[IC] The Gift of the Gods

[xRobynx]

Robyn heaved the injured into the back of the wagon, her small frame and exhausted state made each person much heavier than they would've been. It would be several moments before the elven woman and Rilden joined her outside.

"Please. You have done more than enough for all of us. We will take over from here. Quickly now."

She had already managed to load a few into the wagon before Rilden insisted they finish the job. It was a chivalrous gesture and one she very much appreciated. The shadow-man followed them out and just as she was loading herself into the back of the wagon he made a comment.

“Gods, you look like a fright.”

She looked back at him coldly. While she had no doubts she looked dreadful, she sure felt as such, it was quite a rude thing to say.

“Your kindness knows no bounds, Shadow-man,” she said heaving herself into the front corner of the wagon. Normally she would not have granted him a reply, but given circumstances as they were, it wasn't important on her list for the time being.

The party seemed to split itself up, Rilden and Jamlamin would take another means of transport and the centaur and the two elves would guide her and the other passengers. The two elves started talking amongst themselves just behind on her on the driver's bench. They were talking about the Heir Apparent.

"He's a brave man. Good heart, he will heal this land."

"Aye, he is very different than most humans I've met."

Robyn watched as Rilden and the shadow-man left and thought on their words. They were right, he did seem like a nice man, and a good fit to, as the other lady at put it, heal the land. It was a fine choice of words on her part. She couldn't help but allow a smile to come across her lips. With any luck, the land will be healed, and live or die, she no longer has to mask her gift in fear.

Slowly the cart started moving down the bumpy road, but despite the constant jostling. She quickly fell asleep.

[Heinrich]

Nat squinted while looking at the woman who introduced herself as Darlith. "You need mercenaries that have standards too. I am one of them." He said while curiously examining her face when she took of her hood.Do I know her?.. No... Don't think so.. When the elf asked which of his parent was an elf, Nat sighed responded "My mother. Of the name Caeves. If you know anything of her you can tell me, I'd be in your debt."

However, to the biggest surprise of Nat, this woman Darlith claimed she was hunted by Fusos. "You are? Interesting.." He smiled to the elf and wanter to continue but caught the innkeeper glancing at both of them strangely, thus he bent closer to Darlith and whispered "All of these soldiers followed someone in a wagon. Someone from the village of Sap. And considering they aren't afraid to raid every house, that certain somebody must be of great importance to Fusos. That wouldn't be you, would it?" Nat lifted his eyebrows and smiled. The half-elf then straightened again and lifted his hand and shouted "Hey there, innkeep', we'll want a room. Are you renting them, given these circumstances?" the man mumbled something, took a key from some cabinet and waved Nat to come over. The mercenary nodded and shouted "Just a sec" and then turned to Darlith again "I'm really tired. I marched for quite some time. I'm going to check out northern part of town, the one that was raided most fiercely, first thing in the morning, to know what they were looking for. Feel free to wait for me here if you want to join.. Or just go to my room for all I care. Though I don't share beds with strangers" he gave her a dumb smile and went on to take the key, then continue to the room.

[DELETED324324]

Jamlamin sat on the wagon next to the king the constant bouncing and rumbling was offset by the occasional rock or bump in the road, although he didn't see why he had to pay the villager for the cart when they could of just taken it, but that was the thief talking to him the personality he had let rule his life for a long time his other personality the one that agreed with the lessons his foster mother and father taught him, had hope that maybe it could come back again, "Maybe that stupid elf girl and the king are getting to me." He thought but nevertheless he quickly found something to break the silence with.

"Why are you looking for people like, me and Robyn now?" He asked Rilden saying that girls name felt weird but he knew he was going to be working with these people pretty closely so he should be calling them by their names instead of elf girl, the king, and red haired girl, but that bloody centaur will always be "Half-Man" to him he did not like him and he didn't like Jamlamin which was understandable he had been eavesdropping, but that centaur had all the civility and tact of a drunken orc. But that didn't matter much now as they were trying to escape and he should keep his thoughts on the mission and getting the king out alive.

[TheCheshire]

Alura smiled at Rhovanor's words but didn't say anything, she simply nodded her head. It could be a very good possibility her father had taught him, he had traveled very often. The last time Alura had seen him was when she was about 10, in human years, he had presented her with the necklace that last time. He had died in a raid. He had always been a fierce man, so protective of those he loved and cared about. He had died defending his party, because of his sacrifice many of his traveling party had lived, they had made it back to the village to tell Alura that the last living relative she had, had died. Clearing the lump in her throat, Alura studied her gaze ahead. Pulling her cloak tight back about her, Alura rested back against the seat as they traveled along. Returning her knife back to its holster, the Elven maiden fastened back and returned her gaze back to the road once more. "Rhovanor, how long have you known the King?" She asked quietly, being mindful of the sleeping others in the back.

[Scoutas]

"Fair enough." she took yet another gulp of the beer, and pushed the mug aside. After Nat declared his mothers name, Darlith started at the beer in the mug for a while. "Caeves? That is a name I remember. Know a few people by that name though. I take it, that she was in that mercenary group called Sword... Sons? Probably why you, yourself, turned out to be one. I haven't seen her for quite a long time, yet she was still alive last time I've seen her, if that pleases you. I helped her settle in this little town, if you've got a map I could point you to it. That's all I really can help you with."

Seeing his surprise to her being chased down by Fusos, she smiled, yet his answer concerned her. "It might very well be me. I wasn't on that wagon, so I'd suspect that it wasn't me, yet it might just be." she glanced at the innkeep, as Nat asked to rent a room and she gulped down last of that beer and pushed the mug away. "First thing in the morning? Well, I need to know who they were and what they were doing there, so I'll tag along." and she let out a loud laugh after she heard him. "And here I thought we were getting along so nicely." she laughed to herself. "Innkeep, another key." she took the key and started heading towards her room, but before both of them went in, she glanced at Nat. "I don't share my bed with anybody."

She plopped down her backpack on the ground and locked the door behind her. She put her bow besides the bed and took off her boots and laid down, looking at the ceiling. For some reason she felt safer this time. Maybe it was because of the beer she drank, or maybe it was because she was more or less certain that it was not her that the Orcs were looking for. Whatever the cause, she knew she'd have an easier time falling asleep tonight and she did just that. They didn't have much time left this night, as morning was already rather close.

[Jones Sparrow]

Rilden

Once back at Robyn's shop, he was glad to see Robyn, Chiron, and Alura were nowhere in sight. Now if Fusos' men did follow any trail, it would be Jamlamin and Rilden's. It was a rather bumpy ride, the mud wasn't a problem, but it made them uneasy on how sturdy this wagon was, and the terrain of the road. When the thief asked why he was trying to find people like him and Robyn, he shifted a bit in their seat. "My father would tell me the classic stories of how the High Empire rose, and fell. How the heirs to the throne went in to hiding from Fusos in the Halfling town not many people know of... And just like the rest of the land, we all had this feeling of lost hope. The Tyrant would kill anyone who claimed they were a gift bearer. Anyone who tried to fight against him, was soon never heard from again."

"I was told that one day one of us will rise to the challenge. To oppose Fusos. There were many times in my life where I lost hope. Where I think nothing would ever be happy again... I saw true torture, and terror. In Dorden. All those people suffering far much more than I had ever dreamed of, and how my father said we were destined to help these people. It took selfish acts for me to realize that I had to do something about it. I have no gifts, but I knew the stories of how if all the Gift Bearers stood up against Fusos, they would be strong enough to. Right now, we have the gift of the shadows, and the gift of life with us. Hopefully we can find the rest soon." Rilden finished, and as he did, he felt a bit of unease.

"Listen... do you hear anything?" He asked. There was not a sound in the dense forest. "Prepare yourself... We will lead them off the trail, and then you will use your gift. We will need to travel on foot until we reach the town." Rilden said, taking sneaky glances around the area, to try and spot any orcs hiding.

Rhovanor

The trip was surprisingly easy. The wagon was made much sturdier than Rilden's so it had less bumps. It was weird to not have his bow equipped, and not having Rilden to talk to, but he felt... at ease that Alura was here. It also helped that Chiron was walking by the wagon as well. The ride was quiet for courtesy of the injured, and Robyn who did so much for all of them. The stars were very slowly starting to shine through the clouds, the mud was still thick, and the wildlife was soothing. When Alura asked when he first met Rilden. "I first met Rilden, son of Thaimos almost 10 years ago. I joined a band of thieves who only stole from the corrupt, and supporters of the tyrant." He spoke loud enough for anyone awake to hear the story if they were curious, but also quiet enough to keep those asleep.

"His father just died by a raid by Fusos, searching for the legendary sword. Our leader took him in. To be honest, he seemed to be just like an ordinary human who took losses badly. The veterans knew of his father, he was a great man with a kind heart, and made us promise that if anything happened to him, we would teach him what he needed to know. We didn't think he would last long. But the more he trained with us, and the more he would fall, the faster he would get up, and try again. Our group of thieves were disbanded after an ambush, so for a bit Rilden and I would travel the land. We grew a bond, and at those times, we lost hope for anything good... We would fight, and steal from the corrupt, help if we could. The more we were together, the more he reminded me of Aleden.... But Rilden was destined to be captured for the stories of the 'High King.' I kept Fortis for him until he came back. When he left, he was angry, lost, and with no hope. I do not know what happened when he was in that gods forsaken city... But he returned with a desire to find these gift bearers. He was more humble, and willing to fight for those stories told for so long..."

[Heinrich]

Nat went to his room to sleep thinking of the words Darlith said. "This woman knew my mother. And she seems the closest thing that I found to her in ages.". He didn't even take off his clothes, just unbuckled the sword, bow and quiver. The sleep found him fast -- Nat was used to regain his strength from just a few hours of sleep. He opened his eyes only at the moment the first sunlight crept up through the window and touched his eyes. Rubbing his eyes, the sellsword put his weapons back on him and went back to the main hall of the inn.

There were a couple of townsfolk there, but they seemed rather shocked by the events of the night, thus they only exchanged fearful whispers. Innkeeper glanced at Nat who was coming to his bar counter. The half elf put some coins on the counter and said "For the room and for some food. Preferably a loaf of bread." As the innkeeper nodded reluctantly and went to bring what was asked of him, Nat sat on nearby tabletop waiting for the Elven woman Darlith. At the same time the sellsword looked into his pouch and counted his coins - he had enough for about a week.Need to find an actually paid job. he thought and sighed.

[TheCheshire]

Alura watched Rhovanor with her bright eyes, a small smile on her lips at all times. Nodding her head, she looked out before the wagon once more. Listening to the methodical sounds of the horses hooves beating the ground, there was something lulling about it.

"Well, he's human. Most humans are brash and sometimes a bit hungry for things... However, you can tell his heart is pure. He's learned his way, all he needed was a purpose. Something to give him meaning and hope." Alura said, thinking to herself. "It is funny how you grow up can affect you so. In Sablebrush, we don't believe in the evils of man. Now, I know it's naive and foolish to think like that. I have learned that men can be the cruelest of creatures sometimes...." She stopped, shuddering at a dark thought that constantly plagued her and crept to her in the form of nightmares at night, before she continued on.

"But also, there can be good in their hearts too. They have to learn how to quell the darkness, how to cultivate the good and become a person of greater purpose. Despite the darkness that man has shown me, I always look for the good in someone" Alura said, smiling warmly at Rhovanor.

[DELETED324324]

As soon as the king said to ready yourself Jamlamin had his blade drawn. Paranoia crept it's way into his head like an illness. "Perhaps we should get moving." He said, taking up a stance that just oozed inexperience, truthfully Jamlamin had never really used his falchion as he had never killed anything before. But nevertheless Jamlamin stood his ground and wouldn't give it up without the kings say-so.

[Scoutas]

Darlith slept well. Not much, but she slept well. She crawled out of her bed, stretched and looked outside the window. The sun probably had shown itself over the horizon, but she couldn't see it. She breathed in the morning air and plopped down in a chair besides. She pulled her backpack near her with her leg, opened it and pulled out a small pouch and opened it. The pouch had some sort of crushed and dried plant inside. She pulled out a pipe, put the plant inside and lit it. She inhaled the smoke and smiled, closing the pouch, putting it back in the backpack and putting her gear back on.

The inn seemed much more lively this morning, well, in comparison to how empty it was last night. Darlith walked towards the counter, past someone from the town, threw a money pouch on in, which she just snagged from a person she walked by. As this business was done, she looked around and saw Nat sitting by a table, munching on a loaf of bread. She sat down on the opposite side from him. "I hope the pipe doesn't bother you. Good morning."

[Jones Sparrow]

Rilden

Rilden picked up the pace, he saw Jamlamin ready to go, but he wasn't sure if his blade, or his would do much in a battle against the army... It didn't take long before another cry was shot out. They were found. "Don't let them escape!" One snared. Rilden was now going faster and faster, leaning the wagon side to side so they couldn't be shot by arrows. Some caught up with the wagon, and as Jamlamin fought the people on his side, Rilden held on to the reigns with one hand, and pulled out Fortis. He blocked a swing from a blade, Rilden twisted the blade, and flipped upwards, the enemy's sword flying upward. he sliced the orc's chest, and he fell off his horse. Events like this kept happening, and Rilden no longer kept to the road. He wasn't going to lead them to the safest place in Vahldir.

"Jamlamin! Now!" Rilden screamed as the orcs were not as close, the trees making them lose their pace. He didn't know how to describe the feeling of vanishing, but he was sure it was a nicer feeling than being stabbed. They fell to the floor, letting the wagon and horses keep going. Rilden slowly got up, not wanting to cause noise. He didn't know how long Jamlamin could stay invisible, but he had to guess that two people was even more difficult to control. They both quickly made their way to a small ditch in the forest, and he fell to his stomach under some leaves...

"Where did they go?! The wagon is empty!"

"Star looking everywhere! That was Him!"

The two stayed as quiet as they possibly could, he could feel the Orcs and humans coming closer and closer... but thank the gods, they never found them. They both still sat in silence even when they did leave, just to make sure... and finally, Rilden slowly rose. "Come, now. We aren't that far... We can make it before the sun rises." And with that, the two set off for the road once more, almost entirely in silence the whole time just in case they were found.

It had only taken a couple of hours before Rilden could see the rise of smoke behind some hills. "Faycrest..." Rilden said, exhausted from the day, but his pace not slowing. Once they got in the village, it was full of rolling hills and a large river in the center of the towns. Small houses were made on those hills, all looking warm and welcoming... It was as if they traveled 500 years back in time. To a place of safety and comfort. The two men were soon stopped by a Halfling, and a tall elf. It was Rhovanor.

---

Rhovanor

Alura was very interesting. Not much people had that viewpoint on humans, or anyone lately. Especially elves. They were the perfect species, or were supposed to be. Hearing her say how she had hope for this human she had just met, amazed Rhovanor. He very much liked this elf... now for many reasons. The rest of the ride was surprisingly peaceful. They had to stop occasionally to make sure they weren't being trailed (Chiron helped with trying to find anyone. Luckily no one was there). The only time they heard something that sounded like an update on Rilden and Jamlamin's status was a cry that could only belong to Fusos' men. Rhovanor prayed that the thief didn't betray a good man...

They finally made it to Faycrest. The village seemed to get rid of a lot of worry and stress for Rhovanor. As Alura and Chiron helped the refugees out, Rhovanor leapt off the wagon and stared where they came from, hoping not to see Fusos' men, or a fire in the distance. "What? What is the meaning of this!? Who are you? What are you doing here!" A squeaky voice exclaimed at the crowd. Rhovanor looked down to see a small red headed man, staring at them with terror.

"We mean no harm. We are the party of the High King, Rilden. Son of Thaimos." Rhovanor said to the little Halfling. His eyes went wide. "T-Thaimos? His son? We have not seem the house of Aleden for centuries!" The Halfling said. "Well.. the wagon shows the truth. And Fusos isn't known for talking right away... Please. We will shelter you. I am Gregson. The mayor of the town... Are these injured? Here, I will lead you to the hospital... Ever since the House of Aleden had lived here, we constructed a few human sized houses..." He started to waddle off, a trail of them following after them. Rhovanor stood still though. He kept his eyes on the road leading to Damascus... He will stay up all night to make Sure Rilden was alright.

---

Rhovanor had to poke himself many times to stay awake. He was sitting on top of a house as the rest of the village slept for once: peacefully. He watched the moonlight reflecting off the river water, he watched the smoke coming from the chimneys... the sounds of the wildlife... It was strange to think that the rest of the world was in terror and chaos... He was just on the verge of falling asleep before he saw something emerge on to the road... Two men... Rilden!

Rhovanor leapt off the roof, and went for the mayor's house. Soon the two were running for Rilden and Jamlamin. "Its good to see you in one piece, my friend." Rhovanor said with a pat on his back, and giving a nod to Jamlamin. He was glad he decided to say. Although he wasn't so sure about his morals, he was sure they would need his assistance as well.

"It was a tiring trip, my friend. I just hope you ride was more peaceful." Rilden said, giving a hand shake to the mayor. "We had no troubles." Rhovanor said.

"Good... Now, Sir Gregson. I am in dire need of a place to sleep. Just give me the word and I could fall asleep on the road right now."

"Oh no, The King is not going to sleep on the ground! Now, follow me Sir Rilden, and Sir Jamlamin." And together, they all made it to a place to sleep for the night.

[TheCheshire]

Alura had been provided a bed some time ago. She had slept fitfully, tossing and turning. She never slept very well these days. She awoke violently, Sitting straight up in bed. She caught the scream in her throat by covering her mouth with her hands. When her breathing slowed and her heart beat became normal, she moved from her bed. Quickly wrapping her cloak about her, Alura quietly made her way from her room. Everything was quiet and sleeping. The Elven maiden brushed her hair from her face, rubbing the heels of her hands against her eyes. She wandered outside, the sun was just beginning to rise. She felt exhausted but couldn't muster the will to head back up to her room to sleep. She couldn't handle another round of night terrors.

[DELETED324324]

As soon as they made it to town Jamlamin was on the verge of collapsing, he had never used his ability to cloak someone else and it wore him out. As soon as he was in bed he was snoring softly, and a small puddle of drool was stuck in a crease of the bed. But Jalamin had always been an early riser as soon as the suns rose and cast it's rays down, Jamlamin was awake.

He had a purpose that morning and that was to train his ability, he pushed himself hard he started by just making a small object disappear, then he made the cart vanish, after the cart was himself and the cart which drained him immensely but he pulled it off, The last thing he tried was making the shadows form a solid shape that could be touched but it didn't work. Jamlamin finshed training, when the halflings were just getting up for the day ahead, exhausted Jalamin made his way back to where he was staying and waited.

[xRobynx]

Despite the bumpy trip and the horrors of the night Robyn's sleep was unfazed. Her body demanded compensation for her deeds of the day. At one point she remembers being woke up and lead to a building, but she had to admit it was all in such a haze that any further detail might as well be a mystery. Now inside she lay down and quickly fell back into slumber.

~ ~ ~ ~

It wouldn't be much longer before Robyn stirred awake. Slowly her eyes opened to take in the new environment around her. Slowly she stood and stretched out her arms, her body protested the stretch with audible pops. Despite all that, she felt very much revitalized.

Around her lay her sleeping comrades, or at least most of them. Her eyes scanned the room in the dim light taking a head count. There was Rhovanor in the corner. Rilden was not far. She was glad to see he had made it. There, however, was an empty bed. She wagered it belonged to Alura.

Where did she go? she thought to herself.

Quietly she made her way through the room and almost out the door before spying the shadow-man in the corner. She gave him a small nod of acknowledgment but in truth was very uncomfortable around him and didn't trust him. She wouldn't say anything as she slowly crept out the door, being careful not to make noise as to rouse the others.

Outside the early morning chill brushed her skin causing bits of gooseflesh to appear on her legs. Her attire was not the best in these circumstances, but she'd make due. She tightened her jacket around herself as her eyes fell upon a familiar figure in the dim light of the rising sun, Alura.

“You're up early,” she said as she walked up beside her. She looked over at her companion who still looked exhausted. “I've seen that face many-a-time. Might I ask what is bothering you?”

She gave her companion a moment as she looked out upon their surroundings. The city was filled with small homes and businesses, and a river lay just down the way, to their right a road leading away. If she had to wager a guess, she'd say they were in Faycrest.

[DragonBeastMode]

The trip went will, no mishaps, orcs, or other creatures. Chiron was actually relaxing, he had been walking with the horses, his half brothers, he liked to call them. They understood him, more then any creature. When they got to the town, the future king, and the spy, had made it. Chiron would still keep an eye on this guy, he wouldn't trust him, if the world was on fire, and the only way to quench the flames, was to trust the spy, he would rather piss out the fire. The halfling named Gregson, brought everyone to a place for them to sleep. Or course as usual, there was no place for the centaur to sleep. Gregson apologized, fearing that Chiron would be in raged. "It's ok I understand, one day I will create a portable centaur sleeping chamber." He started to chuckle, to show the halfling that he wasn't angry, and he understood. "Until then, I'll just sleep against, the wall over there." He pointed at the corner of the wall, it was big enough for him to rest in.

When Chiron woke up, he could see that the future king, and the Rhovanor, were still asleep. Alura, and Robyn, must have left, to go do girl things, or something. The spy was coming back, from doing something, Chiron just smirked at him. He galloped out of the building, when he was out of the front door, the halflings, tried to look at him. Being not taller than half of his right front leg, they could barely see his face, without being blinded by the sun. Chiron felt weird, but also powerful, the halflings feared him, yet respected him. Most creatures did neither, they just made fun of centaurs, being the Gods' mistakes and what not. Chiron had to find somewhere to stretch out, and relax, like a bar or something.

[TheCheshire]

"Morning, healer." Alura greeted with a tired smile. The Elven maiden turned away from Robyn slightly when she spoke about what was bothering her. "As woman in the healers position, we don't often turn people away. If ever, even than. We have a need to always help those around us. A while back, I happened upon a camp of men in my travels. One of the men had an arrow through his shoulder and was bleeding profusely. I offered my talents, requesting No form of payment. After I had finished my work I instructed how to clean and take Care for the wound. It was than that the men took their payment from me. They satisfied their carnal desires of the flesh upon me...." Alura's voice fell off for a moment as she took a shaky breath.

"That night I killed all of those men. I slit their throats in their sleep, and the man whose life I had saved, I smothered him. I dream of that night... but what scares me the Most of that night is how I mindlessly took their lives. I watched the life fade from their eyes. That night I was capable of such evil things. What I did was a terrible thing." Again, she lost her voice as a single tear rolled down her cheek. Clearing her throat, she raised her chin and smiled to Robyn.

[xRobynx]

From Alura's first words Robyn could tell this was no mere matter of bad dreams. This was a much larger matter and one she could readily understand the nightmares. Still, it was hard to imagine how devastating her experience has been on her. Robyn couldn't honestly sympathize with her and somehow she knew Alura would know. She listened quietly to her words as her story went from bad to worse.

Robyn felt bile well up in her gut as continued. Such a circumstance were truly disturbing but in her heart Robyn couldn't blame her. She couldn't promise that she wouldn't have done the same thing given the chance.

She looked over at her elven comrade who now had a tear rolling down her face. The elven woman was certainly strong, she hid matters well from the others. Hell, she would've never suspected if she hadn't told her. She gave her a smile, forced for sure. Robyn replied with one of her own.

She fell silent for several moments as she cast her gaze out over the near river, the sun's rays starting to glisten off its surface. She had to choose her words carefully.

“I couldn't say that I wouldn't have done the same thing,” she admitted. “Don't be so hard on yourself/ You wouldn't be alone in your actions.”

She looked back up at her taller elven companion, “Despite the situation we cannot go against the current of time, we can only ride along it. We can, however, repent our past deeds and do everything within our power to make it right.”

She looked back at the water, it somehow always had fascinated her, “As one woman to another I could not begin to imagine the feelings of that night. But remember that regardless of who's hand it was justice was served in accordance to the laws of the land. You are still alive and cannot fret on the past lest it destroy you. Scars will happen, but there is no reason for it to consume your life.”

She glanced back at her with a smile, “Besides, you must make peace with yourself before you can carry on with your life. I suspect you have caught the eye of Rhovanor. I've seen how he looks at you. I suspect you have noticed as well. You talk so kindly to him.”

[Heinrich]

Nat nodded to the approaching Darlith "Rise and shine." he said, carefully rolling half of a loaf of bread into a fabric, then placing the roll into his backpack. When asked about the pipe, he waved Darlith's concern off "I'm okay with that." In truth the half elf was burning with the desire to know more about his mother, but he did not want to rush things. The appearing time of this elf was somewhat too good to be true and the sellsword knew that, even though not many, there were people in this world that wanted him dead. Thus Nat told her a couple of his secrets -- to gain her trust, but not all of them -- to not allow to be manipulated.

"We should go. If you want to get some supplies or finish your pipe, catch up with me." he said and went out of the tavern. Making his way to the northern part of town, Nat looked around. The town seemed smaller than he thought at night. Only a few souls were seen around after what happened and only a few of them didn't hide seeing Nat approaching. The parts he reached after a dozen minutes of walk have already resembled the outskirts more than the town itself. The forest trees were more common than buildings around here.

"This was the place that was hit by Fusos' raiding party the most." Nat said looking around "Seeing that everything seems calm around, they must've found something". Some buildings here seemed fine. Others, however, had their doors broken out, some had their windows smashed. The most unfortunate ones were burned. "Likely, these are the ones, that did not have their doors opened. Most of inhabitants must've been sleeping." he mumbled looking at the ransacked part of town.

[TheCheshire]

Alura smiled again at Robyn's words. "Thank you again for your understanding. I believe that this too will be something that will heal in time." She smiled at some of the Halflings who were milling about this early in the morning, starting their day off.

She thought to Rhovanor and chuckled a little. "He is definitely very kind. I have been afraid of most human males since the incident but Rhovanor's friend is a good man. It only reflects on what type of man Rhovanor is himself. I am afraid though, if he were to know of those men and what they did to me.... Would he look at me with such eyes? No man wants a woman who has been tainted by another man's touch like I have been." Alura said, practically snarling. She wasn't one to normally become vehement but when it came to this talk she couldn't help it.

[Jones Sparrow]

As soon as Rilden reached a house, he walked in, stripped off his weapons and leather armor, and collapsed, falling asleep instantly. It seemed like only a few minutes before he woke to sunlight hitting his face. He sat up to see Rhovanor sleeping in the corner, breathing silently, although Rilden was sure he was snoring himself. He apologized to anyone who happened to be near him. He slowly rose to his feet. When out of his dark brown leather armor he wore a stained white shirt, with a brown vest, and a green cloak around his neck. His pants were black, and his boots a dark brown.... He should really wash this stuff. Gods knows when the next time he would have this opportunity again. He silently made his way out of the house, and outside.

The village was even more beautiful during the sunrise than at night. The sun shone off behind the hills, making the water shine, and the houses look as if they were showered in gold. Some of the villagers were out and about. Halflings were naturally curious, and having a human sized wagon, a centaur, and the human houses active made them very eager to see who was out here.

He saw Robyn and Alura talking by the water. They talked quietly, so he had no intentions of just joining in the conversation. Jamlamin was out as well, looking tired... He was thankful for his work last night, and it seemed he had been working on his powers for quite some time now... Rilden would have to gather everyone somewhere later today. To have a plan on where to go next, and what exactly they were getting in to.

"Haven't slept that well in a very long time." Rhovanor said, stretching as he walked out of the house. He took his armor off as well, leaving only a dark green cloak, brown boots and pants, and a elfish brown tunic. His very dark green eyes scanned the place, stopping a bit at Robyn and Alura, and then squnting in Jamlamin's path. "He's a good man, but has that corruption all man has." Rilden said to him, obvious that he knew he didn't like him.

"I admit he did help last night... but if he sways in the wrong direction, I won't hesitate to strike him down." Rhovanor warned. Rilden looked over at him, and titled his head. "He may have a gift from the darker gods... but I don't think he will betray us. Especially after Fusos killed his gift bearer allies." He turned over to face Rhovanor, giving a small smile. "How did Miss Alura treat your bow last night?" Rilden asked. He laughed when the elf's face turned red.

"It was good to talk to one of my kind again, I admit..." Rhovanor said quietly. He was shy with his emotions. It wasn't uncommon to hide things like that... But Rilden was someone he trusted to keep secrets, and to not judge from the past. "She is very beautiful... with her admiration for everyone, and her willingness to help those in need, even the outlawed High King." He looked over at him with a nod. "We have made very good allies last night. All humble, and having great skills... We just might be able to kill the Tyrant."

Rilden smiled at he talked about Alura, and then the new allies. Both he and Rhovanor were very glad that Robyn, Chiron, and Jamlamin were with them. All had great skills... He just hoped that Rilden wouldn't let them down. "Indeed... Come, lets go find a place to eat. I hear Faycrest ale and their breakfast is legendary."