Sorana - 2000-01-25
ubrey considered Amber's offer for a moment. Much he wished for his freedom, if he was set free at the edge of town, there was a very good chance he'd only be recaptured. *And who knows who'd get me then. No, it's better to stay with this girl for the moment.*
"My dear, I appreciate the offer. However, I would prefer to stay with you for the moment. Don't worry about buying another horse, I would be honored to pull your wagon for you."
"Oh, well, um...thank you. Uh...you-are you...will you be talking to anyone else?"
"No. Aside from you, humans have not proven to be very trustworthy."
"Ah. I'm flattered you trust me." *I think.* Amber picked herself up off the floor and brushed off all the straw sticking to her. "Since you've decided to stay with me, I suppose I should let you get some rest. Good night."
Yvonne - 2000-01-26
iana followed Lucian to the study, happy to be rid of the crowd and acutely aware of the man's discomfort. And enjoying every minute of it.
Addressing Diana, Lucian began, "We decided it best for Adriana not to travel too conspicuously, so you'll be travelling only with her, Roderon, and perhaps one maid. Roderon is my sister's personal bodyguard and can take care of himself; your responsibility is only with Adriana."
After a pause, he continued, "We haven't planned an exact course--I leave that to your discretion--" he nodded to Rody to indicate the Felana was to be included in such decisions "--but I will ask you to keep in mind that Adriana is not familiar with wilderness travel. Again, I leave stops along the way to your discretion. Adriana is not trained in physical self-defense, but she is fairly well-practised in magic and has admirable common sense. As to her health concerns..." he frowned slightly in thought, then shrugged. "You would do better to ask her directly, as she will no doubt know better than I."
Well, then the safest route was out; straight overland. If the woman was useless in the wilderness then there was really no point in dragging her through it. She'd end up being more of a bother than she was worth; even at her price. And she really didn't know how renarni the Falara thought himself to be. Usually she was alpha on any trip they made, her brother only occasionally seriously challenging her for dominance and the humans frightened enough, or respectful enough, of her experience and abilities to leave her alone. *Lets just hope he doesn't push me.*
Fishing a map out of a drawer, he spread it out on the desk, motioning Diana and Rody both closer to look at it. "My one request would be for you to enter Torrigan somewhere in this area." He indicated a particular region on the border between the two countries. "A friend of mine, a Knight of the Shield, lives there, and I've sent him a message asking him to keep an eye out for Adriana and for you. His name is Roarke Tarrant."
Diana suppressed a growl as she looked over the thing; although she had learnt to read maps, she was never overly good at it. It was so hard to orient yourself of a senseless, flat piece of paper. Humans and their squiggles ... it was really quite a bother. But the it did give her the opportunity to lean over and give the lord a good view down her front while she puzzled it out. It was amusing to watch him squirm. Too bad he was so uptight. She could use a good roll in the hay before beginning their journey.
"What, you do not trust my brother and I?" she asked teasingly, giving the man a lidded amber look. "Your Knight, however. To bypass his wreshalal we shall have to go out of our way, adding more than a few days to our journey."
That, and the Knights of Torrigan weren't known for their tolerance of non-humans. Diana did not wish to encounter yet another small-minded human who believed that 'humanity' was the ideal. The Llowra were ten times better than the sprawling plague that had covered the countryside. And if one thought her bigoted, then ask an elf. They agreed.
Joel - 2000-01-27
al's deep green eyes, golden flecks dancing, stared into the depths of the Kethiel Forest drinking in it's ancient lineage. Even astride Windfire the trees soared to immense heights overhead The leaves whispered eldritch secrets from past ages and he guessed the moss clinging to gnarled barks around him was older then his many years. In these woods the hundred years he had been gone was less then the weight of a single leaf falling to these loamy grounds.
The light glancing through the rich canopy, sparkled and brought back memories of youthful wanderings and daydreams. Tal could almost imagine waking up in the caves of Clan Darkecat with little Jenra playing at his feet and his parents calling to him. Could his years of adventuring and the Ronin artefacts he carried be imaginings? Could the oasis he built been a mirage? And could the summons he heard, the call homeward from the Forest itself, it's cry for help be an illusion?
A quick shudder went through his body and the cold silvery metal that was his left hand brought him up short. He stared at it. No leather glove could hide from him such a solid reminder of his reality. No nightmare could encompass his years of slavery or the loss of that hand, and no youthful dreamer could imagine the struggle to bring this artefact to life, nor the tenacity to control and even more difficult to accept it. Deliberately shaking himself this time, he also knew no child could have created the pleasures of Zinkara and Ulatherial, his Ronin wife and child or that of many other memories along his way.
Taking himself out of his reverie, Tal briefly touched minds with Kitteree, his falcon circling overhead to make sure he was on watch and then let his earth-mage senses slowly sink into the wilderness around him. As time passed, Tal thought he began to understand why the Forest had asked for his return. There was some evil, quietly and deliberately wrapping tendrils of its own around the roots of the Kethiel, sinking them far into the earth. Either this evil moved so slowly no one noticed or the elves were too close to the problem and an outside perspective to feel the wrongness. Perhaps it was his early encounter with evil among these gladed walls that made him sensitive enough to feel the danger around him. Could this be one of the reasons the elves have grown so distrustful of outsiders, he wondered, a closed community was much more susceptible to all kinds of trouble. Finally, Tal came back to his senses still pondering what to do.
Still with plans half-formed Tal rode into the Kethiel and destiny.
John - 2000-01-28
erona's hair shined in the sun, as did her silk rainbow colored dress. She rode the roads of Torrigan in her normal elegance. Amazingly she had not been bothered by any bandits who often lurk in the forest.
Her horse after several hours of riding began to grow tired. Night would soon fall so she best figured to camp just inside of the kingdoms boundaries. Slowly she jumped off her horse and tied him up, then she gathered her belongings which were all tucked in a silk sack.
She looked distastefully at the ground on which she would sleep, she went into her sack and pulled out a silk sheet and laid it on the floor, she would stay till morning and then head toward the kingdom.
Spellbinder - 2000-01-28
Slowly, a new sound made an inroad into the forests peaceful litany, a metallic, rhythmic tattoo. A trail broke the natural pattern of the forest floor, an intrusion upon the sovereignty of nature. It was upon this trail that the figure of a horse and rider, the source of the new sound, appeared. The rider paid scant attention to the surrounding beauty as he rode slowly along. His tanned face was locked in an expression of anger and weary concentration, his blue-gray eyes focused in a faraway gaze, oblivious to all else but the scene in his mind's eye.
Trevor Ainsley recalled the angry words that had passed between he and his older brother Regan, each one emblazoned upon his memory. He sighed deeply and shook his head.
(When will Regan accept me as a Knight of Torrigan? Can't he see that this is my calling, my life?) he thought for the hundredth time, running his fingers through his black hair.
It seemed each time Trevor paid his family a visit lately it ended in a fight between the two brothers, today a case in point. It was the one obstacle in his life that seemed insurmountable. Trevor couldn't understand why his brother objected so strongly to his Knighthood. Didn't he know that Trevor was living his dream? Why did Regan have to be so stubborn?
It never occurred to Trevor that he was as stubborn as his older brother. He just knew he was right and that was that. The dispute began years before when Trevor had voiced his intention of leaving the family lumber business and pursuing his dream of becoming a Knight of Torrigan. Everyone had been sympathetic at first, believing it was just a stage that Trevor was going through at the time, everyone but his younger sister Sasha. She knew him much too well to believe he wasn't serious. Sasha and Trevor had a deep bond, unusual for siblings who were not twins. They were so close, almost of one mind, that sometimes one would be speaking and the other would finish the sentence without missing a beat. Neither could lie to the other, for it was nearly impossible to hide things from each other. Thus Trevor learned to be an honest person. As such, he was also given to frankly speaking his mind, sometimes a little too frank for some people's taste. He was also headstrong and not afraid to take risks. Many times as a boy he would take on bullies much bigger than he and fight them. Sometimes he actually won, but more often than not he would receive a sound thrashing for his trouble. However, young Trevor was undaunted. He had no pity on anyone who tried to bother Sasha. More than one had his eye blackened by Trevor.
The troubled Knight shook himself from his reflections, focusing now on another matter. The dream.
The previous night had brought with it's cloaking darkness a vision. A young lady he had never seen before beckoned to him. A beautiful girl with flowing auburn hair, long and luxuriant. She had emerald green eyes and a questioning look on her face. Her complexion was pale, almost ivory, and she had a petite build. Her bearing was mature and poised for one so young, perhaps in her early 20's. She was carrying a sword and wore a curious necklace around her neck. Judging from her clothing, she appeared to be from a moderately wealthy family. Why was she beckoning to him? She held her sword in a manner that suggested she wanted to be trained in it's use.
A trainer? Me? Trevor shook his head, but the girl would not be put off. She became more insistent. Trevor shook his head again. This time she knelt in front of him, her eyes pleading. The dream had been interrupted by the beginning of a new day, leaving Trevor to puzzle as to the girl's identity. Trevor had dreams like this occasionally, but the really unsettling aspect of these visions was that they usually came true. He'd had these dreams since he was a small boy. They came infrequently and at different times of the day, sometimes during naps, but usually at night. At first they had frightened him, but eventually he became used to them, even using them to his advantage. The only one who knew of them was Sasha and Trevor had sworn her to secrecy. Now that he was a Knight of Torrigan, he kept it well hidden. If the Order found out, he would be labelled a dreamer and his visions construed as magic, something discouraged in Torrigan and outright banned in the Order. Trevor sighed again and continued his introspection, oblivious of the predatory eyes watching him from above.
Copyright (c) 1999-2000 Abigail Laughlin and the members of the Circle of Stone.