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<blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3185333" data-attributes="member: 35788"><p>The next few days passed by reasonably well for the villagers underground. In spite of their father dragon’s enormous range of powers and fearsome abilities in bringing devastating destruction to the surface, the dragon found that there was little he could do in the given situation. He could not locate his villagers through any magical means and he knew that he didn’t have the ability to alter his form for long enough to make it worthwhile. So long as the villagers stayed within the confines of the tunnels, withstood the danger of starvation, and fended off the limited attacks by the gnolls and kobolds they would be safe.</p><p></p><p>The villagers didn’t do much work the first few days. This was an intentional decision made by Charis, Rhema, Druff, and Xando. The people were extensively trained in the ways of combat and water collection. The rest of the time they were encouraged to rest and get to know their working cohorts. Xando argued that the people would need a few days to allow the decision of leaving to sink in. The people would need a few days to accept the decision that would change the rest of their lives.</p><p></p><p>Rhema and Charis did not argue this decision. The last day had been filled with so much work that they had not had time to grieve the loss of Semeion. Rhema knew that his loss was constantly in her mind and could only imagine the effort that Charis expended in maintaining her composure. The days off would allow the grieving process to begin at the very least.</p><p></p><p>On the third day, Charis and Druff decided that it was time to head back to the small alcove they had originally used as a storage area just inside the tunnel entrance. They called together the eight men and women who had been selected for this purpose and headed back to the alcove. They were heavily armed as they moved. Charis carried her heavy pick and loaned her double-headed war hammer to Druff. The villagers were armed with makeshift clubs. A few of the villagers had been enterprising enough over the past two days of resting to fashion a few makeshift flint axes rather than using the improvised clubs. This resourcefulness impressed Rhema and caused pride to swell within Charis, Druff, and Xando.</p><p></p><p>Charis’ party for retrieving firewood and other supplies made several trips to the alcove and back. Each trip took about a full day to make. They were able to move more quickly than when they had the whole village traveling with them because they were smaller in number and well prepared for travel. They also understood the urgency about the time spent away. While they were away from the rest of the villagers both they and the makeshift village was more vulnerable.</p><p></p><p>The water collection and defense crews also began to work as Charis’ team traveled back and forth to retrieve supplies. Occasionally the teams were challenged by gnoll and kobold scouting parties, but Charis had been right in her earlier assessment. The teams that went out were no fewer than eight members with four members devoted to nothing except defense of the party. What resistance the teams did meet largely ran from them on account of being obviously outnumbered against the well prepared villagers.</p><p></p><p>At the end of the first week the leaders of this underground venture were pleased with the progress of the people. The people were struggling against the effects of depression as much as could be expected, but none of them seemed to be in danger of succumbing to its effects. Considering that none of them had seen the sun in seven days the people were in remarkable spirits. In truth, few of them had thought they would last this long.</p><p></p><p>The food rationing was also going well. In fact, even the new Provenience seemed to begin to embrace the fact that her dragon father was not the ultimate answer that she thought he was. While none of the village leaders were willing to let the new Provenience stray outside the limits of the makeshift village, they were pleased when she demonstrated interest in learning the art of defensive fighting and even taking part in the water rationing process. Rhema discovered that the new Provenience was a natural leader and the two began to strike up a fair friendship as they worked the food and water distribution together.</p><p></p><p>As good as things were going within the underground village, on the eighth day of their stay below the mountain there was a slight disruption at the Quehalost entrance to the tunnel. The disruption went unnoticed by those so deep within the mountain. There were more than a few who were even aware that anything was happening on the surface at all.</p><p></p><p>At the entrance of the tunnel, there was only the smallest of activity happening. To be fair, this was more activity than had taken place since the entire village had been swallowed up into the bowels of the earth. The dragon father had been watching the entrance to each of the tunnels like a hawk and his presence kept the large majority of the natural wildlife out of the immediate area.</p><p></p><p>Although the light-gray figure was unable to join the villagers underground, that very fact didn’t imply that the ghostly figure had abandoned the plight of the Drakontai village. There was nothing in Quehalost that held him in this evil land except the fact that he couldn’t leave. In fact, nothing even gave him a purpose to go through the day besides the cause of these villagers. </p><p></p><p>He knew he couldn’t challenge the dragon upfront, but he certainly could watch the entrance and do what he little was possible at this point. Being a ghostly figure he had the advantage of needing neither food, water, nor even shelter from the outside elements. He could be an ever vigilant guard and protect the rear of the villagers from an outside threat. Certainly there were limits to what the figure could accomplish, but it made his unfortunate inability to move on after his death to still have some kind of purpose.</p><p></p><p>Another advantage the light-gray figure had over anyone that would come to challenge this area was the fact that he wasn’t limited by the physical laws of the world. The gray figure quickly realized that if he stood out in the open to protect the entrance then the dragon would be able to spot him. The first two days the figure stood vigilantly within the rock to the left of the entrance. When fully enclosed in the rock he could not see outside; but it took little time at all to learn how to allow his face to be les than a quarter of an inch outside the rock. At that distance his face was hardly noticeable at all, especially considering the great height from which the red wyrm above was observing the entrance.</p><p></p><p>The light gray figure didn’t stay satisfied with that particular arrangement for long, however. The rock entrance was over thirty feet from the nearest tree at the edge of the forest and that implied that he was largely alone without even the movement of the forest animals to keep him company within the rock face. After a few lonely days within the rock the light gray figure grew more comfortable at the realization that the dragon was content to wait. The figure emerged out of the rock and took up residence in one of the trees at the forest edge. From the tree he could see the entrance just as well, but within the trees he had the ability to be hidden by the leaves above him and thus was less concerned about hiding from the dragon father. The animals of the forest still did not come near his ghostly form, but he could at least be amused by the few remaining birds and squirrels as they jumped among the rest of the trees.</p><p></p><p>It was on the eighth day of his vigilant guard that the light gray figure heard someone approaching from deeper within the forest. The man walked with a severe limp and his cloak was pulled up over his head. He was walking carefully, staying to the areas hidden by the thickest canopy as much as possible. As he approached the cave entrance he paused for a second, not trusting the open area between the forest edge and the entrance into the underground cavern. The man crouched to the ground and ran his finger over what was left of a footprint left by one of the villagers eight days ago.</p><p></p><p>Seemingly pleased that he had located a footprint, the figure rose and once more looked up toward the rock face. His eyes looked as high as he could possibly see without revealing his position from under the trees. The unknown figure mumbled something as he looked up, but the light-gray figure was unable to make out the sound into distinguishable speech. It was at least clear that the unknown figure knew to expect the dragon high upon the mountainous overlook.</p><p></p><p>The man shifted in his position and looked as though he were testing the nimbleness of his legs. As he picked up his left leg he winced and his hands immediately turned down to his leg to massage the pain. The shoulders of the man’s cloak rose as he returned his foot to the ground and breathed in deeply. A grand sigh followed the deep breath and he stepped forward towards the open ground.</p><p></p><p>The light-gray figure spoke confidently before the man could step completely into the open. The ghostly face had emerged from the nearby tree a short quarter of an inch. <span style="color: Lime">“I’d be careful about going into that space if I were you.”</span></p><p></p><p>The unknown figure turned suddenly towards the voice, obviously surprised. He pulled the edge of his cloak hood back slightly to allow him a good look around. The light-gray figure could now see the lower half of the man’s face. A smile had appeared upon the ghostly figure’s lips. His face had a good growth of facial hair on as much as the light-gray figure could see. The ghostly figure inexplicably felt an instant ease purveyed by the body language of the unknown man.</p><p></p><p>[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]</p><p>The next few days passed by reasonably well for the villagers underground. In spite of their father dragon’s enormous range of powers and fearsome abilities in bringing devastating destruction to the surface, the dragon found that there was little he could do in the given situation. He could not locate his villagers through any magical means and he knew that he didn’t have the ability to alter his form for long enough to make it worthwhile. So long as the villagers stayed within the confines of the tunnels, withstood the danger of starvation, and fended off the limited attacks by the gnolls and kobolds they would be safe.</p><p></p><p>The villagers didn’t do much work the first few days. This was an intentional decision made by Charis, Rhema, Druff, and Xando. The people were extensively trained in the ways of combat and water collection. The rest of the time they were encouraged to rest and get to know their working cohorts. Xando argued that the people would need a few days to allow the decision of leaving to sink in. The people would need a few days to accept the decision that would change the rest of their lives.</p><p></p><p>Rhema and Charis did not argue this decision. The last day had been filled with so much work that they had not had time to grieve the loss of Semeion. Rhema knew that his loss was constantly in her mind and could only imagine the effort that Charis expended in maintaining her composure. The days off would allow the grieving process to begin at the very least.</p><p></p><p>On the third day, Charis and Druff decided that it was time to head back to the small alcove they had originally used as a storage area just inside the tunnel entrance. They called together the eight men and women who had been selected for this purpose and headed back to the alcove. They were heavily armed as they moved. Charis carried her heavy pick and loaned her double-headed war hammer to Druff. The villagers were armed with makeshift clubs. A few of the villagers had been enterprising enough over the past two days of resting to fashion a few makeshift flint axes rather than using the improvised clubs. This resourcefulness impressed Rhema and caused pride to swell within Charis, Druff, and Xando.</p><p></p><p>Charis’ party for retrieving firewood and other supplies made several trips to the alcove and back. Each trip took about a full day to make. They were able to move more quickly than when they had the whole village traveling with them because they were smaller in number and well prepared for travel. They also understood the urgency about the time spent away. While they were away from the rest of the villagers both they and the makeshift village was more vulnerable.</p><p></p><p>The water collection and defense crews also began to work as Charis’ team traveled back and forth to retrieve supplies. Occasionally the teams were challenged by gnoll and kobold scouting parties, but Charis had been right in her earlier assessment. The teams that went out were no fewer than eight members with four members devoted to nothing except defense of the party. What resistance the teams did meet largely ran from them on account of being obviously outnumbered against the well prepared villagers.</p><p></p><p>At the end of the first week the leaders of this underground venture were pleased with the progress of the people. The people were struggling against the effects of depression as much as could be expected, but none of them seemed to be in danger of succumbing to its effects. Considering that none of them had seen the sun in seven days the people were in remarkable spirits. In truth, few of them had thought they would last this long.</p><p></p><p>The food rationing was also going well. In fact, even the new Provenience seemed to begin to embrace the fact that her dragon father was not the ultimate answer that she thought he was. While none of the village leaders were willing to let the new Provenience stray outside the limits of the makeshift village, they were pleased when she demonstrated interest in learning the art of defensive fighting and even taking part in the water rationing process. Rhema discovered that the new Provenience was a natural leader and the two began to strike up a fair friendship as they worked the food and water distribution together.</p><p></p><p>As good as things were going within the underground village, on the eighth day of their stay below the mountain there was a slight disruption at the Quehalost entrance to the tunnel. The disruption went unnoticed by those so deep within the mountain. There were more than a few who were even aware that anything was happening on the surface at all.</p><p></p><p>At the entrance of the tunnel, there was only the smallest of activity happening. To be fair, this was more activity than had taken place since the entire village had been swallowed up into the bowels of the earth. The dragon father had been watching the entrance to each of the tunnels like a hawk and his presence kept the large majority of the natural wildlife out of the immediate area.</p><p></p><p>Although the light-gray figure was unable to join the villagers underground, that very fact didn’t imply that the ghostly figure had abandoned the plight of the Drakontai village. There was nothing in Quehalost that held him in this evil land except the fact that he couldn’t leave. In fact, nothing even gave him a purpose to go through the day besides the cause of these villagers. </p><p></p><p>He knew he couldn’t challenge the dragon upfront, but he certainly could watch the entrance and do what he little was possible at this point. Being a ghostly figure he had the advantage of needing neither food, water, nor even shelter from the outside elements. He could be an ever vigilant guard and protect the rear of the villagers from an outside threat. Certainly there were limits to what the figure could accomplish, but it made his unfortunate inability to move on after his death to still have some kind of purpose.</p><p></p><p>Another advantage the light-gray figure had over anyone that would come to challenge this area was the fact that he wasn’t limited by the physical laws of the world. The gray figure quickly realized that if he stood out in the open to protect the entrance then the dragon would be able to spot him. The first two days the figure stood vigilantly within the rock to the left of the entrance. When fully enclosed in the rock he could not see outside; but it took little time at all to learn how to allow his face to be les than a quarter of an inch outside the rock. At that distance his face was hardly noticeable at all, especially considering the great height from which the red wyrm above was observing the entrance.</p><p></p><p>The light gray figure didn’t stay satisfied with that particular arrangement for long, however. The rock entrance was over thirty feet from the nearest tree at the edge of the forest and that implied that he was largely alone without even the movement of the forest animals to keep him company within the rock face. After a few lonely days within the rock the light gray figure grew more comfortable at the realization that the dragon was content to wait. The figure emerged out of the rock and took up residence in one of the trees at the forest edge. From the tree he could see the entrance just as well, but within the trees he had the ability to be hidden by the leaves above him and thus was less concerned about hiding from the dragon father. The animals of the forest still did not come near his ghostly form, but he could at least be amused by the few remaining birds and squirrels as they jumped among the rest of the trees.</p><p></p><p>It was on the eighth day of his vigilant guard that the light gray figure heard someone approaching from deeper within the forest. The man walked with a severe limp and his cloak was pulled up over his head. He was walking carefully, staying to the areas hidden by the thickest canopy as much as possible. As he approached the cave entrance he paused for a second, not trusting the open area between the forest edge and the entrance into the underground cavern. The man crouched to the ground and ran his finger over what was left of a footprint left by one of the villagers eight days ago.</p><p></p><p>Seemingly pleased that he had located a footprint, the figure rose and once more looked up toward the rock face. His eyes looked as high as he could possibly see without revealing his position from under the trees. The unknown figure mumbled something as he looked up, but the light-gray figure was unable to make out the sound into distinguishable speech. It was at least clear that the unknown figure knew to expect the dragon high upon the mountainous overlook.</p><p></p><p>The man shifted in his position and looked as though he were testing the nimbleness of his legs. As he picked up his left leg he winced and his hands immediately turned down to his leg to massage the pain. The shoulders of the man’s cloak rose as he returned his foot to the ground and breathed in deeply. A grand sigh followed the deep breath and he stepped forward towards the open ground.</p><p></p><p>The light-gray figure spoke confidently before the man could step completely into the open. The ghostly face had emerged from the nearby tree a short quarter of an inch. “I’d be careful about going into that space if I were you.”</p><p></p><p>The unknown figure turned suddenly towards the voice, obviously surprised. He pulled the edge of his cloak hood back slightly to allow him a good look around. The light-gray figure could now see the lower half of the man’s face. A smile had appeared upon the ghostly figure’s lips. His face had a good growth of facial hair on as much as the light-gray figure could see. The ghostly figure inexplicably felt an instant ease purveyed by the body language of the unknown man.</p><p>[/Sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nonlethal Force, post: 3185333, member: 35788"] The next few days passed by reasonably well for the villagers underground. In spite of their father dragon’s enormous range of powers and fearsome abilities in bringing devastating destruction to the surface, the dragon found that there was little he could do in the given situation. He could not locate his villagers through any magical means and he knew that he didn’t have the ability to alter his form for long enough to make it worthwhile. So long as the villagers stayed within the confines of the tunnels, withstood the danger of starvation, and fended off the limited attacks by the gnolls and kobolds they would be safe. The villagers didn’t do much work the first few days. This was an intentional decision made by Charis, Rhema, Druff, and Xando. The people were extensively trained in the ways of combat and water collection. The rest of the time they were encouraged to rest and get to know their working cohorts. Xando argued that the people would need a few days to allow the decision of leaving to sink in. The people would need a few days to accept the decision that would change the rest of their lives. Rhema and Charis did not argue this decision. The last day had been filled with so much work that they had not had time to grieve the loss of Semeion. Rhema knew that his loss was constantly in her mind and could only imagine the effort that Charis expended in maintaining her composure. The days off would allow the grieving process to begin at the very least. On the third day, Charis and Druff decided that it was time to head back to the small alcove they had originally used as a storage area just inside the tunnel entrance. They called together the eight men and women who had been selected for this purpose and headed back to the alcove. They were heavily armed as they moved. Charis carried her heavy pick and loaned her double-headed war hammer to Druff. The villagers were armed with makeshift clubs. A few of the villagers had been enterprising enough over the past two days of resting to fashion a few makeshift flint axes rather than using the improvised clubs. This resourcefulness impressed Rhema and caused pride to swell within Charis, Druff, and Xando. Charis’ party for retrieving firewood and other supplies made several trips to the alcove and back. Each trip took about a full day to make. They were able to move more quickly than when they had the whole village traveling with them because they were smaller in number and well prepared for travel. They also understood the urgency about the time spent away. While they were away from the rest of the villagers both they and the makeshift village was more vulnerable. The water collection and defense crews also began to work as Charis’ team traveled back and forth to retrieve supplies. Occasionally the teams were challenged by gnoll and kobold scouting parties, but Charis had been right in her earlier assessment. The teams that went out were no fewer than eight members with four members devoted to nothing except defense of the party. What resistance the teams did meet largely ran from them on account of being obviously outnumbered against the well prepared villagers. At the end of the first week the leaders of this underground venture were pleased with the progress of the people. The people were struggling against the effects of depression as much as could be expected, but none of them seemed to be in danger of succumbing to its effects. Considering that none of them had seen the sun in seven days the people were in remarkable spirits. In truth, few of them had thought they would last this long. The food rationing was also going well. In fact, even the new Provenience seemed to begin to embrace the fact that her dragon father was not the ultimate answer that she thought he was. While none of the village leaders were willing to let the new Provenience stray outside the limits of the makeshift village, they were pleased when she demonstrated interest in learning the art of defensive fighting and even taking part in the water rationing process. Rhema discovered that the new Provenience was a natural leader and the two began to strike up a fair friendship as they worked the food and water distribution together. As good as things were going within the underground village, on the eighth day of their stay below the mountain there was a slight disruption at the Quehalost entrance to the tunnel. The disruption went unnoticed by those so deep within the mountain. There were more than a few who were even aware that anything was happening on the surface at all. At the entrance of the tunnel, there was only the smallest of activity happening. To be fair, this was more activity than had taken place since the entire village had been swallowed up into the bowels of the earth. The dragon father had been watching the entrance to each of the tunnels like a hawk and his presence kept the large majority of the natural wildlife out of the immediate area. Although the light-gray figure was unable to join the villagers underground, that very fact didn’t imply that the ghostly figure had abandoned the plight of the Drakontai village. There was nothing in Quehalost that held him in this evil land except the fact that he couldn’t leave. In fact, nothing even gave him a purpose to go through the day besides the cause of these villagers. He knew he couldn’t challenge the dragon upfront, but he certainly could watch the entrance and do what he little was possible at this point. Being a ghostly figure he had the advantage of needing neither food, water, nor even shelter from the outside elements. He could be an ever vigilant guard and protect the rear of the villagers from an outside threat. Certainly there were limits to what the figure could accomplish, but it made his unfortunate inability to move on after his death to still have some kind of purpose. Another advantage the light-gray figure had over anyone that would come to challenge this area was the fact that he wasn’t limited by the physical laws of the world. The gray figure quickly realized that if he stood out in the open to protect the entrance then the dragon would be able to spot him. The first two days the figure stood vigilantly within the rock to the left of the entrance. When fully enclosed in the rock he could not see outside; but it took little time at all to learn how to allow his face to be les than a quarter of an inch outside the rock. At that distance his face was hardly noticeable at all, especially considering the great height from which the red wyrm above was observing the entrance. The light gray figure didn’t stay satisfied with that particular arrangement for long, however. The rock entrance was over thirty feet from the nearest tree at the edge of the forest and that implied that he was largely alone without even the movement of the forest animals to keep him company within the rock face. After a few lonely days within the rock the light gray figure grew more comfortable at the realization that the dragon was content to wait. The figure emerged out of the rock and took up residence in one of the trees at the forest edge. From the tree he could see the entrance just as well, but within the trees he had the ability to be hidden by the leaves above him and thus was less concerned about hiding from the dragon father. The animals of the forest still did not come near his ghostly form, but he could at least be amused by the few remaining birds and squirrels as they jumped among the rest of the trees. It was on the eighth day of his vigilant guard that the light gray figure heard someone approaching from deeper within the forest. The man walked with a severe limp and his cloak was pulled up over his head. He was walking carefully, staying to the areas hidden by the thickest canopy as much as possible. As he approached the cave entrance he paused for a second, not trusting the open area between the forest edge and the entrance into the underground cavern. The man crouched to the ground and ran his finger over what was left of a footprint left by one of the villagers eight days ago. Seemingly pleased that he had located a footprint, the figure rose and once more looked up toward the rock face. His eyes looked as high as he could possibly see without revealing his position from under the trees. The unknown figure mumbled something as he looked up, but the light-gray figure was unable to make out the sound into distinguishable speech. It was at least clear that the unknown figure knew to expect the dragon high upon the mountainous overlook. The man shifted in his position and looked as though he were testing the nimbleness of his legs. As he picked up his left leg he winced and his hands immediately turned down to his leg to massage the pain. The shoulders of the man’s cloak rose as he returned his foot to the ground and breathed in deeply. A grand sigh followed the deep breath and he stepped forward towards the open ground. The light-gray figure spoke confidently before the man could step completely into the open. The ghostly face had emerged from the nearby tree a short quarter of an inch. [Color=Lime]“I’d be careful about going into that space if I were you.”[/Color] The unknown figure turned suddenly towards the voice, obviously surprised. He pulled the edge of his cloak hood back slightly to allow him a good look around. The light-gray figure could now see the lower half of the man’s face. A smile had appeared upon the ghostly figure’s lips. His face had a good growth of facial hair on as much as the light-gray figure could see. The ghostly figure inexplicably felt an instant ease purveyed by the body language of the unknown man. [Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section] The next few days passed by reasonably well for the villagers underground. In spite of their father dragon’s enormous range of powers and fearsome abilities in bringing devastating destruction to the surface, the dragon found that there was little he could do in the given situation. He could not locate his villagers through any magical means and he knew that he didn’t have the ability to alter his form for long enough to make it worthwhile. So long as the villagers stayed within the confines of the tunnels, withstood the danger of starvation, and fended off the limited attacks by the gnolls and kobolds they would be safe. The villagers didn’t do much work the first few days. This was an intentional decision made by Charis, Rhema, Druff, and Xando. The people were extensively trained in the ways of combat and water collection. The rest of the time they were encouraged to rest and get to know their working cohorts. Xando argued that the people would need a few days to allow the decision of leaving to sink in. The people would need a few days to accept the decision that would change the rest of their lives. Rhema and Charis did not argue this decision. The last day had been filled with so much work that they had not had time to grieve the loss of Semeion. Rhema knew that his loss was constantly in her mind and could only imagine the effort that Charis expended in maintaining her composure. The days off would allow the grieving process to begin at the very least. On the third day, Charis and Druff decided that it was time to head back to the small alcove they had originally used as a storage area just inside the tunnel entrance. They called together the eight men and women who had been selected for this purpose and headed back to the alcove. They were heavily armed as they moved. Charis carried her heavy pick and loaned her double-headed war hammer to Druff. The villagers were armed with makeshift clubs. A few of the villagers had been enterprising enough over the past two days of resting to fashion a few makeshift flint axes rather than using the improvised clubs. This resourcefulness impressed Rhema and caused pride to swell within Charis, Druff, and Xando. Charis’ party for retrieving firewood and other supplies made several trips to the alcove and back. Each trip took about a full day to make. They were able to move more quickly than when they had the whole village traveling with them because they were smaller in number and well prepared for travel. They also understood the urgency about the time spent away. While they were away from the rest of the villagers both they and the makeshift village was more vulnerable. The water collection and defense crews also began to work as Charis’ team traveled back and forth to retrieve supplies. Occasionally the teams were challenged by gnoll and kobold scouting parties, but Charis had been right in her earlier assessment. The teams that went out were no fewer than eight members with four members devoted to nothing except defense of the party. What resistance the teams did meet largely ran from them on account of being obviously outnumbered against the well prepared villagers. At the end of the first week the leaders of this underground venture were pleased with the progress of the people. The people were struggling against the effects of depression as much as could be expected, but none of them seemed to be in danger of succumbing to its effects. Considering that none of them had seen the sun in seven days the people were in remarkable spirits. In truth, few of them had thought they would last this long. The food rationing was also going well. In fact, even the new Provenience seemed to begin to embrace the fact that her dragon father was not the ultimate answer that she thought he was. While none of the village leaders were willing to let the new Provenience stray outside the limits of the makeshift village, they were pleased when she demonstrated interest in learning the art of defensive fighting and even taking part in the water rationing process. Rhema discovered that the new Provenience was a natural leader and the two began to strike up a fair friendship as they worked the food and water distribution together. As good as things were going within the underground village, on the eighth day of their stay below the mountain there was a slight disruption at the Quehalost entrance to the tunnel. The disruption went unnoticed by those so deep within the mountain. There were more than a few who were even aware that anything was happening on the surface at all. At the entrance of the tunnel, there was only the smallest of activity happening. To be fair, this was more activity than had taken place since the entire village had been swallowed up into the bowels of the earth. The dragon father had been watching the entrance to each of the tunnels like a hawk and his presence kept the large majority of the natural wildlife out of the immediate area. Although the light-gray figure was unable to join the villagers underground, that very fact didn’t imply that the ghostly figure had abandoned the plight of the Drakontai village. There was nothing in Quehalost that held him in this evil land except the fact that he couldn’t leave. In fact, nothing even gave him a purpose to go through the day besides the cause of these villagers. He knew he couldn’t challenge the dragon upfront, but he certainly could watch the entrance and do what he little was possible at this point. Being a ghostly figure he had the advantage of needing neither food, water, nor even shelter from the outside elements. He could be an ever vigilant guard and protect the rear of the villagers from an outside threat. Certainly there were limits to what the figure could accomplish, but it made his unfortunate inability to move on after his death to still have some kind of purpose. Another advantage the light-gray figure had over anyone that would come to challenge this area was the fact that he wasn’t limited by the physical laws of the world. The gray figure quickly realized that if he stood out in the open to protect the entrance then the dragon would be able to spot him. The first two days the figure stood vigilantly within the rock to the left of the entrance. When fully enclosed in the rock he could not see outside; but it took little time at all to learn how to allow his face to be les than a quarter of an inch outside the rock. At that distance his face was hardly noticeable at all, especially considering the great height from which the red wyrm above was observing the entrance. The light gray figure didn’t stay satisfied with that particular arrangement for long, however. The rock entrance was over thirty feet from the nearest tree at the edge of the forest and that implied that he was largely alone without even the movement of the forest animals to keep him company within the rock face. After a few lonely days within the rock the light gray figure grew more comfortable at the realization that the dragon was content to wait. The figure emerged out of the rock and took up residence in one of the trees at the forest edge. From the tree he could see the entrance just as well, but within the trees he had the ability to be hidden by the leaves above him and thus was less concerned about hiding from the dragon father. The animals of the forest still did not come near his ghostly form, but he could at least be amused by the few remaining birds and squirrels as they jumped among the rest of the trees. It was on the eighth day of his vigilant guard that the light gray figure heard someone approaching from deeper within the forest. The man walked with a severe limp and his cloak was pulled up over his head. He was walking carefully, staying to the areas hidden by the thickest canopy as much as possible. As he approached the cave entrance he paused for a second, not trusting the open area between the forest edge and the entrance into the underground cavern. The man crouched to the ground and ran his finger over what was left of a footprint left by one of the villagers eight days ago. Seemingly pleased that he had located a footprint, the figure rose and once more looked up toward the rock face. His eyes looked as high as he could possibly see without revealing his position from under the trees. The unknown figure mumbled something as he looked up, but the light-gray figure was unable to make out the sound into distinguishable speech. It was at least clear that the unknown figure knew to expect the dragon high upon the mountainous overlook. The man shifted in his position and looked as though he were testing the nimbleness of his legs. As he picked up his left leg he winced and his hands immediately turned down to his leg to massage the pain. The shoulders of the man’s cloak rose as he returned his foot to the ground and breathed in deeply. A grand sigh followed the deep breath and he stepped forward towards the open ground. The light-gray figure spoke confidently before the man could step completely into the open. The ghostly face had emerged from the nearby tree a short quarter of an inch. “I’d be careful about going into that space if I were you.” The unknown figure turned suddenly towards the voice, obviously surprised. He pulled the edge of his cloak hood back slightly to allow him a good look around. The light-gray figure could now see the lower half of the man’s face. A smile had appeared upon the ghostly figure’s lips. His face had a good growth of facial hair on as much as the light-gray figure could see. The ghostly figure inexplicably felt an instant ease purveyed by the body language of the unknown man. [/Sblock] [/QUOTE]
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