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<blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 838729" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #216] Back to the Caves[/PLAIN]&quot;Of all the swiving -,&quot; Ledare hissed then caught herself and addressed the Watchman in a calm voice. &quot;Fine. Tell the Baron that I will report back to him forthwith.&quot;&quot;Janissary,&quot; the boy said with a curt bow before walking off into the rain. Ledare closed the door soundly behind him.&quot;Problems, kitten?&quot; Ruze asked as he walked through the door from the adjoining living quarters. He held a steaming cup of tea in one hand.&quot;It's nothing,&quot; the Janissary said and waved the Baron's scroll dismissively. She glanced sideways at Lant before adding, &quot;We'll discuss it later, Ruze.&quot;The cleric nodded his understanding and sat comfortably on his bed. Lant ignored the man and turned to Ixin. &quot;Can we go now?&quot; he asked expectantly and the mage nodded.&quot;I've been trying to think of where the Claw might go,&quot; she explained as she coaxed Martivir into one of the extra-dimensional pockets inside her cloak. It was a tight fit, but one look at the weather outside was enough to convince the familiar to cooperate.&quot;I was thinking maybe into town to try to steal supplies.&quot; Finian shook his head at the suggestion and began gathering his gear to depart.&quot;I think the best course of action is to return to the cave to look for clues since it appears the girl was brought to the same place Kirnoth was,&quot; the ranger said.&quot;Nilia,&quot; Lant said darkly. &quot;The 'girl' has a name. It's Nilia.&quot;&quot;Yeah. I know,&quot; Finian muttered. &quot;Sorry.&quot; Lant snorted derisively and turned to Ixin again.&quot;Are you ready?&quot; he asked and Ruze cleared his throat before she could answer.&quot;I fear we are following too many threads,&quot; the Battleguard said cryptically. &quot;We are like the weaver with too many yarns; soon the cloth will be tangled.&quot;&quot;Huh?&quot; Finian grunted and Ruze got to his feet, put down his tea and began to speak louder.&quot;It seems that no sooner are we on the scent of Chaos and nearer to ending its foothold in our realm than we are off again on a side errand,&quot; he explained. &quot;I for one must remember my purpose to keep Chaos from its reign.&quot; Ruze dropped down from the raised platform and came to stand beside the lanky Den Lant. He laid a hand on the man's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. &quot;Now, I cannot let a kidnapped girl go unnoticed, Goodman. Fear not,&quot; he told the man. &quot;But I propose a plan with a beginning, a middle, and an end. We need to know when we are done, and may continue on to the overriding concern of Chaos.&quot;&quot;If'n you're plannin' on helpin' me find my daughter, mister,&quot; Lant said taking Ruze's hand of his shoulder and fixing the cleric with a stern gray eye, &quot;then you'll know you're done when she's back with me safe and sound.&quot;Ruze nodded and stepped away from Lant. &quot;I propose we find the girl, keeping Kirnoth in mind along the way, and helping Rhem along the way if we may,&quot; the Battleguard went on. &quot;Once we find the girl, we report here for healing needs, and continue our quest to rid the Realms of Chaos. What say you?&quot;&quot;It seems a sound course of action, Ruze,&quot; the Archer said with a nod. &quot;And don't forget that sometimes loose threads lead to the same knot. We just need to pick one and start following it.&quot;&quot;Since Finian is of the opinion that Kirnoth and this girl might both be in the caves somewhere, then I suppose that is to be our course,&quot; Ledare agreed. &quot;Still, I insist that we rest and recover somewhat first. Otherwise, I personally will be of no help to anyone. My injuries still bother me.&quot;&quot;I can help in that regard,&quot; Ruze said with a proud smile. &quot;My Queen saw fit to grant me many healing miracles last night when I performed the SulTuh. I won't have as many blessings to use during the course of the day, but I can start our journey off on a strong foot.&quot;&quot;Where do I sign up?&quot; Draelond asked as he stepped through the doorway from Rherram's house, his face looking nearly as pale as the bandage on his chest.&quot;I still say we need to deal with those undead,&quot; Ruze complained again. They had bypassed the three bloated zombies that still mindlessly guarded the abandoned campsite on the forest's edge and the continued existence of the undead rankled the cleric's sensibilities.&quot;Fightin' corpses ain't gonna get my little girl back, mister,&quot; Lant muttered and peered down into the abandoned clearing. The man's gruff attitude was beginning to grate on the group, but in this case his words made sense.&quot;Until we find Nilia,&quot; Ledare told Ruze, &quot;we need to conserve our strengths. And that means picking our battles.&quot;&quot;I understand the wisdom of your words, kitten,&quot; Ruze said. &quot;But I won't feel very good about myself if some innocent runs afoul of the creatures.&quot;&quot;None of us will,&quot; Draelond agreed.&quot;We told the Constable about them,&quot; Finian said. &quot;It's his job to get rid of them now.&quot; Lant and Ruze harrumphed in unison at the Archer's words and then scowled at each other. &quot;I'm willing to scout ahead a little, but not much,&quot; Finian went on. &quot;I do not want to get caught alone by anything.&quot;&quot;I'm fair to middlin' when it comes to sneakin' about,&quot; Lant said without looking at Finian. &quot;I reckon I could go with ya.&quot;&quot;Okay,&quot; the Archer said, a trifle surprised at the man's offer. &quot;The rest of you are too loud in all that armor. What about you, Ixin?&quot;The mage shrugged her broad shoulders. &quot;I'm afraid skulking is not one of my many strengths,&quot; she admitted. &quot;But when Marty is nearby, I do share some of his penchant for stealth.&quot; She opened her cloak and drew out the owl. Marty hooted softly and blinked at the dayight. &quot;Oh, hush,&quot; Ixin told him. &quot;It's only rain. It won't kill you to get a little wet.&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Jon Potter, post: 838729, member: 2323"] [b][PLAIN][Realms #216] Back to the Caves[/PLAIN][/b] "Of all the swiving -," Ledare hissed then caught herself and addressed the Watchman in a calm voice. "Fine. Tell the Baron that I will report back to him forthwith." "Janissary," the boy said with a curt bow before walking off into the rain. Ledare closed the door soundly behind him. "Problems, kitten?" Ruze asked as he walked through the door from the adjoining living quarters. He held a steaming cup of tea in one hand. "It's nothing," the Janissary said and waved the Baron's scroll dismissively. She glanced sideways at Lant before adding, "We'll discuss it later, Ruze." The cleric nodded his understanding and sat comfortably on his bed. Lant ignored the man and turned to Ixin. "Can we go now?" he asked expectantly and the mage nodded. "I've been trying to think of where the Claw might go," she explained as she coaxed Martivir into one of the extra-dimensional pockets inside her cloak. It was a tight fit, but one look at the weather outside was enough to convince the familiar to cooperate."I was thinking maybe into town to try to steal supplies." Finian shook his head at the suggestion and began gathering his gear to depart. "I think the best course of action is to return to the cave to look for clues since it appears the girl was brought to the same place Kirnoth was," the ranger said. "Nilia," Lant said darkly. "The 'girl' has a name. It's Nilia." "Yeah. I know," Finian muttered. "Sorry." Lant snorted derisively and turned to Ixin again. "Are you ready?" he asked and Ruze cleared his throat before she could answer. "I fear we are following too many threads," the Battleguard said cryptically. "We are like the weaver with too many yarns; soon the cloth will be tangled." "Huh?" Finian grunted and Ruze got to his feet, put down his tea and began to speak louder. "It seems that no sooner are we on the scent of Chaos and nearer to ending its foothold in our realm than we are off again on a side errand," he explained. "I for one must remember my purpose to keep Chaos from its reign." Ruze dropped down from the raised platform and came to stand beside the lanky Den Lant. He laid a hand on the man's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. "Now, I cannot let a kidnapped girl go unnoticed, Goodman. Fear not," he told the man. "But I propose a plan with a beginning, a middle, and an end. We need to know when we are done, and may continue on to the overriding concern of Chaos." "If'n you're plannin' on helpin' me find my daughter, mister," Lant said taking Ruze's hand of his shoulder and fixing the cleric with a stern gray eye, "then you'll know you're done when she's back with me safe and sound." Ruze nodded and stepped away from Lant. "I propose we find the girl, keeping Kirnoth in mind along the way, and helping Rhem along the way if we may," the Battleguard went on. "Once we find the girl, we report here for healing needs, and continue our quest to rid the Realms of Chaos. What say you?" "It seems a sound course of action, Ruze," the Archer said with a nod. "And don't forget that sometimes loose threads lead to the same knot. We just need to pick one and start following it." "Since Finian is of the opinion that Kirnoth and this girl might both be in the caves somewhere, then I suppose that is to be our course," Ledare agreed. "Still, I insist that we rest and recover somewhat first. Otherwise, I personally will be of no help to anyone. My injuries still bother me." "I can help in that regard," Ruze said with a proud smile. "My Queen saw fit to grant me many healing miracles last night when I performed the SulTuh. I won't have as many blessings to use during the course of the day, but I can start our journey off on a strong foot." "Where do I sign up?" Draelond asked as he stepped through the doorway from Rherram's house, his face looking nearly as pale as the bandage on his chest. "I still say we need to deal with those undead," Ruze complained again. They had bypassed the three bloated zombies that still mindlessly guarded the abandoned campsite on the forest's edge and the continued existence of the undead rankled the cleric's sensibilities. "Fightin' corpses ain't gonna get my little girl back, mister," Lant muttered and peered down into the abandoned clearing. The man's gruff attitude was beginning to grate on the group, but in this case his words made sense. "Until we find Nilia," Ledare told Ruze, "we need to conserve our strengths. And that means picking our battles." "I understand the wisdom of your words, kitten," Ruze said. "But I won't feel very good about myself if some innocent runs afoul of the creatures." "None of us will," Draelond agreed. "We told the Constable about them," Finian said. "It's his job to get rid of them now." Lant and Ruze harrumphed in unison at the Archer's words and then scowled at each other. "I'm willing to scout ahead a little, but not much," Finian went on. "I do not want to get caught alone by anything." "I'm fair to middlin' when it comes to sneakin' about," Lant said without looking at Finian. "I reckon I could go with ya." "Okay," the Archer said, a trifle surprised at the man's offer. "The rest of you are too loud in all that armor. What about you, Ixin?" The mage shrugged her broad shoulders. "I'm afraid skulking is not one of my many strengths," she admitted. "But when Marty is nearby, I do share some of his penchant for stealth." She opened her cloak and drew out the owl. Marty hooted softly and blinked at the dayight. "Oh, hush," Ixin told him. "It's only rain. It won't kill you to get a little wet." [/QUOTE]

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