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The Two Adventurers (ZodiacDragon1014 and Karo)

Arastine nodded to him, and let out a sigh. She had really hoped it had been her own paranoia that there was something amiss about the woods. But it was hardly probable that the both of them were having the same feelings, that there was something out there watching them. He was right, though, an extra pair of eyes while they made their way through this maze of a forest would be a welcome asset.

"I don't usually work with other people." she said. "But I have the feeling I'm going to need you to watch my back just as much as you're going to need me." she said. She went quiet for a few minutes, her eyes closed as she listened to the crackling of the fire. After a short while, she opened one eye, and turned her gaze to Jerik. "You know, I don't think I ever got a name from you." she said.
 
Jerik nodded as she spoke. It was good that she seemed to realize they both needed each other to get out of here. It made him feel less uneasy about her, like he knew that she wouldn't stab him in the back. At least not yet.

"Couldn't agree more."

He nodded, shifting a bit in his bedroll, coming to the realization, with her help, that he had not yet revealed his name to her. Of course, not that there really was much time for pleasantries at the start of their exchange to begin with. He smiles, and speaks.

"My name is Jerik."

He bows his head to her.

"It will be my honor to be your shield."
 
She couldn't help but smile at his slight shift in attitude towards her. She knew how to play her hand, and attacking Jerik wouldn't do her any good. He was much more valuable as an ally than just as a source for supplies. Perhaps it was for the best that he had caught her sneaking food from his bag. Besides, murder had never been her cup of tea, too brutal.

She stretched out on her bedroll, and soon, had managed to doze off completely. She slept easily enough, and woke early the next morning, just as the sun was rising. The fire had gone out during the night, but the slight chill in the air was pleasant enough to wake to.

Unsure if Jerik was awake or not, she sat up quietly, and began to pack up her things, and slip back into her armor. They would be best of leaving as soon as possible, giving themselves as much daylight to travel in as possible.
 
Jerik slept several more winks after Arastine had awoken. It wasn't until her packing did finally wake up himself. Stretching himself out a bit, he finally removes himself from his own bedroll, packing it along with anything else he had removed from it the other night back into his pack. Once he was done with all that, Jerik moved to his armor, piece by piece, donning it once again. As he dressed he spoke to Arastine.

"How'd you sleep?"

Jerik continued to put his armor on, periodically looking out the cave's entrance to see first how much daylight they had, and to second see if something else awaited their exit of the cave. For the moment, they seemed to be safe.
 
"Well enough.' She replied. Good was never the answer, a thin mat on the hard ground often left her longing for the days where walking into a town or an inn wouldn't be a guaranteed jail sentence for her. It was part of the life, though, sadly, and she had gotten used to it. Oh, well.

"Hopefully we make good ground today." she said. "I'd like to get out of here as quickly as possible." she said. "I thought I'd heard soemthing last night, but I didn't see a thing.' she said. "It was right when I was falling asleep, though, so I may have been imagining it." she said.
 
Jerik had just finished dressing, now covered head to toe in his armor. Next were his weapons. He positioned both his quill and bow on his back, and tied his sword to his belt. His shield he wore on his left arm. He was ready for just about anything that may come there way.

"Well then, let's get a move on. I would hate to linger here much longer than we have to."

With that, Jerik began to exit the cave, then taking one last look back into the cave, making sure that neither he or Arastine forgot anything. They would likely not be able to find this place again, so it was worth double checking. When Jerik was finally convinced that they had packed all that they needed to, he turned once again to the exit of the cave.

"Shall we?"
 
She nodded to him, and she, too, did a quick visual sweep of the little cavern. Nothing seemed to have been forgotten. She adjusted the pack slung over her shoulder to a more comfortable position, and started off back into the woods.

Their conversation the night before had her on edge. She had been able to brush off the various sounds, branches snapping and the rustle of nearby leaves, until then, but now that it wasn't just her imagination that there was something odd about these woods, her attention was constantly darting to the source of any nearby noise.

She had positioned herself slightly in front of him, scanning the woods ahead of them, to the sides, and an occasional glance back over her shoulder to Jerik. She hardly made a noise as she stepped through the brush, on constant lookout for anything that might be lurking ahead.
 
Jerik followed close behind her, taking note of her constant scanning of the surrounding areas. He couldn't blame her. She was on edge, no doubt from their conversation the night before. It almost seemed to the point of being unhealthy, but then again, considering who and what she was, it probably made more sense. And though he too kept a look out, focusing his attention on much of the sources of noise, he seemed slightly more at ease. This was due mainly from his training in the academy. He was able to keep a cooler head than most in tense situations.

Arastine certainly was silent, making little to no noise at all. The same couldn't be said for Jerik. Though he did the very best he could to limit the amount of noise that came from him, he was largely unsuccessful. It could be both a curse or a blessing. Nevertheless, he was almost always ready for a fight, and with Arastine around, that would hopefully be even more the case than before.
 
At once, she stopped suddenly in her tracks. "Did you hear that?" she hissed back to him, keeping her voice down to a low whisper. She held up a hand to signal Jerik to stop, as well.

It was hard to discern just what she was listening to, the only apparent sound the light rustling of leaves in the breeze. However, she pointed off in the distance, to a bush not too far off, where the leaves were swaying just out of time with the rest of the nearby plant life, and was slowly drawing closer to them.
 
At her signal, Jerik stopped in his tracks, his hand instinctively resting on the hilt of sword. He at first could not hear what she heard. It wasn't until Arastine pointed did he first see the rustling, then hear it. His gaze narrowed, focusing almost entirely on that one spot. There was quite a distance between them and the rustling spot, yet he dared not move.

"I see it..."

Jerik whispered to her. His grip tightened on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at a moment's notice. Likewise, he was just as prepared to quickly draw his bow, depending on what the situation called for. Once again, he dared not move, not yet. He would wait.
 
Arastine, too, readied her weapons, a dagger in each hand. She continued to watch the spot in the brush, inching towards them, slowly. At least they'd both be ready for whatever it was.

They waited, but suddenly, Arastine let out a yelp as a thick, heavy vine lashed out from behind her, knocking her down to the ground. It was soon apparent that it wasn't just the one spot they needed to watch out for, the trees were laden with heavy, twisting vines that were just apparently moving on their own.

The thief made a quick roll to the side as one of the heavy vines slammed down on the ground near her. "Watch it!" She shouted to Jerik, just as one of the plants made a swing towards him.
 
If it hadn't been Arastine's warning, Jerik surely would have suffered that blow from the vines. With her warning, one quick look toward the vines. Jerik twisted his body around and drew his sword in one swift fluid motion. The blade glistened as the little light that managed to penetrate the trees reflected off of it. With one quick and powerful strike, Jerik cut the vines attempting to get the better of him.

"What the hell is this!? Magic!?"

No sooner had Jerik managed to speak did another series of vines come at him. By now, he was fully aware of his surroundings. Arastine was close by, having just rolled to avoid a fatal blow, and all around them both, all sorts of foliage could be seen gathering and readying themselves to make their attacks on the two of them. There was also source of the rustling in the leaves. Though Jerik had little time to think about it, it seemed very likely to him that the initial rustling in the bushes that had caught there attention in the first place was the source of all this. Only time could tell.
 
Jerik had a definite advantage in this fight. His powerful strikes cut right through the assailing vines and branches, while Arastine was relying on quick reflexes, whittling down the vines as they struck out at her.

She remained close to Jerik as they fought. "It has to be some kind of magic." she exclaimed as another vine lashed towards her, and made contact, knocked her down onto the ground again. She took another defensive roll to the side and skittered back onto her feet at once. The plants onslaught seemed relentless, whenever one vine was cut down, it seemed there was another to replace it.
 
Jerik did his best to defend himself against the vines' relentless attack. As soon as he bested one bundle of vines in combat, it seemed as though he was then blocking another attack with his shield, or cutting down yet another bundle with his sword. Off to the corner of his eye, he could see Arastine. He knew she was at the disadvantage here in this fight, but at the same time, it seemed to him that she could also be the one to end it.

"The bushes!"

That was all Jerik could yell to her as he continued to fight. The vines continued their assault, and it seemed to him that he was more and more becoming the focus of the attack. No doubt he seemed to be the biggest threat, but it was his hope too that this could be their advantage, for Arastine to hopefully end this almost as soon as it began.
 
Arastine threw herself to the ground to avoid another swing from one of the vines. She'd be sore the next day, that much was for sure.

She nodded to him at once. "Got it!" She called back, and scrambled back to her feet. If Jerik could hold the plants' assault, she would be in the clear. While a few of the vines attempted to trip or knock her down, the larger ones had, in fact, turned their full attack to Jerik.

The thief sprang over the vines, and into the brush nearby, towards the source of the rustling from before. "Dammit!" She swore loudly, scouring through the brush for any sign of...of, well, anything.

Almost at once, the vines all shuddered to a stand still, and fell limp and inanimate once more, severed plants littering the ground. Arastine looked around, shaking her head. "I don't see a thing.' she said.
 
Jerik had for the most part, managed to hold off the larger vines. All around him lay the debris from all the bundles of vines he had managed to cut down. Jerik stood there for a while, the tip of sword just making light contact with the ground. He then turns his gaze to Arastine as she speaks.

"Then... what was that all about?"

Jerik walked towards her position, getting a look of the area with her. She was right. There was nothing. Not only was there nothing, there didn't seem to be much of a sign that anything had been there at all, at least according to his own tracking skills, which weren't all that great to begin with.

"Any sign of someone, or something having been there?"

He needed to ask. She was the one who had noticed the rustling in the first place. It seemed likely that if anyone could spot anything, it would be her.
 
She shook her head. "nothing. Nothing at all.' she said, still scouring through the underbrush nearby. She didn't want to go too far, but she couldn't see as much as a broken branch or leaf out of place. "I don't see a damned thing.' she sighed, then trudged back over to him.

"You alright?" she asked as she reached him. Aside from dusty, dirty clothes, she seemed to be in no worse shape than when they had stopped, save for a shallow cut across her cheek, blood just barely seeping to the surface. Nothing to be worried about.

It was easy to see she was on edge, though; if the plants around the were liable to attack at any given moment, it would make this trip far more dangerous than either of them had expected.
 
Arastine's response was not what he wanted to hear. He hoped that there would have been at least some sign, some sign that someone had been there. If someone hadn't been behind the attack, then... could it really have been done by the forest itself? The very thought chilled him to the bone.

"Damnit... Yeah, I'm fine. Fought worse, but I'm not at all sure what I actually battled against. This whole thing is just..."

Jerik trailed off, and then proceeded to sheath his sword.

"How about yourself? Looked like you took some hits."

He approached her to get a better look at whatever injuries she might have sustained.
 
"I'll be fine." she replied, and wiped the back of her hand across her cheek, examining the tiny bit of blood that came with it. "I'll be feeling it tomorrow, though, that first hit was pretty hard.' she sighed. "We should get moving, I don't want to stay here any more.' she said, stepping over one of the thicker vines that Jerik had lopped off.

Things were suddenly more dangerous than they had thought. If it was the woods itself attacking, then there was really nowhere safe for them to stop and rest. They could only hope that there was really someone, or at least something, that had launched the attack.

"We should probably sleep in shifts when we stop next." she said. "Or we'll probably get ambushed overnight."
 
Jerik nodded and turned to follow her as she walked over and past all of the debris. Was the forest really toying with them? If so, how else would it do it? Whatever creatures lurked in this forest would have been bad enough as it was, but the forest itself? Jerik shook his head in disapproval, and then finally spoke.

"Mm, yes, I agree. If this truly is the forest acting out against us, nowhere will be that safe. I doubt we'll be quite as lucky finding someplace sheltered like the cave we came from."

As they walked, Jerik began to scan the forest on his own as well. He wasn't sure what he could possibly pick up, as he wasn't quite attuned to sounds that were truly suspicious or stood out as Arastine was. He was just a warrior.
 
Fortunately for them, the remainder of the day was quiet. No sign of anything attacking them, no odd rustling in the bushes, nothing. Still, Arastine was still on edge the entire time, snapping to attention at the slightest hint of a rustling in the trees.

After what was a very, very long walk, she glanced up to the sky. It was hard to see through the thick foliage overhead, but the sun was beginning to go down. It would be dark before too long.

"We should try and find a place to stop." she said. "Hopefully there's somewhere nearby that isn't full of plants..."
 
The day was nearing its end. They had hiked a great distance... in what direction and to where, neither one of them really knew. There still was a lack of any sort of trail or road, just green going on as far as the eye could see.

"Yes... I would very much like finding a place to stop."

However, finding a place to stop would prove to be very difficult. After an hour or so of looking for a suitable spot to set up camp, the two finally came upon a clearing. It was one of the few spots they had managed to find that wasn't completely overgrown. They'd be safe enough from another attack from plants. Jerik sets down his gear, setting up camp. When he finished, he walks over to Arastine, placing his hand on her shoulder. Today had been a trying day for the both of them, but for her, she had been on high alert since the initial attack. That was too much stress over an extended period of time. She needed rest.

"I'll take first watch tonight. You get some sleep. You've have quite a day."
 
She jumped slightly at the sudden weight of his hand on her shoulder. Still on edge, still alert. However, she smiled quickly after regaining her composure, a far different expression than the usual smirk she gave.

"It's nothing worse than usual.' she replied. "But thanks. I wouldn't mind getting a bit of sleep." she said.

She sat down on her pack as she put it on the ground, making a quick meal of one of the rations of food. "You get used to it.' she continued. "Always watching your back, always paranoid, worrying about what enemies you might have made, or who is waiting to turn you in." she shrugged. "Nothing unusual for me."
 
He smiles, taking a seat across from her as she eats.

"I suppose you would get used to that kind of life after a while. It's different for me I guess. I'm used to facing my enemy head on."

He sits there a while, watching her. They certainly made the peculiar pair, traveling together. No doubt, several people would get a kick out of it, and even more would caution him against the pairing. She got him thinking however. They knew each other not even a day, and already he felt like he trusted her, moreso than the trust he had initially allowed himself to feel. It was because of the fight they had survived together. You could tell a lot about someone in a fight. She was there, fought it, survived it. In the moment of the fight, he knew she had his back, and likewise he had hers. If that one fight was a foreshadowing of things to come, then he would be proud to have her watch his back, and of course he would be proud to have hers.

"So, Arastine. Where are you headed, exactly, if you don't mind my asking?"
 
She chuckled again. It wasn't often that she was referred to as anything aside from her alias, nor did she usually allow it, but she had already taken a liking to Jerik. He was more than just a traveling partner, he was a comrade and an ally to her, so she didn't bother with the usually corrections.

"Treasure hunting." she said to him. "I've heard there might be a dragon's den out this way, if I could get my hands on just a few pieces of its horde...' she said. "It'll be dangerous, but this...it's all about the thrill of the chase, the hunt and the challenge." she said to him.

"I could ask the same of you.' she said. "I haven't seen anyone else around here for days, even before I got lost in these damned woods."
 
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