The Futility of Dragon-Hunting [Tris]

[Emma]

Du Weldenvarden was not among my favourite places in the world. My home was anywhere where I could fly- not just on the back of a dragon, but on the deck of a ship, racing across desert sands or shimmering oceans. Wind in my face, butterflies in my stomach. Movement. The openness of sea and sky had always been thrilling and inviting to me, not cold and exposing like Ikehr insisted it was. Even when thunderstorms broke the sky and turned the world upside down, there was nothing I could compare to the sheer ecstasy of being free. That being said, it was probably little surprise to anyone that I really, really did not like tight spaces- and Du Weldenvarden just happened to be one enormous claustrophobic’s nightmare. Here the trees were so tall and wide, they twisted together, forming a seemingly impenetrable knot. The smallest ones were fifty feet just to the lowest branches. The massive canopy’s browns and greens very nearly obscured the sky, and an eon’s worth of fallen leaves had turned the forest floor into thick, spongy mulch. I’d hate to see what Nädindel’s swamps were like. If the sunlight was only sporadic here, it had to be pitch-black over there.

Aside from the uncomfortable landscape that had to be the reason Du Weldenvarden’s elves were pants-soiling insane, there was another thing that was bothering me.

The mission was simple- go find the dragons living in the forest, spy on them, see if they were doing anything bizarre, and report back to high command in Ilirea. Since dragons were capable of sensing the presence of other dragons, however (nothing that I’d ever heard about, but Rider dragons had always seemed to be the poor man’s version of the wild ones anyway), I’d been rarely forbidden to take him along with me. Ikehr and I had celebrated- two hundred years, and we finally got a vacation from each other! Huzzah! But we had only been let off after much warning and ways of coping with the stress of being half a continent away from each other. At the time, I’d laughed- finally, no egghead moron blabbing inside my head about every decision or thought I had. That thing was worse than a conscience. Ikehr had muttered something about finally getting some sleep and catching up on his reading, and we’d parted without so much as a farewell tussle. I’d skipped out of Ilirea and celebrated in every tavern on the way to the forest, but as I got farther and farther, my mood got sourer and sourer. At the last few inns, I hadn’t drunk for pleasure, but merely to drown my sorrows.

My companion wasn’t much help either. Obviously, since I’d just end up lost and insane if I was let loose in the forest all alone, I’d been attached to a native guide that, as luck would have it, seemed to have a personal grudge against the Riders. I’d been dropped off by dragonback in Ellesméra, where I’d met the guide in person- Laereth Mormeril. She had since led me to the Hamarr, a ring of mountains to the southwest that lay directly west of Kirtan- but that didn’t mean she had to be pleased about it, apparently. She had spent most of the trip far ahead, usually disappearing from sight until I climbed over a fallen tree or ducked under a huge bough. She had to be wary of danger, she’d said- but I knew why she was keeping so far ahead. Her accent was southern, meaning she was from Kirtan, and that gave me an unnecessary pang of guilt throughout the trip, and contributed to my steadily rising temper. I tried to place what it was that was making me so angry- my last trepanning hadn’t been so long ago, only a couple of months, although maybe the stress was making my brain swell again. It had to be that or the fact that it was far too warm for so late in summer, that was giving me a massive headache.

Luckily, I wasn’t moving. We were supposed to be near the end of the tree line, every deity of every religion be thanked, and if we camped any closer we’d come to the attention of the dragons. Laereth was off scouting the area while I sat in a clearing- the tiniest clearing I’d ever sat in- with my warhammer on my knees and my arms folded as I glared into space. The animals here were very strange- things that looked like snakes until they stood up and unsettlingly resembled a man, enormous bugs that repeated anything you said (the ones that had been bothering me would now only say, “PISS OFF, YOU WANKERS” and other profanities) and large eyes that watched me from the bushes, but disappeared when I looked directly at them. As I sat there, silently threatening anything that tried to eat me, my mind roiled, and I felt my eye twitching. At once I attempted to make something useful of myself. I gathered up twigs and shed bark, knowing better than to touch the wood on the trees themselves, and set to work attempting to build a fire for our lunch. It was only after I’d sat down with my pile and picked up two pieces of wood that something horrifying occurred to me.

I’d never set a fire alight by myself before. Ikehr had always breathed any we needed. After a long moment of staring dumbly at my pile, I sat up straight, determined to try. For the next several minutes, I sat there rubbing fruitlessly, often breaking the twigs I forced together and having to replace them. My irritation steadily climbed, churning around in my stomach very much like I’d consumed poison. After a long moment, I put my last pair down, and stared deeply into the pile. Maybe my gaze would make it burst into flames. It was only then that I realized Laereth had reappeared- she walked unnervingly silently, so the only reason I did know was because she appeared beside me, wiping dark blood off her knife. I glared at her back as she wordlessly began to set up the tents, thoroughly sick of the silence. Taking up my sticks again, I initiated a conversation regardless of what she thought of me. However, my voice came out somewhat mangled and hard- I felt like someone who wasn’t there was laughing at me.

“Ya fancy theatre, Laereth? I was at the theatre two nights ago, the National… your National… feck it all, the Royal National theatre. Fine place. Saw a play there.”
And just what would Ikehr say to that? ‘Ramsey, surely you jest. Excrement has more culture than you,’ that’s what he would say.
“It was a right play, damn you!” I exploded.
‘Once again, your voice is comparable to a certain species of primate known for their shrill cries. I believe they toss their own feces when threatened,’ he’d sneer.
“Oh, BRILL! So now I’m to be bollocked and buggered and narked and gutted if I saw a bloody play, am I? S’ALRIGHT, IT WAS ONLY A SOD-BUGGERING PLAY!”
‘Ooh, out of curiosity, was Moria Alante in it?’
“NO, Moria Feckin’ Alante wasn’t in it! Laebus Feckin’ Pilpen wasn’t in it neither, or Thalin Feckin’ Marend or any big stars! NYX’S SANCTIONED ARSE, what do you bleeding want from me, hmm? Hmm? HMM?! I mean, Nyx, at least I BOTHER to get off my fat, faffing, flippin’ huge, scrummy, festering dragon and actually GO to the bloody- OH, WHY WON’T THIS FECKING FIREWOOD BEHAVE?!” I raged, tearing into the wood. “NYX!!! WHAT IS THE BLOODY POINT OF BLOODY TRYING, JUST FER ONCE IN YER BLOODY LIFE, JUST TRYING, TO MAKE AN HONEST- DECENT- CAMPFIRE FER NO OTHER MOTIVE OTHER THAN GRUB, AND A DECENT BLOODY DESIRE… WITHOUT THE PISSING, ARSING THING COMING APART IN YOUR HANDS?!”
Only then did I notice the very strange look Laereth was giving me, like I’d just started talking to myself. I blinked slowly, my rage dissipating, and promptly cleared my throat.
“Anyhoo, I saw a play there, by Heslant, who or whatever that is, and I started thinking- Oh, BLOODY HELL!” I roared. “THIS COCKING FIREWOOD!!!”

Character(s) Used;; Nemo Ramsey
Words;; 1380
Muse;; Good at the beginning... petered out at the end, this is NOT my best Nemo rant.
Thoughts;; Tris, I'm sorry I didn't put much about your character, I don't think I can write Laereth all that well. XD But I'll spend more time in the next one!! For this one, I thought it would be interesting to have a Rider and dragon experience mental/emotional instability when separated. I probably failed, but I miss Nemo's hamminess. XD

[Tris]

Laereth was flying. Or at least she felt like she was, it had been so long since she had run though the forest of Du Weldenvarden that she had forgotten how it made her feel. Though it was good to be back she was haunted by the memories that had driven her away, it seemed behind every tree there was a new memory that laughed at her and made her run faster.

But of course there was no leaving, for she had been charged to escort a dragon rider, Nemo Ramsey, though the forest to find and spy on the wild dragons living there. Laereth hated walking into something unknown and she knew nothing of dragons and all she knew of the riders where there cowardess during the blue divide. But Ramsey rather contradicted her ideas of riders, she had pictured a book loving, soft spoken elf. But Nemo Ramsey was none of these things, she was the smallest, loudest, most moody elf Laereth had ever met.

For most of the trip Laereth kept in front, liking the time she got to herself but sometimes her mind wandered to her dead family and she would sit in a tree for hours, and then find Nemo sitting somewhere grumbling about Du Weldenvarden elves.

They had gone as far as they could for a little while and Laereth had left Ramsey sitting in a small clearing as she went and wandered, but she didn’t go far, for though she wouldn’t admit it, she did not want to meet any dragons with out the rider around. When she got back she found Nemo staring into a pile of fire wood, it was a comical site but she just turned and started to put up the tents, she could almost feel Ramseys glare.

“Ya fancy theatre, Laereth? I was at the theatre two nights ago, the National… your National… feck it all, the Royal National theatre. Fine place. Saw a play there.” Nemo said it as if she resented herself for doing it. Laereth would have just ignored Nemo and gone about her business but the elf started to have an argument with herself, it sounded like Laereth was hearing one side of the argument. Getting slightly worried she turned around and stared at the rider, she couldn’t imagine what her face looked like at that moment, when Ramsey finally noticed she stopped and cleared her throat saying, “Anyhoo, I saw a play there, by Heslant, who or whatever that is, and I started thinking- Oh, BLOODY HELL!” She roared. “THIS COCKING FIREWOOD!!!”

Laereth blinked and then blinked again, trying to get her thoughts in order, are all dragon riders like this? looking at Nemo, Laereth guessed it was not the right time to stay quiet so she said, ” What play did you go see?” Trying to sound natural and not forced, and remembering the fire wood she whispered a word of command and it lit, leaving Nemo to glare at her. But she forgot about Nemo when she heard a roar in the distance, startled she reached for her bow and quiver, and looked questioningly at Ramsey.





Thought: Not my best, but not bad. Lol, i love Nemo XD

[Emma]

It only took three bloody days, but Laereth finally decided to feel sorry for me.

I glared down at the newly born fire, at how easily it had sprung into life. Normally, I would have responded to my own crippling ineptitude with enough swearing to give a veteran sailor a heart attack, but now I had a sort of fear curling up inside of me. I’d always wondered why, after two centuries of sharing my brain with the worst sort of person imaginable, I hadn’t gone ‘round the bend. Now that Ikehr was gone, I had been talking to myself like some kind of nutter. He was clearly not there; that had just been my own mind playing tricks on me. I panicked, and for some reason reached up to grab the sides of my head, like I could stop any more insanity coming in. What was this? I was just getting worse every day. At this rate, by the time I got back to Ilirea I would be a foaming wreck, giving Ikehr plenty of reason to laugh at me. That thought twisted the knife in my already injured pride, and I tried desperately to pull myself together. People who were actual, complete lunatics never doubted their sanity, correct? The fact that I could tell something was wrong, very wrong, had to be a good sign. And what had Ikehr once said? ‘Ramsey, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.’ Right, like that Vaoris kid who offended me over and over again and always somehow expected something other than me breaking his arms. I took in a deep breath, relaxing somewhat, and only then remembered that Laereth had asked me something. I blinked slowly. She had responded to my attempt to instigate a conversation?

I cleared my throat. “Don’t rightly remember the name, but it was something about a ‘orrible future where the dragons are all dead, Alagaësia is ruled by a nutter that wiped out the Riders, and their one hope is… wait for it… this bloke who finds a blue rock that turns out to be an egg.” I paused, and then laughed aloud. “But like that’s ever gonna happen!”

As if to counteract my statement, a deafening roar from outside the clearing put a very abrupt stop to the conversation. I got up immediately, on the balls of my feet and hammer held aloft. My reflexes were rather slow compared to Laereth, however- she already had her bow in one hand, and the other ready to reach into her quiver. She gave me a quizzical look, which I returned. It was blatantly obvious just what was making that roar, and even more blatantly obvious that our weapons would be entirely useless against it. I listened closely as the first roar was answered by a second, and then a third. Having spent a good two-thirds of my life around dragons, I could read any emotion into their noises, but it wouldn’t take a moron to guess that these dragons were in a mood. Rather than be upset about this, however, I was elated. Dragons were absolutely magnificent creatures, a select few arrogant bastards notwithstanding, and I only now just realized how dearly I missed seeing them. Being around such stunning animals every day was certainly one of the perks of being a Rider. Suddenly filled with an inexplicable urge to run into the exact opposite of safety, I took a few glorious leaps forward…

… And was immediately stopped by an odd noise. I listened harder, my senses on edge. Something was rustling the undergrowth, shifting the leaves maybe thirty feet from where Laereth and I were standing. It was far too small to be a dragon, probably too small to be a person, even, but after the incident with the mimicking giant flies, I wasn’t about to take any chances. Sure enough, something dark rose out of the undergrowth, shaking leaf rot off of itself. It was another bloody insect, this time some kind of beetle- only it was about the size of a pig. It twitched its antennae and fluttered its translucent wings, seemingly analyzing if we were a threat. After a few moments of twitching, its mouth- which appeared to be sort of spiral blade- began to thrash wildly, and it moved towards us at a speed remarkable for its skinny, spiky little legs. Without even needing to think about it, I swung my hammer round in a wide arc, using the spike to cut a huge swathe from head to abdomen. It expelled yellow bile and fell to the ground with a crunch, waving its legs helplessly for a few more seconds before it died. Out of the corner of my eye I saw another hideous insect moving towards me, but Laereth was quick to intercept it with an arrow, and the thing flopped over with a wet thump.

I’d heard of these insects, of course- Wolf Beetles, apparently created by some magical moron’s spell gone wrong that had increased their size and intelligence. But seeing them up close was a different thing entirely from looking at fanciful illustrations in a book. I shuddered with disgust, glaring. After the stowaway tarantulas my crew had accidentally picked up one time from the jungle coast of Salanza, I didn’t think there was anything worse out there. I winced as another dragon roar split the air, and the clearing abruptly exploded into chaos. I had thought it was odd that the massive trees somehow hadn’t claimed this little patch like they’d eaten up the rest of the forest floor, and now I saw why. Hundreds of beetles erupted from the sudden crack in the ground, chittering wildly and running like their lives depended on it. The rotting leaves had been hiding an entire lair of the things, now blind with terror. The fine fabric of our tents was torn to pieces by the whirling blades, and our supplies were obliterated. I heard the crates of food being cracked like twigs, and the splash of the water and the liquor being spilled.

“NOT THE BOOZE!” I roared, lifting my hammer.
“Be quiet, for Nyx’s sake, and get up here!” came a hiss from above.

It was Laereth, who’d somehow plastered herself to the trunk of the nearest tree and was about to climb up further. She had only paused to hold out a double-knotted vine for me to grab onto. Much as I lamented the spilled alcohol, the flurry of thorny legs and whirling blades scurrying towards me was vaguely unappealing. I bolted towards the vine while sliding my hammer back into its strap, and grabbed onto it, lifting my legs just as the first insects passed underneath me. Laereth watched me clamber up the vine for a few moments before she continued shimmying up the trunk with the ease of something between a monkey and a snake. I only paused once on my climb up, just to look down at the remarkable destruction of what had been a creepy, but peaceful little clearing only seconds ago. There was no forest floor to be seen anymore, only a boiling flood of insects. Then Laereth hissed down at me again and I continued my ascent up to the lowest branches of the tree, which were a good fifty feet off the ground. It was only there that we both swung our legs up over an enormous branch and peered down, watching the exodus. After what seemed like a very long time, the horde seemed to lessen somewhat- after the initial confusion, the beetles scampered directly north, away from the Hamarr.

“The beetles eat the dragons’ prey,” Laereth explained, “so they’re being driven back into the forest.”
“Bloody, callous bastards!” I shouted, shaking my fist down at them. “There won’t be a forest when I’m finished with the lot of you!”

Character(s) Used;; Nemo Ramsey
Words;; 1320
Muse;; Okay, but I feel like I've forgotten how to write Nemo. =/
Thoughts;; NYEH this post is crap. TRIS, I was thinking in your next post Laereth could suggest they go to some outpost near the mountains now that their supplies are all destroyed. It could be an elven outpost, or the Hand, or... anyone. XD Tis up to you!

[Tris]

With the third roar, Laereth began to sweat.

She was not sure why it chilled her to the very bone to think of dragons, she began to think that she was getting soft, Laereth had certainly fought more terrifying things then dragons before… None of which she could think of at that moment but she was sure she had. Never had Laereth really thought about how she felt about dragons themselves, to her, they had only been the creatures the special elves road on, never had she really thought of them as real, thinking persons . Now she was beginning to wish she knew more about them , not just their habits. She glared at Nemo as the elf bounded over with a rather suicidal smile on her face; she seemed almost EXCITED to meet the creatures that might bring about their doom.

But her musing ended when a strange noise sounded from somewhere in the bushes, just to the side of their camp. It was not a dragon for it sounded too small, but living in the forest as long as she had, she learned that this far from a city there was rarely any nice things. Laereth recognized the creature as soon as it rose from the undergrowth, a Wolf Beetle, one of the more nasty creatures living in the forest. Fitting the name, the creature was like an over grown beetle, only with big unblinking eyes like a fly, it stood there form a moment seeming to size them up, then charged head long for them. With reflexes Laereth would not have accredited her with, Nemo swing her ax and ended the beetle’s life in a second, from the bushes another Wolf Beetle appeared and ran at Nemo, Laereth shot it and notched another arrow. But there was no need for as another roar split the air, the owns quiet valley erupted in loud screeching, as hundreds of the creatures stampeded though the valley trying to get as far from the unseen danger as possible. In moments all their supplies were destroyed, Laereths thoughts now where only on how they could escape the fray without being ripped apart, without a moment’s hesitation she slid her bow on her back and began to scale the nearest tree. She got a little ways up when she remembered Nemo and stopped to drop a knotted vine to the seething elf, whom looked as if she would have taken all the Beetles on, for the loss of the liquor, if Laereth had not ordered at her to take the rope.

A Long time seemed to pass before the horde decreased and finally disappeared, “The beetles eat the dragons’ prey,” Laereth explained, glad she knew this much. “So they’re being driven back into the forest.”
“Bloody, callous bastards!” Nemo shouted down at the now long gone Beetles; obviously she had not gotten over the liquor being lost. “There won’t be a forest when I’m finished with the lot of you!” Laereth began to slide down with Nemo right behind her, when she reached the ground she saw that their camp was gone, there was nothing they could salvage, which did nothing to lighten their moods. ” We will have to go to a Elven outpost, not far from here, to get more supplies.” She said rather abruptly, Nemo looked up sharply; it seemed she had no desire to meet more Du Weldenvarden elves, Laereth herself had no desire to back track, but it seemed there was no other choice.
The trek to the outpost was easy, and with Ramsey in no mood to talk it was a relatively quiet one.



Thoughts: Soo... Sorry it took so long, and sorry i ended it so abruptly X.x I wasn't sure what to do next.

[Emma]

“We will have to go to an Elven outpost, not far from here, to get more supplies.”
The words made perfect sense, but the idea of dealing with more of the fantastic peoples of Du Weldenvarden made me ineffectually slam my foot into the tree.
“ANURIN!” I roared. “I’LL USE YOUR SKIN AS A BEDSHEET FOR THIS!”

Barring a look that was partly disgusted and partly amused, Laereth didn’t react much to my outburst. She seemed to have gotten used to them during our time together, if anything. Her descent down the tree was just as graceful as the ascent, if not more since she was no longer in a rush. Once she reached the bottom, she paused to take a careful look around for any stragglers, and then motioned for me to follow. I stood up straight, reaching for the vine that had brought me up, and began to shimmy down it. I managed this for about half of the descent before I started gaining too much speed, and, unable to stop myself, face-planted right into the leafy mush beside Laereth’s feet. Ignoring the hand she offered to help me up, but secretly thanking her for not giggling at my floundering, I stood up, brushing the greenish mulch off my jacket, and marched off in no direction in particular as competently as I could manage. Somehow, it was the right one, as Laereth kept pace next to me with no comment whatsoever. I heaved in a breath and wiped sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand. It was unbearably hot for late autumn, and I was nervous and embarrassed. And possibly insane.

As we walked, the trees grew thinner, and though I’d half-noticed the undulations in the ground as we neared the mountains, now they were very obvious. Through the broken tree line, I could see various rock formations, and the air was cooler and less stuffy. I looked up- and made a small noise in my throat when I saw the glorious sky high above, a perfect unbroken blue. This cheered me up considerably- after a full week in a stupid pine forest, I raised my arms and stretched them. Finally, I didn’t feel like I was boxed up anymore. There was wind here, which managed to ruffle my dirt-caked hair, and I could see patches of grass, although now leaves were being replaced by piles of stones. I felt safer in the light, although Laereth responded to our new surroundings by crouching. I remembered something I’d once overheard a ranger telling me, shortly before punching him for inquiring about my height- light was danger, shadows were safer. Out here, we were dragon pickings, although I heard and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

In fact, now that I looked around harder, I could see nothing that even resembled an outpost. Spires and stacks of greenish rock, overgrown by moss and worn smooth by the wind, were the only things that stood out in the landscape. Ahead, the mountains rose up steeper, and though the Hamarr weren’t even close to the highest mountains I’d ever visited, snow still capped their peaks. They were riddled with caves, some of which sported piles of what I first thought to be white rocks, glimmering in the sunshine. It only struck me a few moments later that those were probably the bones of the dragons’ prey. Despite there being no signs of elves, Laereth continued to move in a straight line, clearly knowing where she was going. She only stopped when we arrived at a huge, but otherwise unremarkable rock spire stretching up along one of the steeper slopes of the foothills. It was cool under my hands, and I sensed no magic. There, was, however, an interesting bridge that led to an otherwise inaccessible cliff. It was only here that Laereth seemed unsure, running her hands along the featureless rock with a frown on her face.

“This is the place?” I asked, pointing at it.
She nodded. “Candle Rock.”
“Brill.” I looked up at the spire. “Jierda!”

Laereth’s frown was replaced with a look of supreme alarm as enormous cracks sprouted in the rock wall. However, much to my chagrin, nothing actually broke, like the spell was supposed to do. Stupid useless magic. Fuming, I ran headfirst into the split rock, smashing through. It was about as impervious as a glass window, and fell away completely, leaving a gaping black hole in the grey stone. Through the tumbling pebbles and sheets of dust, I managed to make out what appeared to be a dimly-lit room, illuminated by one solitary lantern set on a table. The second thing I saw was a male elf with shaggy silver-white hair in desperate need of cutting, as it hung over his eyes, completely veiling his face. He was sitting at a bench by the table, stropping what looked to be a hunting knife. He appeared completely undisturbed by the ruckus, as if having the wall demolished was a daily occurrence. He did glance up once, fixing me with stony pale green eyes that were starkly noticeable against his copper skin, and, once he seemed certain that I posed no threat, simply returned to lovingly stropping his blade. I had passed some sort of test, apparently.

I cautiously stepped inside, Laereth joining me, and peered around while brushing dust off my shoulders. Now that my eyes had adjusted, I saw that we were in some sort of dining room, consisting of a low table with two benches, a pile of glowing coals in the corner, and the doors to what was probably the larder on the far side of the room. It was surprisingly Spartan for an elven habitation, but then if they were used to having the wall smashed through, they probably didn’t want anything broken. The most obvious part of the room, however, was a single spiral staircase, expertly carved, that ascended up the spire, leading to other floors. I could see the occasional shaft of sunlight high above, but couldn’t pinpoint how far up they were. As I stared, I heard the sound of footsteps rushing down the steps, and then abruptly found myself eye-to-eye with a woman as she stared down at us from the staircase. Her eyes were the same odd jade green as the male’s, and both wore the uniform of high-ranking elven soldiers, but that was where the similarities ended. She had pearly skin and long golden-blonde hair, which hung in a braid that she’d tugged over her shoulder. She was also smirking, at me in particular.

“I’ve had gentler visitations,” was all she said.
“Belt up!” I snapped. “I’m Nemo Ramsey, and this here is Laereth Mormeril. We’re on Rider business.”
“Oh, did you hear that, Valkyn?” the female elf asked, directing her gaze to the male. “Looks like the spies have finally arrived.”
“I ain’t finished!” I snapped. “We need-”
“What is that stink?” I clamped my mouth shut, indignant, as she sniffed the air, her face crinkling in disgust. “Valkyn, do you smell that?”
“Wolf Beetle,” said the male elf, still not looking up from his stropping.
“Listen, you smarmy git-” I broke off as the female elf abruptly launched herself from the steps, landing on both feet with the ease of a cat. She stepped towards me, tilting her head with a thinly veiled look of contempt.
“If you’re going to be spying on dragons, you can’t stink like beetle.” She waved a hand in the direction of the steps. “Go wash yourselves with leaf-water. Valkyn will show you up. Sometime today would be nice,” she added harshly when she saw me opening my mouth. “We can talk once you’re done, Rider.”

Character(s) Used;; Nemo Ramsey
Words;; 1290
Muse;; Not great at all.
Thoughts;; TRIS. Your post was fantastic, but next time, could you give me a bit more to work with? XD Thinking up all this myself was pretty taxing.

[Tris]

Laereth was nervous, usually she could reach out with her mind and feel the forest teeming with life. The minds of birds, insects and rodents had always been a comfort to her, as they where always there, at the back of her mind, going about their normal lives. Not having to comply to the whims of the world, but here she felt as if she was in a bubble, empty of all life. Her sensible side said it was just the dragons and it was normal, but it made her feel disserted and alone. But of course she was not alone, for Nemo was walking just behind her and despite herself she got some comfort from this.
As the trees started to thin out and they draw nearer the mountains, Laereth began to be unsure of where the outpost was, it had been years since she had been here and even then she had only heard of this particular outpost, she had never actually been there. As they walked farther into the open Laereth began to stiffen, they had no tree cover any more and the sky was bright, no clouds at all. Crouching she franticly looked for any sign of the elves, imaging to see a dragon fly out of the beautiful sky any time.

When she began to lose hope she remembered something and looked up, she saw it right away, a very special rock carved unmistakably by the elves. She made her way over to it and ran her hands over the smooth surface, and that was where her memory failed her, she had no idea how to get open it or if there was an opening somewhere. Frowning she glanced at Nemo who was watching her intently.

“This is the place?” She asked, pointing at it.
Laereth nodded. “Candle Rock.”
“Brill.” She looked up at the spire. “Jierda!”

Laereth looked up in shock as candle rock started to crack, nothing broke to her relef but before she could stop her, Nemo ran at the rock and crashed through it. Her jaw dropped open; Ramsey was quite obviously out of her mind, she shook her head and peered into the hole made by her companion, very much expecting to be killed on the spot. But all she saw was a smallish room dimly lit, with a male elf seated at the low table, he atleast seemed to be unsurprised at the wall being kicked in and two people looking in at him. He did glance up and glare at Nemo for a moment then got back to the knife he was sharpening, as they stepped inside another elf, came down the spiral staircase in the center of the room. Laereth looked up at the woman glaring down at them, both of the elves where dressed in high ranking soldiers garb, but she felt that she had met the elven women before but couldn’t place where.

As Nemo tried to explain their predicament Laereth studied the women…No she could not place where but she still felt she knew her. But she broke out of her thoughts when the elves commented on the stink, looking down at herself she smelled, and immediately felt like an imbecile, Nemo and herself stunk of wolf beetle, which had put them in considerable danger. So she was relieved when they where quickly herded up the stairs to the baths, Ramsey, was considerably less grateful but had the sense enough to keep her mouth shut. They where taken to the third floor ware there was two beautiful baths carved out of the trunk of a tree, each lay behind a green screen, behind which Laereth striped and sunk into the already drawn bath. The water was cold but refreshingly so, and smelled of mint leaves, it felt lovely to get the grime of a week in the forest off and she would have loved to just sit and enjoy it but she wanted to talk to the elves alone before Nemo got done, so she washed quickly and dressed in the cloths left out for them. She was pleased to be again in the garb of the elves, for she had gotten in to the habit of warring blacks and greys, and it felt good to be in green again. When she got out from behind the screen she could hear Nemo muttering about the temperature of the water and the smell, smirking she quietly left the room and walked down stairs. The two elves where conversing quietly at the table but looked up as she came down the stairs, Laereth gave a greeting in elvish and bowed.

“Laereth Mormeril.” The women elf seemed to try the name out to see if she liked it, before she nodded.
”My name is Oreni and this is Valkyn,” the male elf barely looked up.
”You have brought us a very interesting guest, Mormeril.” And as if summoned Nemo charged down the stairs, ”You don’t really, expected ME to ware this do you?!” Nemo said as she tugged at the to big green tunic and pants she was warring, it was rather comical as the pants where to long and the green looked a bit odd against her hair, but all of them had the sense to not laugh and just looked quietly up at her.
”Nemo Ramsey, Your armer will need to be Thoroughly cleaned before you can ware it again. Unless you want to call all the dragons from miles around to come and kill you.” Oreni said this very calmly and Laereth could almost see a smirk at the corner of her mouth when Nemo started to protest, but the elf ignored her and gave her attention to Laereth again.

”Now what exactly do you need?” Oreni asked as she led Laereth to the larder, she began to list the very essential things they needed and soon they had two backs full of food, Nemos armor and other necessities, they where about to leave the room when she spied two bottles of liquor. Laereth tentatively asked for them, Oreni raised an eye brow but didn’t ask. When they came out Nemo jumped up from the table, ” ABOUT TIME!” She yelled, obviously she and Valkyn had not made quick friends. Laereth walked over to Nemo and gave her a back, but before they could leave Oreni gave them a warning, ” Be wary friends, we have heard rumors of an elf here in the forest that has a mind to hunt a dragon, if that is so he will be a force to recon with.” Nemo scoffed at this and muttered something about a numskull, but Laereth took this into consideration, it would make their mission far more complicated if they had to avoid a dragon hunter as well. But Ramsey was in a hurry to leave so Laereth thanked them for their help, and they where led to a small hall way that led out to a rock wall, with a word Valkyn moved it and let them out. They walked out into the forest just as the sun started to set and heard the wall close behind them.

Laereth sighed, "We will not be able to get very far before dark." She said voicing her thoughts. And as she thought they where only able to make a few miles, but as they where near the mountains it was not hard to find a good camping spot where they could light a fire without fear. Laereth left Nemo to set up camp as she got some fire wood, but got distracted by some insects making a home in some rotten wood, this was very unlike her but she was sick of Nemo and needed time alone. When she looked up atlast she realised hours had past, running she made her way back to the camp, she was almost scared to came back thinking of the aful things that could have happened. But then she saw Nemo sitting on a log with a bottle in her hand humming, looking very drunk.






Comments: I hope that was okay, i power played Nemo a lot so yell at me if you want me to change any of it. XD

[Emma]

I spent the short trip up to the baths muttering every curse word I knew.

Only a few were in the common tongue, as it, I found, had the least creative oaths of any language I’d ever heard. During my time on the high seas, I had been acquainted with most of the world’s languages- and could swear quite fluently in a good number of them, despite being no polyglot. Laereth gave me a few glances as various colourful words rolled off my tongue, clearly not understanding most of them. She did seem to be able to guess at their meaning, though, and kept quiet on the journey up the stairs. The soldier called Valkyn, with his shoulders rigid and head level, appeared to not hear anything at all. The only time he turned to look at us was when we arrived at a floor with one room, which at present was hidden by a thick curtain. Valkyn pulled aside the curtain and gestured for us to enter, which we hesitantly did. As the soldier’s footsteps receded, I took a moment to glance around the room. I could see the silhouettes of two tubs behind lushly coloured screens, with clothes left out beside them. Laereth promptly disappeared behind one screen and began to strip. I ducked behind the second, glaring at the screen suspiciously and hiding behind the tub for good measure in case one of the soldiers walked in. Only when I was sure nobody could see me was when I removed my clothes.

The water smelled like mint leaves, and was brutally cold when I tested the temperature with my toes. I swore as I struggled to pull my filth-caked hair out of its braid, and then sucked it up and stepped quickly into the water. I grit my teeth and shuddered, pulling my knees up to my chest, and let out a long hiss. I supposed magic couldn’t be wasted for a luxury like hot water out here. Dropping my legs, I dunked my head underwater and began the vigorous task of scrubbing the dirt and mulch out of my hair. I could hear the occasional splash from Laereth in the other tub, but otherwise, she didn’t say anything. I growled as I raised my head for a breath of air. I hated this feeling. Elves always picked on me in particular for not only being an elf, but a foreign one to boot. For all their flaws, at least most Riders were from Du Weldenvarden. But a Saxon, and a commoner at that? Simply ridiculous. It did not improve my mood to know just how little everyone here thought of me. How meaningless of a person I was.

I spent the rest of the bath bitter and depressed. Once my hair was no longer a solid chunk, I stepped out, and turned to look at myself in the mirror mounted beside it. I stared at scars on my back, at the blue whorls of tattoos on my neck and upper left arm. As always when I looked at myself, I couldn’t help but notice that I wasn’t a staggering beauty like elves were supposed to be. I made a face at the looking glass and went to dry myself off with a towel. Laereth had already gone downstairs, and I had wasted enough time wallowing in misery. I reached for the clothes I’d been given, wrinkling my nose. It was regulation green cloth that all elven soldiers were required to wear under their armour. On top of which, it was far too large for me. I gawked at the ridiculous leggings and baggy tunic, and struggled into it. Once dressed, I turned to look at myself in the mirror once again. The sight made my jaw drop.

‘It matches your eyes,’ Ikehr would say.
“SHUT UP!” I shouted. “SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP! YOU’RE FUGGIN’ LUCKY YER ONLY A HALLUCINATION, OTHERWISE I WOULD DESTROY YOU!”
His imaginary laughter followed me all the way down the stairs as I thundered towards the trio of elves. I could hear their voices floating up from the table below.
“OI!” I roared when I caught sight of them. I tugged at the ridiculous tunic, pointing aggressively. “YOU DON’T EXPECT ME TO WEAR THIS, DO YOU?!”
“Nemo Ramsey” said the female elf in a very calm voice, “Your armour will need to be thoroughly cleaned before you can wear it again… unless you want to call all the dragons from miles around to come and kill you.” She turned to Laereth. “Now, what exactly do you need?”

I jumped up and down on the spot, flailing my arms and sputtering varied gibberish, but the female elf just rose from her seat and strode off, quite content to ignore anything I said. Laereth followed, but not before giving me a cutting glare to be quiet. I eventually gave up and flopped down in the seat she had just vacated, and stared at Valkyn. The male elf seemed content to only occupy his time with stropping his knives. I tilted my head. Something was oddly familiar about him, but I couldn’t place it. Fuming, I decided to ask him.

“Hey.”
He looked up.
“Ever been to Ilirea… Lieutenant?”
He nodded.
“When?”
For the first time, he spoke. “General Kolbjorn.”
“Work for that bleeding harpy, do you?”
He nodded again, seemingly unoffended.
“Ain’t the loquacious type, huh?”
“The General is not fond of loquacious types, Rider.”
Again, I had been told to belt it. The elf went back to stropping his knife, and I clamped my mouth shut. Thankfully, Laereth appeared about a minute later, arms laden with two bags and my boiled leather armour. I leapt up, gleefully taking my things. “About damn time!”
“Be wary, friends,” said the female elf. “We have heard rumors of an elf here in the forest that has a mind to hunt a dragon; if that is so then he will be a force to reckon with.”
“Bloody numbskull,” I hissed.

I tottered after Laereth as Valkyn led us to the rock wall, which had strangely been flawlessly repaired. I was eager to leave, but the prospect of a dragon-hunter caused me worry. Dealing with him would be no problem, but the last time someone had shot down a dragon, two of the most powerful species that ever lived had very nearly been wiped out. Now was most definitely not the time to declare war against the wild dragons just because some moron wanted a hunting trophy. The thought made my blood boil as Valkyn muttered in the ancient language, causing the rock to slide out of our way. Laereth expressed gratitude to her kin while I just muttered some half-hearted thank-yous, and we set off from Candle Rock. It was much darker than when we had entered, with the sun already dying in the west, dipping into the forest on the horizon like a golden coin being slipped into a green pocket. We only went some of the way towards the woods, mostly maintaining an easterly path. When the sun was about to disappear, we finally stopped in a small clearing that was protected from wind and dragons’ eyes by a rocky overhang. Laereth slipped off to find some firewood, and I began to dig around in our bags.

Bread and dried fruit made up the bulk of our meal. I grumbled and looked into the other bag, and then, much to my joy, discovered two bottles of aged elven wine. The first good news I’d had in days had me leaping onto my feet and undressing and dressing into my armour with a new energy. I tossed away the cloth and slid into my boiled leather jacket and greaves, pulling on my fingerless gloves and tying my hair into a bun, with two locks of hair left loose on either side of my face. Then, very eagerly, I opened the bottles and greedily began to drink. I ignored the food entirely- alcohol worked faster on an empty stomach- and guzzled the two bottles within minutes. Only warven dwine was stronger than… dwine warven… dwarven wine… I hiccupped. Elven wine. Or was it that elven wine was stronger than… I couldn’t remember now…

I squinted as five people arrived at camp, their arms full of wood. I didn’t know Laereth was in a family of quintuplets. I flung my arms into the air; my self-esteem and confidence now back with a revengeance. “Laereth!” I swayed. “I… you… shtop moving around, all of you! Making me dizzy…”
Laereth and her brothers… or sisters… all fixed with a lange strook. “Nemo?”
I blearily gazed at her. “Who?”
“Nemo!” They all trumpeted, with one voice. “You drank all the wine!”
“Wine wine… wiiiiiiine…. Whiny whiny,” I started snickering.
One of the Laereth-people started snapping her fingers in my face, then slapped me.
“I can’t feel aaaaanything anymore!” I squealed. “C’mon, Laereth! Let’sh danshe the Handy High-hat!”
“Nemo!” she said, her face all twisty like Almalexia’s when she threw a hissy fit. “How do you expect to spy on the dragons when you’re-”
Horrified, I clapped a mouth over her hand. “Shh! ‘m on a very important mission! But ain’t s’posed to talk about it! It’s a shhheeeeecret! SHHHHHHHH!!!!”
A thundering roar made the ground shake. The world spun and I found myself staring up at the ceiling, where horrible, terrible, flying lizards had attached themselves.
“EARTHQUAKE LIZARDS!” I screamed. “EARTHQUAKE LIZARDS EVERYWHERE! AAAAAAAAAAARGH!”
“Nemo! Pipe down, and get under the overhang!”
“I AM DOING!!! But legs… not… working…”

Character(s) Used;; Nemo Ramsey
Words;; 1600
Muse;; Improving. Woot.
Thoughts;; Drunk!Nemo is amusing to write, if a bit difficult because I've never written a drunk person before. A CHALLENGE! Sorry for the lazy ending, I ran out of muse. I'm thinking they hide from the dragons returning to roost for a while, and then Nemo starts babbling about her life? >.>

[Tris]

You can’t be serious. Laereth thought as she walked over to Nemo.

When Ramsey saw her, the intoxicated elf lifted her hands as if asking for a hug, then started to ramble about seeing things. When Laereth reached Nemo she saw the two empty bottles of wine, and couldn’t help being a little impressed, she had never seen anyone who could drink that much elven wine without puking. “Nemo!” she said, and grimaced when Nemo did not even look up .“How do you expect to spy on the dragons when you’re-” Suddenly Nemo clapped a hand over Laereths nose. “Shh! ‘m on a very important mission! But ain’t s’posed to talk about it! It’s a shhheeeeecret! SHHHHHHHH!!!!” A horrible roar sounded though the forest, so close laereth could feel it, then dragons started to fly over their heads. Reflexes took over as she jumped into the crevice beneath the overhang. Nemo on the other hand started to scream, “Nemo! Pipe down, and get under the overhang!”

“I AM DOING!!! But legs… not… working…” Hearing this she vaulted over to Nemo, and half dragged, half carried Ramsey under the overhang, an oof came from Nemo as she was dropped on the stone floor of their hiding place. As Laereth crouched she realized she was perspiring badly and her hands shook ever so slightly, this came as surprise to her for she had thought that she could hide any emotion, especially fear. I must be going soft. she thought dismally, and resolved to get better. But that did not stop her from breathing a sigh of relief when the world silenced again, and though she could sense the dragons not far off it was still a relief not to hear them. But as Laereth began to get out from under the overhang Nemo grabbed her shoulder. “ Look there, lass! A trader, of the fast class of wind-jammer!” Nemo said pointing at the air.”Red, purple, and blue flags, she's a SAXON merchant.” And even in the dark she could see a very unnerving smile on Nemos face. ” SHE'S OURS.”

”Nemo?...” Laereth said nervously, without looking at her Nemo jumped up and ran to a tree close by.” LASH ON! CANNON! READY THE CANNON! LET'S GET UP TO WHAT SPEED WE CAN!" Ramsey yelled at the top of her lungs. That was enough for Laereth, she had just started to walk to Nemo thinking to knock her out, so she would make no more noise, when suddenly she saw a tall figure come out from the tree Nemo was standing by. "We've been had! MAGES, MEN! BREAK OUT THE POWDER AND SHOT! ALL HANDS TO STARBOARD!" Nemo yelled when she saw it, And the idiot of an elf started to swing her battle ax every which way, yelling all the while. Laereth in the mean time had drawn her hunting knife, but could not get close to Nemo to grab her and quite her. Suddenly she heard Nemo screech in anger as someone jumped her and throw her to the ground, Laereth had had enough, the elf had obviously not seen her yet so she snuck up behind him and put her knife to the back of his throat. Her captive let out a full throated laugh, and that was when she had realized her mistake, she had never looked for someone else in the forest, and as she yelled at herself she felt the hilt of a sword hit the back of her head.

Laereth felt herself being thrown into a cage like thing, her head throbbed and she felt blood trickling down her shirt, looking to Nemo who was leaning against the bars, she could not be sure but she thought the elf had a split lip and a black eye. But even in her state Ramsey was still humming to herself, Laereth sat up and waited till her head stopped spinning, she didn’t understand why they were still alive, thinking of all her mistakes she thought she didn’t have a right to be, but she wouldn’t give up a gift that was given so she started to look for a way out. The cage was small just big enough for two people, there was spells woven into the bars and door, and it didn’t take long for her to realize there was no getting out. Laereth discouraged and more than a little cross sat down to wait. ” Have I ever told you, the story of me life, lass?” Nemo burst out giving Laereth a toothy grin, Laereth glared at her but couldn’t help listening intently when she began.








Thoughts: Goodish though lazily writen, i hope that was a good part to end on XD