must be crazy? There were more henchmen in there. Hawk Nose himself, if he wasn't mistaken. A scuffle with a sword erupted between Osgald and a henchman, which ended up in Osgald being pinned to the measly wooden wall and the two of them tumbling to the ground after that.

Temu was happy to see the Gambler, Liri, and his horse ok.  There was also a strange woman with pointed ears in there with them, too...but she could be questioned later. She seemed to show concern for Liri. Instead, he moved over to Osgald and Hawk Nose, knocked the sword out of Hawk Nose's hand, placed a foot on his chest and notched an arrow above it. "Move and you die," the nomad threatened.  Looking up at the others, he asked, "Hope I didn't come to late? Who is this guy, by the way?" And by 'this guy' he meant Osgald.

Meanwhile, up in a nearby tree, an owl sat on a branch quietly watching its hired hand's plan disintegrate. Its current form was incapable of letting it show the disgust and outrage with which it was watching the events below. It had to content itself with shaking its head in disappointment, a human gesture strange and out of place on the owl.

Clearly, it decided, it would have to take matters into its own hands to get things done. Swooping down from the tree and making sure to stay out of sight of the humans below it swung around to the far side of the inn with the quiet flight only an owl could master and changed into the form of a plump lady it had observed in town earlier that day before walking around the building and strolling in the front door.

She looked around at the small group of occupants the inn's lower floor offered. There were a few men, although none besides the Respite's owner himself looked particularly intimidating. It will have to do.

"Well I hope you're are all having a good time in here!" she called in a voice loud enough to get everyone's attention. "Because while you're all drinking and having a fun those fools who burnt down my husband's laundry are out back right now making more trouble and with torches, probably about to burn this place down next! I don't s'pose there are any real men in the room who are going to do anything about it?" She looked around with a stern expression on her face, meeting everyone's eye in turn.

The tavern's owner was the first to respond, and he clearly didn't need any prodding. "The hell they are! No one's gonna burn down the Respite while I still draw breath!" And with that he ducked in a back room for a moment and came back out with a bow and quiver slung over his shoulder and a sword at his hip before storming out the front door.

To her satisfaction several of the other men in the room followed, some clearly just to see what would happen but a couple of them looked like they might be ready to fight. It would be better than nothing. She followed also, keeping to this form for now in case she needed to act as witness against the strangers should they plead innocence.

With any luck, she mused, she could have them strung up by the townspeople before the day was up, leaving plenty of time to go through their belongings for what she was really after. Failing that, at least she might drive them out of town. Better that the Artifact was on the move than in this blasted town where everyone was looking for it. Once they were out on the open road they would be more vulnerable anyway and she could move against them then if she had to.

Osgald grunted and gradually started working his way back to his feet, not wanting to make any sudden movements lest he be the next one facing the dangerous end of that bow. He tried to speak but found he had inhaled a good mouthful of dirt in his landing and ended up coughing instead. Curse it all! How did I lose control of this situation? "I'm just trying to *cough* recover a stolen *cough, cough* -trying to help..." he managed.

"You lying, traitorous filth! You won't-" beak-nose started to protest from his position on the ground.

Quickly he kicked the man hard in the side before he could continue, trying to act as if it was out of disgust. "Acted all friendly with this scum over a game of *cough* cards, but when he bragged about getting his 'revenge' I knew I *cough, cough* had to intervene before someone ended up dead."

The fighting from outside still ensued, when someone new entered the fray. The sound of a sword was then heard being kicked away right before a male voice yelled angrily, "Move and you die!" The further sound of a bow being notched alerted Obsidian and she wondered if this new person was here to help or hinder them even more.

The other knife-wielding thug was still in the barn, but he looked as though he were trying to decide whether to help Hawk Nose Man or stay and watch those in the barn still to keep them from leaving. Obsidian didn't want to take any chances though, and watched him warily out of the corner of her eye while she spoke to the young girl disguised as a boy. "Whatever do you mean?" she questioned. "How is this your fault?"

The moon elf noticed that the girl seemed in pain, but was trying to hide it. It was no wonder though, she had been roughly kicked in the stomach after all. Obsidian wondered if the girl knew of what she carried, but wisely chose not to voice her opinions on the matter,  focusing on the other one's well-being instead. She glanced over at the red-haired man in the hay, also concerned with how he was faring. The mage considered their options, pondering on how best to proceed. With the third thug still in their way, she didn't want to risk anyone else getting further hurt. So she stayed put for now.

Liri was ready to tell her, to tell *anyone.* She was tired of secrets, specifically of carrying them around. Before she could reply however a new voice spoke from over her shoulder and its owner - the now familiar shade of Ko- moved into view. What... again??? She wasn't sure if the visions (or whatever they were) were simply losing their terror for her, or if she was just to emotionally exhausted to feel it at the moment.

"Yes," the phantom of the mage-hating bitter old man spat at her. "Tell her how it's your fault. Tell her why you really kept your little toy secret and risk everyone's life. Tell her you can feel its power, and you want it because you think it can-"

"Oh go away," she replied warily, cutting off the ghost's tirade. She snapped her head up, aghast at her own outburst. "-Not you!" she added quickly to the elf. "Sorry, I..." She shook her head in lieu of an explanation. "Never mind."

Her thoughts turned to the sick man beside her. Part of her wanted him to *do* something, anything. To pull an apple out of thin air and save the day once more. Looking at his greenish tint and singed skin she felt a fresh stab of guilt at her own emotions.

Ko spoke in her ear again. "Here I thought a minute ago you were going to tell him to just 'rest my dear' and you were going to take care of everything! Great job with that by the way." He spoke with exaggerated care, as if he were telling the most clever joke in the world. "Now you want him to save the day?"

"Water-" she spoke up suddenly, ignoring her hallucination. Where had she put the water skin?

Then she spotted it. It was on the floor where she had dropped it, it's contents long since drained uselessly onto the ground. Somehow, petty though it was, the image of the drained water skin made her feel hollow inside, like she had just failed at the final test of life.

I really do have one confused psyche... "He needs water," she stated as if there was anything anyone could do about it.

Ko laughed as if this gave him endless pleasure. She had no idea what he found funny. Perhaps he was just crazy - as crazy as she was becoming...

A man was saying something - the third thug her mind registered after a moment. "-drop the bow or I'll bleed them both dry! I swear I'll do it!" He sounded desperate now, she realized, not cocky like he seemed before.

At the girl's outburst Obsidian was surprised, then slightly confused when she told the elf, "No, not you!" While the lunar mage was wondering who she meant then, the girl-disguised-boy then asked for water, saying the man next to her needed some. He was looking rather greenish, even more so now, Obsidian thought, growing more concerned.

Digging around in her traveling knapsack, the moon elf found what she was looking for and promptly handed the three quarters full waterskin over to the red-haired sickly man. Obsidian waited for him to take it, hoping that this small gesture on her part would help the man. Taking a closer look at his burns, Obsidian winced some. She would need to check if she had anything for that too. His burns most definitely needed treatment, but the moon elf was no healer.

Obsidian heard the weak threat the thug gave out, but right now she was concerned with the two people in front of her and their well-being. If the thug gave them any further trouble, Obsidian would do what she could to help.

The Gambler gambled enough that day, or so it would seem, as he sat there in a daze, uncertain what to make of what was all going around him. One thing was for certain, he felt like shit and his head hurt as if a sack of bricks hit him. Wincing, he rubbed at his temples as the chaos continued, and barked out something- probably about keeping it down in there- his head hurt or something or other (for even he wasn't sure what he was babbling on about now)... When the water skin was placed infront of him.


And John Johnson just stared...
And stared and stared at it before reaching for it, but the thug who was keeping his eyes on them gave a start and kicked the waterskin to the ground, and John watched in horror as the water bubbled out and onto the floor.


And if he thought he was upset...
He had nothing on the pregnant woman who was not about to have any more of this bullshit! Not having many effective weapons on her, but finding enough items nearby to make a dent- and hopefully a dent in the one man's head, she began to throw item after random item at the two unknown men outside. First she threw a horse's brush, then a stool, then a partially filled bag of oats, a half eatten carrot- just about ANYTHING she could get her hands on.

"Get the hell out of here before I show you what the true wrath of one pissed off Saranthian woman can do!" And for those who knew about Saranthian women...
Well, they were pretty famous for their tempers, tempers that sometimes went beyond all reason and doubt.

The moon elf quickly grabbed the waterskin before any more water could flow out. She frowned at it. It was now only 1/3 of the way full. Before she handed the waterskin back to the sick man, Obsidian thought for a quick second, before waving a hand at the space between her and the thug, pulling at the shadows in the corners to essentially make a shadowy wall the culprit could not see through. While unsure if she should even use her magic here, the moon elf's compassion got a hold of her before Obsidian could argue much with herself and so did what she could so the poor man could drink something.

"Quickly!" she whispered to the man in the hay. "The effects won't last for too long! Not without my staff!" So she handed the waterskin again to him, enticing him to drink while keeping an eye on the shadow wall behind her. For now the wall obscured all three of them from the thug's vision, but it would only last a couple minutes.

Meanwhile, the thug was momentarily surprised at the sudden darkness and thrashing sounds could be heard as he tried to reach for them, albeit unsuccessfully. There was also the sound of a woman screaming outside in an angry tone, but Obsidian obviously could not do much more than what she was already doing at the moment. The moon elf sincerely hoped whoever she was, was alright.

The Gambler was doing a heck of a lot of staring, for there he was again, looking at the offered water skin with lips ajar. But after a moment, his wits returned and he smirked. He raised the waterskin up in salute.

"I'll never forget this drink as long as I live," and he knocked the waterskin back and got a nice throatful of water, and guzzled down what was rest of it through happy, desperate, and tearful moans of joy.

The man finished off what was left in the waterskin quite happily Obsidian noticed. She smiled at him for a second and asked, "Better?" The wall of shadow she had put up was starting to waver as the magic began to dissipate. She reinforced it back in place as quick as she could. It was good for another few minutes as Obsidian didn't wish to risk the thug's wrath when/if the wall should completely disappear.

The moon elf glanced at the now empty waterskin in the man's hands and told him apologetically, "I am afraid I have no more to offer at this time." she stated sorrowfully. "Can you move?"

Obsidian looked at the disguised girl besides her and also asked her the same question. "Are you well enough to move?" Gauging the length of the shadowy wall separating them from the mad thug, she hoped they could try to make a run for it if the lunar mage enacted more of her magics to deter the men that were after them. However, she was still wary of using too much magic in plain sight. This was Connloath after all. But Obsidian would do what she was able to. She would never let innocents be harmed, not if she could help it.

Liri felt a spark of anger at the thug who had attempted to kick away the water skin. She had a sudden urge to take the nearby pitchfork and smack him over the head with it repeatedly, but her stomach still hurt from her last reckless act of heroism and this time she held herself in check.

However if she thought the man's casual act of cruelty got her attention it was nothing compared to what happened next. The woman with the water skin did something Liri didn't catch. At first she thought one of the torches had been put out - or that someone had closed the door and blocked out the daylight streaming in. Yet it was neither of those things. Somehow there was a large shadow that simply wasn't there before, or at least wasn't anywhere near as big or as dark. It sheltered them from view.

For a moment all she could do was stare wide-eyed as her mind wrapped around the sight. Earlier she had wondered at how the woman had gotten there but hadn't seen enough to know, now somehow she felt sure: it had to be magic. This strange woman knew magic! Some part of her mind seized on the thought, used it like a rope to escape the quicksand of despondency that seemed to be pulling at her. If that were true, then she could help her!

Of course none of that mattered if they didn't get out of their current predicament. Not that she had any idea how to accomplish that. She looked over at the 'Gambler,' who seemed to be looking better now that he had gotten some decent water. The thought made her frown. So much for all my ministrations. First I help his burns, then I all but poison him with some tainted water. Probably should have looked to see if the horses were drinking it first...

"Are you well enough to move?" The lithe woman was asking her.

Liri forced herself to stop gaping like an idiot at everything around her and nodded an affirmative.

Wiping the excess water from his lips on the back of his hand, the Gambler, so evidently perky from his fresh and nonvulgar water, gave a nod of his head.
"As movable as a horse! Or... something.." he said, giving a sheepish scratch to his nose. He wasn't sure that was an expression, and after saying it, he was pretty sure that it wasn't.

But when Liri was addressed, the Gambler turned curious to regard the lad.
"You get injured or somethin'?"
Perhaps he had missed some other forms of heroism while he himself was almost made into ashes-
And not fool proof ashes, but fool filled ashes more likely. But hey, it was all in a day's work, right? And he was lucky, sure as shit lucky! And what better way to prove it than to add into his repertoire a story like this!

Liri turned at the suddenly responsive man's words. "Oh thank goodness, I didn't kill you!" Wait, that sounded wrong...

"I mean... I'm so glad you're awake! You were in bad shape already and then took some awful water and... -Anyway don't worry about me," she added in response to his question. "She asked you first." She tried her best encouraging smile at the lame joke. "Can you move? We gotta get out of here..."


Osgald didn't think his explanations were going over terribly well, but he hadn't gotten a chance to tell for sure at any rate because the pregnant looking woman from the laundry had come out of nowhere shouting and chucking things. "Owe!" He protested as a horse brush smacked him in the side of the head. He watched as a stool went flying into the stables and made a gigantic crash. From the resulting profanity he suspected it had hit the remaining thug.

He held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Now hold on there Ma'am I'm just tryin' to-" A bag of oats cut of his protests as it smacked him hard in his midsection.

Then from behind him came the sound of footsteps. He turned around to see a newly arrived and somewhat angry looking crowd complete with weapons. They were led by the innkeep and a plump woman he didn't recognize.

"That's them! I'd recognize those troublemakers anywhere after my poor husband's laundry! Look, they've half demolished your stables already!" The woman's rant continued as the inkeep nocked an arrow.

You have GOT to be kidding me, thought Osgald. Is there any other way this situation could get out of control? He was shaking his head, trying to protest, but he found his breath still hadn't returned from the bag of oats.

"I don't care what you're stories are, the whole lot of you have got just 30 seconds to get going somewhere away from this town or you'd better be prepared to defend yourselves! I've already sent someone to notify the Guards!" It was the inkeep who was shouting, but a couple in the crowd had a sword or other makeshift weapon and seemed ready to back him up.

When the stool hit the thug who was holding them hostage in the stables, Obsidian saw that as their chance to try to get away as he held his head in great pain. Her magic was moon-based after all and wouldn't work that well if at all during the brightest hours of the day. At least not the magic that relied on the dark of night.

Quickly putting her now empty waterskin back in her pack, she hefted it over her shoulder and gestured to the others, "Come, we must leave!" The shouting, cursing and overall chaos continued as they attempted to make their way out.

But before Obsidian could take any more steps, an angry crowd soon blocked their way, complete with pitchforks and other weapons of convenience, led by the innkeeper himself. Obsidian made sure her cloak was fastened good, the hood over her head secure before doing anything else. She did not know how the villagers would react to a moon elf and so she erred on the side of caution, both for them, herself and the others she was with. Her skin tone of bluish-gray would still be somewhat obvious though, as Obsidian couldn't really hide that. At least her hair and ears were concealed.

So the lunar mage elf stood there, somewhat frozen as she considered what to do now. When the innkeeper shouted at them to leave town, Obsidian took that opportunity to speak up. "No worries sir, we were just leaving. We apologize for any and all inconvenience. We won't be of any more trouble." Obsidian glanced at the three thugs and grimaced slightly. "Although I fear I cannot say the same for them." Indicating her head to all the thugs, including the one clutching his head inside the stables. Nodding her head politely at the group, she made to carefully move past them, hoping the other two would follow suit.

Their conversation came to a sudden halt on account of a flying stool, but Liri didn't hesitate to follow once the opportunity had presented itself. It was true they had just met, but she found herself trusting the odd-skinned woman. Besides, now that she suspected that she had found someone who could help her with problems of the magical variety she wasn't about to let the other woman out of her sight if she could help it.

She grabbed the 'Gambler's' wrist and tried to pull him up. "Come on."


Osgald held up his hands again and moved away at the surly man's insistence. I've got to recover this situation somehow.

He turned to the others. "Please, all of you, feel free to use my wagon over there. I'll explain myself fully once we're away from here you have my word on it, but for now I think we should be leaving and I would be happy to offer safe passage at least to the next village. It's the least I can do..."

He tried his best to sound sincere but he knew it was no sure bet they'd take his offer. If they didn't he just have to improvise further...

Pausing at the man's offer to use his wagon, Obsidian wondered what his intentions were. She didn't trust him at all but really had no solid evidence he was up to no good. The moon elf recalled his earlier words to her about her seeking the artifact as well. Downright accusatory words. Most certainly the words of a man who had ulterior motives. And not to mention his suspicious wanderings outside of town, when she secretly followed him. Obsidian would not let any harm whatsoever come to the young girl or the red-haired man and would do her best to keep them safe. To do that, she would need to go with them wherever they decided to head. Their options at the moment were rather slim the lunar mage hated to admit, so if they did take the man up on his offer, she would make sure to keep a very close eye on him and not let him out of her sight.

Gazing evenly at the man with the wagon, Obsidian considered their next course of action before replying. "I expect a full explanation if we do take you up on that." she told him carefully, gazing at the other two momentarily to assess how they fared. "Any attempts on these good people's lives and I will do whatever means necessary to defend them." She didn't really expect him to deliver on his promise, but saw little choice for other modes to leave quickly as the crowd of people were looking ready to fight, at least some of them with the way they handled their pitchforks. The glares they wore on their faces also told Obsidian they needed to make a decision before too much longer. She had no wish to fight these people.

After another moment of hesitation, the lunar mage nodded. "Alright." she said finally, "But I have my eye on you." Obsidian warned him, a steely expression in her gaze. She took a look behind her at the thugs. The culprits seemed to be held back also by the angry townsfolk as they stayed back, away from them. Hawk Nose Man glared at her with extreme animosity but Obsidian wasn't deterred. Their kind would do anything to get their way, even resorting to murder and needless killing, as plainly evident of their earlier actions.

Nodding to Osgald, Obsidian turned back to the innkeeper who sternly watched everything with a fierce look in his eyes. "Keep an eye on those thugs." Indicating her head to said thugs. "They were the ones who were giving us trouble. And be careful as well."

Taking one last look at Hawk Nose Man and associates, the first one who was now just starting to get up off the ground from being knocked out, Obsidian made her way to the wagon, keeping her attention riveted on both wagon owner and thugs alike from the corner of her eye.

((So I'm going to post based on the summary Ethereal gave me and skip a few things to keep it short. If it turns out too short...well, I apologize. But I just wanted to get a post in to keep things going.))

--

Well, seemed like the rest of them would be leaving with this Osgald guy. There wasn't much time though; the villagers discovered them. Temu was sorely tempted to let Hawk Nose have an arrow through the head but settled for a boot-smash-to-the-face instead. Now his Hawk Nose wasn't so hawk-shaped anymore, was it? But there were more pressing matters. Temujin grabbed the reins of his horse--and also the waterskin, which he found lying on the ground...empty...--and mounted the beast as quickly as his years and experience had taught him.

"Let's get on with it then," he said as he rode the animal out of the stables. "I'm more comfortable using my horse. I'll stick close by as a guard..." He patted his bow, the notched arrow of which he had already replaced in his quiver.

Mae'leena, finding herself caught in the middle, didn't hesitate to join Temujin on his horse- uninvited- but she only assured him, "I'm used to a horse, too. And that many people in a wagon..."
She'd rather not get that friendly with the lot of them but this, being her only means to escape, was the way she'd go for now. She was pregnant, after all, and doing things too risky was foolish not only to her- but the unborn life.


The Gambler hardly had a chance to really digest all of this, and grunted as Liri helped him to his feet.
"Don't worry about me, I still got my legs, don't I?" And then he paused to ask again, "I do don't I?" And he looked down to see them and was already on his feet by the time he sighed with relief. And soon he and Liri were limping out of the barn, and he could have sworn.

First thugs, now the entire town was after them.

"Doesn't seem like things can get better than this?" he told Liri, playfully. But once the people calmed and they decided to 'trust' one of the many thugs to help them out of here, the Gambler only put in his own two cents and a promise to Osgald, "Yeah.. try anything funny and The Gambler will have to dish out a nice hand of justice!"

Liri tried to laugh at the 'Gambler's' joke but found her heart still wasn't in it, she managed a smile instead. "It really doesn't matter to you does it?" She asked as they made their way onto the wagon. "Saving people from a fire, fleeing for your life or fighting within an inch of it, you never lose your ability to laugh. I wish I could do that too."

She looked over her shoulder briefly as the stranger who had offered the wagon to begin with climbed into the front and got the horses moving. Their eyes met briefly. He smiled, but she still wasn't sure what to make of him and didn't return it.

"Is it that big family you talked about?" She asked, turning back to the Gambler, "That keeps you smiling I mean?"


Osgald had bristled somewhat as the man had warned him on his way past about -what was it? Dishing out a 'hand of justice...' However he buried the feelings immediately. Play nice, you're supposed to be the good guy... When he was done with his current role though he would have to leave the man a parting critique of his dialog... among other things.

Unfortunately it occurred to him that he hardly had just one problem. The elf woman had also made it clear she didn't trust him, and he didn't get the feeling the other guy with the bow who claimed to be coming along to guard was exactly in his corner.

He looked around at the group to make sure everyone was accounted for before climbing up into the seat of the wagon, meeting the young boy's eyes as he did so. He put on his best smile but the boy didn't return it, instead his eyes narrowed slightly and he turned around. Tough crowd. I may not be able to win them over as I'd hoped.

Urging the horses into motion he watched as the angry townspeople grew smaller behind them. He would have to come up with another plan on the way, that was all. But then improvisation was a skill he had some practice at. Something would come to him, and somehow he would figure out which of these people had his Artifact and then he would grab it and be gone...

Obsidian heard the others talking to each other, but she was more concentrated on watching the man who had supposedly come to the "rescue". They soon left the town behind them, along with the angry villagers but the moon elf did not relax for she had a strong feeling they were far from being in the clear. So she studied the man guiding the wagon along, trying to discern what his ulterior motives were. However she was not a mind reader so all Obsidian could really do was stay on the alert, and watch for any sort of trickery on his part...

It was at times like these when Obsidian wished she had her staff and the presence of night, in order to better protect these people from any harm sent their way as well as herself. If so, she could conjure from the blackness of the night shadow ropes to tie the man down if he tried anything untoward. However the night was still far away, and her staff even farther. There was little else to do except what she was already doing. Although Obsidian was quiet during the trip, she did wonder exactly where he was taking them, and spoke up to ask that very question. "Where exactly are we going, sir?"

Osgald turned to look at the elf after hearing her question. She had been watching him with unnerving intensity since they had left the town behind. Blasted woman! If only I could have found a way to leave her behind! His job was going to be nearly impossible he knew with the woman breathing down his neck...

He switched into his best casual tone of voice. "Oh, nowhere in particular. Just wanted to get you folks to safety. There's the more direct road to the next village of course, but I figure we'd better take the back way in instead. We attracted a bit of attention back there after all and it wouldn't do to make it too easy on anyone who might be followin'...

"Sorry we got off on the wrong foot back there in town but sometimes in my line of work it's wise to come off as someone not to be trifled with -otherwise people tend to think they can get the best of ya'. 'Course if I'd only known what a noble sort you were from the beginning why I'd never have suspected you of anything disreputable. The way you're lookin' after the young lad and his injured friend like that, why I just think that's the most honorable thing a person could be doin'..."

He drifted off, suddenly wondering if he was going too far. He *did* have a flare for the dramatic after all. Sometimes he had to hold back his natural penchant for the theater...

The route he had taken out of town certainly was the 'back way' as he had put it, and while it would be less likely they would meet other travelers or anyone trying to follow them he also knew it would add a couple of days to their journey at their current pace as it wound through the forested mountains, which was what interested him far more. He needed time to plan his next move...


Meanwhile far overhead an owl had quietly been searching the roads for them after slipping away from the townspeople. Having finally spotted its prey it swooped down into the trees a safe distance away and assumed the less conspicuous form of a small woodland bird.

The bird carefully made its approach, coming in underneath the wagon and landing on one of the support braces. Making sure no one was watching it, it's next form was that of a small white mouse - a form it used to disappear into the miscellaneous odds and ends that (along with the passengers) took up the back of the wagon. Then it waited quietly, observing...

Obsidian continued to stare at him, once more gauging his honesty. The moon elf thought he was laying it on a bit thick with his praise as she was only doing what she had to. And she still didn't trust him. There was a nagging feeling deep in her gut that she couldn't and wouldn't ignore, something that told her to keep a close eye on the man. Obsidian was thinking of telling him to take the direct route as she would have heard any pursuers coming their way anyway. Plus they had already left and she highly doubted any of them would give chase. The group was gone and that's what the townsfolk wanted so the idea of any of them following in their wake didn't entirely make sense to the lunar mage.

She was about to speak up when she heard a strange ripping sound coming from somewhere nearby. Paying closer attention to it, it sounded like it were coming from underneath the wagon and if she was not mistaken she could have sworn she saw some kind of tiny shadow of something dart under the cart itself before disappearing and any further noise was no longer apparent even to the elf's ears anymore. Now if that wasn't something to be alarmed about, Obsidian didn't know what would be. So she froze, while straining her ears to hear anything else out of the ordinary. But there was nothing else.

Still she sat rigid, as the uncomfortable feeling in her gut grew ever stronger as the minutes passed. Obsidian wanted to go and tell the wagon man to turn around and take the main road as she felt he had something up his sleeve, yet they were already a distance away from it and that would mean lots of backtracking which would only prove tedious for everyone. So she kept quiet and only hoped that her decision to be so was the correct one...

Once settled inside the wagon, along side his new helper friend, The Gambler got as comfortable as he could be. Being he was the injured one out of the lot, it seemed he was afforded a lot more space than the rest, and well, for now, he just accepted it graciously and kind of stretched out as much as he could (he wasn't a fan of being cooped up anyway!)

Now with his limbs as extended as they could be, he sighed contentedly and settled in, but the jostling rumble of the bumpy wooden-wheeled wagon hardly gave him any chance to keep his eyes closed for too long. In fact, the more he tried to keep his head down, the more it smacked off the wood floor. And ugh, he was getting a head ache.

But it was Liri's question that helped bring him out of his restless state, and he offered her a crooked grin and a shrug at her comment.
"You could say that. Plus I'm not the sort of guy who likes to dwell on things. And besides, being angry or unhappy is only a hindrance unto oneself. So why let things get under your skin? Things are pretty good in my life, so I can't complain." And he looked the other man over. "What about you? You don't think you got stuff to smile over?"

But before Liri could answer, the damn wagon went over another vicious bump and had The Gambler nearly knockign heads with Liri. He steadied himself, his body half positioned over hers as he grit his teeth. His body ached all over when he moved, and he would have liked at least a little bit of time for a reprieve, but it seemed even this wagon ride wouldn't allow the young hero any rest!

With a grunt, he forced himself back to his own stretched out corner, but faced the front of the wagon now as he asked, "Hey.. you think you could drive this thing on a little bit smoother terrain? I swear it feels as if you're aiming for all the holes in the road there, buddy. And I'm not sure if you're aware of it, but i'm not naturally red with black blotches all over my skin. I'm healing after rescuing a damsel in distress from the fire you know." Well maybe it was a dog.. but still!

"It's a bit hard to try to heal up and relax with this wagon shaking all over the place."

Osgald had watched the elf out of the corner of his eye as best he could and knew as soon as the words were out of his mouth he hadn't convinced her. Well what did I expect? Bad lie about not wanting to be followed. How far I've fallen, I used to be such a good liar... But then he decided to cut himself a little slack. It was hard to come up with repeated convincing lies under stressful circumstances after all. Maybe if that blasted employer of his would help out a little...

What did it matter anyway, the elf woman was keeping her doubts to herself and they were on their way to nowhere in particular giving him time to plan. All in all things could be going worse, so he might as well put on a little cheer and-

"Hey.. you think you could drive this thing on a little bit smoother terrain? I swear it feels as if you're aiming for all the holes in the road there, buddy. And I'm not sure if you're aware of it, but..."

Osgald felt his hands involuntarily lock the reins in a deathgrip as the man in the back continued. He normally considered himself pretty thick skinned but he found that something about that man was *really* starting to get to him...

"...It's a bit hard to try to heal up and relax with this wagon shaking all over the place."

With not inconsiderable effort Osgald put on his best innocent farm-hand smile and turned around. "Beggin' your pardon there good sir, these back roads are a bit rough in spots, I'll see if I can't be a tad more careful..." With that he tipped his hat politely towards the disgruntled passenger and turned back to guiding the horses.

It wouldn't do to upset these people any more than he already had he knew, but he just couldn't control himself as he saw a good sized pot-hole (practically a ditch) coming up. As best as he could without being obvious about it, he guided the horses so that the back wheel on the obnoxious man's side would hit it spot on. Then he just did his best to keep a smile off his face as the wagon approached...


Liri had been rendered speechless by the Gambler's question. She had never thought of happiness as something one could choose before. Even as she tried to picture something joyful her mind spat back images of growing up. Her mother's face -always hiding a secret pain even when she smiled, of her father's perpetual scowl. The man name Ko who would have seen her burn in the name of his 'merciful' God. Of running away and finding peace with a quiet farmer only to have it taken away from her. Everything she had ever cared about had been taken from her in one way or another really, and now here she was toting around some cursed medallion she didn't even know why with people trying to kill her every other moment... What did she have to smile about?

Then she was thrown violently out of her dark thoughts as the wagon shook and she found herself losing her balance and nearly headbutting the 'Gambler.' The man righted himself soon enough but for a moment his body was practically on top of her and she could smell lingering odors of sweat and ash. The sensation of his closeness was distracting, and she could feel herself blushing slightly.

Then the moment passed and the man started going off on the mysterious stranger about all the bumps. He seemed oblivious to her reaction, for which she was grateful, and she pushed herself into the corner opposite him -rearranging a nearby cloth sack to use as a back-rest and pillow.

It was then that she realized that she hadn't slept in a good couple of days -very stressful days at that- and she was really, REALLY, tired. She wasn't even sure when she had closed her eyes but soon enough reality faded to black.


Meanwhile a mouse had been diligently scurrying about the wagon trying to stay out of sight and looking for any sign of its precious Artifact. As of yet it hadn't found anything (it had to waste a considerable amount of time avoiding getting squished as the cart and its contents were banged about) but at several points it was sure it could *feel* a powerful magic emanating from something in the cart. It knew this narrowed the possibilities somewhat -but not enough to make a move yet. It would need to narrow it down. It surreptitiously moved closer to the loud-mouthed man in the corner...

And Liri probably wouldn't be asleep for long, for the second the back wheel hit its mark, he made a noise and was hurled directly ontop of Liri, smashing to poor boy thoroughly while hitting his own head on the cart's side.

In her dream Liri stood upon a mountaintop. Before her stretched empty wilderness as far as the eye could see. The sun shown brightly down and there was a strong wind whipping her clothing about. It was a pleasant wind though, rather than the biting winter wind she had left behind in the real world.

Her only companion on this mountain was the familiar form of the old man Ko, who since he had started appearing to her had taken on a perpetual dark scowl that managed to be even more sinister than the one he'd carried in real life.

She didn't care however. This wasn't a scary dream – in fact to her it didn't seem a dream at all. She stood in the buffeting wind like some sort of legendary wizard from the old tales. A woman of power and magnificence. Yes, she realized suddenly as she looked at herself, a woman -truly and in appearance. Her curse had been lifted and she stood for all the world to see in her true form. Only better, for in her right hand she held the medallion and she could feel its power coursing through her veins.

The world was her plaything now, and she would wreak upon it her vengeance at all the years and all the abuses!

"Yes!" Ko spoke up suddenly beside her, "You know you want its power for yourself!"

She looked at him then as she might have looked before upon a mere ant that she could crush at the slightest whim. Yes, and he deserved it too. Like all the rest he would know how he had wronged her and know his punishment...

With a single dark stare she put him in his place and he supplicated himself on his knees. "Great enchantress, I am your servant."

Enchantress? Yes of course, that's what she had done all those years ago by that lonely well. In her ignorance of her own powers, her first enchantment had been upon herself. All she had wanted in those moments was to be someone else -anyone else. It wasn't a curse, but the fay magics of old doing her naive bidding. It all seemed so simple to her now. This, this was how she was meant to exist -she knew that for certain as she looked down at her hands. The gentle hands of a young woman. Oh but the power she could wield through them now – the power offered her by this strange medallion. Such petty illusions were nothing compared to what it could do. Why had she ever thought of it as a curse?

Then the world shook violently and she banged her head painfully against the wooden cart. Wait – the what?

Like sand through spread fingers the dream vanished and she was in the back of the cart once more trundling down some forest road. Except there was a massive weight on top of her and she could hardly breathe...

A familiar smell invaded her nostrils, of sweat and ash and maleness. She opened her eyes to a close-up view of the 'Gambler's' shirt. What was going on? "Hrmm, mmm, hmmm..." She managed, her arms flailing about awkwardly trying to get some purchase on the wooden cart. Finally she settled for tapping the man hard on his back. "Hmmmm!!!!" she tried again.

*     *     *     *     *

Osgald turned around after the cart finished shaking to look at his handiwork. It was all he could do to keep a satisfied grin off his face as he watched the shenanigans unfolding in the back. "Terribly sorry about that young sirs!" He called over his shoulder. "Guess I sure missed that one didn't I?"


The mouse had just about decided the man didn't have what he was looking for when the whole world went tumbling about around it and it found itself flying across the cart only to be pinned beneath the enormous weight of the man and the younger man he had landed on top of. It found itself unable to breathe and was barely able to wiggle its way out from the human sandwich before collapsing. Once it did so however it just about had a heart attack all over again.

There, on the floor of the cart before it, lay a small shiny metal medallion that positively reeked of magic. It must have fallen out of one of the human's pockets in all the commotion. The mouse could hardly believe it's luck! It had found the Artifact at last!

It tried to shift form immediately but found it had to take a few moments to get some air into its weakened mouse body first...

Obsidian glared at the back of the man's head as he turned back around. She thought there was the barest hint of a smile on his face before he turned his head to watch the road again. "I would think that enormous pothole would be pretty difficult to miss, sir." she said, emphasizing the word 'sir' at the end. "One really has to wonder if that wasn't your intention entirely." she told him in a no-nonsense type fashion.

Obsidian too was also jarred violently about in her seat, but not as much as Liri and The Gambler had been, the two now on top of each other as they struggled to untangle themselves from the awkward position they were in. Then a glint of something caught her eye and she looked downwards before letting out a small gasp. It was the amulet! There was no doubt about it, its brightly shimmering colors and refractive surface told her so, not to mention the strong energies of magic she could very clearly feel emanating from the object. It must've have fallen from the young girl's pocket as they crashed into the ditch back there. But the moon elf would not touch it, for that would not be wise. She knew very well of its corrupting powers and she had no desire to inflict that upon herself. Obsidian could only guess as to what torments the girl had already gone through by possessing it.

The lunar mage could only hope that the wagon driver would not notice it, being too busy watching the road in front of them, but one never really knew what could happen. True, she could kick it out of view with her foot, but that was no better than touching it with her hands. So Obsidian refrained and looked back up at Osgald to see whether or not he saw any randomly appearing magical medallions at all. It also wouldn't be good to be caught staring at it either.

And once again, Obsidian thought she saw a small shape dart away somewhere in the wagon. It looked to her like a small field mouse with the very briefest of glances she was able to glean though. As to what a mouse would be doing in the wagon and not trying to get away from danger like normal mice would, Obsidian could only imagine. She had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't actually a real mouse, but there was no proof of that. The moon elf looked back over to her companions to see how they were faring and if they had managed to right themselves from their vicious tumble earlier.

"Er, sorry about that!" The Gambler said as he rolled off Liri quick. "Thatd be a devastating way to go, smashed by my ass!" And he couldn't help but rub it. The boy was a boney one that was for sure, but he couldn't help but noticed how antsy the boy seemed but before he could comment, his butt sat on something else not comfortable. And as he reached down with a wince to pick it up, he made a face as he observed the artifact.

Liri coughed air back into her lungs the moment the weight was lifted. She had fallen asleep, she realized, and she had been dreaming something. There was a lingering sensation of the dream being important somehow but as with all dreams it faded the more she grasped at it.

"Think nothing of it!" She blurted too quickly in response to the man's apology. She was blushing again, but that didn't last long as she noticed the 'Gambler' pulling a distinctive medallion from beneath him and holding it up. Twice as quickly as it had come all of the blood drained from her face. "Oh- I... I was going to tell you about that..."

Then everything seemed to happen at once. The man driving the cart turned around in curiosity at her remark and his eyes flashed wider than she had ever seen them as he saw the medallion. The expression was gone in a fraction of a second however and then he was a blur of movement as he reached for something underneath his seat and pulled out a crossbow -it had been armed ahead of time she noted, had the man been waiting to betray them? As quickly as he could the now armed wagon owner whipped around -clearly intending to aim his crossbow at one or more of the cart's occupants.

At the same time a small white mouse leaped out of some hiding spot in the cart into mid-air, just as if it thought it was a bird. Stranger still, a moment later it shifted somehow and then it WAS a bird. A giant beast of a hawk, and it barreled with all the speed its wings could grant it right at Gambler's hand - talons extended as if to grab the medallion.

It all happened so fast Liri barely had time to process what she was seeing, let alone respond, and she found herself staring stupidly as it all unfolded.

Chaos. It was all chaos, and definitely the whimsical, out of the ordinary, sort of hard to believe kind! For not only did their 'savior' whip out a cross bow with malicious intent, but some bird came out of no where and John Johnson had no idea how to react! But he didn't have to- for as luck would have it- the driver (who just happened to look away from the already bumpy road) hit a pot hole and this time- the entire wagon threatened to spill over.

But just as this chaotic 'turn' of events began, Mae'leena let out a gasp and pointed, "The man is armed with a crossbow!" Because well.. in her state, that's about all she could do!

And seconds later, The Gambler was bouncing clean out of the wagon, and landing on unceremoniously on side and took a tumble in the mud, only to find himself face first in a puddle as he groaned. Lifting himself up and spitting out the debris, he winced at another pain shooting up his arm as his palm came to rest upon the damn medallion and as he peered down at it, he saw the faint shadowed silhouette of the bird over head. And the only thing he could think of was...
Cram the damn thing into his pocket and get the hell out of the mud!

It was indeed chaos and Obsidian had little time to react as well, as the wagon gave a huge lurch! and she lost her hold in the seat and slid over to the side some, almost falling out of the wagon too, but managed to grab hold of the edge before she could face plant in the dirt. 'The Gambler' she noticed was not so lucky, as he spat out dirt and grass from his mouth after landing in a puddle of muddy water. The moon elf winced, but couldn't focus her attention on him for too long as the group was in danger for the wagon man now held a crossbow aimed at them! He seemed to have trouble deciding who to point it at though, moving it from person to person with indecision.

So Obsidian could do little but freeze in place, for fear that he'd shoot one of them or all of them. She held his gaze evenly, doing her best to remain calm and not give him the satisfaction of looking like a deer caught up in a trap. Instead, she tried to persuade the man to put down the weapon by saying in a soothing voice, "Easy now, there's no need for that. Violence will solve nothing." The lunar mage dared not break eye contact with him, for doing so may prove disastrous.

She had been right in her earlier suspicions about the mouse as it turned into a giant hawk, looking as though it too were after the artifact. Obsidian didn't know where the medallion was now, but out of the corner of her eye she saw the bird go threateningly over to the red-haired man on the ground so it must be that he now had it. However, her concerns lay now with the armed crossbowman at the moment.

[EDITED FROM THE ORIGINAL POST]

Osgald had reacted as swiftly as he could manage when he saw the shiny medallion -an object he was immediately sure could only be the the Artifact he sought. But no sooner had he grabbed his crossbow than the cart hit another whopper of a pothole and he nearly went flying off of it. Fortunately he was reaching under the seat for the crossbow anyway and was able to grab the wooden bench to regain his balance.

As soon as he had done so he realized the man who had been holding the Artifact had apparently jumped (or fallen) out of the cart.

Knowing he probably had but a moment before the foreigner on the horse could pull out his own bow and arm it, Osgald ignored that problem for the moment. He had to thin out the number of threats and fast.

He slipped a precious glass vial he had been hiding up his sleeve into his palm and chucked it at the horse and its two riders - shifting his crossbow into an awkward one-handed grip as he did so. The vial shattered and everyone within several feet of it -which managed to encompass all three of his targets- vanished into thin air.

A part of him was impressed that had actually worked. His employer had given him the mysterious vial some time ago, with several severe warnings about the difficulty in obtaining the item and not using it except in the most desperate of situations. It had been intended for him to use in order to escape with the Artifact but he would just have to figure out that part of the plan later. Sadly he had no idea where he had just sent the horse and its riders -his employer had been a bit vague on the specifics.

Stabilizing his crossbow with his other hand he scanned the rest of the scene as quickly as he could, his weapon pointing first at one target then at the next.

The elf was still watching him carefully, but didn't appear inclined towards any rash or impulsive actions. The younger boy was nursing his head which he appeared to have hurt in some way -probably in that last bump- but he couldn't see any blood and at any rate it wasn't his concern. Not that he wished to harm anyone unnecessarily, but there were more important things going on right now.

The man who he presumed still had the Artifact he spotted a moment later face down on a puddle behind the cart. He also looked more or less unharmed, although a giant unnaturally ferocious looking bird of some kind was pursuing him. Immediately he knew it could only be his employer who had no doubt followed them from town.

"Easy now, there's no need for that. Violence will solve nothing."

It was the elf speaking, and the words brought his attention back to the cart. The corner of his mouth turned up in a smile as he realized events were turning his way. With the shapeshifter going after the man with the Artifact he had only her to contend with now - and of course the young boy, but he didn't see any threat there.

Of course what exactly to do with them was another matter. The smile left his face as he realized that in fact he had no idea what his next move was. He didn't believe in harming anyone who hadn't given him cause -at least not if it could be reasonably avoided- but he could hardly just climb off the cart and wish them well.

He decided to take no action until he saw that the Artifact was safely in the hands of the shapeshifter. Then perhaps he could leave them at the side of the road with some supplies and be on his way.

"Don't do anything foolish," he replied to the woman, "and there will be no need for violence."

Lucky was the man that gambled in the mud, the artifact secure in his pocket and his lips spitting out mud. But it didn't take long for the inconvenient act of the shape shifter to come after him, talons at the ready. And though they missed their target, and The Gambler was able to dodge the bird within seconds of it's attack, it beat it's wings a few times before turning around sharply and came after the red haired man again.

This time The Gambler didn't get a chance to dodge, for he was in the middle of trying to pull himself out of the mud, and the second he heard the faint noise of wind behind him- he turned only to get a face full of bird. Talons scrapped his skin and the powerful collision was enough to take him off his feet as he landed unceremoniously on his back in the mud, green eyes staring up at the sky wondering just what the hell had happened. But when the large bird came down to perch on his belly, it was then the man began to realize this was going to be no ordinary run away scheme, and that he had stumbled on something far more important than himself, and whatever it was that drew out the crazed bird and the man commanding the cart, he vowed to himself he wouldn't let this item fall into their hands.

So without further adieu, as the bird tried to peck and prod at the Gambler's pockets, the man wasted no time in giving the bird a good whack to knock him off his belly, and then grabbed up a handful of mud and threw it at it's head.

The ferocious bird flew backwards by the force of The Gambler's hit, landing on the ground momentarily but got right back up unfazed, ready to attack again. It let out a loud screech!, standing up and spreading its black wings in a wide arc, as though stating its superiority over the man in the puddle. Its eyes were filled with fury, quite unlike a normal bird making it obvious that it wasn't. Then it lunged for John again, talons poised and ready to strike...

While all that was happening, Obsidian became aware of hurried footsteps in their direction and turned her head to look. Seeing the man with the burns lying on the ground with a large bird after him, that wasn't what drew her attention though. It was the three thugs from before, led by none other than Hawk Nose Man, swords raised and with a shout of "There they are! Let's get 'em!" and "Meet steel, unworthy scum!" and "At the enemy!"

Obsidian stiffened. This wasn't good... she thought.

And it was at that John turned to peer over his shoulder at the return of the Hawk Nose man clan. He could have sworebetween his teeth, and perhaps he had, because now he had not only birdzilla to contend with, but now this! Seeing them take up arms, John found himself groaning and reaching for whatever he could find nearby in terms of a weapon. And it was then the bird screeched again and dove at the Gambler, and seconds before its open talons sunk into his face, the man turned around so fast and was holding a hefty stick in hand which he used to strike the bird away like a.baseball and from what he could tell it was a home run!

But victory was cut short as the bird flew towards the oncoming attackers, and seconds before it bowled them over, it morphed into a large and angry Bengal tiger.

Liri groaned at the renewed pain in her head. Somehow at the last pothole she had managed to hit a different side of her head against the cart on her way down -and hard. The jury was still out on if this was a better or worse sort of pain than if she had just banged the same spot again. At least this way just about every part of her head hurt equally.

Forcing herself to focus on what was going on around her only served to dampen her spirits further. Everything continued to fall apart. Their savior turned traitor held them hostage to a loaded crossbow, the 'Gambler' appeared to have escaped harm so far but was still under attack by the ferocious bird-creature, and even as she watched the group of thugs they had intended to leave behind in the last village caught up with them.

However their arrival might have done some short-term good as the bird-creature was forced to break off its attack on the 'Gambler' to deal with the thugs. She was pleased by the frown that formed on Osgald's face as he noticed the turn of events, after all anything that interfered with his plans had to be at least partially a good thing, but her satisfaction didn't last long.

For a moment he seemed indecisive, then with his frown deepening he tightened his finger on the trigger. "I'm sorry," he said to the kind elf woman, "but that Artifact is more important than any of us." He sounded genuinely remorseful, but she noted venomously that he was doing it anyway.

Liri's heart began to beat out of control while the man spoke, as her mind processed what seemed about to happen. Somehow she felt just as backed against the wall as if the crossbow had been pointed right at her. The gentle elf and the 'Gambler' fellow had been the only two people to show her kindness in the carnival ride of danger her life had become and both seemed in imminent peril.

With a cry that expressed the crazed desperation of the move she grabbed the sack of food she had been using as a makeshift cushion and held it tightly to her chest like body armor as she charged the man, hoping he would not be quick enough to get a well-aimed shot off.

Be it luck or the advantage of surprise her gamble paid off -at least partly. The man turned so quickly it must have been instinct and did indeed get a shot off, but the bolt fortunately impacted on the sack protecting her chest rather than somewhere more lethal.

Which is not to say that things worked out quite like she hoped for either. The arrow still struck with considerable force, which disrupted her momentum. Further more the sack didn't seem to entirely stop the arrow for she felt something sharp bite into her abdomen and grunted in pain, stumbling and almost losing her charge completely.

Upon reaching her target she didn't knock him off the cart with her body weight and momentum as she had intended, instead it was more of an awkward ricochet that merely unbalanced the man and sent her tumbling off the cart instead.

She grunted one more time when the ground rushed up to meet her. As fate would have it she managed to land on her back rather than breaking any limbs but the impact still knocked the breath out of her and smacked her head yet again, and this time she found herself struggling just to stay conscious in the moments following - while the world around her faded to black.

Free from the bird but not yet from this hell, the Gambler had but a moment to catch his breath when he turned to watch the awkward heroism of Liri. The small smile at the boy's courage quickly faded the moment he went down. Andwith the thugs momentarily attacked by the pissed off tiger, and Osgald currently without a bolt, he wasted no time in crossing the distance to Liri and giving him a shake.
"Hey.. hey you alright?" But the when his eyes closed, he panicked, shaking him once more before scooping up the boy onto his lap and observed the chaos briefly while his heart drummed inside his ears.

Obsidian's eyes widened in alarm as the man with the crossbow pointed his weapon at her with an apology, saying that he had to do this. His finger tightening on the trigger, he was about to fire off a shot when Liri braved the danger and jumped in front of her with a sack of food over her chest, intending to take the bolt for her. Obsidian instinctively had moved out of the way as fast as she could but the bolt might have still hit her in the shoulder instead of the chest if the young girl had not interfered when she did.

As Liri tumbled off the cart, the moon elf let out a gasp of alarm and immediately jumped out of the cart to see to her injuries and if she were alright. It was a perhaps not so smart move, for the elf didn't know if Osgald had any more bolts ready to load or not. But she couldn't just sit there and do nothing either. The man was already on the offensive as it were.

As Obsidian went to her side, the red-haired man rushed over as well and shook her to see if she would wake. She did not so he picked her up and held her with a dumbfounded expression on his face, not sure what to do now. Obsidian knelt by the both of them, head bowed in sorrow. She would feel awful if Liri died because of her. She noted the sack with the bolt punctured through it lying on the ground nearby and was relieved when it seemed she had not been struck. But that relief was short-lived when she noticed the small trickle of blood appearing on the Gambler's shirt as he held the young girl, the same redness dripping off from a wound on her stomach.

Obsidian immediately slung her bag off her shoulder, looking for a spare piece of cloth she could use to staunch the bleeding. She found one and quickly pressed it to Liri's stomach. Looking up at the Gambler, the lunar mage's eyes were filled with immense worry. This situation was really out of hand...

The fight between the thugs and the shapeshifter was still going on so the moon elf focused her attention on Liri for the time being, hoping and praying to Nephril the Moon Goddess that things would turn out for the better. "Mother Nephril, please aid us in this matter..." she intoned softly, still holding the cloth over the wound.

Liri could hear voices, and there was the sensation of movement.

She didn't want to focus on the voices though. There was pain in that place. The darkness felt much better. For some reason she was sure she didn't belong here though. Something important was going on back in that world of pain, she could almost grasp what it was.

Time didn't have the same meaning in the darkness and so she wasn't sure how long she fought that battle - constantly telling herself she should go back, there was something important, but not wanting to.

Eventually consciousness forced itself upon her anyway as her brain recovered from the jolt of hitting the ground, a development of which she was not fond. Yet she found some consolation when the darkness had finally faded enough -and her wits had returned enough- that she could recognize both her friends hovering over her with concerned expressions. Someone had hastily closed her wound with some sort of cloth and moved her onto the 'Gambler's' lap. She smiled gratefully at the realization that they were both alright. At least things hadn't gone totally wrong.

The relief was almost immediately replaced by a familiar awkwardness and she was afraid she would start blushing like a fool again. However when she tried to get up she was broadsided by pain and dizziness and her attempt was not particularly successful. It did however grant her a brief look at their surroundings. The beast of a cat was still working over its three victims, who seemed to only still be alive because they had numbers and sharp swords on their side.

And as far as the whereabouts of the man who had just shot her, that question was soon answered as well. For just as she looked in his direction the very same traitor, who had apparently discarded his crossbow, perhaps for lack of further bolts or want of time to reload it, leaped at them from the still-moving cart.

She wanted desperately to do something more but further heroism was clearly not in her immediate future and the best she could do was raise a pointed finger in warning instead. "Look out," she cried, disgusted by how weak and gravelly her recovering voice sounded.

The moon elf saw the man coming for the three of them and hastily told the Gambler that they needed to get away. "We must leave quickly!" she whispered to him, noticing that Liri had temporarily awoken and was looking around, although dazed. The now weapon-less traitor was still coming at them and would soon reach them if they didn't get going.

The day was still bright, leaving any attempts at moon magic a thing of the future until the night fell once more. For now, there was only one option. Run.

At Liri's smile, John's only grew brighter, and the twinkle signified Liri wasn't the only one relieved.
"You had us all worried for a second there. But welcome to the world of crazy. You can probably see you were probably better off asleep." And he gave the boy a crooked grin at his jest.
"Do you think you can stand?"
But no sooner had the words came from his lips that danger was heading their way. It didn't take much for the Gambler to get off his ass. Pained as he might be, his will to survive was a bit more important than how uncomfortable his skin felt as he was still recovering from his burns. And knowing full well the man on his lap was in no condition to run, and despite them being nearly of equal height, the Gambler hefted Liri up and over his shoulders as he began to run.

"You don't need to tell me, twice!" John called back to Obsidian as his boots struck heavily on the ground, and though his stride was somewhat hampered by the weight of the boy he carried, he pressed onward anyway, grunting and panting through strained breaths as he made his way from the pock filled road to the equally lumpy hillside that framed it.

Thankfully the hillside wasn't too steep, and even in his condition and the addition of Liri, he was able to get up and over it quickly. And thankfully, after that, things were relatively flat and began to move downhill rather than up it, and there were very dense trees in every which direction he looked.

To Obsidian, he looked back only once to see if she was following, and though this confirmed she was- it also confirmed Osgald was still hot on their trail as he too, was beginning to seemed to be tearing his way from the road to the wilds.

Obsidian quickly caught up to the both of them and ran alongside them, running as fast as she were able. She nodded her head at a thick copse of trees up ahead over to the right and hoped that the Gambler saw her indication that they should head there. The shrubbery was more dense that way and would be easier to lose any pursuers that were hot on their trail. The lunar mage didn't dare shout this out as she was not about to alert their attacker to their intended whereabouts.

Pressing on, she dashed through the trees, dodging this way and that, hoping to lose Osgald but at the same time, not trying to lose sight of The Gambler or Liri either. The path went downhill at one point steeply, and she quickly turned left at the corner there, not following the beaten path anymore. Looking back, Obsidian glanced behind her to see if her comrades were still with her.

Osgald swore under his breath when he lost sight of the elf, and ran even faster trying to locate her. The other two were still in his line of sight, and he didn't dare lose them too. But every second counted, and he mustn't waste any of them if he wished to gain that Artifact his employer so desired... But fortune wasn't with him then, for in that precise moment, he tripped over a large rock and went sprawling on his face. Hard. A few seconds passed with him in an angry daze, before he hurriedly got up and continued his hunt. There was only one problem though. He had lost them. Unable to stop the angry cursing that followed, Osgald swore loudly, quite pissed off with this recent turn of events. "Son of a blasted whore!" he shouted. Still he kept on, turning his head this way and that, trying to find any trace of them. He could not lose. The Artifact was much too important to afford any mistakes.

The sounds of battle where the wagon was began to fade as the trio got further away from their pursuers. Another hour would pass before evening would fall, and with it the beginning of night.

With dusk approaching, the sun was low, piercing orange daggers of its light through the narrow crooks of trees. It made visibility all the worse for it, but that only aided in their escape.

John didnt know how long they had been running, but the sun was getting to him, and his arms hurt like hell. He  needed a break, to catch his breath, and where he paused against a fat spruce, a noise caught his attention.
Water.

"Damn, if it weren't for my luck, I'd pray for a drink, but sounds like a river's just down the way!"

Around them the forest was closing in. Spruce and similar evergreen pines surrounded them and were getting increasingly dense and tall, stretching to cathedral heights in their timeless quest for the sunlight but shrouding the forest floor in shadow in the process. Shrubbery and tall grasses still flourished in the gaps and less dense portions, giving way to needle-littered dirt and debris in the darker folds of the forest's cloak. Somewhere in the near distance the gentle sound of water flowing over ageless rocks and through time-worn channels seemed to trivialize the perils of the short-lived bipeds currently fleeing for their lives in the midst of the tranquil scene, who for their part were quite a bit distracted with less calming matters.

Liri's arrow-induced wound (not to mention her headache) had not exactly been helped out by a desperate run through the woods carried over her rescuer's shoulder, and for that matter neither had her dignity, but she wasn't so far gone from reality as to entertain the notion that she was up to running alongside the other two so she had simply done her best to endure it and keep the groaning to a minimum.

However when the world finally stopped flying by in a crazy painful blur and she heard mention of the word 'river' she couldn't help herself. "Hnngg..." she groaned from over John's shoulder. "Did someone say river..? I want some water..."

Despite his hunger for water, John carefully placed Liri down so as to give himself a reprieve and check to see...
"Hey, you alright?" He had almost forgot the boy was bleeding before his eyes searched for the wound.

Liri was lost for a moment in relief as the blood was no longer forced to her head before she registered the question. Unsure how to answer, her eyes scanned for the wound while she struggled for the second time in as many days to recall what she had once been taught of caring for the wounded. At first it was a somewhat disorienting perspective, given that 'the wounded' was herself, but gradually her memories and instincts surfaced.

She had been attempting to run at the man to distract him and force him to shoot at her in haste rather than his original target, hopefully ruining his aim, and then knock him off the cart. However in addition to the multitude of things that had gone wrong with that plan the arrow had punctured her makeshift armor and gone through to her abdomen.

She had a moment of panic when she saw the blood, but with effort pushed it aside. Upon inspection she was relieved to conclude that the wound was likely not very deep at all. Otherwise the arrow would not have fallen out so easily, and there would be more blood than there was.

It looked to have gone into her abdominal muscles on her left side, a supposition which was supported by the sharp pain she felt whenever she tried to get up or bend around. Which was a good thing, she knew, for a muscle injury would bleed some and hurt plenty but would heal well enough with time. Had it penetrated a vital organ she would have been in much more trouble. Combined with the fact that her headache was finally beginning to clear up it was almost enough to make her think she was going to live to see her next birthday yet.

The injury would still need attention though she knew. Being bounced around on someone's shoulder had only aggravated it and caused more bleeding, and they hadn't had time to properly wrap it in the first place in their haste to flee.

Having had her brief inspection of the wound she looked up at the man who had once again come to her rescue. Some part of her had a hard time believing it still. Were there really such people in the world, who gave out kindness so freely and without thought to their own lives?

She winced at the thought of what he must be going through on her behalf. Here he was, still recovering from his own burns and sickness, and he had found the strength to carry her on the run through the woods. None of them had been presented with any opportunity to change attire since the whole thing had started and she looked at his clothing still carrying the stains of the fire and thrashing of the woodland plant life, looked at his still-healing burns and the charming way the twigs were caught in his red hair. Even the slanting evening light seemed to want to depict him as some sort of unreal hero out of the stories as its gentle rays broke through the trees and made his hair seem to glow. Surely he had hopped into her life fresh from slaying dragons and saving maidens from high towers...

Except that he was real, absent any glimmering armor or magical swords, and with a strangely endearing propensity for speaking of himself as this 'Gambler' figure purportedly from a reputation she would someday substantiate. Real and corporeal. Just... a man.

"I... I think so," she replied to his question. "I need water... The injury should be cleaned, and then it should be wrapped better... and I'm terribly thirsty... and..." The words didn't seem adequate, but she could not have meant them more as she gently grabbed his arm and added "and thank you."

"Well, you're in luck!" John went on, a twinkle to his eyes as he gestured towards the sound of water. " Here that? That's a river with your name on it! And its pretty lucky that we found it when we did, as I think we're all over due for something refreshing. And I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm pretty sure I don't smell like any rose bush. I think a quip dip and sip of the water is in order." And at such a proposition he beamed and began to delace his boots. Casting them aside, he turned to Liri.

"Need help with those?" He offered, pointing to the boy's feet. "Cause I wouldnt rexommend getting those wet. Nothing more awful than sloshy shoes," he went on in good humor, scratching at his arm's healing skin.

As the orange and pink light of evening began to fall, Obsidian rushed around one last tree running a bit further before she dared to stop. Her ears detected the sound of rushing water somewhere nearby, although it was still some ways off. Her companions were nowhere around, and the moon elf could only hope they were at the river which she was certain was where the sound came from. So she pressed on in the waning light.

Unlike the other two, Obsidian is a moon elf and thus had no trouble seeing in complete darkness for several feet up ahead. Because of this, she was able to follow the sounds of the water and get there pretty quickly. Dodging a few low-hanging branches and pushing her way through the dense undergrowth, she entered a clearing where the river was located, the sound much louder now, the waters rushing at a rapid pace so if they needed to cross it they would have to exercise extreme caution so as not to get pulled under and swept away. Obsidian also saw her comrades there and let out a sigh of relief at this, leaning against a nearby tree for support.

After a second or two had passed, the moon elf walked up to them and said, "I'm relieved that we are all alright for the time being. We seem to have lost our pursuer for now." Glancing at Liri, she asked her, "How do you feel?" At the sight of her wound, she expressed her concern. "That needs to be taken care of right away so it does not get infected."

Taking out her waterskin from her knapsack, she went over to and knelt down by the rushing stream, careful not to fall in and refilled it, but did not cap it shut yet. Going back over to Liri, she squatted down beside the girl and handed her the waterskin. "To clean your wound with. Let me see if I have another spare cloth."

Liri's eyes grew round as the man began to take off his boots, her imagination suddenly running away with where this might be going. "Oh... Umm, no I'm fine... You know that water looks pretty swift anyway are you sure you want to risk bathing in that?" At this point she was pretty sure she was blushing like an idiot again, but decided if he noticed she would blame it on the cold. "I mean if you want to go look for a quieter place to bathe then I'm sure that- Wait, where..." She looked around for the kindly elf to whom she was about to refer, but noted with sudden panic they seemed to have gotten separated in their run through the woods. Fears started to grip her heart as she wondered if something had happened. Did the man catch her as they had fled? Would she ever see her again?

Fortunately the other woman emerged from the trees a moment later and Liri found herself letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in relief. They had all made it after all.

"How do you feel?" The woman asked.

Liri managed a smile, glad to see the blue-skinned woman again. Her odd appearance no longer seemed startling to Liri, despite having never seen an elf before they met.

"I'm OK, I think." she replied, hoping she meant it. Moving still resulting in more pain than actual movement. She accepted the waterskin with a grateful nod when the the elf returned with it, but her thirst got the better of her and she took a few greedy gulps before turning her attention to her wound. She hadn't realized how thirsty losing a bit of blood made a person.

Rolling up her shirt to expose the wound better she rinsed it with some water, gritting her teeth all the while at the pain the various movements and prodding caused her. But she was relieved that the wound still did not look terribly deep for all that it was still bleeding and hurt well enough. She hoped the woman did indeed have a fresh cloth as she brainstormed for something to wrap it with to keep the pressure on.

"Are we safe here tonight do you think?" she asked, partly out of curiosity and partly for something to focus on besides the pain. "Is that man still chasing us?" She thought of the three of them trying to flee into the night and suspected they could go further if they had to, but wondered just how much further with Liri in tow before exhaustion got the better of them. Spending the night in the dark wood seemed inevitable, much as she didn't relish the thought. She silently cursed herself for being a burden.

"Water is water," John went on in the end. "So a little quick moving river won't do me in. Anyway I-" but he paused in mid thought and observed what Liri saw.
"Huh.. I could have sworn the tall blue elf lady was behind us."

At least they did not have to be worried for long, since the woman soon showed up and appeared as grateful as they. And while Liri went on to clean her wound and post one important question, the Gambler couldnt help but laugh.

"Stay here? You kidding? Those men were dogged.. rabid even to get this thing," he went on, pulling the artifact from his coat. "We need to make as much distance between us and them as possible. I have a feeling they won't stop looking for us until we're good and found."

Finding another spare cloth, Obsidian brought it forth and handed it to Liri with a soft smile. This one was long enough to tie around the waist securely to stop the flow of any more blood. She hoped that would be enough as the moon elf had only one more cloth in her possession to use. The other one she had placed over the girl's wound must have fallen off in their haste to get away. It was no matter, Obsidian could always acquire more at a later time.

Closing up her bag, the dusky blue-skinned elf woman looked up at the moon in the night sky, shining brightly at them. A most beautiful sight, but sadly she didn't have enough time to fully enjoy it. Quietly, she sent up a prayer to the moon goddess for her protection and guidance. A sense of calm penetrated into her bones then as her prayer was heard. Thanking the goddess silently, Obsidian looked to the red-haired man, the "Gambler", and asked him a question. "As I do not live here in this country, I was wondering if mayhap you knew of any safe places where we could find refuge for awhile. Forgive me if I am wrong, but you seem to be a local around these parts. I myself do not know of any safe hideouts and my magic can only hide us for so long."

She fully agreed with his assessment that they needed to keep on the move. These men did not play games. Their intentions were clear enough, and that made them extremely dangerous. Obsidian would do all that she could to keep them safe, but eventually the trio needed to find somewhere to lay low for a time. The thought of their other two companions having disappeared the way they did worried the moon elf but there was naught she could do. She could only pray they were safe from this madness.

Listening for any sounds of danger coming their way, the lunar mage heard nothing out of the ordinary and sighed in relief. Turning to the others, she told them, "We seem to be in the clear for now, but I do not know how long until they find us. Let me know when you are ready to proceed and I shall do my best to conceal us all from view."

"Well, to answer that, yeah, I'm from around here and as far as the two of you are concerned, you'll want to be extra careful. The land is more than war torn, and possibly corrupter than those men who chase us."

And he gave Obsidian a once over before telling her,
"But you... you'll really stick out like a sore thumb. The majority of races here are humans, and of the pale variety. And not all of us are um.. as tall as you or.. have such long ears either. Er, I hope that doesn't offend you, not my intention, but seriously, elves and the like of any kind are just associated with magic, and pretty much all of Connlaoth hates magic and mages so... Yeah, we'll need to be careful where we step."

And then thinking to her question a bit more, he stroked at his scruff goatee on his chin and hrmmed.
"Well, I could probably find us refuge. Not everyone in Connlaoth is bad. But hey, it's hard not to look at us all as sadistic soldiers when our leader announces to the world that hey, that's what we are! Down with mages and all that jazz."

He gave a shrug. "Either way, once we're all done here I'd like to keep moving if it's all the same to you. And sticking close to the river would be a good idea. I think.." And here he furrowed his brow in thought. "I think there should be a small village not too far from here. If it's the village I'm thinking, there would be more than one supporter living there. Again, we'd still have to be careful, war is all over the land, giving it fresh wounds and the like, and sometimes it's blind to everything- basically killing anything in it's way. Yeah, it's not a nice place to be- Welcome to Connlaoth right? So yeah... how you guys feeling? Think we can move on yet?"

Obsidian noticed his anxiety and nodded her head at what he told them. "No offense taken. I am aware that this nation is undergoing some severe turmoil in regards to magic. It wasn't my intention to make a leisurely visit here. But I will explain more later, right now we need to keep going."

Readjusting her hood in place again to cover her hair and ears, the moon elf looked to Liri again to see how she was doing. "I am ready if everyone else is." To John, she stated, "Lead on then. I can see in the dark where we are going so I can help there." Pausing a bit, she continued. "I could shed some magical light but right now that would not be the wisest idea in our current predicament."

To Liri, she asked kindly, "Are you able to walk?"

Liri finished tightly wrapping the wound, applying as much pressure as she could. A slight whimper escaped in spite of her best efforts -that hurt! But then it was done, and she knew that it was the best they could do here. She made a mental note to keep an eye out for any plants they might encounter along the way that could be used for an antiseptic, but for now it was what it was.

At the other woman's question, she nodded with an optimistic and determined smile. In truth she wasn't all that certain about the whole idea but she knew the others were right - they needed to keep moving. She struggled awkwardly to her feet, grateful that this attempt went much better than the previous ones had -but even as she was about to celebrate her victory she swayed and almost fell. She hadn't realized just how often a person used their abdominal muscles, but her body seemed determined to inform her at every movement. A situation not helped by the fact that she was still a bit light-headed.

"Sure, I'm-" she said before closing her eyes for a minute and waiting for the world to stop spinning. "I'm good."

It was then John moved to her side.
"Hey.. just lean on me if you need to, okay? We can't very well make any sort of get away if you've got wobbly legs now can we?" And he winked to the 'boy'. "No one left behind, right?"

"I... Thank you." She knew they had a good hike ahead of them across uneven ground, and before they'd even started she was already hurting and tired. There would be no allowances for awkwardness or pride in the days ahead. Besides which there was a part of her which enjoyed his closeness a little too much, the warmth of his touch, his unbreakable smile and unending cheer.

She gripped his arm to steady herself as they headed off, finding herself leaning on him more and more as they continued. It took time to recover from blood loss, she knew, but her strength would return. In the meantime she found his presence was not unwelcome.

Was this why she had always chosen to wonder about on the outskirts of civilization, she wondered? Taking jobs as farm-hands and sleeping in barns -alone. Because being around other people either reminded her of how much she hated them, or how much she liked them and could never be close to them?

But then she remembered something else, although it had occurred to her before. The elf woman knew magic, and whatever had done this to her had surely been some sort of magic. Yes, she just had to look for a time to find the other woman alone and then she would find a way to tell her the truth. And then of course the elf woman would tell her how to lift this curse. She would know how... She had to...

Her thoughts turned to his last remark. "No one left behind," she repeated sadly. "Do you suppose they're all right? The kind man on the horse and the woman that was with him?" The question was directed at no one in particular, after all she knew there was no way for anyone to answer it, but she found herself asking it all the same.

The Gambler kept his smile, feeling quite heroic in the moment. Though certainly such acts boosted his ego, he did genuinely want to help. He had always been that way, anyway. Always trying to make others laugh and going out of his way to make an impression. So lead on he did, with the weak boy leaning against his side as he pushed onward.

"The town we ought to run into is called Ruhmwahl. Tiny thing, nestled in the hills. They've for a single mill on.the river and a small fishing shack near a wider part in the river to the east. But we'll be coming west, I think. Anyway, once we're there its the fisherman's shack we're after. The man' s about as ancient as Connlaoth and as grumpy as a hibernating bear, but don't let that throw you off. He's a good man, honest. We all call him Rhubarb, cause that's his favorite thing to eat. Oh, and speaking of eating, we.might be able.to get some fresh fish out of this, too!"

Liri was unperturbed by the lack of response to her last question, after all it had been mostly rhetorical, and gladly followed the man into less saddening topics of conversation. In fact, at the mention of food and a safe place to stay all other thoughts in general pretty much went down the river...

Her stomach betrayed her opinion on the matter with a sudden growl. "Fresh... fish..." Her mouth had already started watering with desire, and she shook her head and banished the mental image with all the force of will she could muster before it could torture her further.

Narrowing her eyes at the Gambler she took advantage of their proximity to send her elbow into his side as sharply as her strength would allow. "That's for making me think about food," she said scornfully.

What with fleeing for their lives and getting shot she had completely forgotten about how hungry she was before the man had said something. She tried to focus on their peril again to make the hunger go away -deciding it was the lesser of the two evils- but that only made things worse. Her stomach refused to be so easily distracted and it continued to torment her even as she looked around them at the increasingly deep shadows of night's arrival with a sense of trepidation.

She looked around for the elf, partly to see what she was doing and partly seeking comfort in the woman's presence. Their blue-skinned companion seemed to have some magical talents and claimed to be able to see in the dark, so Liri's mind clung to the reassuring thought that if danger got too close surely the woman would be able to see it coming.

John simply laughed at the jab.
"What? There's nothing wrong with fresh fish! Or breaded broiled fish, catfish stew, fish over crackers, fish cakes..." And the Gambler could go on forever! Pulling someone's leg was just too much fun NOT to do! And poor Liri was his current victim.

As the three had set out again, Obsidian had thrown a magical cloak of darkness around them all to conceal everyone from unwanted, hostile eyes that might be somewhere in the vicinity. Despite her keen senses, the moon elf wasn't going to take any chances of discovery from their enemies. She was uncertain on what to say to Liri about their other two comrades as she didn't want to lie or provide false hope, so therefore she kept quiet, a perpetual frown marring her features as she thought about their possible fates. Later, she could do some contemplation with her moon magic to find out more about what could have befallen them after they reached a safe haven that is. That would surely ease all their worries-or it might just add to them, who really knew?

At the mention of the village of Ruhmwahl, Obsidian decided to trust John's judgment about the man and his shack he told them about. She had little experience with the people of Connloath, but Obsidian did not doubt there were high tensions throughout the country revolving around those who wielded magic, either by study or magical blood. It was a time of war after all. She hoped and prayed that they would find little to no resistance from here on out on their quest to escape the madmen who followed them. Touching the moonstone necklace around her neck brought a sense of purpose and calm to the moon elf lunar mage. The amulet itself was one of the things she didn't leave behind back at the guild as it was easily covered up by the garb she wore. It made her more in tune to the moon and Her energies and it was something she hadn't wanted to leave behind. Some leverage was needed after all, especially in a place like Connloath.

Obsidian didn't say much as she was concentrating on keeping the magic in place around them, and she didn't want to risk breaking that concentration by too much needless chatting. Whenever she felt the magic waning, she renewed it again draining more of her mana reserve in the process. Without her staff, it cost her more energy to maintain such magic for long. She did say one thing however, but kept it brief. "Fresh fish is most certainly a nice change from all the drama we've encountered thus far. No doubt we are all hungry."

She heard the rumble of the girl's stomach, which only confirmed that fact. And the 'Gambler' seemed to enjoy inciting her hunger even more, Obsidian noted to herself. He was definitely the type to help boost the party's morale with his easy-going jibes. She smiled at their interactions as they hurried along. For all of their sakes, the lunar mage hoped they would arrive to their destination soon. For now, the roaring of the river provided a nice soothing ambiance, the moon still visible in the night sky.

Though Obsidian remained mostly quiet during their travels, the Gambler was talking up a storm. Being he was from Connlaoth (perhaps not this duchy in particular, but he had been through areas similar, or so he'd claim), he had a lot of minute information to share as they walked. Like what type of tree it was that clung to the river side, with long thread like branches that seemed to 'weep'. He also collected up an acorn, and then two more as he went, giving each one of them a nice big one as he proceeded to tell the tale about the tiny woman who lived inside one.

It was just a tale the youths in Connlaoth were familiar, but it was something easy to tell as they moved steadily along the river. And though the story wasn't entirely pleasant (as most folk and fairy tales ended up not to be), it was still a fun story, and John put in a lot of emphasis into each character, his voice going tight and high pitched when he spoke for the woman in the acorn, and then his voice would drop and grow scratchy when he spoke as the evil witch. His face would too, match the expressions of each character, and his arms became animated.

Naturally, most Connlaothian stories were antimagic, this one, being no different, as the woman, not born of magic herself, had been tricked into being held prisoner inside the acorn. He hadn't gotten a chance to finish the story, pausing suddenly when the young woman in the acorn was about to confront the witch and in their scuffle, her acorn being struck into the river-

And that's when something caught the Gambler's attention. His eye's searched the horizon, ear's straining to listen through the chirping of crickets and night birds. There was a rustling, a soft whine.. a creak, and taking a few more steps to crest a small hill, he found himself smirking, for there in the distance was the dark, looming figure of the mill.

"Seems like we're in luck! Ruhmwahl is just over the horizon! And I know it's late, but I can probably get us that fresh fish I keep prattling on about. And believe you me," he went on with a rub to his belly. "You'll be eating good tonight!"

Obsidian listened to the story, it giving her some insight into the kinds of tales the Connloathians liked to tell. The idea of an evil witch was nothing new, although it was slightly disturbing how the fairy tale depicted all magic as being of the bad sort. These Connloathians seemingly only saw one side of the coin and not the other or anywhere else in between. She supposed that to be just the way of the people here and resumed her attention to keeping the shroud of blackness up.

When they neared the small village, Obsidian released the shadows around them, watching as they dissipated back into the surrounding environment melding seamlessly in with the night. This was done just before they crested the hill near the mill so as to avoid making it look like they appeared out of nowhere. She too had heard the creaking of the windmill and the small stream trickling by that flowed outward from the rushing river they had been following all this time. The rapids were significantly quieter here, the noise not so deafening as before. Donning her hood once more, she readied herself to enter the village before them. "That sounds very wonderful indeed." in response to John's statement about the fresh fish.

                                                       *****

Out in the woods still, nowhere near the river, stood a fuming Osgald. He stood there, hands clenched at his sides, wondering where to go next as each direction he chose before bore no fruit to the people he was after. This whole situation had not gone to plan at all, and he inwardly cursed at the frustration of it all.

Tired and worn out, and nowhere near the medallion, Osgald however refused to give up even as his feet were dragging over the soft earth, weeds sticking up every which way. He regretted leaving behind his crossbow but it was much too late to go back for it now. Besides the fact he had brought only one bolt with. He recalled how it had struck the young boy as he carried a sack of grain to his chest and punctured through that instead. There was a trail of blood though he remembered as the burlap hadn't completely stopped the missile from its target. Although not his intended target, he scowled in response that he hadn't been able to kill the elf woman. She was far more of a threat than the boy was. But none of that mattered now. What mattered was finding that darned Artifact!

And so he pressed on, in the hopes that he would soon get a breakthrough in his search...

Liri's protestations and mock attacks had gone unheeded by the Gambler as he continued his dissertation on the merits of various foods, leading her to at one point examine the length and relative slope of the riverbank in relation to the distance she thought she could propel the man. Unfortunately, tossing into the river the very the person she was presently leaning on to keep from collapsing into an exhausted heap didn't seem wise, and besides which she didn't want to go too far. That water really did look quite swift.

But then the conversation turned to talk of the various forest flora and even a fairy tale she hadn't heard before about a woman who lived in an acorn. Growing up she had collected every book and fairy tale her parents would allow her to get her hands on and she was immediately fascinated to hear a new one - doing her best to commit it to memory as she listened.

After it all she found herself almost smiling again. Once more she was struck by the man's unbreakable carefree nature. It was like an aura of joy that surrounded the man, infecting all who were within his bubble. Was he aware of the effect he had on others, she wondered?

She had continued to glance at the elf periodically, several times wanting to find an excuse to draw the woman into conversation, but the opportunity never seemed to arise. She was leery of being further burden the woman's concentration anyway, which already seemed to be split between being lookout, following the conversation, and doing something with her magics.

Then suddenly the Gambler was remarking that they were there and making renewed promises concerning fresh fish that turned Liri's eyes wide as saucers and prompted another loud grumble from her stomach.

She was so overjoyed at the prospect of the aforementioned cuisine and the possibility of an actual roof over their heads that she actually threw her arms around the man in a quick hug before she knew what she was doing, letting loose a brief exclamation of jubilation. -Then just as quickly she straightened and dusted herself off as if nothing had happened. "You'd better deliver on that by the way," she said with the jab of a finger to his shoulder, "or next time you make me think of food you're going in the river..."

Then she set course for the signs of the buildings ahead of them as fast as her still weakened body would take her there -heedless of the fact that she knew not where they were going.

Meanwhile out in the woods a large tiger, its fur coat stained with the blood of its most recent victims, stalked silently between the towering trees.

It had taken the beast longer than it had liked to bring about the demise of the meddling humans and in its rage it had left them bloodied and crippled but alive - waiting to be finished off by blood loss and the ravens as they plucked at the corpses soon-to-be. It had been no less than the fools had deserved for depriving the tiger of its prize just when the Artifact had been all but within its jaws.

If it ever ran upon that oaf Osgald again it was considering doing the same to him. Blasted human couldn't even handle a woman and a small boy while his back was turned? Not to mention what it was going to do to the humans who were running away with its prize. Oh yes, when all was settled there was going to be plenty of reckoning to be done. Assuming of course that blasted old codger So'Kor didn't get to thing first and prove all its efforts to be for nothing...

It had followed the scent of blood as far as the riverbank, and further evidence of humans indicated the direction they had gone from there. However it was not the easiest of trails to follow. The tiger was too far behind them, and it was exhausted as well. Not to mention the stench of blood and humans from its recent battle was interfering with its senses. There were other forms which were better for purposes of tracking, and plenty that would allow it to make better time, but it had done too much shifting in last day and found that it had all but drained its reserves.

Perhaps once more it would be able to shift -even then only with the most concerted effort- before it would be trapped then in that form until it had rested for some time. Caution was warranted, and it would not use its abilities again for now unless to save its life.

So it made its slow progress and ever so gradually gained on its prey, hoping they did not have a plan of escape that would allow them to outpace it. So far it had smelled no evidence of horses or faster forms of travel, and it just had to hope its luck held out long enough for its abilities to recover...

"Would you really push a guy into the water who can't swim?" The Gambler asked, giving her the best imitation of an innocent smile as he could muster. But before she could answer him, he motioned with a finger to his lips for them to all pause and go quiet. And once they did, his eyes slowly studied the area around them before he took a few hesitant steps forward.

"Rhubarb... so that son of a gun is awake. Though I figured he would!" And he smiled as he turned to his two partners and crime. "He's not much of a morning person, but he does spend a lot of time at night, you know, fishing by moonlight."

He gestured for them to follow, still having Liri leaning on his shoulder.
"We just need to be quiet. Last thing we need to do is spook the fish away and have Rhubarb fuming at us!"

And as fast as he could go quiet, he lead the group onwards until the small flicker of a campfire could be seen dancing along the river bank. In fact, it appeared as if there were two fires, but one was just it's mirror in the black waters. His foot falls had slowed considerably the closer they got to the shack that began to take form in front of them. And it wasn't much of a building, just a long, narrow building with two windows in the front and a door that dangled just a bit too much from it's hinges.

As they grew closer, John could see no one was at the shack, for the lantern was missing. But that was easy to identify as he saw further up the river was an even smaller light nestled withint he marsh lands.

"You guys might want to stay here. The marshlands are notorious for it's nighttime activity, and that doesn't disregard the bugs. I'm sure they'll eat both of you alive before we can even ask old Rhubarb for any help!"

"Alright then. I'll just keep Liri here company." Obsidian smiled at Liri, and glanced over to where the light of the lantern could be seen.

The others probably couldn't see that far in the dark, however the moon elf could spot a old man with gray salt and peppered hair tied back at his neck wearing a floppy disfigured hat that had obviously seen better days. He wore fisherman's garb that was worn and with the beginnings of holes and tears along the seams and elsewhere. When he turned his head to look as John approached, Obsidian saw stern, gruff features littered with heavy wrinkles and a perplexed look as he watched John approach his position. His bushy gray eyebrows furrowed as though trying to see better in the dark, large nose sticking out from a rounded, weathered face. All in all, it looked like the years had taken their toll on him, which wasn't unusual at all for humankind once they reached a certain age range. Obsidian assumed this was Rhubarb and so waited while John talked to him.

Flies and gnats flew around them viciously as well as mosquitoes and the moon elf swatted a few of them away from her more than once as they landed on her arms and traveling clothes. The croak of a frog was heard and the lunar mage spotted a large green frog hopping around near the river before settling in a puddle, absorbing the water through its skin to hydrate itself. The moonlight was a bit more obscured here so only a few faint rays broke through the tree cover around them. It was a clear night with no cloud cover and many many stars shining brightly in their far off cosmic realm of existence. A night bird flew by, a crow by the looks of it, settling itself on a high branch looking down at the two of them curiously, before letting out a caw! and flying away abruptly. The river flowed on by in a steady stream of trickling water that was very soothing to listen to, moonlight and starlight glinting off its surface. It was a beautiful night for moon magic to be certain.

Obsidian trained her ears to listen to the two men's conversation from where she and Liri were standing.

"Thanks, elf lady!" he said with a wink and salute. "And you two might want to sit near the fire. Less bugs near the heat. But they do like the light, so chances are fifty fifty for you to get bit. A bit better than where I'm going.." He went on with a smile and shrug and rolled down his sleeves and adjusted his jacket so as to prepare for his battle of marsh grasses and hungry mosquitoes.

And Rhubarb, as Obsidian had observed, was a bit on the unhappy side to see John. And when John stopped just short of a puddle, Rhubarb spat into it with his tobacco.

"Back so soon?"

John laughed at that and gave the man a nonchalant shrug.

"You could say that. How's the fishing going?" And he leaned forward just enough to try to look into Rhubarb's fishing pale. But the old man was quick to snatch it away to keep it from his view.

"Why are you here, John? And if you're bored again, I ain't got time for your games! Last time you said you were just coming around here to shoot the shit, you had an entire Connlaothian army at your heels! You're lucky I didn't lose my home to your antics!"

Liri watched the man go, frustrated at being halted when the promise of food was so near. As he faded into the fog of darkness which seemed nearly impenetrable to her human eyes her natural curiosity seemed to be begging her to follow, wondering what he could be talking about with his friend that he didn't want her to hear, but doing so would make her look like an obvious snoop and she was far too exhausted to be overly swayed by her inquisitive side. He passed in and out of various pockets of light cast by fire and lantern, eventually stopping by a dark shape she assumed must be this 'Rhubarb' fellow.

She strained to hear or see anything useful but they were too far away. Finally she concluded she didn't care what they were saying. Anyone named after a vegetable was probably pretty strange anyway, and she didn't feel like socializing with strange people right now... Besides which his errand had finally given her a few moments alone with the elf.

She glanced shyly at the other woman, inexplicably hesitant. Perhaps for the assumption that no one would take her seriously she had never tried to tell anyone about her curse before. How would she go about it now? Surely the woman would think her a loon, or a foolish young girl having heard too many fairy tales now indulging in a childish game. Besides which, the timing seemed so wrong. It seemed the sort of conversation people had in civilized settings or while taking serious walks through manicured gardens - not hiding from villains in the mud outside some bug-infested marsh...

Then she thought back to the Gambler. His infectious cheer and easy smile. His kindness, and how it had felt to hug him in her moment of careless jubilation. He would never really see her, never really care about her, not like she wanted - not trapped as she was in the appearance of an awkward boy...

She looked once more to the blue-skinned woman next to her, recalling the image of the kind smile the elf had offered her moments before and found that it buoyed her resolve. Sure the timing might be off, but who knew when she would have a chance to get the woman alone again?

"Umm... There's something I've been wanting to tell you, but you'll probably think I'm crazy or something..." She felt her usual blush coming back, and was grateful at least for that reason that it was dark. "I... Well, I'm not actually who I appear you see... 'Cause I have this curse..."

She trailed off, ducking her face as it continued to turn darker shades of red, while stealing frequent glances at Obsidiant, her round eyes looking to glean any information she could pull from the darkness as to Obsidian's reaction.

Obsidian turned her attention away from the two men's conversation when Liri spoke up. She noticed the hesitant expression and red blush which stained her cheeks which only grew as she started talking. Obsidian listened carefully, letting her speak her mind. "Go on." she prompted her, giving her an encouraging smile.

The moon elf thought she knew where this was going, but didn't interrupt, letting the girl say what she needed to say. While Obsidian didn't know the whys of the fact Liri was disguised as a boy, she decided she would soon find out that very reason.

Liri tried to order her jumbled thoughts, encouraged by the woman's thus far positive reaction. Of course she knew the real skeleton in the closet was the part she was still having trouble with.

"You see when I was a child I ran away from home -there was this really scary man from my father's church and he wanted to... Well, anyway that's not important but then there was this well, and so I made this wish because I didn't want to be me anymore you see and well... Then suddenly I wasn't. So ever since then I've been..." She gestured to herself in spite of the darkness, not actually having any idea if the elf could see her but too distraught to care anyway. "Like this."

Her tone became more insistent as she continued, as finally her secret spilled out like the water behind a ruptured dam. "-But I'm not, you see. I'm... I'm actually a girl..."

She found herself cringing all over again as her fears shouted at her that she had just thrown away any respect she had gained in the elf's eyes and made herself look the simpleton...

After the girl's explanation, Obsidian looked at her once more before replying. "I know this actually." Obsidian had little to no doubt that Liri would be shocked to hear this as it seemed to the moon elf's understanding that she didn't think anyone knew.

"You see, as elf kind I am aware of the magic that cloaks you as such. Elves, or at least some of us have the ability to see through illusions of this nature as we have some amount of magic in us ourselves. Some of us more than others though." Obsidian paused to take a breath and assess how Liri was taking this news so far.

"While I was unsure as to why you are cloaked in glamour, the magic of the fey peoples, I think I have a better understanding of it now. Can you tell me more about this well you speak of?" Around them the mosquitoes were still buzzing like crazy and Obsidian shooed another one away from her. "But perhaps we should discuss this more near the fire." And so she led the way over to the blazing pyre of orange crackling flames so they wouldn't be as bothered hopefully by the insects.

Liri had been mentally bracing herself for scorn or derision but found herself completely unprepared for the words 'I know this actually.' On her list of possible responses that one was, well - it wasn't even on there actually.

She stared wide-eyed as the explanation continued and emotions churned about within her. Relief certainly, that someone finally knew -and she hadn't even had to convince the woman! But also confusion, and a strange sort of embarrassment. If one person had seen through her appearance how many others had? It was strange how the mind worked. As badly as she had wanted for others' to see her for her true self the knowledge that some of them apparently had been, and without her knowing that they even could, made her feel strangely foolish. Like the feeling of having spent hours socializing in a costume only to realize at the end of the evening that it had never been a costume party and she had been the only person wearing one. So all those random looks she'd dismissed as just that had actually been people wondering why she was dressed up in the goofy costume and-

She realized with a start the woman had asked her a question and was leading her towards the fire. She followed absently. Her mind felt like it was tumbling down the side of a steep hill locked inside a barrel. Something bit at her neck as they walked and she swatted at it, but the insect was the faster of her. What had the question been again?

Then they stood by the crude shack and its untended campfire and she found herself nudging as close to it as she dared, as much for the comforting warmth as for the hope of reprieve from the bloodsucking assault. "...Oh the well, that's right. It... To be honest I don't know all that much about it, other than it grants the foolish wishes of children apparently. My Uncle Sky told me about it and brought me to it. He said it was a magical place and that the well would grant wishes. But I don't think he really knew how it worked either -maybe he thought it was just another fairy tale he could use to lure me- because he seemed so surprised when my wish came true. He didn't even believe it was me at first, then he wanted to take me away with him but my parents wouldn't let him. Whatever it was he might have known or had planned I never saw him again, since that was just before I ran away, so I never got to ask him..."

She turned from the fire then and focused intently on the elf as her mind slowly began to catch up with the conversation. "But wait... You said something about having some of this same magic in you right? This 'fey magic?'" Her mind raced to dig up what she could remember from the various stories and fairy tales she had loved and collected all her life - wondering suddenly how much more truth was in them than she had guessed.

"Like the magic of the elves and fairies... Was there some sort of a fairy in the well do you suppose? Is that how I got cursed?" She suddenly reached out to gently grab the taller woman's arms, her voice growing anxious. "But if you have that same magic does that not mean you could lift the curse? Oh please tell me it's so!"

John kept his good humor and smile as he shrugged.
"Come on, Rhubarb, you think I'm here just to use you?"

The old man still remained looming over his bucket of fish.

"Of course!" he snapped. "That's the only reason you come around here, ain't it? Making a mess of things and finding someplace to hide with your tail between your legs.."

"Yeah, well, it's just you make this place seem so much like home..."

Rhubarb snorted.
"Home?" he shook his head. "Glad I ain't your father. If I were, you'd have gotten a good licken' for some of the things you've done, John and I-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I hear ya. I hear ya. I don't always come around when I'm bringing good news or luck."

Again, Rhubarb snorted.
"You can say that again. But come on," he went on, spitting more tobacco into the grass. "Git on with it. What's chasing your tail this time?"

"Well... you see, it's not just my tail..."
ANd John pointed over towards the man's shack where Obsidian and Liri had just made themselves at home. And that's when the old man swore between his teeth and spat more tobacco down at his feet.

Obsidian shook her head regretfully. "I'm sorry to say that while I may be able to see through the magic that hides your true self, I am unable to lift it. Glamour is not one of the magics I possess or know how to utilize. However, I can tap into my moon magics to discover more about your plight. That is, if you wish me to do so."

The moon elf looked to Liri for confirmation and to see what her reaction would be. "I may be able to find out more about this well you speak of doing so. Then from there, mayhap some answers will be revealed."

Obsidian also thought that she needed to find out more about the bigger problem at hand--their pursuers, where they were now, if they were on their trail and why they were so dead-set on this artifact they sought. When she got some free time she would perform her moon journey spell and hopefully it would tell her information that may save their skins and keep the magic medallion out of the enemies' hands.

For now though, Liri seemed desperate to get rid of this curse of hers and Obsidian wished to help her any way she could. They might be here awhile anyway as it were, so hopefully there would be plenty of opportunities to do what she needed to do, the reason she came here in the first place. But without attracting the attention of the locals either. She had to continue to be wary and not garner unwanted attention by the wrong types of people.

"Who you dragging round with you this time, John?"

The Gambler.shook his head.
"No one you know. Just a few folks down on their luck and running for their lives. You know... Same old, same old!"

"Same old my wrinkly ass. What's the deal on it this time? More war refugees?"

"Actually..." The gambler began, giving a look that had the old man glaring. "They seem to have their own unique set of problems." And he reached into his pocket, feeling around for the artifact.

Liri's shoulders slumped at the news, and she let go of the other woman. "I see."

A part of her knew she was being foolish. It was the exhaustion, hunger and injuries talking as much as the disappointment. After all had the elf not just pledged to look into the matter further?

Forcing a smile onto her face she once again looked up. "Thank you. I shall hope then that your moon magics will tell us more..."

The conversation down the river seemed to be continuing, and the lull in their own talk made her wonder once again what was being said and if it involved securing food and a warm place to sleep. She hoped so. Looking that direction she had to smile at her own doubt. Of course it would! After all this 'Gambler' of theirs was such a wonderfully kind man no doubt the whole village was all but in his pocket. 'Rhubarb' might be a strange name, but surely the fellow would turn out to be nice enough. He was a friend of the 'Gambler' after all wasn't he? They had no doubt been exchanging fond memories and niceties this whole time, she thought jealously...

Observing her companion's disappointment, Obsidian lightly smiled, hoping to reassure her. She herself hoped that her magics would reveal something of use. After all, they had yet to fail her.

The blue-skinned moon elf heard some of the loud arguing over the crackling of the fire and looked in that direction. It seemed that this Rhubarb fellow was not entirely happy to see John or anyone he brought along with him. A glint of something iridescent gleamed in the darkness. With her darkvision, she saw what looked to be the medallion John was reaching for out of his pocket.

In the confusion that followed at the wagon with their supposed 'savior', Obsidian hadn't had the chance to see where the artifact had ended up. She was just grateful that it wasn't in the enemy's hands, although if it was, why would they still be after them? She watched the two men converse for a bit longer before turning her attention back to Liri who also seemed to be interested in what was being said. She noticed the small smile on the girl's face and wondered what she was thinking about at that moment.

In an effort to continue their own conversation, Obsidian posed forth her own musings aloud. "I wonder what the people of this village are like. If they are as friendly as our comrade there." Indicating her head toward John as she said this.

Liri turned to face her companion, pleased the woman's thoughts seemed to have taken a similar course to her own. For some reason however speaking of it aloud was suddenly making her question her assumptions of a moment before.  Why were they meeting out on the edge of the marshes in such a clandestine way instead of just knocking on someone's door? Then again, they were trying to keep a low profile after all. He was probably just being careful...

"He is so very kind isn't he? Just like you. You know he was hiding in a barn when I first met him, but then he told me later he has a really big family... Why do you suppose that is? I'll bet his family misses him terribly. I mean if I had a family as kind as him I know I'd never have run away! At least he seems to have good friends like this Rhubarb fellow around to help him out..."

She could feel her natural curiosity taking hold again, but she was happy to let it run its course. It made a welcome distraction from their otherwise depressing circumstances and the insects which were still braving the fire's smoke to dive-bomb her. The kindly elf beside her held her own intriguing set of questions but the 'Gambler,' being out of earshot, made the natural target for her gossiping and suppositions.

The lunar mage smiled at Liri's compliment. As the other girl talked, Obsidian could tell that she had taken a liking to their red-haired male companion, and in a romantic sort of way too. She listened to her musings as the young human girl pondered more about 'The Gambler.' And he had yet to actually tell them his real name, although Obsidian heard the name 'John' being spoken so that must be the name he went by.

"I suppose those things are for our friend to speak of when he wishes to."

And the moon elf also considered the fact that he was familiar with the people of this village and didn't appear to actually live here himself. What kind of associations the man had in this country, she didn't know. Regardless, she was grateful for a bit of reprieve from any more hassle from those troubling men and that strange shape shifter that had also been at the scene. Something else to delve into the mysteries of with her magics.

At any rate, she hoped he would soon be finished talking to this Rhubarb man, so they could maybe receive some accommodations. And the chance for some alone time to discreetly perform her moon magic. Not that Obsidian didn't enjoy the company, but their plight was something that worried her and she wished to have time to seek out the answers they all desperately needed. The world was not always kind, Obsidian had seen plenty of evidence of this, from both humans and non-humans alike, even some elves like herself on occasion. The sooner they knew something more, the better and safer it would be for all of them... She just hoped they weren't endangering the villagers by being here. But there wasn't anything to be done for it as of now. And so she continued to wait patiently.

"Yeah, I suppose."

Her musings about the man coming to no conclusions or answers, the young woman's mind drifted to questions more recently surfaced. Her confidence had grown by leaps and bounds as she came to trust the woman's kind nature and reassuring smiles, but she still hesitated to pry. None the less some questions were burning at her.

Having never been outside of Connloath - and having spent her young childhood in a conservative rural farming community - she had collected stories of magic and of the many peoples who used it with a yearning comparable to most men's lust for wealth and prestige. Yet before she had met Obsidian she had never actually known what an elf looked like. That the woman's magic seemed somehow connected to her curse made the topic all the more compelling.

She glanced shyly at the elf again. "So... Are all elves blue like you? I mean... This one man visited our farm a long time ago and told a story about elves that disguised themselves as ordinary people..." As she remembered, the rest of the story involved the malevolent elves running around in the night stealing people's children, and upon remembering this she decided it would be better to leave off there. "...and I don't remember the rest. -Oh, and is it just elves like you that can see through curses? Or can anyone who uses magic do it?"

The more she thought on the topic the more questions her mind raised. Nearby the fire cracked and spit gently while around them the quiet croaks and whistles of the marsh night filled in the silence in accompaniment to the soft flowing of the river and she could almost forget that she was tired and hurt and hungry. Almost. For all that she enjoyed indulging her curiosity, she did hope the two men would hurry up and come to some arrangement...

Thinking back to her home village that was so far away from here, Obsidian considered how far she had come-both physically and spiritually. She remembered setting off on her journey for enlightenment some three decades ago, having traveled around quite a bit since then. Soaking up what knowledge she could regarding her religion, herself and of life in general. Her travels had taken her to the oceans and beyond, collecting stories of the lands, of people and their own beliefs and how others lived their lives, those not of elf kind. Her magic had grown in power too as she opened her mind and self up more and more to the ways of Nephril and of the moon as a whole. The moon was a beautiful entity, a watcher of the night and all that resides under it and the moon elf felt lucky to share in a part of that wonder and mystique. Seeing the world freely had its perks, that was for certain.

Obsidian recalled one tale in particular of a young girl who was so in love with a man of the town she lived in. She was so infatuated with him she could barely think of anything else as the story told it. One day she got up the nerve and professed her feelings to him, hoping he would feel the same. Unfortunately he didn't. He was betrothed to another from a nearby town. The girl was so devastated she ran off away from him and the town. She came upon a secluded grove and sat there for hours weeping. After some time, she stopped her crying and resolved to herself then and there, she would never fall in love again, never open her heart to anyone else ever. She fell asleep there and woke the next day, finding a moonflower had mysteriously sprouted up overnight, near where she had been sleeping. Wondering about this, she plucked the flower and took it home with her. She kept it in a large book to help preserve it, even though she was miserable for a long time to come. However she found it in her heart to love again after finding out another man had feelings for her, and she him.

Unbeknownst to her, the moonflower was a gift from the spirit of the grove who had taken pity on her that night. The flower had a magic that it harbored within that allowed her to nurture and heal her heart as time went on. It provided a kind of balm for the soul if you will. The story eventually ended with the two of them getting married and having children, the girl having learned an important lesson. That life continued on despite one's hurts and misfortunes, and that something better would come in place of it. There was always a reason to keep going no matter what. A simple enough truth it was, although some people never realize it.

Obsidian was jolted from her thoughts at Liri's questions. She smiled at her. "Not all of us, no. I am of a race of elves called 'moon elves', and as such my kind tends to have dusky gray or blue skin, sometimes even pale white with a tinge of blue. Not all of us practice magic though, but we all have the ability to see in the dark. Of course I am referring to other moon elves like myself. Other elven sub-races have their own attributes I'm sure."

At her other question, Obsidian thought for a moment before replying. "As I am unsure of all the details regarding your dilemma, I cannot rightly say for certain. Do all elves have the ability to see through glamour, you ask? Perhaps, perhaps not. As said before, we are of the fey and as such we tend to have varying degrees of magic in our blood. I can really only speak for myself and some others like me, but not all."

To pass the time and to help lift Liri's spirits some, Obsidian decided to tell her about the story she had just been thinking about. "I have a story that you might like to hear. It may help to cheer you up somewhat." And so the moon elf shared the tale...

When John produced the artifact, Rhubarb's brows creased as he inspected the palm sized medallion in the moonlight.

"What's that?"

"This... is what I believe why me and the others were being chased."

"You believe? You were being chased?"

"Yeah, yeah, but hear me out! It's not like I or the others instigated this!"

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"Well, I'd hope you'd at least trust me. This thing, whatever it is, must be some sort of valuable. And it looks old too, maybe a relic."

"My ass is a relic. What's your point?"

"The point is... some nasty fellows wanted this. And do you think I'd just let them take it?"

And at such an idea, Rhubarb groaned and rolled his eyes.
"Is this another one of your schemes where you believe somethin's wrong and there ain't nothing wrong at all? I remember the last time something big came out of your assumption, and it wasn't Mr. Landsdend's goat being possessed! She was only pregnant!"

"Yeah, but no one knew that's what was wrong with her.."

"But no one was ape shit enough to believe she was posessed by demon's, John! And all I ever hear from you are tales!" And Rhubarb spat the remaining bits of his tobacco onto the ground.

"Oh, come on, Rhubarb. This isn't anything like Mr. Landsdend's goat..."

"The hell it isn't! Now what you want, anyway? A place to hide? A place to stash that thing? Cause I can only help you so much, John, but I ain't takin' no item you stole."

"Hey, I didn't steal it!"

"Then how'd you get it wise guy, huh?"

"I uh... it sort of um.. fell into my hands?"

"PAH!" And with a frustrated growl, the old man hefted up his bucket of fish. "You can stay the night John and nothing more. This town don't want no trouble, you hear?"

At that, John's face grew into the biggest of grins.

"THanks, old man! You're a real help!"

"Yeah, yeah, now don't go hugging me or nothing. You know I hate that," Rhubarb scowled.

"But you know you deserve it!" John went on, opening his arms into an inviting hug. And all Rhubarb could do was stare at the man incredulously.

"Don't you even think about it or-"

But then the man was howling as John did it anyway, and a moment later, the Gambler came jogging back to the camp.

"Great news! We can stay here the night!"

And a red faced, mad as a bear man came grumbling behind him.

"And fish too, if you can stomach it." He went on, spitting tobacco next to the fire. Seeing how it was getting low, he muttered about people not knowing how to tend to it, and set his bucket of fish down and went about poking and fueling the fire.
And as he worked, John watched him with a grin.

"I want you all to meet Rhubarb. Rhubarb, this is blue elf lady and boy," John introduced, in a playful jest.

Liri stared increasingly wide-eyed as the elf imparted various bits of wisdom. Growing up magic and foreigners had been two subjects that were always taboo around the dinner table. Only sometimes when her father wasn't looking would she consider asking her mother for a story, or pestering one their infrequent visitors for tales of the outside world.

But this woman shared everything so freely. Liri's fascination only grew when it came to the story of the girl and the moonflower. Somehow the story both enthralled and disturbed her. She didn't like the part where the man turned her down, but then towards the end of the where the girl found love again she decided she liked it after all. Somehow it seemed there was a deeper undertone to it too, but for the moment her tired brain was content just to focus on the happy ending as she habitually tried to commit the tale to memory. Later she would tell it to herself again, and when it was firmly entrenched she would no doubt attempt to mine the woman for some other interesting stories and facts of the world.

At the moment there was no time however for even as the story had come to its conclusion she noticed the two men had broken up their own conversation and the 'Gambler' ran their direction with pleased expression.

"Great news! We can stay here the night!"

Liri was relieved to hear the news but couldn't help wondering what exactly 'here' meant. After scanning the primitive looking shack her eyes took in the surrounding marshlands in search of other dwellings but she could see little in the dark. No doubt his friend would clarify the matter, she decided. A smile played across her features as expectations played across her mind's eye of her jovial companion's good friend. No doubt the two had been drawn together by their good nature and cheer...

Strangely however, the man called 'Rhubarb' seemed in a bit of a foul humor when he entered the firelight, grumbling something she couldn't make out. Her curiosity flared anew at what the two had been saying all that time. Then again he had came with an offering of fish and as her mouth started watering she decided she could forgive the man a slight bad mood...

"That's so kind..." she started but drifted off and frowned as the man spat by the fire, then went into another round of disgruntled commentary. This time she could make out something about how they had not been keeping up the fire.

"I want you all to meet Rhubarb. Rhubarb, this is blue elf lady and boy."

Liri's frown deepened at the introduction which the 'Gambler' clearly thought to be funny. 'Boy' had become her de facto title during her many wanderings by those who didn't feel it was worth the energy to learn her name.

"Pleased to meet you," she said hesitantly towards the gruff older man, "I'm Liri." She really should have picked a good boy's name for herself long ago she knew, but her real name was the only part of her true self the curse had not been able to take from her and so she had kept it.

Such thoughts all flitted past as quickly as they came though, for her eyes had already locked on to the bucket of fish and refused to let go. Her stomach seconded the opinion with another growl. She wondered if the men intended to cook the fish. In her present state she was pretty sure she was hungry enough to eat them either way.

At the news that they would be able to stay here the night, Obsidian breathed a sigh of relief. But then she worried about where they would go after that. It didn't seem likely their pursuers would simply give up after a single night had passed. The lunar mage supposed she could bring up that topic with John at a later time. Right now it could wait.

Looking at the bucket of fish, Obsidian too was hungry for some food. Hearing the grouchy mutterings of the man Rhubarb, Obsidian frowned slightly but let it go for the time being. When he spat his tobacco into the earth, Obsidian found that a little disgusting but again didn't say anything on the matter, keeping her expression neutral. "I greatly appreciate your hospitality, good sir. We are all in need of some rest after a trying day."

Looking at the 'Gambler', she made a mental note to also tell him at a later time to be careful with the artifact he possessed. It was quite powerful and dangerous for any one person to hold for long. While she didn't know everything it was capable of, she did know that at least.

Her attention was then drawn to the fact that she realized she never actually told them her name. Therefore John's introduction of her as 'blue elf lady.' She smiled at this and cleared her throat. "I suppose that with all the running we did over the course of the day, we never actually got the time to properly introduce ourselves to one another. My name is Obsidian. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." Nodding her head politely at Rhubarb.

Rhubarb lifted one shaggy brow to observe Liri, then the blue elf.
"Liri?" came his scratchy reply. "Ain't that a woman's name?"

The Gambler shrugged on her behalf, quick to input, "It's probably like the name Ashley, or Jamie. I know men and women both possessing such names."

Rhubarb looked gruff, and skeptical at them both, but turned his attention to the blue elf and nodded.
"Obsidian, eh?" Rhubarb looked her over, and offered just the slightest bit of a half-grin. "Like the volcanic rock one used to cut?" Many tools, he knew, were fashioned by such a rock. He figured the name held some meaning. Most pointy eared one's were that way.

"So I hear you're all on the run. Well don't worry, I ain't gonna ask no questions. And my place is small, but I can at least allow you to rest on the floor, away from the bugs, even if it'll be a little cramped." He spat tobacco to the side. "And fish, I'll have John here fry up the fish over the fire while I tend to the shack." And he paused here a moment to look at the group as a whole.
"And all of you are responsible for that fire. There's a pile of logs by that oak tree back there, and a bucket of timber against the back of my home. Now, the only thing else I can offer to drink is water and ale, and by the looks of things..." he went on with a resolute nod. "I think you could all use the ale."

Grateful for the temporary shelter, Obsidian voiced her thanks and smiled pleasantly. "I was named Obsidian because of the rock's longtime associations with the dark of night and that of mystery. It seemed to be an apt name, and I rather like it." There was also another meaning to the name, but Obsidian didn't tell him this. The black volcanic rock was also attributed to magic, magical properties and enchantments, however she didn't feel it wise to mention that detail. Despite John trusting the man, overall this was anti-mage country and she didn't wish to overstep her bounds and end up in trouble. If Rhubarb didn't care, someone else in the vicinity that might overhear probably would and alert the authorities to their being here. Perhaps she was being too cautious, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"We'll tend to the fire, no worries." she assured him, taking a look in the directions he indicated for the wood.

After the man would leave, Obsidian wanted to voice her concerns to John and warn him to be careful of the object he held. Briefly, she wondered if they should take turns handling the artifact, but since Obsidian was under orders from the guild not to touch it unless there was no other way, she quickly discarded that idea. It seemed to be doing no harm as of now. What kind of side-effects the relic would have was unknown at this time. Until she had a chance to do some moon consultation, it would remain as such.

So the moon elf settled down by the fire once more, gazing into the flames in deep thought. Looking up at the sky then, more particularly the bright moon, she gazed at its white-gray surface and let herself be hypnotized by the sight, allowing her mind to be more attuned to its energies. It was always a good preparation tool that she would use, along with her moon water of which she had a small flask of in her bag, plus a small silver bowl in which to help make it. Those things were not left behind at the guild HQ, as they seemed less likely to raise suspicion in an anti-magic place than her robe, staff and book would. Obsidian relaxed into her contemplations, letting the familiar peaceful feel wash over her as she moon gazed.

When Rhubarb came back, he had ale for all. Though not having enough mugs that were clean, he simply filled up bowls of the bubbly ale and brought them out and handed one to each.

"There, drink up. And if you want more, there's plenty inside." And he had himself his own bowl and handed one to John, who was near the fire and preparing the fish.
"You know.." he went on, standing over John. "That fish would have caught me good money at the market."

"Yeah, I bet!" John went on, enthused. "There's so much here, and some of these are quite the catch!"

Rhubarb sneered, but there was a smile behind it.

"You'll owe me for those fish later, you know."

John simply laughed. "I wouldn't have it any other way!"

But the old man was shaking his head.
"But who am I fooling. Who knows if or when I'd see you next." And he moved to sit down and help John with the fish,a nd soon was placing them over the fire, and the area began to smell of it's sweet, sizzling aroma.

"Thank you." Obsidian took the proffered bowl and took a sip. While sometimes she would drink ale and the like, she was careful not to overdo it as it tended to dull concentration. Regardless, the ale while not the best, tasted smooth and bubbly while going down her throat and she further relaxed while Rhubarb and John tended the fish. The smell of cooking trout soon filled the air with a sweet, succulent aroma and she breathed it in contentedly.

Hearing his words about the fish fetching a good price at the market, Obsidian felt it were only fair since she was soon to partake of it, that she should help chip in a little. She wasn't sure how much coin they would go for, so she simply did a mental estimate in her head and rummaged through her bag, looking for her coin purse, setting the bowl down carefully beforehand. Bringing out five silver pieces, she offered them to the old man with an explanation of why she was doing this. "To help you out and as thanks for your hospitality. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't. Please accept this small monetary amount, with my gratitude."

Rhubarb snorted.
"No, keep your money. I'll just have John here get me more fish!"

At that, John looked up from the cooking fish.
"You want me to catch fish for you?" And as he asked, he lifted the cooking stick he was holding and the sizzling fish were removed from the fire. At the sight of John not paying attention to his duties of cooking the fish, Rhubarb gave a start.

"Yes, of course! Fish for a fish! Now pay attention to what you're doing and put them back in the fire so they can cook up and we can all eat!"

Frowning, Obsidian put her money back where it was. "As you wish." she said quietly. She had only wanted to help out a little, but it seemed Rhubarb wouldn't take her money.

Obsidian glanced at Liri, noticing her pensive expression as she sat by the fire. While she was worried for all of their sakes, the moon elf was concerned for the girl. At the news that Obsidian couldn't lift the curse on her, she had noticeably deflated, looking quite glum in that moment. She wished to help her when she had the chance to do so. Perhaps there was something about her problem they were both overlooking or didn't yet realize. Perhaps a bit of food in their bellies would help to alleviate some of the worry for a time, not just Liri's concerns but the whole reason why they were running in the first place.

Speaking of food, the fish smelled very delicious right then. Hopefully their dinner would be ready soon...

Liri, who had spent most of the conversation staring with naked greed towards the cooking fish or sitting quietly with her thoughts, sniffed experimentally at the bowl of ale before her. She had never particularly cared for the bitter tasting drink, nor for the temperament of those whom she had watched indulge in it. Just the smell brought back memories of her brief attempt to work as a barmaid back in the tavern and she would just as soon never remember that experience. What was it about travel she wondered that made men want get as drunk as possible and see how boorish they could act?

None the less the temptation for something -anything- to distract her stomach from its hunger finally proved too much , especially when the fish began to smell so very delicious. She took a gulp of the dark liquid and made a sour face.

She found herself taking further sips from the bowl while listening distractedly to the others, and gradually a warm feeling began to spread through her. Watching the conversation pass in silence had been interesting. So 'the Gambler' had a name after all, she thought, paying particular interest to the exchanges between the two men.

As things progressed she began to realize that Rhubarb was not, it seemed, in any particular bad mood. Rather he seemed to be one of those people who was perpetually direct and acrimonious by nature, despite harboring a good heart beneath.

As the fish seemed near cooked and the conversation started to wind down she glanced distractedly towards the primitive shack again. She frowned as she thought of the four of them crammed in the relatively small structure, but the man had made a good point. It beat sleeping on the cold ground beneath the unrelenting assault of the insects and the cold. It wasn't as if she hadn't slept in enough barns in the years since she had run away. She could hardly cry dignity.

Although at least she had always had the barn or odd spare room here and there to herself. It would be strange after all that time to have others so near. Strange, but not unwelcome, she decided. To have others near and to know that when morning came the problems of the world would reassert themselves once more, but this time when the sun peaked its head up over the horizon she would not have to face those problems alone.

She looked up to towards the moon and stars then as she had seen Obsidian doing earlier and wondered what the other woman saw there. What would her magics reveal to her about Liri's curse? Would she be this way forever? Trapped in a reality where moonflowers didn't grow..?

Shaking her head to clear it of dark thoughts, she tried to spark up the conversation again. And of course, gain a little more insight on her companion in the process...

"So Rhubarb," she spoke up cautiously. "Have you known John here a long time? I'll bet you have some good stories about him?" She couldn't help but look John's direction and raise her eyebrow at her use of the man's name now that she finally knew it. The man had teased her enough the whole way here had he not? She couldn't help but rub it in a bit.

Her stomach growled again, and not for the first time she willed the fish to cook faster...

"Oh, loads of it! But now it's time to eat the fish!" Rhubarb exclaimed and cackled as if he were some evil villain and them eating his delicious fish was part of a vial scheme! But it only made the Gambler laugh, and at Liri's point to use his name, he held up his hands, as if he had just been caught iwth his finger's in the cookie jar.

"Hey now, you shouldn't go around flaunting that. People can't know my real identity!" he pressed.

This of course, made Rhubarb snort as he began to slap steaming piles of fish on everyone's plate as he began to serve them around.

"Real identity, ha! As if anyone even knows your other one!"

John blushed at that.

"Hey, you don't know about my adventures old man!"

Rhubarb simply waved him off with a "BAH!"

"Really! Did you forget I saved the Telma twins? And the time I helped those mages hide in the church?"

"Yeah, and the time you came into town with a belly full of holes and needed patched up? And the city soldiers only thought you just another mage they wanted to hang?"

At that, John grew sheepish.
"Hey, but they didn't hang me now did they?"

"No, but you suffered a severe fever and were in pain for days!" the old man snapped. "Now, eat your fish before I feed it to the coons! I've heard enough of your yapping and stories for one night!"

And as he turned to take his own seat by the fire, he noticed Liri's bowl was nearly empty of ale, and moved around to refill those glasses that needed it, and nearly over flowed Liri's before he turned to glare at John. But with a snarl, he filled John's bowl a little bit before emptying the rest of the ale into his own.

Once seated, he began to eat the fish. Though it had just come off the fire, it had cooled enough that his caloused fingers couldn't feel the heat and he was soon picking meat off the bone and stuffing it into his mouth, pieces of it crumbling down and getting stuck within his bristled beard.

John faired no better as he ate, as greasy fish slicked his fingers and lips and greased up his own small 'beard' as he grinned and continued to eat the fish, praising Rhubarb's skill on this catch.

A steaming fish on a plate was served to Obsidian, the moon elf eating it carefully, taking small bites, almost in a dainty fashion. She was always taught to have good manners and it was even more important when in the midst of company she barely knew. The fresh cooked taste was absolutely delicious and she licked her lips as she ate. Taking out a cloth from her bag, she used that to wipe her hands off while she ate her meal.

She smiled at the conversation around her, especially about the 'Gambler', or John rather. She was curious as to why he called himself that. Perhaps he liked to gamble and that was what he called 'adventuring', or maybe he gambled with destiny and took his chances while going anywhere he wanted. Yes, that second option seemed more likely to her. Obsidian decided to ask him anyway, just to be sure. "So I'm rather curious John, why do you call yourself the 'Gambler'?"

Taking another bite of fish, she chewed it slowly, savoring the juicy flavor as its crispness exploded in her mouth. She followed that up by taking a couple more sips of ale from her bowl, which was about only half-empty. The cool night air breezed around her while the bugs continued to swirl about, braving the warmth of the fire to get to the food. Obsidian merely shooed them away with a dusky hand and continued eating.

Liri had eaten in many different settings over the years, from the dinner tables of polite farmers and ranchers who had offered her room and board for a bit of work, to the opposite extreme of eating what she could manage to scavenge for herself from the unforgiving wilderness.

On this occasion, as her wide eyes ogled the prize placed before her, her hands seemed to move for themselves and began greedily shoveling the food into her mouth as fast as it could be picked from the bones. The hot fish singed her fingers but the pain barely registered. Manners forgotten, she put even the men's sloppiness to shame as she engulfed her first good meal in days.

Thus it is of some note that even in such a state her natural curiosity could not be entirely subdued and her face briefly shot up from its fishy task at John's mention of hiding mages. The image of her grease-covered fingers and face surfacing from their labor of feeding to give the man a look of wide-eyed curiosity had been fleeting indeed (food quickly took precedence once more) but her mind churned over the remark even as the conversation continued unabated.

In the village where she had grown up, and for that matter really anywhere she could ever remember being, a man never would have spoken so freely of such a thing in mixed company. Or if they had, it would have been in the same unsavory conversation in which they spoke of theft and murder and other nefarious deeds.

As she mulled over the words she began to eat slower as her stomach -though still hungry- began to turn a little sour. She had hated the man from her father's church, the man known to her as 'Father Ko.' Hated him, and even more she had feared him. Yet it was one thing to grow up a rebellious child who feared the church and loved stories and fairy tales, and another thing to reject all of the beliefs you had grown up around.

The elf woman beside her at the fire was different, she told herself quickly. Clearly Obsidian was a benevolent and compassionate soul - she had shown those around her nothing but kindness after all, Liri had seen this for herself.

But what if those other mages were more like whatever spiteful being had cursed her? Or that evil thing chasing them that took the form of monsters so it could rend human flesh?

Then again she knew John to be a good person also, didn't she? So surely he wouldn't have saved the mages unless they were good magic users - like Obsidian. What if her father was partially right; what if magic tended to make people bad but if you were a really good person you could resist it?

Now that she was old enough to think critically about everything she had grown up around and experienced in her limited travels - to make her own decisions about what to think - it seemed disturbingly like everyone had it wrong. It was neither as simple as the world of fairy tales, nor as black and white as Father Ko's sermons.

Oh the scowl Rhubarb wore when the elf asked that question, but John lit up like the moon.

"I would think the reasons obvious! See, I was born blessed with luck, on the thirteenth day, of the thirteenth month at the thirteenth hour- and heck, Iwas even the thirteenth child born with my name! So you can see, lucky would run thick in my blood, and it was fated that I use this power for good."

"Oh, hog wash, John!" Rhubarb spat. "Just because yer lucky, don't mean its magic!"

"You can believe what you want, old man. But I've got the number of stories to prove it. Not to mention the number of gambling wins and stolen hearts from ladies."

Rhubarb rolled his eyes.
"I don't think none of that counts, and besides, yer only lucky because you've got good connections. Fate is rubbish. Besides," he spat again. "You should be happy you ain't a mage."

"But how can I be happy to be something I'm not when I am? I mean think about it-"

"I am," the old man growled, giving John a look that could kill.

"Well, either way, The Gambler, I believe, just suits me," he went on, puffing out his chest as he gave Obsidian a grin.

Obsidian absorbed this information quietly, but with great interest. She could honestly say she had never met anyone with luck magic before, as that gift seemed to be less common than other types of magic. If John was indeed blessed with luck, then this proved to be very fruitful for all involved. Considering cut-throats were on their trail and everything, not to mention that strange force she had encountered in the dreamscape regarding the artifact those men were after. There was definitely more to this than what met the eye. Sadly, Obsidian hadn't really had the time to go over that dream as of yet, and she hoped she would have time to do that also. Along with everything else. In any case, John seemed to be convinced of his ability and for now, she would take his word on it.

"I suppose that is excellent news for us all then. We need all the luck we can manage to find." Obsidian fell quiet again, wondering about the effects of the amulet John held as worries once again plagued her mind. The uncertainty of it all was uncomfortable to say the least. The lunar mage would be glad to get the chance to find out what she could via her magics. The moon elf wasn't too bothered by Rhubarb's comment on fate, she'd heard plenty of comments on the like before. After all while she may be young for an elf, she was far older than most humans were. His opinion was nothing new, and nothing to get upset about.

Finishing the last of her fish, Obsidian wiped her hands off before washing it down with some more ale from her bowl. "That was very delicious, thank you."

Looking up at the moon again, she uttered a quick, silent prayer to all the moon deities for their continued safety for the night and after that. Remembering what Rhubarb had said about tending the fire, she got up and deposited another log onto the burning flames, watching it as sparks flew up into the air before dissipating as the fire fed on the newly added lumber, growing a bit higher as a result. She smiled at Rhubarb kindly before turning to face her companions.

"I suppose we should decide on sleeping arrangements before too long?" Obsidian noticed Liri's tiredness and thought since it's been a long day for them all they could retire early. Or at least, Liri and John could. Obsidian would use some of this time to practice her moon magic and glean what information she were able to through her divinatory consultations. She could catch a bit of sleep later.

Liri, having finished her fish, had gone back to sipping at her refilled bowl of ale. Which, she decided, was not so bad after all once one got used to the taste. The night no longer seemed as cold, their circumstances no longer as troubling. Even the heavy questions her mind pondered seemed to be growing lighter and less important as the conversation around the campfire continued and the bottom of the bowl grew closer.

Along with the warm numbness she felt an overwhelming exhaustion quickly settling in. Her body, having finally sated its desire for food and water, was now reminding her that it was no less in need of sleep and a chance to recover from her injuries. She was pretty sure in fact that if she just stayed still long enough she would fall asleep sitting up.

She heard Obsidian mention sleep beside her and nearly jumped at the suggestion, however a part of her mind which was still being practical knew she should at least give her wound one more round of attention before giving in to sleep.

With a groan resultant of considerable objections from her arrow-torn and/or exhausted muscles she made her way to a standing position and moved off awkwardly towards the river, leaving the others to settle the question of sleeping arrangements. "I'll be right back," she added over he shoulder.

She almost changed her mind a moment later having a sudden vision of ending up bunked next to the large, foul, spitting, vegetable man all night, but decided she was too tired to argue over anything at this point anyway.

"You've all had a rough trip," Rhubarb agreed. "Let me rummage through my things. I should have enough blankets for you all.so you won't have to share. I normally sleep on my.cot against the back window and the rest of you can sleep on the floor in front. It's the only space big enough to accommodate all three of you.". And as he went on, he gave a wary look towards where Liri walked off towards.

John followed his gaze and assured him, "Kid probably has to piss. I've got to.do the same. Let me.relieve myself in the grass over there and then I can help.you set up the beds."

Moving far enough away to be decent, he kept his back to the others as he released.

"Think Sully can help us out? I know he's got a few loaner boats. And I can pay him back, scouts honor." And he finished and fixed up his pants and moved back to the camp. It was then he caught the solemn expression on Rhubarb.

"What?" He asked playfully. "Looks like you just ate a frog."

"John... Sully's dead."

Liri made her way to the edge of the river and bent to do her work, removing her blood-stained shirt and the cloth Obsidian had given her to wrap the wound. Cleaning it once more was a painful ordeal all over again but she made herself bear it without complaint -not that anyone was present if she had complained. Still, it was not as painful as the first time. Being in constant motion may have made it harder for her body to heal itself but the injury was still bleeding much less than it was at first and she was relieved that thus far there seemed to be no sign of infection.

Quite a good thing indeed, she scolded herself, seeing as how she had been too distracted the entire trip here to remember to look for the proper plants to use for an antiseptic...

The water before her swirled gently before moving on, and away from the light of the fire she could even see a very dim reflection of herself in from the moon's rays. More a shape devoid of details than a true reflection, which suited her just fine. It would not, she knew, have been her own reflection anyway. It would have been the same face she knew so well, always the same.

What would she look like if there were no curse? She felt her chest, felt the telltale lumps that marked her breasts - still flat enough even at her age not to obviously bulge her loose-fitting shirt. Was she still the awkward, squat little girl she had been in her childhood or had womanhood blessed her as it had her mother? Would he even find her attractive? Would any man?

Probably not, she decided, if the meager size of her chest was any indication. She knew men wanted large breasts in a woman. One thing about boys taking her for one of them was that she was not to be spared all the crude comparisons of the local female offerings men shared to each other when they thought no women were around. Never mind how many times she might have wished to be spared...

Life with the curse was strange in so many ways, she mused. If her face got dirty so too did her boy's face. Yet she could never grow a beard. Her image seemed stuck the precise age -down to the minute- it was when the curse was applied: a young boy with only just a hint of stubble to make his face look dirty - just on the verge of manhood.

Her fake head hair didn't grow either, which was disconcerting given that her real hair did. In fact it had been some time since she had been able to cut it - her real hair that is. Trying to cut her fake hair would do no good. When she reached her hand up to her shoulders she could even feel the presence of her true hair as it grew invisibly past the borders of its illusionary counterpart. In the past she had periodically cut it all off. It was just too strange to be able to snag hair that she couldn't even see in things.

Now that she thought about it, how was it that she could see her injury? Shouldn't the curse make her real injury invisible in favor of her fake healthy body, just as cutting her real hair didn't effect the image of her fake hair? Her muddy thoughts slowly but surely came to a feeling of certainty. Inefficiently as her mind might have been working, it simply could not avoid coming to the conclusion that it *knew* something to be wrong with the situation, something which in some subtle way invalidated her understanding of the curse. Her brain might be too tired and her thoughts just a bit too muddy to put together what it meant, but something didn't add up. She was just so sure she shouldn't be able to see the injury...

Then she blinked, and it was gone. No more arrow wound, just the flat bare abdomen of a young boy...

Startled, she literally leaped back from the river as if a crocodile had just taken a bite at her. The motion caused her to yelp in pain, and her hands flew to her injury as she fell back to the ground. Clearly, the injury was still there as much as ever...

Confused and startled by the event, she grabbed her shirt and shrugged into it as quickly as she could manage. Then she almost stumbled hastily away from the river before remembering what she had come there to do.

Grabbing up the bloody rag she began washing it out in the river before re-wrapping her wound while her mind grappled with what had just happened. The curse had changed. Had something she did somehow caused the curse to change, to grow stronger?? The thought caused a chill to run down her spine. She would have to tell Obsidian about this as soon as possible.

Then again, she considered, this had never happened before. What if the curse was growing stronger now only because she was spending so much time around magic users in the first place? Could she have gotten it wrong all this time, what if she was trusting the wrong people? What if she had been wrong to run away from the start?

But that couldn't be right... The elf, John, they were her friends, her only friends... Her hands moved faster as they scrubbed in rythm to the turmoil of her thoughts. Suddenly as exhausted as she was she wondered if she would be able to sleep after all.

John went quiet. In fact, the entire camp went quiet for the briefest of moments- the only noise being the crackle of the fire and croaking of a few frogs.

"Seems times are changing," John replied, trying to hide his melancholy behind his usual smile. "I'm going to go check on Liri. Boy shouldn't be on his lonesome in his condition." And as he moved to head towards the water side where Liri had gone, he almost didn't see the boy when he practically walked into him and flashed the boy a grin.

"Hey, I was just coming to look for you. Just making sure you're alright." And seeing how the boy had just tended to his wound, he gestured to it. "How's it healing? I bet that thing still hurts like nobody's business, am I right?"

Liri was glad she had chosen to wander a little ways down the riverside despite the camp's close proximity to the water. She had needed the privacy, the time alone. Hopefully the others had not heard her outburst this way, which would give her time to figure things out before talking to anyone-

"Hey, I was just coming to look for you. Just making sure you're alright."

The shorter Liri nearly jumped out of her skin at John's abrupt voice. Between the natural cover of the shrubbery and her own distractedness she had nearly collided with the man before even realizing he was there.

"How's it healing? I bet that thing still hurts like nobody's business, am I right?"

The 'Gambler's habitual grin was almost comically contrasted to Liri's wide-eyed and anxious expression, which might best have been compared to the look of a doe which had just realized the berry bush from which she was eating contained a hungry looking panther.

"It's fine," she replied stiffly. "--Awful, I mean... Which is 'fine,' I said 'fine,' because you'd expect an arrow wound to look awful right? -And not because it's actually fine, or looks that way at all... Which is why you shouldn't look at it, because it looks so awful... So I don't want you to look at it..."

The warm feeling that had been spreading through her since she had started drinking that ale was stronger than ever, but she wasn't sure she liked it as much now. Words just seemed to spill out of her mouth almost before she could think them, yet it was only getting harder to follow a clear thought to its conclusion. More than ever she needed to find clarity; she needed to sort out her confused emotions. Somehow his proximity - which she had up until now been craving - presently felt smothering.

She blinked. Between the exhaustion, the drain of her injuries, the emotional turmoil and exaggerated effects of alcohol on a small body, and feeling tired after her first good meal in a couple of days, she found herself swaying slightly on her feet.

Belatedly remembering just what it was he had said she abruptly felt foolish at her blathering and added, "Umm... I mean yeah it still hurts a lot too. Hey... Have..." She blinked dazedly again. "Have you seen Obsidian? I have to talk with her about something..."

After the meal and while the others were conversing or had gone to the river, Obsidian had taken that chance to go to another part of the riverside, where she could clearly see the moon in its pale shining glory. There, she found a secluded area covered by some bushes and shrubbery and stood there, facing towards the moon as gentle silver moonbeams cascaded upon the moon elf. Now that she was in a good position, she could now perform her Illuminate spell. Since she had promised Liri she would look into the matter of her curse, Obsidian would oblige her and seek out some answers for her first before any other divining she did. Not only did she need the quiet and no interruptions from anyone, the spell also involved drawing down some of the moon's rays into her being, which had the effect of making her slightly glow. And she wished not for any mage-haters to see that play out. Besides it would disturb her concentration.

The spell would only take about a minute anyway and so Obsidian proceeded to lift her hands up towards the moon and draw down some of the rays to bask in their soft light while posing her intentions to find out what she could. After directing her silent question to the silver celestial body, thoughts and impressions began to fill her mind regarding the stated issue. The brief flash of a well entered her mind's eye, followed by a single feeling or sensation reminiscent of empowerment and control. Then it was over, the glow from the elf's body slowly fading so she was now back to her normal visage.

Frowning, the moon elf thought about the message she had received. The well in her vision looked like any normal well, so she couldn't really get a good reading on that alone. The sensation however was something else. It bespoke of control, that of getting a better grasp on something. Something that was perhaps already within one's reach. If she didn't know any better, she would say that the well was merely a conduit or channel for what already lay within. But that was simply a guess. Her Moon Journey spell would no doubt reveal even more information. However she needed at least a good solid two hours of alone time to cast it. That would have to wait until everyone had gone to sleep, as she couldn't afford to be interrupted during that time.

Most importantly though was the fact that Obsidian never got the impression of the well harboring a malevolent spirit or cursing nature. It didn't seem like the kind of wishing well that could sometimes be found in some places, although it no doubt had another kind of magic. Again, later she could find out more for Liri. For now, this would do.

Thanking the moon and the goddess, she turned to leave the area and headed back towards the campsite and shack. Obsidian could inform Liri of her consultation and then see what the girl could add to it, if she remembered anything else of importance that could provide a helpful clue. The lunar mage headed on back, the flow of the river running a smooth rhythm as usual, flies and mosquitoes still flitting about with even the occasional firefly as they emitted green and yellow lights from their bodies. She saw both Liri and John up ahead talking to each other, as John had apparently asked her a question. Smiling, she walked up to them and asked, "Everything alright?"

Unsure how to reply to all that, John was thankful for the interruption.
"Hey, we were just talking about you!" John said, all smiles. "But I'll leave you two to it. I've got some beds to make." And before he jogged away, he whispered to Obsidian, "I think the boy has a crush on you. But don't wort, I'll be sure to sleep in the middle." And it was hard to say if he stated that in a playful yet practical jest, or if he was flirting.

Not giving her time to reply, he jogged over to the shack and disappeared inside.

Obsidian shook her head in amusement as she watched him head towards Rhubarb's shack. If only you knew... she thought to herself. After all the moon elf not only knew about Liri's true gender, she also highly suspected the girl to have a crush on John instead. It seemed that way anyway from observing her and the red-haired man's interactions together.

Turning her attention to Liri, Obsidian asked her with a kind smile. "You wished to speak to me?"

The moon elf thought that perhaps the girl was wanting to talk about something revolving around her curse. A curse that Obsidian now wasn't certain was a 'curse' at all, something else being at work here. While the blue-gray skinned elf hadn't really detected if Liri possessed any magic of her own, it didn't mean she didn't have some in her locked away someplace. It was entirely possible that this malady that Liri saw it as was her own doing. But again, Obsidian couldn't be completely sure. The Illuminate spell was a weaker form of the Moon Journey spell, so it was prone to only giving out the barest of details, suitable for quick and simple answers. However that meant it was less suitable for answering more complex situations, such as the one at present. She knew this of course, but sometimes it helped just to get a taste of what the answers were, before diving in fully submerged. At any rate, Obsidian would tell Liri her discovery, small as it was.

Liri couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief that John hadn't pushed the issue. She knew she didn't have it in her to explain everything just then. However she couldn't help staring at the departing man's back briefly with narrowed eyes. Had he just whispered something to the elf, or was she starting to get paranoid? She struggled to get her mind to work as Obsidian looked at her, knowing she should be picking this up in the morning when her mind was clear but feeling too anxious and impatient to do so.

Her clear hesitation was the only outward sign of the inner war that was being fought within the young woman during those moments. Did she really want to tell Obsidian after all? Should she instead give in to the accumulation of doubt and flee this elf and her strange magic lest her curse continue to get more out of control - turning her back on her only friends and all of the kindness they had shown her in the process?

It was the kind and encouraging smile on the woman's bluish face that ended up swaying her. No, she decided, of course she could not. Instead she took an unsteady step towards the elf and looked around furtively as if afraid the shrubbery might be eavesdropping before speaking. "It's..." She paused again. "It's the curse... Something happened and it... changed. I was at the river and then I thought 'why does the curse change some things and not others, and then poof! Something changed!" Her voice seemed to rise in pitch and urgency as she continued (but not coherency.) "It's never changed things like that before! It still hurts but I can't see it and... That means it's getting stronger doesn't it? Oh Obsidian tell me what to do! Can we stop it from getting stronger?"

John returned to the shack where he began to take the blankets Rhubarb offered and began to unroll them on the floor. Because of how small the common room was, (even it being the largest), it allowed enough space for all three to have their own bed, even if they were lined up, next to one another. John thought little of it, assuming he'd take the middle bed anyway (especially if the little man had a crush on the elf). He couldn't blame Liri, Obsidian was a pretty thing. But most elves were. But there was something exotic about her appearance. Probably because he rarely had seen any of her kind before.

Once the blankets were set across the floor, Rhubarb brought in a few sheets for each to have.
"Only got two of these here sheets, but I'm sure you can all make due. You and the scrapper boy can share this larger sheet, and this thin quilt here can be used by the elf lady."

"Rhubarb, you've met elves before..."

And at such a statement, Rhubarb stiffened. He had taken an elf lover, back in his youth, and he gave John a warning stare.

"I'm just curious if you know much about this sort of elf, the type Obsidian is."

Rhubarb snorted.
"No, can't say I do. But elves are like people, one in the same. Pointy ears and one with nature."

John figured not to press, and soon offered, "Anything else I can do to help?"

"You can start by feeding the fire in the old stove over there. The night's getting colder than I'd like, and you know how cranky I can get in the cold."

At that, John smirked.
"Can do, Rhubarb!" and he saluted and jogged off outside to retrieve the wood and was soon starting a fire when a black beetle wriggled it's way out from the logs and onto John's arm. And with a gasp, he dropped the wood he was holding and flung the thing off his arm, and didn't wait two seconds before stomping his boot heavily over the bug a few times before the attention drew Rhubarb back into the common room.

"What the hell is going on?" the old man snapped.

John sighed, and shook his head and when he lifted his boot up, Rhubarb made a face at the mushy bug guts on the floor.

"Just killing a beetle."

"And you couldn't have done that outside? No matter, you'd best clean that up. I don't need bug guts soiling my floors!"

Trying to calm down the girl, Obsidian made a pacifying gesture. "Alright, slow down Liri. I cannot help you unless you be a little more specific. What exactly happened at the river that has you so distraught?" The moon elf showed concern in her dark eyes as she looked at Liri worriedly.

She would tell Liri her findings soon, but first she needed to discover what was making Liri so upset now. Obviously something had happened regarding her dilemma, something which put the other into a real panic. Inside the shack, there was the sound of stomping, but the moon elf paid little attention to that, her focus on Liri and what she could do to help.

"No worries, the beetle guts won't stain the floor!" John went on, happily as he produced a kerchief and began to clean. "Besides, you know I'm not a fan of bugs."

"Oh, yeah?" Rhubarb went on, eyeing John as he produced a tin and pinched out some tobacco. "Then you might want to brush that black spider from your neck."

And at that, John nearly leaped out of his skin, arms flailing, smacking and hitting the back of his neck, shoulders and whatever else he could do in attempts to remove the vile creature that dare perch on his back! And while he was dancing around, he shouted over to Rhubarb.
"Is it off? Did I get it off yet?" And craned his neck in hopes to see, but never once stopping brushing away at the spider that was never really there.

And at such a show, Rhubarb was practically choking on the tobacco flakes as he stuffed them into his mouth just in time for John's out burst. He leaned forward, slapping his knee while hollering,
"Damn it, John! That's the funniest thign I've seen all week!" And the man was in tears. It was only after a moment did John's frantic dance slow.

"Wait... why.. why are you laughing?" John asked, beginning to catch on,but his fear of spiders still dominate his conscience as he frowned and continued to swat at his back.

Rhubarb shook his head.

"There weren't no spider, John!" the man wheezed. "But oh, you should have seen how you danced!"

Liri took a breath and forced herself to relax a notch, buoyed as always by the elf's reassurances. "I... Well, I was at the river just now you see, cleaning the wound again. Then... I was distracted, thinking about odd things, and I looked back down and... It was gone. I mean - it wasn't gone, the arrow wound is still there, I can feel it! But I can't see it anymore, when I could just moments before. That frightened me! This is the first time I can remember anything changing."

"I..." She drifted off for a few moments, looking distractedly towards the shack as sounds of thumping and general commotion emanated from the inside. Was someone shouting in there? Just what were the men doing anyway, building another room for them? Yes, she decided, that was probably it. Someone had stubbed a toe throwing up some hasty last minute accommodations, so thoughtful those two were! Then the noise stopped and she shook her head, trying to reclaim her previous path of thought.

Most of her panic drained, the young woman seemed suddenly deflated. "I'm afraid Obsidian... I'm losing more and more of myself to this curse, and..." She still struggled to hold on to thoughts, they pulled away from her as though her mind were a bed of quicksand. "...It's odd... I was just thinking about how strange it was that the curse... How it hid some things and not others. Then this happened straight away. It's like it's inside my head - listening..."

Listening to everything the girl had said, Obsidian thought for a moment before she answered. "Well, Liri I may have some promising news for you, although to be honest it's not much." She paused only for a second to gauge the other's reaction before continuing.

"I performed a spell of insight just recently as of five minutes ago or so, and asked the moon Herself to shed some light on this matter which plagues you. The spell only revealed a little information, however, so I will need some more time to do a more powerful version of it later tonight. What I was able to glean is that the well you speak of didn't seem to be an actual wishing well, it seemed...." Obsidian trailed off, formulating the words she wanted to say carefully.

"It seems that this well gives a boost to magic that is already present. I was able to get the impression of it helping control one's magic, to channel it better." Obsidian glanced at Liri to see how she was taking all this. "Do you perhaps know of any magic-users in your family, Liri? It may help explain some things. Magic often runs in families, the blood ties sometimes passing down from generation to generation, though not always."

"Though I am unsure and do not wish to give you false hope on the matter either. If you would but give me a few hours tonight I shall be able to help you further." Obsidian could only hope that the vision she had seen did indeed mean what she thought it did, as meager an answer as it gave.

The moon elf also glanced towards the shack curiously and a bit worried, wondering what was going on in there. She could hear something about a bug and laughter so that at least provided a clue. Shaking her head as whatever was going down in there seemed to not be a real issue of importance at this time. Liri's sense of security was.

The young woman stared at Obsidian, blinking occasionally as she listened. At the talk of magic passed down through families though her eyebrows began to furrow and her eyes looked into the elf's searchingly.

"Well... I don't think there was anyone like that in my family. Father always said that magic was evil. Uncle Sky talked about magic sometimes. My father sent him away whenever he came to the farm... You don't think maybe he did this to me do you?" A light seemed to come on above her head as her muddled mind clung to the sudden idea. "That's it isn't it! He was at the well too... But why would he do this? Some horrible kind of accident do you suppose?"

"I am unsure." Obsidian was hesitant to say anything more, not until she had more of the facts at hand. "But for now, I suggest you take your mind off your troubles and try to relax. Going to bed anxious is not a healthy thing to do."

She sighed a little. "I really wish to help you Liri. Given time we can both solve this mystery and find a solution. Why don't we go see what the men are doing, yes?" the lunar mage smiled an encouraging smile at the stressed girl, and gestured toward the shack. "A good night's sleep will do you wonders. I fear we'll be forced to be on the move again come early morning. I do not know where our pursuers are and I would rather not endanger the townsfolk here if I can help it. It would be best for all of us to try to recover from all the excitement prior for tonight. Tomorrow is a new day..."

Liri was too exhausted to offer opposition to the suggestion. She still felt unsteady on her feet, and the thought of lying down on even a hardwood plank sounded like the comfort of a queen's bed.

Still, as she nodded reluctantly and set course for their humble residence of the night she couldn't help but feel that going to bed anxious was as inevitable as the sunrise. Incoherent thoughts still tumbled around in her head, for all that she hadn't the mental capacity to resolve them.

Badly she wanted answers. Yet she sensed she would badger no more information from the elf on that night. Once again she had to remind herself to be patient and trust in the strange woman's magic to shed some light on the matter by morning.

Ironic, she thought with a frown. Forced to trust magic to deal with a problem created by magic. Bitterness swelled up in her. Magic curses, magic medallions, magic spells. All at once she felt very tired of magic. She turned briefly towards Obsidian before entering the shack.

"I don't think I like fairy tales any more," she said. Then she was pushing open the door, suddenly remembering the commotion from before and not sure what she would find - but not really caring as long as it involved a bed.

The girl was no doubt exhausted from all the mayhem and sorely needed rest. Obsidian followed the brown-haired girl inside the shack and heard her whispered comment of "I don't think I like fairy tales anymore." Obsidian smiled sadly as she knew that Liri was fed up with her situation and her inability to do anything about it.

Taking a brief look around the shack's interior, Obsidian saw John and Rhubarb there as they prepared the beds and blankets for everyone. She nodded her head in appreciation at the old man with the gray peppered hair and floppy hat before turning right back around to leave. "I will be outside for some time, I wish to be alone to think." The moon elf told the others so they knew not to bother her but didn't reveal exactly what she was going to do. In truth, she wasn't going outside to think and ponder, she was going to perform that Moon Journey spell for Liri to find out more about the matter which plagued the girl. And hopefully get some answers about their main plight as well. But Obsidian promised to help Liri first and help her she would.

As she stepped back outside in the muggy swamp air, flies and gnats flew around her with the occasional firefly blinking its soft light as well as it traveled the night. She swatted the gnats away that buzzed in her face and proceeded to go find a secluded spot where she would have a clear view of the moon and its moonbeams. Sounds of crickets and the like chirped as they sang their end of day tunes, while another couple of frogs hopped about in mud puddles as they absorbed what water they could find through their skin. A large night bird cawed loudly and flew off, and Obsidian froze up a little at this as she hoped it was not the shapeshifter that had found them and was now watching them. However that appeared to not be the case and so she relaxed her stance again and made her way towards a patch of grass by the river where she could perform her moon magic. If she had the opportunity to, she would also ponder the meaning of the lucid dream from earlier as well. But one thing at a time. Settling down, the lunar mage got comfortable and began the process of clearing her mind for the magic to take hold.

John's skin still crawled, as if the faux spider was still there. He grit his teeth and threw off his long jacket, and idly scratched at the peeling skin on his arm. It was only then did Rhubarb see first hand the condition of his friend and swore between his teeth.

"What in Angsar's name did you do? Did you get thrown into the fire or somethin'? Looks like the sun done burned you up!"

John shrugged and found a piece of skin that was peeling off, and took it by the end and lightly pulled it off in a strip that was about an inch or two in length. Rhubarb wrinkled his nose at the sight of it.

"Stop picking at that!"

"But I can't help it!" John went on, scratching the peeling skin. "And you know, your first presumption was right..."

"Beg your pardon?"

John gave a sheepish grin and continued to scratch at his peeling skin.

"I sort of walked in and out of the fire the other day..."

"You did what?" Rhubarb could have slapped him. "You cock-a-ninny! What the hell were you doin'!? You ain't no man immune to fires..."

"Yeah.. but people were trapped inside a burning building..."

"So!?"

"Well, it I couldn't just let them die."

"Yet, you could have died you idiot!" Rhubarb went on, and boxed his ears. "Now git that shirt off and let me have a look at your wounds. I got some of that green lotion you can put on it- and stop scratching! Your getting your nasty skin flakes all over the floor!"

It was about this time the others arrived. Upon seeing their approval of their sleeping situation, John beamed.
"We'll all sleep like the Grand Duke tonight!"

Rhubarb snorted. "Better than sleepin' in shit, I s'pose, but it'll do." He nodded to the others, and nodded again when the elf took her leave. He kept his eye on her before turning to Liri and John.

"Now get that damn shirt off. I'm gittin' that oinment."

John rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay." And as the man left, John peeled off his shirt, and tossed it aside, revealed his bare chest, which was sculpted with a nice set of muscles he prided himself in- though not any sort of hulking kinds. He wasn't some strong man or anything, after all! And his frame was a bit too lithe for any sort of heavy muscles.  He was also adorned with a lot of scars that were intermixed with the bright red, and now heavily peeling flesh, that consumed his body. Some places were blistered, and looked sour, but not once did John flinch.

Tossing his shirt aside, he stretched while he yawned.

"The bed there is yours, if you want. Figure the lady can sleep on the side nearest the door. And yeah, we'll be a bit cramped, but beats being eatin' alive by bugs!"

Rhubarb returned with the ointment, and did a double take on John's body.

"Damn it, John! You are an idiot!" And he stuffed the green ointment jar in his hand. "Now hold this still while I apply it." And he shook his head. "Angsar's name.. I hope I have enough." And he went about applying the oinment more generously around the blistered, and then any place that looked the most tender, next. But the man was red all over, and the ointment made his skin slick with it's oil, and the lamp light only illuminated the man's condition and made it look all the more traumatic.

Just as Rhubarb was finishing up, he turned to Liri.
"What the hell was this idiot doin' anyway? He says he was runnin' into a burning building." His eyes narrowed. "Was some young woman involved?" He gave John's arm a heavy slap. "There was, wasn't there!?"

"OUCH! What!? NO!"

He slapped the man again. "As if I'd ever believe you!" And he scooped up the rest of the oinment and rubbed it over the man's back. "There, that'll help, but only the God's can tell how much." He shook his head. "You look like shit."

Liri looked over the makeshift beds, the mere sight of them making her want to just fall over and be done with it. Indeed it seemed to her that a Grand Duke's bed could not have been more appealing.

"Now get that damn shirt off. I'm gittin' that oinment."

John rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay."

Liri turned at the two men's words and wondered suddenly if she ought to leave, but found herself still debating the question as John discarded his shirt and stretched.

She was reminded of the day before (had it only been such a short time?) Of the man she had nearly poisoned lying recovering from his burns on the floor of the stables before they fled the town. As she stared at his burned and scarred body she found some those feelings returning, in spite of her need for sleep. Once more she felt a desire to tend to the brave man; to care for him.

Of course his peeling flesh didn't make the most attractive sight, but inexplicably she found her eyes would not obey her command to look away. She scanned his slender yet muscled frame, the simple lines of his body that seemed to contain a motionless grace. The scars that spoke of past heroism and violence.

"The bed there is yours, if you want. Figure the lady can sleep on the side nearest the door. And yeah, we'll be a bit cramped, but beats being eatin' alive by bugs!"

Blood once more rushed to her face as she realized she had been staring. Silently she thanked the night that he hadn't noticed.

Rhubarb returned and further berated John for his recklessness while applying the strange cream. It gave the man's skin an oily look in the shifting light of the lantern. She did her best to make it look like she was busy inspecting the sleeping arrangements, rather than the half-naked man.

Just as Rhubarb was finishing up, he turned to Liri.
"What the hell was this idiot doin' anyway? He says he was runnin' into a burning building." His eyes narrowed. "Was some young woman involved?" He gave John's arm a heavy slap. "There was, wasn't there!?"

Liri's mind was blank. "I... Umm..."

"OUCH! What!? NO!" John protested, before being further medicated (and scolded) by the gruff man. "You look like shit," he commented as he finished up.

"I... think there was a dog?" Liri said belatedly, immediately feeling stupid for the remark. Why wasn't her mind working right tonight?

I should just go to sleep before I can say something still more idiotic... "Umm, why don't I just take this one?" She moved towards the sleeping space next to Obsidian's, deciding that at least it would make her feel slightly better about the cramped quarters if the men had their half of the room and she and Obsidian the other half.

Seeing where Liri chose, John shook his head.
"Sorry kid, that's my spot." Couldn't have the young boy getting too close to the elf he was oogling, after all!

"Aw, it don't matter!" Rhubarb went on with a wave of his hand. "So long as you three ain't keeping me up till the crack o' dawn..."

John laughed.
"No worries about that." He gave Liri a wink. "I'm pretty sure we're all dead tired."
Aside for the woman with the affinity for the moon. Rhubarb only snorted at that.

"Wll, I'm going to retire." And he narrowed his eyes at John but said nothing before retiring to his own corner bed in the single room building. It was nestled just behind the little stove by the hearth. It was hard to see him from where they were perched on the ground, giving the illusion of a separate room from where the group would sleep on the floor.

[OOC: Oh, yes, there were supposed to be two rooms weren't there? Oopsy-daisy! Sorry about that, looks like I need to pay more attention to setting...]

Liri sighed, finally deciding on the set of covers John had proffered. Let the man sleep closer to Obsidian if he wanted to, it would probably be warmer for her next to the stove and hearth anyway.

As she collapsed onto -more than climbed under- the covers she could already feel sleep taking her. Still, she found her mental gears turning long enough to wonder why John wanted to sleep nearer Obsidian in the first place. Was he attracted to her?

Then again, who could blame him? After all the elf was surely a beautiful woman, in her exotic blue-skinned way, and what was Liri besides a plain girl no one could see behind her boy's mask? Her stupid, unbreakable boy-curse.

She felt a stab of bitter jealousy at her kindly companion, the very woman whose help she was counting on to be herself again, and then a stabbing of guilt for being jealous. It seemed to her then, as the uncertain light of the fire dancing across the wooden walls faded to black, that everything was wrong and might never be right again.

Soon John was discarding his pants, carelessly putting them in a heap on the floor to join his coat and boots. Wearing nothing but his long, underjon's, he dropped onto the bed with a ceremonial groan and fanned out somewhat like a starfish- though his space was limited, due to all three of their beds being so near. In fact, they were all set up in a line, Obsidian nearest the door, John in the center, and Liri nearest the back wall. Her position was the only one that might have been able to see parts of the corner section where Rhubarb was to sleep- and it seemed their host was the first one to fall asleep as he began to snore, and loudly.

John released a contented sigh and stared up at the simple, thatch roof of Rhubarb's small hut.

"Nothing like getting a good night's rest after running for our live's, eh?" he inquired, turning to Liri as he rested his hands beneath his head. "Where are you from anyway? You local to Connlaoth?" He certainly looked it, as Serenians were more colorful and Adelans, a lot darker.

---

OOC: No worries! I presumed someone like Rhubarb would live in some small shack and would have no need for other rooms. If it's just him, there's no reason to desire privacy. Also, it makes for an interesting sleeping arrangement on his floor with him sleeping and snoring, tucked away in the corner lol

Sleep was like an indescribably wonderful ocean lapping gently at her, taking her slowly out to its calming sea where the problems of the day that seemed to torment her mind could not reach her. Where her abdomen didn't hurt from an arrow that had pierced it, and everything was quiet and -

Her eyes popped open again. Was someone sawing wood across the room?? No, she realized as her mind came fully awake, rather it was the sonorous and unexpectedly loud sounds of their host sleeping. She closed her eyes again, trying to force the sound from her mind. If only she could make the whole day simply go away...

"Nothing like getting a good night's rest after running for our live's, eh?" John's voice broke the silence -or absence thereof. "Where are you from anyway? You local to Connlaoth?"

Liri turned towards John, blinking away the beginnings of sleep, then grew wide-eyed again as she realized he had lost another layer of clothing, and lay splayed on his own cot which was -given the arrangement- not exactly a great distance away from her own.

She looked quickly back to the ceiling. "Umm, yes actually. I was born in a small farming community to the south. I ran away when I was quite young though and haven't been back since. Sometimes I wonder about it though. I wonder if mother is still OK, if father ever stopped being angry..."

She turned on her side to look at the John again, resting her head on her arm. "What about you and this 'big family' of yours? You never got the chance to tell me about them." She wanted to ask the question that was foremost on her mind concerning the man, wanted to ask him if he counted a wife among that family, but found at the last second that her courage failed her. Some part of her was afraid to know - afraid he would say yes.

John acknowledged her thoughts with a nod. And when the question came back to him, he gave a thoughtful scratch to his beard.

"Well, this large family are more or less a loosely organized group of people that have always been helping mages who have been repressed or wronged. Ever since the new laws were passed, 'Home' as a lot of us have come to call our safe haven, has grown- probably tripled in size even! The organization is called the Free Folk, and my sister and I had joined quite a number of years ago..."

He continued to scratch at his chin, thinking back to that day.

"I can't say it's my real family, you know, by blood; but it's real enough by standards of brotherhood. I'd give my life for these people, and I'm sure those who know me would do the same. Rhubarb.." And at the mention of the old man, Rhubarb let out a loud snore and John flinched with a smile and lowered his voice.

"Rhubarb is kind of an inbetween member. It's why I knew he'd help us, no questions asked. But yeah, my 'family', more or less, is a hodge podge of people who can't catch a break from the government."

Images flooded her mind as the moon elf concentrated on the meditative spell she was casting, some passing by slowly while others passed by in more quickly a fashion, almost a blur. She saw the well again in her mind's eye and got a closer look at it this time. It was made of brick and stone like most wells were, and was a dark gray in color at its base with tan coloring towards the top. It was located by some trees and a river flowed on one side of it.

Once again, she got that feeling of control but this time it was much more powerful a feeling and Obsidian knew for certain now the well's purpose. Pictures continued to zoom on by. She saw Liri as a young girl in what appeared to be her family's home, a white robed man seated next to her, a calculating look on his face, but also something else. It was that something else which disturbed Obsidian for it looked like this man had ill intentions towards the younger Liri, something that would no doubt scar the girl for years to come. He had said something to her, about her kind being nothing but evil and that Ansgar's Will could not help them, having no mercy for their ilk. The girl in the vision only looked crushed, as well as frightened beyond measure. It was no wonder really.

Obsidian sensed a fanaticism about this man, one who had taken the teachings of his god to his own ends, warping and twisting them to suit his needs. He was definitely not one to be trusted with the girl's welfare.

The scene changed to a bedroom where Liri was crying in her bed and an older woman, her mother Obsidian presumed came in and tried to console her the way that only mothers could. The lunar mage could see the hesitation on her face as though she were afraid of what had befallen her daughter, yet longed to comfort her nevertheless. Feelings of sorrow and confusion ran rampant in the vision and Obsidian felt her own eyes start to water as she took it all in.

Another vision of the well surfaced with another man whom Liri called 'Uncle Sky'. She was trying to wake him up and when he did, he was not pleased with what he saw regarding Liri's disguise. He looked extremely concerned and intimidated by it all. Obsidian was confused by this and didn't quite understand why that was. Perhaps he hadn't realized the extent of her abilities and didn't know what to do now.

A picture of a figure came immediately after the previous scene vanished, but this time the moon elf couldn't get a good look at the person, whoever it was. She did get the feeling that this was someone related to Liri and could help her with her magic. Magic that she couldn't control herself. Liri possessed magic, a sort of glamour that was gifted to her from this unknown person, but yet she didn't know how to use it. The well only served as a boost in that regard, nothing more. She was now absolutely certain on this.

The last image to fill her mind was that of Liri as a young man setting out on a path away from home, an uncertain fate before her as she traveled on foot alone. Looking back once at the place she had called home, she continued forth and it was with that the spell ended, the glow leaving the moon elf's body as it came to a close.

Obsidian sat there for some time, just going over all the details she had witnessed, in order to piece them together more fully. Two or three hours had passed by now as it took about two hours to perform the spell itself. Gazing at the moon's reflection on the river's surface, she pondered a bit longer before getting up to stretch a little. She still needed to do some consultations regarding their plight at hand, but first Obsidian wanted some time to clear her mind first.

A warm breeze blew by, ruffling her blue hair from her dusky-colored face while fireflies danced in the night. Obsidian knew what she had to tell Liri, she just didn't know how the other would take the news as she surely believed it a curse that needed to be lifted. The only way for the enchantment to be lifted was for Liri to either find that unknown family member so they could help her or figure it out for herself. Sadly, she had no clue as to who or where this relative was. That part was shrouded in mystery, and Obsidian knew she wouldn't get any more answers on that tonight. The night was still going strong and Obsidian began her preparations then for another Moon Journey casting, this time about the medallion and their dangerous pursuers.

Liri frowned. He hadn't mentioned anything about an immediate family (beyond a sister) in his reply, yet she found herself feeling more depressed than relieved. It was, she decided, the mention of the man's habit of rescuing mages that had done it. She had heard him allude to it earlier around the fire, but found that she had managed to put it out of her mind until now.

"Oh, yeah. Your mages..." She rolled to lay on her back again, staring sightlessly up at the rafters. She could smell the aged wood of the cabin. There was none quite like it, for it seemed each cabin had a slightly different smell depending on the age of the wood, the kind of tree felled, and the habits of those who lived in it. The odor told a story of sorts.

This one told of a simple life. The life of a solitary man, the faintly pine-laden atmosphere of the great trees who had surrendered their existence to birth this place, and the unmistakable presence of fish long-since ingrained into the place until it had become an indistinguishable part of it. It reminded her of the small dwelling of a kindly farmer who had taken her in after she had run away from her home - back before she was old enough to brave the world alone. He had lived by himself as well, and like Rhubarb was kind of heart.

Of course he smelled of earth and plants, rather than fish. He was also a quiet and reserved man, unfailingly polite even when he shouldn't have been. Rather the opposite of Rhubarb in many ways. Also a quieter sleeping companion, she decided as another loud snore broke the night.

But more than that, at that moment the cabin reminded her of home. She wasn't sure why. The dwelling she had grown up in had been built of earthen materials with only a wooden framing to support the roof as wood was scarce there. It had smelled completely different. Yet she had been sheltered there. People had cared for her, and she for them. Until the day of the magic curse when all of that had changed. The day when everything had been taken from her...

"You don't suppose..." Liri's voice was laden with uncertainty as she struggled to voice her emotions against the fears of accidentally offending the man. "I mean, you know how some people are so upset by magic? I know there are good mages in the world, like Obsidian! But... Do you ever wonder if those other people might be right about some things? I mean... What if the world would be better off without magic?"

Her frown deepened as she remember the rage on her father's face when he had looked upon her cursed features the day she came back from the well. His own daughter, afflicted with the one thing he and Father Ko had always seemed to hate so much... Magic. Even Uncle Sky had treated her differently after that, and he had always been so kind to her.

John gave a shrug.
"I don't dwell much on the idea. But.living where we do, one is forced.to endure it." Sighing, he turned to lay on his side and stared over at Liri. "The way I see it, is magic is here, it'd undeniably in our world. To deny it or hate it is as silly as well...." And his eyes searched the cabin for an example as he thought. "Blaming fish for living in water, or that birds can fly." He shrugged. "I take it magic has affected you in some form or another?" He gave the girl.a.crooked grin. "Seems the likely story of us all." And as he studied her, he found himself asking, "How old are you anyway? You seem young." Well, younger than him.

Liri's eyes widened suddenly at his question of magic affecting her. Suddenly her still-exhausted and sluggish mind was racing faster than a hare trying to come up with an excuse as to why she had said what she had.

For a moment it occurred to her to just tell him. 'I'm really a girl - I'm just cursed to look like a boy.' That couldn't be too hard could it? After all, he protected mages, so surely he wouldn't think less of her for being the victim of some cruel curse right? But she found that she still wanted him to like her so very much, and for reasons she could not identify a terror still clutched at her heart at the thought of what he would do if he knew. Surely he would treat her differently. Probably keep her at a distance. What if he abandoned her altogether? Her curse felt like some strange terminal disease. She could tell herself it wasn't her fault, but she still felt uncomfortable blurting it out.

No, she decided, better to keep her silence for a little bit longer. Obsidian was probably even now using her magic to figure out how to cure her. Once she knew how to fix it, then she could decide how to explain.

Fortunately, before she could come up with something to say he had moved on to asking her age. She let out a breath of relief, at least that was a less sensitive topic. Although she still had to think. Time had blurred since she had run away, and she had found that after the first couple of years she hadn't even remembered her birthday - nor was there anyone around to remind her of it. Perhaps she had preferred to forget.

"I'll be 18 this spring," she said, surprising herself with how defensive she had sounded. "That's not so young!" Her protestation failed to convince even herself, which only made her feel more indignant. "What about you?"

"Eighteen, really?" He laughed. "You just sound so... Young." He gave the boy another lopsided grin. "But don't worry. Not all men can have such deep voices!" He teased.

The still indignant girl shot him a dark look. "My voice? What's wrong with my-" As the obvious source of the other's mirth dawned on her she suddenly felt foolish and looked away again. She suddenly regretted having not lied about her age and said something younger. After all her appearance was forever locked it seemed at the same young boyish appearance it had always been and he would probably have believed her - and more importantly it would have explained her voice...

"...Ahh, oh yes that. Umm, you know my father always had a really high voice too..." She had actually never met any men who had a voice that sounded like her's, but she hoped for the sake of her lie that they existed somewhere... Hadn't she come to a realization not the day before, she remembered darkly, something about being a bad liar?

"...I mean until late in life... Later... than most men." Getting frustrated at her own fumbling she suddenly turned over so that her back was turned to him. "Never mind." Why, she fumed to herself, could the curse not have befallen someone with an ounce of a talent for guile?

Despite Liri's back to him, she'd probably be able to hear him chuckle.
"Hey, don't worry about it. We can't all be as masculine as me," he continued to tease. It was nice, after all, doing the teasing, since Rhubarb seemed to be the leader of that as of lately! And one thing of irony was that John himself hadn't all that deep of a voice himself,- well, compared to those with rich and deep baritones. He'd probably be more of a tenor, though if he forced it- soprano. But ears would more or less bleed.

The glow from the moon illuminated the elf as she performed her magic, eyes distant as she saw through the mists of time and space. In her mind's eye, was the medallion itself. It bespoke of enormous power, power that could ultimately destroy the world were it to fall into the wrong hands. But along with its obvious power, it held darker attributes, those that could both curse and corrupt the user or whomever held it in their possession, given time.

The power she felt within it was definitely of elemental nature, of strong storms of lightning and tornadoes and fiery blasts of incineration. Tidal waves of absolute devastation, earthquakes that could tear the very ground of the earth to create huge rifts and chasms unable to cross by normal means. Frosts to bring about an ice age upon the lands far and wide. And much more as well. How a single object could possess that much power was mind-boggling to say the least. The origins of said object were definitely not of this world, belonging more to the realm of gods, titans and other powerful beings. To say it was dangerous would be an extreme understatement.

Obsidian continued in her trance-state, as the scenery in her vision changed, gray mists parting like a curtain as she saw the face of the one who desired it. Not the shapeshifter though, this was another being, that much she knew. The name So'Kor rang in her head along with the sense that whoever this being was, he was ten times more dangerous than the shape shifter and Osgald both combined. Then the picture abruptly turned to a deep blackness as apparently, whatever else she would see was blocked in a hurried way. As though the being did not wish her to see him.

The lunar mage concentrated on redirecting the spell to reveal more related to her query, and as more pictures ensued she took note of whatever she could discover. She saw the tower room from her dream before and the dead features of the guardian who once protected its empty stone halls and the treasure it once held inside. The slackened face of the guardian filled her moon-induced vision before the scene changed again to the thugs that had been after them. A gruesome sight met her eyes then as crows and vultures picked at their corpses, one of them having his eyes chewed completely out of their sockets, blood everywhere... One was missing an arm as a bear made a meal out of the lost appendage. So much blood... Yet she knew she and her comrades had one less threat to deal with, despite how disturbing the imagery was. It only gave the moon elf slight comfort knowing this. Yet she would question as to whether these men, horrible as they were to begin with, deserved such a grisly fate to fall to. It was not in her control however and she moved on with her inner landscape of information, to see what else the spell would uncover.

Liri's eyes were now saucers. "I'm masculine! I'm totally masculine! I like... getting drunk and comparing girls' breasts and.. and... burping too loudly!"

Wait, what am I saying?!? She thought with sudden alarm. She was trying to keep the secret of her curse for now, not convince him she was some aspiring tavern drunk...

"-No! I mean, not really. I was just saying that I..."

Then all of a sudden she stopped mid-sentence and slowly turned over again to face him, still favoring her sensitive abdominal muscles. Her eyes were narrowed, her face a mask of sudden and almost comical suspicion. "You're just having fun with me now aren't you?"

Meanwhile, not far away but keeping to the cover of the trees a large predatory cat slumbered gracefully, having washed the blood of its victims from its coat in the river. It kept a watchful eye on the shack which smelled of fish but made no move against its occupants.

The scent of blood and human had led it inexorably to this location and while it had yet to spot the medallion specifically it was quite certain its targets were inside. All except for the elf that is, who was outside either meditating or keeping watch.

It would make no attacks this night, that must seemed clear. It was still recovering its strength. By the rise of the sun it thought it would be strong enough to take other forms again as needed, and besides elves had keen senses and there would be little chance of catching the group by surprise as long as this one was acting as lookout.

That was all as it must be. It had its prey in its sights now, and sooner or later there would come a better opportunity. Of that much it was sure. This time it would play its cards more carefully. This time there would be no mistakes, and the medallion would be in its hands soon enough...

John laughed in her face.
"And you must've been an only child... Or suffered through such teasings without mercy!" His grin consumed his face. "But really.... You think those things will actually deepen your voice? Oh... But erm, I guess you might be young enough ... You know, not to have-" And his thoughts were broken when he saw a spider dangling down on a thin web from the ceiling, just above Liri's legs. And he paled, lips falling open before he exclaimed, "Watch out!" And grabbed up his near by boot and dove after the arachnid, smashing it several times but just barely missing Liri's legs. But once he was sure he had gotten the fiendish eight letter, he saw movement from the corner of his eye as the spider was now crawling on Liri's shoulder!

Liri's face became an indignant scowl, turning a nice shade of red, while the 'Gambler' laughed at her. She had a sudden urge to pummel him with whatever weapon was handy and had already started to grab the makeshift rags Rhubarb had provided as a pillow to do just that when she froze - watching in curiosity as the man's face turned white.

She hadn't even the chance to ask what was wrong before he was shouting a warning and leaping at her, seemingly attacking her with his boot.

"What are you-" she protested as she ineffectually tried to dodge the boot, her muddled mind still a step behind and failing to realizing the blows were not aimed for her. "Stop- Are you crazy?!"

She stared at him in bewilderment as the boot did indeed stop, but realized he was already staring at her in turn with that same look of horror - or more precisely at her shoulder. Following his gaze, her own eyes widened in shock as she saw a spider crawling up it in the very disconcerting direction of her neckline. It was not, she noted, one of the smallest specimens she had ever seen either.

With a rather undignified yelp she rolled off the cot, swiping and beating at her shirt as if it was on fire. "Get it off!" She shouted, paying absolutely no attention to what all of her and John's commotion was no doubt doing to Rhubarb's attempts to sleep. A moment later (her paranoia firmly asserting the spider was crawling on her still) she all but ripped off her shirt in desperation and flung it away from herself.

"Is it off?" She asked urgently in reference to the spider, reassuring herself she could neither see nor feel its presence but still searching anyway. It had escaped her attention that she had flung the spider-laden garment directly at John's face.

John's eyes were positively glued to the creature. Having had a false alarm earlier, and now the real thing actually presenting itself, John knew he would get no rest that night unless he was certain the arachnid were slain! The boot still remained in his hand, worn and the top, draped over while the sturdy heel was positioned at the ready. And John's eyes were predatory, seeking.. searching, but when the shirt came off and was flung at his head, he gave a shriek and at such a commotion, Rhubarb leaped out of his bed.

"What in Angsar's name is goin' on here!?" the bearded man shouted. And a second later, John was throwing the shirt onto the ground and dancing back, boot at the ready, his hair, askew and his heart beating ceaselessly. It was so loud, it nearly drowned out the grumpy old man's queries, but when the Gambler found his voice, he stuttered, "Sp.. spider was..."

And Rhubarb stopped him just there.

"Now wait just a worm-diggin' minute! Are you sayin' yous two woke me up out of fear of a spider?" And as John tried to explain, Rhubarb was quick to interrupt. "John, what I told you earlier was a joke."

"Yeah but this one.."

"Yeah but NOTHIN'," the old man interjected, his face red with anger. "I offered to let the three of you all sleep in my home, knowin' it would already be an inconvenience but then earlier, you go smearin' roach guts on my floor and now this?"

John was still gaping, lips moving as if ready to speak, but what could he say? As his eyes still darted frantically to prove the old man wrong, he had no idea the spider was now perched upon his head, almost blending in with his messy, red hair.

Liri's attention snapped to John, her eyes riveted to the sight and sound of a grown man with a shirt on his head emanating a shriek that rivaled if not topped her own. The spider was suddenly forgotten in favor of the absurdity of it, and given another moment or two she might have burst out laughing.

Instead the spell was broken by Rhubarb's shout. Liri found her voice vanished and her muscles froze. For all his gruff nature, this was the first time since their arrival she had seen the man truly angry.

Although she knew the men would see only the image of a young boy, she suddenly felt the absence of her discarded shirt keenly. She didn't go and retrieve it though. It seemed to her as though she were paralyzed by the man's ranting, transformed once again to the small girl trying to disappear into the corner - hoping the storm of her father's rage spent itself.

It was ridiculous she knew; this was a completely different time and place and this man was not her father. She wasn't that little girl any more and it looked the way things were going that if Rhubarb was going to beat anyone it would end up being poor John. All the same she had to consciously fight her own mind and body.

Then she noticed an inconspicuous black form moving around in John's hair. Her eyes grew wide again and she renewed her efforts to override the paralyzing emotions. Her voice came out soft though and she wasn't sure the men even heard her as she pointed meekly to the man's head. "Umm... John, the spider..."

She winced as the creature crawled back and forth towards the man's ear and then back towards the top of his head and back again, as if unable to make up its mind...

At the squeak, Rhubarb looked to John's head, and John stilled. The man's eyes immediately flashed to a nearby hanging pot, and upon seeing his muffled reflection, and then slowly realizing there was a tap dancing spider nestled on his head, he did the only thing he could think of-
and used his hand to smack the spider clean across the room.

It sailed over their heads and bounced off the wall, where it landed, crumpled, momentarily on the floor. And as John watched it, he furiously raked his fingers through his hair before moving to scoop back up his boot. He had to make sure the thing was dead, but before he could get to it- the spider made a mad dash under Rhubarb's bed!

Liri only watched as the spider went flying across the room, wisely hiding itself under the closest shelter it could find. Rhubarb had stopped shouting and his immediate rage may have passed it seemed, but her heart was still beating faster from the whole ordeal.

She continued to watch as John grabbed the boot, a look of intended homicide spelled out clearly on his features. Idly she wondered if he was determined enough to turn their host's cabin upside-down in his quest for the spider's end and if any of them were actually going to get any sleep that night.

While all that was going down inside the shack, the moon elf might have heard it all if she was not busy with her meditation spell. As it stood, she was still focusing on the images flashing through her mind, taking note of everything she saw. Neither the noise from the shack or the predator cat hidden near the tree cover alerted her as the final pictures went through her awareness before the spell ended the second time that night, the ethereal haze surrounding her also dissipating with its conclusion.

As she began to stand up from the grass, Obsidian noticed one of two things then. First was the shouting and shrieking from inside the humble wooden quarters, which she frowned at and listened more intently. Yells about a spider were pouring outside into the night air and Obsidian had to shake her head in amusement at this. Honestly, they were acting like the spider was evil incarnate or something.

After that had died down, she became aware of something else, something more sinister. It felt like they were being watched and Obsidian tensed, looking around honing her ears to see if she could hear anything out of the ordinary. Aside from the warm wind through the trees and the chirping of crickets and frogs, there was also the faint sound of soft breathing, like that of a large animal. Obsidian froze at this, thinking that the shape shifter had found them. Yet she didn't dare go look for it, not by herself. If she found it and it decided to attack, Obsidian didn't much like the odds of her surviving that unscathed.

Instead, keeping both ears and eyes open for any further disturbances, she stood there a little longer before heading to go back inside the shack, making her way there slowly so as not to give the impression to whatever it was were out there know that she knew it was there. Although it may already know this from all Obsidian could gather. She didn't know what other powers it possessed besides shape shifting and she didn't want to find out just now. She needed to tell her comrades of her discoveries, especially the fact that they were being watched. Obsidian knew then she probably would not be getting any sleep that night if she had to serve as lookout for the group, being the only elf here.

Listening for another brief moment, the lunar mage headed back inside and shut the door behind her securely.

By the time Obsidian would return, the chaos had more or less ended- but not without the room appearing in some sort of disarray. John had, in fact, continued his pursuit of the spider until it was eventually found and squashed beneath his boots- mere inches from where poor Liri was. But John wore the most triumphant of grins and Rhubarb waved off the moment with a grumpy scoff.

"Now I hope you can git some sleep! And don't wake me until the morning!" the old man howled before stumbling off to his bed.

"Hey, at least the place is safe now!"

John heard Rhubarb mumble something and John simply replied, "Hey! You never know what those spiders can do!"

"Just go to sleep, John!"

And with a sheepish shrug to Liri, he moved to crawl back to his bed, but not before inspecting the area for any more pests. Satisfied there was none, he sighed and settled back into the make shift bed. But sleep could not claim him as he tossed and turned in the night. He was still awake when Obsidian returned, and watched her in silence as she entered.

Liri too had made her way back to the covers. Her shirt, in addition to the plethora of dirt and mud-stains, the smell of a good couple of days worth of her own sweat, and a nice blood stain, now had some handy boot-marks all over it to complete the look. She could finally be certain of being able to pass for a destitute beggar in any village across the known world... Yep, my life is really going in the right direction.

Still, it was the only shirt she owned since her belongings had been lost clear back at that cursed inn in the village they had fled (and it had been verified spider-free.) So she wore it all the same, making a mental note to be sure to wash it -and herself- before leaving the next morning.

By this point she was pretty sure sleep was going to take her and hold her under even if a tornado laid waste to the building around her as she slept. All of her tomfoolery regarding the spider had only aggravated her puncture wound (which was hurting something fierce again) and anyway she had been exhausted to begin with. Even so, it didn't stop her from taking a moment to neatly fluff her makeshift pillow, carefully aim it at John's head, and bring it down upon her target with a good 'poof' before cozying back into her cot.

"And now we're even," she declared in the loudest whisper she thought would not be likely to further disturb Rhubarb, "for you attacking me with your boot. Hope we don't have to face down too many more spiders by the way Mr. Masculinity..."

She was smiling as she said it though, which she noted was the second time in as many days the man had turned her mood around completely, and he didn't even need magic to do it. Her teasing wasn't very well-aimed, for she had hardly been less frantic about the spider than he had been, but it was he who was the one bragging up his manhood after all (in jest though it might have been) and she was the...

All at once she knew she wanted to tell him. More than anything she wanted him to know her for who she really was - even if she never managed to break the curse. In the morning, she decided. Yes, tomorrow...

And in the meantime whatever response John might have made to her pillow strike had to contend for her attention with the nearly insurmountable forces of sleep. While 'the Gambler' may have been silently watching Obsidian's entrance into the room Liri by contrast was already delving into the comfortable world of dreams...

He only made a wheezey, tired groan at the pillow smack just before Obsidian entered. And he waited for the door to close before he managed to entangle his boot laces (in a discreet manner) to resemble something like a spider before simply tossing the thing over his shoulder so they'd land on Liri's recently fluffed pillow. And it was hard to keep back his snickering as he waited for her to react.

What precisely had managed to disrupt her developing attempts at sleep yet again she could not have said. Perhaps it was the sound of the door closing behind Obsidian, or a snap from the last dying embers of the hearth's fire, or a slight tap like something landing on her pillow. Her conspiring aches and pains didn't help. Some combination of them all perhaps.

Whatever it had been, Liri grumbled softly as she turned over and opened her eyes again. It took her a moment to process the strange image for the room was mostly dark. There was a large black mass sitting on her pillow not two inches from her face, and its shape reminded her somehow of...

With a startled cry she leaped back from the shape, tangling awkwardly in the covers as she did so and ending up falling off the far side of the bed and lodging herself between the cot's frame and the wall - her right side hitting the floor with a muffled thump.

A left hand and forearm could be seen groping around the top of the cot as if belonging to a mountain-climber looking for a handhold, while a pained and distinctly frustrated groan emanated from the wall...

It started off soft at first, but soon was too much to contain, as the Gambler's laughter began to shake his bed. Though despite his best efforts to keep from laughing too loudly, it was more than obvious who was to blame for Liri's current plight as he continued to snicker... and snicker until he was nearly wheezing!

A disheveled head surfaced above the cot, glaring daggers at the source of the laughter. Looking back at her own pillow, Liri noted that the 'spider' hadn't moved...

"You..." She grated out in John's direction. "I am going to-"

The threat was never finished however as she belatedly noticed Obsidian's entrance. The spider prank (almost) forgotten, the girl started to right herself from the tangle of covers. In her exhaustion and muddled state, almost she blurted out 'Did you find out anything?' but stopped herself at the last second. It was way too late in the night to explain the whole thing to Rhubarb (whose sleep she had probably once again destroyed) and John.

"Obsidian, glad you're back," she said instead.

John was still snickering as he gave Obsidian a cheeky grin.
"Hey elf lady, you missed all the fun. But I guess the night is still young for you to accompany us in these shenanigans!"

Having closed the door as quietly as she could behind her, the moon elf started to make her way just as silently inside the shack, footsteps lightly creaking on the wooden floorboards. She noticed John awake and watching her as she entered and gave him a small smile, then went over to her own cot to try and get some rest. The commotion with the fake spider did not escape Obsidian's notice, however all she did was give a shake of the head and went about fluffing her pillow, pulling aside the blanket so she could get in.

She had just taken off her boots when Liri addressed her with a welcome back greeting. Obsidian could tell she was anxious though to ask what she had discovered. But it was better to wait until morning when they were all refreshed for the next day. She nodded her head politely at Liri and replied to both her and John. "I thought this was the time to catch up on sleep if I'm not mistaken?" Although she said this with a smile on her blue-gray face and not one of reprimanding.

The lunar mage wasn't sure if she should alert her companions to their silent watcher outside or not. On the one hand if it decided to attack, they needed to know about it anyway. On the other hand all it might do was worry them needlessly to the point where they wouldn't get any sleep at all. Besides the fact that their host was sound asleep and she wished not to disturb him. The second option won over the first and so Obsidian kept her silence, instead keeping both ears trained for any noises to indicate a problem would arise. If it did decide to strike, then she could warn them as she would hear it coming. It wasn't a perfect solution but it would have to do for now.

Settling down on her cot, Obsidian prepared to both relax and act as lookout for the group. The shadows played on the walls from the dying fire in the hearth, casting weird shapes on the walls as they moved about. The soft crackle and pop of the flames was soothing and so Obsidian allowed herself to relax just a little more, but not too much though. Turning her head some, she looked to see what Liri and John were up to.

Liri grunted at the mention of sleep before beginning the process of assembling her bed back into order. "Sleep, wouldn't that be nice. Do people still do that somewhere?" She abruptly stopped speaking though with a glance at Rhubarb, impressed the man had managed to nod off again despite the continued spider-related goings-on. As if on cue, a saw started going through wood from his corner of the room.

Climbing back under the covers (after throwing the boot-lace spider bitterly back at John with a scowl and a silent promise to get revenge at some point) she wondered if she would be able to sleep at all. She yearned to know what Obsidian had found out, if anything. The elf was right though and she knew it, like everything else at this point it was best dealt with in the morning.

Despite her worries to the contrary she blinked and was once again off to the world of dreams.

They would all awaken to the sent of frying fish, and bread cooking over the fire. Rhubarb was surprisingly quiet when he awoke, but despite being so exhausted, John awoke with a rumbling in his belly.

"By God, Rhubarb, that smells heavenly. " Sitting up in bed, his short hair, spiked up on the side he favored while he slept, he began to rub the sleep from his eyes.

"Well, this ain't heaven and you ain't dead. Now got your clothes on and come to eat."

John muffled a yawn and obeyed, standing up and sleepily dressing.

"Anything I can do to help?" He offered.

"Just make no.more commotions this mornin and I won't ask a thing. I think we all slept poorly because of you!"

As the night passed on Liri tossed and turned in her bed, clearly sleeping restlessly...

She was back in her home once more, a girl playing in the garden. Through the window she could hear her parents talking. The clouds were gathering ominously and the wind was picking up. It looked as if a storm was coming. A wall had long since been constructed on the storm-facing side of their dwelling so Connlaoth's storms couldn't blow it over, although their relatively sheltered location in a remote shallow valley protected them some anyway.

Still, she knew by now father should have been gathering them all to go fetch the animals and make sure they were safe before securing all the shutters. Why wasn't he?

Now she could make out raised voices from the window above her.

"But the child has nowhere to turn! No home! Surely we can show some compassion?" It was her mother's voice.

"Is that my fault?" Her father shot back. "The boy's parent's were hiding their magic! Father Ko was right to burn them for what they did. Bringing that here..."

"That man is a fanatic! Why does everyone in this village support him, is it fear? Are you afraid of him?"

Her father's sudden anger was so palpable she swore she could feel it through the wall like a physical force - a second storm. "Afraid? You dare! That man brought us here when we had nothing, helped us get this land! You call me a coward for showing loyalty to the man who saved us?!" There was the sound of a loud slap, a thump. "But then you know nothing of loyalty do you? Why do you want to take in that boy anyway, is it because you can't give me a son? Just a foolish girl who dreams of your fairy tales all day?"

Liri was suddenly cold in a way that had nothing to do with the storm. She didn't want to hear any more. Why did mother have to make him angry so much?

She went to the barn to check on the animals. But on her way the storm seemed to come on all of a sudden and surround her. She got lost, crying for help but no one would listen.

Then she stumbled into a clearing in a forest with a humble well in the middle. Now the storm was gone, but the shade of Father Ko was back. He stared at her with those intense eyes of perpetual malice, that unnerving grin.

As her mind began to drift towards consciousness she found herself half-aware of being in a dream. "You... I remember, you came to me before... I was standing on a mountain... Was that a dream too?"

His smile grew. "Yes... and no. Enchantress..."

The memory began to return more vividly at the word. "I do remember... I had the medallion... Why can't I remember when I wake up?"

"You're not ready, you can't yet accept what you are." He replied, before taking on a mocking tone as he continued. "Afraid of our little secret are we? Afraid of what it would mean?" Suddenly he was right next to her, whispering in her ear. "All those demons from your past got the better of you?"

She shoved him away. "Stop! Why are you even here? I don't have that stupid medallion any more!"

His smile grew downright predatory. "Yes I know. You let *him* have it, just gave away such power... Tsk, tsk. As far as our meeting, just think of me as an echo left in your mind. Something you held on to..."

"I... held on to? Why?"

"Why? Why ask me? Perhaps you miss our little talks." He was over her shoulder again, whispering in her ear. "Maybe you want me here to hold on to all your dark secrets for you... To remind you the Artifact is yours for the taking. That man trusts you. Just take it. With its power you could go home again for the first time in all these long years... You could save dear Mother, yes?"

"Go away!" Liri cried, tossing and fighting against the constraining grip of the bedsheets. "Go away!"

Then all at once the illusion was broken. The bedsheets were just that, and she was back in Rhubarb's cabin, the smell of cooking fish making her stomach immediately churn in anticipation. Even after a night's sleep she still felt exhausted, and she hurt all over.

Groaning, she propped herself up and looked around. John was there, looking as if he had just recently climbed out of bed himself, and then of course Rhubarb tending to the cooking fish. She looked around for Obsidian.

When Liri awoke, John's attentions went to her. He saw the bit of fear, and could almost feel the other's racing heart as he found himself asking, "Had a bad dream?"
And he moved a bit closer before adding, "And er.. sorry if I kept you up." He knew how much it sucked to get little sleep and the sleep only offered you dark dreams. It was as if one was better off not having fallen asleep at all.

"Probably gave the poor lad nightmares about what other insects you aim to charge down," Rhubarb went on with a shake of his head. And John truly looked regretful as he shrugged.

"What can I say? I'm not a fan of bugs."

Liri offered him a wan smile. The cabin around her still felt partially unreal, as if the dream hadn't completely surrendered to reality. She struggled to hold on to its fragments as they continued to slip away - even as part of her was sure she didn't want to remember.

Finally she gave up and tried to clear her head with a shake, shedding the bedsheets to face John - who uncharacteristically held a somber expression rather than his usual poster-child smile. "It wasn't your fault," she said, "I had dreams of... home, I think. But not the good kind, as I guess you noticed."

As she looked into his eyes then she remembered her pledge from the night before to tell him. She still wanted to. At that moment she wanted more than that in fact. She wanted to be herself for just a few minutes, to wrap her arms around him and find solace and comfort in his apparent concern - here in this lonely corner of a world filled with ambivalence and misfortune. Just a few minutes to make the lingering sensation of anxiety and darkness fade...

But she felt sudden shame at the thought of telling him who she really was, and that puzzled her even as it stopped her. What had changed from the night before? Something to do with her dream? She did not know.

John pat her on the shoulder.
"Don't worry about it." He gave her a crooked grin. "We all get bad dreams. And come to think of it..." John went on with a thoughtful scratch of his hair, "I've been having more of those lately myself. Must be all this running." Though John was usually running away or after something, but this time around... Things in the night, when be closed his eyes, definitely felt strange.

"You too?" She made another attempt at a smile, this one coming out somewhat more believable. "I guess you're right then, probably just the stress of our situation getting to all of us. These dreams though..." Her eyes became distant for a moment and she shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself as if cold. "Well, it's probably nothing," she finished as she seemed to come back to herself.

Then, looking into his eyes, her gaze suddenly became intense. "Have you ever had a secret you really wanted to tell someone, but you didn't know how? ...And the longer you kept the secret the harder it got to say it?"

"Well, sometimes we can't ignore our dreams. Though sometimes they can't make a lick of sense... like you know, dreaming about running naked through the town church or something, but other times it does seem like the dreams hit too closely to home."

He went quiet as he thought it over some more, but soon the 'boy' was going into a more serious bought of this conversation. John studied the man for a moment before turning his gaze towards the crackling, cooking fish.

"I believe we're all entitled to our secrets. Some are necessary, you know? While others..."

And he let his thoughts trail off at that.

"Necessary..." Liri's eyes followed the man's gaze towards the fire where they rested for a moment as she seemed lost in thought. "But how do you know what's necessary? What will make things better and what will make things worse?"

She looked into his eyes with the face of a boy, her borrowed brown eyes seeming to plead with him to understand. "I mean... What if... What if I were actually, well, someone else? Like if someone put a spell on me tomorrow and I became someone completely different... Do you think that we would still be friends?"

John blinked.
"You afraid someone's going to change you?"
Though there was some mirth in his eyes, it was obvious he did take it more seriously than he normally acted.
"If anything, I'd be confused, but your'e you? Right? And can someone really change what makes you, you know, you? I mean, say we swapped bodies, though we'd look different, I'd still be me, but in your body. Our minds and brains and things like that wouldn't change... Though I wonder..."

And here he adopted a thoughtful expression as he rubbed his chin in thought.
"Would my magic carry over...."

And he was so consumed in his own tangent, he forgot to answer the main question at hand!

"I..." She touched a finger to her chin in a gesture of consideration. "Well I guess if your magic is an inherited physical property like your hair color it might not swap... whereas if it's a mental skill I would think that-"

Then she broke off, shaking her head as if just realizing what she was saying. "-Well that's not the point!" She grabbed the nearby pillow again and took another swing at him. "Focus! I'm trying to tell you something important!"

Taking a calming breath before continuing, she began again. "What I'm trying to say is... I'm cursed... to look like this... but really I don't look like this at all! See, there was this well... and my Uncle was there and I think he did something to me but I don't know why because he always liked me before and then I ran away and..."

Liri stopped in frustration. This just wasn't coming out right at all!

John yelped, as he hadn't the time to dodge the on-coming pillow.
"Hey! I never said it wasn't!"
And as the boy went prattling on, he found himself just blinking. It really was a mouthful and sort of just spewing from Liri's lips.

"Hey, woah, woah, don't worry about all the little details." And he offered Liri a genuine, though lopsided, grin. "Something's happened and your appearance has changed. Doesn't make you any less of you! Well.. at least from what I know of you in the short time we've been traveling together."

"But that's just it!" She protested. "You don't know me at all really! But I thought maybe that if you did know that we could be..."

Her arm was moving before she was aware of it, hesitantly, as if to cup his face in her palm. Noticing the movement, she aborted the gesture half-way. The last of her nerve seemed to flee as she did so.

"...better friends," she finished lamely. No, no! She berated herself to no avail. "Because... I don't have many friends." Idiot!

He kind of just stared. He had no idea the turmoil broiling through the boy's mind but he could just see it oozing out of him. He moved to pat him on the shoulder.

"I know what you mean. Making friends can be tough, you know? I can't say I have a lot of friends that are, you know... real close," he gav ea sniff. He started to feel awkward. He didn't know why he was even saying anything like that. He did feel bad for Liri, though he wasn't sure confessing his own lameness would remedy anything.

"And when I was your age? Heck, I was awkward as hell! You should have seen me stumbling over a pretty girl. Though you'll learn it..." And he leaned in real close, peering over his shoulder to make sure Obsidian couldn't hear. "Do you need my advice? I can tell you're sweet on Obsidian. If you just act natural and confess how you feel... you'll feel better for it in the end."

"Obsidian?" Her eyes flitted around his face for a moment as she shied back from him. Then her gaze turned stony.

Grabbing the pillow once more she unleashed a barrage of attacks against the man. "You're... impossible!" she accused as she did so.

Then as abruptly as it began she abandoned her weapon with a half grunt half growl and stalked out of the cabin...

"Ack!" the pillow hit him right in the face, and at Liri's retreating form, he turned to the others.
"What did I say?"

"If you don't go after that boy to see if he's okay, I'll box your ears before breakfast!" Rhubarb warned.

John grumbled out a sigh. He knew he'd feel guilty if he didn't anyway.
"Fine fine, but you all saw for the record that boy hit me with the pillow, first!"

And with that, he stepped out of the little shack and into the crisp, moist morning air, that was a bit colder than he remembered the temperature had been that night. His breath came out in puffs as he looked around for Liri, and once he saw the boy, he hesitated in his approach as he mumbled, "Er... look, sorry if I made you upset. What I said back there.. guess it was pretty embarrassing."

Well, for Liri.

Liri stood silently staring at the river, seemingly lost in its depths.

After a moment she offered a slight shake of her head in reply. "It wasn't your fault. I'm sorry I yelled at you, I... wanted to say something else but..."

Then she turned from the water to look at him, her brows furrowed. "I keep remembering bits and pieces of this strange dream I had last night... Like just now when I was staring into the water. You know, all my life it seems like magic has been nothing but a curse for me. My father always hated it so much - yet it seemed it followed us everywhere we went. One day I found a boy hiding out in our barn. His parents had been hiding their magic and Father Ko, he... He burned them... I should have helped the boy but I knew how angry father would be and so I ratted him out. I never knew what became of him...

"But just now, as I was looking into the water I remembered his face -my face! Don't you see? That's who I look like! This curse, it must be my punishment for not helping him! I saw the hate in Father's eyes the day I came home looking like this, the betrayal I'd done him by bringing magic into his house! Even mother looked at me like she had lost her daughter! Father Ko was right! I should have let him purge this evil from me then! This curse, this... magic! It's all my fault, and because of it I've always been alone!

"And I always will be..." She raised her fists as if to beat him in the chest, but their momentum seemed to evaporate by the time they reached him and they came to rest there instead. "I wanted you to see it, but of course how could you... It's not Obsidian I have a crush on..."

Then her face started to turn red again and she took a step back as if suddenly deciding she'd said too much. She looked over her shoulder, looking as if she might simply bolt for the woods...

Well! That seemed a lot to be taking in! Though John frowned and furrowed his brow, it wasn't because he was angry, it was because he was actually trying to follow along.

"Woah, woah, woah, now wait a minute here," he went on, and placed both his hands on Liri's shoulders. "Magic isn't evil. It doesn't curse us. Heck, if anything it's a blessing. Perhaps, whatever it is you're going through can be understood if you ask the right person? Now, I'm not expert on magic, but I'm not adverse to it. Heck, my sister had been a mage and well, I work with a family of mages, helping to harbor them from the Grand Duke's army. If anything, you can trust in me, okay?"

And he gave Liri a smile.
"We're like brothers. You can see me like a brother." And he moved to ruffle Liri's hair. "A very big and awesome older brother, who would protect you no matter what. So what if you don't look like yourself anymore, didn't anyone tell you its what is on the inside that counts?" And he made to poke at Liri's belly to make his point!

"And hey... if you got a girl back home... I bet she misses you." He sighed, not knowing that sort of a loss. And to think, this kid was so much younger than he....

A glimmer of something that might have been hope began to break through the enchanted girl's sorrowful face as John spoke. His assurance that he was someone she could trust seemed to break her free of her need to run, although her face only continued to brighten its shade of red. She felt that just when she might have been blown away by her loneliness and sadness, as if she were just a leaf tormented by a malevolent breeze, his hands on her shoulders had seemed to root her in place and keep the uncaring currents from claiming her...

"We're like brothers. You can see me like a brother," he continued, and the moment's magic began to crack. She could almost hear it shattering, piece by piece, as he continued. She found herself wondering out of the blue if the man had some sort of hearing impairment or if all men were, in fact, thicker than a tree trunk by some sort of genetic deficiency...

She grunted and winced as his poke aggravated her stomach wound. "And hey... if you got a girl back home... I bet she misses you," the taller man finished.

For the space of a few heartbeats she didn't reply. It took her that long to calculate the likelihood that she did in fact have the strength to launch the unsuspecting man the few feet it would take to send him into the river, and then reluctantly reject the idea. With a resigned sigh she decided that right then even dense company was preferable to no company at all.

"No one misses me," she replied at last, looking down. "Even Mother didn't fight for me in the end. She was going to let that man, Father Ko, take me away." She looked back up at him with a clearly halfhearted attempt at a smile. "But thank you." Turning back to the river, she seemed to grow distant. "You sound like Obsidian you know. She didn't say anything specific really but I get the feeling she thinks this curse is actually something else.

"But you both must be wrong, don't you see? Because if it's really something that's inside me - not a curse at all - then... Then it's all my fault. Father hates me, Mother gave up on me, and I lost my home, and because... of me. Of what I am... What else could this be but a curse?"

"Woah, woah, woah. Calm down will ya?" He placed his hands on Liri's shoulders and looked him square in the eyes. "Look, bad things happen in life, am I right? Right! And sometimes we all feel like we're outta luck, or just plain cursed! But ... You want to know a secret? All that matters is, " he went on, leaning closer. "Is what you feel in here." And he poked Liri's chest. And ... Something about the poke felt.... Strange. Like... Liri's chest felt a lot squishier than the hard, flat chest of men. In fact.... He could have sworn it felt like he poked a boob.

Maybe his hunger was getting the better of him, but as he stood there with Liri, something caught his attention and he pulled the boy close and placed a hand roughly over his mouth.
"Holy shit," he hissed in the boy's ear. "Don't look now or scream, but I think I see a ...." John's mouth fell open.
"Oh shit, its a bear!" And just went the damn thing saw them, it began to bolt their way. And John wasted no time in grabbing Liri's hand and pulled the boy along!
"Run!" He cried, his free hand whipping back and forth infront to down the tall grass. Peering over his shoulder, he swore again as he saw the bear gaining on them.

"Quick, to the river! Maybe he won't follow us into deeper waters." And as they rushed and tumbled along he SAS Rhubarb's row boat just resting on the shore. He wasted no time and commanded, "Get in!" And he began to push the boat from its rear towards the water. 

Everything had seemed to happen at once from the moment Liri heard the word 'bear,' and before she knew it they were climbing into Rhubarb's boat and John was desperately pushing the small fishing craft into the water.

For all the man's goofiness and frustratingly oblivious nature John proved a much better runner than Liri, and she found herself grateful for his hand steadying and pulling her along as she stumbled and grunted her way to the boat.

The hungry bear meanwhile might not to have anticipated its meal floating away on the small fishing craft, but upon seeing what was happening it wasn't about to waste any time and managed to run even faster - it seemed that it would be on them in a heartbeat and the boat moved so maddeningly slow as it was pushed free of its rest on the shore.

"Push faster! We're going to get eaten!" Liri criticized with wide eyes- never mind that John was the one doing all the pushing and she was essentially dead weight as she sat in the boat...

She glanced towards the shack where she had last seen Obsidian and Rhubarb inside cooking the morning meal but could not see beyond the bear's massive form. It had come between them and the door on its final approach. Perhaps it had anticipated its prey running to the shelter of the building and cut off their escape deliberately - or perhaps it had been going for the smell of fish and deviated when it saw the vulnerable humans.

Either way the effect was the same. For Liri's part, the still-healing arrow wound to her stomach had cured the girl of her heroic streak and she wasn't about to risk charging past the bear to see to her friends inside. Hopefully they would hear the commotion and not be taken by surprise as she and John had been.

On the edge of the nearby trees a large predatory cat still sat watching the camp. Sounds of commotion had awoken it from its nap and it observed silently as a scrawny young boy exited the shelter of the building, to be followed shortly by another man. It didn't see the elf from its vantage point opposite the side of the building with the door on it and assumed she remained inside.

The two men seemed to be talking, but it didn't concern itself. Instead, it weighed its options. With the imminent arrival of daylight it might now have the advantage of the elf -depending on what variety of the magical Fae it was up against. More importantly however it felt its strength having returned during the night. It would be able to shift again if necessary and that, it figured, would give it all the advantage it would need.

The fact that the two humans had left themselves vulnerable by leaving their shelter without the elf to alert them of danger made them an even more tempting target, and so it began to creep up on its victims.

It was to be a short-lived hunt however as before it could get close enough to comfortably strike a large and hungry-looking bear burst free of some cover and made an attempt to make a meal of the vulnerable bipeds.

Bears normally didn't go after humans and elves aside from the lone and injured, or unless their young were nearby. Yet hunger had clearly made this bear bolder than most.

A frustrated growl escaped the shifter's animal throat as it watched the humans escaping in a boat. For the second time in as many days some act of fortune had ruined its plans when little or nothing stood between it and its target. It decided that either some unnatural forces must be up against it, or those blasted humans had some incredible luck!

Indecision gripped it as it tried to decide if it should go after the boat or stay and watch the two who were left behind. While it could still sense the tantalizing aura of powerful magic nearby there was simply no way for it to tell from its current distance precisely which of them had the Artifact.

After its growl of frustration turned to a roar of rage it shifted form to a hawk and took off towards the sky, deciding the best course of action left to it was to watch and see how events played out.

The bear was way too close for comfort! And when John saw it was almost at his heels, he released a yelp and pushed himself into the boat unceremoniously, but not before the bear made a try-

But there seemed to be luck on their side and not the bear's, as the only thing John lost was his boot, and the bear...
Was not happy that his catch was a simply, smelly old boat, as it sniffed at it, gave it a chew, then shook his head. And upon seeing the boat was already well into the water, it made a huff and turned around-
And this only confirmed just why it was lurking around, because two little cubs curiously poked their heads out from behind a tree near Rhubarb's house.

John's heart was hammering as he looked at his leg and assumed the worst, but when he counted all of his toes were there, he let himself fall back onto the bottom of the boat with a groan, not realizing the medallion had slipped from his pocket and rest between the two of them.

"That was definitely closer than a bear than I'd like." And as he moved to sit up agian, he looked over towards teh shore.
"Well whadya know, looks like the bear was just protecting her cubs. Guess we looked like a couple of bear thieves!" John went on, trying to lighten the mood with his jest.

Liri couldn't help wondering with more than a little trepidation if bears could swim as the boat lazily bobbed its way further into the water, but if they could this one seemed disinclined to do so and stopped at the shore, momentarily distracted it seemed by John's boot.

Though her heart would take time to resume a normal rate of beating her mind at least broke free of its earlier panicked thoughts. "Yeah," she said as she stared mournfully at the shrinking shack that held her friends as they drifted helplessly away from it. "Just protecting it's cubs after-" she stopped, noticing a shiny piece of jewelry sitting on the bottom of the boat. John's back was turned to it as he watched the bear.

Before she knew what she was doing her hand flashed out and grabbed the medallion, squirreling it away in a pocket out of sight. Immediately she felt guilty, although she didn't know why. No reason I shouldn't have it, she thought indignantly, I *was* the one to find it after all. I'm just keeping it safe...

"So... I don't really spend much time on boats," she commented as something occurred to her. "But aren't these things supposed to have some way to steer them?" She looked around as she spoke, her eyes taking in the notable lack of oars which had apparently been left back on shore.

Even as she spoke their momentum carried them further into the current and their speed began to increase.

His relief was short lived as he looked from Liri to the oarless holders then back to Liri again.
"No sweat," he went on with a grin and rolled up his arms. "I could use my arms to steer us but- woah!" and he lost his balance and tumbled forward as a small, spiraling rapid jerked them along.

Liri let a startled sound as the man lost his balance and she found herself leaping forward on instinct to grab him. However she would immediately discover just how true her words were when she said she had spent little time on boats, for as his weight slammed against her she almost immediately lost her own balance on the treacherous and unstable moving platform beneath her.

As she tipped uncontrollably to the side, placing a foot against the top of the boat's side in a vain attempt to stabilize, she managed to tip the entire boat to its side as well with her weight (as it wasn't very large or very wide) and for a terrifying moment time seemed to slow and it seemed as though their view of the river might be getting a little better than either of them had bargained for...

John didn't even have time to yelp when the boat rocked over, spilling the pair of them over board. And he got a face full and mouth full of water before he resurfaced from the water and splashed to keep afloat. The first thing he thought to look for was Liri, as he called out for the boy, "Liri!?" but he wasn't sure he could be heard over the roar of the rapids.

Liri surfaced a moment later not far from John, sputtering water. The current was still pulling them along, and the shack was growing smaller by the minute. "Great-" she broke off, sputtering and coughing, "-start off the day almost getting eaten by a bear, might as well follow it up with a drowning! I hate boats!" Her ranting seemed to pick up steam as she made a poor attempt to swim towards John. "I hate bears! I hate the whole blasted wilderness!"

---

Meanwhile, overhead a hawk circled quietly, watching the pair. It's observation had paid off, for as they had climbed into the boat it was sure it had seen just for a moment a shiny object fall between them only to be grabbed up by the twig of a human boy. It now had its precious medallion in sights once more, it needed only await the proper opportunity...

Once he saw Liri, he turned to reached for the boat and grabbed onto it for dear life and fought to turn it over. He used what strength he could until his face was nearly purple with the effort, but eventually he got the damn thing turned over and released a groaning breath before he suddenly smacked one of his legs off of a sharp, river rock.

And the words that came out of his mouth were colorful.

"What are you over there cursing about?" Cried Liri as she fought awkwardly against the currents. "You think you've got problems? I can't swim!" Indeed her feeble attempts to do so were looking more ungraceful by the moment as she cartwheeled her arms in what she thought the motion was supposed to look like. She was getting closer to John, but it was probably more by luck of the currents than anything else.

Then she looked ahead of them and froze. In the distance the river seemed to widen, and there were even some shoals and secluded banks at its sides where it looked like they might be able to make it ashore again. Yet that wasn't what had grabbed her attention.

It was the foaming, rocky rapids they would hit first...

She sighed, then spat out more water that was constantly trying to force its way into her mouth, her expression and tone sullen. "Should have just stuck with the bear..."

"What?" John exclaimed. "What do you mean you can't swim? This kind of information would have been useful earlier!"
Though that knowledge would hardly help them now, but now John had to struggle to hold the boat and try to swim against the current to get to Liri, lest the boy drowned. And by some strange luck, the boat rammed onto a river rock and remained still. And john could see Liri getting closer as he strained an arm towards her.
"Quick! Grab my hand!"

"Well pardon me," Liri protested as she reached out her hand, desperately paddling her feet in an attempt to gain a final push of momentum. "For not anticipating you dumping us into the river and giving warning! 'Oh by the way I notice we're in a boat. Probably would be better if you didn't try to drown us since I can't swim!'" Technically he hadn't been the one to tip the boat over, but at the moment she was content to let the fact escape her attention...

Just barely, her hand made contact with his own and she grabbed on for dear life. "I grew up on a farm you know! All I had to swim through was orchards!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, go on with your blaming but if you don't keep your mouth shut you're going to swallow water! And I ain't the sort of man to willingly give mouth to mouth to another man, so.."
And with that, he pulled Liri forward so she was snug against his hip, and then he grabbed onto Liri's shirt collar before suddenly hefting the boy up and out of the water and dumping him unceremoniously onto the bottom of the boat before he himself, crawled inside with a sigh.

Thankful for the reprieve, he half laid against the side of the boat, glad it wasn't moving (for the moment) and glad they were out of those rapids. It was only then he went down to rub at his leg, which was still smarting from when he smacked the river rock but a moment ago. And when he realized a lot of blood appeared to be rivering down his leg, he swore.

Without a second thought, his shirt was removed and he made quick work to bind it around his leg. The fact he was wet made the wound look a lot worse than it really was, but it was deep enough to still leave him cringing. And even though he had the shirt tied tight around his leg, he pressed a hand firmly over top of it to help apply pressure to aid the wound in clotting.

"That'll make a nice scar later," he said cheerfully, but no less tired and a bit strained after their near drowning ordeal.

"Well, at least there's no bears in this boat." He went on, and slumped his head back and closed his eyes.

Liri spend a few moments sputtering and coughing, for she had indeed managed to swallow a bit of water, but she was out of the water and safe - for the moment. The fact seemed to calm her and she looked over as John tended to his wound and laid back in the boat.

Her brow creased when she saw the amount of blood. Once again the man had come to her aid, saving her life from a bear and then the river's grasp, and she hadn't even given a thought to his injury. In fact she recalled yelling at him in her panic...

Suddenly she looked down, feeling abashed. Why was she always so angry at the man anyway? Hadn't he shown her nothing but kindness? Her jumbled mind offered no answer.

"How's your leg?" she asked. Partly she asked out of concern, after all there was a reasonable amount of blood loss and her muddled memory came to life again telling her that blood loss could lead to shock. And it was best to keep the person conscious and talking if that was the case.

Of course he didn't really seem like he was in shock, but she didn't care. She wanted to break the silence anyway.

"Eh, I'll live. The shirt will keep help clot the wound faster." He gave a shrug. "I'm more worried about getting out of this river. It seems there's nothing but rapids ahead, and I don't exactly want to have the boat capsize again."
Especially now, knowing Liri couldn't swim.

Liri looked around them, prodded by his words. The boat had lodged in a couple of boulders and wasn't going anywhere for the moment, but that was both a blessing and a curse. They were trapped in the river in a boat which couldn't move, nearer to the shore opposite Rhubarb's shack than the one on which they wanted to be.

She frowned at the thought of trying to dog-paddle her way to shore with the current and the proximity of the rapids to contend with. They could probably dislodge the boat, but not easily, and John's concerns of capsizing again in the process seemed quite well founded.

"Well..." Her mind drew a nice big blank. "Don't just lay there! Think of something!"

She flinched at her own remarks. When had she started depending on those around her to get her out of every situation? For years she had lived as a vagabond, depending only on herself. Of course she hadn't spent those years being hunted by thugs and shapeshifters and bears and...

Stop! She commanded herself. She wouldn't give up everything she had learned from those experiences because of a few days of misfortune. After all everyone she depended upon would sooner or later leave her anyway, through fate or there own decisions. Time had proved that over and over again. It was time to remember who she was.

"Sorry," she said in a more calm voice. "I... haven't felt myself lately. Thank you for saving my life by the way, I wouldn't even have seen that bear coming until it was too late..."

"Doesn't that mean I should get two thank yous? I did save you from drowning."

"Oh," she replied as a slight edge began to slip into her voice again, "I wasn't aware we were *counting*..."

"Well, if we are counting then I'd have a lot more owed than that!" he told him with a smart grin."Though I guess that'd be useless if we end up drowning in the river."  He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So... Got any bright ideas?"

Liri's eyebrow started twitching at the man's smart grin and near-bragging banter. She felt her fist clench. Fortunately perhaps there were no nearby pillows this time around to grab.

Her chin went up at his question of bright ideas. "Why as a matter of fact I do," she lied.

...Now just what was it again..?

She rested her back against the wood of the boat and crossed her arms, glancing around and trying to look casual. "I'm still trying to work out the details is all..."

Why isn't Obsidian coming to rescue us? she wondered. The more rational side of her mind provided several answers. After all they *had* left an angry looking bear behind at the camp and who knows if the others were still dealing with that problem. Or perhaps they didn't yet realize the boat was missing and were still trying to figure out where John and Liri and gone to.

Yet the more distrustful part of her mind had already formulated another answer. Maybe she wasn't coming at all. Maybe the elf had finally decided that Liri was more trouble than she was worth and had decided to cut her losses? Everyone abandoned her sooner or later after all, why should the blue-skinned woman be an exception?

Liri's gaze jumped to her companion in their humble little raft. The man who, as he had so obnoxiously pointed out, had indeed saved her life quite a few times now. All without ever asking for anything in return. The sun glistened on his wet bare chest, and once again she found herself distractedly studying the man's thin but well-muscled frame.

She shook herself, trying to focus on more relevant matters, but her mind only jumped back to their last conversation instead. His kind words, the way he had treated her like a friend - no, closer than a friend - like a brother. The casual compassion; her expression softened at the memory of it.

Then she recalled his breast-poke. Her expression reddened at that memory. She narrowed her eyes at him. "OK," she said at last. "So I don't actually have any ideas... but I'm sure I'll think of one."

He gave a sigh, and looked over at the river.
"Unfortunately, I think our only option is the river. Its not like I can fly. Can you?"

Liri stared at the river distrustfully, as if hands were waiting beneath the surface to grab her and pull her to her death. Time to remember who I am... Time to start depending on myself again.

Finally she seemed to come to some inner decision. Her gaze had come to rest on one of the boat's crossbeams, which looked more aged and abused than the others.

With all her strength she began kicking at one side of it, where it connected to the boat's side-beams. The boat shook but did not dislodge, and at first she thought her idea was a bad one after all. Yet on the third kick she heard the distinct sound of cracking wood and the beam spintered. She smiled and continued to work.

"Well," she said as she went to work on the other side of the beam. "We seem to be sitting on some wood, might as well make use of it..." The boat complained under her efforts, and she wasn't sure it would hold water as well by the time she got done, but she didn't care. Either they could use the beams for makeshift oars as they steered their way through the rapids, or she could use them to keep her from drowning as they tried to swim to shore. Either way the boat itself wouldn't have to float for long.

"Hey, what are you-" John started, but once he saw what Liri had accomplished, a smirk tugged leftward. "Well... that's a mighty impressive bear slayer for when we get back to land," he joked. "So, shall I do the honors, or shall you?" he went on, this time meaning to offer in being the rower of their esteemed little ship!

Liri panted, stopping her assault on another beam. Unlike the first it wasn't in as bad a shape or partially rotted on one end. The boat shook and complained but the wood wasn't going anywhere. To top it off her recently (mostly) healed injuries were letting her have it again and she finally conceded the battle.

She handed the first beam unceremoniously over to John. "I could only get one loose, so perhaps you should do the honors since this is my first time in a boat... When we get to the bear-killing part whack him a good one for me eh?" She tried a smile, though it came out somewhat pained.

With that, she put her right food over the side of the boat and tried to dislodge them from the rocks without turning the whole treacherous pile of wood upside-down in the water again. She wouldn't be able to do it on her own without launching them haphazardly into the current, but she figured with John using the wood as a primitive lever on the other side they just might have a chance.

John gave her a salute, and once they were pushed away from the rocks, he set to work guiding them as best he could with his make shift oar. Though a regular oar would make it difficult, as the waters seemed to do a lot of the work, shoving them forward and nearly spinning them about when they hit a second rock. And soon they found themselves backwards and John, trying to figure out which way to row as no matter which side he favored, the boat seemed to continue on a path of its own.

Obsidian had left the cabin sometime before dawn, alerted by something which had brought on a strange feeling of dread within her. Despite the danger, she made up her mind to go check it out as the feeling would not dissipate no matter how much she tried to focus otherwise. And it was with this compelling urge inside her, that the moon elf had reluctantly gotten up and exited the small cabin, closing the door quietly behind her so as not to wake anyone.

Outside, the morning was steadily approaching, the soft rays of light beginning to show itself more and more as the minutes passed. Following only a vague sense of wrongness, Obsidian soon found herself on a path she hadn't recalled seeing before. The dirt path was narrow and led fairly straight before cutting off abruptly in front of a small wooded area. However the feeling of dread was so strong now that Obsidian began to feel sick to her stomach at the intense waves of unease which flowed through her. Taking a few deep breaths, she stepped forward once and looked around her, trying to find the source of her discomfort.

Soon, a figure approached. The first things that Obsidian noticed were this figure was covered from head to toe in black robes, a hood covering his (or her) features. The other immediate thing she noticed was a strange dark purplish-magenta light emanating from the person's hands, holding their hands out as though searching for something. The figure continued on slowly like this, testing each new area with this odd magic light. As the figure drew ever nearer, the moon elf could feel a palpable sense of evil emanating from the person whoever or whatever it was. The aura was now more detectable and became even more so as the person continued walking, the dark magenta-purple light harboring a darkness inside which no light should rightly possess.

Suddenly the figure stopped and looked sharply in Obsidian's direction. The lunar mage had been so focused on the newcomer and the dread she felt, she hadn't thought to hide herself in shadow with her magic until it was too late. The feeling of dread intensified as the figure stared straight at her, dark hood of blackness revealing nothing, yet Obsidian could feel eyes boring into her so deep that it felt as though the figure was staring straight into her very soul. And Obsidian very much did not like the feeling at all. She stared straight back at it, trying to remain calm and unafraid, but with little success. The strange light at the creature's side brightened momentarily before it went out in a flash. Shortly after that, the figure spoke, its voice oddly androgynous and gravelly. She could not tell if it were male or female as it spoke in a threatening tone to the moon elf before it.

"You." the figure spoke that one word, and Obsidian felt her insides twist in fear. "I heard about you." It continued to stare unnervingly at the moon elf before speaking again. "A thorn in my master's side you are. What shall I do with you, I wonder? After all, can't have you meddling in his affairs, now can I?"

Obsidian remained rooted to the spot, all senses telling her to run but she found her feet firmly stuck where they were, as though this creature had the power to freeze her in place. She couldn't move one bit and so continued to stare uncomfortably at the ominous robed figure. All she could gather with her scattered thoughts was the thing before her must be in league with the forces she saw in her moon vision. All other coherent thoughts fell by the wayside, finding she couldn't even speak at that moment. So all she could do was stare helplessly as the person lifted an arm, clawed fingers barely visible underneath the sleeve of its robe, pointed at her and muttered an incantation in a speech so dark and vile Obsidian could barely breathe.

A daze of fog surrounded her and she found her elven eyesight couldn't pierce through its misty haze so it had to be not a normal fog, which of course was obvious from the start that it wasn't. The moon elf was mildly aware of the creature starting to mutter another incantation before it stopped suddenly as though distracted by something. She couldn't hear it move away but she certainly sensed that it had, the aura becoming fainter as it tried to follow its new lead. The fog remained in place for what seemed like hours, but was probably only several minutes at best.

Soon, the disorienting effect dissolved and Obsidian could see clearly again. However the creepy figure was nowhere to be seen and Obsidian feared for her companions as she strongly suspected it went after them now. She couldn't help but feel relief at the fact that her life had been spared, even if it wasn't intentional but she was still alive regardless. Slowly her strength began to return, the coldness which had permeated her being fading away more and more as the vile stranger left the vicinity. Moving her fingers and toes, she began to walk quickly back to the cabin, intent on alerting the others of the danger they now faced. That is, unless the creature got there first.

Her walk soon hastened into an all-out sprint as she hurriedly tried to make her way back before anything happened. She soon made it back to the cabin, Obsidian had all intents and purposes of running inside to warn her comrades and gracious host when she noticed the cabin door ajar and the sounds of yelling and shouting coming from the river. Without sparing a glance inside, the moon elf rushed off toward the river, her heart heavy in her chest as she did.

What she wasn't expecting was to be delayed by a bear. Obsidian stopped suddenly and froze as the animal snarled viciously at her. She wasted no time and dashed over to a tree where the shadows pooled more heavily and shrouded herself in her magic. The bear, now not being able to see the tall biped anywhere sniffed the air angrily for a while trying to figure out just where she was, before finally giving up in a huff as it stalked over to a grove of trees some ways away from her position.

Obsidian had already begun to move toward the river again, trying to locate her companions whose shouts she clearly heard. Hefting her bag over her shoulder, she continued to make her way steadily so as not to alert the bear or any other enemies in the area. She could not afford to be delayed again. She couldn't! Pushing past some branches and leaves in her way, Obsidian finally made it to the river and spotted a boat up ahead, several yards away. She did not see the sinister figure anywhere but she did see her companions Liri and John as they struggled with the boat and rushing current of the river.

Opening up her bag, she withdrew a rope and quickly jogged over to where they were, reappearing again from the shadows, the meager cover the trees provided quickly dissipating as she shrugged off the magic darkness like a cloak and yelled to them over the roar of the rapids, "Here! Grab this!" And she unfurled the rope quickly, tossing it their way, praying to the moon goddess Nephril that they would not get washed over board and drown. So far the bear seemed to not pay them any attention, but Obsidian's mind was focused on the safety of her companions now, all thoughts of the bear pushed to the back burner.

Meanwhile, a furious hawk sat overhead in the highest branches of a tree nearby, watching the whole spectacle unfold in extreme agitation. The mysterious cloaked figure and Osgald were nowhere to be seen, while the hawk just glared angrily down at the trio as it contemplated what its next move should be.

Disaster! Liri flew off balance again and landed hard against the side of their boat as it slammed into a rock with a loud groan of protest. She felt herself laying in a puddle which was rapidly getting deeper, which meant their boat was leaking. If it was from her apparently not-so-brilliant plan of taking out the wood support beam or slamming into the rock (or both) she wasn't sure but then it really didn't matter. Either way they were out of control and clearly going to sink -assuming the rapids didn't pull them under before it could matter.

John was clearly doing his best to steer them from further harm but she could tell the raging currents were making it all but impossible. I've doomed us to drown in this cursed river, she thought miserably. I should have left well enough alone...

Then to her astonishment she heard a familiar voice calling to them. She turned frantically to compensate for the churning of their boat in the rapids, seeking the source of the voice, and saw Obsidian standing on shore. The elf tossed a rope their way.

Liri couldn't believe her eyes. They were saved after all! The rope sped towards them and landed in the water just beside the boat. Immediately the currents tried to pull it away but without thinking she leaped into the water and grabbed it before that could happen. Unfortunately this left her off balance and halfway out of the boat. She anchored herself as best she could to keep from getting pulled out of the boat but didn't make any headway in getting them closer to shore.

"Help me pull!" cried Liri though she guessed John was already moving to do so anyway.

She was right to presume on John's intents, but clumsy footing and a rocking boat sent John toppling forward, so when he tried to reach for the rope....
He fell into the waters, face first.

Obsidian gasped in alarm as John face-planted into the rushing water and immediately tried to maneuver the rope over to him so he could grab it. However, it was a difficult task for the speed of the rapids pretty much made that impossible. There wasn't much else she could do but continue to hold the rope and hope for the best.

"John, grab the rope!" she called out, afraid for the two of them but tried to stay calm.

The hawk above them continued to watch in interest the proceedings below, while the black-robed figure from before was steadily approaching, leaving a dead, withered bear corpse in its wake.

Liri sputtered as water splashed her from John's dunk in the river. Once again she reached out on reflex, grabbing for John's clothing. "Don't worry!" she cried as she felt her hand grip cloth. "I've got-"

Then suddenly there was no boat underneath her. She cried out in shock as cold water assaulted her body, then sputtered and coughed some more as her cry had caused her to gulp some water. Looking behind her she quickly realized what had happened.

The boat had ricocheted off a mostly submerged rock, dumping its remaining occupant as it turned on its side. Liri and John were almost immediately pulled away from it as their trajectory was altered by the rope and Obsidian's stationary endpoint. The boat meanwhile continued with the motion of the currents.

The good news was that as the water pushed them downstream Obsidian's hold on the other end would mean that they were actually moving in a half-circle towards the shore and might almost wash up on it downstream from her, assuming they didn't get pulled under by any rapids along the way.

The bad news, as Liri saw it, was that she suddenly found herself holding onto the rope with her left hand and John with her right. Both her arms were now extended and she felt like a half-drowned human scarecrow.

"Did I mention I'm the one who can't swim?!" she protested to no one in particular before sputtering and coughing some more.

---

Meanwhile the hawk continued to circle, the humans below it oblivious to its sudden concern. At first it had been more than happy to let the river do its work. After the foolish humans had drowned themselves, it would simply go fish out the medallion and be on its way without so much as a fight.

Then the elf had come back. After considering what to do about this new wrinkle, it had decided that the logical thing was to simply change shape and attack the elf while the other two could not come to her aid and still let the humans drown in the river. It was about to do it too, then it noticed something...

A dark shape moving through the trees. Like the medallion it had a powerful aura of magic - but it was the nature of that aura which ruffled the hawk's feathers. Evil. It was the unmistakable stench of dark and powerful magics, and the shapeshifter knew it could mean only one thing:

So'Kor's servants had caught wind of the medallion. For all its efforts it had been too slow and its worst nightmare had now come to pass. Whatever happened next, it was absolutely *essential* that the cloaked figure not get its hands on the medallion. Better even that the elf got away with the blasted thing than So'Kor obtain it. For if that happened than it would be out of the reach of the shapeshifter forever. At least as long as the humans had it there was hope it could track them down again and retrieve it later...

It's hawk's features would have been screwed up in a distasteful grimace had they been capable of the expression as it flew low over the elf and screeched a warning before flying back up into the sky again and diving towards the cloaked figure from the back - raking its talons across the creature's head. It would have to be careful it knew - very careful - and fast.

As the shapeshifter had hoped, the creature stopped its approach to deal with the new attack. The hawk quickly flew into the cover of trees before its adversary could react with its dark magics. It flew in a silent circle around where it knew its target should be and then came in from a different direction - hoping that if it was fast enough and continued to use the woods for cover it could distract the creature for at least a bit longer.

It was a dangerous game. One wrong move and it would end up dying in place of the elf. Inwardly it made itself a promise that when at last it did get its hands on the medallion that the cursed elf and the humans besides would all die a slow and painful death at its hands for this...

The moon elf started to pull in the rope now that Liri and John had a hold of it-hoping to get them back to the grassy ground on her side of the river. As Obsidian carefully began the process of reeling in the thick 50-foot rope, her elven ears caught the unmistakable sound of a large bird's wings flying overhead. She turned just in time to see a large black hawk right above her and in startled surprise, she very nearly let go of the rope. Fortunately for all of them, she managed to keep her grip and tightened her hold even more now so nothing of the sort could happen.

The bird screeched at her and then flew away and Obsidian wondered why it didn't outright attack her. She was grateful that it didn't for whatever the reason, although a feeling of foreboding was starting to etch its way into her stomach as she remembered the black-robed figure that had delayed her prior to this. The lunar mage didn't know if the shapeshifter and this mysterious evil figure were in league with each other or not. If they were, their problems would only increase to double what they were now.

Right now, she had to concentrate on rescuing her companions from the river...

                                                   *****

Osgald was lost. Like, really lost. Having passed the same grove of trees for the umpteenth time now, he clenched his teeth and fists at his sides and pondered what else to do. His employer hadn't come here to check on him or help him out any, and Osgald feared he had angered him somehow. That maybe the shapeshifter decided to take matters into its own hands, leaving Osgald to wander aimlessly in the seemingly never-ending forest. He sincerely hoped this was not the case though.

Sitting down on a large rock, he put his head in his hands and tried to think of what to do. It was now more than ever before that Osgald wished he had some means of communicating from afar with his mysterious employer, but it seemed that the shapeshifter deemed it not important enough to give him that honor. His employer only showed up when it was convenient for it, and not Osgald.

Looking up at the sky and seeing it was light out made him realize just how long he had spent wandering around in circles and even more so, just how utterly exhausted he was. He felt he could collapse and sleep right there on this rock, and with that thought, his eyes began to flutter closed...

John was holding on for what it was worth, and immediately saw how his hold on Liri was nearly tearing the boy in half.
"We're not gonna make it like this! I'm too heavy!" He sputtered through the water. "Now it might seem foolish but just trust me alright? Cause I'm gonna let go! You just stick with Obsidian, okay? I'll be alright. Remember, I'm the one who can swim!" And before he could be stopped, he let go.