NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Carnifex" data-source="post: 1214999" data-attributes="member: 227">That morning, Kale pulled on the Wave Hawk's boots instead of his usual travelling footwear. They fit fairly well once adjustments had been made and they had been tied properly. Even so, the fact that the maker had incorporated the polished stone into the boot meant it was fairly heavy.* * *The new day brought with it the balmy rays of the sun and a gentle breeze that made travelling a veritable pleasure as the band made their way along through verdant vallies at the feet of the rising peaks around them. They were making good time, the horses covering the ground at a fair rate even considering the sometimes difficult terrain; but though the mountains around them might have been difficult to traverse their soaring peaks were certainly impressive, the higher areas seemingly still covered with ice and snow even in this fair summer weather. The call of an eagle sometimes rang across the void between mountains - and fortunately there was neither sight nor sound of a drazhikar cutting across the blue in search of prey.They did not meet another beholder, either, and now they watched their surroundings with greater vigilance, the kind of vigilance that having such a dangerous encounter previously could instil. They saw some of the flightly animals of the wooded vallies upon occasion, or mountain foxes watching them warily from a distance as they meandered up a rocky valley-side.Every so often Wolf would bring out the leather tubes which the maps were sealed within, unstoppering the end and unrolling the parchment, to reassure of direction and distances. The map was, of course, somewhat uncertain, as it only could be when dealing with the wild Sarokean mountains, yet still is was clear that they were making their way closer to the marked point of the arcanist's tower, where three vallies met at a lake.* * *And so the journey continued for several days as they trekked through the hills and mountains, stopping each night to rest and for Sebastion to give Melisande some more training. She picked up the basics with a natural talent; strong enough to strike effectively and possessed of considerable natural grace, the young aasimar also seemed to have a good deal of stamina and did not tire easily from the strains of the repeated, practical lessons Sebastion was showing her. Wolf couldn't help but, once or twice, comment to correct Sebastion on some of the methods he was demonstrating, but nonetheless the Huronese soldier was an able enough teacher to a willing student like Melisande.* * *To someone so young and purposeful, the world that unfolded below her steed had taken on a new aspect. Sweet and vulnerable as a sick child, it seemed to cry out to Melisande to fight its disease--to lance its boils with the figurative sword she was figuratively learning to wield.But lancing boils isn't a very lovely image, Mel thought. There must be some more noble metaphor for this quest. And why won't anyone let me handle a real blade? Can't they see I'm doing well? Why do I get the feeling if I picked up a sword someone would tell me not to run with it?But by and large she was quite pleased with the results so far. The training was just painful enough to feel effective (those big muscles in the backs of her legs ached constantly in a satisfying way) and she felt grateful for Sebastion's patience. She wasn't always sure he was as pleased with her progress as she was, but he had stuck with it for four whole days and seemed to be spending more time teaching tricks to her than to his horse, which was promising.* * *The days passed too quickly for Burl as it seemed that Wolf was really pushing. Any other time, he would have liked to more closely observe their new surroundings. Much wildlife was spotted here where very few ventured. High on the snow capped mountains, Burl even spotted a pair of large horned sheep or goats, he wasn’t sure which, but the sight was breath taking.The pace was so exhausting that at night, Burl tried to rest as best he could. Watching Mel at practice had progressed from a joke to watching her progress under the close tutelage of Sebastian. It seemed that Spike and the two headed frog had made some progress from warily watching each other and trying to keep some space between themselves to one of shared existence.* * *Wyshira had plenty of time to think during the next few days of steady riding. It seemed clear now that 'bloodkin' was a word that referred to some special followers of Gilamesh, a ruling class maybe; and that somehow - through an accident of birth or otherwise - Burl was one of them.They continued to ride together part of the time, the priestess and the necromancer, although Wyshira was now more prone to silent introspection when they were together. She didn't know what to say to him about it. She tried to stamp on the seeds of doubt that kept sprouting up in her mind. The Fire Snake called him Bloodkin! How could he not know what he is? Did she really think he was deceiving them? Of course he's not... Look at him!And she did look at him when he wasn't paying attention to her, and saw the evidence of his intelligence and his curiosity as he observed his surroundings. That was all she could see: an inquisitive man on a journey. She sensed nothing sinister about him, and yet......Remember the bird and the note?Yes. The bird had shown up back at Lord Ecurius' estate, with a note attached to its leg. Burl had reacted oddly, but had explained that it was a letter from an acquaintance. It had seemed to Wyshira at the time that he was holding something back about it. But then she had decided that she was being too sensitive. Surely, it had been just what Burl said it was. A note from a friend. A woman friend, more precisely, and he had been embarassed by it. Nothing sinister about that......But once doubt had begun to grow, Wyshira found that she couldn't get it out of her mind. She looked at Burl as they all sat around the campfire at night, and thought, Bloodkin!* * *The pace of the trail came back to Kale quickly, his body adapting quickly to the steady drain of days on the road. Spirits unprepared could be in for quite a shock, when the fantasy of travel meets the reality of ten hours walking and riding. And the body never seemed to remember: it had to be retought each time.More pleasant than most, the journey was: Kale spent his time floating within the group, exchanging words most often with Burl and Wyshira, burning time most often with Wolf. Yet despite his preference for known company, the young mercenary found himself near the others often enough.Words with Cord were few, although much like Wolf the man shared company often without the need for speaking: travelling together, it could hardly be called silence. Sebastion and Melisande had formed a partnership, of sorts, while Kale volunteered himself time to time as a target. Stand still, be predictable, telegraph your movements- what not to do as an attacker could still provide novice instruction to one who was new with a blade. As for Ebri? Kale's brow always seemed to furrow at the thought. He could not avail himself to small talk with the woman, and that left little else to interact about, no matter how awkward. Curiosity about the mimir was about as far as he got into exploring the peculiar woman.* * *On the fourth day of their travel, when they could not be more than two days from the tower, trouble reared its ugly head.The path made its way through a small valley where brooks burbled their way along, a mixture of small trees and shrubs populating its gravelly floor and rocky walls. There was, sadly, plenty of cover for the ambushers to make themselves virtually unnoticeable behind. It was also ill-fate that even though the adventurers were hardly complacent to the environment around them, even the most eagle-eyed of their number failed to see the warning signs. Blood would be the price of the failure.* * *Wolf leaned over to Kale as they rode down the valley. "It wont be too long before we arrive at the tower, Kale, and once we're there it's anybody's guess what dangers we might meet. I've been mulling over something these past few days and I think it might be the time to talk with you about it. You met Garadas, and you know that I'm a member of an organisation called the Blades - it's the Azure Blades in fact, though I don't know if you've ever heard of the name before you met me. Some people have, but it suits our purposes that few know of us. As it stands, I plan to, when or if we return, take you and maybe the others to meet a man called Tobias in Tarravus, a nobleman but also another individual involved with the Blades, because I believe..."He was cut off by the whistle of an arrow launched from the side of the valley, the archer hidden amidst the shrubs and undergrowth."Ambush!" Wolf yelled, drawing his blade in a breath.</blockquote>

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