Whispers

[Kazastankas]

Kultharn watched the elf and the girl, following them with the utmost care. So that was the smouldering ruin that I glanced at back there... he thought as he easily followed the slow pair of the injured on a weakening girl, wondering where they were travelling to. However, when he watched, he sensed others, and saw the man who yelled running down the road towards the pair, and then another running after him. Intrigued, he watched silently.

"Very well. Do not soil yourself, young one," the elf said in a calm and soothing tone. "I still have the strength to row a boat." With that, Talos graciously and courteously let Iishka into the boat first, and clambered in, beginning to row. Always remember that you should never act weak unless it's apparently so, Talos thought to himself.

[Stover]

Kane stopped and turned at the sound of a voice. "I'll be happy to answer your questions after I figure out what's going on. Follow me if you will."

[RaiRai]

I still have the strength to row a boat.

She hadn't expected the man to row. If anything, she would have prefered if he would have just rested at the back of the boat while she manned the oars. That way at least she knew where she was going and could adjust their speed and course to suit. She just nodded and smiled lightly, not wanting to cause a fuss. This 'Talos' person was helping her, and she needed the help as much as she hated to admit it. If the people from the village were to find her...

Her small hand gripped onto her bag tightly as she clambered into the boat. She watched as he took the oars into his hands and began to row out to see. At first, the task was hard. The incoming waves proved vicious and for every few rows, they'd be pushed back a small way. But soon the land was getting further away, the boat becoming enshrouded in the sea mist.

"It's going to get darker soon, I can smell the electricity in the air... Iishka allowed Demmit to curl up on her lap as she raised her umbrella again, expectant of the rain. She cocked her head to oneside to watch the man row and shook her head lightly, bells jingling again on her brightly colored dress. "I can't allow you to do this. Not in your condition..."

Talos kindly shook his head. "I feel better already. I believe my fever has broken, and the coughing is constant. I've had it my whole life, so I'm used to it." Talos continued to row, gradually picking up speed. Conversation with others was encouraged in his land (he was a knight after all, and used to parties and formal dinners, where people would talk constantly and ask his opinion on a great many matters), so he hoped to talk to Iishka. "I'm from the elven land of Kuryan, yet I'm the elven representative for the Order of The Sword and Shield. My home is currently in the human city of Camarkhan, where the Order is based. We Knights of The Order are ambassadors, leaders, warriors, and peacekeepers. I was sent to prevent that burned town from being destroyed. Unfortunately, I failed, and now I'll be exempt from the Order, for they don't allow failures." The elf looked crestfallen, yet he continued to row without complaint.

[Stover]

Kane reached the shore and watched the small boat slowly slide away. "Well, I guess that ends that. Ah well, I've only lost an hour or two" Kane waved goodbye to the boat and its two passengers. He wished he'd have known about the shore and the boat--it'd take him and Ben more than a day to get around this lake...at least, Kane hoped it was a lake. Perhaps he would overhear it from someone.

He waved to the boat again, and turned to meet the man that had been following him.

[RaiRai]

I was sent to prevent that burned town from being destroyed.

Flashbacks. Everything at once. The fire. Heat. Colors. Screams. Crashes. Footsteps. Smell of death. Ruins...everything in ruins. Iishka put her head in her hand for one moment, her veins throbbing as she closed her eyes. She didn't want to remember. She needed to forget. To forget everything. Rubbing her right temple, she still held the umbrella in her left; she looked back to the elf, her eyes shimmering lightly.

"I'm sorry to hear of it. You knew the village would burn then...? How could you have known that...?" She smoothed Demmit's soft fur and kept her gaze on the man, her senses alert to the noises of the waters around her and the fresh smell of the sea. It made her relax a little as she leant back, the rains starting to patter and ripple in the water.

"My companions and I weren't exactly aware that those behind it would burn the town. Our only lead pointed to a suspectedly currupt politician and a small army of mercenaries he'd gathered. I would've made it there in time to warn everyone, but I was ambushed and my horse was killed, forcing me to travel on foot. My companions told me they would wait in a town on the coast we're headed to. I can meet up with them and if you like, we can go our seperate ways. The choice is yours, madam." Though this girl was young, Talos was obligated to treat her as he would a noble lady, and he would do so in a hope of her safety and not losing his position on the Order of The Sword and Shield.

[Zweihander]

“ZzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZzzzz...” Sound asleep, Vult was completely unaware of his surroundings. Luckily, his roommate was awake, and copying things from a large, old, leather-bound book into another similarly large, leather-bound book, but much newer.

“Hmmmm.... so THAT is how to control the <insert magick babble>...” Jack mumbled, while writing and drawing furiously. Being a disciplined Wizard, he did his best to acquire as many new spells as he could, no matter how useless they were. And being a shiftless Rogue, Vult did whatever he damn well pleased. Which, currently, was to catch up on his sleeping.

The sky had long since turned dark and rumbling, and rain had begun to pelt insistently on the windowsill. “I hope that bloody bird did not get itself hit by lightning. It took me two months to train that thing...”

KRAK – DOOOM!!!!

“Whaaa!!! The weasels in the buttermilk!!! The biscuits! The biscuits aren't safe!” Startled from his sleep, Vult began spouting random gibberish.

“Quiet you big baby. It is nothing more than thunder.” Jack sighed at his companion as he regained his composure.

“Wheh... THAT was a weird dream...” The 'treasure hunter' got up and walked over to the half open window. “So, it's raining, just like you said. Good thing we got this room, or else we'd be beating down the inn's doors like everyone else who doesn't have a prescient traveling companion.” He peered out into the charcoal sky, and over the town. Squinting, he could see the inky water, and noticed that most of the boats were already moored to their regular docks. Looking back up into the sky, he said, “Say, did that crazy ass chicken get back yet?”

“No, my carrier pigeon has yet to return. I do not expect it to for another day or so. Raith will probably keep it overnight, or at least until the storm dies down.”

“Really? Alright then – hey! Come check this out!” Grumbling, the robed man got up and walked over to the window. Vult stepped aside and pointed towards the sky. “Look at that thing!”

“Huh? What thin- gAHHH!!!” Jack screamed in abject British inflected terror as something wet and scratchy flew right into his face, while his friend began laughing hysterically. Jumping back, he saw it resting on the ground. “Melchior! What are you doin- “ he suddenly turned to Vult with a fireball charged and ready in his hand. “That. Was. Not. CIVIL!” he yelled, bringing his other hand up and smacking the vagabond upside the head.

“OW! C'mon, can't hehehe you take a jokebwahahaha!!!”

Sighing heavily with an a slight shake of his head, the wizard bent down to pick up his bird. “Okay, what are you doing returning so soon? That hermit send you out into the rain like the unmannered peasant he... is...”

Regaining control of his laughter, Vult was startled by his companions expression. Never before had he seen him look like this. “Hey, man, what is it? You look like your goldfish just died.”

“Vult, Melchior still has the original message I sent him out with.”

Vult shifted into an unnaturally grave tone, for him at least. “So, that either means that the bird forgot something you had magically engraved into its brain-”

“-highly unlikely-”

“- or that the village is no more, since it was trained to return to you without delivering its message only in such a case.” Looking back out the window, he sighed heavily. He could barely make out the peninsula's outline, let alone the horizon between the sea and the sky. “That was a good sized town, and had its share of people in the area to defend it. Wonder what the hell happened...”

He turned to his companion, who immediately cut him off. “NO. The last time you dragged me along on one of your silly 'this town/girl is in trouble and needs our help!' quests, I was nearly eaten by a Vrock. It was a godsend that I had managed to persuade that paladin along, despite your uncouth mannerisms. I am here, with YOU, because the Council ordered me, not to save every random morally deprived girl from werewolves and the like. I am with you to save the world from several pre-determined disasters, and this is not one of them. If you want to go anywhere, go by yourself. I will be here, re-training Melchior and visiting the local library. Maybe set up some fancy shop to sell trinkets and actually MAKE money for once.”

Feeling the wind and rain beginning to come in through the window, Vult walked over and closed the window. “Fine. In the morning, I'll set out for this village and see what happened. Right now, I think I'll go ask around downstairs about the wee hamlet, like maybe if it has any enemies or something. Some people take sports playoffs too seriously, you know..."

“Do NOT run up a tab! Not just a big one, but ANY tab! I do NOT feel like running for my life while some bar owner chases us with a giant axe!”

“Even if you weren't psychic, just by traveling with me for this long, you would know that that wish is in vain.” He bounded off out of the room and (hopefully) into the waiting arms of some inebriated barmaids. Oh yeah, and information leading to the capture of some mass murderer or demon or something...

[RaiRai]

"I must get to my brother. He lives in the city of Ecrictk. I need to tell them that..." Iishka lowered her head a little, looking down to Demmit who was purring happily asleep on her lap. "My mother died in that fire. I watched her burn and then I fled. My brother deserves to know of this, even if they never saw eye to eye..."

'That bedridden wench' he'd always call her. Iishka hated the bitter tongue in which her brother spoke of her mother. After all she'd done for the both of them, he had nothing but hatred and anger for his own flesh and blood. Iishka didn't even know what her mother had done to warrant such an attitude. Every time she tried to bring her brother up in conversation, her mother changed the subject or just remained silent. It annoyed her a little to not be able to talk to anyone about her brother, who she admired very much. An artist. He'd draw images that would come to life in eerie ghostly forms. It had amused her very much as a child and she'd always kept the one picture that she loved the most. The brightly colored butterfly...

The rains had stopped again, so Iishka lowered her umbrella and folded it carefully. She took good care of everything she owned. Though most of the things she had that were material had burned along with the village. She didn't mind so much, they were things she'd work toward and there would be another chance when she got to her final destination. If she was correct, what she carried would be worth a lot of money. Possibly the reason she had a price on her head...

Running her hand through her hair, she looked to the elf rowing the boat once again and just allowed her gaze to settle on him for a while. It saddened her to think that this could have been her fault. The village burning. This man having the long journey toward the village, enough to make him ill. And now him rowing them across the sea. She rubbed her own shoulder harshly, just to wake herself a little and ease a pain growing in her back where she had been seated for some time.

"This town on the coast...would it be easy enough to make a little money? Say dancing or performing? I think I'm going to need to try to find some gold before I can continue on my 'quest'..."