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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 687145" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #208] Ixin[/PLAIN]The owl regarded them from the tree limb. Its large, unblinking eyes studied them with curiosity as it rotated its head around from side to side, taking them in from various angles."Hmm..," Ruze muttered as he studied the unconscious woman's face. "Humanoid form but definitely not human.""Whatever she is, we should disarm her so that she does not wake up and attack," Finian suggested. He tore his eyes away from the strange bird and pulled the woman's cutlass from its sheath. It buzzed and vibrated angrily in his hand and he almost dropped it."What is it?" Ledare asked, taking in the strange expression on the Archer's face."The sword," he muttered, looking for the words to describe it. "It's pulsing. Definitely magical and I think it might be... alive!""Really?" the Janissary asked, looking at the weapon critically - but not taking it from Finian. She still remembered well the way that the Ebony Grimoire had affected her when she touched it and was wary of inanimate objects that displayed signs of intelligence. "It doesn't look like much. The blade's not even sharp."The weapon was a simple one. It had a steel blade, no longer than a shortsword, that was straight on one side and slightly curved on the other with a polished brass basket hilt and a wire-wrapped handle. The pommel was a globe of what looked like violet glass. The unusual pommel and the runes etched into the blade were the only indications that the weapon might be more than it seemed."Well, it doesn't seem to be hurting me any," the ranger said, hesitantly. "The vibration is distracting, though; I don't think it would be of any use to me in a fight. But I still don't think that she should have it." He slipped the weapon through his belt where it continued to hum annoyingly. "We can give it back to her when she awakens and proves trustworthy.""Do we even have time to wait for her to awaken?" Ledare asked, looking around at the faces of her three Companions. "I think we need to press on and try to trail Kirnoth."Ruze cleared his throat. "I am sorry, Kitten, but I fear Kirnoth is lost for good."Ledare gave him a reproachful look. "I REALLY don't like that idea," she said sternly."Nor do I," the cleric told her. "But we must face facts. The change is rumored to kill those of elven blood. If'n it was he that changed, then none but my Queen's direct aid could cure him.""And you are unwilling to give it to him?" the half-elf snapped back."Of course that is not what I meant," the Battleguard explained. "It is beyond my power to cure him of this affliction. Perhaps it is beyond Nasser-Ubeen's power. I don't know.""As long as there is even that much doubt then I, for one, cannot abandon him," the Janissary said resolutely. "If you had journeyed with him as long as the rest of us have then you would not be so quick to just forget about him."Ruze sighed and shook his head. "Let's not FORGET him, Ledare, but let's ever keep an eye out for him. We must remember the living and why we have all been brought together. There is chaos free in this land and if we do not stop its ebbing tide then Kirnoth's loss will be as but a gift to him for he will not have to live through what this Realm is about to bear. And there is also the small price to pay for Rhem's assistance to us. I say back to his place to regroup, recover and rethink what we are about.""And I say we need to press on and try to trail Kirnoth," Ledare told him. She looked to Finian and Draelond for support."I would like to keep searching, but anyone who is too injured could return," Finian offered. "Draelond seems the worst off of any of us."The warrior could do nothing to conceal the fact that Finian was right. He simply nodded and said, "I am in no shape to engage in further combat. But I am on my feet and in control of my faculties. If I may be of help to Kirnoth by pressing on, then I am willing to continue.""I know we're in a bad way, but my conscience is screaming at me to continue and try to find him," Ledare said. "I'm not in favor of chasing the skaven or the undead, but quietly following the trail may be doable in our present state, correct?"Draelond nodded again and Ruze just sighed."Whatever we are going to do, we should press on quickly as those undead may return," Finian added."Fine," Ruze acquiesced. "Draelond, let me tend to your wounds." He drew forth his holy symbol and clutching it in one hand, pressed his other upon the big man's broad shoulder. "My Queen," the cleric intoned, "eradicate the pain and sore from my companion's body." Draelond's wounds closed visibly and the color returned to his cheeks."That's better," he grinned and gave Ravager an experimental swing. "Much better!""Let's find this trail and get on with it," Ruze suggested and they spread out to search the clearing with Finian and Ledare doing most of the searching while Ruze and Draelond watched the surrounding trees for any sign that the undead were returning.The combat that had occurred in the campsite had eradicated most of the tracks and Finian was about to give up and wait for sunup when Ledare called him over to the north side of the clearing. She indicated a spot where the underbrush had been parted and was flattened as if by numerous feet. "Is this what we're looking for?" she asked and the Archer nodded."You're getting good at this, Ledare," he said as he examined the path through the underbrush. "And look here," he added and pulled some scattered coins from amidst the weeds.Ledare took one of the coins and looked at it critically. "Coin of the Realm," she announced. "It was minted in Redwood."While Ledare and Finian were searching and Ruze was watching the trees on the opposite side of the clearing as best he could given his human night vision, Draelond stayed near to the unconscious woman. After a few moments, he heard her stir, and rather than turn to confront her, he gave no indication that he'd heard her. The owl in the tree above hooted down to her softly and she began whispering in an unfamiliar language."Marty, você tem prestado atenção a estas criaturas?" she hissed so low that Draelond could barely hear her. The owl hooted back and she continued. "Como parecem? São evil?" Each question was answered by a hoot from the owl.Draelond sidled away from the woman and signalled to the others. They joined him and he told them, "She's awake and it sounds like she's talking to that owl. I can't understand what she's saying.""The owl is probably the woman's familiar," Ledare hissed and then they moved passed Draelond toward the red-haired woman."Atacaram-me ou conservaram-me?" she was asking the owl. It hooted back and she asked, "Sou eu um prisioneiro aqui?""Of course you're not a prisoner," Finian responded and the woman looked up at him with her startlingly-bright yellow eyes. She smiled. "We mean you no harm.""Meu familiar diz-me que você me conservou," she said. "Obrigado. Eu estou em seu débito.""It was nothing," Finian told her. "What are you doing out here?"Ledare grabbed the Archer's bicep and said, "What language is that that she's speaking?""Sounds like the common tongue to me," Finian shrugged and the other Companions shook their heads."It sounds like gibberish to me," Draelond told him and the Archer shot the woman a suspicious look."Dê-me Arivexoth," she said to him, holding out her hand. "A espada. É conhecida é Arivexoth."Finian looked at the woman's weapon and then back at her. "What do you want it for?" he asked."Dar-me ele ou não podem compreender o que eu estou dizendo," she explained but the Archer seemed unconvinced. She sighed and held up a clawed finger. "Relógio," she said before turning to the others and adding, "Você compreende o que eu estou dizendo?"The others stared at her blankly."Veja?" she said to Finian and the Archer nodded. He drew the sword from his belt and handed it to her blade-first. She took it and sheathed it at her hip. "Thank you," she said. "This will make things much easier.""Who are you?" Ruze asked.She got unsteadily to her feet and gave a little bow. "My name is Ixin Chaririejir," she told them. "I am glad your group means me no harm. I also intend no harm.""What are you doing out here?" Finian asked again."I was out trying to help a local group find one of their companions," Ixin explained. "I do not know what became of her or the group, but given those creatures that attacked me, I fear the worst. What were they?""Undead of some sort," the Battleguard offered and Ixin nodded."Are they common in these parts?" she asked, looking nervously into the woods around the campsite. The owl glided silently down from its tree branch and perched on her broad shoulder."No more so than anywhere else, although," Ruze started to say and Ledare cut him off."Who designed this attack? Do you have any idea?" the Janissary asked and Ixin shook her head."I am not from this area. I am starting a new life," she replied. "Can you tell me about yourselves and what you were doing skulking in these woods so late?"</blockquote>

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