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The Sixth Blight: Act One: Five souls, Five beginnings

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Snowe

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May 22, 2011
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OOC Note: Listen to this, it'll help.
[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=GB3zSSqzzOI[/video]


The sun slowly rose upon the elvish alienage of Kall'atha, the last home of many of Orlais' forgotten; The peasentry all, elven, human and dwarven alike, the final resting place of the last of the elven Keepers of Orlais. Now, only one of their kin stood at the sacred resting ground of Keepers; Not hundreds, thousands as in days gone by..only one. She was only a child herself, yet this child would one day need to reunite the entirety of the elvish nation under one flag, rekindle the flames of passion and honor that once stood at the top of the world. Still, now though, only darkness gloomed upon the valleys and gulleys of All'kalan, the surrounding forest of Kall'atha. Slowly, light broke, the torches were dimmed and the people awoke. Another day surviving the darkspawn and their tainted old-god in dragonic form. Another moment of life snatched from Death itself. "We will rise. We will fight. We will..survive" The worlds of the Keeper shone through the valleys even then..and then..

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=9QE6e01BWRs[video]

The sound..of a blight. Out of the light of the morn came only darkness and gloom once more, but this singular time came thundering like a chorus of the more sickening devils incarnate; Darkspawn grew nearer, their chattered cries and their demonic armor resound through the forest, birds took flight and did not return, woodland creatures returned to their abodes, unwilling to take on the undeathly incarnation that would stand should those monstrosities draw near. They would become horrific destructive creatures only willing to devour their fill of flesh; Their kin, their sire, their children, no matter the flesh, no matter the test. As dawn struck only the darkspawn had been reduced to mere dozens, though in that same day the entire alienage had been routed save for the former Keeper's First and an elven huntress, as well as a handfull of guards.

Still, it was six on sixty, no matter the strength of their bows, the power of their magic, the strength of the First's healing, six could not defeat sixty without witteling their odds evermore. Alianae Quarsari, the Keeper's First, stood calmly across the steppes of the All'Kalan mountains, dormant figurines that were once the forms of her breatherin law silent in the puddles, lakes and seas of crimson that now made up her once truly beautiful home. Kall'atha..was no more.

"Siralai..we should march. Kall'atha is gone now. We should not fight these..things any longer, we only waste our strength." She sighed, her emotions now lacking, her home, her family, her entire way of life was obliterated by these monsters in only a few hours. She turned, form blocking what was left of the village, and then they departed. They travelled for hours, darkspawn pestering them throughout, and when they arrived at Hamsharil, the elven capital of Thedas, they were notable exhausted; Physically, yes, but the emotional toll was much worse. Only two stood then, the First and the archer. Only those two had survived. They entered the city..and little did they know that this was the day they would meet those that would help them defeat the darkspawn; Not only in Orlais, but across the entire continent. This began..the Sixth Blight.

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Sira The Piercing Eye...Hah, that name would only serve as a bitter reminder of a day, a life, a home, that no longer existed. She was just Siralai now, one of two lone survivors who had survived the decimation that left her birth place as nothing more than ashes, death, and destruction lay in its place. Born, raised, tempered...her life, her entire life, had been in Kall'atha. It had only been a matter of time, she knew, but that didn't lessen the pain in her heart as she stood with The First, Alianae, on the steppes of the Mountains that overlooked what had been home. Sira had been silent, eyes watching, staring, when The First's voice had broken through her stoic mindset.

"Siralai...we should march. Kall'atha is gone now. We should not fight these...things any longer, we only waste our strength."

She wanted to argue, her determination to see these creatures dead heading her emotions; even her hand twitched, as if she might, but she silently lowered her eyes and nodded instead. She could take a lot, but the battle had sapped all but the strength to keep her standing. Dirty, battle worn, and emotionally defeated, she and The First had left that life behind despite how much of their life it had been, for Sira it had been her only life, the only one she had ever known. By the time they reached Hamsharil, she had buried what ever bits of her despair beneath the layers of her strength, her determination, her willpower to see that those monsters drowning in their own blood. She was not a vicious woman, or a vengeful sort, but she felt like it was all that could keep her together.

"We should rest, Alianae; perhaps I can get us a room at the INN," Siralai finally spoke as they made their way into the city, emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausted from the ordeal. They walked to the INN where Sira helped The First sit on a bench outside of the INN. "You stay here, take a breather, I will secure us a room - you know me and my silver tongue," she joked, trying to find a bit of herself beneath the surface of the boiling cauldron of her emotions. Her meager coin wasn't likely to get them a room, but if Sira could do one thing right now, getting them a room with that meager coin would be it.

"You expect to get a room with this?" The Innkeeper was looking at her skeptically, shuffling the meager amount of coin in his dirty hands.

"It's all we got, what with the darkspawn leveling our home to ash and rubble. Surely you wouldn't leave a poor young woman on the street, would you?" Sira questioned, a frown pouting her pretty pink lips, her long lashes lowering a bit as she looked at the Innkeeper with a sorrowful expression. "I've lost everything I've got...surely the last amount of coin I have would be enough."

The man sighed and muttered, "Maker save me," before he nodded and took the coin, sliding the bits of them into his coin purse. He took a key from the hooks behind him and handed it to her. "Just don't give me any trouble elf, alright?"

"Yes'sir," she said with a sweet smile, before taking the key back outside and handing it to The First. "We're all set."
 
Garund waited in the bushes above the trail, unmoving, as if he were one of the very stones that were at his back. He wanted to sneeze, badly, but held it back. He couldn't afford to give his position away. He had been out on the road and trails for days, slowly making his way too Hamsharil. He had been on the surface for years and still he was not used to things. The birds, the open sky, the dullness of the noises, it was all new to him. Or rather, it had been new to him. His eyes and hearing had adjusted, as had his sense of smell. All of these adjustments had served him well over the past week as he had evaded Darkspawn, amazed by the numbers on the surface. It spoke to one thing, which was all to obvious to him, a Blight was about to begin.

A day of fighting had left him covered with blood. Four times he had come upon Elvish wagons which had been overrun, entire families cut down. There had not been much he could do for those who were already dead, but he could at least honor their memory by killing as many Darkspawn as he possibly could. But this would be the last time today before he cut for the city. He watched as two elves came trotting down the trail, noting how they were armed and obviously warn out.

He waited until they passed by and was not at all surprised when, a little bit after them, half a dozen Darkspawn came running down the trail. He drew his falcata and his hand axe and waited for them to pass. He rose then and ran down the slope, his short legs carrying him quickly. Garund pounced down from the ridge above the trail upon the Genlock at the rear. The attack had the desired effect. As he tore his hand axe from the Genlock's back the others were slowing and turning. He didn't wait for things to become a fair fight. The legionnaire's left arm rocketed forward, his axe spinning out of his hand, the head of the weapon embedding itself in the forehead of a hurlock. He moved quickly then drawing his dagger as he moved. He dodged and slashed, blocking only occasionally. The last four Darkspawn didn't stand a chance against him.

As the last of them fell the dwarf began to run, he wanted to make it to the city before the gates were closed. Soon enough he was in sight of the walls. He could see the look on the face of the guards as, without pausing, he trotted right on through the gates, calling back to them, "Might want to close up! I took care of the last group on the trail I saw! Don't know how many are behind me!"

Having done his duty for the day he decided there were two things he wanted dearly; a bath and a brew. Where better to get that then at an inn? He wandered through the streets for a bit before he found one, one which had an all to familiar figure sitting outside of it. He was just coming up to the one who was obviously a mage when another elf, the archer, emerged from the inn, speaking to her compatriot. He moved past them, speaking as he went in, "There were six behind you. I took care of them. Glad to see that you made it here."

Having said that he stepped by them into the inn. He moved over to the inn keeper, speaking quickly, "A room, a bath and a beer. The beer can come first." The inn keeper, a human, nodded, then told him how much it would be. He quickly removed some coin from his pouch and put it on the bar, two coins more then the man had asked for. He went and sat at the bar then as the beer was placed before him. He took a sip and then shook his head, speaking softly. "Damn surfacers... don't know how to make a halfway decent brew..."
 
"Captain! The city is over run! We must fall back." An estranged voice shouted through the thick mist that formed in the land around them. The sounds of screaming woman, children, and even men boomed through the covered fields. In the distance a trudging, clanking sound could be heard and it only cause hearts to sink lower. Varin looked out and saw the wave of Darkspawn sit like a giant mass against the mist filled background. Were it not for the abject horror of the sight alone Varin would have been impressed at the ability to martial such a force. In that instant the voice that had rang out once before chimed once again and he knew that they were lost. With a heavy sigh Varin took a quick look at the field in front of him. The city itself had filled with corpses. The dead of both human, elven, dwarven, hurlock, genlock lay amongst the once green surroundings. Varin closed his eyes as he felt the pulsing sounds of the trudging army moving forward with slow and methodical force.

He sighed once again and knew that deep in his heart that nothing could be done. "We must...We must retreat. Now, get everyone out now." He yelled over the steady rhythm of the coming feet. He thanked the maker, the dwarven paragons, the old elven gods that the darkspawn were far enough away to get most of the wagons filled with people and supplies out of Amaranthene before it was too late.

That had been three months ago and every single moment weighed heavily on Varin's mind. The slow trudge of the people from the upper arling of Ferhelden made their quiet and methodical trudge through the various mountain ranges, forests, and plains riddled with small roving bands of darkspawn. The loss of soldier and civilian weighed heavy on his heart and he wondered if they, with so many civilians, would make it to their destination. Fear gripped him as he wondered if Orlais was as bad as Ferhelden and if that was the case they would have nowhere to go. That thought alone scarred him to no end. Valin walked at the front as several wagons trotted behind him and a small sequence of guards made up the slim amount of protection that could be supplied for the wagons. Valin heard the rustling in the brush and it made him tense and draw his greatsword. "What is it captain?" Questioned one of the soldiers as he readied a mace and shield."
"I think there is something following us...And quit calling me captain, I'm just a man like any of you." Valin's eyes trailed across the landscape and watched as three genlocks hurled themselves out of the brush and stormed them. Valin released a deep war cry and several of the men charged in bolstered morale. Valin lunged forward and brought his sword down upon the middle genlock cutting through the patchwork armor on the dark creatures chest. The other soldiers made quick work of the other two as they vented their rage out against the bodies. Valin brought his sword back onto his back and ushered for the wagon to continue forward.

The group made its way to the outskirts of the city. It was bleak but was still upright and with a collective sigh the group inwardly cheered at its marvelous sight. Valin led the group to the front gates and talked to the guards. Although rather disliking the group in a few coins made their way into their hands and they called for the gateman to open it for them. Finally they were in relative safety, at least for now. Valin kept moving through the walls of the city looking for anything that could help him ease his mind a tad. Stumbling upon an Inn he smiled to himself and then nodded at the two elven women before he stepped inside.
"Hello sir...I would like a room and something to drink, something... Strong would be best." The innkeeper produced the strongest ale that he could muster as Valin slid the coin across the wooden framed counter. Valin released another sigh and brought the drink to his lips letting the walls form some sort of comfort for him.
 
The day after the destruction of Kall'atha had went with a blur for Alianae, her life was reduced to nothing but ash in less than three hours, and by the time they had escaped it was painfully obvious that there were now only two elves remaining of the most ancient order of pure-blood elves in the entirety of Orlais; They would have to repopulate and return the entirety of the hundreds-strong alienage to it's former glory, no small feat for a virgin and a huntress. Combined they had around as much sexual experience as a thirteen-year-old girl quite frankly. Only moments after being sat on a wooden bench and closing her eyes for a little rest, Alianae was promptly moved by her guardian huntress once more, this time into an inn. As they moved, a rather large dwarven character and then a tall, strong looking human with a massive two-handed blade strapped onto his back appeared from the wilds nearing the former Kall'atha to head straight for the inn. She had heard that Dwarves were drunkards and only sought to molest as many women as possible, drink as much ale as possible and then simply fight to the death for joy, but it struck her as odd that humans were so similar.

She turned slowly, spotting something through the corner of her eye; Growing from a number of pots formed into a miniature garden on the middle wall of the Inn were numerous tiny plants, not almost entirely shriveled and dead upon the backtrop of gloom and darkness. She may not have been currently capable of slaughtering hundreds of darkspawn, but she definately could help the town with this. She slowly moved towards the withering plants and raised her staff slowly. "For Kalla' Ithan Fortuda..VENTUS!" she cried, her hands slowly twirling around as a sinewy green-gold magic billowed from her form like a cloud, and then slowly made it's way over towards the plants.

[OOC: This is how we'll pull of difficult or amazing feats as well as actual fights in this game; That is, where we could likely die. It's a simple D&D dice roll as such]

[Alianae Magic Stat = 35 Willpower of plants = 20. 1d4 dice rolls four, magic spell works. It's mostly skill, half luck. xD]

Slowly, as her magic rose around them, the flower petals drifted back up from their eternal slumber and onto their stems once more, dancing in happiness as the decay-eating insects simply vacated, dashing off to maker-knows-where. Alianae smiled gently as the air seemed to thicken with a sweetened smell of a vibrant and well cared for flower garden. "You are welcome, Serah." she mentioned to the innkeep, who simply sighed and poked his stubby human finger towards the roof. "Maker save me..but I must confess, Elf. There is only one room. If you four want a room, you'll have to share it. And if any other wants the same, so will they. It's all I can do to supply food, ale and warmth." he noted, sliding a seperate key to the two males in the bar area.

The innkeeper then slowly walked from his post at the bar to a room in the back, and after closing the door would slowly walk over towards a small window where sat a pidgeon. He removed a quill and ink from a desk draw and hastily scribbled an obviously urgent note on a piece of paper, before attaching it to said pidgeon and slapped it harsly to tell it to fly to it's master. "Must tell the rest..elves, those elves are from that place that was just burnt by darkspawn..last of their kind. Could get a pretty penny from those fucking knife-ears!" he cackled, breathing need to stop himself from hyperventaling with happiness, and then slowly heading back out to his former post at the bar. To make up for this he brought out a large draught of the finest elven spiced drink he had. "Please, all of you should drink some of this. It will help you relax after your long journey! On me!" the man happily spoke, pouring four draughts into four large cups and placing them upon the bar. Little did the party know that inside this 'special reserve' was a great amount of poison designed to knock out even the hardiest of warrior. [Poison strength 25]

Options Here:

Gardund:

1. Drink the poison and allow it to knock you out.
2. [Shady Contacts] Sip a little of the poisoned draught and realise it's ingredients.
3. [Determination] Drink the full draught and only suffer a little of the weary-draught's effects.
4. [Roll] Take a constitution check.

Valin:

1. Drink the knock-out poison entirely.
2. [Determination] Drink the poison and only take part of the effects.
3. [Roll] Take a constitution check.


Siralai:

1. [Nature's Child] Sniff out the ingredients to the poison without even tasting it.
2. [Determination] Drink the poison and only take part of the effects.
3. [Ranger] Have a pet drink it for you.
4. [Cunning, Nature's Child, Roll] Trick the innkeep to drink the draught.
5. [Roll]Take a constitution check.
6. Just drink the poison.

Alianae:
1. [Feminine Whiles] Attempt to trick the innkeeper to drink the draught.
2. [Feminine Whiles, Siralai] Co-operate with the gorgeous Siralai to trick the innkeeper into drinking his draught first.
3. [Herbalism] Counteract the poison in each of the drinks.
4. [Poison Making] Drink the poison, taking less effect thanks to your years of testing your own poison.
5. [Survival] Drink the poison and take less of an effect.

[Pick an option, put the number and what you want in your next post and then perform the action. After this I will reply as the innkeeper and myself. -- YAJIROBE! POST YOU DOUCHE!]
 
Ismal looked around quietly as he looked up at the sky above him for a moment. He had been traveling for a while now, on this road, it wasn't anything overly specially or anything, just a simple dirt road that led over the countryside. It had been a enjoyable walk to take, and something to do to pass the time as well. He looked around quietly stopping for a moment and took in a deep breath of fresh air. Smiling a bit as he looked ahead, his oynx eyes spotted a town, ahead, a place to rest and relax for a least a little while.

He walked quietly and slowly into town, his back on his shoulder, the dark haired young mage was curious as it what was going on in the town. He walked in on the path, which lead to the main road of town, rather quickly. He could notice various people walking along the trail, his eyes spotted a number of them passing bye as he made note of whom they were, and what they were doing. A observational habit of his own, as he slipped on past them and went towards the Inn. It was best to find a place to stay for the night. He knew if he hadn't that he could be in for some possible trouble later on. He had trained a lot, but he still loved to learn new things, and by observation, he was able to pick up on a number of new things normally.

He looked around noticing that there were a group of people inside the inn already and noticed the make up of the group. He walked up to the counter where the innkeeper was and then around for a moment, with almost a confused look on his face, "Well now, um do you have any room available for use," he asked with a polite tone as he stood there for a moment, waiting for a reply. He figured if there was a room, he best take it, and if not, he better figure something else he could do for logging for the night. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand as he waited for a response by the innkeeper about the room situation.
 
The Innkeeeper, who had just set down four glasses of his 'special' reserved ale, grinned as he noted another mage had just entered the room. A strong dwarf, a warrior human, two elves and now another mage. The prize just leaped! His happiness could be seen in his eyes, though frankly one could easily put it off as happiness that a new person had entered his rather decrepid abode. The tall, rotund gentleman placed a small copper key onto the table afore the tall, raven-haired mage, and then simply pointed towards the roof. "There is a bed free..you'll have to share with them, though" he chuckled, toppling his balding head towards the dwarf, the odd female elf talking to her pet wolf, the even odder female elf talking to a -plant-, and a tall male wielding a massive blade. A great group, huh? He placed next to the key his..special spiced drink, alcohol free, for the boy to consume.

Yajirobe:

1. Drink the poison.
2. [Elemental Proficiency] Use your fire magic to superheat the poison out of the drink.
 
(Thanks to Snowe's fantastic explanation to me I finally understand what she intended. If you need a little more clarification I can try to offer my understanding: Its a stat for stat versus concept. The opposing stat versus your relevant stat ( a skill check essentially). You take the score of your stat and then add the die roll. To determine die type, you figure out the minimum score to roll and then pick the corresponding die. I.E if you need at least a 2, roll a d4, need a 3 a d6, a 4 or 5 roll a d8, and so on and so forth. Then add the result to the stat. And that's all folks)

[ #3: Poison Strength= 25. Constitution= 28, 1d4= 2. 28+2= 30, 30>25- Test succeeds]

Valin looked on in curiosity at the innkeeper as he took a quick look at the small procession that formed within the confines of the inn. Only one room? Now that seemed rather odd especially for a place that was supposed to be an inn. Though knowing nothing of Orliesian customs he let out a soft shrug as a response. He turned to the dwarf who sat next to him and then looked to the two elven woman that he remembered seeing outside just a few moments ago. And now a man in magic robes sauntered in and got the same story. Valin shrugged a second time. He knew it was going to be somewhat uncomfortable with this many people in a single room. However he really wanted to sleep in at least a covered building for the upcoming night. Seeing as there were no other options he turned to the dwarf. "I'm alright with it if you are sir...And what about the rest of you? I can sleep on the ground just fine." He asked aloud.

And then something odd happened. The innkeeper, a proprietor who wanted to make some coin, offered all of them a free drink. This was very odd in deed considering that Valin had only ever heard of someone doing such a thing if they were drunk or if they really needed the business, and it seemed to him that this man had one of the few remaining businesses of this nature around. However Valin wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth as he lifted the cup, said his thanks, and let the liquid slip down his throat. He let out a contented sigh and looked onward. The drink was surprisingly bitter and a tad sour but at least to his palette it was refreshing enough. "That was rather bitter..." He said out loud almost complaining about its taste as he lightly smacked his lips together.
 
The Innkeeper's sudden enthusiasm to give them drinks on the house made Siralai wary, at first. She nodded to each of them when they deemed to speak to her, keeping back a little, not exactly the type of person to open up to a group of complete strangers though it seemed apparent that the Innkeeper was determined to stick them all in one room together. Oh joy. Her slim fingers took the glass and she started lifting it to her mouth, before she sniffed and stopped. [Option #1, Nature's Child]. If there was one thing the elf knew, it was herbs. The mixture in her glass was a potent one, obvious to the Mage who complained of its bitterness. Poison, no doubt, she was sure. Slowly, she set the glass back on the counter before her and gave the Innkeeper a almost secretive smile, a slight up tilt of her pink lips.

"I'm not all that thirsty, my apologies for turning down your hospitality," she said, though her eyes showed him she knew exactly what it was that was going on here. "I prefer to see my drinks made." A subtle hint here and there, set the sneaky Innkeeper on his toes. "Being an elf and all, I'm sure you understand."
 
Garund was in mid drink when he heard the innkeeper say that there was only one room. He set his drink down with a clank, some of his foaming beverage sloshing over the top of the metal mug. He reached up, wiping the suds that were left from the ale off his beard. Really? One room? He looked around to the others in the inn at the moment, then back at the innkeeper. Well, if that was not war profiteering, Garund didn't know what was. Luckily he had a good bit of coin on himself, much of it liberated from the dead he had found along the road today. They were dead, they didn't need it. His eyes slowly drifted over to the human male who had just gotten one of the keys and was at the bar. The dwarf took another drink, then spoke to the man. "Well lad, if there aren't enough beds, I ain't sharing one with you," he said, then took another drink.

The innkeeper disappeared for a moment and then returned, looking happy, far to happy then a man who's city and livelihood were under threat should. And, to top it off, he offered everyone a free round of drinks. Garund sniffed the drink, his face screwing up a bit. "Ugh, Elvish," he said to himself under his breath. He noticed how the young warrior down the bar had quaffed his free drink, so he slid his down to the young man, "There lad. Drink up. Looks like you need it more then I." It was then that he heard more steps in the inn, glancing over his shoulder to look at the door. He took in the young looking human male who was walking in, noting that he was a mage. Great, another person to share the damned room with, he thought to himself.

But his attention was caught by one of the elves when she spoke, saying that she preferred that her drinks were made in front of her. What the hell had she been implying there? He glanced back to the innkeeper, his eyes narrowed a bit, then he hopped down off of his stool. He slowly moved over to the two elven women, inclining his head to them a bit. "Ladies, we have not met yet and, considering we will be sharing a room, it seems only appropriate. I am Garund Ortan." He straightened up, smiling, then glanced to the archer's pet. "Nice looking animal you have there," he said, trying to break the ice.
 
The young mage smiled and as he took the drink, but his eyes traveled to the others who were around himself as he looked at them. He paused, sharing a room with four people, that was a bit different, he had to admit to himself. Yet, at the same time, he might learn something as he looked at them all react to there own drinks. They seemed a decent enough group as it were. He blinked as he idly though about it, not even noticing that he was super heating his own cup with his hand, a bit nervous about the prospect of sharing a room with 4 strangers. He blinked as he looked at the drink and laughed weakly to himself, having ruined the drink by super heating it. "I am not in need of a drink after all."

"Well that was foolish of me," he commented as he then shook his head and then smiled, "I am up for sleeping wherever there is a spot for me, if it is with them, I guess I will have to make due," he commented with a bit of a upbeat tone as he looked over at the group whom he had arrived oddly at the same time or near the same time as and nodded his thanks to the innkeeper as well. He sat back and went into observation mode to learn more about the various people he was sharing a room with. Remaining rather quiet as a whole.
 
The Barkeep glared out at the four from behind a high-topped cap, blood-craven eyes staring down each of the five. Who -were- these creatures, and how did they survive his poison? They should all be completely knocked out by now. He shifted uncomfortably from side to side, and then reached slowly under the table, his hand completely covered by two layers of clothing and then by the desk before him. 'Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting'. A bell chimed out from a room somewhere behind even the one he had retrieved the ale from. 'Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting' the ringing grew louder still, and then a wire connecting the two rooms could be seen. 'Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap' Came a resonate noise similar to a sound one should hear numerous times over in their lives, at least in this age. 'Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap'. What -was- that uncomfortable no-..Oh, that's it. Armor. What sounded like armor though? 'Clink, clink. Shhhhhhhhhhhhrrrrr' another set of sounds exploded as dust filled the entire room, and a wall behind and to the right of the group opened up rather quickly. Out, from here, stepped a great number of obvious bandits, each carrying a weapon and each seeming poised to murder, rape, pillage; The usual banditry. They stepped forwards, filling part of the room and blocking the front door and the entrance way to the corridor that would infact lead to the front door, and leaving only the stairs to their dead left and the bar for movement. They readied their weapons, tooth-reduced mouthes shimmering with a bloody lust, blades glowing harshly, glistening in the mid-day sun. 'Bang. Bang.' A large one, stepping inside, and from the inside looking out one could stop that all those nice elven villagers were actually blood-thirsty bandits and cutthroat cut-purses. Nice welcome, huh? As they stepped through a large male crossed his arms and glared towards them, a grin enforcing his rough and otherwise not-too off looks, until he spoke the words "Slaughter them all..except the elves, they'll be me pets..".

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Alianae's ears twitched at the resounding noised of crushing earth and moving brick as they filled the ear surrounding her. She slowly turned, attempting to divulge where exactly the noises were coming from; Nothing. Not a man, not a dwarf, nor an elf. A worried look came upon her features as she grasped for her wand and slowly stood up, staring towards the door. "What is this human? What have you tried to complete? Is this a ploy!?" she growled at him, pointing her stave towards him, to which he simply replied "Watch your tongue, you filthy knife-ear!". She growled back, only for her response to be interrupted by a slamming sound of the wall beside the entrance door whipping open and numerous bandits to dash in, surrounding the entrance and only exit, for now, for the group. "I knew it.." she hissed darkly, turning to stare at the group and, almost in a commanding voice she cried "Humans, Dwarf, we flee! We best not test these, despite their status, they are too many for us." and in good reason, there a good thirty to forty in all, surrounding the entire building by now.

Slowly she raised her staff into the air and charged energy within it, drawing completely from the nature surrounding this now-former elven village, encharging her with the goodness and power of this destroyed planet. "Fist of Nature!!" she cried as she returned the stave to it's rightful place upon the soil, and as she did nature itself errupted from the floor before the tallest of the group, a huge male of perhaps seven feet, blocking the entrance to the room. The only other option was the stares. She turned and darted for them. "Quickly, now then! Unless you all want an early grave!'

------

[Vote time! Two options:

1.Fight fifty total bandits, risk the elves being captured and you three getting owned.

2. Find an escape route through the second floor/roof.

Pm me your vote and we'll continue with your posts. Thankies ^_^]
 
It was rather apparent at that point, that the Innkeeper had been up to something sinister all along. The noise made her ears twitch, her white wolf at her side beginning to growl at the man as he snapped his insult at her companion. She made move to calm him, ease his sudden unease and anger at the man who dared to speak to them like that, dared to threaten. As soon as she touched his pelt, the door slammed open bouncing off the wall with a resounding crack, the loud noise almost too sharp for her ears. She growled, her feminine features pulling into a scowl as her hands rested on the hilts of her concealed daggers. Her eyes darted from body to body, doing a quick count, but it wasn't long before she realized that, even with their new acquaintances, they were sorely outnumbered. That was only what she had counted inside; she knew there were more outside. No bandit worth his salt would leave a building unsurrounded, giving their prey a chance to escape. She nodded to Alianae's words; as much as she hated the notion, they had no choice but to flee. Alianae's magic gave them the opportunity.

"Go!" She said to the others, the humans and the dwarf, throwing out her hand toward the stairs. Worgen her wolf was snarling now and she could feel his anger, his need to tear apart the intruders that dare to harm her; she had always understood him, a connection that had proved invaluable. She snapped her fingers and pointed to the stairs, Worgen hesitating only a moment before he turned and followed Alianae. Her slim hands pulled out her bow, stringing an arrow as she made a break for the stairs, moving up them with back pedaling steps that allowed her an eye of vantage point as their group moved to make their escape through the second floor.

[Got to love the WoW reference. *snickers* XP]
 
"Damn...I thought that tasted a little too bitter..." He said softly almost berating himself for drinking it as the group made the contents of the glasses known. It must have been a very weak poison or it was terribly made. As he thought about it he assumed that it was a little of both. As he heard the dull ringing of a bell he perked up his eyes, using them to trail across the rather small confines of the bar that surrounded the rather small group of people now huddled together. Valin grew a small knot in his stomach as he heard the familiar and yet haunting sound of clacking metallic boots as they hit against the rough ground. He couldn't tell where they were coming from but knew he was in for something that he would rather not be at this point.

He watched as a secret door opened and a flood of men surged forth and into the room. He watched with utter defeat as the horde of men plunged into the confines. The shock alone of how many men there were became a rather all consuming thought. He weighed the rather ridiculous odd in his head. There had to be at least 50 or 60 of these...Bandits in the lower floor, and the maker only knew how many there were outside. He then darted to the room around them. As well as himself there were four other people. Sure at least one of them was a mage, and the dwarf and elves seemed more then capable. However those odds were rather off. Seeing that a fight was less then a perfect idea he turned his mind quickly to finding a way out. His eyes trailed over to the stairs and seeing as it was one of the few uncovered spots left he saw it as their one and only option.

It didn't seem to matter however as one of the elven women used some form of magic that caused nature itself to rise up through the ground and create a barrier between the bandits and the small crowd of people. He turned quickly and drew his weapon as he made his way to the stairs. It was as if his aura changed and the expression returned to one of assertion. "Quickly Everyone up the stairs! I'll bring up the rear! Move!" He shouted to the group pointing to the stairs as he re gripped his greatsword. As soon as the others were up he followed directly behind letting his heavy boots carry his feet as fast as they could to get away from this nightmare that had formed out of nowhere.
 
Before he could get an answer from either elf the mage stood, speaking to the innkeeper. Garund's eyebrows furrowed. What in the name of the paragons is going on!? The innkeeper called the elf mage a knife ear, which the dwarf knew to be a rather hateful racial slur. He looked between the two of them quickly, trying to piece things together. What in blazes did I get myself into!? Then, he received his answer. The wall beside the door slammed down and the battle seasoned dwarf turned to face this new threat, already drawing his weapons, hand axe in his left hand, falcata in his right. His eyes moved quickly as he counted the enemies facing them, a small smile creeping onto his lips. well, I'll have some new scars after this...

But then the elves both began to yell about fleeing and soon the human warrior's voice was joining the call. The dwarf looked to the bandits, then to the two tender elves who were making their escape. There was no debate in his mind about what he should do; go with the women. He did not do this out of a sense of chivalry, far from it. Garund respected women, especially those that picked up the blade, but he was still a male and, so far, the two elves, even though they had basically ignored him to this point, were certainly more inviting then the bandits.

As he backed up quickly towards the stairs he glanced towards the innkeeper, considering throwing his hand axe, but decided against it. His left heel hit the bottom stair and he turned, running up them after the elven maidens. Once he reached the top of the stair he turned, making sure that the two humans still below hadn't already been overrun. When he didn't see any bandits rushing up he glanced too the elves, speaking quickly, "Keep moving! Find a way out!"
 
He looked around and could sense a danger that was around. He blinked as he heard the words, that confirmed the treat there was to him. His eyes looked around, great he walked into a trap,most likely set just for the elves, what horrible, luck, he thought to himself. He looked around wondering for a moment what he should do. He blinked as he heard the word, go from one of the others. He looked up and then took a deep breath as he would remember this hopefully failed attempt to kill him. He didn't see this one coming when he started his day, actually, this stuff really never happened to him, so he was rather surprised, but he figured he would have to adapt fast to this.

He blinked as he rose up and then moved as fast as he could following the group. He wanted out of this place, but he figured oddly he was going to have to trust and work with this group of strangers, and hope that everything turned out just fine. He prepared himself for fighting if the need came, he figured the wood in the building would lit up on fire rather easy and would be his chief number one target.
 
"Well, I suppose this is one way of experiencing new places." Alianae chuckled coldly as she fled up the few flights of stairs towards a large area of wood-walled rooms surrounded on all sides by forest, as this was infact an elven city. She shifted her form form one side to another, and slowly raised her left hand to gently rub it against her forehead. "Which way shall we head?" she questioned the other, noting the numerous exits to the various floors, and the pattering feet of numerous dozens of elf-hunting humans attempting to kill and/or rape each of the people in the hallway. She noted an open window to one side, half-closed in haste after the group had originally appeared, and formed a plan. "Siralai! A'haran Nihil! [Siralai, The Woods!] she cried in elvish, something she seemed to do many times over when she had a rather genius plan. She turned and, to make sure the rest of the group did not have the stupid idea of trying to help her little ploy, she formed a mass of earth and grass to block the wall. "Don't worry, you'll see your time!" she noted as she turned and leapt from the window, stopping dead just a few feet short on a large stone fence and then running atop this to a small area one could see from the window that the large group of bandits could see straight through. The footsteps suddenly stopped..and then they turned around and ran the other way, down the stairs. There was now only one way to go for both Alianae and for the group.

---

Alianae:

1. Cry like a bitch and run in circles.
2. Lure the enemy into my trap!

---
Siralai:

1. [Nature's Child] Use your tracking skills to track the the worn-in footsteps heading straight for..a wall?
2. Use flaming arrows to light the staircase on fire. [Can aide Yajirobe]
3. Head towards the roof.
4. Head to roof window to aid Alianae with bow
---

Garund:

1. Head towards roof
2. Head towards roof to find an exit
2. Chop down wooden walls near staircase to provide firewood
3. Guard windows to make sure no enemies get through.
4. With Valin, heroicly dive from the roof down the side of the building and into the midst of the enemy like a baws
---

Ismal.

1. Aid Siralai in setting fire to firewood on stairs.
2. Attempt to collapse part of roof onto enemies with fire magic.
3. Head towards roof window and aid Alianae with ranged magics.
4. Head towards roof to find an exit

---

Valin

1. Head to roof to scout enemy
2. Guard the passages
3. Chop down walls for use it burnination
4. With Garund, epicly leap from roof onto the enemy below and go all rambo on them.


[Sorry for the wait! Been sick as hell. Also, doesn't seem like cevl will join us, he was banned for being underage. He even put it in his account..I mean srsfaec?]
 
[So sorry about the long delay; I got busy, on top of my kids and I are sick. Sorry!]

Siralai watched as The First moved and, on instinct, the elven ranger was commanding Worgen to follow. "Go!" A slim finger pointing in the direction, the wolf jumping at once to do her bidding. The wolf bounded up and over the barrier of earth Alianae had created, a fierce rumbling growl echoing through the air. Siralai wasn't about to let her friend go through on of her ploy alone, a sharp gesture made her wolf bound back, and instead she ran toward the roof. "The roof, go!" she cried out to the others that had followed her. She had her Hunter's Bow out and notched an arrow. "Mage - light my arrow's tip; if we can make it out through the roof, let us block the stairs at least." Worgen guarded the front, more toward the end of the hall at the top of the stairs, snarling and snapping at one of the thugs that dared to reach the top; Siralai knew it would take teamwork to get out of here, and with their numbers, there was bound to be one of them that could find a way out.
 
[ I am so sorry...I totally didn't see your post snowe...:(]

(#1)

Valin heard the shouts and the clang of metal against wood. He knew that the bandits were behind them, but he couldn't judge how far. He continued to make his way up the stairs as he watched the elven mage form a earthen wall block the path that she took. "Wait! We can...Damn!" He said as he shook his head a little and pushed off against the new earthen wall to keep his momentum going a little. He kept trudging through the stairs and let his heavy boots clang against the wood of each individual stair. He let any helpful thought enter his mind. He had to think of where to go...What to do. Then he thought of the roof. It was their best bet. And to his surprise it appeared that the other elven woman had the same idea. He nodded lightly and charged up the stairs. He knew that with his armor he would be better of in case there were more bandits at their destination.
 
Garund moved quickly, running as quickly as he could. Some of the others turned back to cover their rear, but he was more concerned about their front. He reached the top soon enough, running out onto the roof of the building. He looked around them, scanning other nearby buildings, looking for a way to escape because they were not in a favorable positions to fight the bandits... yet...
 
Ismael knew he had to think fast, he looked up and smirked as he focused his eyes on a weak spot in the roof, it would be ideal to hit. He raised his hand and created a fireball which set the weak spot on fire, causing it to fall down on the group that was after them, as he made the moment, he moved faster up away from the first floor to where the others had gone, hoping to help them and figuring strength in numbers was very important, at that moment.
 
The walls had only just been set alight when cries of anguish resonated deep throughout the keep-like tavern, the sounds of death and destruction echoed from the lower floor, and singed men of the known races crept out from the desolation was the now thoroughly devastated abode. Each of them had found a new path, three for the roof and Ismael found a behind the weakened walling he had wrecked. Just moments after his fireball struck, the entire wall burnt away to nothingness and a set of stairs going southwards towards a large walkway over the headway of the rest, he could see perfectly from this view the entire area; The surrounding forests, the large canyon only a moments walk to their west, and a camp of some sort with numerous large tents upon it. A central platform sat and from there one could easily spot the horde of bandits. And then, he could also see the elven girl throwing magical attacks at the bandits chasing them..and her turning and running right for the camp. It seemed she knew exactly what danger she had in store, and she knew exactly her fate should she find them.

---

One of the thrown magical attacks the elf girl had sent for the bandits prior to running away had flew straight past the ground on the roof and had 'accidently' collided with a series of wooden walls seemingly kept in place by a barrel, which upon impact simply exploded in an array of wood and flames. No one would be hurt, yet after but a moment the walls slowly gave way, and miraculous form appeared behind; A bridge. The wooden objects seemed to just magically cling together, gears underneath them worked down and the numberous rooftops formed into one massive Orlesian roof, the below levels could be spotted through glass panes that simply appeared through some form of incredible Dwarven construction, from each side of the now destroyed wall. Orlesian, Elven and Dwarven..what was this place? Such a mystery would need to be solved later, for sure.

Sudden numerous block clicked into place, huge blocks created of some multi crystaline formation, from beneath this bridge and held it into place, and the bridge formed over the huge canyon the girl was headed for, which itself housed the hundreds of soldiers and marksmen.

---

Alianae had run for what seemed to be a few moments, slowly up the path, tempting her foes and yet, with the aid of her closest friends pet, Worgen, the foes were repelled until the duo were surrounded on all side by the bandits, far away from the group at the tavern. She slowly reached for a large banana leaf that lay on the floor, and using her finger and fueling it with heated magic, she wrote a small note in pure elvish, a very rare language even for her kind; Only one could read it. "Siralai, sister. You are to return to the nearest alienage..please do not come for me. My life, for yours. " And it was quite obvious what it meant..Alianae would risk her very life for her friends. She removed her necklace, the rarity that was the 'Necklace of the First', and wrapped it along with the note to the wolves strong neck. Then..with a nod of her the wolf darted for it's master, making short work of any that tried to stop his flight.

"You will all die here..they have such great destinies surrounding them..all of them. They are to save us..and one life more shall not stop them! You. Shall NOT. STOP THEM!!!" she cried as leaves, strips of wood and large vines slowly flooded from her very body and from the earth surrounding her.

Crack. Crack. CRACK! These sounds could even be heard in the area of the tavern just a short way away. And then..an almighty crack that sounded like the very earth had cracked beneath them, and two large rock formations could be heard slamming together. Clouds of dust that covered the sun and darkened the sky above were seen just short of where Worgen and Alianae had headed too, and just seconds from that cloud rising Worgen came sprinting back towards his mistress.
---

[[OOC: Note, no you can't save her, yes you can -try-. It's a story point. But as I said before, the point of this story is you all, not Alianae. Don't worry though, she may just be back..you'll see. Trololol]]
 
Valin heard the resonating cries from within the building. He wasn't sure if he could actually make it to the roof before the flames devastated the stairway. Regardless of his thoughts he let his instincts take over and kept moving. His feet taking him a fast as they could to the top of the building. He knew that the dwarf was behind him, but he couldn't really be sure of the others. As he made it to the top of the staircase he drew his sword. He wasn't sure if there was going to be a host of bandits a top the remnants of the building, but if there were he would be ready for them.
 
When she reached the roof, she had to blink her eyes several times to full comprehend what was laying before her eyes; such an amazing construct was linking the roofs of the city together, giving them a more than amply escape route. She signaled the others up and Worgen came bolting up not too long after, whimpering, and she took the coded message from him to read it over. Her eyes watered briefly, before she swallowed thickly. "Come, we have to leave, now!" She snapped out, a little more moodily than she would have liked to, but given that she had lost the last of her family, it was a reasonable response. Her fingers touched the necklace and she deftly clipped it around her neck, giving her companion a pat and a mumbled word of encouragement, telling him she knew he'd done his best.
 
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