Nothern Shadows

[Rob-hin]

Anduin nodded in admission, and shrugged in apology. Anduin knew this was going to be a long day, and it hadn't even gotten pas mid-day...

Casan noticed a serious look on Anduins face. “Nice manners” he though while he looked at him “Forgetting me like that”. He didn’t say anything though, knowing there was a lot of Anduins mind. “He feels responsible for us, especially for his friend since Anduin is the reason we are here together. Or he’s just cranky.”

He looked up into the sky, as if searching for something. Then he whistled as hard as he could, not long afterwards a bird came flying. Casan smiled and reached out his arm, Lucky landed smoothly on it, then he climbed over to his shoulder.

The rest had walked on without him, so Casan had to run to catch up with them. “Again” he sighed. Lucky didn’t like it when Casan ran with him on his shoulder, he hooted softly.

[Nippy]

Kilden looked over his shoulder and saw Casan gaining ground on them. He dropped his speed and waited for Casan to draw level with him.

"So ummm, Casan is it? Nice to meet you. My name is Kilden." He grasped Casan's hand firmly and shook it. "You know Anduin and this is Sedge." Sedge nodded his greeting and smiled but turned around quickly.

"Don't worry about those old goats Casan" whispered Kilden. "They're only here because they've got nothing to do!" Kilden grinned and Anduin looked back with a scowl.

"So who's this little fella then? Having an owl keep you company must be interesting..."

Kilden smiled again and walked with Casan...

[Rob-hin]

"So who's this little fella then? Having an owl keep you company must be interesting..."

Kilden smiled again and walked with Casan...

“This is Lucky” Casan replied. “He has been with me since I found him after he fell from his nest, about 7 years now. He was lucky I found him, so I decided to name him so”

Kilden looked at Lucky, “A strange name, and there aren’t many black owls are there?”

“No, they are very rare. He just lost his mate; I hope he can find a new one, if I can put it that way. It was the beast, the one we are hunting for.” A grim look came over Casans face. “I’ll never let anything happen to him.” He paused as if thinking, “I’ve lived in the woods for many years now, we have to kill it…whatever it is”

Casan didn’t want to talk about the creature, at least not yet. “So, you don’t like you are from around here, where are you from?”

“I’m from Baldur’s Gate” Kilden started. The two men walked on and Kilden told Casan a bit about his past.

[Craig]

Vren screamed. An orc! he thought, where from? He backed away, and reached for his falchion, come on, get out, please. It wasn’t coming, he drew his sling and ran, fear pumping through his body, his legs worked furiously, he wouldn’t make it, why wasn’t the falchion coming?

He screeched in a dry voice, “HELP!” but only a hoarse whisper came, he fell onto the soft grass, screaming silently.


{OOC It's not much but I don't what to make a mistake with Durn

[Durwyn]

"No Wait..." Durn said out but it didnt matter, the little halfling had already ran, and tripped to the ground.
"I not going to hurt you, I just want to know who you are. Besides, from what I've heard about this beast, it's a lot worse than a ogre, let alone a half-orc like myself".

In the back of his mind he hoped that Anduin's group has not heard the scream or I could be running very soon thought Durn.

[Craig]

“I’ve heard of your kind!” Stuttered Vren, still fumbling with his sling nervously, “Your kind lie, they trick, then they kill you, not out of hate, no,” He was almost mumbling now, tears had come to his eyes, “Cold-blood, your no different, half of an orc is still, is still…” Durn had come over to him, his weapon lying on the grass, he had a box…

“Poison!!” Screeched Vren, his eyes scattering of to the edges of the town looking, hoping for someone, men, farmers safe in their mundane life, an elf, blind but he had still got his sword, the yellow gem shone in his eye; but he had lost his sight thought Vren, but he still fights, so must I.

Durn closing in…


{OOC: Durwyn, you decide what happens next

[Aegis]

The creature stood in front of Gylderon, not makng a sound. It's body heaved rythmatically everytime it drew breath. Gylderon was barely conscience, but he knew it was there. His eyes crossed, and his focus was blurry. The creature ran it's claw up the side of the elf's body, searching for something. The strange gutteral clicking noise it used to communicate echoed from his mouth. It then moved for the vines. In one solid motion, the creatures wrist flicked, and slashed the vine. Gylderon tumbled to the ground, landing on the back of his shoulders, and knocking the wind out of the thin elf. The hunt was about to begin. It had the bait, and the prey was entering the forest...

*****

It had just passed mid-day, and the group of four entered the forest. Anduin still felt the uneasiness he felt the day before, and he was sure Kilden could feel it as well. He may've been young, but Anduin knew he was a sharp youth. He glanced to Sedge. The old mage had always been astute in sensing things around him. Back in their old travelling days, Sedge had something of a sixth sense for some things. It was something that had saved the old comradery several times. Casan seemed fine as well. The man lived in the forest, and was accustomed to this sort of potential danger.

Anduin found his mind travelling back to the days when the whole group was together. It had been quite awhile. He smirked. Twenty years was a long time. He recalled the last time they five of them were together. They had lost one of their closet friends that day. It was Gilthanas, Sedge, Anduin, Saulan, and Kis'thana. They had decided to clear the mountains of a group of particularly dangerous orcs. They thought it to be routine, as they had down things like that many times before. They hadn't counted on a small group of Verbeegs to be in alliance with the orcs. That cost them the life of Kis'thanas. Anduin felt a tear begin to well in his eye. He quickly wiped it away, and focused his thoughts back on the trail.

Sedge caught the breif lapse in Anduins demeanor. He had his ideas, but wasn't quite sure as to what it was. He decided to drop it for now, and talk to him about it later.

Casan and Kilden had become good friends, quickly sharing stories of their past, and sharing laughs. It seemed a sort of comradery would be formed between the youths and the elder ones. It cause problems in the future, but it wasn't something that bothered either of the older members.

The four travelled quickly through the forest trails, Casan's knowledge of the woods benefitting them greatly. In less then an hour, they had reached the point where the bodies of the skinned animals had been hung. The four quickly drew their weapons, not wanting to be caught off gaurd.

Anduin turned to Sedge. "I hope you prepared some useful spells for today." Anduin's face was shadowed by his hair, and his features seemed to take on a drastic change. Grim and determined, and not the easy going man he was the day before. Sedge nodded, reassuring his old friend.

Anduin went up to one of the bodies, and examined it closely. He dug his sword into the ground, and took hold of one of the bodies limbs, trying to determine the species. He looked to Sedge.

"Human."

Anduin nodded, and drew his blade from the ground. As he raised it, about to cut the body down, his blade was stopped. The four begin to look around the thick underbrush, searching for the source. The deep, gutteral clicking noise seemed to be coming from everywhere. Anduin back into the group, and the four formed a defensive stance. It seemed the creature had decided to make an appearance, of a sort.

[Rob-hin]

The strange clicking noise came from everywhere, sometimes close then far. A moving shadow here… a breaking stick there.

Casan dropped his staff. “This creature is probably better fought with my twin short swords.” He opened his long jacket and drew his swords. “Where did you hide those?” Kilden asked. Casan didn’t answer, nor did Kilden expect one.

The creature passes by closely a couple of times, never letting him been seen clearly if seen at all. It new what it was doing exactly. “Anduin! I’ve got a feeling where not dealing with just an animal. It hasn’t attacked us head on, could it be smart?”

Casan took a deep breath, and stood ready in case of an attack.

[Durwyn]

Durwyn lowered his head and said "thats true, all of it, except for the last part. Unfoutaly, I get that response and worse when i meet with people. At first I cursed my linage and wondered why i was cursed with it. Then I met Garthas and he made me relize that we have certain things under our control, and not to worry about the things fate has decided for us. Perhaps I will go alone than."
Then he started to sadly walk into the forest.

[Rail]

Anduin turned to Sedge. "I hope you prepared some useful spells for today."

The thought made Sedge cringe. He had been up late the night before preparing spells, but he found it difficult to concentrate on his books. It had been years since he had spent so much time with his magic, and he found it hard to focus, often re-reading the same paragraph three or four times. He had far from the selection of spells he once could cast, but he had a few up his sleeve. At least, he was pretty sure he had them all properly memorized. It had been a long time. However, it was the casting he worried about. He had only cast cleaning spells and cantrips around the house, but how he would do under the pressure of combat was yet to be seen. Noting the inquisitive and concerned look from Anduin, Sedge nodded, reassuring his old friend he would be ready.

Anduin began to prod and poke one of the bodies as it hung in the air. He thrust his sword into the ground and grasped one of the poor creature's limbs, turning it htis way and that, trying to get some sort of clue as to what this used to be. It's interesting how the skin is the main thing we focus on with other beings, thought Sedge. You take away the skin, and it's still the same on the inside, the same shape, the same muscles underneath. But it's completely unrecognizable. He noticed the muscles on the..., yes it was a leg, a human leg. Far too large for a gnome or elf. And the skull was definitely human. Sedge found himself wondering who this could be, and his breath almost caught in his throat. Ingman and his wife live around this neck of the woods. One of the other bodies, he noticed with a sickening realization one was female.

Anduin looked to Sedge for a clue as to the body's origin. "Human," was all the old wizard could manage in a gruff whisper. He hoped the others hadn't heard the shock in his voice.

Anduin nodded, and seemed satisfied with the answer, but Sedge began to look at the other bodies, hoping in a horrified manner that they would yield some clues as to who they could have been.

The hair on the back of his neck raised alarmingly, jarring him suddenly from his contemplation. From somewhere out in the nearby forest, a distinct clicking sound could be heard, menacing and sharp. Evil.

Words and genstures jumped sharply to his mind, and he was grateful that some of his old instincts still held up against the years. The clicking sound seemed to echo around the small glade, impossible to tell from which direction it came. It seemed nearby, but waiting. Watching.

One of the trees moved as if by an unfelt wind, the the attention of the four was immediately rivited on the area. Sedge thought of a few spells he could hurl, but left them unspoken at the moment. His floppy felt hat, once pointed and tall, but now tilted over with age and rain, had been a slight nuciance on the long trek, but now was comforting and familiar.

“Anduin," Casan began, "I’ve got a feeling where not dealing with just an animal. It hasn’t attacked us head on, could it be smart?”

"But what kind of intelligence," Sedge's voice was distant and slightly shaking, "would do this, with no rhyme or reason?" If there was some sort of pattern to these killings, it eluded the old brewer. If it wanted to get the attention of someone or something, why do this? Why here? Why these people? What kind of creature, demonic or otherplanar, fed on the skins of humanoids? Too many questions. His mind snapped back the the tension at hand. He thought hs caught a glimpse of movement off to the side, but his intuition said the threat was behind them.

Kilden turned almost at the same time as Sedge, and the old wizard smiled. Good instincts in the young lad. He found himself glancing up at the owl perched on Casan's shoulder as the bird seemed to be staring intently at something in ther direction Kilden and he now faced. Sedge laid a cautious hand on his friend behind him. "Ready, Anduin. Something's right there. Twenty paces off."

Next to him, the younger Kilden looked calm and calculating. Sedge wished he still had that edge in him. The years had made him soft, but soft by choice. He steeled his emotions as best he could and prepared to act.

[Aegis]

Anduin nodded in response to Sedge. The creature was there, no doubt about it, but why couldn't he see it! He glanced to the Lucky, Casan's owl. It could see it, somehow. anduin decided to follow the owl's gaze. Anduin suddenly sprang into a sprint, cleainr the twenty metres in no time at all. The younger members of the group were startled at the speed the old veteran had, but quickly shook it off. Anduin's sword was raised high, until he came withen a metre of where Sedge said the creature was. He then slammed his heels into the ground, digging in, and used the momentum of his sudden stop, he swung his sword in a vicious arc towards the invisble mass. His blade was met with a jarring force, and the metal shreiked in protest. As if by magic, the creature seemed to fade into sight. The other's eyes went wide, and had to shake out the disbelief before doing their own in the battle.

Casan and Kilden ran forward, ready to take on the creature, while Sedge hung back, the words of an offensive spell pursing his old lips. Anduin, though, reacted differently. He eyes went wide, and he whipped his sword back. The creature stood there for a moment, it's arm raised, and the strange weapon jutted omniously from a bracer. It gave a deep, gutteral roar, and then sprang into it's own attack. It raised it's other arm, armed in much the same manner, and drove the blade towards Anduin's chest. Anduin circled his blade around, to parry the attack. He smirked when he heard the ringing of the clashing weapons. Whether it was his time away from adventuring, or jsut his old age, he left his blade too long, and didn't watch as the creatures opposite hand came up, and struck him across the head, the blade purposely missing, but the open palm stinging the veteran as much as any blade would. Anduin spun on his feet, spitting out a wash of blood as he did so. His eyes rolled back slightly, and he staggered away from the creature.

As it was about to advance, Casan and Kilden came rushing in, blades moving in a flurry of attacks, the creatures own two weapons working just as fast. In the background, Sedge finally sent his spell into the air. A wad of sticky, thread like missiles shot from his hand, and hurtled towards the creature. Sedge nodded his head. He must've gotten a syllable wrong. Oh well, he thought, jsut as effective. The ball of webbing shot through the sir, faster then even Sedge could keep track of, but not fast enough for the creature. It saw it coming. It struck away two incoming attacks from Casan, then thrusted one away from Kilden. It then sprung back, and into the trees, clearing a good ten metre leap into the foilage. Both warriors turned to find out why, just in time for the ball fo webbing to strike the ground, and burst. Both were thrown back onto the ground, covered by the magical web, both struggling to get out of it. Sedge cursed his foul luck, and prepared to cast a magic missile towards the creature, where ever it was now.

Anduin had just began to gain his footing again. He turned back to where he jsut was, only to see the creature gone, and two allies on the forest floor. His head snapped from side to side, looking for where it went. Around him, all he heard was the gutteral clicking noise, and the rustling of leaves. He knew the creature to be too strong for him alone, and rushed to his grounded fellows, quickly cutting them loose of the substance. He had jsut gotten Kilden out, and begun working on Casan when the creature reappeared. Anduin had no time to react. Foretuneatly, Kilden did. The young warrior charged the creature, gathering it's attention from the veteran as he freed their last comrade. The creature turned it's attention to the youth, and prepared to meet the challege. In a sudden flash of movement, the creature reached behind him, and with drew a piece of wood, though had an odd metallic look to it. It pressed one hidden button, and it extended on either side, both ends having a wicked hooked blade, much like that of a halberds. Kilden swung his sword, but was met the resistence of the creatures staff. In another sudden flash of movement, the creature spun, ducking low as it did so, and extending the stick around him, sweeping it right below Kilden, and taking his legs out. Kilden fell to the ground, just as Sedge's magic missiles erupted from his finger tips.

The creature seemed to have another sense for these things, and again sprang back. The five missiles impacted into the ground, scroching it, but doing no harm otherwise. They heard the clicking one last time, and the rustling of trees, and then the silence. It was the same eerie silence as the other day, and both Kilden and Anduin knew it. They were up against something more than just some animal, but they didn't know what...

[Nippy]

"Damn! Damn that infernal creature!" Kilden slammed his palm down onto the ground. He got up quickly, resheathing his sword.

The eery silence returned and a sick, horrid feeling rose in Kilden's body.

"This damn creature is really beginning to annoy me! The only chance we've got of beating it is if we get it on the ground and trap it. It's too damn quick on it's feet and it'll beat us again if we meet it on it's terms."

Kilden was incredibly angry at himself. He was foolish and he lost to boot. He allowed himself to go for glory when he could have easily been bested, you can't fight an enemy like this on your own...

[Craig]

Vren accepted the hand, Durn pulled him up and Vren said "I'm am sorry, I should not have done what I did, it was foolish of me" Vren was blushing now.

"It is understandable..."Replied Durn.

[Rob-hin]

The battle was over, for now; Sedge’s spell still had Casan pinned on the forest ground. Kilden was cursing, Casan saw him as he laid there.
Then Casan realised he was very calm. He had gotten angry many times in the past when things didn’t go the way they were supposed to. This surprised him.

Anduin came over to cut him loose. When Casan stood up, Sedge walked over too him; “Sorry about that Hasan, I’m a bit rusty.” Casan dusted himself of, “That’s quite alright. It was impressive nonetheless. Another thing, my name is Casan…not Hasan.” He laughed. “I’m glad you don’t mind.” Sedge replied. “I was never good with names.”

Lucky landed on Casan’s shoulder. “Somehow he knew where it was.” Sedge noticed. “It could see it.” “Yes, Lucky could prove to be of great value perhaps.” Casan stroked the bird on his head.

“So, it uses weapons. That would mean it’s intelligent, damn…strong AND smart” Casan sighed.

Casan holstered his twin short swords again and picked up his staff. “I don’t think it’s gone, at least not too far. Should we follow? I think it wants us to do so…”

[Nippy]

"Bah! I've no doubt it wants us to follow it in that thick forest. It could split us up and take us apart unless we stay together. How do you suggest we pursue this bloody thing Anduin? We obviously can't best it in single combat and it would probably spring a trap before we even get near it. I don't know what else to try."

Kilden looked at the group standing in the circle and realised something. The night before, the night when he chased after Anduin and that character that tried to follow Anduin. He was about to say something but he held his tongue. He didn't know if that person might have been a danger and he didn't want the group to worry about other attacks. He would keep an eye out for that character, and he would make sure he found out about him...