The dark forest of Rithia has become more than just a myth. Problems come and go but nothing that would cause any worry. Every year or so, someone would go missing but no one important enough for anyone to really care. It was said that if the forest called you to it, then it was our time to leave. That was the common belief among the village for the longest of time. If someone turned up missing, nothing seemed to be any different among the villagers. While people have been coming up missing, very few are ever found. Even if someone from the village chooses to search for those lost, the only thing they may find is the remains of torn cloths or personal items once in awhile. No bodies are ever found and most believe that nothing will ever be found. Now no one really dares enter the forest anymore but sometimes there is always going to be someone who makes the mistake of not hearing the words of warning the villagers send.

Now only one village remains anywhere close to the forest of Rithia is home to a peaceful group of elves, who keep in mind the warnings of their past. With people missing from this village, the people only choose to keep all matters within the village and not concern themselves with outsiders. Very few people ever enter the village but there is always someone who comes in but soon as they arrive, they leave as fast as can be. Knowledge of the village and its people is still for the most part a mystery to outsiders and the same can be said for the villagers to the rest of the world.

When even more people turn up missing every month, the village soon becomes worried about what can be done. No one within the walls of the village wishes to travel to the forest to find out what’s going on, so the mayor of the village sends out word for help from someone outside of the world. No one seemed to reply and each month passed, more and more people become missing. Finally there is word of a reward with the information about what is going on with the forest of Rithia, but yet again, no one seems to be interested in helping. With no idea of anyone coming, the villagers can only wait and hope someone comes along to help them with their problems.
When even more people turn up missing every month, the village soon becomes worried about what can be done. No one within the walls of the village wishes to travel to the forest to find out what’s going on, so the mayor of the village sends out word for help from someone outside of the world. No one seemed to reply and each month passed, more and more people become missing. Finally there is word of a reward with the information about what is going on with the forest of Rithia, but yet again, no one seems to be interested in helping. With no idea of anyone coming, the villagers can only wait and hope someone comes along to help them with their problems.



Quest: Find The Missing Villagers

Client: Mayor of Rithia

Manpower: 4

((Only Moderators or Administrators are allowed to post Adventure System quests. Your trying to state your own reward steps over the rights a Member has. Only Admins and Mods may specify rewards. And you do realize the Outer Rim is mostly uncharted isles inhabited lightly by Elves, Dwarves, and Human Clerics (Human Clerics are housed in a Tower, not scattered in villages). So the 'human-based' caste system isn't necessairily appropriate, but it will be allowed.

Keep this in mind before you try to make another quest. If you attempt to set up another Adventures System quest in the future, you will be penalized.))

"Hmm... let's see... Salty?" A young, pink-haired, white-robed woman asks the bartender, hovering over her drink. "No.... Bitter? Nah.... Pungent? Eh.... Woody. How about woody? No no, not that either.... hmm.... Brambish? That a word? What if we try sour? Or maybe..."

"Aye, how long has she been naming tastes fer?" A stout, simply-dressed, male dwarf asks another, more heavily-armored male dwarf sitting next to him as they stare at the heavily one-sided discourse.

"Good question." The armored dwarf replies, sipping his special herb-laden ale. He makes a face as it goes down and he shakes his head. "Been starin' at her hair the whole time and weren’t payin' attention to the voices."

The first dwarf shifts around on his bar stool a little before nodding in agreement, "Aye, ya ever seen a lady with pink hair like hers? Maybe she really is a witch as the humans claim." He says watching the scene, the woman still naming adjectives in a distinctly sarcastic tone of voice.

"Certainly cast a spell on me." The armored dwarf replies, sipping his drink again and puckering his lips, muttering something unflattering about the drink under his breath. "I mean, just look at those eyes. Lovely as sin."

"Aye." The first dwarf replies, apparently not able to start a sentence without saying that word. "A shame the robes cover so much. A face like that makes me want date outside the race."

They share a brief laugh as they continue to watch the scene. The armored dwarf sips his ale again and this time sticks his tongue out to get it some air. "Blech." He says in disgust, looking down into the polished wooden mug. "The ale here tastes like swamp water." He says with a shake of his head, choking down another taste.

"Aye, that it does." The first dwarf says, nodding over to an empty cup sitting by the wash basin behind the counter, indicating he'd sampled some himself. "Would go somewhere else if I could buy better." He says, the armored dwarf nodding in silent agreement as they both stare at the woman again as she continues her rant.

"Adequate? No no... that can't be the word I'm looking for..." The pink-haired woman says, her fingers rubbing her chin in mock thought. "There's got to be a good word for this... but I just... can't find it!" She says with a bitter sarcastic tone.

The human bartender, having stood there the whole time with a dead-pan face, not appreciating the comments, finally speaks. "What a shame."

"Oh wait!" The girl says, slapping he hand down on the counter making a few glasses ring in the holding tray. "NOW I've got the word! Sucks! THAT'S it." She says like it's the most obvious fact in the world. "Know why that's the word? Cause that's what the tea does. It s-u-c-k-s." She says, drawing out the last word for emphasis. and standing up to leave. "Worst swill I've had for miles." She declares, picking up her oaken staff that had been laying against the bar the whole time. "Honestly... were you TAUGHT to cook by gnomes or something?" She says flinging down a few gold for her tea. The bartender doesn't reply however, he only picks up the money and takes it to the back room, a pained look on his face. The girl sighs watching him go, adjusting the hood on her robe.

Maybe I was too harsh? But geez that stuff tasted bad! I can't believe he charges people to drink that stuff. Blech. Practically a con artist. ...Now let's see... I think that leaves me with about 3,000 gold or so. Not exactly a lot but it'll do... for... now... ...are those two dwarfs staring at me?

She looks up into the faces of the dwarfs as they stare pretty shamelessly. She dons her sarcastic look once again as she walks over. "You two lose something? I hope so, cause staring isn't always appreciated when there's not a good reason.

The armored dwarf coughs and goes back to his ale. "Whoop, no madam. Just starin' at the window is all." He finishes up his drink with a great bit of effort. The girl smirks and turns to leave with a small laugh. "What do you say we get going?" The armored dwarf says to his stout companion as he lays a few gold down on the table.

"Aye, we're going to the north docks right? We'd better steer clear a' those woods near Rithia. They say they're cursed." The stout dwarf says in a cautious tone. The girl stops in her tracks a decides to eavesdrop a little.

"Oh that's right. I hear the village elves have been disappearing lately. Not that it's our problem but I'd rather not do a disappearin' act myself." The armored dwarf says in a slightly serious tone of voice as he picks up his pelt coat from the adjacent stool.

Disappearing eh? Hmm... sounds like they could use some help... ....Ahhh, Not like I have anything else to do.

"Hey." The girl says to the dwarfs, their heads turning in perfect unison at the sound of her voice calling them. "Which way's this... Rithia?"

"Aye." The dwarf who I shouldn't have to identify by now says. "It's just up the north road from here. You can't miss it really, it's practically the only town near the forest. You'll be avoiding it I suspect."

The girl laughs, flipping her staff up onto her shoulder. "Nah, not at all. Gonna go see what the problem is." She says, turning to leave the tavern.

The dwarves blink in surprise and stare at each other for a moment. The armored dwarf turns back to watch the girl leave but he calls out before she reaches the doorway. "W-wait." The girl turns to face him, her pink hair shimmering in the sunlight that shines through the door. The dwarf stares at her face for a few moments, still a bit in shock, her expression remaining calm. "Mind if I ask yer name?"

The girl smiles and laughs a bit. "Krystianna. Thanks for the help gentlemen." She says, turning and leaving the tavern.

Shadow had entered the tavern a short while after the girl had. He had sat down at the farthest end of the bar, gradually moving towards the conversation of between the dwarfs and the girl. He had listened about the people of the town had been disappearing latley. Having seen how frail the girl look he decided to follow her when she left the tavern. He sneaked silently behind her, not trying to frighten her, only trying to follow. As the girl went off the path heading north, Shadow caught up to her.

"Krystianna, please slow down." Shadow exclaimed.

Hearing her name being called, she spun around, holding her staff in the battle postion, ready to fight.

"I did not mean to startle you," Shadow exlained, "its just I heard you were on your way to the Forests of Rithia. Ive heard storys about it, one cleric alone can not do the job. Please let me assist you in your quest." Shadow had opened up a little to much to this stranger. Noticing so, he withdrew and waited for her answer.

Haru could only look at her as she left. Waving good-bye to Nienna, Haru picks up his weapon and begins to move on. The waves crashed against the rocks under his feet and the breeze was going to make him feel sick. There wasn’t anything really to be done but with the note in his hand, Haru knew where next to travel. Taking a look at the piece of paper in his hand once more, Haru leaves the town to his next destination.

“On to Rithia,” commented Haru as he felt his dagger to his side and his lance against his back. It was strange but Haru knew that he would have to travel on his own, but he could also feel that he would miss Nienna. He could only shake the feeling off as he moved out of the town. There was a slight commotion at the local tavern, and as Haru passed, he got a quick glimpse of someone, but not enough to get a good image.

It was a clear day and he was thankful for it. Before Haru found it unwise to travel in bad weather, unless there was no other choice. The sun was bright and the breeze was gentle, no longer did Haru have to stand the smell of salt water in the air. Picking up the pace, Haru looked north, trying to think of how long it would have to take.

“Maybe it would have been best to ask for directions first before I left.” Tilting his head down to the ground, Haru was able to hear the footsteps of someone coming behind him. Think that it would most likely be travelers, Haru grips onto his dagger just in case. Since he was traveling in unknown parts, it would do him good to be prepared for anything.

It wasn’t that long of a walk, but by the looks of the surrounding area, it would have seemed longer. The lands were filled with fields of green and a large forest farther up north, but the part that worried Haru was that there was no sign of life anywhere, other than natures. Taking another look, Haru finds what he was looking for. It was small but it was still something out there that might be of some help. Making his way towards the only village in sight, Haru continues to hear the sounds of footsteps behind him, but something about it was a little different and yet again not something that worried Haru.

Entering the village, Haru noticed that it was the same as outside, empty. Looking around, it seemed to be just a waste of time. There was no one around, nothing was making a sound, and all part the sounds of Haru’s footsteps. Trying to listen to find anything in the village, Haru hears the sounds of footsteps coming closer and closer. Pulling his lance from his side, Haru wait, ready to fight if need be. The sounds were lost just as Haru was looking through this ghost village. Calming down a bit, Haru turns to see if he can find where the footsteps are coming from. Turning the corner, there was nothing to be seen, but as Haru turned to walk away, someone was standing in his way. The figure stood in front of Haru, but for some reason Haru was unable to hear or sense this person behind him.

Not sure what to do, Haru takes out the piece of paper and hands it to the figure in front of him. The figure takes the piece of paper and returns his looks onto Haru. Moving away form Haru to the way out of the town, Haru takes the hint and follows.

The figure leads Haru to the entrance to the forest, but stops dead in its tracks. Returning the piece of paper to Haru, the figure points to the depths of the forest. In an eerie voice the figure informs Haru of what needs to be done.

“Find them and return to town. In two weeks, if not back, no one finds you.”

Unsure what the figure is talking about, Haru turns to look down the forest, and as he returns, the figure is gone. Just as it had come to be in front of Haru, it left in the same manner; without a trace. Not finding the warning to be as important, Haru grips his lance once again and begins to make his way into the forest and hopefully to find an answer to what the piece of paper meant...

Knocking the dirt from her leather boots, Krystianna starts out the door and heads down the road to the north. She glances back at the dwarfs as they travel their separate ways. A smile crosses her face as she watches them go. It had been a funny encounter and perhaps she would meet up with them again one day in her travels... wherever they may lead. She laughs a little and brushes the hair from her eyes as she walks down the road, her oak staff making marks in the dirt every other step. She gazes down the road for a moment and hear ears perk up. The faint sound of footsteps seemed to pass by her ears for just a moment. Not turning back, she squints her eyes in thought.

Are those footsteps? I swear... If some creep from the bar is stalking me he's gonna get a bruise the size of the iron crag...

Hastening her pace a bit, Krystianna kicks up a little dust, a twinge in her stomach. She could probably take on a drunk if it came down to it, but she'd rather not have to fight at this point. She had just cleaned off her robes and white stained too easily.

Not that I get a choice when it comes down to fighting...

"Krystianna, please slow down." A voice suddenly calls from behind. Krystianna whips around, holding her staff out in front of her.

Alright you! Fight you want, fight you get!!!

"I did not mean to startle you," The man explains. "It's just I heard you were on your way to the Forests of Rithia. I've heard stories about it; one cleric alone can not do the job. Please let me assist you in your quest." The man says, backing off and waiting for a reply.

Krystianna blinks, lowering her weapon. The man obviously wasn't drunk and he seemed to be a bit cordial. Definitely not what she'd expected from someone dressed in such dark robes. She squints for a moment, trying to make out his eyes from the shawl the man wears.

Such a foreboding figure... Can I really trust him? ....Well... He seems nice enough. Plus he's not staring at me like a lecher like most guys do. Then again... he's got a gaze that's hard to look at... Almost like...

She shakes her head, coming out of her thoughts. "You're awfully forward." She says, relaxing. "But you're also right. I doubt I can do this by myself." She smirks and walks over to him. "Light and dark. Maybe this'll make a good combination." She holds out her hand from out of her robes to shake his. "You already know my name it seems, but what's yours?"


Alright you! Fight you want, fight you get!!!

"I did not mean to startle you," The man exlains. "It's just I heard you were on your way to the Forests of Rithia. I've heard stories about it; one cleric alone can not do the job. Please let me assist you in your quest." The man says, backing off and waiting for a reply.

Krystianna blinks, lowering her weapon. The man obviously wasn't drunk and he seemed to be a bit cordial. Definately not what she'd expected from someone dressed in such dark robes. She squints for a moment, trying to make out his eyes from the shawl the man wears.

Such a foreboding figure... Can I really trust him? ....Well... He seems nice enough. Plus he's not staring at me like a leacher like most guys do. Then again... he's got a gaze that's hard to look at... Almost like...

She shakes her head, coming out of her thoughts. "You're awfully forward." She says, relaxing. "But you're also right. I doubt I can do this by myself." She smirks and walks over to him. "Light and dark. Maybe this'll make a good combination." She holds out her hand from out of her robes to shake his. "You already know my name it seems, but what's yours?"

As Shadow waited for her replie, He stared past her. Making sure she couldn't tell what he was doing, Shadow could have sworn he saw a figure head into the town.

Why would anyone want to go in there. Then again, he did look like a fighter...maybe a third companion? Shadow thought.

Shadow saw Krystianna shake her head. She had been staring at him the whole time, no it seemed she had made a choice.

"Light and dark, maybe this will be a good combonation," She said, "well you already know my name, whats yours?"

"The names Shadow, glad we could form an alliance." Shadow replied. She extened out her hand, shaking it they move on towards the town. Shadow had been following her most of the way so now they were only a short sprint away. But seeing her when he approached her, Shadow saw she was a little out of breath, so they decided to walk.

Aupon entering the village, Shadow saw once again the figure of the man, this time he was going into the forset.

"Look there," Shadow wispered," that man going into the forest, who do you think he is? Should we try to make him join our quest, since we have the same goal?"

The forest was thick and hard to travel through. Unable to see anything, Haru uses his lance to guide him through the forest. The trees were showing less and less life as Haru traveled father down. There was silence and nothing was making a sound. There were only the sounds of footsteps against the ground was all Haru could here.

"So someone else is on this quest as well. I guess I should welcome them."

Taking out his lance, Haru clears a small area, waiting and preparing to fight if need be. The forest turned very quiet and nothing could really be heard. Waiting, there was nothing really to do. Placing his lance to the ground, Haru started to write something into the ground. It was something that only Haru would be able to read.

There was more footsteps coming closer to where Haru was standing, bring his lance to prepare to attack, there was still no one in sight. Suddenly two figures came into the clearing. Haru wasn't really sure what he was looking at, but they did not seem to be any danger. Placing his lance down, Haru only bows down to the two, waiting to see who they are.

Shadow and Krystianna walked into the clearing that the fighter had cleared. Seeing him bow, Shadow looked away, wondering what to do next. Shadow bowed then started to question him.

"Looking for the missing too? My name is Shadow and this is Krystianna. We agreed to work toeghter, maybe you should join us. You can never be quite sure on what can go on in here." Shadow explained to him.

Shadow found that it was easy for him to open up to people.

Maybe I've been living my life wrong. No time for that now, he looks like he wants to fight rather then be friends.

Shadow stared hard at the man, as did Krystianna. They waited for his answer. When a minute passed and nothing came. Shadow began to advance forward. Slowley walking towards him, the man held up his lance, stopping Shadow. Krystianna moved next to Shadow.

"Well if your not going to be in our team at least say your name," Krystianna demand.

Haru stood still as he looked at the two people in front of him. It was hard to believe that humans would be out this far and away from the cleric tower. It would have to be something Haru asked later. Finding out there names, Haru still remained silent for good reasons. There was something in the forest that did not sound right but it may have just been those who had followed him.

Seeing the male walk towards him, Haru places his lance forward to stop him. Still trying to figure out what was going on, Haru looked back to the both of them. Haru could help but smile as he saw the young female with pink hair, but that soon faded away.

"Well if your not going to be in our team at least say your name," the young girl demanded, whom Haru had found out to be Krystianna. Haru still was silent, as something else seemed to get closer. Watching the male, Haru noticed that he was at least smart enough not to move any closer.

The sudden wind changed and brought Haru attention away from the two known as Shadow and Krystianna. The leaves were making too much sound to be just moving with the wind, it had to be something else. Rushing to shove the male to the ground, Haru was hit by something that struck out of the bushes.

Keeping his grip onto his lance, Haru struggled with the beast on top of him, but soon Haru was able to get it off. The creature stared at everyone it could before running towards Haru to attack. It was fast, and Haru had found that out the hard way. With three bloody claw marks running across his shoulder, Haru turns his lance onto the beast hoping to land a hit. The sound of crushing bones could be heard in the forest as Haru drove his lance straight into the back of the best that attacked. With it’s last yelp, the beast continued to twitch until its death.

Pulling his lance out of the creature’s back, Haru turns away from the corpse to sit down to address his wounds. Blood was still dripping from the wounds, but thankfully, Haru found that it was not as bad as he thought. Pulling out some rags, Haru wraps his shoulder to stop the bleeding, but he couldn’t stop thinking about what the creature was. It looked like a wolf but something about the shape was to weird to be that of a wolf.

Placing his lance next to him, Haru stands up and walks over to Shadow on the ground. Offering his hand, Haru helps Shadow to his feet and walks away to pick up his lance. Coming face to face with the other two Haru finally breaks the silence.

“It is strange when I met you both. I am sorry for what ever you thought about me, but you must understand this, in a forest, there will always be danger. It is just weird to see humans in this part of the Outer Rim. Most Clerics stay in the area of the Cleric Tower, but it is good to see someone different. My name is Harufu Erubishi; it is good to meet you. Sorry again for pushing you down...” There was a small smile on Haru’s face but it was nothing of importance, just something he remembered from his father.

“I do not mind join up with you two, but next time, please be more careful around these parts. Not everyone you meet is as keen on seeing humans as I am. Trust is something not given, it has to be earned.” Haru could only looks towards the two, with lance still strong in his grip.

As Shadow was pushed onto the ground, he became agrivated. But as the beast popped up out of the bushes, Shadow extened his staff. Waiting for the beast to release the the man, Shadow pointed his staff at the two, and started to say his spell.

"Kinthos, allergo..." Shadow wispered. He did not need to utter the last word, for the beast was dead. Noticing that the man was hurt, Shadow tried to stand up, but his legs just wouldn't budge.

The man helped Shadow to his feet after he had tended to his wounds. Shadow heared him say something, but he wasn't listening. He was looking at the beast now lying dead on the ground. Shadow couldn't believe that the man, known as Harufu Erubishi, was able to kill it in a single blow.

Once the Harufu was done talking, Shadow turned trowards Krystianna.
"Are you alright?" Shadow asked her.

From behind a nearby tree, Krystianna listens to the strange lancer as he speaks. “It is strange when I met you both. I am sorry for what ever you thought about me, but you must understand this, in a forest, there will always be danger. It is just weird to see humans in this part of the Outer Rim. Most Clerics stay in the area of the Cleric Tower, but it is good to see someone different. My name is Harufu Erubishi, it is good to met you. Sorry again for pushing you down... I do not mind join up with you two, but next time, please be more careful around these parts. Not everyone you meet is as keen on seeing humans as I am. Trust is something not given, it has to be earned.”

Harufu Erushibi, huh? Hope he doesn't mind being called 'Haru'...

"That's a good policy." Krystianna says a bit bluntly, stepping out from behind the tree where she had ducked earlier upon seeing the monster. She picks a few leaves from her hair and walks over to the two. "The one about trust, I mean. Though it's much more fun to give it out freely." She laughs a bit, patting Shadow's shoulder lightly and looking at Harufu.

He did a good job patching his wound up... I'm sure he'll be ok for now. No use wasting energy on a healing spell, I'm sure we'll be in much more dire situations than this one later on... Especially if what he said about the forest is true. Heh... if I can trust what he says of course.

"Are you alright?" Shadow says suddenly.

Krystianna turns to the black robed mage and nods. She chuckles lightly. "Of course I am. Our skilled friend here did most of the fighting in case you didn't notice." She glances over at the lancer's shoulder for a moment and starts walking towards the slain wolf monster. She pauses in mid-stride and turns her head to him. "Just tell me if it hurts too much." With that, she heads to the body and kneels down in front of it. Without hesitation, she pries the dead beast's jaws open and looks into its mouth.

Phew... what a stench... Must've been snacking on a skunk or something...

She sighs and runs her finger through its teeth and around it's gums. After a minute or two, she shakes her head and wipes her fingers on its fur. She turns to the two warriors with a slightly annoyed expression. "There's nothing in its teeth. I thought we might find bits of clothing in them if this thing had decided to snack on one of the villagers." She gets up and shakes her hand off, it still feeling kind of gross. "Fortunately that's not the case." She smiles a bit and clenches her staff tightly, keeping her ears open for anymore rustling. "I don't suppose you guys have any suggestions as to how we go about this..."

The green cloaked ranger Tonio Asura sits on one of the greater branches of the elaborate network of trees that makes up the forest. His rapier is sheathed and to his side, his brown hair scattered with a few twigs from climbing up the tree. His eyes look around the surrounding area, checking for any nearby enemies that might be present, though for the most part, his focus is rather on what to do now. He had set his sights on heading to Avalon originally, having heard the stories of a gateway leading to a darker dimension there. However, when he arrived, it looked more like preperations for war than anything else. He couldn't simply slip into an armed fortress as easily as he could slip into a town or forest, so he instead retreated back to ports and bough a ticket to the Outer Rim. He had heard similar ruins might be found among the scattered islands that make up the quasi-continent.

The sound of voices drift to the ranger's ear: two male and one female. In his time as a warrior, one of his greatest senses to grow was his hearing, which had helped him out in many battles. In the night, it was far more useful for a human to rely on hearing rather than sight, as sight may be tricked far more easily with the darkness. A moments failure in perception could lead to death in a heated battle and in the very process of surviving, his senses grew. Sight, hearing, and intuition were the primary things that had grown in the ranger though. Sight to see what attempted not to be seen, hearing to hear what may be approaching, and intuition to judge what was attempting to be carried out.

The ranger quickly wraps his cloak further around himself, willing himself not to be seen. In his current state, only the most skilled of hunters would be able to spot him and than for only a fleeting moment likely. The ranger shifts among the tree branches, the only sound being what could easily be mistaken as leaves rustling among the trees. The ranger draws closer to the edge of the forest as he moves, seeking out the sound of the voices as they continue to talk amongst each other. As he draws closer, he can, from bits of the conversation, perceive that they must be on some sort of mission into the forest. From rumors the boy had heard, he assumed some form of monsters were supposedly taking the local population into the forest.

As the ranger draws nearer to the edge of the forest, he spots the group of three planning what to do next. One elf, which was common in the Outer Rim, and two humans, which was certainly not as common. Humans proclaimed witches were really the only ones that came to the Outer Rim, so chances are both of them had magical abilities. The elf carried a lance and likely was skilled at it too, judging by the puncture wounds in a nearby wolf-like beast that had been slain. The elf might have been able to spot him in the trees if it wasn't for the Will of Sight he had learned as a ranger. Tonio draws back in the trees a bit just to make sure, keeping an eye on this party from concealment until he might be forced from his hiding.

"Of course I am. Our skilled friend here did most of the fighting in case you didn't notice." Krystianna replied. She walked past him and opened the jaws of the dead beast.

This girl is tougher then she looks. I didn't think clerics would be so...

Shadows thoughts left him. He glanced around him. The hour was getting late.

"So how should we go about this?" Asked Krystianna.

"Well I suggest we dont split up. You never know whats out there." Shadow replied.

They stood there for a while, thinking of what to do next. Shadow walked over to one of the nearby trees. It looked old, nearly dead. Shadow propped himself up on it. Several branchs fell down onto him. He dodged them then propped up again. Shadow thought nothing of the branches, or why they might fall. The tree still looked strong enough to hold them. Shadow sat there, alert for anything gripping his staff.

I have been living my life wrong. I've been living in shadow, when I prefered light.

Shadow released a long breath, he was growing tired.

There were no clues to direct where to go. Haru could only stand there, hoping an answer would come. After the creature was slain, the forest returned to an eerie silence. Now and then, a gentle breeze would travel through the leaves but nothing to get worried about. Turning to face the creature that attacked, Haru makes his way next to it. With a slight pray, Haru strikes the ground next to the creature. It was small but Haru tapped the creature to move it into its grave. Moving to the closest tree, Haru takes some of the leaves and throws them with the creature. To end the ceremony, Haru uses his lance once again to cover the grave with dirt and allow the creature to rest in peace.

Shaking off the dirt on his lance, Haru returns to the clearing to find the rest of the group. The forest was full of danger, but there was still something about the creature attacking that brought questions to Haru’s mind. When he was fighting with the creature, it seemed that it was afraid of something else within the forest. Finding Shadow and Krystianna, Haru is still unsure of what to think.

“Its weird. The creature that attacked seemed to be a wolf, but there is still something I don’t get. If it was a wolf, then where is the wolf pack? The creature was too strong not to be an alpha so it can’t be alone. The only question is if there is more of them waiting for us? As for what we can do next, it would be best to make our way in ways of the forest. The creature came from the North, so that is where we will travel. Haru looked around to see if the others approved. The wind was picking up, and with it something new traveled. Not bothering too understand what was with the wind, Haru just grabs his lance and makes his way North, hoping to find some answers.

“Your only human...” Haru comments before entering deeper into the woods.

"You're only human...” Harufu says, as he walks north, heading deeper into the woods.

Krystianna sighs inwardly, and shakes her head as she follows a couple of feet behind him. "Yeah yeah... thanks for reminding me..." She says in a sarcastic but particularly biting tone of voice.

Sheesh... not like it was MY fault I wasn't born an elf. We don't exactly get to choose who we are right off the bat. Bah. Not that it matters. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that was his way of saying "Be careful."

She shakes her head lightly, clenching her staff, her inner monologue showing no signs of letting up.

Now that I think about it... That time in the tavern couldn't have been the first time I've heard about this town's problems... There must've been other rumors I've heard in the larger towns... ...yeah... come to think of it I may have heard of something about people never returning while I was back in the tower. ...I wasn't really paying much attention of course... they never say anything important over there. All they do is pray pray pray.. it's enough to make a girl sick. Honestly don't ANY of them believe in getting out and DOING something? ....um... Now what I thinking about? Oh right!! The rumors. Geez I'm spacey today... maybe it's the forest. It does have a really creepy aura around it. Really makes you feel like you're being watched at all times...

A shiver runs up her spine. She shakes the feeling off of her for a second and glances back at Shadow.

Come to think of it, he's been looking pretty thoughtful this whole trip as well... But it didn't seem to be out of fear... more like he was doing some soul searching. Aaahh... maybe I'm overanalyzing.

She chuckles at herself for a second and re-focuses her eyes on what's in front of her. She takes a few steps forward and suddenly stops, noticing a well-blended snake slithering in the opposite direction a few feet away from them. She squints at it for a moment and smirks.

Running away little one? Not from me you're not...

"Be right back. Don't wait up." She says quietly, stepping to the side towards the snake. With a quick leap to a nearby tree, standing on its roots to avoid crunching the scattered leaves on the forest floor. She leans over and watches the snake as it coils up, sensing her presence. She squints at the serpent's head for a few moments in thought.

Aahh.... hah! A sickweed snake, huh? You're gonna be useful...

Gripping her staff, she steps closer to the snake as it coils up watching her every movement. Krystianna smirks and runs her tongue along her lower lip, eyeing the snake right back. She takes a cautious step forward and the snake lunges. Krystianna whips her foot backwards and plants the end of her staff into the snake's neck. The serpent thrashes about for a little while as Krystianna keeps it pinned to the ground, reaching into her robes with her free hand. She pulls out an empty perfume bottle and smirks, kneeling down to the snake's jaw. "Calm down you little viper. There's a reason bandits use your poison you know..." She shifts the staff up to the snakes head and presses her thumb down on the back of the snake's neck. With a hiss, its jaws open and Krystianna slips the perfume bottle over one of its fangs. Soon, the bottle being very small, the has a quarter-bottle full. She laughs a little and grabs the snake's tail, sticking it into its own jaw. "It's cause your easy to catch...." She smirks and tosses the snake into the forest almost Frisbee like. With a final chuckle, she slides the bottle back into her robes and runs to catch up with Haru and Shadow.

Too bad this poison doesn’t kill. It just causes a violent stomach ache... plus it only stays potent for a few hours... Oh well, nice to know I've got some defense other than my staff...

She chuckles from a private joke.

Shadow was thinking the whole time Haru was talking. Shadow noticed him moveing north. Shadow got up, shaking off the leaves that had fallen on him. He moved swiftly, tree to tree, following Haru. The hour was growing late and the dim light that was in the forest was almost completly gone.

"Be right back. Don't wait up." Krystianna whispered. Shadow wondered what she good possibly be up to. No matter, she can take care of herself. Still, something in Shadow told him to follow her. He ignored the thought and kept on with Haru.

Shadow looked around. He could almost see the end of the forest.

"How big is this forest anyway?" Shadow asked. When no one answered, he stopped walking.

I don't understand. Why wont anyone LISTEN to me. Am I really that creepy?!

Shadow heard a swish of cloths come from somewhere. It was real faint, but he could hear it.

"What was that?" He asked.

Haru could here that the others had left, but that didn’t matter. They were able to take care of themselves, but if anything would happen, Haru would be there to help out. The forest was deeper than expected, but there was still something to be found. Using his lance to clear a path, Haru continued top push forward, regardless of what could be coming. There was still nothing but silence to be heard. It was becoming a problem walking as the forest became denser and denser. Soon it was impossible to move any more, and that was where Haru stayed. Kneeling down, Haru waited for the rest of the group to catch up.

With the others somewhere else, Haru turns to make sure that everything keeps quiet. Moving a few branched out of the way; Haru was able to get a clue as to what they were looking for. As before, Haru was able to get a glance at more creatures he had already fought with. This was the pack he was thinking about. Still looking on, Haru could see that there was someone who was not a creature but a slave.

It was an elf surrounded by the pack. The look of fear on her face told Haru that she was there against her will. Taking a closer look, Haru could also see that the elf girl was in chains. “How could she be in chains?” Haru looked to the pack to see if there was anyway to help her out. Nothing really showed itself. It happened too fast for Haru to prevent it, but behind him, he heard the cracking of leaves and dead branches. Looking back to silence the noise, Haru found it a waste of time, for the pack had heard the noise as well.

Turning back to see the reaction of the pack, all Haru was able to see that only the young girl but nothing else. Worried about what to do, Haru grasp his lance and runs out to free the girl. Making his way into the clearing, Haru takes out his dagger and strikes against the chains. With the chains shattered in pieces, Haru returns his dagger to his side and tries to talk to the young girl.

“Young one, are you alright?” There was no response from the girl; only the look of fear was still on her face. As soon as Haru picked her up to her feet, she just dropped to the ground. Now Haru was able to hear the others come into the clearing as well, but there was the matter of the pack to still worry about. Haru’s worry was answered as the rest of the pack soon surrounded everyone. It was something Haru was expecting, but now with a smile on his face, he was ready to fight.

Turning to the Cleric, Haru hands her the young girl and prepares his lance. “Please look after her, she may know something of use to us.” Turning back Haru moves forward to protect the Cleric and young elf. Looking at the numbers, Haru was surprised at the amount of creatures. Facing Shadow, Haru makes a small attempt to lighten the mood.

“So it is about 200 to 4. I think those odds are good.” With that said, Haru turns his attention back to the pack, waiting for there first move,” well this should be fun.”

When Shadow heard the ruffle of cloths, he looked around. He also saw the girl. A pack of the same creature Haru had slain was surrounding her. Shadow stepped cautiously towards Haru. Unfortunetly, he stepped on a twig. He looked around. The creatures were gone.

Shadow saw Haru step into the clearing. Shadow found Krystianna and headed after him. Once all 3 of them had stepped into the clearing, the wolves returned.

"So it's about 200 to 4. I think those odds are good." Haru said. Shadow nodded at him and smiled. He looked around at the wolves, staring them in the eyes. They started to advance.

"On 3, we attack, got that?" Haru whispered to Shadow. Shadow nodded and Haru started to count down. "1.....2......3!!!!!" Haru exclaimed the final number. He lifted his lance and went charging into the swarm. Shadow follow.

With all the swiftness and fluid motions of the breeze, Tonio follows the group that seeks deeper into the forest. At the moment, he continues to keep himself completely hidden from sight, examining what they do and the personalities they appear to have. The ranger takes careful notice of the elf known as Harufu being careful to keep his movements silent, while the two humans are obviously not caring about stealth at all. They were certainly not raised as fighters of any sort, as even the least wise of warriors could understand the value of stealth while moving in small groups or large groups. A small group moving through a forest could easily be ambushed many times, as the ranger himself could do if for one moment he didn't trust their intentions. His blade would be swift and able to defeat the mages with ease before turning to the lancer. Of course, their intentions seemed nothing but just, especially when they moved to free a young elf from her chains. Certainly no villian would randomly help other beings.

His blade rests calmly at his side as a large grouping of wolf-like beasts that were advancing at the group. The group formed a sort of circle as they draw closer, bracing themselves for an inevitable attack. Each of the warriors would have to defeat about fifty wolves each to survive; that or draw them away at least. Even the lancer, the most fighting capable of the group, could not hope to defeat that many alone. However, the mages likely had some form of power he had not recognized yet. He recalled fighting a cleric before, one who managed to heal wounds towards the brink of death, which would surely allow them to fight longer. However, how long could the cleric last while the mage and lancer fought? That was a question that the boy was incapable of answering at the moment.

Of course, he could always go to the ground level and help them himself. His skills could likely prove invaluable to the small group: the ranger has trained in the arts of war since he was a child, something that was part of the regular duty of the Ariona family in the realm he was from. After all, for years the title Ariona had been used to dignify somebody as a true warrior, one who fought with skill for the light. While Tonio himself had never gained that title through the reasons that made the title so famous among warriors, he had learned the skills of fighting to the point that he could slay most opponents. With further training that he had gained in his travels, he was more than a match for a bunch of wolves with some help.

However, his mind drifted towards other possibilities. The most prominent of these was the fact that this fight could be used as a method of judging the group. He decides to let that decision be the one for the moment, the ranger drawing his hand away from the rapier hilt that it had slipped towards. However, he stops hiding his position as noticibly, instead sitting calmly on a tree branch and watching the fight. In the heat of battle, the party would not be able to notice him until the match started to draw to a close. Also, without the excess energy being placed towards keeping himself from being seen, it made it much easier to jump into the fight at a moment's notice to help out.

I'm getting a sinking feeling....

Krystianna thinks as she scans the horde of monsters. It doesn't take long to tell they're out numbered. She swallows, listening to the growls coming from the pack. A takes a step back, closer to Harufu, who suddenly turn to her and hands the elf-girl to her. “Please look after her, she may know something of use to us.” He says turning back to the beast pack with a hint of a smile on his face.

"Leave it to me." Krystianna says, holding the girl up in her arms. Forgetting the monsters for the moment, she brushes strands of hair from the elf's face and stares into her eyes, trying to analyze her condition.

It almost looks like she's in shock.... ...No obvious wounds... maybe a few scrapes but... there’s really nothing else wrong with her. I’d need a better time to look her over and now… really isn’t time.

Krystianna's ears perk up hearing Harufu talking to shadow. “So it is about 200 to 4. I think those odds are good.”
She laughs painfully and shakes her head.

Oooooohh boy. ....I hope that's an exaggeration... In any case, I hope our mage friend doesn't spare the horsepower with those spells of his. He'd better cast some wiiiiide range ones.

Krystianna shakes her head and looks around the area. She readies herself, in case she'd have to pick the girl up and make a break for it or at least dodge something. She bites her lip in worry as Shadow and Harufu start the battle. A thought crosses her mind.

We may not survive this... It might be better to just attack one point in the pack and make a break for it... OH what am I saying!? We can't out run a pack of wolves!! That's just crazy... Yeah brilliant plan moron... Siiiiigh* Maybe we could keep them at bay with a brush fire... Rrg... if I could control the winds I could spread some of my poison in a mist and take them out... AAaaaah... curse my pacifistic style of spells... Why didn't mom teach me something useful for a battle?!

She grabs her staff from the ground and holds it up, as if bopping a wolf on the head would do much of anything.

The pack was everywhere and only with a few people who were able to fight. Haru smiled and knew that it would be an interesting fight. Running towards the wolves, Haru prepared his lance to attack. There may have been too many to fight but at least Haru would give them hell.

“One down, only hundreds to go.” Haru commented as he looked towards Shadow. He was waiting for him to do something, but with more wolves coming towards his, Haru had to turn his attention back to the wolves. Moving away from the cleric and the elf girl, Haru tries to lure the creatures away from them, but more were following him that he expected.

Standing with about twelve wolves around him, Haru finds that he is no longer able to move any farther. He had to do something really soon. Closing his eyes, Haru prepares to attack anything that comes his way. One of the wolves jumps forward to attack Haru, but as it got closer, Haru opens his eyes and uses a devastating attack.

“Lance Spin” Haru yells out, as he spins his lance horizontally, slicing through each of the creatures, splitting each of their faces in two. Haru was able to kill all but one of them. The wolf backs up, but Haru sees it and chases after it. Picking up pace, Haru gets right next the creature and strikes down on to it. With a yelp and the sounds of bones crushing under metal, the creature was dead, but others turned towards Haru and made their way to attack him.

Striking each that came towards him, Haru was unable to stop every one of them. Few were able to avoid his attacks and were also able to make their own hit Haru. With his lance, dripping with blood from the creatures, Haru begins to take deeper breaths as more were coming.

“Well this has been fun. Hey Shadow, how many have you been able to get. I’m at about forty right now but there is still allot more to come.”

With more creatures surrounding Haru, he turns his attention to the elf girl. She was not moving much, but she at least was moving slightly. Seeing a wolf running behind the cleric, Haru turns and tries his best to help them out. Calling upon the wind, Haru begins to use a lance spin, but instead of using his lance as a weapon, Haru sends a strong wind to attack the wolf. He was only able to push it away from attacking them, but soon Haru runs past the cleric and strikes the wolf.

“Are you Ok?” Haru turned to see the cleric, but there were still more to finish off. Unable to get a response, Haru returns his gaze onto a wolf jumping him, causing him to fall to the ground. Unable to move, Haru struggles with the creature but soon he is able to get the wait off of his chest. Coming face to face with the creature, it was allot bigger than the rest of the pack but it still would not be match. Seeing the wolf rush towards him, Haru prepares to use another lance spin to finish off the creature. As Haru begins to spin his lance, the wolf continues to charge forward, but instead of being hit by the lance, the creature jumps above the attack and pins the lance to the ground.
Finding that his attack did not work, Haru looks to the wolf standing on his lance. Pulling it from under the wolf, Haru steps back, but strangely so does the wolf. Being about ten paces away from each other, the creature charges once again towards Haru.

Haru smiles as he tries to think of something else to use as an attack. Haru places his lance parallel with the ground but stands still waiting for the wolf to cone closer.

“I just this would be the best time to use it,” commented Haru as he concentrated on the wind and on hios lance. Slowly but the breeze began to increase but the only direction it would take was straight into the lance in Haru’s hands. The lance soon began to glow with a slight green color, but Haru still held his ground. When the wolf was close enough, Haru thrusted, sending his lance forward straight into the body of the wolf. The wolf was hit back and slammed into the closest tree, but its body did not stop. The wind continued to travel in the same path, pushing the wolf through the tree itself, and crushing what was left of the wolf’s body.

Smiling a little more, Haru returns to the rest of the pack waiting to see what was next. The group was still surrounded but more wolves seemed to be encircling them. Now they were bigger and seemed to get stronger. Haru looked to each of them, only concerned with one thing. The only wolf he wanted to fight was the true alpha of the pack. He was unable to see the true alpha, so the only option left was to attack until the alpha showed itself.

“So what can we do now? This is fun, but it is becoming a problem with the strength they are now showing. It seems that they were only sending the weakest of the pack to fight, but now we should be seeing the better of the pack.” Haru looked towards his lance, and it was now stained with the blood of all the creatures he had killed, “This is going to be a pain to get out.” Haru wipes his lance across the ground, but was not able to completely remove all of the blood.

A wolf came rushing straight into the group hoping to get something. Haru strikes at the creature but he was unable to finish it off. It still moved and began to attack again. The final strike finished the creature but Haru soon noticed that he was unable to take out his lance from the body of the creature. Looking to the dead wolf, Haru steps on the body, and attempts to lift his lance out. Getting it out, Haru saw that there were still bits of the creature stuck to the lance, and nothing he could do would remove the remains of the creature.

Haru turns to the rest of the pack, hoping that everyone was all right. Taking his attention away from the dead creature, Haru looks to the others to see if they have a plan to deal with what was left of the pack. As Haru turns his back, something strikes out and digs into his back. Pulling away from what ever attacked, Haru sees that the creature that he killed was not quite dead. Now instead on running on all fours, it now was standing on its hind legs and was swinging to attack.

“Well this is new.” Haru pulled back and was looked on as the standing creature returned to the rest of the pack. As Haru tried to chase after it, he was unable to move far as the pain from his shoulder caused him to kneel to the ground. Haru could only watch as the rest of the pack surrounded the standing wolf. Thinking that they would just kill their wounded, Haru found himself to be very wrong. Instead, each of the wolves began to face the group, protecting the standing wolf.

“What can we do now? I will not stop fighting. Not now, not ever.” Haru slowly rose to his feet but that was about all he could do. Holding his lance, Haru was prepared to attack, if there was a reason to do so.

Shadow saw Haru bum rush the wolves. Once he left, more attacked. "Stand back!" Shadow yelled to Krystianna. He starts chanting and instantly there is a huge waterfall that comes crashing down onto the lead wolf. The current flows up and knocks over the remaining wolves.

Shadow looked around and saw that the trees were a bit lesser in strength then before. He summons forth his element of earth and starts to pick up large trees and hurl them and the wolves. They don't do much to hurt them, but they get pinned down and pushed back until Haru can come finish them off. Shadow whirls around and sees a rock, fairly large. Better use that when it’s needed Shadow thought.

Once again, Shadow calls on earth to help him and instantly, a tall cliff, shoots out of the ground. It picks up wolves. All of it happened so quick, that the creatures couldn't dodge it. Just in the same time it came, the tower of stone goes back into the ground. As it does so, the wolves fall a great length and hit the ground with a slam.

"So Shadow, how much you got, I've done about 40." Haru asked. Shadow smirks at him, then dodges as a wolf leaps at him. Turning, Shadow conks it on the head before it gets past him. The beast falls, and Shadow turns back to the larger groups.

"Krystianna, I need you to help me. Make a gust of wind when I tell you to. Got that?" Shadow commanded her. When she nods, Shadow turns to a group of about 10 or so. He lifts up a tree, and lays it flat on them. Next he casts a flame blast and throws it at the fallen tree. "NOW!!" Shadow yelled at her.

A gust of wind moves over the flame that Shadow released, and it instantly grows larger. His flame hits the tree, setting it ablaze. The creatures under it die instantly. To finish his move, Shadow cast a cleansing falls onto the flame, putting it out. Just make sure you don't burn down the forest. He told himself.

The wolves backed off a little, and attention shifted to Haru. In front of him was a wolf. But it was on two legs. Shadow saw that Haru was injured. "What can we do know?" Haru asks, "I will not stop fighting, not now, not ever."

"Neither will I." Shadow said as he stepped next to Haru.

There was something wrong with the way the wolves were lining up. It was something about the one who could stand on its hind legs, that the rest of the group was trying to protect it. But with the numbers and the condition of his shoulder, Haru was unable to figure out what to do. The only thing he could think of was just a basic attack, and hope everything would workout.

‘Shadow, what spells are you able to use?”

Haru couldn’t really wait for a response; instead he made sure that he was ready for anything that would come. Seeing that the wolves were making there way closer, Haru took very few steps in the same direction. Seeing that the pack was ready to attack, Haru took hold of his lance and prepared to fight.

Only few of the creatures were coming closer to attack, but the one on its hind legs still made its way closer. Haru could feel that the blood had at least stopped flowing from his shoulder, but he was unsure if he could use that arm for a while. Trying his best, Haru lifts his lance and strikes the closest creature to him. Still attacking any of the creatures that came close, Haru was sure that Shadow would be able to take care of those who had gotten past.

Soon Haru became face to face with the creature on its hind legs. The rest of the pack stayed behind, but nothing else was really happening. The creature did not attack Haru but there was something that did not feel right. Haru could hear Shadow begin a spell, and he hopes that Shadow at least waits until things get cleared up a bit.

“So you must be the alpha then.” Haru looked deep into the eyes of the creature but he knew that he would not get an answer. The creature wanted a fight and nothing more. Lifting up his lance, Haru walks a few paces away and begins to walk a circle around the area in which the creature stood. Dragging his lance in the dirt, a small ring was formed holding both the creature and Haru. Looking back to Shadow, Haru could see that he had not let down the spell.

Shadow, watch the rest of the pack, if it seems that they will interfere, then you can attack them with what ever you got, but this will be my fight.” Haru hoped that Shadow would listen for the moment, but he couldn’t be sure what to expect.

Coming back to face the creature, Haru prepares for the fight that was to come. Looking at the creature, Haru only nods to it, making sure that it is ready to fight. Even though the creature was already wounded from Haru’s blade, he was as well hurt, so the match would be even.

“I don’t want anyone to interfere, OK. Even if I am close to death, do not help me. I want to fight the way I want.” Haru turns to the tops of the trees to make sure that everything he said was taken seriously. Now it was time to face it, but how long it would take, Haru was unsure of.

The creature was the first to attack. Hitting Haru to the ground, the creature was able to keep the advantage in the fight. Haru could only roll away each time the creature tried to attack. The dirt became unsettled, and soon there was nowhere else to roll away from. The creature showed a make shift smile and pulled back to attack Haru. Slamming its claws down to the ground, Haru was only about to defend himself by using his lance to prevent the claws from hitting him. It was close and Haru was able to feel the tips of its claws scratching the surface of his breastplate, any closer and it would have been over.

Hearing his name from behind, Haru is unable to see who was calling out to him, but he could not really care for the answer at the present time. He could hear his name again but the claws were getting closer and closer, and Haru was losing his grip on his lance. Not really sure what to do, Haru tries his best to make his way under the claws of the creature. The creature was breathing faster and deeper but it still used most of its weight against Haru.

Taking a chance, Haru grabs the neck of the creature and tries to make his way out. Moving slowly away from under the creature, Haru finally gets to his feet and pulls his lance away from the creature. Holding still, Haru tries to aim his lance to finish the creature off. Trusting his lance forward, his weapon is suddenly stopped from piecing the chest of the creature. Looking down to his weapon, Haru notices that the creature is holding his lance back.

“Damn it all,” Haru looks at the face of the creature, “you are not going to make this easy are you?”

It seemed to be nothing but a deadlock between Haru and the creature. Now no one had the advantage, but someone was going to lose. Haru could only keep his attention to the creature but he was only able to spend a few seconds to see that the pack was moving closer, each showing their teeth. Haru could hear that Shadow was making a spell ready to use if the pack moved any closer.

Haru stayed locked with the creature, but there was no way to get the advantage. The creature continued to snap at Haru, but thankfully, it was unable to get any closer. Haru had to keep his grip tight or else the creature would get a chance to attack him. It would be took much of a risk to let go, but that seemed to be the only thing Haru could do to end the match, the only thing was that it may not be Haru who wins. Images of Nienna and hope begin to flash past Haru as he and the creature were standing in the same stance.

“This is it…”

As Haru made the circle, Shadow started to chant. With this chant, he held up two trees. If he moved quick enough, he might be able to cast a flame blast, and set the trees ablaze like he did before. No, I can't. I wasted a good amount of energy in that. I did it again, I would faint for sure.

Shadow remained concentrated and watched the fight progress. Shadow was wondering, why Haru hadn't asked Krystianna to heal him. This man has a lot of selfpride. Shadow shook, and the spell was almost lost. Luckily, he regained his concentration and the trees did not fall. Instead, they shook, like something was climbing in them. No one paid attention to it. Shadow concentrated harder now more then ever. Come on Haru. I can't hold this much longer.

Tonio saw as the party was starting to be pushed back by the mob of wolves that he would not have to wait for much longer. A wolf, standing oddly on its hind legs, might be the alpha or some strangely manipulated beast of some sort. Either way, the party he was watching was slowly losing its strength against the endless swarms, so he would certainly have to step in. By the looks of it, the elf had quite a bit of honor, which was the last swing towards the ranger's judgement that he should step in to help out.

The boy grips his rapier's hilt tighter, pulling the blade slowly out with the sound of metal on metal echoing through the air. The ranger crouches a bit, examining the best angle of attack into the fray as the standing wolf manages to push Harufu the lancer back a bit, the steel of his sword sending a brief flash of light in all directions. The ranger pushes himself forward towards one of the wolves that are watching the fight, blade cleaving into the back of one of the larger creatures in the fray, angle carefully chosen in order to strike into the spinal cord. The blade slips across the spinal cord, severing the nervous connections and bringing the beast to its inevitable death, even as blood splashes out of the wound from the sudden pressure change, the color red staining more of the forest ground that had not already seen bloodshed. The ranger does not stop at this moment however. His feet nimbly land on the ground, Tonio pushes himself past the lancer and mage, his blade held downwards towards the ground as he moves. His blade again sweeps up in a wide arc, cleaving through the right leg of another wolf in midair, ending a pouncing motion against the cleric. As the wolf drops to the ground with a thud from the sudden compressing motion, the ranger holds his sword pointed forward once again towards the pack of enemies, grinning a bit.

"Krystianna is your name, no? You should watch your back more often girl." His sword again sweeps out in a fluid arc, cutting across the muzzle of another beast that comes too close to his circle of protection. Some of the wolves draw back a bit, cautious of the newcomer and his sword skills, though the surprise wouldn't last long in wolves. For the moment though, the wolves wouldn't be able to penetrate where he lies in wait, ready to strike at any given moment.

"Oh. And you, Shadow. Save your spells for defending the two girls. I'm sure the elf can take care of himself. After all, they've acted like they could for years." The ranger makes his quick judgement of the situation for a brief second, his body dropping into a light, fluid stance quickly. The boy then quickly leaps forward, his speed taking him into the pack of wolves before they can react. Using the speed as an enhancer to the strike, the ranger makes a broad, sweeping cut at the enemy targets, blade cutting through flesh and muscle, pushing the pack back a bit more. His attacks then become more focused: a quick low horizontal slash to cut the hamstrings, a quick slice in an upwards diagonal across bloody veins in the neck, a sidestep followed by the blade being brought down into the spinal cord. Every move is fluid, allowing him to move to the side of claws and teeth, the wolves unable to touch him as the cloaked ranger retreats back towards the grouping of people.

"Hmm... wolves usually don't act this way. They generally don't have much taste for humans." Almost half-heartedly, the ranger swings out his rapier again, ducking down his body a bit to allow a pouncing wolf to gut itself on his blade. The rapier should have normally been dripping with blood, though that was far from the case. The speed of his strikes were fast, not even allowing blood to stain his rapier. However, many wolves were left, and eventually blood may need to stain it.

Haru could only keep his attention on the creature he was facing. It was something in the air, but at the moment, he could not be concerned with it. Hearing another voice, Haru turns slightly to see someone else join in the fight. Not really available for words, Haru just tightens his grip onto the creature’s neck. Sooner or later the creature would have to breath, and then Haru would be able to strike. The sounds of bodies becoming destroyed at high speeds echoed throughout the forest. Haru didn’t need to hear the sounds as a strain of blood splashes across his chest.

“OK that was not what I need at the moment,” commented Haru as he tried not to laugh. He knew that he would smell like a wolf until he would be able to find a place to wash. Out in the forest, the idea was harder to accept than anything really.

The creature was losing strength faster than Haru, but it was still able to keep a strong grip on Haru’s lance. Even though Haru had the creature by the neck, he could start to hear words coming form the creature. At first Haru didn’t even bother to take notice and only thought of them as nothing but growls of a dying creature. Haru could hear that more wolves were coming into the area, but he could only hope that the others could take care of what was coming. The idea came to him, but being able to do so would be the problem. Turning towards the others, Haru gave them the only warning he could think of.

“You most not get any closer, hold on to something and make sure you hold on tight.” Haru hoped that they heard his words and understood what he was taking about. Even if they didn’t, they would find out soon enough.

Concentrating as much as he can, Haru begins to chant a small spell that would take allot out of him. He could only hope that nothing interfered or else the worst could happen. Keeping his position with the creature, Haru prepares to give it his all. More of the spell could be heard but it was working. The wind does not seem to have an end, but it begins to pick up as Haru says more and more. Soon it seemed that the wind was the only thing between Haru and the rest of the angry pack. Now changing direction, the wind began to spin around just Haru. It was faster than before but Haru had not stopped chanting. Instead of traveling around Haru, the wind slowly revolved around the tip of Haru’s lance and the claws of the creature.

“This has not been done in a while but this fight calls for the best I can offer.”

The wind continued to revolve around the lance and small cuts could be seen on the claws of the creature. Soon nothing of the tip of the lance could be seen. The wind became too strong, and soon the dirt around Haru began to shift away from where he stood. The trees began to sway as well, as soon it wouldn’t be too long.

With a smile on his face, Haru turns to the creature in front of him. There wasn’t really anything said. Haru began to tighten his grip on the neck of the creature and when it finally gave in and took a breath, Haru found the chance he was waiting for. Not waiting for any reaction, Haru twists his grip on the creature, causing it to loosen its grip on his lance. Instead of pushing forward his weapon, Haru drops to the ground with his lance. With the right moment, Haru jumps from the ground, striking the creature in the chest but missing its head. Haru wasn’t done with the creature, but above it, Haru began to finish what he started. Haru turns to face the ground and with his lance under him pointing down, Haru begins to fall. Coming within striking range, Haru pulls his lance up above his body but before he falls into the creature, Haru continues with his action and slams his lance straight into the head of the creature.

The creature’s head was split in two, but that did not stop it. The creature was able to grab Haru with its claws and pierced through his leg. Holding on to Haru, the creature threw him as hard as it could. Haru flew through the air and hit against a tree, but the rest of the group could hear the sounds of his ribs breaking. The creature began to make its way towards Haru, but it still had his lance embedded into its skull. It grabbed him once again and began to squeeze Haru, trying to crush him into powder.

All the while, Haru continued to have a smile on his face. Only his left arm was free but that still did not make a difference. The creature may not have found out what was funny, but it would have its own fun with Haru. Lifting Haru into the air, the creature began to slam him into the ground. It continued with its actions, but nothing was really done back to the creature. After a few times coming in contact with the ground, Haru was ready to finish what was done. When the creature lifted Haru into the air to slam him down once more, it was what Haru was waiting for.

“Wrong move.” Haru was able to reach his lance and with a few final words a gust of wind began to crush into the skull of the creature. Much like what happened with its claws, the wind around the lance began to spread apart the skull of the creature. Haru kept his grip onto the lance and knew that he could not let go. More and more wind began to pour into the skull and sooner of later, Haru would not be able to keep his grip. The creature was not letting go but it also did not even move a bit.

“Let me show you what the wind can really do!” Haru thrust his lance down more, driving the wind down through the creature. There were the sounds of bones being crushed under the pressure of the wind, and a sudden gush of blood began to hit against Haru. With the creature split in two, Haru gets out of its grip, but it was not over. There was the rest of the pack to deal with. Haru walked next to the cleric and elf girl but that was all he could do. He could only watch as the new person and Shadow fought with what was left of the pack. Haru saw that there were few wolves left, and he was forced to the ground, letting the others to finish the rest of the pack.

“Well this has been fun.”

"Kyyyyaaaahhh!!!!!" Krystianna yells, clubbing a wolf that had managed to break through at unbelievable assaults Haru and Shadow continued to produce. The wolf's head bobs and it's stunned temporarily. Without a second to spare, Krystianna leaps at the beast and plunges the pointier end of her staff into the beast's eye. It howls and covers its eye with its paw, twitching. With another overhead clubbing, the wolf whimpers and collapses to the ground. Krystianna pants, clenching her staff tightly in her hands. "S-stupid... wolf..." She whispers to herself, turning back to the elf-girl. Things had gotten intense in the last few minutes. Haru was focused on attacking the leader of the pack and had made clear he wanted no help.

Tch... honor's pointless if you get killed. I'll let him fight his way for now but if it gets too hairy there's no way I'm holding back the healing.

Shadow had also thoroughly proven his abilities as a mage, whipping up a veritable maelstrom of magic spells. Trees had fallen, the landscape was lift a flame and beast blood soaked into the forest floor. Things were still bad though. The enemies didn't let up for anything and the wolf pack, though thinned considerably, was still there and posed a threat to the wearying warriors. Krystinna kneels down to the elf-girl again to check her condition. She still wasn't moving on her own. With a brief sigh, she checks her forehead for any sign of a fever. Suddenly her ears perk up.

Rustling?

She whips her head around to see the half-blind wolf leaping at her back, fangs bared and revenge burning in its eyes. Krystianna gasps and ducks over the elf-girl, her eyes shut tight, ready to become a human shield. But the fangs never come, she blinks and looks up to see blood flung to the side along the edge of a fine blade. She looks up to see the visage of a ranger standing over the slewn corpse of the wolf. "Krystianna is your name, no? You should watch your back more often girl." The man says, swiftly leaping past her and slicing another wolf down to size.

"T-thanks..." Krystianna says, her heart still pounding from the fear of the wolf. She wipes a drop of sweat from her brow and looks up suddenly as a gust of wind breezes past her. She turns her head just in time to see the monstrous wolf leader die a painful death. She watches in amazement as the lancer hobbles his way towards her. It seemed not an inch of him escaped injury... He wearily collapses next to her.

“Well this has been fun.” He says in a pained voice.

Krystianna laughs lightly and crawls over to him. "You've done enough today Haru." She says, smiling at him. "Just relax and leave the rest to us." With a quick glance back to the elf-girl to make sure she's in no danger, Krystianna shuts her eyes and whispers incantations. She clasps her hands together on her staff focusing her energies. This spell would be only for Haurfu and easily the most powerful she's ever cast. A gentle pink glow surrounds the elven lancer. "Holy Anhk..." She whispers as his wounds slowly close up. It takes a few minutes of a constant spell effect for his bleeding to stop, and an ever longer time still for his bones to mend. She glances back to the elf-girl every now and then to check on her but it was clear that she would have to depend on the new stranger and Shadow to defend her for a little while longer.

The boy watches out of the corner of his eye as the lancer falls to the ground next to Krystianna, the cleric immediately working to heal the heavily weakened elf. Tonio had been expecting the lancer to lose his duel and need battle, though it seemed that the alpha wolf had been defeated. It must have taken a good portion of his energy based on the storm of wind that had blown through the nearby area, something that was quite unexpected. However, that wouldn't be the focus for the moment. As the elf had proven his honor, the ranger would be glad to rip apart the rest of the wolves. His skills were enormous; now would be the perfect time to show the true levels of his skill.

"Well... seems the elf managed to survive. Interesting." Tonio falls deeper into his stance, a grin on his face despite the cloak hood over his face as he looks over at the remaining wolves. He propels himself forward suddenly, a brief gust from the speed of his movement sending leaves scattering in all directions. His rapier lunges forward towards the nearest wolf, the point glittering in the light that manages to penetrate the canopy of trees, even as it pierces into the wolf's throat. With another quick step, the blade of the rapier rips through the throat, allowing that wolf to fall to the ground with a thud. Even in that motion, the blade comes upwards into yet another slicing motion that cuts the throat off another wolf. A quick kick backwards knocks another wolf reeling back in pain, his leather boot smashing into its unprotected chest. The ranger quickly finishes off that wolf by turning around, splitting its chest open with yet another quick strike. Tonio then quickly backs up towards the rest of the party, checking to make sure the weaker group is well defended. Unfortunately, his eyes spot another group of wolves approaching them.

"Damn wolves..." Tonio leaps forward yet again, blade held over his head in order to bring it down with maximum force on a wolf that seems obviously planning to attack the cleric. The blade splits the wolf's head open, splashing blood onto the cleric's white robes, staining them with blood. The body drops to the ground like so many others with a thud, the corpse being one of many that litter the ground after the series of attack the ranger had taken to defeat the masses and masses of wolves.

"Time to end this." The ranger suddenly starts to chant lightly under his breath, energy gathering around his rapier as he raises it to face another charging pack of wolves. Swirling gusts of ice surround the blade, sending a chill into the nearby area. The charged blade swings downwards towards the wolves, missing the main pack, though it wasn't the main target. The ground is cut by the blade, a sudden shockwave of icy blades being sent into the crowd of wolves. Stabbing pieces of ice bloody the wolves, dropping those closest to the attack and wounding many of the others. The attack was certainly successful in terms of power, killing and wounding many more than most attacks would do. The ranger smiles as the remaining pack runs off, scared by the loss of their leader and the power they were now facing. He turns over to face the party, lowering his hood and brushing some twigs out of his hair. From his boyish face, one wouldn't imagine that he had the skill with the sword he had, though the very motion of sheathing his weapon shows that he could easily unsheath it at any moment.

"Hmm... I was not expecting you people to survive that long without help. I was afraid I would have had to interject myself earlier. Especially with the way this girl watches her back."

Shadow holds on to the trees for a good amount of time. Yet, when she wind storm began, his magical grip began to weaken. Dang it Haru. Why wind? Shadow let fly the trees. He tried to steer them in a general direction towards the wolves. As the trees fall, Shadow gets ready a second spell. He began chanting for the Earth and and behind the wolves, A large stone wall was produced by the ground.

Shadow grins at the Haru when he steps over to Krystianna. When he collapses before Krystianna, Shadow's grin fades. I hope Krystianna has the right spells. I wouldn't want to carry a dead body back to the villiage. Shadow whips is head around in time to see a jumping wolf, flying right for him. Shadow ducks as the wolf goes over him, and brings a flame blast into his hand. Waiting for the right moment, the wolf opens its jaws and Shadow throws in the ball of fire.

Immediantly, the wolfs head disenagrates and the body falls lifeless. Shadow sees that the ranger has cleared up the rest of the wolves. With a smirk on his face, the adrenaline leaves Shadow and he falls to the ground, unconscious. He rests right there, hoping that his partners would take care of him.

I'm not as strong as I thought. I need to train. I will be better. With that Shadow leaves his thoughts.

Krystianna shuts her eyes tighter as she feels a brief wave of blood splash on her robes. She grits her teeth tighter, trying to concentrate through the damp feeling.

Cure his wounds... mend his bones.... relieve his... pain... oh, gross it's soaking through!! Stupid ranger, why couldn't he watch what he was doing? Duuuhrr.. I'm duh ranger! I'll slice duh mosthers head open and not watch what I'm doing. Hyuck hyuck!! Grrr... now what was I doing? AH!! Healing! Forgot! My energy turn to waves of light... and heal.. Eewww, it's dripping down my shoulder!!! Arrg, that's it. I can't concentrate!

The pink glow fades from Haru's body, the last of his bones mended. She glances down over the lancer's closed wounds. "I think you'll be alright now." She says, dropping her staff and wringing the blood out of her robes with a long sigh. She turns her head to shadow for a moment. He seemed to have gotten out of the fight injury free despite the fact he seemed to have exhausted himself of spells. She shakes her head, knowing she can do nothing about that. She then focuses her sight to the ranger... the blood-free ranger she might add... He'd gotten away without a scratch on him as well.

Guess I'll just tend to the elf... I can clean off these robes later...

"Hmm... I was not expecting you people to survive that long without help. I was afraid I would have had to interject myself earlier. Especially with the way this girl watches her back." The ranger suddenly announces to the group. Krystianna's eye twitches.

Wow. This is guy must not eat breakfast he's so full of himself... If he was a mage I'd tell him to go stick his magic wand up his dark dimension*... Grr... I guess I'll be more patient.. he did save me back there...

Picking her staff up again, Krystianna walks back to the elf, her eyes closed refusing to make eye contact with the stranger. "Well thanks for the help, no-name." she says coldly, kneeling down to the elf-girl again. She ignores the group for a little while as she looks over the girl's condition. A few minutes pass before she sits back, satisfied. "I think she'll get up on her own in a little, it looks like she's just in shock... But since the wolves are gone..." She trials off leaving them to make their own inferences as she wrings out her robes again.

((OCC: *= cheep rip off of someone elses joke, but I think it's funny))

Tonio leans against one of the trees of the forest that still remain standing, if burnt, after the fight. The mage appeared to have worn himself off fighting the remaining wolves, passing out on ground, now drained off energy. The ranger himself remains perfectly calm, unstained by blood despite the red that drenches almost everything else. While some of the lack of blood might have been by change, most of it was due to the fact that his swordsmanship was refined to the point that only in the most frantic of fights would his precision cause him to get stain his green clothing. However, two of the other people he had been following had not been so lucky obviously. The cleric had her white robes stained with blood; Harufu had his body battered from being smashed into the ground time and time again.

"Hmm... the fool mage managed to wear himself out. And the elf certainly managed to get himself battered into the ground." The ranger smiles to himself, tapping the sheath of his rapier absent-mindedly. He seems almost unconcerned with the bodies that litter the ground, his free hand brushing loose twigs out of his hair. Every action he makes shows his confidence in his actions, his skill in his weapon, and his own self-assured attitude. The ranger glances over to Krystianna, who is wringing blood from her robes.

"Girl, you should try to be more careful. Blood stains can be quite... messy." The ranger returns to his leaning against the tree with that said, his eyes closing as he rests a bit between whatever action the obvious leader, the lancer, decides on taking.

Haru could feel that his body was starting to heal up. With a smile on his face, Haru could only wait there until everything was done with. He could feel the splatter of blood against his body, most likely from another wolf being killed. Trying to rest and let the cleric do her work, Haru begins to daze between reality and somewhere else. There was nothing really to be seen, but Haru continued to search out what this place meant. Images of the fight continued to flash in Haru’s mind, but all passed too fast to spend any thought on. Just loads of images soon becoming nothing but a blur.

Being healed felt really weird, but Haru was thankful that it was happening. Soon the pain from his chest left him, but it was still far from over. Soon Haru could hear that the fight was over with. He knew that the wolves were all dead and he would not miss them. The only question that was left to answer was who the new person was. It was good that he had come to help out, but there had to be something to why he came along. As soon as he felt like getting up he would address that problem soon enough.

Haru could feel that a fire was close by. Finally feeling better, Haru gets up and sees that the cleric and the mage were sound asleep. Haru continued looking to see that the elf girl was awake and that the new person was no where to be found. Lifting himself off the ground, Haru picks up his lance and moves away from the camp. He could hear that footsteps behind him, but that was not important. Haru found the clearing and began to meditate. There were so many questions Haru wanted to find answers to but nothing really came to him. The footsteps were becoming louder, but all Haru would do was place his lance to his side and wait for the footsteps to come closer.

Putting trust into who had followed him, Haru turns to see the elf girl walking behind him. She didn’t say much but Haru knew that it would take awhile before she would say anything. Something about this forest was going to be a major problem, but it was still hidden far away. For now, Haru would just have to trust his companions and hope nothing bad could happen. But knowing his luck, Haru would find the worst on enemies.

When the sounds of footsteps stopped, Haru turned his attention back to the elf. With a nod, Haru saw that she took a seat close to him. There wasn’t anything he could saw to help, but Haru felt he had to say something.

“Are you all right little one? There is so much that we need to ask you but at the moment it seems to be nothing but a waste of time. When you are ready to tell us what we need, we will wait until that time comes.” Haru looks back to the stars, not knowing what else to do. There was something he needed to say, but the words would not come out. “Oh well, I guess that time is all we have left.” Haru could feel that the elf girl had put her head against his shoulder and she was fast asleep. Not wanting to walk her up, Haru just sits there and places his cloak around the young one.

“You know you do not have to sneak around anymore. I don’t even know your name or why you helped us, but thank you. Without your help we may not have been able to make it through all that. Now all that is left is to find out what to do next and if you are willing to continue to help.” Haru knew that his words would be heard, but an answer he did not expect to get at the same time. Turning to look at the young elf, there was something about her that Haru felt safe with. He knew that he could trust her, but Haru also knew that he would do all he can to help her out.

Shadow awoke with a start. He snapped his head in every direction to see where we was. Looking up, he saw Krystianna looking down on him. "Are you alright?" She asked.

"Yes, a little drained, but ok." Shadow responded. She nodded her acknowledgement and went away. Shadow noticed Haru walking off into the clearing with all the wolf bodies. Looking closer, he saw the girl following Haru. I really hope she was worth that fight. I don't think I've ever been that badly drained.

Shadow stood up and walked over to the fire. Noticing that it was almost out, he casted a flame blast to make it bigger. Once done with that, he sat down among the denser of trees, and meditated. He thanked the Earth for helping him, and concentrated on trying to get his power back up to decient levels.

Once Shadow was done with his mediation, he walked into the clearing where Haru and the girl were. He sat down next to Haru and said, " So, now where do we go?"

"Yes, a little drained, but ok." Shadow says in response to Krystianna's question.

"Well, that's good. I'm gonna go for a while, just yell out when we're ready to leave again." She says to the mage and promptly turns to leave.

Let's see.... the ground is at a small incline here... so that means the land will probably be lower... that way.

One quick directional adjustment and she heads back into the woods, leaving the clearing of blood and wolf bones. She brushes low-lying branches aside as she makes her way through the trees and brush, following her ears and instincts. After about five minutes of trekking she finally finds her self at a small, flowing creek. She smiles upon seeing it and rushes to the edge of the creek.

Finally!!! I was so thirsty and my water ran out half-way through the forest!

With a sigh of releif she kneels down to the edge of the water and fills up a small bottle she keeps inside her robes. She had emptied it before she went to sleep due to a freak burst of thirst, probably from being in that gigantic brawl with the wolves. She fills up the bottle as full as she can, corks it and slips it back in her robes. With a sigh of relaxation, she smiles and sits back, shutting her eyes.

Mmm... this running water is so relaxing.... I could sit here all day. Wait.... ...Come to think of it...

She blinks out of her thoughtful state and looks back down to her robes, now with dried and caked blood staining them. She shakes her head, annoyed at that idiot ranger, and looks around the area for a moment.

Not like there's anyone here....

With a shrug, she unties the sash of the robe and slides it off, revealing a set of pretty normal looking clothes. A tee-shirt and shorts to be exact. An ensemble she wears because of how annoying warm it can get bundled up inside a robe. With one last glace around she slides the blood caked robe into the stream and starts picking at the caked wolf blood with her fingernails. She spends ten minutes picking at the fabric before she decides it's good enough and hangs it on a nearby tree branch to dry out. She sits back against the trunk of a tree and smiles, relaxing again.

It's good to get away from everyone for a second... collect your thoughts... relax a bit...

She lets out a long breath and shuts her eyes, keeping her ears open for any calls from her team.

Tonio comes out from behind the tree that he was resting behind as he is addressed by the elvish lancer. His eyes are stone cold with seriousness, his eyes like black coal with an even darker carbon within. It was more of an illusion caused by reflecting light than anything else; his eyes were actually brown. Though in the light, they certainly did seem black as coal, something that most people would proclaim him a demon for in this day and age. His skill with the sword certainly didn't lend any credibility to him after all.

"Really now... that girl is a liability you know. 'sides, I shouldn't have gotten involved in saving you. I could have easily let your arrogance kill you after all." The ranger calmly drinks from a canteen at his side, drinking in water spiced with a variety of herbs that laid resting in one of his packets. The herbs had no medicinal purposes, though they did lend a taste to the bland flavor of freshwater. It also preserved it somewhat, keeping it fresh over longer periods of time, useful in long journeys. He finishes the canteen, having heard a river nearby and thus knowing he could refill it at any time.

"You can call me Asura. I'll help you out for the sheer fact that I'm likely going to get cash out of this, as well as an interesting fight. Plus, I want to see how far you can go on your elvish arrogance and that lance." Tonio laughs to himself, showing obvious mirth as he fades away into the trees again before Harufu can get a reply out, the ranger not caring on what the lancer might think. The ranger could easily destroy him if he was attacked, so he was far more interested in refilling his water bottle; perhaps having a bit of fun while he was at it.

The ranger walks through the underbrush of the forest towards the river quietly, his feet avoiding green twigs and stepping lightly over the dead branches. Silence was always an important aspect to combat and it was something that eventually started to become unconsciously maintained outside of combat. Of course, as the ranger draws closer, the stealth has an added bonus, as he gets to play one of his tricks. As much as the boy could be skilled in combat, he always had a habit of fighting for enjoyment rather than goals. However, this time his grin would be from getting to have fun with a bit of a prank on a poor unsuspecting victim.

As he nears the riverbank and the victim, he uses his abilities to become next to invisible as he draws closer. The juvenile section of his mind quickly hatches a plot to use against the poor, cleric who was relaxing against the tree in much lighter clothing. The ranger quickly moves in, snatching the drying robe from its hanging place and stuffing it into his bag. He then quickly moves away from the scene of the crime, knowing that likely the cleric would not suspect the foul-play of a serious fighter.

The ranger finishes his tasks for the night by stopping by the river again, dipping his hand into the cool water to fill it back to its brim. His hand dips into the bag of spices at his side, lightly mixing in some of the herbal ingredients before sealing the canteen and placing it at his side. Tonio then once again fades into the night, returning to a seat beside a fire, an unmistakable grin on his face.

(OOC: If any of your characters has an IC historical knowledge, s/he might know that Asura was a famous war general [see backstory]. Just a point.)

Mmmmm..... so relaxing.... ....Wait... Did I just hear a branch rustle? Aaah, probably my imagination.

With gentle sigh, the cleric slides her leather boots from her feet and places them under her right arm, using them as an arm rest. She smiles, eyes still closed and wiggles her toes in the dirt. She laughs a little and shifts around against the base of the tree getting more comfortable. A few second later, her ears perk up as she hears a bird chirp in the distance. She opens her eyes just a little and looks up to the thick, swaying branches of the forest, listening to the bird chirp its cute little song. She smiles again, her mind drifting into relaxation.

AAaaah.... This place isn't so bad... I'm sure the wolf pack was the worst of what we'll see here. When you really get down to it, this place is actually relaxing! The solitude of the forest... the gentle running of the water... the quiet songs of the birds... the feeling of the dirt between my toes. Hehe... It's really ni-

*Squawk!!* The bird suddenly calls out in a painful and instantly muffled tone of voice. Krystianna gasps and leaps to her feet only to see a bird feather float slowly down to the earth in front of her. She looks up to the tree tops just in time to see a faint shadow disappear along one of the trunks. A cold sweat forms on her brow for an instant and she looks back at the creek.

"Yeeeaaaaaah... Maybe I should just get back to the group now. ...Yeah I think I'll do that." She says out loud to herself, bending over and grabbing her boots. Wasting no time, she brushes the dirt from her feet one at a time and slides back in her footwear. After adjusting her heel a bit she rushes up to the branch where she hung her robe and grabs... "Huh? It's gone!!!" She says aloud again, looking around frantically for her robe but to no avail. Indeed, her white robe had vanished leaving only her water bottle and an empty perfume bottle on the ground below. She looks down at her stuff and picks the items up.

I guess these fell out of my robe when I hung it up... Well... my bandage kit is long gone but at least I kept my money in my shorts. ...Hey wait a minute... Wasn't that perfume bottle filled with poison? ...hhmm... Oh SHOOT!! It must've tipped too far when I was filling my water bottle and emptied into the creek! Rats. It was still good for a few more hours too. ...sigh* Oh well. I guess I'll have to refill my bottle now. I'd hate to be an animal who decided to drink downstream from that poison spill. They'll have a stomach ache like nobody's business.

With a sigh, she dumps the contaminated contents of her bottle into the dirt and proceeds to fill her water bottle back up. Once it fill, she hitches it to her belt and turns back towards the direction of the group. A slight blush runs across her cheeks, realizing that the group may react strangely to the sudden loss of... modesty.

Oh geez... they're all guys too... Craaaaaaaaaaaaaap... ...I've got to find that theif who stole my robe! Nothing's gonna stop m-

*Rustle Rustle* Krystianna looks up to the tree tops and spies the silhouette of something... ...something with very big claws. She swallows, grabs her wooden staff from the ground and races off back to the clearing. She runs up to Shadow and the stranger and hunches over, holding herself up by her arms and her knees. After a second to catch her breath she looks up. "Hey guys... I think there's a thief in the woods." She says, desperate to keep the conversation NOT about her current attire.

Shadow had left Haru after not getting an answer. No matter. Wasn't really much of a question to a tired, hurt man. Though he wasn't hurt much anymore. Krystianna had seen to that.

Shadow had gotten back just in time to see the stranger walking into the camp. Shadow noticed he had a black bag, with him. Also, looking closley he saw a bit of white and red come from the top of the bag. It was Krystianna's robe. Shadow noticed it instantly. It seems this one likes to play pranks on people. Well, might as well go along with it. Shadow stared at him with very cold eyes. He nodded toward the bag, with a slight smirk on his face. The stranger did nothing but smile.

Wait a minute, I don't want to see that girl in undergarments. Best look the other way. At that moment Krystianna entered into the camp, very fursterated. Shadow took a slight glance at her to see if she was dignifed. Seeing her in the shorts and t-shirt, Shadow relaxed, he was sure she had not seem him with his little...look.

"Hey guys... I think there's a thief in the woods." She said. Shadow put a horrified expression on his face, and looked over to the stranger, giving him a slight wink. She didn't noticed that either.

Tonio sits next to the fire, grinning a bit as he hears Krystianna running out of the woods, his hands making a quick motion to stuff the robe further into his bag so it is just barely visible among the shadows. A wink comes from the mage, who obviously had noticed the robe as Krystianna's, though the ranger ignores the man for a the time being, wondering where to get food from. He had naturally forgotten to bring his normal rations and he very well expected that the inexperienced adventurers had forgotten their's as well. He needed to find someway to get some food quickly, likely by a bit of quick hunting.

"Hey guys... I think there's a thief in the woods," Krystianna says, slumped over a bit, likely out of breath from running through the woods. From a mere glance at her face and eyes, Tonio determines that likely she didn't suspect anything, perhaps from the possibility that something else might be in the woods. The ranger notices that the prank went over well judging by how she tries to keep the conversation off of her immodest clothing for the time period, only shorts and a t-shirt, something that wasn't necessarily so completely unusual for the ranger. Tonio calmly glances past her, the grin no longer on his face as he tries to look relatively serious. A black shadow moves just out of sight, a few claws showing. Likely it was a racoon or some other nocturnal animal. However, he makes a single quick action just to make sure.

The ranger picks up a single, rough stone from the ground of the forest, tossing it up and down in his hands for a bit. A quick flick of the wrist sends the rock flying out at the animal in the trees, a sound of pain echoing as it falls to the ground next to the fire. A quick glance tell Tonio that it was only a racoon as he thought; the ranger moves to skewer it on a nearby stick and start it roasting over the fire for fresh meat. They obviously had forgotten to bring food, but nature provided a great deal of such for travellers. His eyes glance over to Shadow, who would likely tell Krystianna about his prank, so he makes a move to get him out of the area for the time being, letting the prank go on as long as possible.

"You. Mage. Go out and gather some roots. Has to be something here worth cooking. Try catching some fish while you're at it. Upstream for that matter; less pollutants from people. If you people forgot to bring food, than you're gonna have to find it yourselves or starve." The boy manages to speak out very plainly, sending a quick flash of eyes at Shadow that tell him he should be moving along before he might be tempted to speak up for Krystianna's sake, the glance sending Shadow's eyes down to the rapier that's blunt side would be against Shadow's head if he messed the joke up. The ranger then turns his eyes over to the clerick Krystianna, who would now be the target of his speech.

"As for you... sit down and warm by this fire, since you obviously managed to lose your robes. I doubt there is a thief in these woods, but you manage to be frightened by anything that moves in the dark. Sending you out to get food would likely scare the food off, no? If you want anything to do, go find those damned elves. Though they can likely take care of themselves." The ranger then calmly returns to the cooking of his food, calmly looking at the fire to hide the grin on his face.

Haru looks around to see if there was anything that needed to be done. Food was going to be an issue, and the rations Haru brought with him were nowhere to be seen. Hunger was not going to be an issue for Haru, but he was unsure if it was the same for the others. Getting up from the ground, Haru tries his best not to wake the young elf. He could only take a few steps away before Haru could hear he elf girl up and following closely behind. Finding it best that she not be left alone, Haru pulls out his dagger and hands it to the girl.

"If anything happens, you may need to protect yourself." Haru returns his attention to finding some source of food. The only thing Haru could really see was the remains of the fight. Not giving up, Haru continues to look around to find something. "Well if those wolves were able to live here, then there should be something to eat."

Moving past the remains of the wolves, Haru hears the sound of rushing water close by. Passing a few more trees and bodies, Haru soon finds the water he was hearing. Haru reaches down to take a quick drink. The water was fresh and cold and it was good to finally take a drink. Looking around, there was something that caught Haru's attention. It was a small shadow, but it was still something that may cause a few problems. Making sure that the young elf girl was still at the side of the river, Haru makes is way to see what was going on. Running past the river, Haru begins to hunt down the shadow.

It seemed to be nothing but a waste of time, and now Haru was unable to see any trace of the shadow. Turning back to the river, Haru makes his way back to the young elf. Still a bit away from the river, Haru hears a loud scream coming from somewhere in the forest. Running as fast as he can towards the river, Haru makes it back and sees the young elf still there, with his dagger in hand. There was another scream, but this time it seemed to come from somewhere deeper in the forest. Unable to find out where the screams were coming from, Haru begins to return to the others. Camps was close by, but it seemed to take longer than expected, there was the smell of something cooking, and Haru could only guess that it was coming from the camp.

Krystianna looks at the ranger's face for a moment as he watches the food cook.

That's weird... what's that grin about? He can't be happy he's eating raccoon, that's just disgusting. I'd rather eat one of the wolves we killed. It'd probably provide more meat anyway... ...Come to think of it, I think I still have some crackers I lifted out of the bar at the tavern... now where did I put that... aaah shoot. I put that in my robe pocket too! That freakin' thief! I'll clobber him so bad when I catch him... ...Wait a minute...

She glares at the Ranger for a moment, in thought. ...And suddenly... it dawns on her.

That's IT!!!! Now I get it!! He's grinning because he thinks my robe getting stolen by someone else is funny! What a jerk! ...Unless he's grinning because I'm stuck in shorts... either way I aughta bop him one....

She sneers at him for a second and gets up. "You know, instead of laughing about my predicament, you could be cooking a wolf instead. At least then we'd have enough for everyone." She pauses to think. "And quit talking down to me! Jerk." With a turn the would normally make her robe billow but instead just makes her long pink hair sway to the side, she walks towards the forest to look for the elves.

Creep... I hope he get rabies from that raccoon or something.

After a short walk into the woods she spies Haru and the elf. She smiles at the sight and waves to them. "Heeeey! We're over here! We've got a fire going, come warm up!" She shouts happily forgetting momentarily about her outfit.