[center] [h3] The Depths [/h3] [/center] 

The surrounding bog was a frightful venture, black and wicked trees sprouted above the waters surface, twisting and turning in unreal fashions. A low-lying mist coated the waters surface restricting the ordinary persons vision to about 10 meters. The water itself was lifeless, not a thing daring to disturb its surface. It was the small wooden catwalk which held the audacity to disrupt the emptiness, and even it was equally dull. Truly the whole place would immediately be recognized as unsettling, if it could even be seen, but the current and only onlooker's eyesight had been stunted by a severe lacking in light. For Riley, at the present, everything was pitch black, having trouble seeing his own hands. At that moment he was seated in what he had guessed to be the center of the walk way, leaning on a sheathed short sword gripped by both hands at the pommel. The blades masked tip pressed against the old wood. His plan was to wait out the darkness in favor of sunlight, he would wait for a few hours and once he could get his bearings, he could then proceed to march through in order to find civilization or at the least people. All in all he conceded that it was a good plan, save for the waiting part, which was proving near unbearable. 

"C'mon....c'mon....", he muttered as he fidgeted with the sword. Gripping it that much tighter. 

Riley considered himself a fairly patient person, but it was the absolute silence and stillness of the night putting him on edge. No wildlife to croak or chirp, no splashes or crickets. His eyes rolled about, dodging from left to right nervously, without reason.  His ears were on full alert and where ready to have him jump at the slightest plop. Sweat had started to cling to his brow, either due to his own anxiety or the humidity, he pinned it to both. An idle hand was occasionally raised to deal with the offending perspiration. 

In adapting to his new situation the rouge had rolled up both sleeves to his shoulders and removed the cloak, figuring it wouldn't make good water weight or help stave off the humidity. The cloak had taken on a new roll of cushioning his sore ass. Besides, the extra cover wasn't necessary being that there seemed to be no pests or bug life of any sort to keep away.  

He began weakly uttering a tune to himself to calm the nerves,"And if he goes...let the dogs out back...let the widow dress in black...for she knows he's never marching home...", and it went on like that as he slowly drifted in and out of consciousness, lulling about where he was seated. 


[center] [i] "Aye? You see that? We aren't gonna be havin' any more of that now are we? Soon there'll only be friendly men with swords, and not so friendly ones aye?" [/i] [/center]  


A few hours later his head lurched back up to find the place illuminated by the early morning rays. Looking over himself he found that the death grip on the hilt had held even throughout his napping, and that he had sweated a good deal. Riley turned his gaze to meet the pale light, squinting at its intensity. At his initial attempt to rise he fell back, reaching both arms behind himself to catch his body. The second time he enlisted the help of all four appendages and rose without a hitch. He bent down a snatched up his re purposed garment, folding it up and hanging it over his left forearm. As he began moving about, the wood beneath him creaked and groaned softly, as if in weak protest to the shift in weight. He stood straight up with all his belonging in hand and surveyed the environment.

Regarding the sun, which was roughly at the catwalks three o' clock to his right, he noted, "Heuh...'spose this path runs just about straight North an' South from here...", he trailed off. 

To this thought his brows rose and he nodded slightly in an off hand approval of that being the case. "Guess that may make things a touch simpler..." 

Though the place still made him tense, he was simply glad to have endured and left the night behind. With the advent of morning he would hopefully be able to escape this wasteland.