"Come on, Patrick, we have to get this to the kitchen so they can start on breakfast"

"I know Frederick, I know, but hold up a second, and quiet. Come over here and look at this. This room 'ere's positively glowin' red!"

As the two men, both wearing the livery of servants, peeked into the glowing room, the well-oiled door swinging silently open, they saw what seemed to be a young woman, dressed all in black, her hands and her arms completely wreathed in flame, stepping into the roaring hearth that all rooms in the manor had. They were both surprised, but stared dumbfounded as the lady turned and glanced at the door, an instant before all the flames in the room went out.

As the two liveried men fled, Aieris made a mental note to be sure to lock the door next time she was going to practice like that.

"Bloody servants walking in when they shouldn't. Who knows what I could have been doing. Bloody hell. Now I'll never get back into the mood. I'm going for a walk."

And, as her conversation with herself had indicated, she walked out the door, through the hallways, and into the courtyard. Then, she paused, wondering where to go. Turning, almost without a thought, she started walking in the direction that felt the most warm. Thinking about it, it seemed almost as if there was something in the back of her mind, muttering over and over "More fire this way, More fire this way, More fire this way". And so, she followed that feeling. Walking alone in the pitch black of night, she knew not where or what she was headed fore. But the prospect of flame fueled her like the blood that sparks a war.

The wolf made its way steadily through the jungle of the Hunt gardens, disappearing and reappearing behind trees and bushes as Elmric, Artemis and Darren watched it intently from the roof. It was getting farther away though, and the light of dawn was starting to interfere with the usefulness of Artemis's enchantment. The thought of a wolf being spotted in the middle of Midgaard by the early-bird bystanders crossed all of their minds, though whether that was Artemis's fault, only she knew.

"We should get off the roof if we plan on following the wolf." Elmric told them.

"Why do we want to follow some dog anyway?" Darren said flatly with a hint of wine and spirits in his breath.

"That is no dog. And an old, grey wolf has no reason to be sneaking around in the middle of Midgaard, in the Hunt manor no less." Elmric tried to explain, though he knew no more than Darren.

"C'mon, it'll be halfway to wherever it's going by the time you do decide what animal it is..." Artemis interrupted. Elmric nodded and they found a suitable spot on the roof to descend. Joining hands once more, Elmric let them drop slowly to the ground as if they were lighter than a feather.

They couldn't see the wolf anymore, but the faint paw prints from Artemis's enchantment were still visible, so they followed with caution.

------

Aieris found herself walking aimlessly along a deserted street with the Hunt estate looming behind her. None of the nobles were awake yet, and any servants that would be awake at this hour wouldn't be wandering the streets. The only sign of life she could see around her was the occasional gate guard of a noble residence, often times half asleep and other times snoring loudly.

She paid them no attention, her thoughts were of fire and occasionally of how she would use such fire to decimate her opponent in the tournament today. Other times, she thought about the easiest ways to harness more of her fire within. Rounding a corner while still deep in thought, she barely noticed an old, grey wolf crossing the street one hundred feet straight ahead.

She stopped dead and exitted the trance much faster than she would have liked to. "An old, grey wolf wandering around in this big city at dawn? An old, grey wolf that looks exactly like the..." Aieris thought and simultaneously muttered to herself, when she remembered the calm yellow eyes of the wolf back in Gole Forest. Without any more muttering, she started walking down the street, all of her focus on following that wolf. To her surprise, the feeling in her mind leading her to more fire was in the same direction as the wolf...

Aieris concealed herself as Elmric, Darren, and some hideous human girl crossed the street after the wolf. Doing her best to stay hidden, she started shadowing them. It wasn't long before they all realized they were headed south.

The wolf moved as if it knew where it was going, stopping once it was in sight of the southern gates and following the Midgaard River along the docks. The wolf and its followers had to take extreme caution not to be spotted by patrols now. Even now there were dozens of archers patrolling the southeastern wall as they approached it by the dockside. The wolf found one of several water gates embedded into the wall where the river intersected through the city and slipped through it, and entered the plains beyond. Darren, Elmric, and Artemis could hear some of the archers above exclaiming at the sight. Here was where it would get tricky.

A good distance behind them, Aieris laid in wait, hidden among the crates, boxes, and equipment of the Midgaard docks.

------

After riding for several miles towards the beautiful sunrise, Raenor's horse came to an abrupt halt and half collapsed onto the ground. The unsuspecting ranger was thrown clear of the horse and hit the hard, grassy ground shoulder-first. He stifled most of the painful yelp as his shoulder dislocated on landing, and stumbled over to see what had happened with gritted teeth.

Amelia had passed him and forced her steed into a sharp turn, her mouth and eyes wide with shock. She brought the horse to a halt and dismounted with ease, then walked over and knelt beside Raenor.

"Are you all right?" She said with a serious tone.

"I'll...be fine...shoulder..." Raenor replied, obviously in a great deal of pain as he clutched his injury with his right hand.

"Let go, and do not move." She said, rolling up the sleeves on her tunic. Raenor was greeted by fond memories of two weeks ago at the Temple of Avelia in Gole Forest when the High Priest beat him nearly to death and shattered multiple ribs. Images of the magic that turned the High Priest into a monster, and then of that man in the black armour, flooded into his mind. His body shuddered in pain as Amelia applied a good deal of pressure on his dislocated shoulder, and she continued to apply more and more until Raenor was sure he would start screaming at any moment. A fleshy pop and the image of a key entering its hole later, and his shoulder felt better than it had ever felt in his entire life.

He tried to move his arm, only to be stopped by a sharp jut of pain that started in his bicep and continued wreaking havoc all around his upper left torso. "I suppose I won't be using a longbow for a while?" Raenor said as Amelia continued to examine his relocated shoulder. She didn't reply, but gave him a look that meant something along the lines of "Nonsense." Amelia applied a great deal of pressure on his shoulder once more, but it hurt less this time. A blue aura surrounded her hands and forearms, then extended to Raenor's left side and the pain disappeared.

He tried to move his arm again, and this time found full responsiveness. "Thank you, now..." Both of them immediately shifted their attention to the fallen horse. It had managed to stand up again in the few minutes it took Amelia to mend Raenor's shoulder, but it looked very distressed. Raenor spent all of one minute figuring out why, and cursed himself in every way he knew for not noticing the terrible gash on the horse's backside. Vague memories of the dark forest glade reminded him of the initial encounter with the beast, and the slash that had narrowly missed him. Unfortunately, as he now remembered, it didn't miss in entirety.

Knowing that she had to follow the wolf as quickly as possible, Aieris acted almost without thinking. It was time to move, any delay could put the wolf and its promise of fire out of her reach forever. Lightly patting one of the boxes laying beside her, she rose to a crouch and began running from building to building, making sure than no-one saw her as she passed. Suddenly, just as she was reaching the last bit of cover between the boxes and the walls, a cry sprang up from behind her.

"Fire, Fire, Everyone, down from the walls, there's a fire in the warhouses!" the frantic call came, and Aieris could see the surprise and confusion clear on the faces of the guards on the walls. Lowering the bows that had so soon before been lifted to bring down the wolf that had been in their walls, the guards murmured between themselves, but made no move.

It was not until some redfaced captain came charging out of one of the towers that the guards started to move. Under the Captain's frenzied shouts, they quickly ran to the nearby river and began using whatever they had at hand, some men even taking off their helmets and dipping them into the water, to try to put out the fire.

Not wanting to waste her good luck, Aieris crouched low, gave a cursory glance at the surroundings, and ran for one of the smaller gates in the wall. As she reached the gate, she reached also once more into that well of fire in her mind, and as her hand came in contact with the metal of the gate, she quickly melted away a bar here, and another there, until moments later there was a hole her size in the gate, when before there had been none.

Ducking through the hole in the gate, she touched it once more, and the entire mass of Iron melted itself into a crisscrossed tangle of metal that would take even the strongest of men days to pry open. Satisfied that any persuit would be delayed, she turned, looking out once more upon the fields of grass, and upon the wolf that was walking so calmly away from the now smoldering warehouses.

Without a thought to what she left behind, Aieris hitched up her skirt, and proceeded to begin stalking the wolf. Where it lead, she didn't know, but the promise of fire was still with it, so she would follow it to the ends of the earth if she had to.

When the wolf had first entered the house, Jacen had felt the familiar aura of it's presence. Rising from the chair he was in, a book fell to the floor. Picking it up, he slipped the tome back into the shoulder bag the Guild headmaster had given him when he let Jacen take the book, much to the disagreement of the librarians. Slipping out the door to the Hunt library, he made his way to the front door and stepped outside for some fresh air.

When the wolf had left the house later, Jacen darted behind a tree to watch it. Standing there, he saw the wolf weave it's way through the jungle. He also saw three figures upon the roof watching the wolf. Once they had dropped down and began to follow it, Jacen followed in their wake, using the tugging feeling as a guide.

The wall would not be a problem to get by, but the guards will make it harder. Jacen thought. Moving to where a store house rested near the wall, Jacen began to alternate between using small amounts of air to lift him and earth to create handholds in the wall. Hiding in the shadows near the top of the wall, He waited for a chance to climb over and run for cover in a nook above a tower door when one of the buildings caught fire. As the guards ran to put it out, Jacen used this distraction to get on the top of the wall, run to the other side and jump down, using air to slow his fall. Keeping low to the ground, he began to follow after the wolf across the plains.


OOC: meant to post earlier, but work took up most of my time.

"Well my friends, methinks we should leave the wolf to its devices. We carry little in the way of provisions and unless you possess some wilderness skills I am unaware of..." Darren trailed off for effect though he had spoken with the confidence of someone who had but recently awoken.

Inwardly Darr hoped to detach himself from the enchantress as soon as possible, knowing that he would be sorely pressed to resist her magic. Well, that and a crowd of young women had formed, curious as to the source of the fire.

(OOC: Artemis is hideous to women?)

"Aww Dairy, you're so silly sometimes." She smiled and both men knew the wolf wasn't going to be allowed to escape so easy. "We just need to sneak by, but who can make a whole group of people not see a small group...OOH, I know!" She giggled.

This time Artemis laid hands on the group, and then they all disappeared, which proved to be quite a suprise to each of them since suddenly they were each staring at two empty spaces where their mansion-mates once stood. "Oops, made us a tad too unnoticeable, uhmm..." And then they all reappeared, Artemis grinning stupidly in a way that suggested too much wisdom. She broke off from the other two and went up to one the women gawking at the fire and proceded to wave her hands wildly and other such actions one is expected to do to confirm that they are indeed unseeable and therefore free from embarassment that such actions typically produce.

"Let's go." It was as much a command as a request and she walked calmly through the histeria, occasionaly pushing off people who mistakenly bumped into her and then wondered who would be rude enough to push someone in the back and run away. In no time they reached a set of water gates that were the result of horrible metallurgy or excellent track covering. The enchantress pressed a hand against it, noting how it was still hot somewhat and for now at least, pretty solid.

"I got it, one of you boys can pry open the next set of iron bars 'k?" She held open her palms and spit a few small drops into each one in an obviously mimicing gesture then firmly grasped the melded bars and pulled the now-stretchy gate apart as if she were seperating a spider web. After stepping through she pulled the gate aside to allow her compatriots entry to the plains-heavy side of the wall. Letting the metal go it resetted itself with a bit of a metal-on-metal screech.

"Ok, my leader time is over for awhile." The tracks were faint but there and then exploded into light. "Hey, the track's back!"

(OOC: I'm sure most women are at least mildly envious of Artemis, but you have to realize that an elf with a tendency to burn things is going to think a little differently than the norm.)

Raenor cursed his eyes as he stopped to examine his animal's flank. Two long, oozing gashes ran down the proud's horse's thigh, gleaming wet with blood and revealed muscle. Gritting his teeth, Raenor swore vehemently under his breath, hoping Amelia would not hear the oaths he uttered to Avelia and Bahamut. If Amelia couldn't heal his horse, he knew what would eventually have to occur, and he did not look forward to that prospect. Almost unconsciously, his hand came to rest on the hilt of his blade.

Finally, he calmed himself and spoke to Amelia, not taking his eyes off the bleeding wound. "Can you heal him?"

Amelia frowned. "I can try. It will take time though...can we risk waiting?"

"We have no other choice," Raenor replied. "One horse will not bear the weight of two riders for any distance, let alone with any speed. Without the pair, we will be taking turns walking back to Midgaard."

"Then I will do what I can," Amelia took Raenor's hand and smiled shyly. "For strength."

"Of course Lady Priestess...Amelia." Raenor smiled faintly at her sudden action. Briefly, an odd thought crossed his mind. Almost immediately he shook the thought from his head. There were other considerations, and he could not afford to let his mind drift.

"Can I be of any assistance?" Raenor asked as Amelia busied herself with tending to the horse.

"Yes," she replied absently. "Please make sure that creature doesn't sneak up on us while I'm working."

Suitably chastened, Raenor turned his eyes to the plains around him, seeing nothing for a fair distance. If the creature were still stalking them, it would have a hard time springing at them from ambush. Raenor's hopes rose as he watched the empty plain. Perhaps it was not too much to think that the creature was indeed gone. Turning back to glance at Amelia's progress, Raenor watched in surprise as the blue glow faded from around her hands. Quite slowly and gently, Amelia crumpled to the ground, the long grass cushioning her collapse.

Swearing again, Raenor hurried over and knelt down beside her. He quickly checked her heartbeat and breathing, and, satisfied that they were normal, he allowed himself to relax slightly. At first, Raenor tried to wake Amelia gently, calling her name and tapping her cheek. After about two minutes, Raenor gave up and let her lie there, needing some time to think. The rope which had secured Amelia's blanket and bedroll was still tied about her saddle. He could lash her in place across the saddle and then lead her horse until she awoke.

Frowning, Raenor wondered what he would do if he encountered either Venurians or the creature. Until Amelia awoke and was able to attempt an escape, Raenor decided that he would stand and fight in order to protect her. He could do no less. When he found himself wondering why he would stand and fight, he found an easy justification: Amelia had already proven herself to be invaluable. He needed to keep her alive. Still, the nagging thoughts persisted. 'Is that the only reason?'

"I should have brought another companion," he thought to himself as he picked Amelia up and lashed her to her saddle in as comfortable a position as he could manage. Taking her horse's reins, he tied them to the horn of his saddle and then climbed atop his own horse, noticing with pleasure that Amelia had succeeded in closing the wound completely.

Spurring his horse into an easy trot, he moved the company further east across the plains. The creature and the Venurians were still out there, along with the answers to many of his questions. Glancing over at Amelia, he chuckled to himself. When the Priestess awoke and found herself bound, she would probably be angry. He would have to prepare for that. Keeping one eye on her unconscious form, the ride continued.

Morning dragged on to mid-day, and mid-day moved into the afternoon as the Tournament continued in Midgaard. Durin woke to a well-placed slug to his left eye from his father, and soon began wondering where everyone had gone to as he ate breakfast. He quickly forgot about all that however, as he would soon be in the fighting ring again, and he wanted to be sharp. He even muttered a quick prayer to the Gods, asking them for a fair fight with a male opponent.

Durin walked from the Hunt Estate to the Tournament grounds with his father, and they parted ways as they proceeded to their matches.

"Elmric Bremith? Your fight is about to begin. Elmric Bremith?" A young elf wearing Enchanter Guild robes was speaking in a magically-amplified voice nearby Durin's fighting ring. He wondered idly for a minute on where they had all gone, but he blocked the thoughts as his opponent entered the ring.

Not a woman! He thanked the Gods silently, and his dwarven blood screamed in delight as an enormous human into the ring. The barbarian looked to be over six foot, six inches tall, with more muscles than an average horse. His face was aged and battle-scarred and his scalp was completely devoid of hair. Still adding to his ferocity, the beast of a man wielded a giant scythe and a wide, toothless grin.

Durin gripped the handle of his battleaxe and gritted his teeth.

The conjurer watching over the battle nodded to both duelists and the crowds cheered both of them on as he said, "You know the rules, no dirty fighting. First to surrender or be knocked out loses...Fight!"

-------

There was some discussion about letting the wolf go as dawn passed and morning trudged on, but Elmric, Darren, and Artemis all knew they wouldn't make it back to Midgaard before mid-day anyway. They continued onwards, invisible to the unkeen eye, across the plains of Kenshuria. Each one of them hoped this wouldn't be a very long journey, as none of them packed any supplies. Occasionally they thought they could see tiny black figures walking near the set of glowing wolf tracks, popping in and out of sight. The wolf was nowhere to be seen, but the tracks were still obvious enough even as they faded over time.


-------

Aieris could still see the wolf each time she came up on one of the higher points on the plains, but it was slowly gaining distance since they had left Midgaard. She spent the better part of an hour deciding whether or not she should pick up the pace, and finally did so when she noticed the elf named Jacen trailing some ways behind her.

-------

The wolf continued trotting across the plains, covering almost six miles each hour. It seemed to know exactly where it was headed, wherever that was, and it had chosen a path nearly devoid of farms...

-------

OOC:

I'm going to let people level up now, the heroes have gained plenty of "experience" since their fight with the High Priest. Nath, you've proven yourself and improved a fair deal since joining, so I'll let you join ranks at equal rating with the original PCs. CMP, you're well on your way, I've been impressed so far, but this is your first chapter, so as long as you stick with Stradia for a while longer, blah blah blah...

Durin, Darren, Elmric, Raenor, Artemis, and Aieris: You may distribute one (1) skill point into a relevant skill you've been practicing or using. (Indeed, to learn new disciplines entirely you need to go out of your way to learn them, a la Elmric's practice with Ranged for an example).

Jacen: You may distribute two (2) skill points into a relevant skill.

Just write out your decision and new skill(s) in an OOC tag in your next post. Or use the discussion thread, whatever works.

NPC level ups:

Rini: +1 to Ranged, for II Ranged, I Elementalism
Jim: +1 to Melee, for III Melee
Amelia: +2 to Healing, for VI Healing
Tonrel: +1 to Melee, for III Melee

And finally,

Durin's Opponent: Melee VI, you'll need some cunning on this one!

OOC: Reserving tourny battle post spot... I just got off work and I'm wiped... I may find the energy/drive to post later tonight... failing that I hope to get it in after work tommorow >_<

It had been close to an hour's ride before Amelia stirred, gently at first, as if slipping into a light doze, but the rocking of her horse's gait quickly brought her awake. The first thing she noticed was that her horse was moving. The second thing she noticed was that she was looking at the ground at the wrong angle to be sitting upright in her saddle. Finally, she realized that she was bound and slung like a pack over her saddle.

"Ranger!" Amelia's cry was more one of indignation than of panic. She could see the ranger watching her with an almost bemused expression as she stared at him with burning eyes. "If you would care to stop transporting me like a sack of flour, I would like to be untied!"

"Of course lady priestess," Raenor managed to bow slightly in his saddle, and kept a straight face until he reached Amelia. Then, as he hopped down from his horse and began untying her, he started to laugh.

"And what, ranger, might you be laughing at?" Amelia asked frostily as Raenor helped her down from the horse.

"Your expression when you realized you had been bound to the horse," Raenor answered. "I am sorry priestess...Amelia, but it was quite priceless."

Amelia stepped defiantly towards Raenor. A single finger extended like a blade, poking Raenor forcefully in the chest with each of her carefully measured words. "Never. Again."

Raenor continued chuckling for a few moments then, but soon enough managed to adopt a solemn expression. "Of course lady priestess. Next time I will simply place you over my saddle and hold you there with one hand."

Amelia's mouth worked soundlessly, attempting to muster the same indignation she had managed earlier. Finally, she broke off and glanced quickly away. "If our positions were reversed," Raenor said gently. "I know you'd have thrown me over my saddle like a bag of flour, and I would not hold it against you. We are both alive."

Amelia turned back, smiling mischieviously. "Of course I would truss you up. There's no sense burdening my horse with an unconscious ranger." she smiled then. "All is forgiven, so long as you are willing to provide me with breakfast."

"Of course...Amelia," Raenor smiled and turned back to her horse.

Breakfast consisted of some dry oat cakes and cold-cuts of salted meat. While not particularly tasty, the meal at least had the benefit of being filling. They ate in relative silence, with Amelia devouring her food, while Raenor watched in some surprise. Apparently she was hungry. About fifteen minutes later, the two companions were again riding eastward, a gentle morning breeze rustling the grass around their horses' legs.

"What exactly happened to you?" Raenor asked as he pulled his horse up near hers, keeping a watchful eye on the horizon all the time. "I remember turning around and seeing you collapse very suddenly."

"Fatigue," Amelia answered. "The amount of magic I had used in so short a space of time drained my energy. And...Raenor, your horse has been poisoned." this brought the ranger up short.

"Are you sure?"

"Very," Amelia replied. "I thought I could cure it, but when I tried...well, I overextended myself and my body simply could not support the strain I was placing on it. I fell asleep as a sort of defensive reaction, to give my body time to regain some energy."

"How bad is the poisoning?" Raenor asked with concern, patting his horse's neck.

"It seems fairly minimal," Amelia replied, shrugging uncomfortably. "I only touched it briefly, but it is still enough to affect your horse. I don't know how long it will take, though." she shivered involuntarily. "It is a cruel toxin."

Raenor nodded, his thoughts grim again. They rode in silence for several more minutes before they came upon a slight bend in the river. A pair of willows leaned out over the bank, giving Raenor an uncomfortable blind spot. Stopping his horse, he handed the reins to Amelia, drew his bow and crept forward to see if there was any cause for concern. He stopped next to the trunk of one of the willows and peered through the dangling leaves. Watching for movement, his heart almost skipped a beat as he spied a gargoyle near the bank of the river. Scanning further, he spied another two through the foliage of the willow. Not willing to risk being spotted, he backed away from the gargoyles and returned to Amelia and the horses.

Bringing a finger to his lips, he pointed back the way they had come, towards a small hill about two hundred feet away, behind which they could take shelter and watch the gargoyles. Amelia nodded, turned and rode off as Raenor remounted his horse and followed her towards the relative safety of the low, long hill they had passed not five minutes earlier.

Dismounting, he gave Amelia his horse's reins and then started up the hill, crawling the last few feet to the crest. Stopping, he watched for any reaction from the gargoyles and, with none occurring, he inched himself forward, staying as well-concealed as he could, watching the gargoyles all the while. Now that he could see them, he counted six of the creatures, all of them lightly armoured but well-armed. They seemed to be relaxing and eating, so Raenor settled in to wait.