Luminosity

The Lord of the Rings

Calariel

---

Calariel busied herself with getting some gear on, throwing on a warmer long sleeved shirt before she secured her chainmail over it. She was busy buckling on her boots when Ellaryn called back to her. She might've been startled by being referred to as "Cal" but it occurred to her that brevity had value in a situation such as this. Throwing the rest of her things into her bag, she made her way out into the hall, bow in hand.

"I'm right behind you," she said to Ellaryn, taking a brief moment to listen and try to observe what was going on in the hall. She'd heard Ofnir mention fire was needed. From the looks of things they were battling against reanimated bodies. Calariel couldn't see quite clearly enough, but she could guess that those that now lay dead and burning were people they had eaten and listened to song with only hours ago. It left a heavy weight on her, but there was no time to dwell on it, not when they didn't know what had caused the tragedy.

Nocking an arrow into her bow, prepared to draw and loose it at any moment, Calariel's glassy eyes sought out the wizard. "How can I help?"

The Lord of the Rings

Calariel and Ellaryn Bracegirdle

---

Calariel was awake before Ellaryn's hand touched her shoulder, immediately aware that something was amiss. More than what she could hear, she could just sense something wrong around her, something foul and wicked. Instantly any drowsiness left her features, and she was alert. She mentally chastised herself for sleeping deeply at all, for expecting that any place this far north would be safe to rest.

While Ellaryn started to collect her gear Calariel threw her sheets off and slipped into her leggings. Judging by the sounds outside their door, there wasn't any time to get into her armor. She supposed she'd need to sleep in it from now on. Warily, she grabbed her bow and quickly slung her full quiver across her back, before buckling on her belt, with the dagger sheathed at the back.

"There's fighting outside," she said, nearly at a whisper. "I can't see very well at all inside here." It was frustrating to admit, but Ellaryn needed to know the situation as it was. If whatever was outside got in, Calariel wouldn't be able to fight it very effectively.

Ellaryn turned as Calariel whispered, she raised one finger to her lips as she inwardly slapped herself. Calariel had already told her about her eyesight and her current thoughts were to flee this place, surely the innkeeper wasn't so bad as to fight his up after Els had had so much free food.

She listened at the door, hearing the fighting outside. Good she thought, Vamyr and Ofnir were there, and there's Thurin joining in. Aelin was outside somewhere, needed a mental note to find him. She turned and gestured to the window, waving Calariel to go and scout whatever was outside. It didn't seem that anything was very close to their room or at least any attention was focused away from it.

Ellaryn in a quiet but rushed state of vacating the inn, quickly checked and gathered any and all remaining gear, while no attention was on the room itself. It wouldn't do to leave anything they would leave behind that they would need.

Bilbo's coffers, what did that girl pack away. Ellaryn cringed at the weight and made her way to the window to pass Calariel her belongings.

"Sounds like Ofnir forgot to pay the bill." whispered Ellaryn.

Calariel found the window mostly fogged over when she tried to peer outside, and proceeded to wipe a space she could look through. She listened to the sounds of struggle beyond their room all the while, eventually hearing Ofnir himself question their location.

"We’re in here!” she called out, still trying to peer out the window. More quietly, she spoke to Ellaryn. "Can you get the door? I think they’re handling things out there. I’ll keep a watch for anything coming.”

Ellaryn rooled her eyes upwards when Calariel called out."Here's your gear before you lose it." she proceded to hand Calariel her own gear to her. "Bad idea," she mumbled to herself, but perhaps there was safety in numbers.

Ellaryn moved back to the door and the sounds of fighting, making sure she had one sword in hand, she took a deep breath before opening up and stepping to one side, read for whatever lay outside in the corridor.

The Lord of the Rings

Cal/Els collab is coming along. Won't be too lengthy I don't think, and hopefully done soon.

Edit: And it's up now!

The Elder Scrolls: Rage of the Waves

Tender, was the word Fiona believed Gaela used. Didn't quite do it justice, but perhaps that was because she wasn't allowed any rest, as was probably needed. Their flight from King's Guard was swift, forcing Fiona up onto a horse to ride quickly despite her only just tended to wound. It left a terrible ache in her belly, and a thorough exhaustion that spread to every limb, but Fiona refused to succumb to it, and kept her consciousness. She claimed to aspire to some kind of toughness; now was the time to prove it.

Unfortunately, she had no strength to protest the banditry they half-performed at the farm house soon afterwards. She supposed, given the way recent events had gone, that the encounter ending in anything other than brutal bloodshed should be treated as a victory. Running her mouth and her fists had gotten her into enough trouble for the moment.

With the night's rest, and some continued aid from both Kiralla and Gaela, Fiona was able to mostly recover before the next ride. The hole left in her jacket and undershirt she stitched up when she found a moment. It wasn't the first time she'd repaired clothing torn in fights, and it would be far from the last.

Camlorn was a welcome sight, even if it heralded the fact that their risky venture was about to come to a head. The bodies hanging with signs around them was no less ominous, especially considering that they were probably wanted themselves. A walled city with a legion of guards would be no easy escape if they were attacked, and Fiona had no illusions about their chances against an entire city guard. She wondered if she was the only one feeling a sense of longing, looking at the call to action around the bandits' necks. It was exactly the kind of job she would want to take, if she had the opportunity.

When they settled back in to another tavern, Fiona listened uneasily to the conversation, the formation of a plan. She would be the first to admit she was no great planner, especially when it came to operations like this. Scouting secure urban locations, forging documents, creating distractions. It sounded complex, and reliant on excellent timing. One piece going wrong could cripple the entire plan.

"As long as I'm not doing much talking," she muttered, following Gaela's words. "I'm not much for subtlety, I'm sure you've noticed." She would be willing to pose as a Vigilant if it helped the plan, but she just knew if she had to verbally pretend, she'd end up blowing their cover. This really wasn't her kind of job.

The Lord of the Rings

@Luminosity

Might need a collab if you have time, send me a PM if you can.

@Tombprince

PM Sent!

The Lord of the Rings

@Luminosity I wasn't sure if the correct term is Bowman, Bowwoman or Bowprincess.

@Tombprince

I think archer works too ;)

I should be able to get a post in later today.

The Lord of the Rings

Same here. Time and energy have been a difficult combination to find, but hopefully this weekend will work out.

The Lord of the Rings

Figured I wouldn't have time to write a collab, so I went ahead and posted instead. Hope its alright.

The Lord of the Rings

Calariel

---

Calariel's mouth hung open in confusion for a long moment at Ellaryn's response, until she understood just how the hobbit girl had interpreted her. It was a strange realization; to many other elves, her gear was well-maintained but ultimately modest and without an excess of ornamentation, and her mannerisms were quiet, meek even. She was fair of appearance as all elves were, but had never thought herself remarkable at all save for her sight, which she'd always been led to believe detracted from her overall value rather than adding to it. But somehow, she came across as someone of royal standing to Ellaryn, a princess of Rivendell or some such. The idea might've made Calariel laugh if she hadn't been so embarrassed.

"I'm not--" she began, but before she could get the words out a coin tossed from Vamyr hit her lightly in the stomach and fell to the floor. She jumped slightly, quickly crouching down to where it fell and scooping it up, her face steadily growing more red.

---

A short time later, Calariel had returned from making sure her horse was secured for the night, and she'd gathered all of her things, to stay with her up in the room that she'd secured. Finally able to rest, she first removed her bedroll and blanket from her pack and left them at the base of her bed. "If you need to use these, don't hesitate," she offered to Ellaryn, before taking a seat on the bed and beginning to remove her outer layers of gear, starting first with her bracers and gloves, and then unbuckling the hardened leather cuirass.

"I fear you may have overestimated my importance," she said softly, arranging her gear in a neat little pile by the nightstand. "I am no one of great importance in Rivendell, just a simple outrider. I'm only different from my kin because of my sight, and that proves a hindrance more often than a help." She realized Ellaryn might not know what she was referring to. Her blindness she believed was obvious, but how it could ever help was not apparent.

"I can see excellently at a distance, you see, but close around me everything grows blurry. I can hardly make out the shape of you, at our current distance." It probably seemed odd that she was an outrider and scout with such a condition, but then, Calariel had always possessed something of a stubborn streak, and she'd earned her place through hard work and demonstration of her capabilities.

The Elder Scrolls: Rage of the Waves

The wine was honestly tempting, but Gaela had a point. Every little motion sent sharp pains through Fiona's abdomen. She'd been hit by arrows before, but luckily enough always avoided having anything vital pierced. She supposed that if her fledgling adventurer career was going to have any length, these kinds of things would happen eventually. It was good that Gaela was around, as Fiona expected she'd be in serious danger otherwise.

"The thought's, ungh, appreciated, Finch," she managed, wincing as she worked herself to a sitting position, back against the wall of the tavern. She still couldn't draw more than tiny bits of breath at a time. Cyrendil's comment got a single, somewhat dark laugh out of her, though her expression immediately morphed to pain afterwards. She wasn't on the best of terms with the Gods, as of a few years ago. No one worthy of execution in the Vigilant's eyes, she was sure, but Fiona and the Gods weren't really speaking to one another.

Courage was something she strove for. So quickly did the judgement seem to flip after the brief display of sacrifice on her part. And undoubtedly they didn't even know the girl she'd saved was the one that stabbed her moments earlier. There was probably some stupidity in there as well. As for her armor, that was just because she was poor and lacked any resources for it. It was bound to hurt her eventually.

"I can walk, yeah," she said, taking Gaela's hand and carefully getting to her feet, using both the Breton woman and the tavern wall to steady herself. She planted the tip of her sword into the ground afterwards, a rather broad and sharp walking stick for the time being. She took the health potion gratefully and quickly downed it. It wasn't going to solve her problems, but she was at least certain she could make the trip to somewhere safer now.

The sounds of centaurs and the struggle of battle still echoed around the village, making Fiona grimace. She hated feeling like this. Weak, out of the fight, vulnerable if any enemy decided they wanted to attack her. All because of one unlucky hit. She took in as strong of a breath as she could.

"Let's get this over with."