Enter, The Darkness [RP Thread]

[InsaneTD]

'Before I rest for the night does anyone else need some healing?'

[Ravager Zero]

Rolls

Tybalt's Hunting
Galithir's Hunting

As Tybalt moves away from the campsite, the first thing he notices is the tracks of a small animal, possibly a rabbit or a thumper. Either one would make a good stew. However, as he tries to approach the animal at the end of the tracks, a bunch of twigs crack underfoot, sending the beast hopping away into the distance. Firing at it would have just been wasting ammunition. While the thumper would have been a nice little addition to the party's rations, something else is just visible through the distant undergrowth.

It looks like an antler, and from his days hunting with the nobles, Tybalt knew that the beast connected to those antlers was probably large, and very tasty. As well as being incredibly flighty around humans. There was only time for a single shot, hastily lined up, as the deer pricked his head up and began to trot to a newer food source. The shot went slightly wide, which combined with the stag's movement meant the round struck it in the rump rather than the heart. The deer let out a startled bleat and sped away from the area, quickly falling from sight. Tybalt cursed, so close.

Putting his disappointment aside, Tybalt started tracking smaller prey once more, hoping to at least catch something. Following the tracks of another thumper only left him confused, almost walking in circles as the creature had retreated to its burrow upon hearing his approach. It wasn't worth reaching in to try and find the beast either, as thumper burrows were deep, and tended to spread out into several chambers, much like a rabbit warren. Thumpers also liked biting anything trespassing in the burrow.

Sighing heavily, Tybalt turned back towards camp, somewhat deflated. He was meant to be hunting, and all he had managed was to injure a massive stag deer. Some hunter he was. The nobles, with their hounds and horses, he hadn't realised how much easier those animals made the sport of hunting. Well, he was a little wiser now, and the lessons Oan had promised would likely prove invaluable.

Meanwhile, ranging out from the far side of the camp, tracking roughly south east, Galithir was having a little more luck. Mostly because he was now invisible to the nearby wildlife. Problem was, that wildlife only included a handful of insects, and two songbirds in the trees just above him. None of which made for very good food. There were, however, bird scratchings in the ground. He couldn't be sure what they were, but something told Galithir it was probably a pheasant or a partridge.

It took nearly fifteen minutes to follow the bird's tracks silently, but Galithir's patience was duly rewarded as he saw a rather plump looking male pheasant putting on a mating dance for a nearby female. Essence trailing from his fingertips, Galithir wove the strands together, knitting a spear of bone for each bird. He would only get one chance, just when the male finished his little dance. His timing was impeccable, but so was the female pheasant's, jumping a little to show her appreciation of the male's dance.

She landed on the bone spear, seeming to look straight at Galithir, as if to ask a question, before hopping down and sprinting off into the undergrowth. The male pheasant was well and truly skewered, blood pooling on the leaf litter beneath him and matting his feathers. The spear of bone faded into nothingness, and Galithir smiled wryly. A hole, almost two inches across, punctured the pheasant from one side to the other. Perhaps next time he would try and conjure a slightly smaller spear. Lifting the bird by its feet, Galithir turned and started walking back to camp.

[Mabbz]

Galithir arrived back at the camp about two minutes after Tybalt and, after offering his commiserations about Tybalt's bad luck at hunting, he began preparing the groups meal. He smiled sadly to himself as the pheasant cooked over Ja'nus' fire, remembering when his wife had taught him these culinary skills. After a moment, Galithir snapped out of his reverie and turned to Oan.

"I still feel bad about the ritual, and I was hoping to make it up to you. I have examined the magestone I got and I discussed the possibility of using it to enchant an object with Tybalt. I wanted to offer you the stone, if you desire. The stone seems to have the power to knock an object slightly out alignment with the material realm, making a weapon that can pass straight through armour or enchanting some clothing to give you that same ability, so that weapons would to an extent pass through you, not to mention possibly giving you the ability to phasewalk through things."

"Interested?"

[The Man They Call Jayne]

Overhearing this talk, Ja'nus approached Galithir and Oan.

"Phaseshifting? Most impressive. I have not yet had the chance to examine own stone. Its alignment is not with my own, but, it may still prove worthwhile. On the chance that it does not benefit me however, I would offer it to you Galithir should you find it suits your abilites. No point wasting a perfectly good magestone after all."

[Scout Sergeant Mkoll]

"My friend there is no need to apologise, it was my decision to go through with it. That being said, I'm not one to decline an offer such as that. Out of interest, would this work for the ammunition of a bow, or does it work solely on the weapon itself?"

[Mabbz]

"Hmm... I'm no runesmith, but I doubt it. I think the stone would have to be mounted, intact, on the arrow. I doubt it would fly well and you'd onlyget one enchanted arrow out of it. Perhaps if you mounted the stone on your bow it could enchant as you fire... Tybalt, you're the runesmith, is any of this possible?"

[The Man They Call Jayne]

Ja'nus went and sat, focussing on his Magestone, trying to meditate on it.

As he examined the magestone in his hands, something felt a little wrong about the substance. At first it looked like amber, but now it seemed to flow like molten glass, but away from the ground. Soon the stone seemed to have melted in his hands, resembling a liquid flame, pulsing like a heartbeat. An instant later he realised it is an actual heartbeat, one that the school of Rai-Tane taught him to recognise instantly. It came from the heart of the world.

There is a flash of light, and suddenly he could see the inside of a great cave, lava flowing beneath him, massive pillars of rock seeming to hold the roof of the cave aloft. The earth down shifts restlessly, and the heat of the molten rock keeps a fire lit atop a throne of bronze. He got the distinct feeling that this place is buried deep underground.

As everything snaps back to normal he realised that what he was holding is not amber. It never was. It was simply a frozen ember from the First Fire, the fire that breathed softly into the cold heart of the world and brought it to life. And that is why it is filled with red Essence

[Ravager Zero]

Rolls

Ja'nus Casting

As Ja'nus focused on the logs in front of him, nothing seemed to happen. It seemed as if the Essence swirling around him was simply gone. He heard a sharp crack, as if someone nearby had stepped on some twigs. Turning swiftly he saw no-one. The logs seemed to have aged, becoming dry and cracked. Heat blazed through the clearing, the logs now catching fire in an instant. The ground beneath them seemed to blacken in a spreading circle, although no fire could be seen above it. Smoke wafted lazily into the treetops as Ja'nus started to hear loud groans, and the deep rumble of shifting earth.

At the very edge of the clearing was a familiar looking tree, all gnarled branches and dead leaves. He could have sworn the tree was not there when he had first arrived in the clearing. All of a sudden the fire blew out, and clearing was plunged into the darkness of the evening once more. Ja'nus hurried back to camp, the creaks, groans and rumbling noises taking on an altogether more sinister tone in the wan twilight. The forest did not like fire. Magic fire. Next time, he was sure, it would do more than just creak and groan and rumble at them.

[The Man They Call Jayne]

Ja'nus arrived back at the camp, somewhat confused. What had just happened? Sure the logs had caught fire, eventually, but then. . .what? It was as though there had been a fire,and it spread. He had never seen anything like it before.

Truth be told, he knew little of the First Fire, so learning to use this new stone would take time.

He sat under a tree, and worked the Soulstone out of his staff, putting it in his pouch, then he placed the Rai-Tane stone in its place. It occourd to him that it shouldn't have been possible, and the new stone was larger than the shard of Soulstone. Yet it had worked, the staff simply held it, like it had been shaped perfectly for it. Ja'nus sighed to himself. After the events of the last week, this didnt even rank in the top 5 weird things to happen.

[Scout Sergeant Mkoll]

As he sat eating his portion of the game bird Galithir had caught Oan considered how he was going to teach people to hunt, and who. His training had taken years, he wasn't likely to have anything like that long. Admittedly he didn't need to train the others to his standards, but it was a pride thing. He wanted to make sure the lessons he was taught continued and, where possible, were built on, that was why he'd spent so long training Hlaine in his militia days.

Tybalt seemed eager, and Zothern seemed capable he decided. He'd see what he could do with those two. Galithir's magical concealment should be enough of a benefit for now and 3 was too many to train at once.

[The Man They Call Jayne]

Ja'nus wandered about the camp, enjoying a bit of bird that had be nicely cooked. He passed his compliments to Galithir and pondered his stone further. He hoped to find something better to practice on soon.

[Ravager Zero]

The fire was nearly dead, a few cinders drifting up towards the night sky. Lying on his bedroll, looking through a gap in the canopy Tybalt could see the silvery moon Chronos high in the sky. Through another gap he could make out the greenish sickle of the waning moon Aberros. In front of the darkened side of that moon was a golden speck, the tiny moon-star known as Lune. It was not any notable configuration of moons, but still Tybalt could feel the Essence shift and flow more freely than usual.

Marcus tapped him on the shoulder, and he nodded, collecting his sword and rifle. So far they had only spent a single night in the forest. Things were still shadowed and unfamiliar, people starting when they heard a loud crack or strange noise. There was something unsettling about the trees themselves now. They were twisted, gnarled, and not in the way they should be. Towards the north-eastern edge of the clearing was a cluster of trees, leafless, with branches outstretched like the ribs of some great beast, or perhaps hands reaching out to snare a passing traveler.

It was strange, Tybalt reflected, that while Oan had said the temple they were searching for was dedicated to the sun, the party seemed safest at night here in the forest. Almost two full nights now, and nothing had happened to compare with the nightmare of that first night on the road. But as they traveled deeper into the forest, everyones sense of foreboding had increased, as if some great disaster were about to fall upon them at the slightest misstep. No one could quite say why they felt that way, save that they were sure it was the doing of the forest.

As the moons crept across the sky, Tybalt soon found it was time to awaken Ja'nus, to serve the final watch for the night. It was only after the third shake that the mage awakened, looking vaguely distressed, before everything snapped into place and he took up his staff, heading for the edge of the camp. An hour, perhaps two, later, found Ja'nus starting a cooking fire with the embers of the previous night's blaze.

The sun was too low to see yet, but the sky itself was lightening, clear enough to see by to prepare the morning meal, and light enough that waking the others would not draw out too many grumbles or curses. Ja'nus looked towards the north-east, through an odd gap between the tree trunks. Oak and birch on each side, but the soil looked as if it had been freshly turned

[InsaneTD]

'What on earth happened over there? Did you hear or see anything Ja'nus?'

[The Man They Call Jayne]

"Nothing that could have done that. . .but. . . "

Ja'nus thought back to his experiment with the Rai-Tane Stone, when he thought that the trees had shifted afterwards . . .

"I have a suspiscion, but I pray that im wrong. If im not, i may not be able to travel with you much longer. . .The trees here do not like my presence and this new Magestone is not helping matters. . ."

He took a breath, remember the dream from last night. . .the throne. . .the chamber of lava. . .the devestation. . .

"Tybalt, wake the others and if Oan is well enough, can you ask him to attend upon me when he is able. If anyone can recognise these marks its him. If he can't. . .then my fears may be realised and I may have to travel alone until we leave the forest.

[InsaneTD]

While waiting for the others, Tybalt checks his gear over.