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Post by xinrick on Jan 7, 2016 10:37:52 GMT -6
"It's alright Erik. I understand your worry." Simon sighs out. "I'm worried about them to..." He says worriedly, knowing something will go wrong in that blasted town. "Just thinking if the others might need something in case there hurt or unarmed is all." Simon shrugs.
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Post by Lepking13 on Jan 7, 2016 14:41:18 GMT -6
"You understand that I am worried, not what it is or even why." Erik said, leading Soth and the mercs to a flat piece of land just within sight of the town. "I still have a few vials of healing compound from the past few times you made some, and I wouldn't worry about them being unarmed. Iris has her magic, and Tobias is...Tobias. I've got a few spares I could lend him if the need arises." He jumped off his horse, pulling a metal spike from a flap in his saddle and driving it into the ground for him to tie the reins of horse to. "Set up a fire, maybe get some logs for seats. Just don't put any tents up until Iris and Tobias are back." He said, pulling the bundle off the back of his horse and untying it to reveal a menagerie of smaller swaddled bundles. He undid the wrappings on two of them, revealing a bundle of flasks with a very thick black liquid inside in one and a set of stilettos in the other that had a perforated tube running along the center of the blades.
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Post by xinrick on Jan 7, 2016 14:54:26 GMT -6
"Alright." Simon nods, deciding to stop talking about this whole thing and take a look at where they are, seeing if there's enough wood for a fire, enough logs for seats and just trying to distract him from talking more about this.
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Post by Paladin on Jan 7, 2016 20:06:56 GMT -6
Soth set Simon down, looking around the fields for any animals to catch. He felt inclined to hunt the beasts at day, for night was far more dangerous for him to hunt. Everything would be far too unfamiliar to him.
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Post by xinrick on Jan 7, 2016 20:48:56 GMT -6
"Thinking of hunting Soth?" Simon asks while getting some rocks and making a fire pit and throwing sticks in it and started a fire. "Have I ever read you something before Soth? Or do you even care about reading?" He asks the man-giant while seeing the flames grow to a good size and keep the area warm.
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Post by Lepking13 on Jan 8, 2016 11:34:12 GMT -6
Erik pulled the cloth from around his neck up to cover his face, pulling empty tubes out of the base of the stilettos. He undid the stoppers in the glass vials, carefully pouring a minuscule amount into the stiletto ampules before quickly stoppering the bottle back up and sliding the ampules back into the stilettos. He re-wrapped the bottles, sliding the stilettos into his sleeves with a quiet click. He sighed as he pulled the cloth over his face back down, rolling his bundle back up and tying it closed. "I doubt there are any animals worth hunting this close to a town, maybe a handful of rabbits or birds." Erik said, tying his bundle back to his saddle. "If you head a bit farther back the direction we came from, there was a clearing that had a few deer tracks."
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Post by xinrick on Jan 8, 2016 11:42:27 GMT -6
"I noticed that as well..." Simon says with a little thought, wondering if him and Soth should go back and hunt and trap some deer or not because of the looming darkness and the possible predators appearing.
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Post by Paladin on Jan 8, 2016 16:52:56 GMT -6
"Too far." Soth said, sitting down and scratching his head. It was an hour and a half before Tobias and Iris returned, Soth letting Erik know they were returning. Tobias held a few papers in his hands, each with descriptions on some fierce warriors and their abilities.
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Post by xinrick on Jan 8, 2016 17:36:00 GMT -6
Simon looked to see Tobias and Iris make it back to camp. "Hey, I suppose you brought those papers because of some special people?" Simon asks, wondering if the papers Tobias has is anything special or just something involving the festival.
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Post by Lepking13 on Jan 8, 2016 17:38:08 GMT -6
Erik walked up to the two, a very quiet click in his sleeve as he walked up to them. "Glad to see you're back, now they can set their tents up. Wanted to make sure we'd be ready to move, in case something happened. So what'd you find out?" He asked, before looking at Iris. His eyes flashed, looking for the charms he had handed to her.
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Post by Paladin on Jan 8, 2016 21:13:33 GMT -6
"The town is controlled by one of four great families, clans. The four clans are clan Baha, Kincaid, Calcimus, and Rudolf." Iris started, taking two of the documents. "Every eight years they hold a tournament and pit their greatest warriors against each other. They never kill each other, but there were instances where someone has died from biting off more than they could have chewed." "I noticed one warrior each from the Great Clans that would gladly help us in our journey." Tobias said, reading off of the documents. "These are the four warriors: Calvin the Beast Master of clan Calcimus; Rose the Charmcaster of clan Rudolf; Finnigan the Goliath of clan Baha; and Robert the Accuser of clan Kincaid. "Calvin is able to tame most beasts, from what I've seen of him. He's a short man, with greasy black hair. Rose herself is as dangerous as her charms and spells; according to one of the villagers, she killed four of Calvin's six beasts at their last tournament and beat him into submission and earn her clan the right to run the town for the next eight years. Finnigan the Goliath is a fast moving strong man, but doesn't do well with beasts. He can easily be over taken by them. Robert wields a war hammer that he can easily turn into a spear if he took the hammer head off."
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Post by Lepking13 on Jan 8, 2016 22:14:49 GMT -6
"That's a lot of good information. Hey Iris-" Erik said, walking over and putting a hand on her shoulder. "You remember the thing I said to you before you walked into that town? My apology, about earlier regarding the money at the tavern. Are we okay now, or what?" He asked.
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Post by xinrick on Jan 9, 2016 10:46:57 GMT -6
"That's...a bit odd." Simon frowns, having it sound like a tad too much like 'rock paper scissors'. "But thank you for the good information. It means a lot to hear all of that."
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Post by Paladin on Jan 9, 2016 22:04:00 GMT -6
"Everything's fine, Erik." Iris replied, placing a comforting hand onto Erik's. "We're going to be talking with the clan leaders tomorrow."
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Post by xinrick on Jan 9, 2016 22:32:01 GMT -6
Simon smiles at the kind gesture between Iris and Erik, before heading over and starting to make camp. "Who's gonna take first watch? Cause I'd rather not have someone not watch while we're close to that town." He asks honestly.
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Post by Lepking13 on Jan 9, 2016 22:40:10 GMT -6
"If this is the real you, I hope you will not hold this against me." Erik said, a low click coming from his sleeve as one of the stilettos shot out and stabbed into her shoulder. Erik spun, the other stiletto sliding into his hand before he threw it into the shoulder of Tobias. He grabbed Iris' hand, twisting it hard before flipping her and slamming her face first into the ground before flipping over to Tobias and kicking him in the face. He landed on Tobias' chest, just as synchronized hissing came from the stilettos. "You've both just been injected with a very powerful paralytic. Short term, but long enough for us to tie you up before we start getting information. SOTH! I need a lot of rope, and the bundle off my horse."
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Post by xinrick on Jan 10, 2016 10:46:59 GMT -6
"You gave Iris one of your trinkets right?" Simon asks, knowing Erik wouldn't have done this unless it was really necessary or something was missing. "The people their must be really cunning or strong to kidnap them both if that's what happened. And copying everything about them as well, from looks to voice."
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Post by Paladin on Jan 10, 2016 15:29:38 GMT -6
Soth brought over the rope, along with the horse itself.
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Post by Lepking13 on Jan 10, 2016 19:09:14 GMT -6
Erik took the rope from Soth, quickly binding the hands and legs of both Iris and Tobias with heavy knotting before yanking the stilettos out of them. He walked over and pulled the bundle off the back of his horse, undoing it and pulling a number of metal implements from the various pouches and pockets. He slid metal cylinders into the mouths of both Iris and Tobias, tying the cylinders in place with metal wire wrapped around their throats. "Now, here's how this is going to go." Erik said, after double checking all of the knots and binds on the two. "You two are going to be just out of hearing range of each other. I am going to alternate asking you two questions, and if they don't add up I'm going to hurt you both. And believe me when I say we could be out here for days before either of you die. And if my friends have been hurt, I'm going to go into that town and kill every single man, woman, child, and animal I come across until I find them." He lifted Iris up, undoing the cable on the cylinder enough that she could speak out the side of her mouth. "Before that starts, where are the charms I gave to Iris?"
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Post by Paladin on Jan 10, 2016 19:14:48 GMT -6
"Erik, I swear upon my father and yours, you better untie me right here and now!" Iris said, opening her left palm, both charms in her hand. "You're lucky I don't summon my ice wolves. What's gotten into you? There's no body in that town who could fully mimic our appearance! That charmcaster? Only knows combat magic, not any kind of disguising spell!"
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Post by Lepking13 on Jan 10, 2016 19:31:56 GMT -6
"I was making sure the only beings I can call friends were not replaced, and the ones still here were safe. I'm not a mage, all I know is how to get information...and how to kill." Erik said, reaching around her back and pulling on four of the knots. The rest of the ropes fell loose, as he walked over to Tobias and yanked on several of the knots binding him. "You're the one that responded to the apology question before you went into the town, instead of calling me on my bs or showing me the charms. If you'd be a dear though, yank the frowning face off the charms for me though."
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Post by Paladin on Jan 10, 2016 19:36:54 GMT -6
Iris did just that, her left hand still holding the other charms.
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Post by Lepking13 on Jan 10, 2016 19:50:07 GMT -6
Erik sat there for a moment, looking at her. "Thank you Iris." He said, pulling one more knot on the rope binding Tobias as they all came loose. "I...I'm sorry, for stabbing the both of you." He said, pulling the metal cylinder out of Tobias' mouth. "But I was not on your heels while you were in there, I had no guarantee that you were who you looked like. And I took the precautions I deemed necessary in case I doubted your identities." He walked back over to his bundle, sliding his tools into their pockets before re-rolling his bundle. "Hate me for stabbing you both, I couldn't care less. But if you hate me for trying to protect those I care for...then I guess I'll leave, so you won't be threatened again."
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Post by xinrick on Jan 10, 2016 20:35:51 GMT -6
Simon heard Erik say 'he would leave' and got worried. "Oh no...this isn't good." Simon thinks to himself. "Should I try and keep Erik from leaving? This was just a misunderstanding..." He thinks to himself.
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Post by Paladin on Jan 11, 2016 16:01:05 GMT -6
"Erik, have I ever hated you for trying to protect any of us?" Iris asked, her hand still holding the charms. "I may not know the pain of being born of the Jester, but I know that one's life is always at risk when others recognize you are the child of the god of deceit and deception. You know me to never hold anything against my allies for trying to keep one another safe."
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Post by xinrick on Jan 11, 2016 16:33:16 GMT -6
Simon finished setting up the tents while the other half of the group was talking and trying to keep himself busy. "Let's hope this doesn't end badly." He thinks to himself, hoping Iris can keep Erik from not leaving.
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Post by Lepking13 on Jan 11, 2016 19:03:32 GMT -6
Erik laughed, leaning against his horse. "At risk? I've been running since I was five. Because of who my father is. The only family I ever found were brigands who thought I was a good luck charm, and assassins who wanted to be known as the one who trained his child. Until I found you guys, I had nothing to actually even fight for. Tell me Iris, what has your heritage ever cost you?"
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Post by Paladin on Jan 11, 2016 20:31:36 GMT -6
"Never anything that's almost killed me. I've had mages and wizards, 'great sorcerers' beg me to teach them the magics of my father, and, when I refused, several of them attacked me. Other than that, absolutely nothing." Iris replied. "Like I said, I don't know what it's like in your shoes. But, have I ever held it against you for trying to defend yourself or any of us?"
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Post by Lepking13 on Jan 11, 2016 21:13:02 GMT -6
"I own nothing that I have not bloodied my hands for." Erik said. "The fact you questioned what I was doing, I understand. I am my father's son. What I do not like is that you threatened to sic your dogs on me for trying to protect the only family I have now." He hopped up onto his saddle, untying the other horses and throwing the reins to Iris. "Until everyone has calmed down, myself included, being here is detrimental to the continued survival of the group." He pulled on the reins, his horse turning away from the camp. "The East is where I came from, and treading back along that path will undoubtedly raise some ghosts I will not like. But I just want you to know, that no matter what happens or what I do, I made an oath to you four. I will not tell you to have blind faith in me, but at least trust that everything I will do is for all of our sakes." He snapped his reins, his horse taking off at a slow walk back towards the town. "I'll be in the town, I need to do some of my own digging. This place still feels awful to me and, no insult to you or Tobias, you don't know where to look like I do." Erik said, pulling his hood up.
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Post by Paladin on Jan 13, 2016 16:01:59 GMT -6
"Understood, Erik. Come back when you need to, but don't stay away for too long." Iris replied, nodding her head. "You know the East better than all of us, though you know one of us comes from there as well. It is sad to me that Tobias will deny it, however."
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