Ren
Novice
Wounded Smile
Posts: 23
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Post by Ren on Dec 12, 2006 10:54:03 GMT -5
"...and to reduce a fever?" the man asked. He was an older gentleman of a cleric wearing robes of silver and deepest blue, eyes wrinkling as he smiled down at where his new pupil was sitting in the tavern, frowning a bit as he tried to get the blood out from under his nails.
The boy was eager to learn, but Donovan was sure his intrinsic curiosity was going to be the death of him someday. Tall and thin at 6'3 with red-brown hair and vibrant blue eyes, the 18 year old clerical initiate looked up with a distractedly innocent gaze at his tutor. "Ah...Schisandra Root?" he asked more than said.
Donovan shook his head, graying at the temples as he placed an ale in front of the young cleric. "That induces fever."
"Ah, right, then..." Ren thought a minute, rubbing his temple as if doing so would make his brain work faster before striking a finger against the air triumphantly, "ah! Gormath Weed! Right? Right?" He had a tendency towards being easily exciteable, but the young often are."
"Right," Donovan answered. "Now drink your honeyed ale. It will help you get some of your energy back."
Ren nodded, lifting the mug. While he wasn't as innocent as he first appeared, he was still a beautiful and kind-hearted young man. He too, would be wearing his robes, but that he'd gotten blood on the thick-cuffed sleeves while helping the injured and a certain barmistress who had taken a shining to him had offered to wash it before it stained. So it was that Ren was currently wearing much more plain fare--a pair of cotton breeches and a tan tunic--farmer's clothing, really. Comfortable and practical, but clothes that really didn't do much to flatter his fairness.
He pushed a wave of mahagony hair from his eyes and asked, "Hey, Donovan, it's unusual for a yarl to come this far into town, isn't it?"
Donovan nodded solemnly. "And because its so unusual, I would think it's safe to assume that he'll be back."
Ren frowned deeply. "But...then more people will be hurt..." He didn't like it. No, not one bit. What they'd found arriving in Cyrra had looked like a small massacre. Eleven Dead. Twenty-three critically injured. It had taken all day to get through them all, and even the teacher was looking a bit worn around the edges. The student did his best to hide his fatigue, but from time to time as they sat talking over the problem and studying Ren's herbology textbook, his eyelids would droop for a moment.
Neither man was much use in a fight. Cyrra was normally full of clerics and paladins, but it was winter and travelling was a bother in the cold, even if to arrive in the relative warmth of Darendale. So it was by sheer bad luck, there were no paladins about at the moment and other warriors seemed in short supply. 'So how in the world are we supposed to deal with a yarl??!' Ren wondered, lips tugging into a frown. 'I'm only a little bit of use for now. I still have a lot to learn, and no matter how skilled Donovan is, he can't bring the dead back to life.'
This...is going to be a problem.
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Mihumet Iunis
Novice
A world of white is devoid of happiness...
Posts: 16
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Post by Mihumet Iunis on Dec 12, 2006 12:16:04 GMT -5
Mihu led his Silver out towards the edge of town. He stopped, eyeing the buildings warily. He hated towns, but he had bagged a 12 point buck, which he could never eat on his own, and he hated waste more than he hated towns. He has skinned it, gutted it, and cut the meat, wrapping it in its own skin. The meat he would sell to the tavern, the hide would be tanned, and made into leather. He had saved the sinew for himself, for patching his clothes and tying the feathers to the arrows he would make.
He sighed, took a deep breath and walked into town. Off to the north he saw many freshly dug graves, their dirt still moist. Three lay open as a few older men carried corpses to their final resting places. What happened here? he wondered.
He tethered his Silver near the inn, and untied the meat from his horse's back. Throwing it over one shoulder, he carried it to the door of the inn and pushed it open with his other hand. His eyes widened a bit to see into the relative dimness inside. Lots of people. He sighed internally and forced himself to walk in.
Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed many of the people here were injured: bandaged arms and legs were everywhere. One younger woman had half of her face covered in seeping white bandages. He frowned. Something was definitely amiss in this place.
He carried his meat to the bar and let it fall with a loud bang onto the wood. The bartender wandered over and glanced at the package.
"Deer?" he said meekly. Mihu nodded. He had been here several times before, and he knew the innkeeper's mannerisms well enough to know that he had been shaken up by something. Fear coated these people like oil. Except for the two healers sitting nearby. They were not afraid of death, or at least not of whatever ailed this town.
The innkeeper counted out some ka and handed it to Mihu. He glanced at the pile in his hand, mentally taking note of how much it was. Half of what he usually got. The innkeeper looked at Mihu's emotionless face with trepidation.
"I-I'm sorry sir. It is all we can afford. We have lost eleven to the beast, and we may not be able to plant as much food as normal....I c-can give you more later..."
Mihu shook his head and managed a small, sad smile. He reached forward and touched the man lightly on the shoulder. "It will do. I am not in much need at the moment."
The bartender visibly relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you sir, you are too kind."
Mihu just nodded in reply and asked for mead. "What happened here?"
"A yarl, sir... come and eat us... he'll be back sir... we know not what is to be done..."
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Ren
Novice
Wounded Smile
Posts: 23
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Post by Ren on Dec 12, 2006 13:25:47 GMT -5
It might not be so much lack of fear, as exhaustion and a bit of resignation. Donovan and Ren had arrived in town immediately after the attack, which could be considered either very good, or very bad timing. Very good because the two clerics were alive to help and heal the wounded. Very bad because Ren, at least, was fairly sure, the images of carnage he'd seen--his first real massacre, joy--would haunt him for the rest of his life and keep him from a sound sleep for at least a few days.
But for now, he was thinking everyone was looking considerably better than they had been ten hours ago. It might not be much, but it was at least a step in the right direction.
He lifted his head and replaced his frown with a gentle smile--he'd long since believed that happiness is contagious, and if he couldn't feel it, at the very least he could fake it--and exchanged a few words with the girl who brought them some warm stew--more broth than meat really but Ren wouldn't hold it against them under the circumstances, as long as it was warm. "How's your sister doing? Is she feeling any better now?"
"Ah, yes," the girl answered with a faint blush--he tended to get that reaction a lot, and people are people no matter the circumstances-- "Milena will be bedridden for a few weeks, probably, but the floral tea you gave her has eased the pain a bit. Thank you very much." She bowed sweetly and scurried off, and Ren turned to Donovan, who suddenly rose and walked towards the bar.
Ren blinked, his gaze following him. Donovan was not the type of man prone to doing anything quickly unless he had no other choice, and Ren had certainly never seen the determined set to his jaw. In truth, he'd imagined his instructor as a man who was kind, but rather lazy.
Donovan certainly didn't seem lazy now though as he strolled right over to the man speaking to the bartender.
"If you'll pardon my interruption," he said. "I couldn't help but overhear. You're a ranger, are you not? I hear many rangers have a talent for the warrior arts. If you'd be so inclined to deal with our little problem for us, I'm certain I can get the Pyres to compensate you for your efforts."
"Donovan! That's too dangerous!" Ren exclaimed. One man against something that killed eleven and seriously injured a good deal more wasn't nearly enough!
"Beggars can't be choosers, Ren," Donovan scolded before turning to Mihumet. "No offence, of course, sir, but as you can see, Cyrra is in a rather bad situation at the moment. The townsfolk barely survived the first attack, without worrying about a second."
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Mihumet Iunis
Novice
A world of white is devoid of happiness...
Posts: 16
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Post by Mihumet Iunis on Dec 12, 2006 18:51:36 GMT -5
Mihu was taken aback at being approached so nonchalantly. He was normally looked down upon for being a deus, and his personality did not make people take to him easily. He turned to look at the healer man.
"Me?" he looked around. There was no one else around who looked much like a ranger he supposed. He looked over to the younger healer man as he objected to the older one's suggestion. He tried not to blush as he found himself attracted to the tall man. It was rare he passed a human so good looking, male or female.
"I don't know much about yarl, except what I've heard from stories. If it is an animal though, of mortal blood, I suppose I could do what I could to help. What can you tell me about the creature?"
Eleven people dead. What good will I be against this beast? he thought to himself. If it got too dangerous, he would hop on his Silver and leave this place behind. He belonged in the forest...
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Ren
Novice
Wounded Smile
Posts: 23
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Post by Ren on Dec 12, 2006 19:03:07 GMT -5
The ranger turned and...Ren blinked. 'Oooh...pretty...' He knew there were far more important things to be thinking about right now, but it was instinct. The scar on his face didn't mar him so much as lend to his ruggedness. It was oddly...sexy. 'No no no, mind out of the gutter Ren!'
"They're vicious!" Ren insisted, rising to his feet. "And large. Thick-boned with forelegs that can crush bone. On top of that, they spit out mucus that can paralyze you long enough to kill you and eat you. It's too dangerous for one person alone to fight," he insisted. "Yarl don't know anything about killing. They even kill their own kind, and the only thing known to be REALLY effective against them is silver. It acts like a poison once it gets into their bloodstream."
Donovan smirked. "You've done your homework."
Ren pouted cutely at him. "Of course I have, when you said we were coming to Cyrra I researched what kind of beasts were indiginous to this region." He shivered at thought of the yarl again. "It looks like...ah...i think the book said a cross between an ox and a wild dog. I know it's really important to stop it, Donovan," he said to his tutor, "but if he goes alone he'll definitely get killed. No way. There must be a warrior or two SOMEWHERE in Cyrra..."
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Mihumet Iunis
Novice
A world of white is devoid of happiness...
Posts: 16
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Post by Mihumet Iunis on Dec 12, 2006 19:16:27 GMT -5
Mihu listens with a slight frown. How was he supposed to defeat this thing on his own? He turned to the older priest.
"I am sorry friend, but I alone cannot defeat this creature. We will need help."
He looks down at the ground. "How long until he returns?"
He lifted his head to face the older man, but his eyes spoke to the younger. He wanted to help, he did, but what could one man do?
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Ren
Novice
Wounded Smile
Posts: 23
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Post by Ren on Dec 12, 2006 19:31:42 GMT -5
"Oh ye of little faith," Donovan sighed dramatically. "What makes the young so terribly jaded, I wonder?"
Ran sank back into his seat with a faint sigh. He knew that tone. It was the one Donovan used when he was about to say something he thought insightful and obvious, but which Ren most often thought was divinely stupid--no offence to any deities intended.
"You've got two fine clerics of Fenris at your service, as long as you don't die, we'll be able to fix you right back up!" he grinned.
"That's hardly a shining encouragement," Ren complained. "For one, I'm only an initiate. I only even know two spells."
"And the two most important ones," Donovan chirped. "To bless, and to heal."
Again, Ren pouted at his tutor. That was all fine and good in theory, but he really didn't think it would be much use in practice. "I really don't think you're convincing him, Donovan. I'm not even certain you're convincing me."
"Oh ye of little..."
"...faith," Ren sighed. "I know, I know. I'm working on it."
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Post by Nicolae on Dec 12, 2006 20:10:29 GMT -5
As he had entered the town of Cyrra, Nicolae had noticed something was wrong, too many fresh graves, too many scared people. Something terrible had happened here. So Nicolae dismounted Shiba, his faithful black stallion, he didn't bother to tie Shiba, she wouldn't go anywhere, and she got mad being restrained. Nicolae pulled his staff from where it was kept on the saddle and entered the inn.
The first thing Nicolae noticed when he entered the inn was the smell, blood! Nicolae knew the smell all to well, he grew up knowing it.
Nicolae saw three men standing in the inn, two of them were clerics who appeared to be arguing. The other, looking like a warrior of some sort, maybe a ranger.
"Excuse me?" Nicolae said walking up to the clerics and ranger. "What's happened here?"
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Mihumet Iunis
Novice
A world of white is devoid of happiness...
Posts: 16
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Post by Mihumet Iunis on Dec 12, 2006 21:18:20 GMT -5
Whrath continued to look at the younger healer, studying him and his character. His mahoghany hair, his eyes... those eyes... intense. He then glanced around the common room of the tavern. All these people. He decided then. He would help.
"I will help you. My name is Mihumet. How long do we...." he turned his head as another deus entered. This one was half human half elf, like himself, but the elven half was definitely Nymandine.
He sighed in audible relief as he realized this man was also a fighter. It eased his mind a little. He did, however, allow for the humans to explain the situation. He himself was not much of a talker.
Instead he took the time to study his companions. This would be interesting.
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Ren
Novice
Wounded Smile
Posts: 23
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Post by Ren on Dec 13, 2006 9:48:10 GMT -5
Donovan's smile lit up a bit more as another man entered carrying a staff. Ren also carried a staff, though it was upstairs at the moment, but unlike Ren who had aquired it for defense against brigands, just in case, but never used it as more than a walking stick to date, this man seemed to carry it as if he knew what it was for. Good.
"Come!" he said, "have a seat, both of you, and I'll explain more thoroughly."
He moved back to the table where his student was sitting, not noticing--or pretending not to notice--the way this 'Mihumet' studied Ren, or the way Ren's eyes locked on Mihu's for slightly longer than a moment before the cleric pulled his gaze away and took a sip of his beer as if the moment hadn't been a bit too intense for strangers.
Donovan took a seat and gestured to the two empty chairs. Once the party had been seated, he explained from the beginning.
"Ren and I came to Cyrra via the northern road through Ardenbau from the Pyres of Shadowbane. The Pyres had recieved a rather ordinary request to heal a young girl who, in this case, had a fever so terrible normal medicines and herbs did not seem to be helping. This kind of thing is common and I brought Ren along because I thought some study in the field would be good for him--he's the antsy type and doesn't care for staying in one place too long, you see."
Ren pouted up again at the middle-aged cleric, the tiniest bit of color coming to his cheeks. "That has nothing to do with anything, Donovan, just tell them about the attack."
"Patience, dear boy," Donovan replied, "I was just getting there." He turned his attention back to the two deus. "We arrived about ten hours ago now to find that there had been a massacre. A yarl had attacked the city, killed eleven people. Twenty-three others were critically injured, and, as you can see very few people managed to escape without a scratch. While it is unusual for Yarl to come this far into the city, they ARE territorial creatures, so we have every reason to expect a return attack when it gets hungry again."
Ren's eyes lit up in understanding. "You think the Yarl came into the city because the food in its usual territory is gone or otherwise inaccessible," he said. "I guess that WOULD make sense...but don't the Yarl usually have HUGE territories? How could the territory be completely devoid of all life?"
"I won't wager a guess on that, since it's only a theory," Donovan said. "And we're hardly about to go into the mountains to find out...sufficed to say," he continued. "I imagine if Ren and myself didn't arrive when we did there would have been more fatalities, as things stand, there are a few citizens who I can only pray survive into the morning when I've the magical energy to heal them. We've done all we can, for the moment, and only finished tending to the wounded some ten minutes before you arrived. I pray only that the Yarl doesn't attack again tomorrow--so many of the local clerics and paladins were slaughtered, there just aren't enough hands to care for all the wounded. And that is why, gentlemen, we are in desparate need of your assistance."
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Mihumet Iunis
Novice
A world of white is devoid of happiness...
Posts: 16
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Post by Mihumet Iunis on Dec 13, 2006 13:24:22 GMT -5
Mihu frowned again. It was obvious to all that the frown was quite natural on his face, as it sat comfortably on his visage. He was unaccustomed to being spoken to with such a friendly tone. He sat down and nodded to the newcomer. "I am Mihument. We have a yarl problem. I sincerely hope you are a warrior."
In response to the young one's comments about the Yarl's territory, he replied: "I have been hunting plains deer in Delain for some time. I saw no Yarl in my travels. It could not have come from there. At times I came quite close to the mountains, close enough to see dwarves. Everything was at peace there, not a week past."
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Post by Nicolae on Dec 14, 2006 19:22:45 GMT -5
Nicolae considered all that the older cleric had said. Nicolae didn't know much about Yarls, or other such monsters, but what he knew scared him.
The way that Ranger was looking at Nicolae, also scared him but that could just be the way he always looked.
However, as scared as he was, he knew he couldn't just do nothing. People died here, too many, and he couldn't just sit back and let more people die without trying to help.
"I'll do whatever I can," Nicolae finally said. "But to be honest, I have very little experience with combating monsters like this. How do we even kill a Yarl anyway?"
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Ren
Novice
Wounded Smile
Posts: 23
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Post by Ren on Dec 15, 2006 12:16:05 GMT -5
Ren gestured at the 40-something man beside him, "Donovan, and it's already been announced that I would be Ren." He'd just wanted to come to Cyrra, pay his respects at the God Mount, maybe learn some more herbs and a spell or two and help a little girl with a fever. It certainly didn't take long for everything to get screwed up. "A week can be a long time when it matters, and the mountains are huge. I guess when it comes down to it, it doesn't matter where the Yarl came from so much as how to either keep it from attacking again, or stop it when it does." He pouted a bit. Despite the fact that he was talking to such an attractive guy--well, two, actually, but poor Nicolae was hardly a blip on the radar at the moment. We'll blame that on the fact he arrived late. Yeah....that's it. Really.
Anyway, Ren sighed. He wasn't much of a fighter and pouted, "stab it with a fork?" he asked in that 'morbidly humorous' kind of way.
"What Ren means is," Donovan corrected before anyone asked. "Is that yarl are vulnerable to silver, it reacts badly with their blood, like a poison. Aside from that..."
"...beat the crap out of it until it doesn't get up again and try not to die," Ren finished. "Their forelegs can crush bone," he informed Nicolae. "...and I would imagine most anything else."
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Mihumet Iunis
Novice
A world of white is devoid of happiness...
Posts: 16
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Post by Mihumet Iunis on Dec 15, 2006 13:25:13 GMT -5
Mihu nodded to each man in turn as they were introduced. The newcomer was attractive also, but he didn't have that something.... that special something the healer did. Perhaps it was just that Mihu had always been attracted to humans. He shrugged mentally.
"I can make simple arrows. If the smith still lives he could smelt some silver, and we could make arrowheads. It might help. Although I admit, I have no silver in my possesion. We could ask the barkeep if he has any he could grant us."
Mihu thought a moment. "Can you use a bow, Ren? I could be of more use if I were to use my sword. You could stay out of harm's way and still damage the beast..."
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Ren
Novice
Wounded Smile
Posts: 23
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Post by Ren on Dec 15, 2006 16:33:21 GMT -5
Ren startled at the direct question. A bow? No, nu-uh. "N-no," he stuttered, cursing himself for his gracelessness. "A cleric can't use any sort of pointy weapons, and anyway I don't have any talent at all for fighting and that kind of thing." His shoulders had tensed. Yarl or no it was obvious the cleric wasn't comfortable at all with the idea of weilding any kind of weapon that might do serious damage. He was a healer in the strictest sense of the word--harming anything, even something that would decimate a city--was something he just couldn't bring himself to consider, let alone do. It was so contrary to everything he believed his life was for. A bow? No, he'd never even picked one up, not when he was a cleric, not before. "I'm afraid I won't be much use other than fixing up the damage once it's done."
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