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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 1111632" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #235] Comparing Notes[/PLAIN]The elf's potion further closed Ledare's wounds and roused her immediately to consciousness. She got to her feet and was briefed by Ixin and Vade as to the fates of Draelond and Ruze. Her face darkened and for a moment she looked close to tears, but then a look of resignation settled on her delicate features and she nodded grimly. Next she was introduced to Windstryder. The male elf merely nodded at her and said, "You are indebted to me for a very expensive elixir, Janissary.""I'm beholden to everybody," Ledare replied, brushing filth off her armor. Windstryder approached her and stepped in very close, muttering elvish into her ear."Are you all right? Have you been taken hostage?" the ranger asked. "I normally do not see the King's elite exit a cave's mouth with a dragon born and a halfling thief! What can you tell me to rest my fears aside, for I must tell you I could use your aid in the King's mission."Ledare took a step back and smiled politely. "Diola lle. Lle ume quel," she said before switching to the common tongue and indicating Vade and Ixin with a gesture. "These are my comrades."Windstryder looked the pair over appraisingly and then nodded to Ledare. "We should make haste," she said."OOOH! I know the way to the healers!" Vade exclaimed jumping in the air with his hand raised high. "Tell me about your mission from the king, guys! Kitten, Ruze's widow, is on a mission from the king too. Maybe she can tell you about it. I have never met a king before. Boy I would like to do that. I bet he knows a lot of stuff. I met a Baron once, but I really did not like him to much." The halfling stuffed his right hand into his pocket after studying it for a moment.Windstryder chuckled darkly and shook her head. "A Ranger such as I knows not the King!" she told him. "I imagine my Guild Captain, Thornstryker, knows the King but my mission comes from the Wardens in Barnacus and I intend to complete it. Now which way to this healer?""Boy! I am glad that Ledare made it or it would be just you and me, Ixin!" the halfling mused as they walked along. "And I can't even say your whole name, it is so darn long." He bounced over toward the two elves and told them, "My name is long too: Vadenhuffer T. Briarhopper, the IV. Bet you did not know that! You all can call me Vade."Windstryder and the male elf regarded him blandly but neither spoke."Do you want to know what the 'T' stands for? Trouble!" Vade announced proudly. "After my Uncle Trouble. He was always in trouble... Gods rest his soul. His wife lives with Mama and Papa. We took care of his wife after he was caught... I mean, after he went away for awhile. I will take care of Ruze's wife just like we did with my aunt. Us Briarhoppers take care of our people! And there's a lot of us!""I have two brothers Duece and Trey," Vade went on, oblivious to the newcomers' disinterest. "My Papa was Vadenhuffer the first, but he lacks any originality and named all of his sons after him. Vandenhuffer II and III - Duece and Trey, get it." He giggled and went on without waiting for an answer. "My mama always hoped I was a girl. I did put on a dress once to get out of.... well, you do not want to hear that story.""I do not wish to hear any stories," the male elf replied gruffly. "Will your blather ever stop little one?"Windstryder grinned at her companion and then turned to Vade. "Say, little one, how is that stomach wound of yours?" she asked. "I think all this talking may be loosing the bandage. Let me tighten it for you.""No. I think it's fine," the halfling replied brightly, dodging out of the Windstryder's reach. "What is it like being an elf and living thousands of years? How old are you two? You look 25, but I bet you are 200 years old at least.""Have you not learned from your mother that it is impolite to ask a woman her age? My age is my own," the elf replied coolly. "Know this, I am no stranger to the ways of the forest. And you know as well as I do, boy, of the life span of a full blooded elf.""Age and wisdom must bring meaning and consideration to conversations," the male elf added rather cryptically."Great Grandpa Bumbler lived to be 174... oldest halfling I ever heard of," Vade said by way of answer. "People tell me to act my age. I am 26. What does a 26 year old elf look like? Is he a child? I bet I act a lot like a 26 year old elf. I must be part elf! Uncle Trouble did have awfully pointed ears. He said that they got caught in a headlock by an angry guard at the jewelry store. He could have been part elf, I betcha, though... Kind of lean, pointed ears. Yep that is it!""I know not the entire history of your race," Windstryder told him, as she was inexorably drawn in by the halfling's babble despite her best efforts to resist. "Your race steals from our blood, that is sure, but a pair of ears do not make an elf. And know this, halfling, I was scouting deer older than you while you were still stealing the milk from the breast. As for acting your age, I know not the proper age for one such as you. I have only heard of your race. I have not met one before this day, although my ears are worse for it."Vade laughed, oblivious to the ranger's insult. "I think elves are neat. Kind of snooty, but they make really nice stuff," he told her. "My best friend Ruze was human. He was not snooty. His wife is half-snooty, though.""Umm, hmm," Windstryder intoned and quickened her pace, quickly out-distancing the halfling although he trotted along briefly in an effort to keep up but his heavily-laden backpack slowed his progress"Snooty," Vade muttered before turning on the male elf. "Do you like spiders?""I make no distinction between one critter and the next," the elf answered, his eyes looking a little after Windstryder. "I just ask that they don't bite me.""I never really cared about them either, until we fought the rat man. I shot a weird little pellet out of my sling and POW! out come a dozen big spiders!" He waved his sling about and punctuated his tale with excited gestures. "The rat man ate them all though. But they bit him good and they had a really neat sticky kind of web! It is a good thing Ledare was not awake for that. Poor little Kitten is afraid of spiders." He ran up and briefly hugged the Janissary's leg. "Bad hair cut, but a nice lady, once you get to know her.""Thank you, Vade. I-," Ledare started to say, but the halfling bounded toward the elf again."Sure. Sure," Vade waved her off and went on with his tale. "Some elves gave me that sling stone. Have you ever heard of elves making slings that shot webs? It was pretty cool. Anyway, I went over to examine the web and the giant rat man and he came over to grab me and the big guy got stuck. It is a good thing too because, man, this really hurts." Vade lifted his shirt to show the bandages Windstryder had wound around his midsection. "He sure packed a whallop. He killed two of our comrades."The elf snorted again. "Were your friends and you trying to steal something... rogue?" he asked. "It's a pity your line of work costs your friends so dearly.""Hey!" Vade snapped back. "If you people would keep track of your stuff, I would not always have to find it! I always have to pick up after you people! And I'm trying to be so nice, too!""I care not for your pleasantries or your inane stories, thief," the elf growled. "You must learn to shut up if you are to walk along my path." And saying that, he leapt up, grabbed a low-hanging tree branch of a bronzewood tree and vaulted up acrobatically into the canopy. Vade grinned and started to use the Slippers to follow, but Ledare put a hand on his small shoulder and shook her head."Let him go," she advised with a wry smile. "I think you've tormented him quite enough for one day."The three Grey Companions were left alone in the woodlands, but each knew the way to Rherram's and they kept marching in that direction. They walked for a while in silence and at last Ledare broke it by saying, "It seems that daily I have someone to thank for saving my life. This time it is you two."Vade beamed up at her. "Like I said: us Briarhoppers take care of our people!""I owe much to Io to balance the scales," Ixin said gravely. "I could not leave you behind.""But, you have risked your lives for a mission that isn't even your own," the Janissary said, placing a hand on their shoulder. "I am indebted to you both.""What we should do with these?" Vade asked, producing two of the three pierced mithril coins that he had taken from Finian, Ruze and Draelond. The third, he already wore around his own neck. "I want to give one to Ixin, since I am starting to like her, but I do not know about those elves yet. Awfully defensive if you ask me.""The way is clear all the way to the bluff you mentioned," Windstryder said, stepping soundlessly from behind a nearby tree. Vade let out a yelp and Ledare's sword was half way out of its sheath before she realized who it was. Windstryder chuckled. "Say, halfling, those ears might be pointy but they do not hear like an elf's, do they?"Vade stuck his tongue out at Windstryder's back as the ranger walked away.Those who had been there before, found Rherram's home to be just as they'd left it. A bit of smoke still rose from the blackened funeral pier that Ruze had burned for Finian near the compost pit in the back yard. The many aromatic herbs planted in the extensive gardens around the building almost masked the odor of charred wood. Despite the warm day, smoke drifted from the chimneys set into the roof of Rherram's lab.The courtyard was empty save for a solitary elf with pale skin and white hair. He was dressed in a suit of fine scalemail that fit him like gleaming fishskin. He bore an enormous silver greatsword that he spun and thrust through a series of intricate practice moves. As he caught sight of them he lowered the sword and leaned on it. The weapon was half-a-hand taller than he."Hail and well met," he called out in common.Ledare returned the greeting and asked, "Who are you?""I am called Morier," he told her. They could see now that his eyes were a pink that verged on red. He seemed to be an albino. "You'll find the healer in his infirmary."As Ledare, Ixin and Vade made their way to the far door, Windstryder and her companion hung back. "Once you have been tended, Janissary, please come outside that I might talk with you.""And be quick about it," the male elf added, glowering at Windstryder. "People are dying while we waste time here."Ledare nodded and she and her companions ducked into the infirmary. The albino watched the two elves arguing tersely with each other in low tones for a moment and then went back to his weapons practice."Have you been to Barnacus lately?" Windstryder asked Ledare later that evening, after Rherram had grumpily tended to her many wounds. "The situation there is dire and grows dimmer by the moment." She gestured toward the other elf. "Ugly Boy, over there and I must finish our mission or Barnacus could fall.""It has been just over a week since I left Barnacus," Ledare told her. "Is this illness somehow associated with the Festival of Ibrahil? I am aware of some tainted meat pies that were causing trouble.""I do not know," the ranger replied. "No one knows for sure where the plague started.""But the King, himself, is stricken?" the Janissary asked and Windstryder nodded. "This is truly frightening news." "Surely a King has the very best healers," Ixin suggested. "I would not worry on his health."Ledare shook her head. "You don't understand. The King is physically and spiritually tied to the land by divine edict. The land’s health is the King’s health and vice versa. He should be immune to even magical ailments unless there is something seriously wrong with the kingdom itself." Turning to Windstryde again she asked, "Can you be more specific about this cure that you seek?""To you? Yes," the ranger replied and then pointed to Ixin and Vade. "To them? I am unsure.""If you would have my help, then you must trust them as well," Ledare countered and Windstryder grew thoughtful for a moment before turning to Vade."Little Boy, if a gem falls in the woods, who's is it?" she asked the halfling. "Is it yours to keep?""First of all: I am not a little boy. I am 'Rescuer of the King's Janissary'," Vade said, puffing out his tiny chest and sneering at the elf. "But I do digress. Oh, what was the question again? Oh yeah - the gem. Well, I would certainly not let a gem just sit in the woods where anyone could just take it. It could fall into a thief's hands! I would keep it safe until the right person came along. Did you lose a gem? I have quite a few" he fished in his belt pouch and produced some brightly-colored stones and showed them to Windstryder. "Are any of these yours... I didn't think so. What are you trying to imply anyway?"Windstryder ignored the halfling's question and looked at Ixin. "And you, Dragon Born? If your mana is near spent and you face the option to escape combat but in doing so you will leave your 'mallon' to meet the combat alone, what do you do?"Casting her eyes down as she considered the question, Ixin paused before answering. Vade picked up the silence at once. "What kind of a question is that? What does it mean? I do not get it!" he said. "Ixin does some cool stuff with her fingers. You should see it up close.""My life is worth nothing if I can not live it in the company of trusted comrades," the sorcerer said gravely. She flexed her hands and grinned displaying both claws and fangs to the ranger. "I would not hesitate to risk myself for the good of my comrades. I am strong and I have other resources than my spells. I would stay and fight and live with honor."Windstryder nodded at her before turning back to Vade. "I know not your group. I cannot make you stay behind or leave, Half Boy, for I am not the Janissary. But my elven eyes are sharp.""Enough of this, Windstryder," Ledare said quickly. "Stop insulting my comrades and tell me about your 'urgent' mission."The ranger nodded and threw up her hands in a gesture of acceptance. "As you wish, Janissary. Barnacus has fallen under a quickly spreading rot. It spreads as fast as root rot. It seems with the casting of any spell, a plague is multiplied among the denizens of Barnacus. The King has caught this plague and the clerics state he will die immanently. If the King dies, Baranacus falls to the plague within a fortnight. The Augers claim a miracle cure might be found in a town called Hillville Junction that could save the King and in doing so, Barnacus. I have been sent to get the cure and bring it back to the King.""We've heard rumors of this disease already. But tell me, why wouldn't the king send Janissaries along with the ranger units in order to find this cure?" Ledare asked and the elf shrugged."I do not know the King's mind," she said. "Perhaps the Janissaries are too busy keeping the city contained. They've locked the gates, you know. No one gets in or out.""What about this cure in Hillville Junction?" Ledare pressed. "What is it?""A girl," Windstryder's companion spoke, his voice deep and gravelly. A girl who performs miracles. A girl who fell from the sky." the ranger shot him a reproachful glance and the male elf shrugged. "We have no time for your double talking, Windstryder.""Who has seen such a girl?" Ledare asked the male. "What do you know of her?""Rumors only," Windstryder answered quickly. "We have heard tales from travelers and the words of the Augers."Ledare nodded and quickly shared with the two eves her own assignment to rid Barnacus of the skaven. At the end of the tale, she added, "Ridding Barnacus of skaven is a task which is proving larger than life... larger than several lives, it turns out.""Will you abandon your quest to help us with ours?" Windstryder asked and Ledare shook her head."I cannot abandon my own assignment," she told the ranger. "However I will accompany you at least for now. I am fairly certain that somehow all this evil is connected. And to be quite honest, I have gained too little ground and lost too much in pursuit of the skaven. I need to find a better way to navigate that course. Perhaps in journeying with you an answer will come.""What of these two," Windstryder asked, gesturing to Vade and Ixin. "There is no reward offered - nothing except your honor to do the right thing in Barnacus' time of need."Ledare shrugged and looked at her two comrades. "Once again, you are not bound to participate in this. I cannot and do not expect you to risk your lives for the king's purpose," she explained to them. "I can make no promises about what lies in store; the path has already proven too deadly.  But, I would value...I would cherish your company."Vade jumped up and threw his arms around her suddenly, pressing his face against her chest. "Yes! I will come with you and help you!""I would not abandon you now," Ixin said with a nod that Windstryder took as a cue to stand."Tall One and I leave in the morning," she said cocking her thumb at the male elf. "Pack lightly, for we will be traveling swiftly.""Excuse me," a voice said from the darkness and the albino elf approached with his hands held out in a gesture of peace. "I overheard your conference here and would like to offer my sword to your cause. If the situation is truly as grave as you claim, then how can I not pledge myself to your cause?"</blockquote>

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