Servant turned Criminal

[Ria Hawk]

Johnathan's face twisted into a strange expression.  "Let him go, Sage."

"Yes, master."  Sage straightened up, and lowered his sword.  "I don't know what these Hunters are like, but I don't think I can take more than three men without help.  What do we do?"  Somehow, it seemed like they had both decided not only to trust the stranger, but help him get away.

Johnathan considered.  "What can the Hunters do?  And do they need to see to hunt?"  Sage looked at the other man sharply, like he was considering protesting, but kept silent.  "In any case, we don't have much time, not if they're right behind you."  He turned to Josey.  "Unless you want to risk it, you'd better run, girl.  This is going to get ugly."

Sage snorted.  "And bloody, if it's anything like the last-"  He cut off.  "It's safer for you to go."

[Callista Miala Moonshade]

Josey grunted "i've seen my share of blood and gore in the past, i do not run!" she stood up straight and looked between the three men "if you fight then i fight with you" she said to johnathan giving a slight bow even though she knew he could not see her. in a second she had pulled the weapon that she held under her cloak out and there it shimmered even though the hilt and the blade were black it still seemed to glimmer, "this is the reason im running" she said slowly "it's the enchanted blade of my people, the Morat the blade is called nightstorm and i stole it from the sacred temple. but im not just some common thief they were going to use it in war and i had to stop them." The Morat were a tree dwelling tribe which lived in deep forest's in houses in the tree tops they had a shrine in the oldest and strongest tree which held must wonderful but deadly items "i have mastered the blade so it will only do harm when i need it to and to who i want it done to! its like a mind-link" 

[Pariah]

"They need to see to track, but without sight they'd fight just as well as any other man, wildly and without a plan.  The first of them will already be here even now, watching me to see if I'll run more, they'll spread out and try to encircle this camp before they attack."  Looking to the girl that spoke as if any reason could exonerate her of the betrayal she did to her tribe, "My tribe draws its power from each member of it, growing more powerful as a whole than any single part could be alone; so it is with the Hunters, though in a more powerful way.  The larger the party of Hunters the more vividly they experience the world.  Their blood runs hotter, they fight with more vigor, they die slower."

...

They surrounded them, the Oathbreaker and those fools he'd drawn in with his lies.  Brother Ves had grown impatient to slay them, but Ney waited still, the Oathbreaker was explaining them, and he thought that it would be fitting if the fools knew the truth as to what the Oathbreaker had left behind, the comfort of the Mind, the power of the Tribe.  Sighing, he signaled his brothers, and they began their charge, not caring anymore to be silent, they charged into the camp as fast as they could, the power of thier blood changing their hands into vicious claws.

[Callista Miala Moonshade]

Josey spun around as the first of them entered the clearing, she held the sword and leaped jumping off of a tree and straight into the branches waiting for the right moment to strike the blade seemed to quiver as it awaited the blood of its enemys.

[Ria Hawk]

A mist started rising over the clearing.  Sage spun to meet the attackers, his sword flashing.  He was swinging to kill, but apparently, wasn't all that interested in it, if the lack of facial expression was any clue.  He moved with a lethal grace not unlike a dancer's, a block flowing into a slash that turned into a parry.  He didn't just rely on his sword, either; he kicked and threw punches as well.

Meanwhile, Johnathan made a rough judgement as to where one of the Hunters was and threw his stick in that direction; he wouldn't need it just now, and maybe he'd get lucky.  Another Hunter lunged at his back, but caught only swirling mist.  Johnathan had somehow melted away, only to step out of another bank of mist some distance away.  He threw three long, razor sharp steel needles at his attacker, an oily substance on the tips suggesting poison.  He wasn't too worried about missing or hitting the wrong target.  The Mistwalkers had other senses besides sight, and his skills hadn't left him.  And the stranger had said that the Hunters' blood burned hotter...

((OOC: Pariah, they're your goons, I'll let you call combat.))

[Pariah]

Concentrating on a point just beyond the range of normal sight, the Oathbreaker ducked back into a tree, waiting for a pair of Hunters to rush past him; releasing the energies he'd been holding a bolt of pure light shot out of his hands and lanced through them, adding yet another smell to the mists, one of burnt flesh.  The Hunters had been slaughtered, four dead already and anther one rapidly losing his hold on this world.  Of the last, there was no sign, vanished into the forests.

...

He'd led the charge into the clearing, his brothers close behind, only to be disoriented by the sudden fog, too thick to be real, and stinking of the Traitorous One.  Suddenly he felt it, as one of his brothers fell, then two more, having missed anyone on his charge through the camp he waited, finally feeling the death of another two he fled, through the forests to a point where he could mourn them, and then resume the Hunt.

...

Looking up from the bodies of the two Hunters he'd killed, he struggled for a moment as to what he should say, finally seeming to come with the simple words, "Thank you."

OOC:Sorry it took so long.

[Ria Hawk]

"That wasn't so bad," Sage commented as he straightened up from his stance.  He ws breathing a little hard, but that was it.  He methodically cleaned the blood off of his sword.

"You're welcome," Johnathan said, as he resovled out of the fading mist.  "We should-"  Suddenly he stumbled, pitching forward.  He'd have fallen if Sage hadn't rushed forward to catch him.

"Master!"  He pulled one of the light-haired man's arms around his neck, supporting him.  Johnathan was coughing, and his legs didn't seem to want to hold him up.  The coughing fit didn't last long, but it was fairly clear he'd been coughing up blood.  He leaned against Sage for support.  "You know you shouldn't," Sage said softly.

"I know.  But traitors have to stick together."  He still sounded a little weak.  "Anyway, I was saying we should leave now.  I'm not sure if we got them all, and anyway, there may have been reinforcements."  A thought occurred to him.  "For informational purposes, if they *do* catch you, is killing you the most they'll do?  Or do they get more... creative, the madder you make them?"

[Callista Miala Moonshade]

Josey had just been getting ready to launch her attack when the mist had floated in and blocked her sight and then it seemed it was all over, "oh right is that it then?" Josey hopped down from the tree, Johnathan began to cough and splutter Josey gasped and started forward but Sage was there already Josey jogged forward and stood next to Johnathan "are you alright" she said softly   

[Ria Hawk]

Johnathan nodded.  "I'm all right.  It's just, um, just an old... injury, flaring up."  He laughed, but was interruppted by another coughing fit, although it didn't last as long and there was no blood.  "Mistwalking tends to aggravate it."

[Pariah]

"They would take me to the God-King, and the God-King is not kind to those who break His Oath.  Death is the best I could hope for, and even in death I shudder at the torments He might put me through."  Looking more closely at the swordsman and the 'Mistwalker' he seemed to ponder on words unsaid, finally, looking the elder man in the eyes he said, "I owe you my life, and though I broke the sacred Oath of my tribe, I am not without honor, and I would serve you for a while.  I ask but one thing, you spoke of your own betrayal, what was it?"

[Ria Hawk]

When the stranger mentioned owing him his life, Johnathan muttered something under his breath that sounded something suspiciously like "Oh ye gods, not another one."  Then at the man's question, he got a serious look on his face, and seemed to ponder it for a moment.  "I killed my master's son, the prince of the kingdom."

[Callista Miala Moonshade]

Josey looked between Johnathan and the newcomer as they seemed to stare at each other for a decade. Josey looked at the trees again "well anyway enough with the life stories obviously no one seems very willing to tell! what do we do now?" Josey looked between the three men and waited for one of them to answer.

[Ria Hawk]

"We leave."  Sage was gathering the few possessions the two of them had, after making sure that Johnathan could stand unassisted.  "Master Johnathan is right, we probably didn't get them all, and they'll be back.  And I'm sure that this little incident will attract just the sort of attention we *don't* want."  Once he'd made sure he had every thing, he started walking farther into the woods.  "Are you coming or not?"

Johnathan was following him, listening to his footfalls to make sure he knew where he was going.  "Don't mind him.  He's a little harsh with people he's not familiar with.  He can't help it."

[Callista Miala Moonshade]

Josey smiled sweetly and then followed behind Johnathan "are you coming?" she said to the new man "whats your name by the way?" she asked watching him as she quietly walked behind Johnathan.

[Pariah]

"I have no name.  I broke the Oath of my tribe and for that I was punished, cast out and stripped of my name."  Following the group he took the time to practice his Craft, making the leaves that rested on their trail swirl up and find new resting places, hiding their trail from all but the best trackers.

[Ria Hawk]

"Everything has a name.  Even if your old one isn't recognized any more, you can take a new one."  Johnathan spoke quietly, keeping his attention focused on making sure he was still following Sage.  "Why not just pick a new one?"  However, he asked it like a rhetorical question, like he didnt' really expect an answer.  Sage just snorted and kept going.

[Callista Miala Moonshade]

Josey looked around as they walked then sped up a bit to catch up with Johnathan "If you don't mind Johnathan I'm going to take to the trees i can see further in front and behind from up there so i can keep an eye out for oncoming people in each direction it's just I'm so clumsy on the floor" she shuffled her feet slightly as she walked and waited for Johnathan to give her an answer.

[Ria Hawk]

Johnathan sounded genuinely surprised.  "Why are you asking me?  I'm not in charge.  Do as you wish."  But he was thinking, odd that more people had sort of... adopted him.  A strange feeling, at least to a man who had grown up thinking friends were some strange, fantasic sort of beast he would never meet.  A luxury those of his class weren't permitted.  He didn't quite know what to do about it.  He did think, however, that he'd have to make two more special needles.  He wasn't used to friends, and he couldn't really protect anyone from much.  But he could make sure they had an easy way out, if it came to it.

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Mad, burning eyes followed the group.  So, here he was, and that pretentious slave as well.  How fortunate that he'd been the one to find them.  He'd known that the assassin was around when the mist had rolled in, and the ensuing combat he'd watched from the trees had only confirmed it.  He'd watch a little longer, he thought.  Strike when they weren't prepared.  "Come play in the trees, little girl," he whispered to himself.  He'd overheard her, a little.  When it was all over, he just might have to keep her...

[Callista Miala Moonshade]

Josey smiled slightly then turned and grabbed onto the lowest branch she hoisted herself up gracefully into the tree jumping higher and higher into the large heavily leaved tree. She turned her head slowly in each direction and used her strong eyes to search through the leaves, although she had good eyes she did not notice the person or thing watching them, she looked down at the group and began moving swiftly through the trees just above there heads. her hair fanned out behind her gleaming slightly in the dim light. Her thin figure was almost invisible as she moved stealthily through the trees not even making a leaf fall from it's branch. She looked slightly like an angel as she twisted and turned while she jumped.

[Pariah]

The last of the group marched on, consumed by his thoughts, and the questions they'd asked.  His head bowed he heard, rather than saw, the girl jump into the trees and continuing along with the group.

[Ria Hawk]

"At any rate, we have to call you something; I refuse to address you as 'hey, you'."  Johnathan was carefully picking his way around roots.  He'd retrieved his walking stick before they had started, and it made a soft rhythmic tapping as he went. 

Sage seemed to be ignoring everyone, intent on leading the way to wherever he was going.  He was judging the path by the layout of the trees; he was well familiar with this part of the woods.  But something was a little off.  Something was just the slightest bit different, and after a few minutes of looking, he realized what it was.  "Blue flowers..." he muttered to himself.  They were tiny, pale blue things growing in scattered clumps; must've sprung up after the last rain.  Still they struck a distand chorde of memory, like they were something he had known once.  But he couldn't make the connection, whatever it was.

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The eyes followed Josey as she gracefully travelled along the tree branches.  "Pretty, pretty..."  he whispered.  A fine pet she'd make.  His eyes darted to one side, and a tree branch Josey was reaching for suddenly jerked four inches away from her just as her fingers touched it.  "Will you fly or will you fall, little bird?"  Still speaking in a hoarse whisper.  No sense giving himself away, not when he could play with them a little more.

[Pariah]

He fell further and further behind the group, as he became engrossed in the leaves, making them rise up and fall down in ever more mesmerizing and confusing patterns.  Suddenly the patterns broke, the harmony in his mind that had allowed him to make them fell apart, dischordant and frenzied, and the wind, content before to play at the traveller's feet turned suddenly, heavy with the scent of a coming storm.

[Ria Hawk]

Johnathan smiled as he heard the leaves blowing around.  He sort of wished he could see it.  Felt like magic, felt good.  Then the wind turned and smelled like a storm.  He sighed, magic was always fickle, even under the best circumstances.  At least the rain wouldn't be Fury-magic.  Something rang a bell.  Fury-magic...  What was it Sage had said just now?

Sage was looking at the blue flowers.  He *knew* he'd seen something similar, he knew it.  It bothered him.  Aside from their sudden appearance, they looked pretty ordinary.  Just little blue flowers, growing in a meandering fashion.  That's what bothered him, the way they were growing.  They formed patterns, almost.  Vague lines.  Why was that? He peered closer to get a better look.  They were all growing from a series of thin vines.  Vines?  Vin-  "Master!"  He jerked his sword out of the sheath and lunged towards Johnathan.  "It's Vine!"

Mad laughter echoed out of the trees around them, followed by a harsh, high pitched voice.  "A pity, yes, it's a pity you realized so quickly!  I had hoped to play with you a bit longer!"  Something moved out in the woods.  A tall, thin elf stepped out of the shadows.  He was perched on a branch twenty feet off the ground.  His hair and skin had a greeninsh tinge to them, but the most disturbing part about him was the crazed expression he was wearing.  "How far you've come down in the world, Mist, yes, how far!"  The elf cackled, and several thick vines whipped out of the surrounding woods and wrapped tightly around Johnathan and Sage.  "It'll be a pleasure killing you, yes, a pleasure!  And these two pets you've gotten, they're sure to be popular in the pits, yes, popular, once they've been properly broken, of course."  He leered at Sage and the unnamed man.  "I shall be rewarded by the master, yes, rewarded well indeed!"

[Chaosmark]

The man had been following the party of four for some time now, what seemed like hours. If it hadn't been for the simple tracking spell embedded into a crystal, he would've been left behind long ago, thanks to their anti-tracking capabilities. Holding the charmed trinket by the cord, he let it hang, the crystal's glow increasing and decreasing as it magically detected the trail he was following. A useful item, and one that he had been hard pressed to get from the family vaults, for unlike the larger Houses, House Mavros didn't have the huge stockpiles of cash to draw upon, so each and every magical item they possessed was very much a treasure. If he lost this crystal, he would be very much disfavored amongst the rest of the House.

But that was neither here nor there. What was important was that the crystal was glowing stronger than it had for a few hours. Evidently, the group he was tracking was just up ahead. He had been following them ever since he found their campsite and the bodies of those tribal Hunters he had originally been tracking. The crystal had been attuned to their energies, but for some reason there seemed to be one still alive and moving, along with a party. While the trail was hard to make out, especially within this lighting (or lack thereof), once he knew where it was, even one as inexperienced as he could make out that there was more than one person making tracks.

Wait. Up ahead, he could hear someone speaking. A distinct voice, mocking and boisterous. "It'll be a pleasure killing you, yes, a pleasure!  And these other two pets you've gotten, they're sure to be popular in the pits, yes, popular, once they've been properly broken, of course. I shall be rewarded by the master, yes, rewarded well indeed!" Perhaps he'd play his hand sooner than expected. He crept closer to get a visual of the apparent conflict, as silent as a city-bred nobleman could be (which is to say, if those up ahead weren't so busy with their own affairs, they'd have heard him five minutes ago). Sure enough, there was a group of people, two of them held in a choking grip by vines emerging from the forest. Looking up, he saw the source of the voice he had heard. Obviously this group was under attack, because there weren't many ways they could have attacked such a target at his height.

He sprang into action, leaping into the clearing at the vines, cutting down the swordsman and old man with a snicker-snack of metal eating through vegetation. Nothing like a good entrance to spice up the night.

[Ria Hawk]

Sage struggled against the vines holding him.  His sword arm was pinned, and he couldn't move to cut them.  They tightened painfully, close to crushing him.  Johnathan was faring no better.  He was having trouble breathing.  His outline blurred as he tried to dissolve into mist again, but he couldn't seem to manage it.  He choked on blood and slumped against the vines.  The strange elf cackled again, and the vines tightened around him even more.

Then, suddenly, the vines released as another sword cut through them.  Sage and Johnathan tumbled to the ground, gasping for air.  Sage was back on his feet in an instant, but Johnathan was nearly unconscious.  Sage gave a worried glance at Johnathan, then glared at the crazed elf.  "I'm going to kill you, Vine."

Vine screeched in fury as the new player cut the two of them loose.  "No fair, no fair, no fair!  Why can't you let me have a little fun?!"  He snarled and leaped to a higher branch.  "I'll just have to kill you all, yes, kill all of you!"  The trees around them creaked ominously, then a shower of thorns sprayed the clearing.