Lotaria: Divided

[DeletedUser25825]

Aela observed V with concern in her piercing gaze. She smiled at his immediate question about his eyes and shook her head saying, "You truly are very concerned about your appearance you know my friend. It should be your back you should have asked of first. I'm quite certain it was broken." She looked at Reaper, ensuring his well being remained for the moment, noticing his eyes elsewhere but dismissing it as keeping an eye out for further threats.

She looked back at V and said, "You have no need to worry of the Vraal. Reaper was quite capable in its demise." She frowned at V and slid her gentle hands beneath his shoulders to assist him up somewhat. "How are you feeling my friend? It was very fortunate that you showed us those stones, or I'd be very cross with you for going and getting yourself killed." She grinned and winked at him.

She looked to Reaper and looked him over, "You ok then Reaper? I'm sorry I didn't immediately run to your aid, but I don't seem to recall much of the fight overall. V seemed gravely injured, and you are stuff of legend." She smiled at the man. "Thank you for saving us all."

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

V slowly stood with Aela's help, leaning heavily on his staff at first for support. "We should likely have lunch then...as we all exerted ourselves during the fight, and we should replenish our energy reserves before going on...thank goodness Vraal never travel in groups...they'd tear each other apart...how they mate without dueling each other I'll never get. V managed to get over to an overturned log and sat down heavily. "You misunderstood my question about my eyes," he said, then explained, "While I know I worry about them too much, I need to know if something happened to them while I was being healed...you see, healing magic, while easy to activate, is impossible to be controlled...it will seek out any imperfection and try to eliminate it, locating the biggest concerns first. My concern being that as my wound healed, the magic may have decided the issue of my eyes was more of a concern than my wound and diverted some of its prowess to attempt to return them to normal...and my eye problem was essentially self-inflicted, caused by a spell...that means unless I manage to work out a counterspell myself and apply it, nothing will change them...and any attempt to help them will draw its power from me...thus my blasted weakness right now..." He stopped talking for a moment, then began again, a confused look on his face. "Wait a minute...a minute ago you said something about my back being broken and that I could be dead...didn't I just get a small cut on my forehead that knocked me out when my shield exploded? I remember a slight pain across my head and sailing backwards...and then next thing I know I'm waking up feeling no pain, just weakness." V looked troubled by this revelation... "Are you quite certain my back was broken?" he asked.

 

[DeletedUser25825]

Aela listened to V speak about how healing happened and shook her head, as it was mostly beyond her. She frowned as she tried to recall what she'd seen during V's healing. She slowly nodded and responded, "Yes, I think I recall seeing you have... green eyes!" She thought further and nodded in agreement with her statement. "Yes. Green eyes. Um... they're not green still. I like em. They make you unique."

She watched him a few moments as he rested on the log as she contemplated his next question of her. "I'm quite certain your back was broken. I've seen a broken back before. One of the servants of House Kilbourne was hacking a tree down for firewood during an excursion the house was taking. The tree bounced wrong and caught him. Broke his back. Couldn't feel his legs and actually died several months later in the winter." She frowned, "Don't you recall complaining about not feeling your legs? You did so, right before you fell unconscious. Perhaps you have something wrong with your mind."

She looked at Reaper for confirmation about the broken back observation, but realized he might have been focusing on the Vraal at the time and not heard. She looked around and shook her head. "I'm out of my element food wise. I've been a servant too long I'm afraid. I've never been out of the city without guidance before." She frowned and stated, "I didn't even think about food or anything like that. I'd assumed we'd find berries or leaves to live on apparently." She blushed crimson at her inadequacies and shook her head ashamedly.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

V frowned..."I likely lost my memory of the moment my back broke due to the fact the pain was overwhelming...I've heard of things like that happening. As for my eyes...they were green before, so the spell likely tried to help them, but the issue is that my back may not be fully healed...you only get one chance to have a healing work...if we were to ensure my back was fine, I'd first have to find the correct way to turn my eyes back to normal and then have you break my back in the same place to the same degree of severity...and forgive me if I'm reluctant to do that."

He gave a small smile, then went on. "As far as food goes..." he pulled out one of his pouches. "Don't you rmember me saying I had enough food in here for the three of us for four or five days?" He opened it up and pulled out several strips of salted meat. He pointed his staff at a nearby cluster of logs and they caught fire. V then put the meat on a stick and constructed a small spit for the meat to cook on. "There, that should work for us...hope you both like meat."

He contemplated what Aela had said about her liking his colorless eyes. Surely that was just something to make him feel better...surely no one would actually like them. He decided to take it at face value and instead pulled out the piece he had made earlier that morning. The gold was still very dull. Instead of polishing it, V pulled out a small tool and started shaping the gold, adding details. As the meat crackled and spat, the bird V was making slowly shaped itself, albeit still completely flat.

 

[DeletedUser]

Reaper agreed with Aela. "As the creature broke through your shield, you were hit back. Your back was broken very bad, probably on the lower part of the spinal cord," he said. "Thats why you didn't feel your legs."

He sat on the ground next to the fire. He looked at the food. "Looks delicious my friend," he said to the mage V. "Thank you for bringing food along. I've been out of coin for days. I haven't found a good pocket to steal from since I was a kid," he said with a smile and a chuckle.

 

[DeletedUser25825]

Aela sat on the ground, resting back against the log as she watched the small fire roast the meat. "You know, my friends. It will take some time to walk to Aron. What do you two think about horses? If we find an inn soon, I could probably entertain for long enough to be able to purchase some horses. It will make travel much quicker."

She watched V toy with the bird for some time, studying his movements with as much interest as watching the bird slowly emerging. She smiled and pulled the sticks off the fire. She wiggled her fingers quickly as she snatched the seared meat off the spit and tossed it to Reaper. She pulled another off, tossing from hand to hand to avoid burning her hands as she waited long enough for V to put away his creation to catch the tossed meat.

She pulled her meat off of the spit and bit off pieces, otherwise laying it on the log behind her. She laughed, "You're a good cook V. You really know your way around the spit."

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

V put away the piece in time to catch the meat from Aela. He nodded in appreciation of the compliment on his cooking skills. "Just something I picked up along the way, really...you know me as a mage and magesmith of Halien, but I'm not local to that area...as a small boy I was essentially a street urchin...I had to learn how to survive, and those skills have stuck with me." he smiled, reminiscing for a moment.

As they ate, V perused the idea of horses. "My only qualm with them is the fact that horses, and indeed most animals, dislike magic...you will never see a mage on a horse in battle since the smallest spell makes them skittish beyond belief. You generally won't see any animal around when an act of magic is in the making. If we are attacked suddenly, and I use magic to defend ourselves, we will be just as likely to die from the horses' panic as whatever is attacking us." He thought for a moment, then said "I can, however, use a simple spell so that we can cover vast distances with each step we take. If I cast it each morning..." he broke off, calculating. "We should get to Aron in about a week, actually." He looked up, smiling. "How's that for a counterproposal?"

 

[DeletedUser25825]

Aela shrugged her shoulder good naturedly as she responded, "I'm easy to get along with. I've actually never ridden a horse, but it doesn't look all that hard. I got to ride with my mas...", she frowned and broke off her conversation at that point. She sighed and took another bite of their repast. "Fast walk sounds fine to me, but how does that effect others that we travel past? Do they even see us? Does it make our energy go away faster? There has to be some cause and effect thing going on."

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

V thought for a moment. "I've never actually used the 7-league spell before...I've only used quick feet, a lesser version of it. I'd warrant a guess that the only side effects are you're more likely to run into something, whether it be an ambush or a tree, and slight disorientation when we start and stop..." he shrugged. "It's up to you two...I just know that if we get horses I'll have to go without...can't risk getting killed by something that's supposed to be on my side. If you guys want horses, I'll just use quick feet. Not a problem."

 

[DeletedUser]

"I go with the spell. If we stick to the roads, we'll be fine. If we are fast enough, I'm sure that nobody would see us. Besides, I sling spells myself. I cannot use a horse either," Reaper said.

He sat down on a log and went through a bag. He pulled out a pipe and leaves. He filled the pipes with the leaves and put the pipe to his lips. He snapped his fingers and fire came from the snapping. He lit the pipe, and began to smoke it. He breathed in, then pulled the pipe away from his lips, as he began to speak.

"I've used quick feet. It helped me in a chase against a target. It was a great spell. The 7-league will also help us. I go with the mages plan. But of course, it's up to you Aela," he said. As he spoke, smoke came from his lips. He brought the pipe back to his lips and waited for Aela's answer.

 

[DeletedUser25825]

Aela frowned as V spoke of unknowingly running into a tree. "Well... I can't say I'm wanting to run into anything while taking a, what did you call it? Seven league stride? It all sounds very fast and I've seen what happens to things going very fast that run into something that does not move at all." She smacked her hands smartly together, "Splat! No thank you." She rolled onto her side, crossed her outsretched legs at the ankles, and rested her torso on one of her elbows as she observed the other two.

"So horses are out, magic is in. But I'm going to be vexed if I run into a tree. Ambushes? We have no control of those obviously." She frowned and blinked. "I would imagine we're likely to as well. Times are not the happiest, and with all the mistrust? I would think it were very likely." She plucked a long piece of grass and chewed on one end thoughtfully. "It doesn't matter though really I guess. Besides you two, what else is there any more?"

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

V nodded solemnly. "We'll have to stick together, that much is certain." He thought for a moment, then he seemed to remember something. "I just recalled something of vital importance...the wilds around Aron are known for their large Stalker population...and Reaper from your look I can tell you've heard of them." He turned to Aela. "Although I've never seen one myself, Stalkers essentially look like massive, white praying mantises with massive wings. They aren't as bad as a Vraal by any means, but unlike Vraal...Stalkers travel in packs...always. I also remember they are immune to fire, which," he turned back to Reaper, "is apparently your specialty. I don't know what kind of instruction you received, but it could not possibly match the kind I was given...I was trained from the age of six to be a mage...you appear to have merely picked up a few spells, centralized around fire." He held up a hand to stop Reaper's protests. "I'm not trying to undermine you, trust me, but I would like you to leave the spells to me...you apparently proved yourself to be a strong fighter during the fight with the Vraal. You fight on that front and let me do what I do best. With luck we won't even come near a Stalker, but in case I want to be prepared." V stood, pulling out his staff. He pointed it at each of their feet, which promptly glowed blue. "Alright...the spell should last for 4 hours...do NOT run, merely walk with a purpose...ready?"

 

[DeletedUser]

"Fire and lightning mind you. I would've learned some ice attacks, but I didn't see the point in freezing people to death," Reaper said with a smile,"To slow. Fire is evil in every form, and lightning is very quick, very clean."

He finished the rest of his pipe, put it away in a bag, and turned toward Aela. "Whenever your ready," he said with a smile. He pulled up his mask and gave a thumbs up to both of them.

 

[DeletedUser25825]

Aela shruugged and stood up. "I'm ready as well, don't mind if I grab on to one of you occasionally just to make sure I'm not left behind though." She started walking, wondering about the purpose part of V's comment, though she figured she wanted to get from here to there and that would most likely suffice. "So... these bugs. What can we do to kill them? Are they big? Small? How many is this swarm you're talking about?"

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

The world blurred as V started walking. He frowned at Aela's question, thinking. "I...to be honest, I don't know what they are truly weak against magic wise...I don't really think anyone has found something that is truly effective...but their eyes are their only weak point for swords and the like. As for size...I've heard the smallest adult is at about 7 feet, with the tallest over 12 feet...As for the swarms...they range from 20 to 50 strong, depending on the location. However....they pride themselves on stalking their prey...which gives them their name. They can go for days without stopping, and launch an offensive the instant someone's guard is let down. They attack almost exclusively with their forearms, which are sharp beyond belief." V stopped for a moment, remembering the lesson he had received on the creatures. "I also remember that while they can fly with their wings, they don't do so unless absolutely necessary. They are very fast on their feet though..." V stopped again. "They're nasty, but not anywhere near as bad as a Vraal...but if we get attacked by a whole swarm at once...I don't like our chances, to be honest." With that, he lapsed into silence, merely focusing on walking, which felt odd, as though the air was condensed around him.

 

[DeletedUser]

"We can stab 'em. Poison 'em. Shoot lightning at 'em. Either way, we can kill 'em," Reaper said as he walked alongside Aela. He pulled out his crossbow and held it in his hand. He rested the frame of it on his shoulder, still holding the trigger and handle. He pulled off the belt he had for his sword, which was entirely different from his pant's holding belt. He held it out to Aela.

"Take it. If worst comes to worst, I want you to have more than just a couple of daggers. This blade will protect you. I promise you that. It's been at my side for many a winter, and it's killed many a man," he said.

 

[DeletedUser25825]

Aela looked at the offered sword, hesitantly grasped it between her thumb and index finger and looked dubiously at it, and then at Reaper as she shook her head. "I'm sorry Reaper, I can't take this." She held it back out toward him. "Thank you for the offer." She shook her head and pressed the hilt against him as he insisted. "No. If you don't take this, I'll drop it and who knows where it will end up."

She looked forward as she continued to walk. "It did have a very nice balance to it, but I'm certain were I to wield a weapon without training, I would end up doing more harm than good. I assure you I'm quite capable with my daggers."

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

V found it increasingly difficult to walk as they went on through the day with the 7 league spell. He fell slightly behind Aela and Reaper, who were both more physically fit than him. He didn't mind though, as it gave him time to think about all that had happened. When the spell wore off, they were near a forest grove. By a general consensus they made camp there. V repeated his earlier process to prepare the evening meal. He then pulled out his creation and continued working on it. As he worked he said, "Well, for a first day that wasn't too bad, hmm? I nearly got killed, we fought one of the worst monsters in the land, and covered a great distance." he grinned sarcastically. "Can't wait to do it all again tomorrow." He then sobered. "I don't think we've reached the Stalker part of the country yet...we should reach them tomorrow...so starting tomorrow we should start keeping watches...otherwise we'll be ambushed for certain. And Reaper, I again urge you to leave the magic to me...fire is obviously your specialty...and as I've said they are immune to fire...you are our best attacker with weapons...you play to your strengths...let me handle mine, ok?" He appeared satisfied with the details, so he put away his tool and pulled out a cloth. He started polishing the gold, but in such a way that he merely dabbed...he never rubbed.

 

[DeletedUser]

Reaper grabbed his sword from Aela and nodded. "Understood," he said. He kept walking with the group until they stopped.

Reaper sat down on a log and pulled out his pipe. Before he filled it with tobacco, he listened to V. "As you wish my friend," he said. He then filled his pipe and lit it using his fire magic. He inhaled and breathed out.

"And also, I agree about the watches. But, I prefer that's its just me and you taking watches V. We have a better chance of being able to fight these creatures if they attack while we are on guard duty. Aela needs some training, and since we have the time now..." he said. He took off his cloak, showing his clothes underneath. You could see all his weapons, including his knife, sword, crossbow, bolts, and pockets for gold, poisons, and the like. He took off his crossbow and bolts, putting them on top of the log. He then pulled out his sword and knife. He flipped both of them around in his hand and held them out to Aela.

"You need training in the way of the blade. Now we have the time to do some of that. Now, pick a weapon you think would be easier to train with. The short sword or the dagger. The short sword is about the length of an average man's arm, and is made of fine silver. The dagger is made of fine steel and is about 5 inches long. It also has a sharper point and is curved, which is perfect for slicing throats or for skinning animals," he said with a smile.

 

[DeletedUser25825]

Aela wasn't sure she liked being left out of taking watches, as it felt like she were just along for the walk more and more. She looked at V dab polishing the bird, smiled for a few moments, and then looked a bit more seriously at Reaper and the two blades he was holding out. She nodded at Reaper and took both offered weapons.

She rested the short sword on her outstretched right palm and hefted it up and down in her hand a few times, getting a sense of its weight. She then did the same with the dagger resting on her outstretched fingers of her left hand. She flipped her left fingers back toward herself and caught the hilt of the dagger in her hand, in a stabbing hold. She twirled the dagger by the handle with a twist of her hand, caught it in a slashing hold, and then whipped her left arm backwards and flipped the dagger high up into the air behind her.

At the same time, she dropped the short sword entirely and caught the flat of the blade with her upturned foot. She jerked her knee upwards, twisted her foot slightly, and tossed the short sword in a short arc into the air, caught it with her left hand and twirled the blade around before holding it loosely in her hand. She glanced briefly upward as the dagger came in a twirling whistle downward from where she'd tossed it. She lifted her right hand and caught the dagger by the hilt as it sailed down in front of her. She twirled the dagger dextrously, twisted the hilt around with her fingers so she held the weapon for stabbing, while pressing the length of the blade along her forearm, which concealed all of the blade but the curved point, which jutted outward toward her body slightly from behind her arm.

"Ok", she said, "I'm ready to be taught."