The Chains of Arunsia

[Apelatia]

Melkanai had glared angrily at Gilly as she had cleverly swivelled the situation in her favour, removing him from his position as the accuser and pummelling him into a sticky situation. The harlequin had managed to turn his own words against him, despite how he had tried to handle himself. Still gently massaging his throbbing head, Melk had given Gilly a cold stare to illustrate that he wasn't pleased, and that things mostly certainly were not finished between them. Gilly had then walked off, causing Melk to blush at a particularly raunchy comment, and had only heightened his awkward feeling with the look that she directed at him afterwards. Displeased with the way that their conversation had ended, Melk hobbled off, still clutching his head, leaving Gilly to deal with her urges. He did not under any circumstances want to be present when she with let loose. After a while, Melk felt himself drifting asleep, his last thought before he set sail of his precarious position within the group.

Many days and weeks later, Melk found himself looking upon the great forest of Arunsia. His headache had slowly subsided over the course of the few days that had followed the drug incident, which, Melk had concluded, had been a bit of a badly thought out decision. Since then, he had passed his time trying to strike up conversation, often unsuccessfully, with the other group members and allowing himself to succumb to his thoughts. Now that they were at the forest though, things were going to be a little different. As he gazed up at the gigantic trees that rose from the ground in front of him, Melk's mouth dropped open in awe at the sight. Ever since he had voted to travel to the forest long before they ever went near Hira, Melk had been eagerly awaiting the day that they would finally finish traversing the long distance. Now that they had arrived, he was not disappointed. The teenager did not have time to gaze, however, as Loyal proceeded to speak to them, giving him in particular instructions to pay close attention to his fragment. Pulling the glowing object out of his pocket, Melk held the fragment up for Loyal to see, only to look on astonished as Loyal collapsed and started speaking in an incredibly slurred voice. He was shaken out of his reverie only a moment later as out of the forest charged gigantic spiders. The tiny spiders that Melk recalled from Human's Sanctuary were as much akin to dwarfs when compared to these mammoths. Preparing himself to battle, Melk followed Carolyn's advice to use the trunks of the trees to avoid the projectiles that the spiders attempted to stun them with. Fighting in this manner, it did not take them long therefore to end the battle, with Melk himself severing limbs from the beasts and overall making himself useful. He had observed, with some delight, over the past weeks that his strength had been increasing somewhat. Not by much, but enough to make a noticeable difference to his abilities. Having to fight to survive had given Melk a somewhat steely edge. Gone was any excess fat that he had possessed whilst still the merchant's apprentice back home. Thinking about it though, Melk had decided that perhaps the sparsity of food had a little to do with his new appearance.

With the battle over, Loyal recovered slowly, and before long was as he had been when they arrived. After being given a brief on the dangers that the forest might contain, and being given advice to react on instinct to anything out of the ordinary, Loyal then asked Melk to lead the group because of his fragment. Melk nodded his understanding, though the thought unnerved him somewhat. Leading the group would mean that he would often be the first one to encounter any danger and would be the first warning for anything that moved in front of them. Still, Loyal had asked him to perform the duty, and perform it he would. When prompted to ask questions, Melk hesitated, then asked, "Are there likely to be any paths that we can follow through the forest, or will we have to cut our way through undergrowth and such...?" Still holding his fragment and his now-bloodied falchion, Melk awaited his response. When the rest of the group were ready, he would stride into the forest, fragment and weapon in hand, ready to find the next Guardian.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Hearing Perry's voice, Gilly cautiously opened her eyes to see the nobleman standing in front of her with a blood soaked sword in hand and a concerned look on his face as he asked if she was ok "Y-yeah I'm ok...you know...creepy crawlies" she said trying to offer him a smile only to have it turn into a grimace at the sight of the dismembered spider twitching only a short distance away. Had it not been for Perry she most likely would be dead around about now.
She would take a single step in order to follow Perry deeper into the trees before thinking better of the idea. No, there were more of them out there so perhaps it would be for the best if she sat this one out, especially seen as she couldn't even look at a dead one without feeling all shivery and unclean, let alone one that was very much alive and charging straight for her. And so feeling utterly useless Gilly sat down at the base of the tree and waited for the others to finish the battle without her.

The fight was short lived as was Johnny's paralysis; with the immortal praising both her and Carrie for their respective parts in the skirmish with the Harlequin giving a muttered "thank you" in response to praise she didn’t deserve. All she'd done was become so scared that she nearly allowed herself to be eaten rather than fight the spiders. She'd even had to ask Perry to retrieve her weapons for her as she been unable to even approach the lifeless corpses in which they had been embedded. No, she definitely hadn’t done anything to be proud of this day.
Once Johnny had finished stating the obvious; that them being ambushed was a very real possibility, like they hadn't just been in one of those already! a rather subdued Gilly would get up and follow the others. Hanging back so as to be alone with her thoughts whilst Melkie set about leading the group to the next shiny rock and the big bad monster guarding it, praying to whatever god would listen to her please don't let it be a creepy crawly! Please, anything but that!

 

[DeletedUser13682]

The fight was over quickly, almost too quickly for Carolyn's liking. Not that she wasn't grateful; she was very grateful for the quick end, praise Eris. But with this many spiders and the Arclight down for the count, it seemed like the fight should have taken much longer than it did. But, it seemed that the hit and hide tactic worked out well, and of course it was alright that the fight was over fairly quickly. It allowed Carolyn to get back to the Arclight faster and ensure that he really was alright, like he said he would be. Carolyn ran over to the Arclight and knelt down beside him. He seemed like he'd be alright, and was already starting to recover from the paralysis. He had rolled onto his side, and had managed to speak up to congratulate them on their performance in the fight. He made special note of Carolyn's tactics that made her beam and blush. "Well, you know, just a bit of thinking," she mumbled as the Arclight slowly recovered. After a while, the Arclight was up and walking again. He gave out a warning about ambushes (probably not unlike the one they just went through) and asked Melk to lead the way deeper into the jungle, to where the fragment was located. As they moved out, Carolyn looked around and saw Gilly hanging around in the back of the group. She fell back and joined the harelequin in the back of the group. "This jungle doesn't have much to endear it to us," Carolyn spoke. "Those spiders, they were so large. But I'm glad they're gone now. You holding up alright? There's something off about this forest, you know. We'd have picnics in the small woods sometimes. They were nice, peaceful. You felt safe in them. We would relax for hours, telling stories, having fun, those sorts of things. But this forest feels completely different. I know not what these forests contain. But it doesn't matter. I know that we'll be able to overcome anything that comes our way. We'll be back out of this forest in no time." It wasn't much, the oppressive shadows were weighing heavy on Carolyn's mood, the near darkness was threatening to swallow all hope. But she needed to keep the team's hope up, and at the moment Gilly was looking the most forlorn.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Feeling like a coward and a complete failure Gilly purposefully lagged behind the others, not really wanting to be around them at the moment as they would no doubt be talking about their respective parts in the skirmish which was something that Gilly wanted to avoid considering her own rather poor performance. However it would seem that Carrie had something different in mind as she dropped back to join her; speaking first about how big the spiders had been, which had elicited an anguished moan and a shudder from Gilly as the memory of the huge, gross, nasty, horrible....ok, ok Gilly that's enough! Stop tormenting yourself! To then move on to how she and her friends had liked to hang out in the little copses of trees within the parks. Gilly had spent a bit of time in the parks when she'd been younger though she'd mainly been picking pockets and swiping food from picnics with her brother so that they would have something to eat that night "I didn't get to play in the parks all that much" she confessed in a subdued voice "...though...I did kind of like that fountain...you know, the one with the horsey with wings" she continued with a hint of a smile. She'd always hoped that one day it'd come to life and take her and Gale somewhere far away; not the wastes mind as that would be stupid, but somewhere magical where you always had somewhere warm to sleep and food to eat that wasn’t rat.

She would continue to walk beside Carrie for several minutes before she finally cracked and started to talk in a voice that was on the verge of tears "I'm sorry I didn't help you Carrie, I wanted to, I really did! But I was just so scared of them!...I...I couldn't even move...I'd be dead if it wasn't for Perry" she said, delivering her confession in a miserable voice as she cuffed away the tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes "I don't like being that afraid of bugs...its horrible...and everybody is going to laugh at me when they find out" she finished, half expecting Carrie to go and do just that. In truth she shouldn't have told her about it, but Carrie always had that effect on her. She always made her feel giddy and then she'd go and say something stupid like that...or try and kiss her. That never seemed to work out very well either, which was a shame because she really liked kissing pretty Carrie.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

The answer Varus had provided Melk to his question about there being paths was that he wasn't sure. There had been paths in the past, but that had been before the Fall. Now he wasn't sure what the state would be. The answer, as it turned out, was both good and bad. In some places the beaten path still existed, and it seemed that the monsters avoided those sections, though whether that was because many of them were herbivores defending their territories or some deep, ingrained desire to stay away from areas people might show up in numbers he couldn't guess. In others, however, the paths had been overgrown to the point of it being impossible to tell whether or not it had existed in the first place, and it was here that they indeed had to hack their way through the plant life. Varus most often took point in these situations, turning his bow into the dual swords like he had against Rezna to cut through, knowing he would be the best choice to handle a surprise attack from any monster whose habitat they were disturbing. This happened with depressing regularity, and it was after their fifth such encounter in a single day's walking a good few weeks into their hunt for the fragment that the corrupted man called it quits for the day, sitting down hard after the last of the monkey/bull hybrids had been handled. The power and speed of a bull combined with the agility of a monkey had made it a difficult fight, and even the immortal had worn himself out making sure they all got through it. "We're going to...rest here...for a bit," he gasped between breaths. "Nothing...would have lived...near those things...we're safe..." He leaned back with a sigh, intending to rest for a while, only to let out his favorite curse and bring his bow around while most of the way horizontal, firing almost straight up. He froze after that, frowning. "That's...not real...is it?" If the Dreamers were to look in the direction he was, hanging from a low branch of the tree was another of the bull-monkey creatures. However, this one wasn't real, but was instead an almost too realistic carving of one, Varus' arrow sticking out from between its eyes. "What in the name of all that's in the light is that?" he asked no one in particular. "Who...who would have known to carve something like that? I've never seen anything like it before in my life..." He finished leaning back, allowing his bow to vanish. "Well...I guess that explains why those things gravitated here, anyway...but...who in the world made that thing? Why? Scared me half to death, but...I would hope that wasn't its intended purpose anyway..." He closed his eyes for a moment, shaking his head, before adding "we are going to rest here for now though, so go ahead and make yourselves comfortable." Within a few moments, Carolyn had flopped down next to him and put an arm around him, which he leaned into with a grateful smile. "Not...going to fall asleep right now...we do need...to set a watch rotation..." he murmured to her. Yet, despite his best efforts, the comfort of the instrument maker's presence had him out like a light."I'll take first watch, you all can sleep," Carolyn told the others as quiet as she could while still being heard. "I'm too wound up to sleep anyway right now..."

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Following paths that were barely worthy of the name, and overgrown trails that left Gilly's boots covered in mud and her bare arms covered in tiny scratches from the brambles and branches that seemed determined to destroy her outfit. Gilly was rapidly coming to hate the forest and it's denizens; though thankfully they hadn't encountered any further creepy crawlies. There had been a brief fight with a large rhino-rabbit followed by an encounter with several bright yellow rats that had shot lightning jumping out from a burrow; they'd been tricky to kill, and then finally there had been the monkey-bulls.
Finding one such creature which hadn't had the good sense to die, Gilly had gotten rather...creative...about ending its life, to the point that the heap of bloody, dismembered meat was no longer recognisable as the animal it had once been. She'd thankfully found it in a secluded spot away from the others as none of them seemed to have the stomach to watch as she satisfied her cravings and more often than not had the bad habit of not letting her do what she wanted to do, leaving her feeling deeply frustrated, to the point where she found herself wanting to take it out on them instead.

With bloodstained hands Gilly would walk into the clearing with a dreamy and deeply satisfied look on her face. So fully were her needs satisfied that she didn't even scowl at the sight of pretty Carrie snuggling up to stupid Johnny, instead she simply flopped down onto the ground with a sigh. Were it not for Johnny's sudden exclamation concerning the strange wooden carving he'd seen she would have quite happily lay there reliving the moments of her fun time within her mind. However upon clapping eyes upon the wooden monster Gilly's jaw dropped "dark...thats amazing" she gasped in awe; jumping up to circle the sculpture, marvelling at the intricate detail she could see within it "who....who made it Johnny? Who made it? Its brilliant!" She spoke excitably wondering how somebody could capture the very creature she'd been wrist deep into only a few moments ago so perfectly.
Unfortunately however Johnny chose to fall asleep instead, leaving her excitable questions unanswered...at least by him anyway.

With pretty Carrie offering to take the first watch, Gilly considered the proposition of going to sleep only to discard the idea "nah...I wanna look at the pretty statue some more...I don't suppose theres anything I can do to help you unwind?" She asked suggestively. The chances of her agreeing were slim but it didn't hurt to ask.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

(OOC: I am proud to announce my return to CoA, this time with a new character... Rosemary!)

Name: Rosemary
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Former Occupation: Homeless Beggar
Appearance: Rosemary is a short girl, around 4'6''. She has long brown hair that has been caked with dirt. Her clothes are little more than rags, having been torn almost to the point of indecency. Her body is covered in red marks and bruises well up from under her skin.
Personality: Fanatical and fanatically determined with little concept of things such as personal space or decency and modesty.
Skills/good points: Strong determination, extreme pain tolerance
Weaknesses/bad points: No social skills, No fighting knowledge
Weapon: Quarterstaff
Bio: Rosemary does not remember her family. They must have existed, she reasons, by the fact that she exists. That, however, was as far as the logic went. They no longer mattered. All that did matter to Rosemary was the Dream. She felt like the Sanctuary did not truly understand the Dream and its beauty. It was a calling, something to draw the downtrodden inhabitants of the Sanctuary, or those that were willing, to paradise. And so Rosemary, knowing that she could not convert others to her cause, had set about to prepare herself, through punishment. To cleanse her body and spirit she fasted for great periods and self-flagellation was necessary as well. When the day finally dawned, she had opened her eyes with a burning intensity and immediately set out for the Grey Guards, stumbling with drunken delirium towards her destiny.

***

She had been chosen! At last! Rosemary’s months of starvation and self-punishment, the cleansing coldness of freezing on the sidewalk and her religious belief had fulfilled her destiny. Last night, finally, it had come to her. The god of the Dream had appeared before her, outside the city, in the paradise of light. She had fallen out of the doorway in which she was sleeping, tossed her beating stick to one side and stumbled towards the Grey Guards post, grinning as they dragged her before the King. The guards had forced a staff on her, telling her at the very least to take a walking stick. Now she stood on the edge of the city, clutching her walking staff, gazing over the gloom towards... paradise. Finally. It did not matter that she could barely stand, let alone walk, for she was finally going to leave the half light of the city and enter the true light of heaven! Remembering she had a companion in her sacred journey to the promised land, she glanced over. "Greetings fellow Dreamer! Let us set forth together and reach the holy land!" A grin stretched itself across her face and her eyes took on a possessed, determined quality as she spoke. She was ready for enlightenment. She was ready to meet God.

 

[DeletedUser]

(Guess that's my cue to join in as well)

Name: Morinda Rubia
Age: 47

Gender: Female
Former Occupation: Apothecary

Appearance: 5'3", somewhat stout but also quite obviously in fairly good shape. Thin red hair with wisps of gray (approximately shoulder length, typically pulled back messily with whatever she has on hand, usually a scrap piece of cloth or bandage) and hazel eyes. Her face has a few wrinkles, accentuated by her almost constantly pursed lips.
Personality: Generally bitter towards the outside world, difficult to read and can be rather pessimistic. Genuinely wants the best for people despite often coming off as constantly annoyed by anyone and everyone.
Skills/good points: Skilled healer, caring, observant, quick learner
Weaknesses/bad points: pessimistic, grumpy, quick to judge, slow mover
Weapon: Hunting knife. She is reasonably skilled with knives from her work as an apothecary (from both using knives for preparing medicines and using knives themselves for treatments involving surgeries, etc.) but has always used smaller knives so she handles the hunting knife somewhat awkwardly due to its larger size.

Bio: Morinda "Mori" is a seasoned healer who has been hardened to the world due to the number of lives she's seen taken by both illness and injury - many of which may have been preventable (or so she perceives). She lived in a poor area and despite doing her best to combat this herself, many did not have access to proper medicines and therefore many died younger than they would have otherwise. Among those she's seen die are her family (her parents, brother, husband, and infant daughter). She has resolved to never let someone suffer unnecessarily and as such has taken to ending the lives of those she does not believe will get better through either poison or suffocation as they sleep. She does not tell their families she has done this, and rather lets them believe they simply died due to their poor health. Occasionally she wonders whether she has ended lives that would otherwise have gone on much longer. She hides this secret fiercely.

Mori has lived long enough to see many people taken away for being "Dreamers". They have all been younger than she is now, due in part to the overall poor health in her community and the fact that not many live as long as she has. Dreams lead to death, or so Mori believes. Sure, they may be given a chance to survive outside the sanctuary but to the people left behind, the people who will never be able to see the Dreamers again, they have died. And for the one patient of hers to have a Dream, they may as well have been dead before the Grey Guards came for them. Mori had woken to the patient muttering early in the morning, their words were nonsense and seemed to Mori that they didn't go together at all. She remembers wondering idly at the time if all Dreamers became so nonsensical or if it was simply the fever causing their words to be jumbled. She didn't get the chance to ask when the Grey Guards took her patient away, though she got the impression she wouldn't have been answered anyway.

Other than her overnight patients, Mori has lived alone since the death of her husband some years ago. She was rarely alone, however, as her patients often had visitors and the neighborhood children had learned she kept stores of honey for sore throats - when the children were well behaved she would offer them each a few drops. A few of the children had taken to sitting and watching her work as they savored their honey and she took care to teach them all she could, knowing she would not be around to take care of the community forever.

She hoped, then, that one of the children had been paying attention as she watched the Grey Guards walking to her door.

________________________________


It was a rather fine knife they’d given her. Simple perhaps, but certainly much nicer quality than any knife she'd used before. Mori flattened her palm and lay the knife over it, getting a feel for the weight and balance. It was larger than her old knives of course, but surprisingly light for its size despite the apparent sturdiness of the blade. She took hold of the grip and tried a few ways to hold it. The knife felt awkward in her hands but she hoped that might change in due time, she'd need it to. Tracing a finger over the blade, Mori was pleased to note the sharpness of it and wondered idly whether it would retain that. Not that it would matter for long, she knew being sent outside the city was as good as a death sentence to most. She'd fight, of course, she was too stubborn not to, but she didn't hold illusions of how long she would last.

A gratingly annoying voice disrupted Mori's examination of her knife and she looked over at the other Dreamer. The girl was certainly young, and her tattered clothes and dirty hair spoke to a difficult life. Not to mention the bruises and red marks which seemed to cover the girl's skin entirely, which caused Mori to wonder whether the girl had been abused in the city. She seemed happy enough now though, her exclamations exceedingly… annoying.

"There's no holy land out here, child. I don't know what pains you've faced before," Mori ran her eyes over the bruises on the girl's arms, "But there's nothing better out here, I guarantee you that much." Mori took a deep breath before gesturing for the girl to go before her. "Come on."

 

[Apelatia]

The answer that Melkanai had received to his question had not exactly been full of positives, with Loyal postulating that there might still be paths, or there might not be. When they did eventually take to the long trek through the depths of the greenery, they discovered that in some places a path existed. However, and in an irritatingly large number of cases, what remained of a path took the form of mass vegetation and monster hideouts. Fortunately for his continued well-being, Loyal took over the lead in these sections, with Melk hanging back behind him whilst the immortal chopped and sliced his way through the undergrowth with his dual blades. It was a good thing that he did too. On more than one occasion, the overgrown vines and brambles turned out to be the hiding place for one or more creatures, who naturally were not very pleased that their secret dens were being disturbed. These rude awakenings usually resulted in yet another fearsome battle, with Melk's falchion often soaked in odd-coloured blood and other less-savoury liquids by the end of each skirmish. There had been occasions where he had found himself at the head of the group when they were attacked, an unusual experience, but one which he had begun to enjoy, in a strange sort of way. These attacks tended to call for quick thinking on the spot, and Melk was finding that with every new exposure, he was able to more confidently make the right strategic call for both himself and occasionally even the rest of the group...

As time had gone on, Melk had lost his original awe for the grandeur and majesty of the forested realm. These feelings had instead been replaced by a general dislike for the place. If the open spaces of Arunsia were bad enough, this forest was most certainly worse. Wetness, dark patches and an eerie silence pervaded the area and combined to make the teenager's spirits dampen somewhat. In terms of the group itself, nothing really changed. Loyal and Carolyn played the role of the happy couple, Gilly alternated her time between irritating him and being uncharacteristically quiet and Perran... Well, there wasn't really much to be said about Perran.

It was after a particularly bloody encounter with some bull-monkey creatures that found Melk stood breathing heavily with his falchion resting against his thigh, which itself hurt from a blow that he had received from one of the monsters. Melk had made sure to end that one's miserable life quickly enough, with a final frustrated kick coming from his unhurt leg to emphasise the point. Whilst he was engaged in recovering his breath, some commotion was taking place around some bull-monkey-looking creature that was hanging from the tree. The only difference being that this particular specimen was wooden, and had been carved with some precision and delicacy. Melk allowed his gaze to wander over the intricacies of the sculpture, marred to a degree by the fact that one of Loyal's arrows lay embedded in it. Gilly meanwhile danced around it, taking it in herself with evident glee. Once satisfied that he had taken a good enough look at the carving, Melk wiped his falchion clean on a nearby tree trunk before sitting down and rolling up his torn trouser leg to inspect the bruise that was rapidly forming at the side of the injury on his thigh. Nothing serious, he mused, though it would certainly pain him for the next few days. It was as he gently massaged the area around the bruise that Gilly began making suggestive comments to Carolyn. Loyal was asleep, and Perran was likewise occupied, so it wasn't as if either of those two would be around to interrupt. Melk however, was far from pleased. His face set with a scowl, partly from his pained thigh, and partly from his displeasure at Gilly's actions, Melk voiced his thoughts on the subject in a pointed voice. "Gilly, can't you just go to sleep? You know how Loyal would react if he found out you two are all over each other." Melk had kept mostly quiet on the issue since their previous argument, but Gilly's continued persistence was in his mind damaging to the integrity of the group. Still massaging his exposed upper leg, Melk continued to glare in Gilly's direction, waiting for a response if one was forthcoming.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

"Nuh-uh, don't wanna" Gilly replied childishly to Melkie's irate suggestion that she simply went to sleep like the others "...Besides what's it to you, who I choose to sleep with? she's not your girlfriend" she retorted tartly, though she had to admit that had Carrie been going out with Melkie or even Perry she'd have probably been less inclined to pursue her affection to the former music shop owner than she was with stupid Johnny, The idiot doesn't even know what he's got! She silently grumbled, and not for the first time either. It wasn't fair, why did Johnny have to get the pretty girl she'd been holding a torch for ever since that first night they'd spent together in that cave. He was so clueless about the whole thing that Gilly found it painful to watch though Carrie no doubt found naivety to be charming or something else just as stupid.

However between her recent fun time with the Bull Monkey and the opportunity to, if nothing else, openly flirt with Carrie, Gilly’s bad mood was short lived as she offered the boy a mischievous smile “your just jealous that I’ve got more of a shot with the prettiest girl in the group than you have” she teased, watching his face for any sign of the inevitable scowl “you should smile more Melkie…have a little fun, we’re all going to die horrible, bloody deaths out here so we may as well enjoy ourselves whilst we can” she said with a smile before turning to examine the boy with a critical eye “you know…you’re kind of cute when you’re not whining…what do you reckon Carrie? Do you think Melkie’s cute?”

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Forest

Carolyn couldn't help but smile as Gilly cavorted around the carving. It was good that the harlequin was enjoying things that wouldn't end up with an argument. That wasn't to say the instrument maker didn't notice the blood on her hands, far more than she should have had. The Arclight would have been upset with her for inflicting needless cruelty on an animal. For her part though, she didn't think it was something that needed to be chided. Gilly knew right from wrong enough to know that she couldn't inflict that kind of cruelty on any of them, as much as she threatened to. However, her natural sadistic tendencies needed an outlet, and Carolyn didn't think that the occasional monster that would have torn them to pieces without a second thought was worth risking Gilly's ire. She smiled at the harlequin's proposal and was midway through shaking her head when Melk spoke up, asking if she could lay off since the Arclight would be furious if he woke up to see the two of them together. Which was the safe bet...one thing Varus had confessed to her as they'd travelled was that he had a hard time drawing close to people beyond a professional level, but he was doing his his best for her. She had told him she could be patient, but doing anything with Gilly, as much as a part of her might want to, would shatter his trust in her, and she couldn't have that...he'd withdraw back into himself and wouldn't emerge again for some time, if ever.

The topic had moved on by the time Carolyn came back to herself, with Gilly asking if she thought Melk was cute. Smiling over at the younger boy, she responded in a quiet voice so as to not disturb the Arclight sleeping next to her, "He's not bad looking...I'm sure there were girls back home who were crushing on you, Melk...did you have an eye for anyone?" This was a safe topic of conversation compared to many that the group had had over the course of the last few weeks, and she'd do what she could to keep the peace while their leader got some well-deserved rest. Though Perran, who had moved a short distance away from the others and appeared to be asleep, back against a tree, wasn't participating...but then again, he didn't seem to do much these days. Something had happened between him and Gilly, but she didn't know what. She wouldn't pry though unless it became detrimental to the group, people had little enough privacy out here...

---------------------------------------------

Human's Sanctuary Outer Walls

Mori and Rosemary were verbally prodded away from their only home by the Grey Guards after a time, with repeated warnings that they could never return. In truth, they almost seemed to be relieved that they were leaving, though they were as likely glad to be rid of the ravings of the zealot as they were interested in doing their duty. The area around Human's Sanctuary was desolate, having been built on plains with few trees so as to be able to spot an attack from a fair distance away. The gates faced north, and it was this direction that the pair travelled, as it was simplest and would get them away from the walls as fast as possible, fulfilling their one requirement. They went for a couple hours, passing the time however they chose, the walls fading into the gloom behind them. The landscape seemed unchanging save for exact location of the next smattering of trees until a figure came into view, sitting on a large rock, facing away from them. They were wearing full body armor of a sort, though it wasn't anything like what the Grey Guards wore, all uniform and mass produced. Rather it looked as though it had been crafted to their specific body, ornate while remaining functional, dull gold in color. As they approached the figure rose, and even from the slight distance they were massive, tall enough to tower over them both by a wide margin. The armored figure turned around to reveal they were wearing a silver mask, hiding their face save for their eyes, which were hard and seemed to reach farther than they should. There was a crack in the mask that went diagonally from the top to an eye socket, but otherwise there was nothing to distinguish where the mask ended and the armored helmet began. The figure folded their arms until they were either close to them or stopped, then made a neutral gesture to them. "It seems I was right to choose to wait for the replacements," they spat, their voice deep and tinged with bitterness. "I suppose it was inevitable, though I hoped otherwise." He spoke in a guttural language for a moment, the words lost on both of them, then returned to what they both understood. "Greetings to both of you...my name is Zain, the one who will ensure you survive the insanity that the outside world has become. That is the role I've decided to undertake...I can best help the humani by helping the two of you while I pursue my next objective. You will come with me. I will keep you safe, teach you how to survive out here. How to wield the...unusual weapons you carry. In return, you defer to my judgement and expertise. What I say goes, no arguments. Does this sound acceptable?" Zain had returned to standing with folded arms during his speech, standing impassive as he waited for their responses, eyes considering them both with grave intent, the rest of his expression lost behind his mask.

 

[Apelatia]

Melkanai alternated between rubbing his bruised leg and casting dark looks in Gilly's direction as she first replied in an infantile voice to his suggestion that she go to sleep, and then went on to ask what it meant to him. Melk's reply was sharp, his dampened mood not being improved by Gilly's silly behaviour. "It matters to me because I'm part of this tiny group, and you're trying your utmost to damage its integrity! Loyal is placing his full trust in Carolyn, and little does he know that his supposed lover is having fun times with you, Gilly, behind his back." Letting out an exasperated gasp through clenched teeth as a consequence of pressing down on his injury a tad too firmly, Melk then continued. "If being disloyal was bad enough..." Here, Melk tried to look into Carolyn's eyes to see what she was thinking. "...then intentionally hurting someone's feelings is definitely worse. He knows nothing about...errrr...relationships, and you two are playing on him like he's not even worth consideration." Another sigh, then, "Oh whatever... What does the word of a seventeen year-old mean to you matured adults anyway?" Lowering his gaze from the two women, Melk allowed his frustration to spill over as he brutally massaged the swollen area on his leg. He didn't understand why they didn't get it. Surely if he, at the tender age of seventeen, understood that two-timing was going to wind up hurting someone's feelings, then shouldn't two adults (well, Gilly was at least the right age to be considered an adult) get it too?

A short pause then ensued, after which Gilly began to tease him, claiming that he was only jealous that she had a shot at the "prettiest girl" in the group, and he did not. Melk looked up briefly again, tried his best not to scowl, but only half-managed it, the result being something between a neutral face and a glare. The harlequin then told him that he should smile more, something with which he partly agreed, but truth be told he was having a hard time smiling of late. What with this blasted forest, and Gilly's behaviour serving to stir up his cauldron of emotions enough to sour his mood, Melk was not in the right state of mind for smiling. He didn't look up this time, choosing instead to digest the comment inwardly. It was only when the conversation turned to his home life that he began to react. Gilly had decided over the course of their journey that he was cute, and apparently Carolyn agreed. Melk found himself blushing fiercely, unsure how he was supposed to react to the compliments from the two women. His predicament was only worsened when Carolyn commented that she was sure that girls had been crushing on him back home, before rounding off the embarrassing serious of comments and questions by asking if he had been keen on anyone himself. Melk considered for a moment the wisdom of responding, but soon gave up any thoughts of hiding anything. It wasn't as if these two had anyone else they could go to gossip about him with. Still red-faced, Melk spoke slowly, the earlier edge taken off his voice, "There was...someone I was interested in. I don't know if anyone else ever liked me, or if she fancied me in return... Nothing really ever happened..." Melk sighed then, an air of sadness settling over him. "Fliana was a single woman, and she looked after me well. I had no siblings or anything... I felt very protective towards her throughout my teenage years. So, it was strange when I got to...that age in some ways. I almost felt bad for feeling any emotions towards anyone else, as that would inevitably mean being less attached to my foster mother." Melk looked at Carolyn with a pitiful look, before continuing, "The girl I liked... She was called Lucinda. She was a bit like me - not very well off, spent a lot of her childhood playing on the streets with the other kids... She had..." Melk took a few moments to recall the memory of her to the forefront of his mind. "It's been a while, but I remember she had green eyes, long, dark brown hair and prominent cheekbones..." He flushed again at the thought of her, but then caught himself. "Whatever I felt though, it doesn't matter now... I'll probably never see her again, and she will likely have forgotten about me by now..." The brown-eyed boy looked to almost be on the verge of tears, but managed to keep himself in check. It wasn't worth worrying and wishing after a life he could never have...

 

[DeletedUser31931]

A sinner and disbeliever?! She, Rosemary the undefiled, Rosemary the pure, had been thrown out with a sinner?! Her mouth hung agape at the mere thought of the trial she was being subjected to, having to be accompanied by an impure heretic to heaven. Without another word, she turned and set off, determined to be the first of the pair to the golden gates and the joyous light of heaven. As they made it further from the Human Sanctuary’s walls though, her mood darkened. They had yet to see the light. Yet to find the gates. It had been an hour and a half and Rosemary was starting to get just a little bit irritated. As she quietly fumed to herself she spotted a figure off in the distance. Her breath caught. Was it… Were they… a guide?! Rosemary broke out into a determined stumble and shuffled as fast across the desolate landscape as her tired, battered and broken body would carry her. She would not need her body for much longer though as she would soon escape her mortal bonds and her clean and pure spirit would proceed to heaven where she would reside for all eternity in resplendent glory, an example of piety even to the holy and the pious. The Dream had chosen her and she would not forsake its glory now. She had been stumbling for quite some time now and finally they had made their way to the figure. As he turned around, Rosemary fell to her knees before the angel of the Dream and pressed her face against the hard earth floor. As the figure spoke, the meaning of his words slowly dawned in Rosemary’s mind and something turned cold and hard within. She… She wasn’t going straight to heaven. But… but… she had purified herself. She had beaten, whipped, and starved herself. She had undertaken ritual after ritual and she had finally been chosen by the dream. Why wasn’t she pure enough? Why must she go through this… this… purgatory to achieve the light of enlightenment? Her eyes turned to the other girl, the heathen, the heretic. It was her fault! If it weren’t for her, Rosemary would already be in heaven. Picking her head from the dirt she spoke in a hushed tone to her angel guide for the first time. “I shall follow your word to the end O Great Angel of the Dream. But before we carry on.” She grabbed her staff and rose to her feet, pointing it at Mori. “How shall we kill this foul heretic who spoils our souls?!”

 

[DeletedUser]

The girl continued to grate on Mori's nerves, her every mannerism setting Mori's scowl a little deeper. There were no complaints from Mori when the girl ignored her and walked ahead - a break from the overly enthusiastic remarks quite welcome. Mori followed shortly behind, resigned to staying with the girl. As they walked, Mori studied her. So many bruises and welts could only have come from something horrible, Mori reasoned, and the excitement the girl showed for being outside the city seemed only to confirm that. Despite her annoyance with the girl, Mori felt a bitterness toward whoever had beaten her to such an extreme extent. It was no wonder the girl seemed a bit off kilter given what Mori imagined had to have happened to her.

They walked in silence of course, neither having anything to say to the other. The time passed and there was little change in their landscape, more and more of the same nearly barren land. Mori narrowed her eyes, noticing the girl getting tenser as they moved on - finally realizing that this wasn't a good place to be, or so she hoped. Lost in her thoughts, Mori had hardly been paying attention to their surroundings until she heard a hitch in the girl's breath followed shortly by the sounds of stumbling as the girl picked up her pace. Mori picked up her pace to match, scanning the land in front of them for whatever the girl had seen. It didn't take long to lay eyes on the figure, an impressive presence even from the distance. They moved towards the figure slowly, steadily, and Mori watched as the figure rose seemingly in acknowledgement of them. They were, quite frankly, inhumanely tall. Mori stopped a few feet short of where the girl had thrown herself to the ground in front of the figure (a gesture she resisted rolling her eyes at, if only barely). She ran her eyes over the armor the person was wearing, rather fine and yet she could tell it was practical as well. Something about it nagged her as being familiar and yet she couldn't place it, or at least not until she looked at the figure's face. They wore a silver mask. Mori's breath stopped short as she examined it. Their mask had a rather large crack in it but there was no doubt that it was the same style the one the man in her dream had worn. And the armor… it was same as well. The armor she - Oh. Well that confirmed it even more. The figure spoke and his voice was the same deep voice she had spoken with in her dream. The same bitterness ringing in his words. Her thoughts whirling as she processed this, Mori nearly missed what the girl had said to the guardian.

"... kill this foul heretic who spoils our souls?!"

She snapped her head in the girl's direction, feeling the glare set on her face. This… this was more than the girl being annoying. Mori tightened her grip on her knife as the girl pointed her staff towards her. Any sympathy Mori felt for what the girl had been through was gone, now she was forced to view the girl only as a threat. She glanced wearily at the towering guide, he had said he would keep them safe but… what would he think of the girls declaration that she should die? Resisting the urge to lash out at the girl verbally, Mori settled for spitting angrily in her direction before turning away. Making a point to keep her knife between herself and the girl, Mori looked directly at Zain.

"Any company of the inclination to be helpful is welcome by me." She nodded, her acceptance bitter but her words true.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Melkie's reaction had been pretty typical, blah, blah, cheating, blah; blah, blah, should know better, blah, blah, blah. It didn't seem to matter to him that she and Carrie weren't actually cheating on anyone...or at least not yet at least, and the closest that she'd come to being all over Carrie was a single peck on the cheek whilst the Redhead had been recovering from an heroic hangover. However there would be no point in saying any of this to stupid judgemental Melkie as he'd either wouldn't understand or care that Gilly was actually in love with the girl and so was having a very hard time in behaving herself.

More interestingly however was the fact that Melkie had agreed to talk about girl's with them, with one particular girl by the name of Lucinda taking his fancy which was easy enough to believe judging from the description he'd given them "Oh Melkie...don't cry" Gilly said as she moved to put a comforting arm about his shoulders “…we’ve got to go back home eventually to get the king’s shiny rock…and besides even if she has forgotten you, your bound to catch her eye, after all you’ve been to the wastes; just think of the stories you can tell her! Also as we’ve already said you’re fairly easy on the eyes and all that monster killing means you’re as fit as!...in fact you’re probably stronger than I am now” she said feeling the muscles in his shoulders that she could have sworn hadn’t been there before. Then again she and Melkie didn’t exactly come into physical contact with one another on a regular basis so she could be mistaken.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Forest

Carolyn couldn't help but smile as Melk recounted his memories of Lucinda, a girl that he was fond of. Gilly took up the idea, going so far as to walk over by Melk and start complimenting him, how this girl wouldn't be able to resist him when they got back, and that they'd have to go back to get the king's fragment. "That's right, Melk. We're going back some day," she reaffirmed from her position next to Varus. "The Arclight is going to see us home someday, and you'll be able to talk to Lucinda again. Just think how brave she'll think you were for helping to restore light to the world, so that you can live out in the wide world, wherever you want." She smiled at the boy, shrugging. "You'll have a lot more to offer than most other boys your age when you get back...I like your chances." This was a nice moment, everyone getting along...she almost wished Varus were awake to see the cooperation. However, he needed his rest, as much as he might claim otherwise, and she wasn't going to wake him for anything that wasn't life-threatening. For now, she could enjoy the peace...she just wished Perran was more willing to join in on it. Ah well...nothing came without its flaws...the trick was enjoying life despite them.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Near Human's Sanctuary

Zain watched with mild surprise as the shorter of the women collapsed in front of him...or no, not collapsed...this was...obeisance. Disturbing. Agreement he had hoped for. Questions he expected. This...posturing...was not something he had predicted. Though as he took a closer look at her, he realized she was covered in wounds, both old and new. His eyes narrowed as he examined them...from even a brief analysis he could discern they were all self-inflicted, his plethora of battlefield experience ruling out any other option. This girl had...tortured herself for some reason. The warrior had just acquainted himself with this horrific knowledge when she further damned herself. The fool thought he was an angel, which was bad enough, but she then asked to kill the other woman! He was about to respond when the other woman, a severe, matron-looking type, responded that she too would work with him, albeit with much less fervor, and perhaps even some wariness. He noted with some approval she'd put her knife between herself and the other woman. She had good instincts. He could work with that. The other...

He had been silent for too long, and with one wanting to kill the other that wasn't acceptable. Stepping forward, Zain shook his head. "I'm no angel, and we will not be killing anyone right now. There are too few of us left to waste lives. I will not tolerate any more thoughts like that, am I understood?" His tone was severe, allowing no argument. In a calmer voice, he continued. "The outside world is cruel beyond reason, and it won't be easy to survive. Less so if you fight each other. There will be no fighting between us, save sparring. I don't like repeating myself...don't make me do so. Am I clear?" Once he gotten an affirmative from them both, he sighed and shifted to a less imposing stance. "Now then. Why don't you tell me your names and what you think you'll be able to do for us out here? Any extra, relevant information would be beneficial as well. The more I know of your capabilities, the more I can do for you." The masked man retreated back to the rock he'd been on originally, leaning against it, facing them with his arms crossed. He'd worked with enough people to know their general ability as fighters, regardless of what else they revealed about themselves. The crazy girl he'd need to work hard with, he could tell that already. Anyone who hurt themselves on a regular basis weren't people he wanted to train as soldiers...too unstable, and he'd had enough crazy in his life without adding more. The matron he could work with. Sure, no matter what she said she wouldn't be as strong as if she'd been in her twenties, but raw strength wasn't everything. He knew that all too well.

 

[Apelatia]

Neither Carolyn nor Gilly made any sort of response to his comments on their deceitful actions, something which Melkanai found interesting. Either they had each chosen that he was not worth listening to, or perhaps his words had achieved some effect? The latter was more of a hopeful option than the former, but maybe, just maybe the two women had heard him and would think twice before acting in future... Either way, there was only so much he could say to them. What did his youthful observations matter against their years of life experience? Wary of allowing the wisps of bitter emotion to overtake him, Melk concentrated again on what he'd said about Lucinda. Despite not wanting to expose too much of himself, he felt that perhaps telling Carolyn and Gilly something about him might have helped them appreciate him more as a person, and respect him more... Maybe it would even bring the group as a whole closer together too... Up until this point, Melk had not expected to find Gilly rushing to save him if he caught himself in a bad situation, nor did he think he would have extended the same aid towards her, but perhaps the small act of his opening up just a little bit about his home life might have worked in their favour? Split second decisions really did decide the course that life events took, he mused...

Melk was shocked then when Gilly not only offered comforting words to him, but actually came and placed her arm around him. The gesture seemed all too familiar to him, reminding him very much of times when Fliana had consoled him after he had hurt himself or had a bad day. That was a little too much for him to handle, and the teenager began to sob, despite strictly telling himself that crying was not on the agenda today. Gilly's words hit home well, with the harlequin speaking of how he was "easy on the eyes", and how his adventures across Arunsia and actions therein would earn him admiration in a way that other boys his age could not hope to have. She also spoke about how he was "fit", which was potentially the last thing he had expected to hear from her... Carolyn also voiced similar thoughts, and Melk found his sobs being tempered by a slight smile of appreciation. "You don't actually mean all that, do you?" Melk asked Gilly in a small, almost hopeful voice. The comments made about his body and looks were causing his face to heat up yet again, a response he could do little to stop. He had begun to notice his becoming a little more well-defined since leaving Hira, which was both uplifting for him and also a stark reminder of just how long it had been since he had left home. He still had a slim build, but perhaps he was a little more attractive now, especially after what Carolyn and Gilly had said. "You've both really cheered me up... I feel a tad less deprived of hope now. Thank you Carolyn, Gilly..." Here, Melk looked up at Gilly and smiled, still slightly red-faced. "Gilly, you're a better person than I thought you were. I thought you would be the last person to call me fit, but I'm glad you did... You're a...lovely person at heart." Embarrassed by the fact that he had actually complimented Gilly, though whether the words had come out well he wasn't sure, Melk looked away. He didn't pull away from the contact though, finding it helped him calm himself. Wiping his blotchy eyes with his sleeve, Melk spoke again, this time in a more measured tone. "I wonder how long it will be before we find this Guardian..." Inwardly, he was still somewhat surprised both by the fact that Gilly had complimented him, and he had done the same in return. Considering they had both attempted to kill each other in Farqual's cave, and Gilly had tried again in the mines too, this was a big step in the...right direction for them. Perhaps the long walks and treks through the horrible forest would be more bearable from now on.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

The sinner moved away, pointing a knife at her like a sinner would. Rosemary knew that she lacked the strength on her own to defeat the sinner, an unfortunate side effect of her spiritual cleansing. Still, the Angel would help her. He would strike her down, he would banish her to the dark realm, to the land beyond the eternal twilight that they called home. He wou… As the Angel’s words wormed their way into her brain, Rosemary stared at him. Why must fate torture her so? Not an Angel? No killing the heretic? But… Why? Rosemary lowered the staff and her face went into a pout for a second before an idea occurred to her. Of course! It all made sense! She might have purified herself, but she had to prove her purity before she was allowed to enter the heaven of the Dream. He wasn’t an Angel, he was a… guide! He wasn’t a component of the Dream, merely someone who had been guided to them by the dream. As for why they couldn’t kill the heretic, Rosemary had to teach her to save her soul and protect her. To guide the unclean through the fires of purgatory and enter the land of the bright light of the Dream. That was her task. Turning to her guide, she bowed. “As you wish. I shall work alongside this lost soul and together we shall guide her through the fires of purgatory to the everlasting light of the Dream. My name, O chosen Guide, is Rosemary, humble servant of the Dream, a pure light amongst sinners. I look forward to travelling with you through the wastelands, placing the strength of our faith against the trials that lie within. My skills lie in my religious purity and dedication.” With her piece said, she stepped to one side and motioned for the sinner to speak up. “Quickly.” She hissed at the hopeless woman when she did not start speaking immediately. The Guide should not be kept waiting. Rosemary would see to it that proper due respect was given and, under her tutelage, she would save the soul of the sinner who had been chosen to accompany her. The only question was as to whether the physical purification rites would be necessary, or whether mental ones would suffice.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Despite her best...well...ok, mediocre efforts Gilly soon found herself sat beside a crying boy with the Harlequin throwing Carrie an uncomfortable look as she rubbed the boys arm in what she felt was a comforting manner. Thankfully however his crying fit was short lived with the boy asking whether they'd really meant what they'd said about him being good looking "Well...yeah, I did...though...I'm not exactly the best judge to be honest...I mean...I am a lesbian after all" Gilly replied, though she had to admit that after spending so much time in Perry's company that her final point could be debated. Not that this seemed to bother Melkie overly as he quickly cheered up with him even going so far as to say that he thought Gilly was lovely "Aww, thank you Melkie" Gilly replied with a slight blush of her own as she planted a kiss on his cheek, followed by her quickly putting him into a headlock in order to ruffle his hair in a playful manner.

There had been nothing romantic about the gesture, as it was the same kind of kiss that she'd given to her brother when he'd been particularly sweet to her, even if her makeup had left a perfect imprint of her lips upon his cheek. She was kind of tempted to not say anything and see how long it took him to realise that it was there and wash it off but decided that seen as this was the happiest she’d seen the boy since entering the wastes that she’d wash it off herself by licking the end of her thumb and wiping it off.

Sitting with her arm about his shoulder, it was scary to think that she and Melkie may actually be friends...or at least not enemies anymore, though only time would tell whether this new found friendliness between them would last.

It was during this relatively peaceful moment that Melkie would ask about the guardian they were supposed to face within this infernal forest "I dunno...it’s probably stalking us already, though this time lets not befriend it...ok?" Gilly responded teasingly only to be suddenly struck by an idea "Oh hey! Maybe it made the pretty statue!" she exclaimed, pointing up at the carving of the monkey bull with her free hand. Something that carved pretty statues couldn't be all that bad...could it?

 

[DeletedUser37114]

Relief flooded through Edric as he realized that it had worked. It had worked, Gemel was going to come with them and help them take down the- He flinched back as he heard the sound of metal impacting wood, felt the wind of some thrown weapon passing by too quickly for him to see, bringing him back to earth and sending his heart pounding. He had almost been killed, didn't even know it was coming until the weapon was already embedded into the tree behind him. Gemel was apparently furious now, accusing Edric of manipulating him, that he didn't have any choice but to tag along with him and Adrienneias. That wasn't what he wanted, he didn't mean to manipulate... Didn't... Edric jumped again as he heard Adrienneias' voice, reprimanding Gemel. And gone was that fury, that tension, as Gemel relaxed, looking like a child who had been told that he needed to eat his vegetables. Edric backed away from the shorter immortal, not taking his eyes off him until he disappeared.

For her part, Adrienneias seemed more relaxed, which meant he was really gone. For now, at least. She said he was out to get his things and that Gemel's intention wasn't to kill him, which was something he didn't quite believe. He trusted Gemel when he said that there was a reckoning coming, not that that really mattered. As long as the man helped Adrienneias, killed that thing, it didn't matter what happened to him afterward. Edric had helped her, that was enough for him. Picking up his pack and getting everything together, he listened to Adrienneias speak before voicing the question he'd been wondering. "Um... Is there anything I shouldn't say or do around him? If I don't want him to get angry at me again?" It wasn't a particularly good question, but it was hopefully enough for him to avoid losing Gemel as an ally. And if not... Well, hopefully Gemel would help Adrienneias enough to take that thing down