@Erode@Pyromania99@Superman



The troll who appeared to be their leader turned their head towards Tetras. Judging from the frown, he was not very fond of his sarcasm towards the 'Sacred Bird'.

"Disrespectful, foolish outsider." He harrumphed. "Should have your tongue...the Razor Beak is the protector of the forest...but you are welcome." He turned his head then to Tsukiko, who approached him without fear. A brave one, then.

"Brave one, we not raise them, they are animals that can not be tamed so easily. They live in the deeper parts of the forest." He shook his head, the feathers in the headdress swaying as he did so. "But the foolish Kaolrit tribe have made a mockery of them with false god." One of the other trolls walked over, saying something in their native tongue to him, having a rapid exchange of words between the two. After a few seconds, the other walked away without a word to the adventurers.

"It is not safe to speak, here, but our goals may be similar..." He hummed for a moment, seeming to come to a conclusion. "The Kaolrit, likely behind the event here. They are not fond of outsiders. Our Elder would wish to speak with you."

As he spoke, a few other trolls began dragging the large bird back into the forest, disappearing quickly into the jungles shrubbery and leaves.


"Come."

His voice was firm. In fact, that sounded less like a suggestion, and almost more of a command.

"Will lead you to our village."

Isabella, was a bit eager to take the troll up on his offer as shady as it might have seemed. She was curious about the trolls, and definitely about the magic they employed. It seemed like your average run of the mill druidic based magics, but it was still fascinating to just see how different it could have possibly been from the Empire's own magic. Druidic magic was already rare enough as it was in the Empire, so this was a good chance to get to see some up close even if she wasn't going to be using any herself.

She walked over to the troll.

"I see no reason to turn down your offer." Isabella said. "Besides, I am curious about that duridic magic of yours." She sheathed her sword, giving the leader her usual neutral expression. He stared back down at her, chuckling lightly.

"Nothing special, outsider. It is something every Lakri learns. If you are curious, we can talk more once we leave...it is not safe here."

---

@Lauder@Ariamis@RedDusk

Well, it seemed at most the hounds were more interested in the crab than Jagred. As soon as the unfortunate crab landed on the ground near them, the hounds closed in on it...only to have the crab use one of its pincers on one of the hounds noses. With a gargled howl, the hound swung its nose, trying to dislodge the crab from its nose. After a few seconds, the crab swung free, only to land on the back of another hound. The first hound tackled the second, in an attempt to get at the crab, only resulting in it tackling the second.

Things escalated fairly quickly after that, and soon the hounds were fighting among themselves, completely seeming to forget the presence of the adventurers.

The crab, sufficiently satisfied with its trollery, slinked back away into the water before any more hounds got a chance to munch on it.

When they finished in the area, they proceeded to head down the same path as Em. After a short walk, they'd likely stumble upon the fight...would they interfere if they did, or not?

[@BlackAlice]

Em, herself, was doing a fairly decent job of fending off the Kobolds. The one who had attacked, was wholly unprepared for the skeleton to move in such a quick, precise manner. As his weapon missed its target, the Skeleton's sharp finger bones found themselves hitting their target. The lizard hissed with pain as he lost the use of one of his eyes. Before it could attempt to block a second blow, the skeleton's hand shallowly pierced the flesh of its scaly stomach, only serving to enrage the Kobold further.

However, it would take a bit more than a blind eye and a stomach wound to bring down this Kobold, it seemed. With a snarl, it dropped its weapon, hands grabbing the skeletons head, forcing its own claws into the skeletons mouth as it attempted to bite its neck. Summoning its strength, it spun, attempting to throw the skeleton into a cave wall. Even if it worked, this kobold was likely not going to be fighting much longer.

The second Kobold, sensing this wasn't something they could be lax about stepped in. He knew how magic worked. He knew that this skeleton wasn't a natural thing. It wasn't the first time he had saw something similar to this. Letting the one currently being attacked deal with the skeleton and make sure it couldn't interrupt him, he moved swiftly in towards the necromancer.

"Give up now, human." He hissed, though he brandished his blade and didn't really give her a chance to reply. Swinging it in a quick horizontal strike, he seemed to want to finish this quickly, aiming for her neck.

Having been heading to the location already at as fast of a speed as he could possibly manage, Ankt was quick to stumble upon the fight where he would interfere to a great degree. "Fools! You have picked the wrong group to fight!," Ankt roared, bloodlust filling his voice as he charged for the kobold going towards Em. Quickly, he lowered his right shoulder as he charged so that the kobold would be pinned against the wall if he had actually made contact, though he had a plan if the small lizard tried to dodge by jumping towards the little witch. He would grab the being's tail with his free arm and maybe kill it, however, it may be a useful tool for navigating these caves, perhaps even knowing if there is treasure or not. However, now was not the time to think of treasure for there was the good fight to attend to. Ankt let out another intimidating roar as he closed on the kobold with all the fury that an Aahari could truly muster for this kind of fight, that would be a lot of fury.

The Kaolrit tribe? A false god? The very fact that those jungle trolls worshipped a ‘god’ the first place was stupid. Nodding in approval of the chief’s negative outlook on the rival tribe’s worship and treatment of their sacred bird, Tsukiko allowed herself to relax a little bit more. These trolls, despite their original offensive, have proved themselves to be reasonable enough, and the Great Spirits have not yet commanded their extermination. For now, she would go and meet their Elder.

Tetras had righted the cart and reattached the horse, and, hopping onto it once more, Tsukiko waited for anyone else to get back on, before snapping the reins and urging the horse over. A few moments, later it became obvious that the horse could just lead itself, and the priestess’s curiousity got the better of her.

Reaching out, the ink-haired girl drew Ophene’s book closer, about to read it.

Jagred eventually had to move on, though his gaze lingered on the primitive beasts. After, it was not like him to turn his back on a fight. Especially when his enemies were still moving. Regardless, he concurred that it would not be beneficial to lack behind the group right now, so he kept up with the rest of his companions, blade unsheathed. They didn’t have to wait too long before finding trouble. Their fourth member, the young woman, was found a few moments later, locked in combat with a duo of creatures. Jagred was not sure what they were, but from the looks of things, they were definitely not friendly. Fortunately, so was he and the lizard. The reptile charged head on, as he tended to do, rushing forward into combat before anyone could react. Jagred stayed behind, figuring he would play the role of their vanguard. With quick steps, he walked to the necromancer, standing just a few steps to her left. The creatures seemed to be attack her, after all, so instead of finding enemies, he would wait for them to come to him. He lowered himself into a defensive stance, scanning his surroundings for additional enemies.

“And here I thought lizards are cold-blooded.”- He half-smiled, glancing sideway at the necromancer.

-Jagred looked for more enemies-

Nazr was in no hurry to catch up with the the others as he still savored the taste of the piranha hound in his tentacles. Though he was conflicted on whether a living brain tasted better than a more developed one, his hunger was satisfied for now. So it was that when he saw the kobolds attacking their lilliputian ally, Nazr ignored the fight, willing to let more bloodthirsty assailants get the full glory instead of getting involved again. He saw that the Aahari was predictably there to use the only thing the creature was good at: violence. He responded to Jagred: "The Aahari are infamous for their short tempers. Some scholars theorize they are that way due to being cold-blooded and requiring the fires of fury to keep warm. Now that he looked at the situation, two lone kobolds were a very suspicious deal to him; surely they would travel in more numerous packs, even when scouting. So he focused on the mental patterns that the stupid, yet thinking creatures expelled, and attempted to sense the area for any more similar signs.

@ERode@Superman@Pyromania99



Seeing general agreement with the adventurers, the leader of the Trolls spoke quickly in his native tongue to another. Quickly the other left, running through the forest and disappearing quickly. Not long after, the leader started walking after them, leading the adventurers through the forest alone.

Isabella was walking alongside him, conversing as casually as she could with the Troll.

"...Isabella." She said, conveniently leaving out her last name. Not that the trolls would likely know the Alexuis name, but the others traveling with her likely would, and she would like to avoid any confrontation about her lineage they might have. "You must have a name as well."

"Hm. Taok, they call me. Simple, strong name in our tongue." He replied as he walked. Isabella simply nodded in response, giving a thoughtful hum.

"That magic. You said everyone learns it?" Taok nodded.

"It runs deep in our tribes history, but to detail it would take more time than we have." He said, turning briefly to face the group. "It will be a bit of a walk for you outsiders. Stay close. Forest is not kind to those who do not know it." And with that, he turned off and began walking again, Isabella behind him, exchanging a few more words with the troll.

The path he was taking them on veered off the trail, leading deeper into the forest. Quickly, the trees began thickening, blocking out more of the sunlight. Any trouble the horse and wagon might have had was quickly taken care of by another troll who was with them. The trees roots cleared away, making a somewhat smooth past for the beast and the wagon.

Still, it was somewhat slow going for the group, and it might take a bit to get to the village. Perhaps now would be a good time to speak to their comrades a little?

---

@Ariamis@RedDusk@Lauder@Black Alice


The Kobold making a move towards Em was caught off guard by the sudden intrusion. His eyes went wide as he had only a second to process the giant lizard charging him, and was unable to dodge. The lizard was quickly pinned against the wall, its weapon dropped to the ground as it struggled feebly to get free from the grasp of Ankt.

"G-gah! Y-you..." It gurgled feebly.

The one fighting the skeleton succeeded in throwing the pile of bones against the wall. The skeleton slammed into the rocky wall with a clatter, cracking a few of its bones in the process. Still, the small lizard wasn't in any condition to really continue putting up a fight. Especially with the addition of the new combatants, and when it eyed Ankt, it seemed to freeze.

"A-ancient One?!"

Whatever that meant.

Either way, it seemed to two Lizards were more or less subdued at the moment.

And try as Jagred and Nazr might, neither would detect the presence of other Kobolds in the area. For the moment, it seemed like these two were the only ones around.

Ophene was more cautious of the groups surroundings than anything else. This wasn't the type of terrain that she was use to at all. She was really wanting to not be here, but reluctantly agreed to go with the rest of the group to find out what was going on. For the most part, she walked outside the cart and kept her ears and eyes open. She couldn't help but expect something bad to happen. . . Still, nothing out of the ordinary had actually happened so she relaxed a little bit.

The Rabbit-Girl was wanting to rest her legs though. She was use to the hard rock of the mountains, not the soft grassland of the forest. Her best decision was to just jump into the cart and rest like Tsukiko had. Ophene hopped up on the cart and ducked into the area Tsukiko was. . . Did she have. . . "Is that my book?" The Pheran had to ask. The Shrine Maiden girl had more than enough time to read some of the more. . . Vital parts of the book. Oh, she couldn't even think about the specific lines so many thoughts were running through her head at the moment. "And you're reading it?"

Ankt chuckled maniacally as he pinned the Kobold to the wall, knowin exactly what move to pull in order to truly end half of this fight. He was going in to stab the Kobold in the stomach, but he stopped on account of what the other Kobold said. His right eye honed in on the Kobold and he released the other before growling. "What did you say, welp?" Ankt question with a blood curdling snarl. What exactly was an ancient one? Why were these kobolds thinking he was this ancient one? He hadn't a clue.

Tetras hesitantly agreed to join the trolls toward wherever they were going, seeing as they knew where they were going and had far more knowledge of the forest than he. Still, with their magic and apparent skill at taking down giant birds single-handedly, it would be easy for them to suddenly turn on them and capture them. However, they did help them to an extent, and they weren't held prisoner just yet. They would have to be on their toes, because they could be easily walking into a trap. Luring them into the woods where nobody could see them and slaughtering them all and taking their stuff. And they'd be literally just walking towards their death. But, for the time it seemed like the most reasonable thing to do. Maybe they would benefit from this after all.

As they walked along the sort of path, Tetras decided to stay outside of the cart, while the two girls decided to sit inside of it reading some sort of book. Apparently there was some ruckus going on about it, and it made him wonder what commotion could come about a simple book. Then again, maybe he didn't want to know the content of those pages. While he would talk to them eventually, he decided to talk to Isabella as there seemed to be a pause in the conversation between her and the troll.

"So, I don't believe we've formally met and had a conversation. I know the whole ordeal with the bird was quite, well, hazardous, but I'll take responsibility for that, and I wanted to apologize. That, and if we plan to be in an adventuring group together, I figured we could at least get to know each other, no? I am Tetras from a small island nation you have probably never heard of, and you can, for simplicity sake, call me human."

After the first few pages, all Tsukiko could hear was the sound of her own voice, her mind reading through the scandalous lines of this book. What was this? How could this even…why would anyone even enjoy this? It’s not like she was enjoying this, after all! This was just…research! Research to see how far others have fallen into depravity due to the influence of this book!

Snow-white skin began to redden as the contents of the book became hotter and hotter. Euphemisms Tsukiko was never aware of had now been scorched into her mind. She could never look at a cucumber the same way again. A tingling sensation blossomed in the pit of her stomach, a nervous anxiety as she continued to go through what could only be described as a hot, messy wreckage. Too hot. Her body was too hot. She was becoming light-headed. This was almost intoxi-

"Is that my book?”

Tsukiko literally jumped up, slamming her head into the overarching roof of the wagon. With a splintering crack, the wood was flung off, and the horse neighed in surprise at the loud sound. Whipping around, she said, voice shrill, “T-this is filthy! Why would you bring this to a mission? I-it’s not about gardening at all!”

Nazr trusted in his psionic might, and silently observed the scene that unfolded before him. Their crocodilian friend turned out to be a most excellent user of psychological warfare, as again his overwhelming presence placed the opposition into submission; Nazr decided he would put an attempt into earning the creature's trust. Hw quickly lifted a sleeve at Ankt, hoping it would understand to stay quiet before the kobolds would regain their courage, and spoke in a far louder voice than before; he did not mind the occasional disgusting slurp that emanated from his words, as his main objective was intimidation. "The Ancient One hasss come to seek the mighty beast and tame it! If you wish to be spared from hisss wrath, take us to it!"

@Superman@ERode@Pyromania99

~Isabella~

Everyone could learn it? Curious, but a welcome development as far as Isabella cared. Magic should be taught to all, should they desire it. Unrestricted, even those deemed unsafe usually. Perhaps the Trolls would be...open to her magic as well? She couldn't be certain, though, and she had no reason to say anything so she stayed silent.

Instead, It seemed Tetras wished to speak with her. Apologizing for antagonizing the bird? He didn't have anything to apologize for...he was simply doing his job as best as he could. She couldn't exactly fault him for that, could she? As Taok lead them further into the woods, she turned her attention to him. The silver haired girl was silent as she studied him, creating a somewhat awkward silence before replying.

"...Isabella Valencia." She stiffly replied after a few moments, giving her first and middle names. "Former Holy Knight of the Baumn Empire. You...do not have to apologize." Despite the somewhat stiffness of her words, she nodded her head in a friendly manner and gave him a small smile. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Tetras. You may call me Bell, if you wish." She fell silent after that. She wasn't exactly good at making small talk, unless it was about magic of some sort, and maybe she was judging a book by its cover Tetras didn't seem to be very...magically inclined.

"Uhm...Holy knights are required to be knowledgeable about geography surrounding Baumn and Caededril. I may have heard of your home, as I know quite a bit about magic and a few more scholarly pursuits." Did that sound condescending or too much like a know it all? She hoped she didn't, since she really wasn't trying too.

She vaguely registered some sort of commotion from the other two near the wagon, and turned her head briefly to look, but since nothing seemed amiss, she left it alone. It'd be rude to leave mid-conversation.

Taok trudged quietly along in front of the group, making a few short conversational sentences with the other troll with them as a toucan came and landed on his shoulder. It was a bit larger than average...and was holding a familiar fruit in its beak as it crushed it in its maw. It turned its head to briefly look at the adventurers, waving a wing at them as Taok stroked its feathers briefly as he walked.


@Ariamis@Lauder@Black Alice@RedDusk

"Forgive us." The injured one said, falling to a knee. Though whether from the inability to stand from his wounds, or in some sort of reverence was impossible to tell. "We did not know you were here." He didn't get much more room to speak before the one Ankt was holding was released, falling to the ground and gasping for breath as Nazr interjected.

"Tame it?" The injured Kobold replied, seeming surprised once again in the span of a few moments. "Half our tribe has tried..." The Kobold seemed rather skeptical of his claims despite seeming to be in awe of the larger lizard.

"Forgive Claddirk, Mighty Ancient." The one on the ground spoke, standing, rubbing his scaly throat. Despite his stature and nature as a Kobold, it seemed he had at least some eloquence to his speaking. "He has...never been one to take the tales of our tribe seriously." Unlike the one named Claddrik, this Kobold lowered his head in obvious reverence of some sort. "Visk greets you, Ancient One. Forgive our assault on your companion. It was decided to eliminate any human that appears in this cave. If you have come to tame this beast as your friend here suggests, then your timing is impeccable as our history says..."

He raised his head, and with a flourish, pointed towards the cave.

"Come. I will take you to our village. From there, we can show you to the beast. It has been praying on our tribe ever since we stumbled upon those deeper caves."

Ophene struggled for a second or two to make words spitting out "Bu's" and "I-i". "Why would I bring a book about gardening on an adventure though!?" She had to ask in reply. It's not like she'd have any real chance soon to garden. Heck, she only went along with the idea early hoping it would keep the girl from looking at it. . . That backfired spectacularly didn't it? "I m-mean. . . Your face doesn't exactly say you hate it!" She had to exclaim back. Even if it was false, she needed to get the heat off herself!

"Y-you read enough without just straight putting it down." The Pheran argued. If she didn't know better, she'd have thought her own eyes were spinning in circles. Why though, did the fight or flight response occur when her life wasn't technically in danger? "Plus, it's only filthy if you believe it to be!" It was definitely considered filth where she was from. . . Not that she cared much. It was humorous with it's massive amounts of innuendo and smut. Whether she liked it or not. . . Well she does! That's besides the point. . . Sort of. . . "I mean it is but. . . that's what makes it so good." She whispered the last part just loud enough for Tsukiko to hear.

Jagred was two step away from joining the fray himself. However, seeing as there was only two enemies, and the giant lizard had more than scared them into submission, the snowkin stayed his blade. He watched in quiet contemplation as the scene unfolded, pondering his options. The kobolds seemed to consider their lizard companion some sort of ‘ancient one’ and was willing to lead them toward some mighty beast in order for them to tame. There was no telling if this beast was the one they were looking for, but it was better than wandering around aimlessly. None of them seemed to have much experience in tracking beasts, after all.

“Then lead on. Your ancient one is growing impatient.”- Jagred grinned, indicating the giant lizard with a flick of his head. He then followed the kobolds, however, never once did he sheath his sword.

Ankt looked at both Nazr and Jagred with confusion evident on his face, though he did catch in rather quickly to their little ploy they had going on in this situation. "Yes, I grow impatient. Take us immediately, whelps," he said, sheathing his sword and crossing his arms in order to give them an impatient look. Whatever this beast was, it could be the thing that they were hunting or it could be the kobolds themselves who killed the man. He did not truly know, all he knew was that these little guys were going to lead him to a beast and he would have to tame it. Ankt wasn't so skilled at taming animals as much as he was at stabbing them with his sword, thus he remained silent until he knew exactly what they were facing. "It has been a long time since I have walked these caves, remind me of this beast," Ankt commanded of the kobolds, needing to know more about what he may be facing in this situation. He just hoped that the Kobolds wouldn't catch onto them, though he held high hopes that the group would be able to make it through this challenge.

“Uwah?! W-what are you saying? Of course you’d bring a gardening book when you go out into the wild! It’s so you can figure out the best way of converting wildlands into farm lands!” Flabbergasted by the Pheran’s lack of healthy logic, Tsukiko touched her cheeks, wondered why they were so warm, and then slapped the book down onto the seat once more, one hand stamped over the inconspicuous cover. “And…I don’t hate it! I’m just…horrifically embarrassed at the face of how unabashedly shameless the author was! T-they really need some spiritual guidance!”

The priestess placed her hand against her chest, felt the hammering of her heart, and then took in a deep breath. “And if it’s good because it’s filthy,” she said, tone as if reciting some scripture she had memorized before, “Then it may well be a sin. So…yeah! I’ll be confiscating this, for the sake of your moral health!”

With that, before the Pheran could get a word in, Tsukiko opened up her satchel and tossed the hideously corrupt book into it.

"Bell... Nice to formally meet you. I know everything leading up to this was a bit haphazard, but I figured it would be a nice gesture. I'm not familiar with a holy knight, so forgive me for that, but I do know of the empire you speak with. It is a very large and well-known one, no? I'm sure your title as a knight, however, is very prestigious in your culture." Tetras spoke, offering a gentle smile as they walked along their path with the plant people. She didn't seem much for small talk, but she was certainly nice, and at least trying. He couldn't blame her for that.

There seemed to be a bit of commotion in the back, some high pitched voices and hushed whispers, and some banging around and he assumed it was his other two female companions. While it didn't seem like anything serious and they weren't in danger, he didn't bother listening in to he conversation. It was rude for one, and he didn't think he wanted to hear about it.

Tetras raised an eyebrow before nodding at Bell, clearing his throat. [color=red]"Well, it's a small island nation called Cedran. Lush forest just like this one for the most part, and a few big cities that I grew up around. In my nation we have a strict and powerful army, and it is centered around being a strong military force, only accepting the best. I was sent here to scout out this new place, but, it was more or less a suicide mission really. I am not like my brethren, even if I seem human, and I realized this was a way to just get rid of me. So, here I am I suppose." Tetras laughed, taken the very harsh reality of his culture lightly.

"What is your culture like, being a holy knight?"