[IC] The Narrow Path

[Gardevoiran]

"Oh, we're not staying here either. If Yashar hunts you down, we're probably next up for helping you," Maggy said as she climbed up onto Aithwale's back, a bag being pulled over onto her own back. "Plus, we know that guy. He'd sooner kill me than you."

Brock opens the back door as the stump rushes out, three thick vines wrapping around Jen's body as it runs towards Charlie, falling down and apart as it approaches. "Charlie, pick the girl up. We gotta go!" A large vine flops out of Charlie as it grabs hold of Jen, placing her on it's own back and securing her tightly down. "Mountains are that way. We gotta go through the Savannah to get to them. Let's move people!" Brock said as he pointed towards the peaks of the mountains, just barely visible over the trees.

You can hear the front door get kicked as everyone piles out. Probably time to leave.

[Skinner35]

"Even better. In which case..." He said as he dropped a large fireball towards the building, blocking all exits. "Let's get moving." He said as he mounted Gobbo on his back securely.

[Gardevoiran]

You notice everyone else is a decent amount ahead of you when all of a sudden you hear a smarmy voice in your ear. One that wasn't friendly, not at all.

"Oi. Where d'you think 'yer goin'?"

You feel your feet halt in place as you turn to see Yashar's student, his hand raised and his eyes visible. His crimson-colored eyes. He was a half elf, not much larger than you, but his robes told you all of what he was. In his free hand held a blood-red sword, gleaming in the rising sun as if it was freshly tinted.

"You got a commitment you gotta fill."

[Skinner35]

The new voice sent an instant, shocking sense of danger down his spine. "Shit..." He said as he set Gobbo down and told hi to get to Brock quickly, then he drew his machete and hoped that this new upgrade would supply some sort of advantage... If it worked...

[Gardevoiran]

Gobbo sprinted off towards Brock as you are left facing this elf. Both of his tomes are open, and you actually recognize one of them as the same tome Death had. It let him summon ethereal scythes, but you didn't know if they did anything special.

"Alright, y'shit. You get one chance from me to tell me why I shouldn't end you here."

You were at his mercy. Both of those tomes he had seemed especially deadly, but you could still fight him if you wanted. It might not spell out the greatest. There was also the way you could talk to him for a bit, see if he'd let you go.

"Go on. I'm listenin'," the elf said as his neck bled slightly from the stitches and scars around his entire neck. He looked like someone attached his head back onto his body. Maybe it's a weak point?

[Skinner35]

"My guess is that Yashar sent you to kill me. I can also guess that you're resurrected." He said, searching for any other hints or clues. "All I have to say, is that if you kill me, you'll have some of the most powerful warriors hunting you down. So it's better if you walk away, or join us." He said, hoping that this fight wouldn't start.

[Gardevoiran]

"Hmph," the elf remarks before closing his tomes, still keeping his sword drawn. "You were on the right track, mate, but you were off by just a hair or two... thousand."

"What do you truly mean by powerful warriors, mate? A paladin with a temper? A skeleton too dumb to realize he can't drink? Oh! That goblin who hasn't been helpful? Sure, you have the girl and the werebear, but they're a pairing anyhow, so once one of them is gone... well... sucks for them, I guess."

"I wasn't meant t'kill ya', oh no. Yashar himself wanted that luxury. Unfortunately for him, my pay rates go higher n' higher as I'm hired, so keepin' ya' alive is in my best interest... for now." The elf takes a pause before continuing, as if he's stalling.

"I'm just stallin' fer' time, now. Yashar gave me enough men to surround the forest and then some. Yer' friends are bein' capped as we speak. I suggest gettin' to them." The elf pauses again as he turns around, his sword sheathed.

"The name's Westley Stride, mate. Next time, this won't be so great for ya'."

And with that, Stride walks off towards the burning house you fled from.

[Skinner35]

"Well Stride, let's hope that next time, that Goblin can do something." He said, Stide's words actually making him think as he sprinted towards his friends. "JEN! MAGG! BROCK!"

[Gardevoiran]

You sprint through the brush in pursuits of your friends, only to find the sight of a scuffle where a giant snake made of plants lies motionless, a paladin underneath them also motionless.

The area around you has been burned, manipulated, and downright exploded in multiple places, a few bodies of orcs and skeletons lay on the ground dead for sure as Jen finally coughs, her voice bringing sound to the unnerving silence of the woods.

"... T-Tobias...?" She utters, her voice waiving. She's not doing good at all.

[Skinner35]

"Jen! What happened?" He said, sprinting to her and beginning to asses her wounds.

[Gardevoiran]

Jen is... largely the same that she was the moment her nose exploded blood out of it. The worst thing that happened was she had a busted lip, but for the most part everything appears fine on her.

"It was fine, until we could not locate you... then they attacked and caught the others... the pet of Brock did not make it..." Jen explained as she coughed some more, a dark smile appearing on her face. "... but... not all is bad..." she chokes out the words as she tries to push herself up, barely able to lift a bit off the ground, but you could still see what the point of her lifting herself up was.

The tome was under her, unscathed. "Brock threw it... I hid it..."

[Skinner35]

He helped her sit up, then he retrieved the tome. "Gods above... You guys continue to surprise me." He said, as he say next to her. "What do you need to become well enough to travel?" He said, looking at her. They needed to be moving soon, and he wanted her to be in the best possible condition.

[Gardevoiran]

As you pull Jen out from under the beast, you notice that her ankle is... well... for lack of a better word, fucked. It's bent in a terrible way that would seem excruciating to you, but Jen is handling it surprisingly well. "... r-rest... I need rest..."

As she says this, you feel the latch on the book release, allowing you to open it, should you dare to. The noise goes unnoticed by Jen, however, as her own face lights up. "My tent...! It is right there!" she exclaims as she points to her belongings, hastily grabbed by Brock on the way out. Thank God he dropped it.

[Skinner35]

He quickly retrieves Jens belongings and gives them to her. The tome became increasingly tempting as she fiddled with her stuff. He pondered on whether or not to open and read it. Eventually, he picked up the book. When he did, he may or may not have given in to the temptation against much better judgment... He hoped that this wouldn't kill him, or make Jen want to kill him...

[Gardevoiran]

As soon as you open the book, Jen's mace flies over and clocks it out of your hands. Clearly she's taking note of how you tried to do some dark magic.

She tries to stand up, but falls forward onto the ground with a thud as she holds her tent, clearly a bit annoyed at how embarrassing that was. "... c-could you... pitch it...?"

[Skinner35]

"Y-Yea... Sorry." He sputtered out as he began to pitch the tent after putting the tome in his bag. After he finished the tent, he retrieved the mace and returned it to her.

[Gardevoiran]

Jen puts her mace on the ground uncaringly as she limps towards her tent, climbing in it as if she's trying to locate something.

She emerges a few seconds later, holding some kind of magical relic, similar to a firearm. She passes it to you as she sits back down, slowly removing her armor to reveal more minor wounds. "Shoot it. Skywards."

[Skinner35]

"Well... Okay. After, I may us your forge to build a stilt to help hear your ankle. I should have a small healing potion in my bag." He said as he aimed the relic towards the sky and pulled what appeared to be a trigger.

[Gardevoiran]

A large flare of light shoots from the firearm into the sky, seemingly as a flare. The light hovers there for a few seconds before it shoots off towards an unknown direction. It did something, that's for sure.

"N-No... I will be fine... the paladins are on their way now."

[Skinner35]

"Fine. Then at least take the potion." He said, fishing it out of his bag and slides it to her. Then he sat down in front of the tent. He felt the tome trying to pull his attention.