Servant turned Criminal — Legacy Forums

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#41

"Everything has a name. Even if your old one isn't recognized any more, you can take a new one." Johnathan spoke quietly, keeping his attention focused on making sure he was still following Sage. "Why not just pick a new one?" However, he asked it like a rhetorical question, like he didnt' really expect an answer. Sage just snorted and kept going.

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#42

Josey looked around as they walked then sped up a bit to catch up with Johnathan "If you don't mind Johnathan I'm going to take to the trees i can see further in front and behind from up there so i can keep an eye out for oncoming people in each direction it's just I'm so clumsy on the floor" she shuffled her feet slightly as she walked and waited for Johnathan to give her an answer.

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#43

Johnathan sounded genuinely surprised. "Why are you asking me? I'm not in charge. Do as you wish." But he was thinking, odd that more people had sort of... adopted him. A strange feeling, at least to a man who had grown up thinking friends were some strange, fantasic sort of beast he would never meet. A luxury those of his class weren't permitted. He didn't quite know what to do about it. He did think, however, that he'd have to make two more special needles. He wasn't used to friends, and he couldn't really protect anyone from much. But he could make sure they had an easy way out, if it came to it.

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Mad, burning eyes followed the group. So, here he was, and that pretentious slave as well. How fortunate that he'd been the one to find them. He'd known that the assassin was around when the mist had rolled in, and the ensuing combat he'd watched from the trees had only confirmed it. He'd watch a little longer, he thought. Strike when they weren't prepared. "Come play in the trees, little girl," he whispered to himself. He'd overheard her, a little. When it was all over, he just might have to keep her...

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#44

Josey smiled slightly then turned and grabbed onto the lowest branch she hoisted herself up gracefully into the tree jumping higher and higher into the large heavily leaved tree. She turned her head slowly in each direction and used her strong eyes to search through the leaves, although she had good eyes she did not notice the person or thing watching them, she looked down at the group and began moving swiftly through the trees just above there heads. her hair fanned out behind her gleaming slightly in the dim light. Her thin figure was almost invisible as she moved stealthily through the trees not even making a leaf fall from it's branch. She looked slightly like an angel as she twisted and turned while she jumped.

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#45

The last of the group marched on, consumed by his thoughts, and the questions they'd asked. His head bowed he heard, rather than saw, the girl jump into the trees and continuing along with the group.

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#46

"At any rate, we have to call you something; I refuse to address you as 'hey, you'." Johnathan was carefully picking his way around roots. He'd retrieved his walking stick before they had started, and it made a soft rhythmic tapping as he went.

Sage seemed to be ignoring everyone, intent on leading the way to wherever he was going. He was judging the path by the layout of the trees; he was well familiar with this part of the woods. But something was a little off. Something was just the slightest bit different, and after a few minutes of looking, he realized what it was. "Blue flowers..." he muttered to himself. They were tiny, pale blue things growing in scattered clumps; must've sprung up after the last rain. Still they struck a distand chorde of memory, like they were something he had known once. But he couldn't make the connection, whatever it was.

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The eyes followed Josey as she gracefully travelled along the tree branches. "Pretty, pretty..." he whispered. A fine pet she'd make. His eyes darted to one side, and a tree branch Josey was reaching for suddenly jerked four inches away from her just as her fingers touched it. "Will you fly or will you fall, little bird?" Still speaking in a hoarse whisper. No sense giving himself away, not when he could play with them a little more.

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#47

He fell further and further behind the group, as he became engrossed in the leaves, making them rise up and fall down in ever more mesmerizing and confusing patterns. Suddenly the patterns broke, the harmony in his mind that had allowed him to make them fell apart, dischordant and frenzied, and the wind, content before to play at the traveller's feet turned suddenly, heavy with the scent of a coming storm.

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#48

Johnathan smiled as he heard the leaves blowing around. He sort of wished he could see it. Felt like magic, felt good. Then the wind turned and smelled like a storm. He sighed, magic was always fickle, even under the best circumstances. At least the rain wouldn't be Fury-magic. Something rang a bell. Fury-magic... What was it Sage had said just now?

Sage was looking at the blue flowers. He *knew* he'd seen something similar, he knew it. It bothered him. Aside from their sudden appearance, they looked pretty ordinary. Just little blue flowers, growing in a meandering fashion. That's what bothered him, the way they were growing. They formed patterns, almost. Vague lines. Why was that? He peered closer to get a better look. They were all growing from a series of thin vines. Vines? Vin- "Master!" He jerked his sword out of the sheath and lunged towards Johnathan. "It's Vine!"

Mad laughter echoed out of the trees around them, followed by a harsh, high pitched voice. "A pity, yes, it's a pity you realized so quickly! I had hoped to play with you a bit longer!" Something moved out in the woods. A tall, thin elf stepped out of the shadows. He was perched on a branch twenty feet off the ground. His hair and skin had a greeninsh tinge to them, but the most disturbing part about him was the crazed expression he was wearing. "How far you've come down in the world, Mist, yes, how far!" The elf cackled, and several thick vines whipped out of the surrounding woods and wrapped tightly around Johnathan and Sage. "It'll be a pleasure killing you, yes, a pleasure! And these two pets you've gotten, they're sure to be popular in the pits, yes, popular, once they've been properly broken, of course." He leered at Sage and the unnamed man. "I shall be rewarded by the master, yes, rewarded well indeed!"

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#49

The man had been following the party of four for some time now, what seemed like hours. If it hadn't been for the simple tracking spell embedded into a crystal, he would've been left behind long ago, thanks to their anti-tracking capabilities. Holding the charmed trinket by the cord, he let it hang, the crystal's glow increasing and decreasing as it magically detected the trail he was following. A useful item, and one that he had been hard pressed to get from the family vaults, for unlike the larger Houses, House Mavros didn't have the huge stockpiles of cash to draw upon, so each and every magical item they possessed was very much a treasure. If he lost this crystal, he would be very much disfavored amongst the rest of the House.

But that was neither here nor there. What was important was that the crystal was glowing stronger than it had for a few hours. Evidently, the group he was tracking was just up ahead. He had been following them ever since he found their campsite and the bodies of those tribal Hunters he had originally been tracking. The crystal had been attuned to their energies, but for some reason there seemed to be one still alive and moving, along with a party. While the trail was hard to make out, especially within this lighting (or lack thereof), once he knew where it was, even one as inexperienced as he could make out that there was more than one person making tracks.

Wait. Up ahead, he could hear someone speaking. A distinct voice, mocking and boisterous. "It'll be a pleasure killing you, yes, a pleasure! And these other two pets you've gotten, they're sure to be popular in the pits, yes, popular, once they've been properly broken, of course. I shall be rewarded by the master, yes, rewarded well indeed!" Perhaps he'd play his hand sooner than expected. He crept closer to get a visual of the apparent conflict, as silent as a city-bred nobleman could be (which is to say, if those up ahead weren't so busy with their own affairs, they'd have heard him five minutes ago). Sure enough, there was a group of people, two of them held in a choking grip by vines emerging from the forest. Looking up, he saw the source of the voice he had heard. Obviously this group was under attack, because there weren't many ways they could have attacked such a target at his height.

He sprang into action, leaping into the clearing at the vines, cutting down the swordsman and old man with a snicker-snack of metal eating through vegetation. Nothing like a good entrance to spice up the night.

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#50

Sage struggled against the vines holding him. His sword arm was pinned, and he couldn't move to cut them. They tightened painfully, close to crushing him. Johnathan was faring no better. He was having trouble breathing. His outline blurred as he tried to dissolve into mist again, but he couldn't seem to manage it. He choked on blood and slumped against the vines. The strange elf cackled again, and the vines tightened around him even more.

Then, suddenly, the vines released as another sword cut through them. Sage and Johnathan tumbled to the ground, gasping for air. Sage was back on his feet in an instant, but Johnathan was nearly unconscious. Sage gave a worried glance at Johnathan, then glared at the crazed elf. "I'm going to kill you, Vine."

Vine screeched in fury as the new player cut the two of them loose. "No fair, no fair, no fair! Why can't you let me have a little fun?!" He snarled and leaped to a higher branch. "I'll just have to kill you all, yes, kill all of you!" The trees around them creaked ominously, then a shower of thorns sprayed the clearing.

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#51

"...These other two pets..." Pet, the last time anything called me a pet was when I had a name. The memories of it burn deep, a black fire made all the more dangerous because of the hatred it breeds, songs of revenge written in blood.

He'd stopped, looking at the man named Vine, but not looking at him at all. Sparks fell from his fingertips as the tears formed at the corners of his eyes. In the distance thunder rumbled, seeming to break him from his revelry. His face, almost serene a moment ago, twisted with rage and hatred and despair as he began his chant. Gutteral sounds, not meant to ever issue from the mouth of a mortal being, sprang forth from his tounge, and the sparks turned into flames, falling unto the undergrowth. Finally, with a scream, his arms shot forward, propelling a wall of fire at the branches of the tree the newcomer was perched on.

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#52

Sage snarled as a thorn jammed into his shoulder. He didn't stop charging Vine, though. He couldn't get up the tree, though, before a heavy branch knocked him down again. Johnathan recovered enough to produce some more of his long needles, and apparently Vine was making enough noise that he got lucky when he threw them. One caught Vine in the arm. He cackled. "What's this, Mist, what's this? Did you forget who I am? A few more drops of poison in my blood aren't going to make a difference, no, not a difference!" He pulled the needle out and threw it back down, narrowly missing the newcomer.

Then things got complicated. Sage was just regaining his footing for another try at scrambling up the tree when a wall of fire ripped through the vines and the trees. He dropped flat just in time to keep from igniting himself. Vine wasn't so lucky, and he screamed as the fire hit him. He caught on fire, and fell out of the tree, still screaming. The vines and branches that had been attacking writhed, then shriveled and collapsed, smoldering. The fire burned out quickly, the sheer violence of the blaze extinguishing it. Sage got to his feet, and staggered over to where Vine had fallen. A high pitched keening noise was issuing from him, but after being stabbed a couple of times with Sage's sword, it stopped.

Johnathan struggled to sit up, still breathing raggedly. Blood trickled out of his mouth. Sage dropped down next to him. "Are you all right, Master?" Johnathan just nodded. Sage winced as he pulled the thorn out of his shoulder and looked at it. "Egh, he would throw that." He reached into one of the bags that they had brought and fished some small labeled bottles out. He peered at them, muttering under his breath. "Foxglove... Bloodroot... Purple rose." He uncapped the third bottle, shaking a little, and swallowed about a third of the contents. "Did anyone else get hit with those thorns? They're poisonous." If either of the others looked at his shoulder, they'd notice that his shirt had a large tear in it from the thorn. The wound was bleeding, but just above it was an old scar. It actually looked like he'd been branded, once.

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#53

"No, no thorns, though I could use some burn salve." Looking at his hands, blistered and raw, he shuddered; the rage of the past two months had left him empty, and with it's disapperance, there was nothing left in him. "And you, swordsman, why did you find us?"

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#54

Sage rummaged a bit, pulling out a small packet. "Here. Aloe. It's all I have." He tossed it to the nameless man. He carefully recapped the antidote he'd opened, and put it back in the bag. He'd gotten it soon enough that no damage was done, fortunately, but he'd still have to sit for a few minutes, until the shakes went away. He turned to Johnathan. "You know what it means, if Vine was looking for us."

Johnathan nodded. "He set the Furies on us. There will be more, but hopefully not for a while." His voice sounded raspy, and he was still spitting blood, a little.

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#55

The noble sniffed lightly, mildly annoyed at the downplaying of his heroic maneuver. Ungrateful louts, those two he had just rescued from a choking, painful death. Not even a word of thanks, nor a smidge of gratefulness. Commoners. He sniffed again at the mental invective, then gave a start.

He was being addressed by the savage. The savage could speak? That was something that his tutors had overlooked; they had never mentioned that the tribal savages could speak Kydonian. He sheathed his rapier and turned to the savage.

"My reasons will be explained shortly, once you answer questions of my own. Why were those tribal savages back in that campsite here in Kydonian territory? And why are you still alive, and on apparently friendly terms with these, who quite obviously slaughtered the savages in that clearing?"

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#56

The mage stopped, this man had insulted him and his tribe. The irony of the fact that he still held his tribe in high regard, though they were trying to kill him was lost on him, but its effects weren't.

Spitting, he looked at the newcomer, "What care you about a savage such as myself, swine? May it be that even brothers fight with eachother, and slaughter isn't always confined to opposites? But of course, such an examplar of civilization as yourself wouldn't be concerned with such "petty" disputes. Your name and your business."

OOC: Ria, CM and I both agree that this chain of thought should be stopped rapidly, with force if necessary. Otherwise the nearest 3 counties are going to be a mite angry as us two proceed to blow eachother up... Stupid prideful bastards...

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#57

OOC: Indeed. This chain of events could very rapidly turn out nasty.

The nobleman's eyes narrowed dangerously as the nameless mage insulted him. "Don't get above yourself savage, or you'll soon find out who your betters are. As for myself, I am Attad of House Mavros. My business is your filthy gang of 'brothers' trailing across our countryside for the past month, threatening our villagers and their livestock. As the appointed of House Mavros, it is my duty to prevent any more problems from your little hunting party." His voice lowered slightly, a subtle shift of tone. "By any means necessary."

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#58

Sage got to his feet. "Both of you, shut up! Now! Unless you *want* to get the attention of the Black Furies. Sometimes they travel alone, sometimes they don't, and if Pyre is anywhere around here, all the fire magic in the world won't save us. If you two want to kill each other, that's your own business, but wait until Master and I get clear before you start anything." He helped Johnathan to his feet.

"While he could have said it more politely, he has a point," Johnathan said. "Thank you for your assistance, whichever one of you did what." The light was a little better, and Attad could see he was much younger than he had originally thought, less than thirty. "Your lordship, you can't protect anyone if you're dead. And aren't you," he gestured vaguely at the namless man, "here because you're trying not to get killed? I can't say for sure, but it seems like there's very little point in the two of you fighting right now."

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#59

He stopped, and decided to continue along more civil lines. "The 'Hunting party' you're so worried about is long since dead, and, thoug it's quite likely more will come, their existance should only concern their quarry, and not your foolsy villagers. But Johnathan is right, and I don't death, either at the hands of my brothers, or at the hands of an outsider, so I must extend my regrets at your misfortunate choice of words."

Bowing a bit, half mockingly, he introduced himself, what little introduction was possible; "I'm me, nameless and stripped of all meaning, hunted by my tribe and my kin. An exile you might call me. And, if that 'filthy gang' had been here for a month, than I am troubled, because it means they were not the ones that followed me from my village."

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#60

"Oh, lovely, more people who want to kill us," Sage muttered. "I hope we can go at least until tomorrow without another fight." He still had to support Johnathan, who seemed to be having a problem with his balance. "And I don't suppose the people after you are the sort that can be reasoned with either. Not that I reason well." He paused, and looked at the mage for a moment. "You know, I can't handle this any more, I'm going to call you Solon, okay?'

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#61

Attad tilted in head in acknowledgment of 'Solon' and Johnathon's reasonings. Besides, they were just about as good of an apology as he was going to get. "So, who is this Pyre, what are those 'Black Furies', and what the tarnished bloodline is up with you bunch getting attacked twice within the same day?" He had questions, and the answers might just save the people he was sworn to protect.

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#62

Sage pointed at the remains of the man who'd attacked them. "Pyre is a lot like Vine was, except smarter, meaner, and probably crazier. And he doesn't use plants, he uses fire. He's probably the one in charge of the Black Furies, now."

Johnathan nodded. "The Black Furies are assassins in the court of King Raidol, and more or less psychotic to a man. Each of them possesses a different magical ability. There are..." he paused for a moment, thinking. "Five, now, I think. Unless the king has... recruited more since we fled." He scowled. "They're his most viscious and prized hounds. Vine was easily the stupidest of the lot, so if the others pick up the scent, it will be bad." Then he considered the other question. "As for being attacked twice, I think mostly that was coincidence. The three of us met on accident, you see, and our individual pursuers found us at roughly the same time."

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#63

OOC: sorry i havent posted for awhile been really busy

IC: josey had managed to push herself abit further and grab hold of a lower branch swinging herself up into the tree. she stopped and looked around, something was going on. when she looked down she noticed what had happened but before she could react someone had stopped it all. Josey stayed in the trees for a while watching making sure it was safe before swinging down and landing gracefully on the balls of her feet with one hand on the ground. "what is going on? who is this? who was that man before?" josey looked between the men she was travelling with then bowed to johnathan "im sorry i didnt come sooner, i must seem a coward" her face fell and she looked to the floor.

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#64

Johnathan sounded puzzled. "Why should I think you a coward? Vine was incredibly dangerous, it was wise not to be involved if he didn't see you. He was after Sage and myself; I'd actually prefer it if no one else got involved in our fight. If we had lost, he would have tried to take you prisoner." He didn't seem to want to say more on the subject.

Re: Servant turned Criminal

#65

Josey nodded "so what now?" she asked looking between the group.