Into the Wilderness

[royaleagleofthor]

The dark figure could not help but be amused by the frightened reactions of some of those present. Hidden well beneath the clothing and mask a malicious grin spread across his face, he had always had a knack for instilling fear in others and it never ceased to elevate his mood. As the people before him began to discuss his joining them the mans keen eyes scanned the surrounding area, the pain was excruciating and he couldn’t see nearly as well as he would like at the moment. He silently cursed that frailty that plagued his entire race. Yet as painful and inefficient as his lookout was he felt it best to keep an eye out. The forest put him on edge, where there were woods there were sure to be elves afoot and if they were to discover his identity it would only mean a world of problems, problems he would rather avoid. It had been a long and perilous journey already and nothing was going to stand in his way, failure was not an option.

After the less than enthusiastic response from the man before him the assassin used the offered hand to shake a finger at Azmi as if scolding a child, “You should really learn some manners before you piss off the wrong person… if that’s the way you like it so be it. You can expect no such formalities from me kid, and I certainly do not require friendship from you, this is business after all.”

The dark figure then turned sharply deliberately snubbing Azmi, “The names Earolas, Earolas Baenre,” he announced only slightly bowing his head in recognition of the others present.

[BlackAngelYume]

Yume watched the confrontation with the man in silence. She had not been surprised when he suddenly jumped from the bushes, years of being followed had worn her chance of being shocked down to a nub, and it wasn’t something that happened often.

There was something distinctly dark about the man, not taking his attire into consideration, and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. He wasn’t a fallen, and that was something very, very good, but he had an air of magic about him… the kind that one’s born with.

Her eyebrows wrinkled when she heard his name. Had her lower face not be covered, the look of puzzlement she currently wore would be more apparent. There was something familiar about his name and, like his aura, she could quite place what it was. She’d studied many languages and cultures of many different races and had a wide knowledge of each; she just had a tendency to not be able to place certain ones quickly. She knew the name from somewhere, she just couldn’t remember where.

She sighed, that fact would bother her the rest of the day.

She glanced to Azmi, making no move to introduce herself when Earolas did. She wasn’t sure if inviting him would be such a great idea… but then again, she mustn’t look too inviting herself, had it not been for the “darkness” he was giving off she could’ve considered herself a hypocrite. She sighed once more, crossing her arms under her cloak.

[milliehiggins]

Millie heaved a deep sigh and started to rub her temples. They had only started the journey and already she could see problems arising. She passed a worried glance behind her, wondering if the others could see it too. Placing one hand on her hip, Millie decided to push these worries back. She was probably just making the scene worse in her mind than what it actually is.
Millie decided to pick up her pace to talk with Earolas. On her way by Azmi, she gave him a sympathetic smile. She knew he was against Earolas joining and was on edge about it. Hopefully, he can find a way to be more relaxed about it.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Earolas.” She chimed, falling in step beside him. “I’m Millie.” A friendly smile was offered to him before a thought crossed her mind. “Hey, Azmi…When are we making camp?” Since they entered the bush, Millie has been keeping and eye out for trees that she could use to make little huts where they can be protected from the elements. She was getting tired of noting thin branches with lots of leaves, to strong ones with nearly nothing to them at all.

[Azmi & Zoe]

Baenre. Azmi paused where he was, his demeanor changing noticably. This name was familiar. Who was he? Who? Baenre...
He was searching through his memories, trying to remember the name when Millie addressed him. They were about 80 yards into the forest. They weren't far at all. How far away was the outpost...? He did some quick math in his head. They would definately need to set up camp, but not for a few more hours. "Don't worry about it yet, Millie. We should be okay for a few more hours."

Baenre.

Sensative feline ears picked up the sound of something large moving a good distance ahead. "Stop!" he said to the group, listening carefully. Zoe was quick to do the same.
Bipedal. Sluggish, uneven. Large, possibly at 8-900 pounds. It was closer than he thought. And...was there a second?
"Down, everyone down," Azmi commanded, falling to a crouch and pulling the nearest person, Millie down with him by her shoulder. He looked around the area where the sound was coming from.
Zoe fell to her knees, sweeping around and grabbing the nearest person as well. Kanael found himself being pulled by his forearm to the ground. "Don't move. Something is coming this way," Zoe warned him in a whisper.
A few moments of silence ensued, followed by a few more. Without warning, a smaller tree was uprooted and hurled over the groups head, destroying itself and several other trees in it's path. Splinters and shards of broken wood rained down in a violent torrent of dust and bark. Standing where the tree once had was a 15-foot tall humanoid beast, gnarled and akwardly shaped, it watched for a moment to see if it had hit it's mark. A second troll-like figre stood several feet behind it.
"What is that?" Azmi raised an eyebrow as he watched them. Some of the wood had embedded itself into his skin, but that was of minimal concern with these huge threats before him.

[AutumnrainChaos]

Kanael hid amongst the trees and watched the creatures. A hungry look came about his eye as he licked his lips.

[royaleagleofthor]

Earolas was admittedly a little surprised at Millie’s boldness in approaching him yet at the same time pleased that at least someone was willing to give him a chance, even if he was only going to exploit any trust shown him eventually.

“You as well,” responded the Drow taking care to sound sincere, however at this moment there seemed to be more pressing matters.

Azmi’s warning was truthfully a matter of too little to late as within a matter of mere seconds the uprooted tree hurtled straight towards the group splintering some of the other trees surrounding them. As if this turn of events was not matter for concern Azmi seemed to be content with merely waiting for the large creatures to tear the party to pieces. It was time for Earolas to take matters into his own hands.

After no more than a moment’s concentration the Drow tapped into the inborn magic of his race creating a sphere of magical darkness spreading the effect out in a sixty-foot radius. Now he would be able to gain the advantage on the intruders. At the center of the dark void Earolas felt safe and comfortable, but that did not mean he would simply take these creatures actions lying down. Simply tapping the crest that adorned his mask invoked an incantation that gave the assassin blazing speed. Drawing his weapons Earolas began to charge one of the creatures

[AutumnrainChaos]

At this, the platinum blonde watched with even more curiousity. He leaned further out and waited to see what would happen.

[BlackAngelYume]

Yume froze when Azmi told them to stop. She watched him, waiting for his reaction, terrified that her pursuers caught up to her and he’s noticed their presence.

Her reaction time was a bit delayed when they were told to get down. She’d been so focused and worried about fallen, she hadn’t thought that there could be some other kind of threat. She fell into a crouched position right as the tree flew over her head, her cloak spreading behind her, appearing as a mock of the wings she hid.

She looked up to see the creatures before her and frowned when she saw no one’s motivation to defend themselves. She couldn’t help but feel a bit of admiration for Earolas as he stood to face the creatures.

It was the darkness sphere that made her curse under her breath.

She’d seen this kind of magical darkness before, you could only see through it with a spell and very few creatures could see through it naturally. She muttered in the angelic tongue a true seeing spell so that she could see through the darkness. The spell came up right as Earolas charged the creatures.

Yume stood, taking a battle stance, palms raised and started to chant in angelic, a blue-white energy wrapping around her hands, when the spell finished, she aimed the bolt of lighting that came from her palms at the beast that stood further from the group.

[milliehiggins]

Millie was pulled down and ducked just in time to avoid getting a trunk to the face. She was slightly confused at first, but she managed to slip out of the straps of her bag and pull out her dagger. She gave a small groan when she saw the two ugly creatures standing in their way.
At first, Millie just watched in awe of how quickly everyone went into action. She knew she couldn’t attack them head on like that; she was too slow because of her tail. If they took a swing at her, she probably wouldn’t get out of the way fast enough, either. Swallowing hard, she caught a glimpse of the trees. She noticed how the damaged trees had loosened the earth quite a bit. “I’m going to block the path behind them.” She stated to Azmi. She felt that someone had to know where she went.
It was only seconds when Millie found herself standing in front of a giant tree. Its roots were beginning to rot and it was resting on a smaller tree for support. She gave a wild grin. She used her dagger to cut through some of the roots; she also kicked some soil out from underneath the massive tree. She then gave her tail a good whack on the ground. It trembled from the force. Then, just like dominos, the large tree fell on the smaller one and it hit another. If this went on for just a few seconds more, two trees with strong, bare branches would fall behind the two monsters. They should block them from running away and cause a small sense of confusion and panic for the two ugly things. Hopefully, if all went to plan, her companions could use this distraction as a good time to attack.

[Azmi & Zoe]

Azmi's eyes quickly adjusted to the dark of Earolas's spell. That feline part of him allowed him not as much of a heightened sight as it allowed a drow, but he was well off, and angry. "Do that," he responded shortly to Millie, "But take care not to trap us either.
He remembered now. Baenre. Assassin.
Azmi jumped into off, following the other assassin, unimpressed by his new speed. A shock of lightning struck the beast behind that which as Azmi and Earolas were almost upon it, and it reeled with a low-pitched scream, falling backwards. Azmi leapt, not wasting time and undistracted by the lightning, to dig a katana into the closer beast's chest. The second beast was turning as it fell from the strike of electricity to flee from the darkness and confusion as lightning flew around and trees fell over. It stumbled over Millie's trap and crashed to the ground, flailing desperately.
Zoe was just as terrified as the stupid beasts, clinging to the arm that she had pulled down with her, that of the intrigued Kanael. She had the same advantage as Earolas and Azmi did, eyes that easily adjusted to darkness. Still, so much was happening at once, it was hard to keep track of.