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Story Hour
Bitterness Overcome: (Now A Completed Story!)
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<blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3046371" data-attributes="member: 35788"><p>The foursome traveled through the thick underbrush as they slowly followed the tracks of the goblins. In the back of his mind, Ischarus knew that if the tracks weren’t fresh he’d have no chance of picking them out underneath the plant growth. Fortunately the signs were fairly obvious. He also knew that they were following them much more slowly than they had been laid, so the likelihood of coming across the goblins that originally made these tracks was not very good. Both of those facts made Ischarus much more at ease knowing that the only reason he was taking this path in the first place was because of some weird magical wind that forced him down this path.</p><p></p><p>They traveled in silence for over an hour, slowly picking their way through the low branches. After having their joyous laugh ruined by the suspense and mystery of the land they were all too busy lost in their thoughts to do much speaking out loud. Of course, the fact that they were in goblin territory and largely outnumbered wasn’t much of an encouragement to talk loudly either. They plugged along slowly, each one occasionally rubbing the mane of their horse to inspire it to keep moving.</p><p></p><p>As they continued, suddenly Ischarus heard Rhema’s voice whispering loudly behind him. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Ischarus, stop. I saw something.”</span> </p><p></p><p>Ischarus smiled as he pulled Elistra to a stop and began to turn her around. He teased Rhema slightly. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Oh, how the mighty have fallen now that Rhema is seeing things!”</span></p><p></p><p>He was greeted with a very stern shushing from Charis. Rhema had already dismounted off of Shauvry and charged on foot into the underbrush. Charis and Semeion looked as though they were unsure as to whether or not they should follow.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus cursed under his breath when he saw Shauvry standing on the path with his saddle empty. He quickly swung his leg over Elistra’s back and was on the ground. He collected the reigns attached to Shauvry’s bit and bridle and brought both horses over to Charis. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Stay here with Semeion and watch this trail. It isn’t an often used trail by the looks of it, but if there is a tribal gathering or something going on it might be used more than normal. You and Semeion need to protect the horses.”</span></p><p></p><p>Charis nodded, looking back at Semeion. A slight smile came across her face, knowing that she and Semeion hadn’t had any time alone since the entered the tunnels on the Tongra side of the Tongra-Quehalost Mountains. It might be nice to have a few moments with absolutely nothing to do except stay in one place with Semeion. In the end, she readily accepted the reigns from Ischarus and dismounted. Ischarus was gone in a flash after Rhema once Charis had taken the reigns from him.</p><p></p><p>Rhema was nearly a half minute ahead of Ischarus and she could just barely hear him coming through the underbrush behind her. She knew that she would have an easier time hearing him than he would of hearing her, however. She reached out and grabbed a thin birch sapling and shook it hard, rustling its leaves clear to the top. She was confident that Ischarus would be able to hear that.</p><p></p><p>She focused once more on trying to find what she had seen dart off of the road. She thought about what her mind had understood and it simply didn’t make sense. It was like a shadow had moved on its own, without something physical to move in correlation to it. As her mind focused, she stopped moving forward and thought some more. In a whisper she began to talk to herself. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Surely I am not chasing shadows through the woods of Quehalost. I am smarter than that.”</span> </p><p></p><p>As her mind began to realize the imminent dangers that this land could be throwing at her, she reached out and found another sapling. She shook it hard, figuring that Ischarus would need another clue as to where to head soon. She listened and heard him coming in her direction. He was closing in on her and she relaxed knowing that he was drawing closer.</p><p></p><p>Suddenly her eyes caught movement again. Again in a whisper she talked herself through her surprise as she once again began the chase. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“A foot! I know a foot when I see one, and that clearly was a foot. But it was no foot like I have ever seen. I could see through it. I could see the base of the tree behind where the foot was resting upon the ground.”</span> A sudden chill ran through her body as she stopped moving. She heard herself talk through what she had seen and she knew the implications all too well. She was chasing some kind of shadow that could maintain its shape without having a physical body to relate to. A chill ran up her spine and she noticed that her feet no longer desired to move forward.</p><p></p><p>Again she spoke softly to herself. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Turn around, Rhema,”</span> She was trying to talk herself away. There was no telling what deep evil had risen out of Quehalost against them. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“You can’t use your powers of persuasion upon a shadow. Shadows don’t really care about things like we do. If you meet that shadow, then what’re you going to do?”</span></p><p></p><p>A hand reached out and touched her from behind. Rhema shrieked loudly as she crouched to the ground and spun around to face her adversary. Without even thinking about it, her might focused on what she could only assume was the worst. She extended a mental attack similar to the attack she had used on the gray skinned creatures below the mountains. To her surprise the attack worked!</p><p></p><p>Ischarus was hit with her attack and he shrunk to the ground in pain. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Ahh! Rhema, get out of my mind!”</span> Tears streamed down his face at the sharpness of the unexpected assault.</p><p></p><p>Slowly, Rhema’s mind reverted back to reality. She knew that voice. She looked with her eyes; it was something she had not done earlier. She didn’t want to see her assailant. She merely wanted to force it off unseen. But when she heard the familiar voice her eyes darted up to see Ischarus crouching in pain before her. Immediately she released him from the attack and rushed to his aid. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Oh, Ischarus! I didn’t know it was you. I saw something. Actually I saw through something. Up until then I was just so curious, but when I actually saw a part of what I was chasing I got scared. And you caught me and …”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus had relaxed once Rhema’s assault had left his mind. He even boldly reached out his hand once again to her shoulder as she spoke in a hurried pattern. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Rhema, calm down. I’m alright. I’ve got a bit of a headache now, but I’ll live. And, you’re babbling pretty badly. So stop and breathe for a moment and then tell me once more what happened.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema paused in her speech and allowed herself to calm down. She took a few more deep breaths and caught Ischarus’ attention with her eyes. The look on her face was deeply apologetic and Ischarus could only smile. At the moment, he thought that she looked as though her favorite pet had just died.</p><p></p><p>He reached out and drew her into his shoulder. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Forget it, Rhema. You were obviously scared. I’m not hurt badly, so don’t worry about it.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema breathed deeply through her nose and choked back a few tears. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“We aren’t chasing something natural, Ischarus. You can see right through it to the other side, but not clearly.”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus smiled, and he felt good enough to rise to his feet once more. Once he was standing he extended his arms to Rhema. As he helped her to his feet he continued to speak. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Well, I assumed not, Rhema. Something that has this kind of power over the wind is either a strong magic user or something not natural. I’ve been hoping it wasn’t a strong magic user because if it was we were immediately in over our head and thus being toyed with. If it had the power of someone like Brandt then we were just walking into its trap. Given that conclusion, your telling me that it isn’t natural is actually a relief.”</span></p><p></p><p>Another gust of wind blew through the middle of where Rhema and Semeion sat. Rhema’s eyes darted to Ischarus and then she spun around and stared along the ground. She couldn’t spot anything like before from where she stood.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus spoke as his mind was trying to make sense of the situation. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Listen, Rhema. Let’s move in the direction that you were headed. Maybe we’ll get another look and I’ll see it this time, too.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema nodded and led the way. Her confidence and curiosity was returning now that Ischarus had caught up with her. She stepped off into the direction that she had been moving. After a few paces both she and Ischarus pointed in the same area. </p><p></p><p>Ischarus called out from behind. <span style="color: LightBlue">“There it goes!”</span> He indicated with his finger that the shadowy creature had moved off to the right. </p><p></p><p>Rhema called as she plunged through the undergrowth in the general direction the shadowy for had appeared to be moving. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“I told you I saw something! Did you see what I meant about being able to see through it?”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus didn’t reply. He did nod to himself as he followed her change of course. He was deep in thought about what they could be following and never thought about the fact that Rhema couldn’t see his nod. Rhema didn’t seem to mind, though, as she kept moving through the brush. Suddenly she stopped short. Ischarus came up from behind quickly and nearly ran into her. Her eyes were fixated on a small horizontal stone slab in front of her. Ischarus saw the slab and couldn’t help but exclaim at the oddity of the sight. <span style="color: LightBlue">“What in Quehalost is that?”</span> His words had broken the small silence that had formed during the chase.</p><p></p><p>Rhema stepped closer to the stone. There were burn marks across the face of the stone. Her head cocked slightly to the right as she took in the pattern of the marks, trying desperately to have it make sense to her mind. Her hand began to reach out and touch the marks to see how fresh they might be, but as she moved she quickly thought better of it.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus exclaimed in what sounded like a muffled shout. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Look!”</span> He pointed toward the base of the stone slab where there were four slightly rotted wooden stakes. He continued in his whisper as he felt the need to hold the scene in reverence. <span style="color: LightBlue">“There are four of these around the base. And each stake seems to mark the major directions on a compass.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema nodded, putting the scene together in her mind. She likewise replied in a whisper. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“And these wooden stakes are right below where the burn marks reach the edge of the stone. Could something have been tied …”</span></p><p></p><p>Her voice stopped short with a slight tone of horror behind it. Without delay Ischarus looked at her face and followed her line of sight to the stone slab. Immediately he saw what she had put together in her mind. His hand covered his mouth as the realization sunk in. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Not something, Rhema. Someone. Someone was burned here.”</span></p><p></p><p>[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]</p><p>The foursome traveled through the thick underbrush as they slowly followed the tracks of the goblins. In the back of his mind, Ischarus knew that if the tracks weren’t fresh he’d have no chance of picking them out underneath the plant growth. Fortunately the signs were fairly obvious. He also knew that they were following them much more slowly than they had been laid, so the likelihood of coming across the goblins that originally made these tracks was not very good. Both of those facts made Ischarus much more at ease knowing that the only reason he was taking this path in the first place was because of some weird magical wind that forced him down this path.</p><p></p><p>They traveled in silence for over an hour, slowly picking their way through the low branches. After having their joyous laugh ruined by the suspense and mystery of the land they were all too busy lost in their thoughts to do much speaking out loud. Of course, the fact that they were in goblin territory and largely outnumbered wasn’t much of an encouragement to talk loudly either. They plugged along slowly, each one occasionally rubbing the mane of their horse to inspire it to keep moving.</p><p></p><p>As they continued, suddenly Ischarus heard Rhema’s voice whispering loudly behind him. “Ischarus, stop. I saw something.” </p><p></p><p>Ischarus smiled as he pulled Elistra to a stop and began to turn her around. He teased Rhema slightly. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen now that Rhema is seeing things!”</p><p></p><p>He was greeted with a very stern shushing from Charis. Rhema had already dismounted off of Shauvry and charged on foot into the underbrush. Charis and Semeion looked as though they were unsure as to whether or not they should follow.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus cursed under his breath when he saw Shauvry standing on the path with his saddle empty. He quickly swung his leg over Elistra’s back and was on the ground. He collected the reigns attached to Shauvry’s bit and bridle and brought both horses over to Charis. “Stay here with Semeion and watch this trail. It isn’t an often used trail by the looks of it, but if there is a tribal gathering or something going on it might be used more than normal. You and Semeion need to protect the horses.”</p><p></p><p>Charis nodded, looking back at Semeion. A slight smile came across her face, knowing that she and Semeion hadn’t had any time alone since the entered the tunnels on the Tongra side of the Tongra-Quehalost Mountains. It might be nice to have a few moments with absolutely nothing to do except stay in one place with Semeion. In the end, she readily accepted the reigns from Ischarus and dismounted. Ischarus was gone in a flash after Rhema once Charis had taken the reigns from him.</p><p></p><p>Rhema was nearly a half minute ahead of Ischarus and she could just barely hear him coming through the underbrush behind her. She knew that she would have an easier time hearing him than he would of hearing her, however. She reached out and grabbed a thin birch sapling and shook it hard, rustling its leaves clear to the top. She was confident that Ischarus would be able to hear that.</p><p></p><p>She focused once more on trying to find what she had seen dart off of the road. She thought about what her mind had understood and it simply didn’t make sense. It was like a shadow had moved on its own, without something physical to move in correlation to it. As her mind focused, she stopped moving forward and thought some more. In a whisper she began to talk to herself. “Surely I am not chasing shadows through the woods of Quehalost. I am smarter than that.” </p><p></p><p>As her mind began to realize the imminent dangers that this land could be throwing at her, she reached out and found another sapling. She shook it hard, figuring that Ischarus would need another clue as to where to head soon. She listened and heard him coming in her direction. He was closing in on her and she relaxed knowing that he was drawing closer.</p><p></p><p>Suddenly her eyes caught movement again. Again in a whisper she talked herself through her surprise as she once again began the chase. “A foot! I know a foot when I see one, and that clearly was a foot. But it was no foot like I have ever seen. I could see through it. I could see the base of the tree behind where the foot was resting upon the ground.” A sudden chill ran through her body as she stopped moving. She heard herself talk through what she had seen and she knew the implications all too well. She was chasing some kind of shadow that could maintain its shape without having a physical body to relate to. A chill ran up her spine and she noticed that her feet no longer desired to move forward.</p><p></p><p>Again she spoke softly to herself. “Turn around, Rhema,” She was trying to talk herself away. There was no telling what deep evil had risen out of Quehalost against them. “You can’t use your powers of persuasion upon a shadow. Shadows don’t really care about things like we do. If you meet that shadow, then what’re you going to do?”</p><p></p><p>A hand reached out and touched her from behind. Rhema shrieked loudly as she crouched to the ground and spun around to face her adversary. Without even thinking about it, her might focused on what she could only assume was the worst. She extended a mental attack similar to the attack she had used on the gray skinned creatures below the mountains. To her surprise the attack worked!</p><p></p><p>Ischarus was hit with her attack and he shrunk to the ground in pain. “Ahh! Rhema, get out of my mind!” Tears streamed down his face at the sharpness of the unexpected assault.</p><p></p><p>Slowly, Rhema’s mind reverted back to reality. She knew that voice. She looked with her eyes; it was something she had not done earlier. She didn’t want to see her assailant. She merely wanted to force it off unseen. But when she heard the familiar voice her eyes darted up to see Ischarus crouching in pain before her. Immediately she released him from the attack and rushed to his aid. “Oh, Ischarus! I didn’t know it was you. I saw something. Actually I saw through something. Up until then I was just so curious, but when I actually saw a part of what I was chasing I got scared. And you caught me and …”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus had relaxed once Rhema’s assault had left his mind. He even boldly reached out his hand once again to her shoulder as she spoke in a hurried pattern. “Rhema, calm down. I’m alright. I’ve got a bit of a headache now, but I’ll live. And, you’re babbling pretty badly. So stop and breathe for a moment and then tell me once more what happened.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema paused in her speech and allowed herself to calm down. She took a few more deep breaths and caught Ischarus’ attention with her eyes. The look on her face was deeply apologetic and Ischarus could only smile. At the moment, he thought that she looked as though her favorite pet had just died.</p><p></p><p>He reached out and drew her into his shoulder. “Forget it, Rhema. You were obviously scared. I’m not hurt badly, so don’t worry about it.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema breathed deeply through her nose and choked back a few tears. “We aren’t chasing something natural, Ischarus. You can see right through it to the other side, but not clearly.”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus smiled, and he felt good enough to rise to his feet once more. Once he was standing he extended his arms to Rhema. As he helped her to his feet he continued to speak. “Well, I assumed not, Rhema. Something that has this kind of power over the wind is either a strong magic user or something not natural. I’ve been hoping it wasn’t a strong magic user because if it was we were immediately in over our head and thus being toyed with. If it had the power of someone like Brandt then we were just walking into its trap. Given that conclusion, your telling me that it isn’t natural is actually a relief.”</p><p></p><p>Another gust of wind blew through the middle of where Rhema and Semeion sat. Rhema’s eyes darted to Ischarus and then she spun around and stared along the ground. She couldn’t spot anything like before from where she stood.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus spoke as his mind was trying to make sense of the situation. “Listen, Rhema. Let’s move in the direction that you were headed. Maybe we’ll get another look and I’ll see it this time, too.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema nodded and led the way. Her confidence and curiosity was returning now that Ischarus had caught up with her. She stepped off into the direction that she had been moving. After a few paces both she and Ischarus pointed in the same area. </p><p></p><p>Ischarus called out from behind. “There it goes!” He indicated with his finger that the shadowy creature had moved off to the right. </p><p></p><p>Rhema called as she plunged through the undergrowth in the general direction the shadowy for had appeared to be moving. “I told you I saw something! Did you see what I meant about being able to see through it?”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus didn’t reply. He did nod to himself as he followed her change of course. He was deep in thought about what they could be following and never thought about the fact that Rhema couldn’t see his nod. Rhema didn’t seem to mind, though, as she kept moving through the brush. Suddenly she stopped short. Ischarus came up from behind quickly and nearly ran into her. Her eyes were fixated on a small horizontal stone slab in front of her. Ischarus saw the slab and couldn’t help but exclaim at the oddity of the sight. “What in Quehalost is that?” His words had broken the small silence that had formed during the chase.</p><p></p><p>Rhema stepped closer to the stone. There were burn marks across the face of the stone. Her head cocked slightly to the right as she took in the pattern of the marks, trying desperately to have it make sense to her mind. Her hand began to reach out and touch the marks to see how fresh they might be, but as she moved she quickly thought better of it.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus exclaimed in what sounded like a muffled shout. “Look!” He pointed toward the base of the stone slab where there were four slightly rotted wooden stakes. He continued in his whisper as he felt the need to hold the scene in reverence. “There are four of these around the base. And each stake seems to mark the major directions on a compass.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema nodded, putting the scene together in her mind. She likewise replied in a whisper. “And these wooden stakes are right below where the burn marks reach the edge of the stone. Could something have been tied …”</p><p></p><p>Her voice stopped short with a slight tone of horror behind it. Without delay Ischarus looked at her face and followed her line of sight to the stone slab. Immediately he saw what she had put together in her mind. His hand covered his mouth as the realization sunk in. “Not something, Rhema. Someone. Someone was burned here.”</p><p>[/Sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nonlethal Force, post: 3046371, member: 35788"] The foursome traveled through the thick underbrush as they slowly followed the tracks of the goblins. In the back of his mind, Ischarus knew that if the tracks weren’t fresh he’d have no chance of picking them out underneath the plant growth. Fortunately the signs were fairly obvious. He also knew that they were following them much more slowly than they had been laid, so the likelihood of coming across the goblins that originally made these tracks was not very good. Both of those facts made Ischarus much more at ease knowing that the only reason he was taking this path in the first place was because of some weird magical wind that forced him down this path. They traveled in silence for over an hour, slowly picking their way through the low branches. After having their joyous laugh ruined by the suspense and mystery of the land they were all too busy lost in their thoughts to do much speaking out loud. Of course, the fact that they were in goblin territory and largely outnumbered wasn’t much of an encouragement to talk loudly either. They plugged along slowly, each one occasionally rubbing the mane of their horse to inspire it to keep moving. As they continued, suddenly Ischarus heard Rhema’s voice whispering loudly behind him. [Color=PaleGreen]“Ischarus, stop. I saw something.”[/Color] Ischarus smiled as he pulled Elistra to a stop and began to turn her around. He teased Rhema slightly. [Color=LightBlue]“Oh, how the mighty have fallen now that Rhema is seeing things!”[/Color] He was greeted with a very stern shushing from Charis. Rhema had already dismounted off of Shauvry and charged on foot into the underbrush. Charis and Semeion looked as though they were unsure as to whether or not they should follow. Ischarus cursed under his breath when he saw Shauvry standing on the path with his saddle empty. He quickly swung his leg over Elistra’s back and was on the ground. He collected the reigns attached to Shauvry’s bit and bridle and brought both horses over to Charis. [Color=LightBlue]“Stay here with Semeion and watch this trail. It isn’t an often used trail by the looks of it, but if there is a tribal gathering or something going on it might be used more than normal. You and Semeion need to protect the horses.”[/Color] Charis nodded, looking back at Semeion. A slight smile came across her face, knowing that she and Semeion hadn’t had any time alone since the entered the tunnels on the Tongra side of the Tongra-Quehalost Mountains. It might be nice to have a few moments with absolutely nothing to do except stay in one place with Semeion. In the end, she readily accepted the reigns from Ischarus and dismounted. Ischarus was gone in a flash after Rhema once Charis had taken the reigns from him. Rhema was nearly a half minute ahead of Ischarus and she could just barely hear him coming through the underbrush behind her. She knew that she would have an easier time hearing him than he would of hearing her, however. She reached out and grabbed a thin birch sapling and shook it hard, rustling its leaves clear to the top. She was confident that Ischarus would be able to hear that. She focused once more on trying to find what she had seen dart off of the road. She thought about what her mind had understood and it simply didn’t make sense. It was like a shadow had moved on its own, without something physical to move in correlation to it. As her mind focused, she stopped moving forward and thought some more. In a whisper she began to talk to herself. [Color=PaleGreen]“Surely I am not chasing shadows through the woods of Quehalost. I am smarter than that.”[/Color] As her mind began to realize the imminent dangers that this land could be throwing at her, she reached out and found another sapling. She shook it hard, figuring that Ischarus would need another clue as to where to head soon. She listened and heard him coming in her direction. He was closing in on her and she relaxed knowing that he was drawing closer. Suddenly her eyes caught movement again. Again in a whisper she talked herself through her surprise as she once again began the chase. [Color=PaleGreen]“A foot! I know a foot when I see one, and that clearly was a foot. But it was no foot like I have ever seen. I could see through it. I could see the base of the tree behind where the foot was resting upon the ground.”[/Color] A sudden chill ran through her body as she stopped moving. She heard herself talk through what she had seen and she knew the implications all too well. She was chasing some kind of shadow that could maintain its shape without having a physical body to relate to. A chill ran up her spine and she noticed that her feet no longer desired to move forward. Again she spoke softly to herself. [Color=PaleGreen]“Turn around, Rhema,”[/Color] She was trying to talk herself away. There was no telling what deep evil had risen out of Quehalost against them. [Color=PaleGreen]“You can’t use your powers of persuasion upon a shadow. Shadows don’t really care about things like we do. If you meet that shadow, then what’re you going to do?”[/Color] A hand reached out and touched her from behind. Rhema shrieked loudly as she crouched to the ground and spun around to face her adversary. Without even thinking about it, her might focused on what she could only assume was the worst. She extended a mental attack similar to the attack she had used on the gray skinned creatures below the mountains. To her surprise the attack worked! Ischarus was hit with her attack and he shrunk to the ground in pain. [Color=LightBlue]“Ahh! Rhema, get out of my mind!”[/Color] Tears streamed down his face at the sharpness of the unexpected assault. Slowly, Rhema’s mind reverted back to reality. She knew that voice. She looked with her eyes; it was something she had not done earlier. She didn’t want to see her assailant. She merely wanted to force it off unseen. But when she heard the familiar voice her eyes darted up to see Ischarus crouching in pain before her. Immediately she released him from the attack and rushed to his aid. [Color=PaleGreen]“Oh, Ischarus! I didn’t know it was you. I saw something. Actually I saw through something. Up until then I was just so curious, but when I actually saw a part of what I was chasing I got scared. And you caught me and …”[/Color] Ischarus had relaxed once Rhema’s assault had left his mind. He even boldly reached out his hand once again to her shoulder as she spoke in a hurried pattern. [Color=LightBlue]“Rhema, calm down. I’m alright. I’ve got a bit of a headache now, but I’ll live. And, you’re babbling pretty badly. So stop and breathe for a moment and then tell me once more what happened.”[/Color] Rhema paused in her speech and allowed herself to calm down. She took a few more deep breaths and caught Ischarus’ attention with her eyes. The look on her face was deeply apologetic and Ischarus could only smile. At the moment, he thought that she looked as though her favorite pet had just died. He reached out and drew her into his shoulder. [Color=LightBlue]“Forget it, Rhema. You were obviously scared. I’m not hurt badly, so don’t worry about it.”[/Color] Rhema breathed deeply through her nose and choked back a few tears. [Color=PaleGreen]“We aren’t chasing something natural, Ischarus. You can see right through it to the other side, but not clearly.”[/Color] Ischarus smiled, and he felt good enough to rise to his feet once more. Once he was standing he extended his arms to Rhema. As he helped her to his feet he continued to speak. [Color=LightBlue]“Well, I assumed not, Rhema. Something that has this kind of power over the wind is either a strong magic user or something not natural. I’ve been hoping it wasn’t a strong magic user because if it was we were immediately in over our head and thus being toyed with. If it had the power of someone like Brandt then we were just walking into its trap. Given that conclusion, your telling me that it isn’t natural is actually a relief.”[/Color] Another gust of wind blew through the middle of where Rhema and Semeion sat. Rhema’s eyes darted to Ischarus and then she spun around and stared along the ground. She couldn’t spot anything like before from where she stood. Ischarus spoke as his mind was trying to make sense of the situation. [Color=LightBlue]“Listen, Rhema. Let’s move in the direction that you were headed. Maybe we’ll get another look and I’ll see it this time, too.”[/Color] Rhema nodded and led the way. Her confidence and curiosity was returning now that Ischarus had caught up with her. She stepped off into the direction that she had been moving. After a few paces both she and Ischarus pointed in the same area. Ischarus called out from behind. [Color=LightBlue]“There it goes!”[/Color] He indicated with his finger that the shadowy creature had moved off to the right. Rhema called as she plunged through the undergrowth in the general direction the shadowy for had appeared to be moving. [Color=PaleGreen]“I told you I saw something! Did you see what I meant about being able to see through it?”[/Color] Ischarus didn’t reply. He did nod to himself as he followed her change of course. He was deep in thought about what they could be following and never thought about the fact that Rhema couldn’t see his nod. Rhema didn’t seem to mind, though, as she kept moving through the brush. Suddenly she stopped short. Ischarus came up from behind quickly and nearly ran into her. Her eyes were fixated on a small horizontal stone slab in front of her. Ischarus saw the slab and couldn’t help but exclaim at the oddity of the sight. [Color=LightBlue]“What in Quehalost is that?”[/Color] His words had broken the small silence that had formed during the chase. Rhema stepped closer to the stone. There were burn marks across the face of the stone. Her head cocked slightly to the right as she took in the pattern of the marks, trying desperately to have it make sense to her mind. Her hand began to reach out and touch the marks to see how fresh they might be, but as she moved she quickly thought better of it. Ischarus exclaimed in what sounded like a muffled shout. [Color=LightBlue]“Look!”[/Color] He pointed toward the base of the stone slab where there were four slightly rotted wooden stakes. He continued in his whisper as he felt the need to hold the scene in reverence. [Color=LightBlue]“There are four of these around the base. And each stake seems to mark the major directions on a compass.”[/Color] Rhema nodded, putting the scene together in her mind. She likewise replied in a whisper. [Color=PaleGreen]“And these wooden stakes are right below where the burn marks reach the edge of the stone. Could something have been tied …”[/Color] Her voice stopped short with a slight tone of horror behind it. Without delay Ischarus looked at her face and followed her line of sight to the stone slab. Immediately he saw what she had put together in her mind. His hand covered his mouth as the realization sunk in. [Color=LightBlue]“Not something, Rhema. Someone. Someone was burned here.”[/Color] [Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section] The foursome traveled through the thick underbrush as they slowly followed the tracks of the goblins. In the back of his mind, Ischarus knew that if the tracks weren’t fresh he’d have no chance of picking them out underneath the plant growth. Fortunately the signs were fairly obvious. He also knew that they were following them much more slowly than they had been laid, so the likelihood of coming across the goblins that originally made these tracks was not very good. Both of those facts made Ischarus much more at ease knowing that the only reason he was taking this path in the first place was because of some weird magical wind that forced him down this path. They traveled in silence for over an hour, slowly picking their way through the low branches. After having their joyous laugh ruined by the suspense and mystery of the land they were all too busy lost in their thoughts to do much speaking out loud. Of course, the fact that they were in goblin territory and largely outnumbered wasn’t much of an encouragement to talk loudly either. They plugged along slowly, each one occasionally rubbing the mane of their horse to inspire it to keep moving. As they continued, suddenly Ischarus heard Rhema’s voice whispering loudly behind him. “Ischarus, stop. I saw something.” Ischarus smiled as he pulled Elistra to a stop and began to turn her around. He teased Rhema slightly. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen now that Rhema is seeing things!” He was greeted with a very stern shushing from Charis. Rhema had already dismounted off of Shauvry and charged on foot into the underbrush. Charis and Semeion looked as though they were unsure as to whether or not they should follow. Ischarus cursed under his breath when he saw Shauvry standing on the path with his saddle empty. He quickly swung his leg over Elistra’s back and was on the ground. He collected the reigns attached to Shauvry’s bit and bridle and brought both horses over to Charis. “Stay here with Semeion and watch this trail. It isn’t an often used trail by the looks of it, but if there is a tribal gathering or something going on it might be used more than normal. You and Semeion need to protect the horses.” Charis nodded, looking back at Semeion. A slight smile came across her face, knowing that she and Semeion hadn’t had any time alone since the entered the tunnels on the Tongra side of the Tongra-Quehalost Mountains. It might be nice to have a few moments with absolutely nothing to do except stay in one place with Semeion. In the end, she readily accepted the reigns from Ischarus and dismounted. Ischarus was gone in a flash after Rhema once Charis had taken the reigns from him. Rhema was nearly a half minute ahead of Ischarus and she could just barely hear him coming through the underbrush behind her. She knew that she would have an easier time hearing him than he would of hearing her, however. She reached out and grabbed a thin birch sapling and shook it hard, rustling its leaves clear to the top. She was confident that Ischarus would be able to hear that. She focused once more on trying to find what she had seen dart off of the road. She thought about what her mind had understood and it simply didn’t make sense. It was like a shadow had moved on its own, without something physical to move in correlation to it. As her mind focused, she stopped moving forward and thought some more. In a whisper she began to talk to herself. “Surely I am not chasing shadows through the woods of Quehalost. I am smarter than that.” As her mind began to realize the imminent dangers that this land could be throwing at her, she reached out and found another sapling. She shook it hard, figuring that Ischarus would need another clue as to where to head soon. She listened and heard him coming in her direction. He was closing in on her and she relaxed knowing that he was drawing closer. Suddenly her eyes caught movement again. Again in a whisper she talked herself through her surprise as she once again began the chase. “A foot! I know a foot when I see one, and that clearly was a foot. But it was no foot like I have ever seen. I could see through it. I could see the base of the tree behind where the foot was resting upon the ground.” A sudden chill ran through her body as she stopped moving. She heard herself talk through what she had seen and she knew the implications all too well. She was chasing some kind of shadow that could maintain its shape without having a physical body to relate to. A chill ran up her spine and she noticed that her feet no longer desired to move forward. Again she spoke softly to herself. “Turn around, Rhema,” She was trying to talk herself away. There was no telling what deep evil had risen out of Quehalost against them. “You can’t use your powers of persuasion upon a shadow. Shadows don’t really care about things like we do. If you meet that shadow, then what’re you going to do?” A hand reached out and touched her from behind. Rhema shrieked loudly as she crouched to the ground and spun around to face her adversary. Without even thinking about it, her might focused on what she could only assume was the worst. She extended a mental attack similar to the attack she had used on the gray skinned creatures below the mountains. To her surprise the attack worked! Ischarus was hit with her attack and he shrunk to the ground in pain. “Ahh! Rhema, get out of my mind!” Tears streamed down his face at the sharpness of the unexpected assault. Slowly, Rhema’s mind reverted back to reality. She knew that voice. She looked with her eyes; it was something she had not done earlier. She didn’t want to see her assailant. She merely wanted to force it off unseen. But when she heard the familiar voice her eyes darted up to see Ischarus crouching in pain before her. Immediately she released him from the attack and rushed to his aid. “Oh, Ischarus! I didn’t know it was you. I saw something. Actually I saw through something. Up until then I was just so curious, but when I actually saw a part of what I was chasing I got scared. And you caught me and …” Ischarus had relaxed once Rhema’s assault had left his mind. He even boldly reached out his hand once again to her shoulder as she spoke in a hurried pattern. “Rhema, calm down. I’m alright. I’ve got a bit of a headache now, but I’ll live. And, you’re babbling pretty badly. So stop and breathe for a moment and then tell me once more what happened.” Rhema paused in her speech and allowed herself to calm down. She took a few more deep breaths and caught Ischarus’ attention with her eyes. The look on her face was deeply apologetic and Ischarus could only smile. At the moment, he thought that she looked as though her favorite pet had just died. He reached out and drew her into his shoulder. “Forget it, Rhema. You were obviously scared. I’m not hurt badly, so don’t worry about it.” Rhema breathed deeply through her nose and choked back a few tears. “We aren’t chasing something natural, Ischarus. You can see right through it to the other side, but not clearly.” Ischarus smiled, and he felt good enough to rise to his feet once more. Once he was standing he extended his arms to Rhema. As he helped her to his feet he continued to speak. “Well, I assumed not, Rhema. Something that has this kind of power over the wind is either a strong magic user or something not natural. I’ve been hoping it wasn’t a strong magic user because if it was we were immediately in over our head and thus being toyed with. If it had the power of someone like Brandt then we were just walking into its trap. Given that conclusion, your telling me that it isn’t natural is actually a relief.” Another gust of wind blew through the middle of where Rhema and Semeion sat. Rhema’s eyes darted to Ischarus and then she spun around and stared along the ground. She couldn’t spot anything like before from where she stood. Ischarus spoke as his mind was trying to make sense of the situation. “Listen, Rhema. Let’s move in the direction that you were headed. Maybe we’ll get another look and I’ll see it this time, too.” Rhema nodded and led the way. Her confidence and curiosity was returning now that Ischarus had caught up with her. She stepped off into the direction that she had been moving. After a few paces both she and Ischarus pointed in the same area. Ischarus called out from behind. “There it goes!” He indicated with his finger that the shadowy creature had moved off to the right. Rhema called as she plunged through the undergrowth in the general direction the shadowy for had appeared to be moving. “I told you I saw something! Did you see what I meant about being able to see through it?” Ischarus didn’t reply. He did nod to himself as he followed her change of course. He was deep in thought about what they could be following and never thought about the fact that Rhema couldn’t see his nod. Rhema didn’t seem to mind, though, as she kept moving through the brush. Suddenly she stopped short. Ischarus came up from behind quickly and nearly ran into her. Her eyes were fixated on a small horizontal stone slab in front of her. Ischarus saw the slab and couldn’t help but exclaim at the oddity of the sight. “What in Quehalost is that?” His words had broken the small silence that had formed during the chase. Rhema stepped closer to the stone. There were burn marks across the face of the stone. Her head cocked slightly to the right as she took in the pattern of the marks, trying desperately to have it make sense to her mind. Her hand began to reach out and touch the marks to see how fresh they might be, but as she moved she quickly thought better of it. Ischarus exclaimed in what sounded like a muffled shout. “Look!” He pointed toward the base of the stone slab where there were four slightly rotted wooden stakes. He continued in his whisper as he felt the need to hold the scene in reverence. “There are four of these around the base. And each stake seems to mark the major directions on a compass.” Rhema nodded, putting the scene together in her mind. She likewise replied in a whisper. “And these wooden stakes are right below where the burn marks reach the edge of the stone. Could something have been tied …” Her voice stopped short with a slight tone of horror behind it. Without delay Ischarus looked at her face and followed her line of sight to the stone slab. Immediately he saw what she had put together in her mind. His hand covered his mouth as the realization sunk in. “Not something, Rhema. Someone. Someone was burned here.” [/Sblock] [/QUOTE]
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