Ramara

Ramara pulled the hood of her cloak back as her legs dangled over each side of the branch she sat on high above the rest of the group. Looking down at those below her and perking a brow as she watched Regalia slowly gather her things before mounting her horse and riding off into the night. Why had she left Ramara wondered to herself but in the end it mattered not. She had been commissioned to go on this journey so there was no true reason for her to be there.

Looking back at the camp Ramara noticed that the younger corsair was gone as well. The only ones that seemed to remain was the odd orc, the jester, the paladin and the drunk who called himself Wade. Oddly enough out of all of them Wade seemed to be the least offensive in the group to her for what ever reason. Perhaps it was because he didn't seem to be hiding what he was under pretentiousness and hypocrisy.

Shrugging to herself she decided it was time for her to leave as well. This group wasn't going anywhere and she had more important tasks to attend to. Her sister was out there somewhere and she needed to locate her. It didn't matter that she had already been searching for nearly ten years, she knew she was out there somewhere. That had and would always be her priority, to find her and find out what she had been up to all these years.

Pulling her hood back up she swung a leg over the branch and slid off of it, landing softly and soundless on the ground below. Looking around for a moment she gave a nod in a silent farewell before walking over to her horse and securing her possessions to it. She wanted to be long gone by the time morning came and the rest woke to continue on their quest. That was their job, not hers. Walking over to the drunk she placed a hand lightly on his shoulder and shook him slightly.

"Want to get out of here?" she whispered as to not to disturb the others. She didn't wait for an answer but instead motioned over towards the path that lead deeper into the woods and to another town that lay to the north beyond the mountain pass. She figured it was as good a direction to head as any. Rising from her place she did not wait to see if he would follow but instead took the reins of her horse and began to led the beast of burden towards the path. If Wade followed she would keep moving at a slower pace but if he did not, by the time she reached the path she would mount up and move as swiftly as possible to the next town.

It was a quiet building, seemingly silent, as men-at-arms filled it. There weren't that many, only a platoon size, as they cleared room for room. It all seemed to be going right. Everyone was particularly on edge, after having shed so much blood in the streets of the city. If one were to look from the windows, they would see it burning. It gave off a crimson glow into the night sky, such that people would see it from miles away.

The men rushed from room to room, kicking the doors in, as the trudged down the hallway, marking their path by their sweat drops on the floor. Each entry was preceded by tension, followed by a release after finding almost every room they came across as empty as the last. They had to clear that building, no matter the resistance, as they were the vanguard for the entire army. More soldiers were filling the city, and there were fewer and fewer places for the enemy to hide. Still, they hadn't cleared everything.

Finally, they came to a new hallway. It was smoky, and difficult to see in. There was no light they had to guide them, other than what came from outside. They proceeded cautiously down the hallway, as per their instincts. It was all so quiet, and the air seemed stifling and suffocating. They could only hope to not suffer from asphyxiation.

Their movement was stopped by the sudden flicker of flames on the other end of the hallway, the man in charge, a mid-twenties sergeant-at-arms, known simply as Wade, held up a hand for everyone to stop and crouch. They all followed his lead, a slight rattle and rustle of their armor and clothes. Soon that small flicker was followed by flames engulfing the hallway and shooting towards them.

Wade slammed his body to the ground, some following suit, and others being engulfed and burned. Men screamed in agony at the kiss of the fire, as it scorched their bodies to an unrecognizable state of existence. Wade was blessed, as he kept his head to the ground, his eyes almost tearing up from the sound of his men being burned alive. The wave of flames had gone by quickly, and all that was left was recovery from it all.

Wade was quick to start firing back, with a crossbow in hand as he loosed bolt after bolt down the hallway. He heard the sickening sound of it connecting with flesh and the thud from hitting wood. He heard one scream from a bolt he sent down the hallway, and it seemed to enliven the entire building. Arrows began flying back at them, as they continued to send bolts down the hallway.

Wade, keeping low to the ground, made his way to a wall near a man screaming in pain. There was nothing he could do. Their healer was no where to be seen, the building was black. The only thing for certain was the exchange of bolts and arrows, and the agony of those whom had suffered from the fire wave.

Wade grabbed the man, and tried to move him to the other hallway, out of fire, but his gripped was soiled and he lost it. Wade's hands felt wet and gooey after having grabbed the man by the wrist and pulled, and the man himself was still crying out in agony. He had no idea what was on his hands, as he held it to his face and sniffed. The putrid smell of burnt flesh graced his senses, as he nearly wretched.

"FUCKIN' HELL, JUST FUCK IT!" He cried, grabbing the man by his sleeve and putting his arm over his shoulder. He began hauling the man back to the hallway they had come from, pressing both of them against the wall to avoid the arrows. As he got closer to the entry to the other hallway, he saw the flicker again as it seemed to light up the hallway. People were suddenly more animated than usual, moving in different directions. Wade began to move faster, as his instincts told him more trouble was coming. Soon he saw it.

The whole hallway began to light up and his shadow danced on the doorway in front of him. He moved faster and faster, dragging the burnt man along with him. His heart raced as he felt it coming closer towards them. Before he knew it, he was falling to the ground, as the flames came closer. He seemed to fall forever and ever, before all he saw was blackness.

He began blinking profusely, as he heard words being spoken to him, seeing a fuzzy image of the woman from before, the assassin, her name being something like Ramara or of that flavor of word. Soon he jolted awake, as he saw no one in front of him. He blinked and shook his head, before stretching and taking a look around. It wasn't much of a site, many people being missing.

His attention was soon diverted towards the sound of horse hooves, and he diverted his eyes towards it. There he saw the female assassin, Ramara, again. He picked himself up off the ground, all of his gear still on him, as he made his way towards her. Even though he wasn't fully conscious, he was at least aware of the question she had posed to him, intent upon leaving the prick of a paladin, the perverted jester, and the orc with the nightmarish face.

"Where'd you wantah go?" He said, speaking with a little bit of his own charm, which still sounded like something from a man of the countryside.

Ramara heard Wade coming over to her and a slight smile came to her lips but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. Apparently someone felt the same way she did and wanted to get as far away from the rest of the group as possible. It meant not getting a lot of sleep since they would need to put as much distance between them and those they left behind but Ramara preferred traveling at night and would gladly give up sleep to get away from those that rubbed her the wrong way.

As Wade came up to her and spoke she pulled the hood of her mantle back and let it fall to her shoulders. Glancing towards him out of the corner of her eye before answering. "As far away from them as possible," she said in an oddly refined accent for someone of her profession but there was a hint of the wandering traveler in it that she had never been able to shake. Growing up a Gypsy she faced many of the same problems that her eldest sister did.

The curve of her body, the line of her jaw, the slope of her eyes, the tone of her skin and the slightly exotic intonation of her voice gave away her heritage to those that had dealt with them before but those that hadn't would just pass it off as someone from a different land. Being an adventurer made it easier to both blend in and to be found out, it just depended on the company. She wondered what side of the coin Wade would fall on in this scenario.

It took a little bit for them to break the tree line and finally find the road but as they did Ramara looked up at the moon, it peaking out from behind rolling clouds every so often. Taking a long and controlled breath, now away from the stretch of the camp sight she felt a wash of relief fall over her; though in all honesty Wade still needed a good cleaning in her mind but he still smelt better than the orc had.

"I have someone I need to find," she said in an unemotional tone as she turned and proceeded north along the winding path that lead towards the mountains. Beyond it lay a small village that she had heard about beyond the borders of the current kingdom. It was as good a place as any to continue her search and even though Wade was no friend, he was no enemy at this point and the trek through the mountain pass would be easier with someone by her side than traversing it alone. There were wolves, orcs, goblins and more in the mountains, she figured she could use a wall between her and the monsters ahead should a fight break out.

Wade gave a satisfied grin to Ramara at her answer, more than happy for the opportunity of company and better travel. He was not particularly fond of any of the group, disliking the paladin most of all. Then again, the one whom had shouted to him about taking a bath and forced water upon him was his new traveling companion. That was a rather distasteful experience for Wade and he had put men to death for lesser offenses.

He strolled with Ramara towards the edge of the forest, coming out in time to take a look at a beautiful moon casting light down upon them. Wade's eyes seemed to perk open as he watched his surroundings. It felt like being on the battlefield again, as all of his senses seemed to concentrate on everything around him. He even looked from side to side, giving a slow scan with his eyes of every area around him.

Ramara suddenly piped in with "I have someone I need to find," causing Wade to give an eyebrow. "Well, I hope you realize that's not our only mission. I'm not with you to help you if you're not gonna help me. I need tah make a living jus' the same as you." He said rather gruffly. His eyes still concentrated on the surrounding areas.

He didn't feel intent upon smoking in the middle of the night. A flicker of flame, or a slight slow from coals would give him away, not that anyone was after them. Wade was just prone to habit.

Ramara smirked slightly at Wades words and glanced over to him out of the corner of her eye before she decided to respond as she looked back at the path before them. “I never asked for your help,” she stated flatly. She wasn’t expecting him to help her find a person that she had looked for these past ten years with no sign of her. That was just the path she had laid before her, if he wandered with her that was up to him. She didn’t felt she owed him anything and did not feel as if he owed her anything. They just happened to cross paths and wanted to get away from the same people at this moment in time.

“We should reach the mountain pass by tomorrow evening,” she said nonchalantly as they walked. “You watch my back, I watch yours. Next town we can decide if we want to continue together or split ways,” she added as she continued to lead her horse towards the base of the mountain where the path they would need to take through it began. The path wouldn’t be an easy one even if they didn’t run into any creatures that had less than noble intents but if they did, having someone else to fight alongside should make it a bit easier. Yet, Ramara did not know Wade or if he was even skilled in battle, so for all she knew he would be nothing but a meat shield at this point. She just hoped he could hold a blade better than he seemed to be able to hold his liquor at this point. As long as he didn’t puke when a fight broke out she figured it was better than nothing.