Hunting The Hunter. -[Rrah]-

[Amur]

-[8 weeks ago]-

-[2 weeks after “Solomon’s Bluff”]-
His little bluff had been much more successful than he had intended it to be, he had been so focussed on simply taunting The Elf and his Wyvern-kin that he had completely forgotten that outside Empire Nirvana his status as a Hunter wouldn’t protect him from any of the blowback involved.

So it had come as a shock to him when one night a heavy-built man had jumped him outside a populated area and tried to kill him.

He hadn’t expected the attack, but, he was still more than able to defend himself and drive one of his knives through the soft skin at the underside of the man’s chin. As the man lie dying Solomon had convinced himself that this had been more than an attempt to mug him, no, to the commoners here he would have very little of value on him. So, why had he been attacked?

In his mind’s eye there was only one way to find out.

He spent several long moments searching the corpse, pausing to look whenever he came across something that looked interesting. At first he found very little, a small amount of money –which he added to his own total- several personal notes –which he set aside- and a portrait of.

Solomon blinked as he looked at a portrait of himself, there were a few errors with the image, but overall, he was able to tell that it WAS a picture of him. He looked back down at the commoner he had just killed, and then back to the picture, a wide smile spreading across his face as he looked over the words, translating the foreign print in his mind.

He had a bounty on his head, him, Master Hunter Solomon Wyvernslayer Latro had a bounty on his head. He had to calm himself down enough in order to form a coherent thought; he had to remind himself that this was not Empire Nirvana, so it was not impossible for a Hunter to have a bounty put on their head. Not here.

He drew in a calming breath; the amount that was being offered for him was pitifully low, which, was simply unacceptable. Solomon would have to remedy that, and he already had a plan for that in mind, he set to work, dragging the body to a more public location he proceeded to hang it in plain sight, pinning the bounty notice to the commoner that had tried to kill him he added his own thoughts to it.

“This is an open challenge to all amateurs under the delusion that they can keep up with me. If you believe, beyond all doubt that you can do a better job of killing me than this commoner here, then find me.

Pit your best against me, and when the last chapter of your life comes to a close I will be there to bear witness to it. For I will be the one hastening the coming of that chapter, you are my prey, never forget that.

Lots of love
Solomon Latro”

He didn’t stop to admire his handiwork, there would be little need to, there would be plenty of killing to come, and instead, he ran, if these “bounty hunters” thought they could out-hunt him, if they thought they could kill him...

“Then let them come.”
He said to himself calmly, a feral smirk twisting its way across his lips as already the thrill of the hunt began to excite him. Their greed would bring them to him, their misplaced pride would not allow them to refuse his challenge, his prey was going to come to him, and he was going to enjoy every struggle, he was going to savour every moment of the grand hunt to come.


-[6 weeks ago]-
Despite the fact he had been enjoying himself to no end for the past two weeks Solomon couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong, how these amateurs kept finding him as quickly as they had been Solomon might never know... Not that he was complaining, they had kept him busy, kept him having his fun, and, had even provided him with enough bounty notices to allow him to continue leaving his nice, thoughtful notes to other potential prey.

And the steady rate his bounty was increasing on each new notice he acquired had been amusing, never before had he seen such a slow increase... But then again, he had only killed a handful of bounty hunters so far, increasing his known body count enough to inspire enough fear to cause a rapid increase. He was a patient man; all he needed to do was wait for that time to come.

Since he had left his challenge to be found he had killed another six amateurs. Three had been lone “hunters” and the other three had been part of an organised group, with each kill Solomon had left the body hanging in a public place, a copy of the bounty notice pinned to the corpse with his always mocking notes written on them.

The first three had been nothing special, just asking if this was the best the land had to offer, and that they should be ashamed for being so easy to kill. After killing the group, however, he had put a little bit more thought into the mocking note he had left behind with the corpses.

“I suppose I expected far too much from you amateurs, I have, after all out performed a Wyvern-kin (Or Lizard if you want an easier description to follow) and its Elf. If I can do that then what chance do you amateurs have against me?

Lots of Love
A very concerned Lover.”

In fact, he actually chuckled about it as he slashed the throat of his latest prey from jugular to jugular and dropped him to the floor. He let the worthless piece of meat bleed-out before he even considered touching the corpse and searching it for a bounty notice, he had a better idea of what he was going to leave behind this time.

His task took him several hours, but, by the time he was finished he had pointed out every error that had been made with his portrait and even demanded that they be rectified. This alone had caused him several moments of mirth as he had been sat writing, not that he could have said why; he didn’t honestly find his own taunts funny... Perhaps it was more the imagining their reactions than writing the taunts themselves, but he didn’t dwell too much on it. He had no reason to.

-[4 weeks ago]-
Things had started slowing down, not that such a situation was always a bad thing, and it had given Solomon the opportunity to move around. To get his bearings enough to find himself a good place to lie low, just for a moment. As it was right now, he needed the time to collect his thoughts and devise a good plan of counter-attack, his challenge had long since been accepted and his taunts had clearly angered a good number of amateurs.

He knew enough to know that he had a large group of them after him; he smirked to himself as he continued at a steady pace toward his desired destination. Numbers may have been on their side, but greed was on his, undoubtedly they were all after the money that was being offered for him, and that was quite simply the biggest advantage that Solomon had.

That they would turn on each other.

He stood with his back against a tree, his hunting-bow in hand, an arrow fitted to the bow. He had caught sight of prey wandering far too close to him; he would have to put it in its place. He heard the sound of leaves crunching underfoot, small sticks snapping as they were stepped on and held his ground. This amateur had NO idea how to hunt, it was at Solomon’s mercy, and Solomon was going to make sure that this piece of meat knew it.

He waited still, in silence.

Eins,
Zwei,
Drei,

A small smile twisted its way across Solomon’s lips as a lone figure cautiously walked past him, a bow raised and ready to fire. Solomon gave it several seconds, not so much as a cautionary glance to make sure that its back was protected.

Solomon altered his stance as he took aim, not intending to take a kill-shot, not yet.

Eins,
Zwei,
Drei,

He loosed the arrow, catching his prey in its right shoulder, disabling its dominant arm and removing any threat it might have presented entirely. Collapsing his bow Solomon returned it to the holster on his lower back, securing it in place as he advanced upon his fallen prey.

The hapless piece of meat scrabbled back as best as it could with only one arm.

“Please! Please! I have-“
He began.

“A family, ja?”
Solomon cut him off, licking his lips as he fell silent for just a moment.

“So this is how you provide for them? You try to track down a man that kills bounty hunters and then hangs their corpses in public places just to taunt people?”
He chuckled, slowly drawing his venomous short sword as he knelt.

“I’ll see to it that your family are informed of your demise.”
He stated casually, dragging the blade across the uninjured arm of his fallen prey. The effect was immediate, the man’s eyes bulged as the veins in his arms rapidly became a dark purple colour, standing out against the colour of his skin. The sight of the actual wound bruising past the point of being dark purple to almost looking as though it was black.

The man fell onto his back and convulsed several times as the venom started taking effect, Solomon smiled. This piece of meat had no idea just how much worse things would get before the venom killed him... But it was fine; Solomon had no intention of letting the venom kill him out here, where no-one could see it, that would just be inconsiderate.

Dragging a corpse around was a task, Solomon knew that much, after all, he had been doing so for a number of weeks now. But, dragging a still living body around was almost twice as difficult. But the end result would be well worth the struggle, the length of time Wyvern Venom took to kill would ensure that this man would still be alive when they found him, however, it would be far too late to save him from death.

He hung this one in a public place, like the rest of them; however, he hung this one using its arms, shoulders, torso and waist as opposed to its neck. Its comfort would mean little, after all, by the time this piece of meat was found it would be in too much pain to care. He smirked as he left the bounty notice pinned to the body, his usual mocking note scrawled on it.

“This one has a family, but, by the time you have found it, it will be far too late to save it from death. If you’re fast you may find the family it was trying to provide for just in time for them to say ‘goodbye’.

How many amateurs is this now? Because I for one have lost count, you all come looking for me simply to satiate your own greed. Is such a pitiful amount of money worth the cost of your lives? You will never come close to killing me, you are all forever beneath me, forever my prey. Cast your delusions aside and live life; don’t throw it away trying to hunt me.

Lots of Love
A Secret Admirer”

He had been proud of that note, if it struck enough nerves, then Solomon would undoubtedly be kept busy as he contended with those foolish enough to continue their hunt... And undoubtedly there would be no shortage of such fools... But Solomon was more than ready for them; he had already picked out a location to fight them at, and with his knowledge of travel, plus his ability to go for several days without sleep he would be able to prepare himself.

They would never know what hit them.

They were forever his prey.

-[2 weeks ago]-
They were persistent, he would give them that much. No matter how fast he moved, no matter how many times they needed to stop and rest they were never far behind him. Solomon guessed that he had perhaps a week worth of preparation, and never one to waste time he had set to work.

The natives had called this place “The Spine”, but to Solomon the name mattered little, it was a forested area, and that was all he needed from it, here he was at home. At his best, he had already picked out the best places to set traps, had worked out the best ways to camouflage them into the environment, and had even started work on preparing them. With the time he had at his disposal right now, all he needed to do was keep focused on his work, there was little else he needed to do sleep never came to him easily, and when it did he only needed it once every few days.

... He was fine.

Only once did a bounty hunter arrive sooner than he had anticipated, and it was swiftly silenced by an arrow through the throat. He couldn’t have people turning up ahead of time, it would ruin the many wonderful surprises he had in store for them.

-[1 week ago]-
They had started arriving, in small numbers at first, but, Solomon knew better, knew that those numbers would swell in just a number of hours. Their numbers hardly passed twenty by his count, but, there were more than enough bodies to force Solomon to exercise caution, from his perch he observed that there were only a small handful of allied groups, most of them were working solo. Which of course granted Solomon a large advantage, those going solo would be the easiest prey to take down, best to work his way up.

Taking stock of their numbers and the amount of traps he had set up in preparation Solomon had to admit to himself that he had gone a little bit overboard... He shrugged inwardly, better to be over prepared than to be caught off guard, he had learned that lesson too many times to count already and one he was trying not to have to experience again.

He rolled his head, loosening up his neck and shoulders as he readied himself for the hunt to come, these amateurs were out of their depth, and that would be a fact he would grind through their skulls with deliberate slowness.

He drew in a slow and deep breath.

“Wunderbar”
He muttered to himself, removing his bow from its holster on his lower back and opening it. He remained where he was, on his perch, overlooking the pitiful amateurs as they slowly spread out searching for him.

“Let’s go.”
He spoke to himself once more in an undertone; he picked out his first victim, fitted an arrow to his bow, took aim, and, waited.

And waited,
Eins,
Zwei,
Drei,
Vier,

He heard the sound of whooshing and immediately drew back on the bowstring and loosed the arrow in one fluid motion as one of the amateurs triggered a trap he had set earlier.

His opportunistic eye had allowed him to take advantage of the confusion the sound and effect his trap had, had as the piece of meat he had picked out only moments ago fell to the ground with an arrow through its neck. Solomon smiled as he heard cries of alarm and shock; the large group spread out further, and renewed their search for him, but seemed to have been undeterred from their goal. Solomon licked his lips, the more determined the prey, and the more it fought back, the more enjoyable crushing its spirit was... Solomon was going to enjoy this.

He closed his hunting bow and returned it to its holster; he only had a small number of remaining arrows, better to save them for when he would need them... And... Well, he just simply couldn’t resist the opportunity to get close to some of these amateurs and show them how hunting was REALLY done.

He moved to his next perch in silence, the next piece of meat already picked out for him due to the fact that it had strayed too far from the rest of the group. He dropped from his perch, a short distance away from his prey, the absence of his long Wyvern-skin coat allowing him to fall and land in complete silence effortlessly. He stalked forward, rapidly closing the distance to his prey... He pounced, placing one hand over the mouth of his prey and one at the back of its head and without pause executed it by breaking its neck.

He lowered it to the ground gently so the sound would not give his position away and immediately returned to a perch within the height of the trees.

Forever his prey.

-[3 days ago]-
Their numbers were dwindling fast; at this point they had started noticing and actually locating some of the corpses that Solomon had intentionally left behind to be found. But for the most part most of them had been lost to the various traps he had set up previously, his earlier assumptions that they had all been amateurs had been correct after all... Not that, that meant much, everyone was an amateur, none could match up to Solomon.

They had all spent the last long while running around in a blind panic trying to avoid traps where there were none as they had searched for them. In fact, Solomon had taken complete advantage of their idiocy and used that time to get several hours of worth of sleep. Light sleep, but it was sleep nonetheless.

Now he followed one of the larger allied groups that had been trying to hunt him, three of them operating as a team. They were showing more promise than the other amateurs that had been searching for him thus far, however, the fact that he was following them on foot and not from the tree-tops made his opinion of them fall sharply.

Well, that and the fact that they were cautiously advancing into one of his traps.

He stalked them with his hunting bow in hand, his last arrow fitted. He would take the shot when the timing was right, but it was not yet that time.

He heard them reporting what they saw to each other, moving as a single unit. They stopped, checked their surroundings, once more reported that they were safe and continued moving. Good teamwork, but that would not save them from Solomon, no matter how well prey worked as part of a team, it was still prey.

Forever his prey.

He span out from behind the tree he had been hidden behind, drawing back on the bowstring and stood in wait as they continued to advance. They continued to advance, and at once one of their numbers noticed that something was wrong and leaped backwards.

“Wait! It’s a trap!”
He yelled, however, his warning came far too late as the branch lined with sharpened, improvised shanks snapped forward impaling his two comrades. Solomon merely snorted in amusement as this happened.

“Very perceptive Admiral.”
He taunted casually, loosening the arrow as the amateur turned to face him. The timing could not have been better; the last thing the piece of meat would have seen was the arrow tearing toward its face before it took the hit right between the eyes.

With no arrows left he snapped his hunting-bow shut and returned it to its holster. Drawing in a shallow breath he took a moment to himself, there wouldn’t be many of them left now; those whom had not turned against each other would be on high alert, tense and more likely to make mistakes... Picking off the stragglers, a fun task, while he was saddened that his fun would soon be coming to an end he was grateful that it would provide him with an opportunity to get some rest.

Though, he doubted he would be able to hang quite this many corpses from one public place... And he wasn’t about to spend several weeks dragging them all around with him, this time around he would have to settle for leaving his prey where it fell.

-[Yesterday]-
Solomon had won, that was a fact he could now state with confidence. He had one piece of meat left to kill and then there would be no more, things had gotten interesting at times, that much he would admit, but never difficult. If Solomon was finding things difficult then he had made some kind of mistake.

Solomon didn’t make mistakes.

Solomon didn’t struggle with prey.

He smiled, almost warmly as his final prey finally managed to find him. Not that it should have taken it much to do so, Solomon had been standing out in the open for the past hour or so... But this was an amateur he was facing-down, so he had kept his frustration in check as he had been forced to lead it in his direction.

Solomon was not a warrior by any means; however, judging by the way this last piece of meat was equipped, neither was it. Had it been wearing full metal-plate armour Solomon would have been in trouble, but, as it stood, it was wearing light leather armour which did not provide sufficient coverage, leaving its arms exposed.

Solomon’s venomous short-sword would once again prove its worth here.

He span it by the hilt several times as he waited for his prey to make the first move, trying to make it seem as though he wasn’t paying attention to the armed amateur stood before him. It took the bait, charging at him with a scream, a foolish move, attacking in silence would have been more effective, and might have even caught Solomon off guard.

It didn’t take the time to stop, it simply turned and tried to lunge at Solomon again, which much like its last attempted strike was simply dodged with ease. After everything that had happened to get to this point Solomon was disappointed that the last remaining prey was this bad. How had it managed to survive this long when those more capable had already died?

“Vile scum!”
It shouted.

Solomon blinked. Surely it wasn’t one of those bounty hunters, one of the one’s whom did it to satisfy some misplaced sense of honour, Solomon chuckled.

Those were the best kind of people to prey on, they spoke as if they had some semblance of spirit, of strong resolve. But, when things got difficult they would always waver, Solomon had a spirit to break.

He span his sword by its hilt, catching it in reverse-grip, he lowered his stance slightly, not breaking eye contact with his prey.

There was a tense silence, and then his prey charged. Solomon held his ground, waiting until the last possible second. And then he span around his prey, cutting its right arm once, and then moving onto cutting the right side of its neck once, and then the left side of his neck, and then its left arm. Solomon returned his venomous short sword to its sheath and rolled his shoulders as his prey dropped its weapon to the ground and struggled to stay on its feet.

It took a step toward Solomon.

“I. Will.. Avenge... E-every-”
It couldn’t finish its sentence as it fell to the ground, Solomon smiled once more as it continued to claw its way toward Solomon, the venom already marking its progress as the veins of his prey started standing out against the colour of its flesh as a dark purple.

“N’aww.”
He taunted, crouching just out of the reach of the amateur trying to crawl towards him.

“So close, I can only imagine how infuriating that must be. To know that even after all your effort you will die to me as prey instead of satisfying whatever revenge that drives you.”
He inched back, keeping himself just out of the amateurs reach, which prompted a growl from it. Solomon laughed.

“Ja, as I thought, infuriating.”
He said, patting the head of the amateur gently as it tried to swing at him that, however, only caused it to face-plant the ground. A short silence followed as it tried to correct itself enough to continue its advance, growls of frustration marking each move it made.

“I... Can’t... Die... Not... Yet... NOT... Not... To... YOU.”
Solomon laughed as its remaining strength failed it and it lie still, breathing heavily.

“Don’t worry amateur, that won’t finish you off until tomorrow. And I-”
He stopped, getting to his feet he turned his back to his fallen prey and ran up the nearest tree, sitting on the highest branch he could get to.

“I intend to enjoy the show while I can.”
He smirked, of course he didn’t mean that, not on this occasion, there had been more than enough death for him to enjoy. For now, he would sleep, and regain whatever strength he could. Tomorrow, well, he had no idea; perhaps he would just take the day to enjoy himself.

And so, he positioned himself in such a way that would allow him to sleep in comfort.

And he slept.

-[Present day]-
Solomon’s sleep had been light, but, he had still managed to keep himself sleeping through to the day. It had been one of those unusual nights where his nightmares had been subdued and almost non-existent, not something Solomon was about to complain about.

With the hunt having ended the previous day Solomon had no idea what to do with himself, the last amateur he had fought was still dying slowly to the wyvern venom coursing through its veins and at this point it was far too late to save it from death... Having seen and caused enough death over the last week to keep him happy for a long while Solomon had decided to take the time to simply enjoy the break that his victory had rewarded him with.

So now he sat on the branch he had picked out the previous day, the right side of his body facing away from the open area in which the amateur was slowly dying in holding a black hip-flask in his left hand.

He sat with his left foot resting on the branch, his left forearm resting across his bent knee while his right leg dangled freely. He drew in a shallow breath, closing his eyes gently as he simply enjoyed the arm air, the feel on the sun on his skin... Though, if he was honest, he would probably have to go and retrieve his wyvern-skin coat soon, the warmth likely wouldn’t last much longer.

But for the time being he sat still, simply relaxing. Taking the opportunity to sort through his thoughts and consider another place to move to as he continued to lie-low. A number of places seemed appropriate, and setting up hidden camps in the areas he had not yet done so would require little effort, he was a survivor after all. But he could worry about that later, no-one would dare bother him now, not when so many corpses littered the ground, each and every corpse a result of his handiwork.

They were forever his prey.

[Mali]

Note: Varden speaking, Taured speaking, Taured mind[/b], Ancient language is Italics

Unlike most leads Taured and Varden were sent to chase the tails of, this was one of the most informative leads they’ve ever had. They had been informed by some of the rider mentors that there was an individual causing trouble with certain people within the riders and should be checked out. The council only knew what the rider had told their mentors since the story was then passed onto the council. There was a problem between riders Niko and Arashi, an incident involving an entire town and he was being sent to find out what he could about this man named Solomon. Of course, Taured had never met neither Arashi nor Niko personally but hoped to find out more details about what went down from Solomon.

The trail of mess that Solomon had left was the perfect trail to track the man. Due to usual protocol, especially when it comes to the council’s lack of investigating leads, Solomon had originally been flagged because of his use of magic. For a human to be able to use magic, even if just for hunting, was something worth investigating. However, that wasn’t what made this lead so interesting. He had gotten into a lot of trouble since appearing out of nowhere. He had killed countless numbers of men, women, etc, in what he called ‘prey’. Solomon then continued to cause trouble and revenge in the—reportedly—calm Niko and slightly temperable Arashi, which had alerted the rider’s council’s attention once they were told of the happenings. As soon as the hawk had arrived with his new information, Taured and Varden took off on their journey.

This Solomon enjoyed leaving clues as to how to find him. All he needed now was a proper business card and he’ll have successfully accomplished proper advertising strategies. Of course, the clues and dead bodies he left behind created the perfect trail to follow the man. Of course, there was some probability involved with deciding where he had headed next, but it wasn’t too hard to figure out. He considers himself a hunter. He would be attracted to quiet places to hide but also tended to drag the bodies to a public place to hang them. That ruled out completely rural areas altogether. When a body was found, Taured and Varden would then consider the closest area that would appeal to Solomon based on clues found around the body as well as where the body was killed, and then would summarize the pros and cons to each city, heading out as soon as possible, they hadn’t been wrong yet. However, they were at least a few days behind his trail. They found the bodies a day or two after being discovered in the public areas, and then had to make note of what had happened, what they had found, and what had happened to the bodies.

One particular body had caught Taured and Varden’s attention. The man with a family, who he had met upon finding the body, had an odd reaction to something that Solomon had done to him. His body had changed a dark purple and slowly changed colour to black as you moved from the lightest coloured part to his arm. It seemed that the lightest colour of purple appeared to be the furthest part of his body away from his arm. Taured deducted that this man’s arm was the point of impact with the mysterious weapon, but wasn’t able to deduce what it was that had caused the death. He had a few ideas brewing about but none could be concrete. He knew that Solomon knew some magic, but not even Taured—a magical prodigy—knew about a spell that could do this. It was either some type of poison or venom. The body had an allergic reaction to the substance and spread throughout the body with the blood, as the veins were usually the darkest feature throughout the varying coloured patches covering the skin. Taured also noted a common sign of an allergic reaction, which was the hives that covered the body. He had no idea what could have done this and felt the need to send a message to the council about this immediately. Out of all the information he’d received and found out about Solomon, he had nothing on what it was that caused this type of death.

Taured continued to follow the trail for weeks before catching up on the trail. As more people flocked to his initial challenge, the more bodies Taured found together. It seems as if these bounty hunters had attempted to capture Solomon together. Deducing their train of thought, Varden pointed out that the reward for Solomon, dead or alive, was rather high for a bounty and that it was better to split such a large bounty among four than failing on your own. Varden was rather insightful there, having known that these men would have been greedy, seeing as they were bounty hunters. It was then that he was reminded not to judge someone based on petty reasoning. The fact that the bodies weren’t strewn in public areas and didn’t contain some sort of letter, the team suspected that he was short on time and had decided to keep moving. The fact that he had strayed from his normal pattern meant that he had to be pressed for time. It was unusual to see his ritual interrupted. Feeling the body as well as examining it, Taured believed that they had died within a few hours at most. This meant that since they had skipped visiting the last bodies’ hanging sight and heading straight for Solomon’s probable site had been a success. They had gained their distance incredibly by doing so.

Following the trail was much easier knowing that they were only half a day away from Solomon’s track and location. However, it was at this point, where the bodies began to dwindle. The team relied on their natural hunting instincts and knowledge to follow the path, making sure to stay a safe distance behind the criminals. Taured could tell by the tracks that there were at least two individuals ahead of him. One he knew to be Solomon and the other had to be the last of the bounty hunters. Unless Solomon was travelling from tree to tree by air, there was no doubt that Solomon had shot down all of his pursuers thus far. It was a good thing that the team made sure to stay within 50 yards of Solomon’s pursuer; it allowed them to know of happenings ahead of them while avoiding being found by either party. Unless Solomon decided to double back around to trick his pursuer, there was no way he would find the pair before they found his last bounty hunter.

Just as expected, while approaching with their desired 50 yard distance, Taured and Varden eventually came across the exchange between the hunter and hunted. Varden had heard it first from about 55 yards away and informed Taured that there was something up ahead. Deciding to stay put and as quiet as they could, considered Varden had been what would be considered ‘tip-toeing for a dragon’, they shouldn’t have been heard that easily. “I call upon the spirit, allow me to have hawk eyes,”

[/i] Taured whispered his spell, knowing that Varden could see the exchange, but he didn’t want to rely solely on what Varden relayed back. It wasn’t that he doubted what his dragon saw, seeing as their minds were linked and seeing what he saw would be an easy job. Instead, his reasoning for seeing it with his own eyes was to allow the pair to have two interpretations of the scene so they could discuss what they thought had happened. It allowed Taured to see what he thought without being subjected solely to Varden’s thoughts of what happened.

Solomon was standing in an open area. It appeared that he was waiting for his hunter to find him. Odd, he must have gotten bored. Taured knew that Solomon considered this sport. Taking note of Solomon’s attire, the team was a little surprised. This man was a good foot shorter than Taured and Varden was a good 2 meter’s taller than Taured. They would both tower over Solomon. With their current height differences, the team could be at a disadvantage. Pushing that thought aside, Taured shook his head as the bounty hunter charged the human while shouting. A battle cry was nothing to be proud of, it alerted your prey to your existence and was a pointless action otherwise. It was then that Varden noticed a strange blade in Solomon’s hand. It gleamed a bright purple to him and he seemed to sense something coming from the blade. At first, he had been confused as to the aura emitted from the blade. It didn’t make any sense. How could the blade be emitting the aura of a dragon? Unless the blade also had magical properties, it shouldn’t be possible.

Upon the contact with the hunter, Taured already knew that this man was an amateur in comparison to his prey, Solomon. The man was pathetic; the pair wondered how he had lasted so long against Solomon. Paying close attention to his sword movements, Taured took special note as to how he caught the blade in what appeared to be a reverse-hold before the two engaged in more battle. It was then, watching the blade, that the rider and dragon noticed how the injuries inflicted by the sword had started to turn purple and then black. So the family man had been killed by this magical blade, interesting.

The fight didn’t last long after he was cut by the purple weapon. In fact, Taured noted that Solomon was arrogant about his victory. Of course, he should be proud of his victory, since it is a victory against so many. However, to be so arrogant over the victory of this one man, it was odd. He was flowing with pride and it seemed that his ego could be one of his biggest weaknesses. Watching with hawk eyes, he and Varden waited for the battle to end before retreating a little further back before discussing their plan.

~~~~

“Did you see the blade? It is odd Taured.” Biting his lips, Taured looked over to his dragon. Varden was laying down, his agile form perched comfortably against the grass. It was time to analyse everything that the pair had encountered while dealing with the man. Taured wanted to make sure that they could enter a battle with the man without bloodshed. The thought most important to him was to protect Varden. “Really? Again with having to protect me, Taured, I’m a dragon, you don’t need to worry about me every time we encounter a threat.” Taured should have known that Varden would have caught the thought easily; he should have known to hide it better.

“Except when it comes to speaking with wild dragons, I expect you to protect me there,”[/b] Taured joked and Varden shook his head. “Remember my theory about the family man, and how it was either a poison or venom that had caused his death, I think it has to do with that short sword Solomon uses,”[/b] Thinking on it, Varden immediately jumped in eagerly with his acquired information. “That blade is a dragon! I mean, it isn’t a dragon, but it has the same aura as one of us. I didn’t understand why or how it’s possible, but I’m certain that what I sensed wasn’t wrong. It has a deformed feel to it, but it’s no doubt a dragon-like aura,” Taured thought on it. How could it be possible? Solomon hated magic and magical beings according to his leads. Why and how could he have harnessed some form of dragon power into the sword? “Do you think it could be venom? But how it could be a deformed dragon’s aura, I’m not sure. I didn’t know you were venomous,”[/b] Taured poked at Varden, trying to lighten the situation and the thought process. “Neither did I,” Smiling to his rider, they decided on an attack plan, based on whether the bounty hunter lived, died, and whether Solomon had moved throughout the night before they headed to a sleep cycle. Varden was up first and then it would be Taured’s turn to keep watch.

~~~~

They had woken up rather early compared to Solomon. Taured had removed certain clothing to help when he would engage Solomon in hopeful talk instead of battle. His cloak, glove and bands were removed and in place of his glove he put on his second hawk gauntlet. They were magical to allow him to call a hawk as well as to let the hawk know where he was immediately when needed. However, they were also magically protected from most attack methods. Now that he had one on covering both forearms, he had no vulnerable spots on his arms. He had placed a metal plate under his tunic to hide it from sight. The metal was custom made by Rhunön and was made of some of the strongest metals they had in Ilirea. Of course, Taured couldn’t protect his legs or neck as easily as he could his chest, back and arms, but it was the best the rider could do. The rider pair had decided to fight one on one instead of together. After much disagreeing on Varden’s part, he finally agreed to allow Taured to fight Solomon alone. Varden had accepted that it would be a fair battle if it was one against one instead of one against taller rider and even taller dragon. Even if their height could be a disadvantage, it was still unfair to Solomon to have to battle both at the same time. Besides, Taured had explained that Varden would still be aiding him in the form of stronger magic. “I’ve provided that ever since the day I hatched for you, I don’t think that should count . . .” Taured chuckled, knowing his dragon hadn’t meant anything negative by the comment.

Surprisingly, the bounty hunter hadn’t died yet. The family man had died almost instantly, judging by how quickly the venom spread throughout his body, as well as the reaction he’d had to the substance. This man hadn’t received any hives yet, so the rider team believed their allergic reaction theory to be correct.

Before they could engage Solomon, the slowly dying hunter would have to be taken out. Taured and Varden had had enough of fighting people who used others as weapons. Taured hadn’t seen any evidence that would show Solomon using the same tactic, but he wouldn’t take that chance. Of course, the person he was referring to had been a shade, but that was beside the point right now. The rider was a good 30 feet away from the somewhat open area before whispering his spell to be carried by the wind. “ I call upon the wind, Cause a sudden death, pierce his heart,”[/i] And with that, his spell was carried through the gathering wind storm. Like a tornado, the wind swept in a circular motion before the tip pierced the man’s heart, ending his life almost instantly.

It was then that Taured knew Solomon would notice. If he hadn’t noticed that the hunter was dead already, surely he’d have noticed the tornado that had been summoned. It was then that Taured started to move closer to the open area, still hoping to have not revealed his position. “Using the still wind and unseen forces, create a shield around my dragon and my moving bodies,”[/i] He may have been loud enough now, even though whispering, for Solomon to hear, but it didn’t matter since he would be revealing himself soon enough. Emerging from the bushes, Taured felt it proper to introduce himself. The shield was just a formality, in case Solomon tried to shoot them down before they had a chance to talk. He shielded Varden because even though he was covered in protective scales, they were much smaller than the average dragon. His scales were smaller to allow him more agility and speed when moving and flying. The weakness to smaller, more flexible scales is that they weren’t as strong compared to other dragons with larger scales. It was then that Varden slowly appeared.

Now, since Solomon’s ego was big enough, he had to make it clear that he wasn’t accepting Solomon’s challenge. He wasn’t here to catch or kill Solomon. He was here for more information as well as to offer him the chance for atonement and to learn to strengthen his magical abilities. Alas, Taured didn’t even know if Solomon would attack him straight on. “I come from the rider’s council in search of information,” what should he say next? How was he supposed to start a conversation when Solomon hadn’t spoken first. It wasn’t that he needed the man to start the conversation, he just preferred that he had since it would make this conversation easier on him. “I hear that you have encountered one of our own, as well as set a challenge?” his intentions weren’t to capture or kill Solomon, but he should praise his ego the slightest bit to get things started.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

He lost track of time as he sat simply enjoying the silence, he had spent the time during his relaxation period gathering his thoughts on how best to get around whilst avoiding detection, well, obviously avoiding any amateurs would be his best foot forward. And, if he were to encounter any more then the best idea would be to leave the corpse –or corpses- wherever they fell and continue on his way. As much as he enjoyed mocking the commoners he wanted to vanish, at least for a little while, constantly fighting and running was not the way he planned to live constantly, he knew his limitations and knew that given enough time such a life-style would wear him down.

“Best to allow myself some time to recover, no matter how much I enjoy the thrill of the hunt, there can be too much of a good thing.”
He concluded to himself, yes, he already had several destinations in mind. One of which he was sure that many other human’s would have deemed impossible to live within... Then again, none of those humans were Solomon and therefore lacked the survival skills that had been vital to Solomon during his tutelage as a young Hunter.

“Amateurs.”

He concluded to himself. Hardly the first time, and he didn’t care to count how many times he had reached that conclusion.

He drew in a shallow breath and opened his eyes slowly as the wind seemed to pick up. He blinked, that was an unexpected development. A few moments ago the air had been still but now. He was lost for a moment, but then he caught sight of something... Interesting out of the corner of his eye, and inevitably his gaze followed.

What he saw certainly wasn’t an everyday occurrence, a tornado, piercing the chest of the last amateur that he left to die, killing it. Solomon arched an eyebrow and tested the weight of his hipflask, still enough water in there to last, so he had no reason to put it away just yet.

He sat in silence, running what he had just seen through his head, undoubtedly the tornado had been summoned by the will of another, use of magic was something Solomon had seen time and again, so it was not something that caused him to feel awe nor caution. He knew the fundamentals behind its use and how it worked on a very basic level, but the only two spells he knew how to use were the ability to lock and unlock doors without a key and the ability to “scry” his prey provided he already knew what they looked like.

Other than that he had no need to learn anything else, use of magic may have required energy already within the body of the caster, but it removed the use for further physical action. And Solomon enjoyed getting his hands dirty far too much to remove the physical aspect of his hunting... Well, he didn’t want his skills to go to waste either, but that was down to his Hunter’s pride as opposed to any personal opinion of magic as a whole.

He took another drink from his hipflask, it wasn’t that he hated magic, no; he couldn’t deny it had its uses, but, he did detest Mage’s as people. Those whom relied on magic often annoyed him, but, he was capable of tolerating them. For as long as was needed.

So he waited, it was unlikely the mage behind the spell was hunting him, why give Solomon a show before killing him? That didn’t make much sense, but still, he was taking no chances, he knew how Mages worked and always held a high level of distrust toward them.

He raised his mental barriers in their usual layers, and continued to wait. He didn’t have to wait much longer as a long figure emerged from somewhere within the forested area, stopping a good distance from Solomon’s current perch.

“Elven. Male.”
He observed mentally as the figure stopped at what Solomon deemed to be a more respectable distance away. Already Solomon didn’t like where this was going, there were only two possibilities, either Elven Bounty Hunter’s did exist, or.

Solomon let out a loud growl-like grunt of annoyance and tilted his back to rest against the trunk of the tree as the Lizard came into view, what was it that seemed to make him so attractive to these damned Lizard-Lovers? There must have been something about him, where they drawn to him? Or did life simply hate him enough to over saturate his life with damned lizards?

Ever the unanswerable questions; and all the more frustrating because of that.

Still, he drew in a deep breath and took another drink from his hip flask, not bothering to turn and face this Elf as he spoke. He came seeking information, and then asked Solomon about the challenge he had issued? Well, if this Elf was here to hunt Solomon, then he was doing a poor job of it, what kind of amateur approached their target and started conversation?

Solomon sighed, holding his hip-flask at eye-level he sat simply observing it for no real reason.

“You know, I seem to attract your lot.” He stated blandly. “Like moths to a damned flame.”

He finished off; replacing the lid on the hip flask he returned it to its place on his belt and secured it, sitting in silence for a moment longer.

“You seek information and then enquire into the challenge I set for these amateurs?”
He asked, gesturing around to nowhere in particular, after all, there were plenty of bodies littering the ground, all killed by him either directly or indirectly... He didn’t quite understand the Elf’s full intentions for being here, but since he was part of the Rider’s order, he was undoubtedly here over the... “Disagreement” that Solomon had been having with The Elf and his Wyvern-kin, a suspicion that only intensified when Solomon remembered that this Elf had said that he had understood Solomon had already encountered one of his own before asking about his challenge.

Why exactly was he here?

“Well Elf, information can be bought with information.”
He stated simply, shifting and standing up on the branch he had not-yet moved from.

“As for my encounters with those from that joke of an order you’re from... Well, you’ll to be more specific, my assumption is that you’re referring to my encounters with the Wyvern-kin and its Elf, in which case, ja, I’ve had several encounters with them.”
He said calmly, finally turning to face this Elf and allowing him to see the state of his right eye and the visible scarring on the right side of his head. He stood in silence for a moment longer, leaning himself against the trunk of the tree using his shoulder before speaking again.

“As for my challenge, that was intended to flush out the amateurs you see here and more. And since you’ve been moronic enough to talk to me before attempting to kill me I gather you’re not here to take me up on that challenge, so there is little need to talk about it.”
He finished off, answering this Elf as much as he could with what little he was given.

“But, you must be here for reasons more than my putting the Wyvern-kin and its Elf in their place, so what is it, Elf? Why exactly are you here?”

[Mali]

Solomon’s reaction to the magical tornado was exactly as the pair had expected. With his somewhat distaste toward magic as well as magical beings, it was understandable that he wouldn’t be in awe. Of course, that had been a simple spell, to call upon a force of nature and command it to do something specific, and was surely nothing an experienced elf would be in awe at accomplishing. However, the rider pair had encountered people before who did awe at his magical abilities. This time, he didn’t expect Solomon to seem the least bit interested in magic.

Even after leaving the bushes, Solomon didn’t bother to turn toward the pair. He did seem annoyed though to see Varden emerging from the dense greenery, judging by the growl that he emitted. Sensing the tension in the air as Solomon raised mental barriers, blocking Taured from sensing his aura as easily, he knew that this man was talented enough to learn magic. Many humans weren’t able to block mental attacks and intrusions to their minds. He wondered if Solomon were able to penetrate his mind if he left it open for him. “Don’t try it, I don’t want him in here any time soon,” Taured glanced back to Varden as he disagreed with his questions. He wasn’t going to test it out, although, Varden knew him better than that. Looking back to the man still perched in his tree, Taured had to wonder what was going through his mind. It was blocked off from him so there was no point in challenging Solomon to a mental battle as it led to headaches. However, the fact that he couldn’t even touch the mind, just to see what was happening in there only made him want it more. He was human in some senses, wanting what he couldn’t have. Call him selfish at times, although very rare.

This man wasn’t reacting at all as Taured had thought he would. Maybe it was because he had no intentions of attacking that Solomon wasn’t interested in him. He seemed like the type to enjoy the hunt past normal enjoyment. The fact that he hadn’t attacked as well as the fact that he was a rider bored him. He hoped that wasn’t the case though, he didn’t want to bore the man. It wouldn’t be any fun talking to him if he was only bored and ignorant. Upon hearing something in return, Varden rolled his eyes. “Is there a double meaning there? That I’m a moth as well as the flame is my own or his?” Varden sounded annoyed by the human but Taured reminded him not to take offense to anything he said. He enjoyed tormenting people, that much could be gathered from the family man.

“Yes. I’m curious. If you already knew that, no one could match your abilities, why set the challenge in the first place? Wouldn’t it be more entertaining to duel an opponent with better odds?” that was the way that Taured viewed it at least. He didn’t understand why Solomon would set such a challenge knowing that he would be disappointed in the end either way. However, that wasn’t the point of this conversation. The challenge was merely a conversation starter. He may be required to meet and greet many people with his job, but that didn’t mean that Taured was completely comfortable starting conversations with people even after 154 years. This disinterested air to Solomon was annoying the elven rider just a bit. Why wouldn’t he at least look at him? If this man considered the elf prey, didn’t hunters look their prey in the eyes before killing it? Even if killing wouldn’t happen here today, it was what Solomon wanted to do, wasn’t it?

Information could be bought with information. What was it that Solomon wanted to know that he would ask so cryptically? Was he curious about Niko and Arashi? “Am I right to assume that you are asking for information in return? If so, what are you asking to know?” it was only fair that if Solomon wanted information in return for his own information. Taured believed in fighting fair and giving people the benefit of a doubt. Besides, you never got anything in life for nothing. There was always a price to be paid. Solomon stood on the branch, still not looking at him, and started to talk about the encounter between this man and the rider pair. So he knew that there had been a few encounters between Niko, Arashi and Solomon. As far as the council was concerned, they only knew about the incident involving the village of people. They had never assumed that the three had met each other before that incident. At least the council no longer had reason to believe that Niko was an angry, deeply troubled man any more.

“Many encounters? How many may I ask?” It was now that Taured was able to see all of Solomon. He had deep and distinct scars over his face. The wanted bounty posters didn’t do him justice though. They didn’t look all that close to what Solomon really looked like. However, it was possible that no one had a long enough chance to get a good look at him and live to tell the tale. Chuckling at the deduction, he had to admit that Solomon was smarter than he had thought. He knew that he was an excellent hunter, now he knew that there was theory behind his actions as well. At being asked why he was here, Taured smiled to him. He seemed a little impatient now. Taured couldn’t tell for sure since his aura was also blocked by his mental barricade. “You deduct correctly. I, a member of the rider’s council have been sent with an offer,” he let it hang a bit, letting it sink in slightly. The fact that the council was willing to offer him sanctuary as long as he came to study with them was a big risk on their part. If he decided to cause trouble while under their care, the hatred toward the riders may grow even more. There was also the chance that he didn’t take them up on the offer.

“It has reached the council’s attention that you possess the abilities to control magic, to a small extent. This interests them greatly. I’ve been in search for humans possessing such abilities for many years. You must consider what the council is offering carefully. They are even willing to pardon your past grievances and offer you sanctuary while there,” Taured wasn’t sure how he would react to such an offer. There was no way to be sure, but he suspected that Solomon would turn it down no problem. He wouldn’t even hesitate in his decision not to take the offer. At which point, Taured would have to extract more information before being dismissed by the man. Varden had laid down at the edges of the open field, taking it upon himself to continue listening, taking mental note of everything that happened. It would make it easier when reporting their findings later on.

“I also come in hope of finding out more information about your encounter with our brethren, why it started. However, I shall extract that information either way. It is my job after all,” a smirk graced his features before returning to the stoic facial expression. He was indifferent to the situation for the most part, but felt that he was rather proud of his extraction methods. He was very good at getting the information he wanted.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

Solomon listened in silence, not so much because he was interested in what This Elf had to say –tough he was actually listening to him- but, because he felt the need to keep a close eye on both This Elf and his Lizard. He watched their every move carefully, not daring to look away for even a second, if there was any sign that they were going to attack then Solomon was going to be ready for it, no question.

He wouldn’t let This Elf and his Lizard catch him unawares, the fact that they had already managed to find him when he was ill prepared for them was bad enough.

He had to admit, though, that This Elf was keeping up with him quite well; that alone warranted at least some kind of response from Solomon. Even if it was just to answer questions with more questions, he smirked, folding his arms over his chest, managing to keep his position unaltered, he had learned from last time, he was not going to leave his perch.

Looking up at people was uncomfortable.

He took a moment to consider what This Elf had, had to say about the challenge Solomon had issued. He did raise a good point; that much Solomon would admit, however, explaining what he had expected over what he ended up getting was always a difficult task. So few people Human or otherwise rarely understood who and what the Hunter’s were, and trying to explain certain aspects of that to outsiders was... A nuisance.

However, he shrugged.

“I suppose I’m still expecting at least one capable amateur to accept my challenge. But people like that don’t seem to exist here; they seem to be too contented with their lives... They disgust me.”
He said simply, and that was really all that he had to say on that subject. He, of all people knew better than to ever count a human out before they lie dead beyond all shadow of a doubt, so somewhere in the back of his mind he still held out the slightest hope that he would find at least one capable human native to this land.

So far, he hadn’t... And he didn’t count anyone that had arrived with Nemesis Morona; they were, as Morona had called them “Nirvanian” so it was to be expected that they would at least stand above the commoner’s in this land.

Well, at least he knew where he would be able to find capable prey if he ever felt like directly opposing Nemesis Morona... Which he didn’t, and never would, he was a Hunter not an idiot.

He sighed lightly, a difficult compromise, but one he would never regret making. He smirked as This Elf asked him if he was right to assume that Solomon was after information, well, that went without saying, the only thing he may have needed to clarify was that the information This Elf gave him would have to be worth the information that he wanted from Solomon in return... But that could wait.

“That depends on you, Elf. Do you have any information I may find useful, or interesting?”
He asked calmly in reply to This Elf’s question. If This Elf really was just after information then Solomon was going to make sure that he got something in return for it. This wasn’t going to be a one-sided conversation or interrogation –to which Solomon would make sure that This Elf did not win if the situation deteriorated as such- Solomon was undoubtedly better at the mind-games required during an interrogation than This Elf was.

He kept a close eye on them, The Lizard generally kept still, showing very little physical reaction to Solomon’s words –though, that actually made him uncomfortable, he didn’t like being unable to read the reactions of others... Not that he would admit that.- This Elf also appeared to be very self controlled, that, however, was enough of a reaction for Solomon to read by itself.

“Ja, So far I’ve had had three encounters with the Wyvern-kin and its Elf. However, I’d much rather hear what you already know first. Saves me wasting both of our time by repeating what you already know.”
He said calmly, a small smile twisting its way across lips; of course that wasn’t the only reason. He wanted to hear how The Wyvern-kin and its Elf had told their side of things, that way he would be able to twist it... He may have insulted them, but that had merely been a return gesture, he had, had no intention of getting violent at the time, he had merely acted in defence.

He fell silent once more, allowing This Elf to state his reason for being here. And had to admit that he was shocked by what he heard.

“An offer?”
Solomon arched an eyebrow as This Elf fell silent, but he kept his peace, he would allow This Elf to speak before he said anything more. His confusion, however, rapidly turned to disbelief, even slight amusement as This Elf put forward his offer.

He didn’t answer right away, in fact Solomon stood in complete silence, an eyebrow arched as he gave This Elf a look as if to say “you really needed to ask that?”, well, at least he wasn’t trying to force it upon Solomon, that would have made this already awkward meeting even more so. There was just one question that tugged at Solomon’s mind as he absorbed this information, and that was how The Rider’s had found out that Solomon used Magic. To his knowledge he hadn’t used the few spells he did know around others, especially those from that joke of an order...

He pushed it to the back of his mind.

“I just called your order a joke, and you still felt as though you had to put that offer forward to me?”
He questioned casually, though, he had to admit that he was perhaps slightly impressed that This Elf had seen that request through until the end, even if Solomon’s answer had been obvious to This Elf within the first few seconds of their meeting.

“Let me put it this way, I would sooner seek out Nemesis Morona if I desired to further my understanding of the Arcane Arts. So, that’s a nein, or as it is said in the common tongue of this land ‘no’.”
He paused for a moment, thinking back on what he had just said... He would probably have to clarify the meaning of what he had just said to This Elf, chances were The Rider’s hadn’t yet noticed Nemesis Morona’s arrival, he had been very discreet about it, and had even managed to keep his people well hidden while they built a place they could call home... Solomon absently wondered how much longer their secrecy would last now that he had actually dropped the name “Nemesis Morona”... Not that it mattered; they wouldn’t have been able to remain hidden forever.

“Besides, accepting sanctuary from you would imply that I was fearful of something. Which, I am not.”
He paused.

“And seeking to have my past actions pardoned would imply that I regretted them. Which, I do not.”
He stated simply. His mind also thought back to The Wyvern-kin and its Elf, Solomon was almost positive at this point that those two would be out for his blood and he highly doubted that putting himself within close proximity to them would help matters at all... No, best to keep himself on the move whenever possible, though, perhaps when he managed to kill them he might reconsider the offer... But, even then that was unlikely.

He chuckled as This Elf then stated that regardless of what happened here that he would extract the information he needed from Solomon. He even smirked, as if backing up his words, well, that would certainly be interesting. Solomon was very good at mind-games after all.

“Careful Elf; that strongly resembles a challenge.”
He said calmly, returning This Elf’s smirk with one of his own.

“But, luckily for you I know how to differentiate a challenge and a simple statement. So, tell me exactly what information it is you seek and offer me information you think I may find useful, or even interesting. You never know, it may be worth something of value.”
He concluded he would see how far he could push This Elf; everyone had limits no matter how much they tried to deny it.

[Mali]

It didn’t make sense to the rider pair. If he already knew that the people who would answer his challenge would never meet his standards, then why do it? Taured and Varden hadn’t pegged this man to be that much of a sadist. No, sadist wasn’t the right word for it. He was a potential psycho or sociopath, both terms would fit nicely if his ego would allow enough room. Among all his other self-titled, ego inflating names, Taured had to wonder if psycho/sociopath would fit in. He had set the challenge to see if anyone could beat it with the knowledge that no one could. That meant that he’d set the challenge knowing that they would all die at his hands. They were dealing with a sick and twisted man. “But they’re always the most fun to deal with,” Taured quirked an eyebrow to his dragon who shrugged. He would ignore that for now. They would talk about Varden’s list of people he’d potentially enjoy visiting later.

Scoffing, he couldn’t believe what he’d heard last. Has Solomon read his bounty posters? “Why kill something when you get more money for it alive?” he was referring, of course, to Solomon’s bounty reward. Yes, there was a reward for dead or alive. However the price for alive was significantly higher than dead. It was obvious—if he had read his bounty posters—that his pursuers were keen on capturing Solomon alive. Even if his challenge meant life or death to these men, they believed that they were able to capture him. Taured felt bad that there were so many greedy people only after a large bounty reward. However, the bright side to that thought was that only a few of the population had responded to his challenge. This meant that only those men represented only a select few who weren’t pure of heart. At that moment, he dismissed any further thought on the subject.

The smirk was the first thing he caught after voicing his question. This man enjoyed a challenge, whether it be physical or mental. From the information he’d gathered, this man never liked to lose at anything. Even a mental battle would be the best of victories to Solomon. However, he wouldn’t let him have it. Playing dismissive and poker faced was one of his specialties. He had practised the art of keeping one’s emotions hidden. He was able to laugh at people without moving a single muscle in his face. Very misleading, but that wasn’t the matter at hand right now. Sighing, his brows furrowing slightly, crossing his arms, as if looking puzzled, Taured quickly changed from his false emotions to his poker face. His hand was on his hip though as he thought about the answer.

What would Solomon, a man who never liked to lose, like to know badly enough that he would give him the information he asked for. “I could always tell him, that,” Taured smirked mentally and Varden shook his head. He didn’t agree with his rider’s decision to tell this man where that was located, but he had agreed to trust his rider. Taured had trusted Varden’s intuition so many times throughout their 154 years together that trusting him one time more couldn’t hurt. Besides, there was no way that this man could slaughter the entire lot by themselves. “At this very moment, it is nesting season in a wild wyvern herd. Located not too far from here, you’d be sure to make it in 2 days tops,” Taured stated this nonchalantly while picking up his hand to examine his nails, his other hand moving from his hip and over his chest. Dropping his hand so both were crossed over his chest, he felt it right to ask his question now, a slight smile creasing his lips. “I know because we stumbled across them by accident. You’ll never be able to find it before they change locations on your own. I would like to know where and how you learned magic and your little mental blocking trick, if you’d like the location of the herd,” it should be information worth what he’d asked.

Judging by the use of magic in his short sword as well as Varden’s sensing a dragon coming from the blade, he was interested in dragons, or as he referred to them, wyverns. Varden turned his head at the offer, trying not to look at Solomon. He didn’t want to give away their location, since the dragons would know immediately that it was the rider pair that told Solomon where to find them. However, he knew that this was part of their job. He also hoped that Taured’s reassurance was right; there was no way Solomon could kill a wild pack of ten dragons all on his own, although, it didn’t help too much. Varden remembered how nesting periods were when the dragons were at their weakest since it was harder to defend both themselves and the eggs if alone, at the same time. That was how he was taken away from his dam after all.

Three encounters? Taured had only been informed about the recent encounter and the village. Why had Niko kept it secret that two other encounters had happened? Then again, his mentors should know about the other encounters and would have informed the young rider that there was no need to inform the rider’s council unless something bad happened. Even so, something bad had happened and they hadn’t bothered to inform the council that there were prior events leading up to the village. Taured continued to hide his shock with his stoic face. “I know of your trick, very nicely done on your part. I know of what you’d told him would happen, and I know that you ran away? Before the elf and lizard could pursue you,” it was meant to get him agitated or even slightly angered, but it wasn’t meant to get him enraged. There was no need for that right now. He just wanted to get him going a bit first.

There was some form of amusement about his features before the man gave him a look that asked if he even had to ask. Rolling his eyes, he knew what Solomon’s reaction would be. He seemed to deem all riders below him before even meeting and judging their talent. That was based solely on his interactions with past riders. There was no way that he would come willingly into their magical house and home. However, it was Taured’s job to find information and deliver messages. And his message had been to make Solomon an offer. It was his duty to make sure that Solomon knew the offer before turning it down. “I am a messenger, it was my job to deliver the message no matter my thoughts on the matter,” it was true, he had to deliver it no matter what he thought Solomon would answer with. Making a mental note of this so called ‘Nemesis Morona’, Taured continued to listen to what Solomon had to say.

“Even though clear you rather enjoy the hunt than to hide, I shall take your answer back to the council.” simple statement, now they could continue without worrying about the offer any more. It was a onetime offer and even though he hadn’t mentioned it to Solomon, there shouldn’t be any reason that it would become an insubordination issue. Making sure that Solomon knew that once he denied it wouldn’t be offered again, wasn’t part of his order.

His smirk remained present even while Solomon disregarded his possible threat. He didn’t see Taured as a valuable or even worthy opponent. His threats meant nothing to this man, he knew now. Varden sighed, “We’ll be here a while,” and laid down where he was, still about 33 yards away from the human, where Taured hadn’t moved from his still 30 yards away. Other than the wild dragons, he didn’t know that much else about Solomon to tell him something that he knew for sure would entertain him. Aside from the shade he’d battled weeks ago, there was nothing else that he could think of. “I may know of a worthy opponent. A shade, someone you can’t kill. A challenge, obviously.” Taured said this in a suggestive tone. Maybe this tidbit of information may answer his next question. “His whereabouts for my next question. How high and mighty do you think you are, your ego so inflated that you cannot even tell when someone you deem ‘lower than you’ makes a possible threat?” Taured knew that the information being offered wasn’t anywhere close in value to the question he asked, but hopefully Solomon would take the bait. He just wanted to battle the man now, to show him that he can’t be so arrogant with everyone he just meets. That judging a book by the cover is wrong.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

There had been a long silence after Solomon had finished talking, This Elf clearly considering his options before taking the time to answer Solomon... But, the silence had stretched on for too long, This Elf had already shown Solomon that his main reason for being here was to talk, so why would he need to think so long about his reply?

The possibilities were vast; it was difficult to make exact guesses on such things with someone that Solomon had just met. Regardless, Solomon allowed the silence to stand, if This Elf needed time to think on what exactly he should and shouldn’t be telling Solomon then so be it, it would simply make this exchange all the more interesting.

“If I had to guess”
He said calmly in reply to This Elf’s first question.

“It stopped being about the money and became more about pride in the end. That last amateur seemed to want to avenge everyone I had killed so far... Well either that or I had killed someone that had meant something to it. I didn’t really want to give it the chance to finish speaking though; the ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude starts to become nauseating after the first word or so.”
He said, falling silent once more. He was sure that This Elf would agree with him on that front in the very least, how anyone could stand other people that tried to place themselves on a pedestal simply because they believed their morals to be better than everyone else’s were the most insufferable kind of amateurs.

If they were going to think that they were better than anyone else, they at least needed to prove it first, not simply believe that their morals made them that way... Solomon had already proved that he was above his prey, his encounters with the Wyvern-kin and its Elf simply reinforced that.

It was then that Solomon noticed that Silence had once again fallen between himself and This Elf, well, at least this exchange had started off eventful, now it just seemed to be extending itself to awkward lengths that even Solomon found himself having difficulty remaining comfortable... But, he kept calm, kept a close eye on This Elf and his Lizard. If he could find a way to control this conversation then Solomon would have no issue in doing so.

Solomon arched an eyebrow as This Elf began speaking once again, he was confused, but he didn’t allow that to show, no, he would need to play the proverbial “long game” with This Elf. Now it was Solomon’s turn to carefully consider his answer, not so much for controlling the information he gave This Elf, no, but more because he had seen no signs of Wyvern habitation in this land.

“No random attacks on populated areas, I’ve not seen any signs of territorial marking. Not to mention, he used the term ‘wild’, of course Wyverns are wild; they’re feral, not sentient... And the word ‘herd’ that suggests that there is more than two of them, even during the mating season there are never any more than two Wyverns in any one area.”
He mused on what This Elf had said for just a moment longer before nodding to himself, yes, clearly This Elf had made a mistake, not that Solomon could fault him for that, he highly doubted that before his arrival here no-one had even known of the existence of Wyverns... Much the reverse of what had been true for Solomon, before his arrival here he had, had no idea of the existence of Dragons... Not that it mattered to him, they were all Lizards.

And then there was the information that This Elf wanted in return for the location of the nest he had referred to. Which only further confused Solomon, surely This Elf had realised by now that Solomon was not native to this land. Why would This Elf ask where Solomon had learned magic and the ability to defend his mind when the chance of him every getting to Empire Nirvana was already very low? He allowed the silence to hang in the air for just a moment longer, deciding on how to word what he planned to say. While the prospect of facing-down another wild lizard was hardly appealing to him –he had barely survived his encounter with the first one- it may have been valuable information somewhere in the future. He wasn’t sure how, but, he knew the value of such information.

“I’m not sure what good knowing where I learned what little magic I do know is to you, but to me it is a part of my history. While I don’t think you’ll ever get to my homeland I won’t betray the trust of my Clan so easily. So, you’ll have to settle for knowing that I learned it at home, from my human mentor.”
He said calmly.

“As for your claims on wild Wyverns, you’ve made a mistake. An understandable one, but a mistake nevertheless, they are Lizards, but there are differences between them and the Lizards of this land.”
He said calmly.

“They are feral, animals; they have a predatory kind of intelligence, but are not sentient... I suppose there could be a very distant relation between them and the Lizards of this land, but, other than the fact that they are Lizards, they are two very different creatures.”
He continued. Pausing for a moment, he had explained all he had really needed to explain, well, there was still one little matter he had not addressed yet.

“As for the Wyvern-kin, I call it as such simply because I need a name to remember it by. And I know that calling it Wyvern-kin infuriates it, so the name stuck.”
He said calmly with a small smile. Just another part of playing his mind games, angry things were easier to control, which often made conflicts against them easier... Given that the Wyvern-kin and its Elf had already shown Solomon how easy they were to control using not only their anger, but the fact that they grossly underestimated Solomon’s abilities only made any future victories Solomon would have over them a sweet certainty... Solomon already looked forward to his next encounter against them; he enjoyed putting them in their place.

Solomon had noticed though, that the Lizard had moved itself in an attempt not to look at him. Well, it would have nothing to worry about if it was concerned about Solomon going after the Lizards that This Elf had referred to. He was good, but he wasn’t that good. Almost dying to one giant Lizard did more than enough to keep his ego in check.

He was unsure of what there was left to discuss when This Elf started speaking again, he seemed to love talking, although; actually getting a compliment from This Elf was one of the last things that Solomon had expected. He blinked, not entirely sure how to respond to that, had This Elf been a fellow Hunter Solomon would have had several pleasantries to respond with, but, as it was they would be lost on This Elf.

“A compliment, an unexpected development indeed, especially from one representing an order that seems to place such a high value on their racial superiority.”
He sneered.

“But, I will accept it. Though, if you know anything about the events that transpired in that village it should be obvious that my intention was not to fight, it was merely a test of sorts. Of course, even if I had planned to destroy that village, nothing of value would have been lost, that’s what a large gathering of commoners get for building a village in a poorly defensible position.”
He said calmly, his smile returning to him as he spoke, he fell silent for a moment, just to let the fact that he had known exactly what he was doing, and how well he had planned his actions that day to become apparent to This Elf. If This Elf was also aware of the actions Solomon had taken just to taunt his order –by eliminating an entire encampment of apish brutes by himself.- he would hopefully get the idea that Solomon was not to be underestimated. He would NOT be underestimated.

However, the idea of prey that “could not be killed” was interesting. History had shown that there was no such thing as a creature that couldn’t be killed, both in its entirety and from his own personal experience. He raised an eyebrow.

“There is no such thing as prey that cannot be killed, if you believe that something cannot be killed then you are simply naive.”
He stated calmly, still not bothering to move, he was getting the feeling that he was already starting to strike a nerve with This Elf somewhere, he wasn’t quite sure how, though, it was starting to become difficult to track.

“Believe me Elf, I recognise a threat when I see and hear one. But, you’re mincing words far too much for me to be able to tell, are you saying that you were challenging me? Why not come right out and ask? Afraid that would make you sound impatient?”
He chuckled.

“I didn’t understand the awkwardly stiff formalities of your species when I first heard them, and I still don’t now. Furthermore, Elf, what makes you think I’d deem you to be worth my time? I really hope you weren’t counting on me accepting due solely to your racial superiority, I believe I’ve already proved in my encounters with The Wyvern-kin and its Elf that such traits mean nothing.”
He finished off, smirking at This Elf as he finished speaking. If he wanted to find out what exactly had happened in those first two encounters then Solomon would tell him, but only if he really wanted to. Otherwise, Solomon was all too happy to keep This Elf in the dark. He fell silent, still smirking, still watching both This Elf and his Lizard very closely.

[Mali]

Note: (I’m putting this in again cuz you got confused about Varden a few posts back)
Varden speaking Varden speaking to others[/b], Taured speaking, Taured mind[/b], Ancient language is Italics

He agreed with Solomon on one point. He hated to come across people who denied him passage, answers, or even meals because of their holier-than-thou morals toward riders. It was true that throughout Alaga¸sia, riders were known to be shunned by the public, however, it irritated Taured how he was rejected just because he was a rider. They should know that not all riders are the same. Solomon should recognise this as well. However, the rider would get to that point later on. “I see your point,” If Solomon continued to believe that he was better than all riders in general just because he had defeated maybe a handful at most, then he would be in for a rude awakening.

In response to his information about the dragons and wyverns, Taured noted how Solomon thought it over first. He knew more about wyverns than Taured did, however, it was Varden who had entered the nest that had been found again recently. They had found the nest originally a year ago but had recently come across the same herd within their travels. How he knew that there was at least one wyvern in the group was from Varden’s report back of an unknown and odd looking reptilian nesting with the other dragons. The group nested in the mountain range between the towns of Orthiad and Baragh. The first time that they had found the herd, they had followed them after mating and nesting season, to see where they headed from there and it turns out that they went back into the Hadarac desert. Upon entering the desert, they had lost track of the reptiles when a sand storm hit.

Solomon was still thinking over his information and question when he received an answer. Chuckling, he guessed that Solomon was right about that. The information he’d given him was of no use to the rider. It had been pointless to ask but he had no way of knowing in advance that the information was worthless. “Yes, you’re right again. Where you learned magic is of no use to me, since you cannot provide the location of your home. Call my asking, a job requirement.” It was true, similar to offering him the sanctuary and blessing from the rider’s council, it was required of him to do so. He was required to find out everything he could. Oh well, that piece of information had been given without anything of value being returned. Taured’s eyebrows rose slightly at this man’s response to his information. A mistake? Taured and Varden were the leaders in the rider’s council of resources, they weren’t allowed to get things wrong too often. Varden had reported an odd reptilian creature among the dragons and maybe Solomon was wrong. However, he allowed the man to continue speaking, not interrupting him once. It would be rude. Upon finishing his speech, Taured cleared his throat and continued to correct the human.

“A mistake, I think not. Upon finding the herd, as I refer to them, before coming after you, they were migrating to their nesting area within a rather, uninhabited area of the Beor Mountain range, my dragon reported back that there were two unknown reptilian creatures with the dragons of the herd.” Maybe Solomon knew a fair bit about his wyverns since they came from his land, however, there was no doubt that it was either the dragons had accepted lizards that had grown abnormally large, or they were Solomon’s wyverns. Taured didn’t bother to address Solomon’s comment about why he called Arashi and dragons in general, ‘wyvern-kin’. It wasn’t relevant now. “It doesn’t bother me all that much,” Varden commented.

It seems that the rider had caught Solomon off guard as he responded to the compliment with a sort of blank stare. Holding his tongue, he allowed Solomon to finish what he was saying, again. He would bring up the comment about the superiority complex after he was finished. Shaking his head, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The villagers there had no need to set up the buildings in a defensible position since they were on good terms with those surrounding them. “Just because some elves may act superior, doesn’t imply all elves have an imbalanced view of racial superiority. Are you sure it is not yourself that has a superiority complex? Or maybe you have an inferiority complex instead?” Solomon acted as if he were royalty, the way that he responded and reacted to the elf. He had hoped that Solomon have the decency to give the benefit of a doubt. Taured had given it to Solomon, but it had been abused.

Taured shook his head. “You may not have encountered a shade before, but you are partially wrong about your answer. The body of the shade, yes, may be killed. However, the shade does not die. The shade simply switches to a new body and continues their assault. So if you would like, we were both right about this,” It wasn’t that Taured liked to talk a lot, it was that he used lengthy ways of expressing his thoughts as well as answering people. “Sounds like a challenge to me, killing which can switch opponents” It had been a challenge for Taured and he had to leave the village without resolution for the people. It had been an interesting battle, although, tricky to keep track of. There was also the fact that the shade had been well versed with the use of magic, he didn’t know if Solomon would be able to keep up with him. However, that was for him to decide if he concluded it to be a worthy battle and asked for his whereabouts.

Raising one eyebrow, he looked at Solomon quizzically. Impatient? Did he have to explain to this man that he used lengthy forms of expressing himself? No, if he did that would just make it appear as if he were covering up for his speech. Solomon wouldn’t get such ammunition from the elf. “Again, with the supposed racial superiority. Do you realise that you stereotype my race far too much?” he said in a questioning tone. “And you deem me not worth your time on what basis? You knew such persons who accepted your challenge weren’t capable, and yet, you allowed them to battle. What basis am I not worthy, but they are?” it was a good question, and hopefully, Solomon wouldn’t be able to answer it so easily.

[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

Solomon concealed a yawn, thinking back to what This Elf had said regarding his “ego”, he shook his head, chuckling to himself. Did This Elf not realise that if a person was capable of actually enforcing what they said than it was more than just egotistical banter? He might have actually felt hurt at This Elf’s comments if Solomon hadn’t already proven multiple times over that his words were MUCH more than just the deluded ramblings of an egocentric mind.

“Wouldn’t you agree Elf; that it’s far more than just ‘ego’ if I’m capable of backing up what I say? Three encounters with the Wyvern-kin and its Elf, all of which have ended in my victory, and, I suspect you know of my accomplishment with that encampment of apish brutes your lot was struggling with at one point.”
He said calmly.

“Based on that alone, have I not earned the right to be at least a little bit cocky?”
He asked, Solomon had accomplished things that many could hardly dare to dream possible, and after each and every accomplishment he still stood, alive, well and stronger for it. If he hadn’t earned at least some bragging rights from that, if he couldn’t be proud of his accomplishments, then what good were they? He was a Hunter; the pride came with the territory.

He had to admit though, he was appreciative that This Elf was capable of seeing some sense, he had agreed with Solomon’s point on those holier-than-thou morons after all... However, Solomon shrugged inwardly; a single agreement was hardly enough to make the awkward tension of this situation vanish. But, this encounter still wasn’t the most awkward encounter that Solomon had ever had.

“It’s not a matter of not being able to provide the location of my homeland, I have the information I need to get back there if I so choose. I said I wouldn’t betray my Clan.”
He stated casually to This Elf’s response to the answer Solomon had provided earlier, if This Elf really wanted the location of Empire Nirvana than Solomon would have no trouble giving him that information... Solomon was sure that even Nemesis Morona would have given This Elf information regarding the location of Empire Nirvana, however, he wouldn’t speak for that man, and until he was able to confirm his thoughts it would remain that way.

“However, if you want information on Empire Nirvana in general, you’re better off asking Nemesis Morona, he would be able to give you more complete information than I could.”
He finished off, yes; Nemesis Morona was more travelled than Solomon was, and had explored Empire Nirvana in most of its entirety, where Solomon only had basic information on the main land and the isle he had grown up on. And that isle, after having been cut-off from the rest of the Empire, was hardly an easy place to live.

Though, the further explanation on the apparent Wyvern sighting was both confusing and highly interesting to Solomon. Everything he knew about the behaviour of Wyverns in general conflicted with what This Elf was saying, either perhaps it was a strange adaptation due to the difference in habitat, or a different creature entirely, it would require some kind of investigation before Solomon would be able to find out for sure.

“If what you say is true, then... Well, that sounds like highly unusual behaviour for a Wyvern, which has my interest... It is a rumour that definitely sounds worth investigating.”
He stated simply.

“You needn’t be concerned that I will try to harm anything there either, your first encounter with a Wyvern isn’t something you tend to forget. It does more than enough to keep you sober about your chances, and I know my limitations.”
He said with a smirk, raising one of his hands he absently touched some of the scars on the side of his head. Yes, more than enough to keep him sober on his chance of facing them again... Vile lizards!

“If you wish for information in return, I will oblige... Within reason of course, personal history is non-negotiable.”
Solomon once more arched an eyebrow as This Elf commented on Solomon’s taunts concerning the so-called ‘racial superiority’ surrounding his race. He kept quiet for a moment longer, his response had been unexpected, Solomon could admit that much, but, Solomon’s experience with Elven-kind had always seemingly been the same... He was unsure; perhaps it was just lingering resentment from an unfavourable encounter with one of their kind... Perhaps, but more likely, Solomon just viewed ‘superior’ creatures with a sense of distaste. Chances were many Elves would get torn apart without their inhuman abilities, the fact that they relied on them made them less than human in Solomon’s eyes.

“Ja, perhaps you’re right. However, I’ve only met one of your lot whom was capable enough of making me view them to the contrary of what I’ve just said. Until the individual has proven otherwise, they’re just the same as the rest of their species as far as I’m concerned.”
Solomon sneered, almost casually at this stage.

However, the increase of information on the prey that “could not be killed” also proved to be interesting, however, Solomon had to force himself to take a step away from looking into that challenge, the idea of facing an enemy capable of carrying on a fight simply because they could possess another body wasn’t his idea of a good hunt... No, in fact, it merely brought back unpleasant memories about The Incident... Admittedly it wasn’t quite the same thing, but it was very close.

“As for this... What did you call it? ‘Shade’? It sounds more like an abomination than a challenge. The idea of fighting something with potentially limitless endurance is unappealing to me... It brings back... Unpleasant memories.”
He said calmly... far too revealing, but too late to take back now, not that it mattered, that would be all the information and outsider would EVER get regarding The Incident and Solomon’s involvement in ending it... He drew in a shallow breath, dismissing the thoughts on the subject entirely, The Incident hadn’t made enough of an impact on Solomon to haunt him as the Wyvern attack had done... And that was the way Solomon intended to keep it.

Solomon smiled once more, This Elf clearly affected by Solomon’s previous rhetorical question about whether or not he would have been worth Solomon’s time.

“Quite simply Elf, ‘forte’” He said calmly “As it stands right now, your forte is the gathering and handling of information. Of course, I have little doubt you’re also at least more skilled in the Arcane Arts than I am judging by the way you killed the amateur earlier, however, magic is hardly the end-all solution many believe it to be.”
He continued, pausing for a moment to consider whatever else he had observed about This Elf in the short time he had been standing here talking to him. He had no possible way to tell if This Elf was skilled in conventional combat, but, given the longevity of Elven life there was probably a good chance This Elf would be better than many human swords-masters... But then again, that was just a guess, he didn’t even know how old This Elf was, which; right now, was not really a relevant factor in the point that Solomon was trying to make.

“With these amateurs, I could be sure that they were fully capable combatants... Clearly, not quite as capable as me, but that’s beside the point. Regardless of your race, how am I to know whether or not you can hold a weapon?”
He finished off calmly, taking a moment to let his observations take hold.

He even let the fact that he seemed to have contradicted himself sink in for a moment, he wanted to be absolutely sure that This Elf knew what he was dealing with.

“Don’t get me wrong here, Elf. Racial superiority means nothing if the individual lacks the skill required to apply it properly. I can already tell you have the arcane abilities going for you. But how do I know you’re capable without those abilities?”
He stated simply.

“Too many unknowns for me to answer myself, so it’s better off assuming that something isn’t worth the effort right from the start, of course, my earlier statement regarding the individual could very well change my opinion of them. But, that depends on the individual.”
He said, folding his arms over his chest as he spoke. He was not the kind of person to just respect people the second they landed right in front of him, people needed to EARN, that respect, This Elf would need to learn that... And he would also need to learn that just about everyone lacked the abilities needed to earn Solomon’s respect.

[Mali]

Rolling his eyes, Taured would rather not be reminded of the rider’s failed attempts at controlling the situation with the urgals. He didn’t want to seem as if it wasn’t an accomplishment on Solomon’s part, but to bring something such as that up. Taured was able to realise and accept that the riders weren’t perfect as he did so quite often. He had learned to be humble from his travels. Having a large ego was a bad thing. “You do realise that those three encounters were between you and a rider pair who haven’t even come close to finishing their training yet? They are not our best as they’re still learning. Can you agree that it isn’t wise to show false pride, when a student cannot outwit their master? I have no doubt that they will become far better, but you shouldn’t take those victories with too much stride. Beat them once they’re finished training, and I will personally bow to your skills,” the last part was said with honesty as he nodded his head down toward Solomon’s feet in a gesturing manner.

As Solomon continued to talk about his magical background, Taured took note of this Nemesis Morona. He had mentioned the name earlier, when Taured had made the offer about taking sanctuary. He had mentioned that if he had desire to learn the Arcane arts, he would seek out Nemesis Morona. The rider wondered if Nemesis was part of this character’s name, or whether it referred to his being Solomon’s literal nemesis. Instead of addressing the piece of information, he continued to listen for something to pique his interest.

Unusual behaviour for wyverns? Turning to look at Varden slightly, maybe he could explain exactly what he had found. Sighing, Varden started to recall what he’d found after inspecting the returning herd. He said it aloud, so that all may hear if desired. It was more like an invitation to allow him to enter Solomon’s mind rather than a forceful assault. “Among the herd were two creatures, similar to my kind, but different. They were bipeds, using their wings to help with movement. From what I saw, each had their own nest, if it will aid in your investigation,”

[/b] Varden had no way of knowing whether Solomon would accept him into his mind, or push him away. However, the link that was provided was based on circumstance. If Solomon decided to deny the link, then it would end there and Taured would be the only person to hear it. It was literally an invitation and not an intrusion. Hopefully, this man would understand and accept the offer, since he had offered instead of just barging into that private space. Whether he heard the information or not wasn’t much of a concern to Taured. If he wanted to know, he could always ask, if, after denying the invitation. Varden had given the offer as a form of thanks. He never barged into one’s mind without permission, however, he was thankful as to Solomon’s statement to not inflict injury upon the dragons.

At the offer of information, Taured withheld for now. If Solomon wouldn’t give a complete description of his homeland, then he could use the offer for other important information he may need instead. Upon hearing the statement about only one elf ever making Solomon deem him worthy, Taured had to wonder if it was this man that taught Solomon how to use magic. It could very well be the case seeing, as he was an elf.

Taured laughed as Solomon referred to a shade as an ‘abomination’. It was what they were. “That’s right, they’re created with magic, a true abomination,” Shades were nasty pieces of work. They were always so evil and negative. Was it even possible to find a shade with something other than negativity on their minds? Being created of magic and souls, it was no wonder that they were so negative. They were conjured to replace a soul of a person, usually deceased, and yet, they were placed into random bodies and forced to continue living. They weren’t even able to sleep. It was as if they were forced to live every split second of their existence. However, if Solomon didn’t want to go after the shade, then it was his choice. Personally, Taured thought it a good decision.

Listening to the reasoning for his lower standing, Taured couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Not being able to use anything other than the arcane arts. Solomon may not know whether he could wield a sword, but did he honestly believe that Taured was possibly, only able to use the arcane arts? Thinking on the contradictory lines Solomon had just said, Taured reached up over his left shoulder to his sword’s handle. Unsheathing the blade, Taured then spun it in his hand, holding it in a ready position, his stance changing to be light on his toes. Varden shook his head, calling him a potential show off, as Taured smiled to Solomon. “Does that help?”

Frowning as Solomon continued, even crossing his arms as he spoke, Taured had to think of something else to prove his worth. Placing his sword in the soft grass beside him, Taured had to think about this. Being able to hold a sword and use it properly while fighting wouldn’t come close to impressing him. “What would it take to achieve your approval; to stand on equal ground as you? I would hope that you would accept my challenge, as you did the others. Even if only to humour me,” Taured thought about it. It would mean death if he lost, wouldn’t it? However, he had qualified it victory even though he’d left Niko and Arashi alive. He doubted that those that engage in conversation before battle would be left for dead after losing. Smirking, he thought about the possibility of winning. He was an advanced swordsmen even without using magic. He had become a rider before the blue divide and had been a hopeful recruit for mentoring during that time. It meant that he was better than just decent. There was also the chance that he was only asked for his prodigy use of magic. However, that couldn’t be right since the riders council wanted well rounded mentors.

“If I won against you, would I be worth your time then, Solomon?” He raised both eyebrows, asking with genuine interest. He hated when people judged him without fair reasoning. If he were to be judged as lesser from a general consensus, then he would prefer to have his chance to try to prove himself. It all had to do with his belief in never judging a book by its cover. [/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

This Elf could talk well, Solomon would give him that, however, he disagreed with his statement claiming his pride concerning his victories over the Wyvern-kin and its Elf. They may have been amateurs, but the size, strength and speed gap was still large enough for such victories to warrant his pride regardless of the fact they had yet to complete their training. Though, Solomon couldn’t help but smile at This Elf’s final comment at the end of that speech, it was odd, he actually seemed almost human... Almost.

“I’ll... Hold you to that, Elf.”
He chuckled, still not entirely sure what to think of This Elf.

“And I’m very well aware that their inexperience is their biggest weakness. It was one of the factors I was able to use against them to secure my victories. That, and the fact they seem to be out for my blood and refuse to get other’s involved in their little spat with me. Their lust for vengeance has also proven to be a helpful little tool for use against them.”
He said calmly, not that these tools made victory effortless, no, he had learned that the night that they had managed to track him from his little gift to The Rider’s. It had been embarrassing enough that they had managed to catch him with his guard down, but the fact he also took hits from them just made it worse, though, he was grateful that they hadn’t managed to piece together anything meaningful from the number of times the Wyvern-kin had caused him to flash back.

That was, quite simply, information he DID NOT want them finding out... EVER!

He was alerted from his thoughts by the feeling of another’s consciousness brushing up against his, he knew enough to recognise that it wasn’t a hostile movement. But, he was still apprehensive... The way this encounter had gone so far Solomon doubted that either of them would use the opportunity to launch an attack on him, no, they didn’t seem like the under-handed-opportunistic type... But, he still had reservations about allowing the Lizard into his mind.

He drew in a quiet breath. No, if they were going to attack, they would have done so already, he disliked the idea, but if the Lizard was to be the one to explain, then so be it.

Reluctantly, Solomon lowered his defences enough in order to hear what The Lizard had to say, but, he kept his inner-most thoughts to himself, Empire Nirvana had a way of making even the most confident people paranoid. Solomon was no exception to that. And while he may not have liked the idea of lowering his mental defences –especially not when there was a mage present- he did not regret his decision. The description he had been given did strongly resemble those of Wyverns back in Empire Nirvana, but, there was one thing that confused him, and that was the description of them using their wings to aid movement.

Solomon referred back to his knowledge on Wyvern anatomy and tried to picture the difference in his mind... If what he pictured was accurate, it could very well have either been a new species of Wyvern he had yet to encounter, or, perhaps even the next step of Wyvern evolution. Either idea was highly interesting to Solomon, when he could find the time to do so, he would investigate, but, as things stood right now, he would have to put that plan on hold.

“... Danke.”
He stated simply in response, feeling awkward for the showing of gratitude... But, on this occasion he was able to ignore it, the information was interesting enough for Solomon to show at least some gratitude for its acquisition... He thought for a moment longer, deciding that it might even be worth passing this information onto that Baldur amateur, whom, had arrived with Nemesis Morona, he would undoubtedly get the most use from it... Solomon would be investigating for other reasons, since he now had several suspicions of his own surrounding this rumour.

He kept his silence going as This Elf agreed with his observation on this “Shade” thing... Why was This Elf so damned reasonable? It was actually starting to get on Solomon’s nerves. Still, he kept his calm exterior intact; he did not lose these games.

He smiled as This Elf drew his sword and took up a ready stance after spinning the blade. Well, yes, that did answer his question.

“Ja... You’re a difficult Elf to taunt, that already says enough, Elf.”
He chuckled in response to The Elf’s question.

Indeed, This Elf seemed as though he would be able to remain calm under pressure, Solomon was much the same, he had to be, hunting required calm focus, detachment and high levels of patience. He had the feeling that This Elf might have even made a good Hunter, but, he had no reason to admit that out-loud.

This Elf, he continued to both confuse and irritate Solomon to a degree, he wanted to stand as Solomon’s equal? Why? Solomon looked down at the ground, acting as though he were judging the distance from his perch to the ground. This land was strange... Even now, after some years walking among the natives, the ignorance of his former reputation still shocked and surprised him at every turn.

Solomon kept his gaze directed at the ground, keeping the act going.

No-one back home would have taken the time to stop and talk to a Hunter, even if a Hunter managed to keep their full identity a secret from someone long enough to forge a relationship with them the revelation of their clan-name and Hunter status would tear apart years of history in seconds... But now, people were willing to talk to him, his status, his reputation meant nothing, he could freely walk around with his insignia on display and not have to worry about every soldier, mercenary and bounty hunter in the general vicinity jumping him.

Well, that wasn’t true, not any more. He had already acquired a bounty here, and the deaths of these amateurs would only increase that... And he wouldn’t have changed that for anything, no, he was above them all. He looked back at This Elf and smirked, keeping his arms folded over his chest he kept himself quiet a moment longer.

“I’m not a ‘trial-by-combat’ type Elf; I’m a Hunter, not a Warrior.”
He admitted, he was far from incapable in a direct fight, such weakness wasn’t tolerable, not to his clan, not to his mentors and, most importantly, not to Solomon himself. But, he was no warrior, he could keep up, he could kill without a weapon, he would even wager that he would have been able to endure more than a warrior could.

No, his problems lie not in any inability to fight. But, in his execution, he could admit that but only to himself... Solomon tended to go from one extreme to another, either he was too telegraphed in his movements and ended up performing predictably, or, he started panicking and doing anything that came to mind... In which case he ended up injuring himself more than his opponent, then again, the practise could never hurt, could it?

He sighed, leaving his highly confused train of thought behind; if it came down to it Solomon always had his tactical abilities and traps on his side, he could always lead This Elf into one of those if worst came to worst.

“My approval really means that much to you, Elf? Why?”
He asked calmly, This Elf had gotten to him, his train of thought no longer ran smoothly... He was just confused. He took a deep breath and held his silence, This Elf. Why would he try to gain Solomon’s approval when no other had sought to do so? Was he really after information that badly? Or did he want something more? Did he want understanding?

Solomon found himself unable to answer those questions... A finding that he despised.

[Mali]

It seems that Taured had caught Solomon off guard with his words. He had no way of being sure, however, the way in which Solomon seemed to pause before answering, as well as the way he appeared hesitant, gave the rider the impression that he had done one of a few things. He had surprised, confused, or a caused a great number of reactions within the man. Either way, that wasn’t of concern. Upon hearing his words, Taured smiled. This almost seemed like a conversation between good friends, if it hadn’t been for the present tension of the situation. Solomon almost expected Taured to do something and yet he hadn’t done anything to cause implications that he was here to kill the man or in response to his challenge.

He made a strong mental note that it appeared Niko and Arashi had a deeper vendetta against this man than they had first thought. If it escalated any further, people’s lives may be at stake again. “I must admit, being able to use one’s weakness is a valuable asset, depending on the battle. However, do you have any idea why they would want revenge so badly? They had always been a calm pair,” It wasn’t necessary information that he felt Solomon needed, more like a question of interest on the subject. Taured was just a little curious as to what Solomon thought the reason could be.

Varden could feel the hesitance toward allowing him to enter his mental chambers. The dragon understood his reluctance, it was an odd feeling having someone unknown entering your mind. Even Taured and Varden had had issues at first after he’d hatched. It had taken some time for the pair to get used to having someone constantly there. However, the man had allowed him in to deliver his message. Taured made sure that he didn’t intrude on the man’s mind, even if the information was visible or hidden, he tried his best to ignore his mental thoughts while Varden connected to his mind. At the end of his message, he retreated from the personal space. Varden hadn’t expected anything else of the conversation that his rider was having with the human, however, he heard Solomon thank him. Taken back slightly, the dragon nodded his head to the human, not bothering to attempt with a ‘you’re welcome’ reply. Getting permission to enter was hard enough. Doing so for something so trivial would be redundant.

Without realising it, Taured frowned to the man. Had he irritated him? It was a sense emitting, though faintly, from the male’s being. He seemed irritated about something. Seeing as they were in the middle of a conversation, he had to believe that it was partly his fault. Had he irritated the man to an extent?

Upon drawing his sword and performing a bit, he was given a smile in return. Finally, Solomon had shown a smile instead of just a smirk. Smiling in return, he nodded his head again. “Thank you,” He wasn’t sure if it had been meant as a compliment or not, but he had taken it as such. At the chuckle, it was Taured’s turn to be confused. Not allowing the emotion to cross his features, Taured wondered why he was chuckling at his question. It had been a simple question. Taured didn’t enjoy being judged and labelled before having a chance to prove himself. It was plain and simple that most people wouldn’t enjoy being judged before being allowed to prove themselves. It could lead to misunderstandings.

The faint sense emitting from the man continued to be of confusion and irritation. Was his ability to keep calm upsetting the man? Niko and Arashi hadn’t been able to remain calm and had attacked quickly. Taured, however, believed in strategy as well as planning. He wouldn’t charge in without a plan no matter what the circumstance. Unless events changed, would the elf ‘wing-it’. His decision to talk with Solomon first had been based on the strategic thought that this would be the best way to get information from him. Noticing the gaze toward the ground, Taured had to wonder what was going through his mind. He knew that the mental block would be up, so there was no reason to alert the male toward his prying, however, it didn’t stop his curiosity toward knowing.

Not the trial-by-combat type, hmm, that changed things. Hadn’t those men been trial-by-combat in some sense? They had their combat, at which point they had lost and their trial had ended. Instead of questioning the now deceased men’s allowed attempts, he continued to listen to what Solomon had to say. The rider wouldn’t say anything until the right moment and the right question. Like a hunter, waiting for the rabbit to move into sight, or into a trap before striking, he was a word hunter. In some corny sense, he would wait for the right moment to make his intentions clear.

The calm air alerted the elf. He was irritated and confused, working over his thoughts before this clam sense began to emit. What had changed to allow such a sudden emotional shift to happen? Allowing a few seconds to pass after Solomon had asked the question, Taured waited before answering. “Don’t judge a book by its cover. It’s what we live by. I don’t enjoy being judged and deemed before proving myself. I’m sure you would feel the same way. It has nothing to do with race, or gender, if someone judges before allowing the chance to prove myself, I will ask for the chance to change their opinion of me.” Shifting so he could cross his arms, his sword still sticking up from the soft grass from which he’d placed it; Taured reconsidered his plan. If Solomon wouldn’t engage in battle so he could prove his true standing, then there had to be another way for him to do so. He couldn’t possibly suggest that they have a hunting competition since it was what Solomon did best, however, if he wouldn’t fight, there had to be something that he could do to prove himself.

“If you would prefer not to engage in battle, surely you could think of another fitting way I may prove to you that I am worthy of a status of which my true abilities deserve to be judged. And a status is which you may even remember my name,” that was a big leap to take, trying to get Solomon to remember his name. He hadn’t even introduced himself. All he’d said was that he came from the rider’s council with a message. This man had yet to even ask for his name and hadn’t bothered to remember Niko nor Arashi’s names.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

Another compliment, but not simply pandering to try and play to his more prideful side, no, this was a true acknowledgement of skill and intelligence... The only way in which This Elf could have actually expanded upon that impression would have been to use the Hunter’s phrase “I’ll have to watch my back.”. Not that Solomon had expected him to, he hadn’t found enough respect for anyone else in this land in order to use that expression, and so for now this would have to make-do. Even the very small group of people whom had managed to gain his respect hadn’t heard that compliment from him, but there wasn’t any real reason for that. He just hadn’t seen any of them in a while.

“I’m going to guess that pride and a bruised ego more than explain that, Elf.”
He stated simply, thinking back to all three encounters he had, had with the Wyvern-kin and its Elf. Yes, the way this had all started, down to the simple fact that the Wyvern-kin was incapable of taking an insult in stride, he smirked again, the memories of putting them in their place already fond memories for him. It was just a shame that circumstance had prevented him from killing either of them yet, which would, in his mind’s eye have been the ultimate way to insult them, death at the hands of the human they had continually underestimated.

“But where to begin? It was one of those rare occasions that I needed money, the ‘why’ is unimportant. I had picked up a notice offering a relatively large sum of money to investigate and retrieve some kind of item... Pretty sure it was for a religious group. I can’t remember the exact detail; it was a while ago now.”
He began, trying to accurately recall why he had even been with that tiresome group in the first place, while that trip had started off tiresome it had eventually become incredibly frustrating, not that it mattered now, Solomon had managed to put distance between himself and everyone else he had met during that awful period of time... Well, almost everyone.

“It turned out that I was not the only one that decided to accept this offer, there had been others. And it was during the time we spent on the boat that I had taken a disliking to and had even started insulting an.”
He paused for a moment; he already had the words for what he wanted to say firmly in mind, so it wasn’t down to trying to figure out how to word what he had planned to say, it was more to try and stop himself laughing about the way The Deluded-Lizard hadn’t had any impressive counter-taunts for Solomon’s taunts.

“An incredibly deluded lizard.”
He managed to state simply, once again, the actual name of The Deluded-Lizard escaping him, not that he cared, it had done nothing to convince him that it even deserved a name in the first place, so Deluded-Lizard was the next best thing.

“The Wyvern-kin clearly didn’t approve of that, but, at that time I wasn’t able to care, just figured that I would pay that insult back later. Anyway, skipping over some unnecessary details, we all ended up marooned and had eventually decided that trying to explore the surrounding area was the best course of action. I’m a survivor, so naturally I left by myself.”
He paused for a moment; he would leave out certain details like his finding the corpse of a Huntress from Clan D’alene that he had been unable to identify... And unable to spare from scavengers, those were unneeded elements in this explanation.

“After finding nothing of any real value I had decided to head to our agreed rendezvous point, I knew where I was going, but had decided to take a detour upon hearing what sounded like someone speaking to themselves. Considering how disconcertingly quiet that place had been I decided to investigate, only to find out it was simply The Elf speaking to his Wyvern-kin.”
He paused, arching an eyebrow as he spoke. This was certainly not the way he had expected their encounter to go, but he didn’t mind, in a way this was simply a telling of his victories over the Wyvern-kin and its Elf. And as far as Solomon was concerned, that needed to be heard, people needed to know what he was capable of.

“Regardless, I remembered that the Wyvern-kin had attempted to insult me and had decided that it was the best time to pay that insult back without having to worry about anyone else joining in. It gets tiresome when unnecessary parties get involved where they’re not wanted.”
He continued; there was little need to explain that any further to This Elf he was sure.

“My intention wasn’t to get violent, simply to pay back the insult and throw back a few more of my own. Needless to say my words got the Wyvern-kin riled up very quickly, to the point where its Elf had to hold it back almost immediately.”
He paused, there was no need to go into any further depth about the end result since it would probably be obvious by this point.

“To cut some length off of the story, the Wyvern-kin was the first of the pair to lose control of itself and attack me, first mentally, and then physically. To which I was forced to incapacitate the Wyvern-kin in order to defend myself, I had to make sure of course that it wouldn’t simply get back up and try to attack me again, so it ended up with a broken wing alongside other injuries.”
He said calmly, taking a moment to allow himself to breath.

“The Elf then lost control and attacked, once again, I was forced to incapacitate him to defend myself. Just let me be clear now, the only reason I didn’t lethally incapacitate them back then was down to the fact that I had to be realistic about my chances of survival. Had the rest of the group found out about it and somehow deemed me to be threat from that encounter, I didn’t fancy my chances, the numbers-game means a lot where survival is concerned.”
He finished off, falling silent for a short while as he best considered how to continue. He had briefly explained the first encounter, the finer details This Elf would have to find elsewhere, that Solomon was even giving him a history lesson –recent history, but history nevertheless- was something that Solomon was very uncomfortable with.

But, he would cope, his reputation was already being built, he just needed to get it out there now, just needed to make sure that the story was heard.

“Now move on to my gift to your lot, that encampment of apish brutes I slaughtered. I can only assume that they were sent to investigate, from the note I left they were clearly able to tell that the corpses around them were my handiwork. They must have then thought that, that was the best time to try and soothe their bruised egos and left to track me down, given that they found me under-equipped and unprepared they had the advantage.”
He smirked again.

“Needless to say, that once again they ended up on the ground by my hand. However, the fact I was under-equipped prevented me from finishing either of them off. So I was forced to walk while they were incapable of getting to me.”
Not entirely true, by the time that night had ended Solomon had been fatigued and barely able to speak, let alone move... But This Elf didn’t need to know that, the fact that The Wyvern-kin and its Elf were now probably aware of Solomon’s limitations was damaging enough.

“So, past that point things had obviously become personal enough to cause them to make some idiotic decisions, the end result of the events that took place in that village should be proof-enough of that.”
He concluded simply, falling silent after finishing his narrative, once more the discomfort of sharing part of his history with another causing him to feel uneasy... He pushed it aside; drawing in a deep breath Solomon maintained his silence, thinking back on what had been said already... This Elf had actually said something that Solomon could almost relate to, the way people had assumed that his choice in becoming a Hunter had been a simple matter, their opinion of him because of that... It all resonated with very small parts of Solomon... But, that was just the way that things were, wasn’t it? Solomon didn’t understand; if other people judged him as such why shouldn’t he do the same to them?

He drew in a deep breath, no, he didn’t care.

He didn’t respond to that statement... He couldn’t respond to that statement, he simply remained silent his thoughts chaotic.

“That’s tall order, Elf.”
He stated distantly, This Elf clearly unaware of exactly what committing one’s name to memory meant in Hunter culture... But he seemed persistent, Solomon couldn’t understand why.

“My preferred prey is sentient, Elf, and I gather that your lot takes issue with killing for sport, which places us at an impasse... Unless you have another suggestion that would place us at a position which would allow us to compete as you wish...”
‘trial-by-combat’ was looking to be the only answer at this point, and that was an option Solomon disliked the idea of... He disliked the idea of, he wouldn’t fall to that level, not again.

[Mali]

Taured hadn’t expected a long-winded response from Solomon. He’d asked a simple question which should have a simple answer. However, maybe it was that Solomon didn’t know why Niko and Arashi reacted the way they had. Maybe he felt that explaining their first meeting might help as to explain the possible reasons for such an uncharacteristic emotional outburst. Niko had always been so calm, it would make sense that he would be able to handle the situation as well as Taured was, if not as well, close enough.

Throughout the entire story being told, Taured thought about what he was saying. He didn’t understand why Niko and Arashi would have accepted a notice to retrieve an item for a reward. As riders, they received a large sum of pay, seeing as it was a job as well as a privilege. Why would Niko be motivated to take up the offer? Brushing the thought aside, he continued to listen, even noting how Solomon referred to Arashi as ‘deluded’. Solomon had said that he’d called Arashi deluded and that he would pay back the insult later. Did that mean that the dragon had attempted to insult Solomon for calling him deluded, and that was what Solomon was referring to paying back later? Feeling no need to clarify that point, Taured continued to listen, looking as if he was deep in thought as well as paying close attention at the same time. It was rather hard to pull off, looking as if you’re listening closely as well as not paying attention at all.

‘That was stupid’, he thought to himself. Why would Niko speak aloud to Arashi? They had a mental connection. Of course, there were times that Taured spoke to Varden aloud, but if they were on a mission and preoccupied, he always spoke to his dragon mentally. It was easier to keep thoughts private when knowing that others may be around. Which, he should have known if they were to look around the same general location. So far, the rider pair had yet to impress Taured with their actions. Even if the pair hadn’t been at the rendezvous point, and Solomon had taken a detour getting there, his reasoning for the detour was because he had heard someone talking to themselves. It was a mistake on the rider’s part.

Nodding his head, Taured had to agree. He hated when other people got involved when they were not needed or part of. It particularly bothered him when someone decided to pick a battle with him being a rider—for no apparent reason—and then others decided, ‘I don’t like riders either, I think I’ll go harass him too’ and then come over, starting a crowd to form and eventually a riot of some sort. Focusing back on what Solomon was saying, he didn’t comment on his decision to insult the pair for what had been said on the boat. It was an action that he couldn’t judge, since it had happened and motivations for doing so may cause ill intentions to rise now.

It was now that Solomon answered his previous question about Arashi attempting to insult the human. Nodding his head again, he took note of his words. So far, Solomon hadn’t led Taured to believe that anything he said may be false. He had been honest with him just as he had with Solomon. Arashi and Niko probably hadn’t intended to get violent. Actually, Taured changed that. From what Solomon was saying, it sounded like Arashi may have had ill intentions upon meeting up again, however, it sounded as if Niko hadn’t intended things to end violently as well. This was interesting. Usually, dragons were in accord with their riders. There were times that they weren’t in sync, and resulted in differing opinions. This was a hint towards Varden in which he replied simply, “Hey! If you’d wanted to leave the wild herd that badly, I would have left with you,” Taured chuckled quietly at his dragon, again, returning his attention to Solomon’s story.

A broken wing? It was no wonder that Niko then attacked Solomon. If anyone ever tried to injure Varden and accomplish it, then Taured would probably have gotten violent as well. At such a young age too. Arashi hadn’t been nearly as large as Varden, he was probably a few months at best then. Taured had to agree that he would have responded to a broken wing the same way. However, he didn’t condone how Niko had reacted. Upon thinking clearly, there were other methods to take instead of fighting. If Arashi had a broken wing, even if angry, first concern should be to see help for your dragon. Unless Arashi had egged Niko on to continue the violence, which was very possible—seeing as Arashi started the violence—Taured couldn’t believe that Niko would have acted that way instead of seeking help for his dragon. Maybe it was just because Taured worried about Varden more than he would have felt angered and retaliated; however, he still couldn’t believe that Niko would do such a thing. However, it was true that Niko had reacted that way and he couldn’t do anything to change things.

Taured was agreeing, for the most part, with much of what Solomon said. Maybe they could be friends, if Solomon would ever view him as an equal or even a little higher than just an elf and lizard. They would get along well from how this conversation was going. “Yes, that wouldn’t have been in your favour if they had found you and what you’d done to the pair,” he didn’t comment on it further. It was all said and done now, however Taured may be feeling about what happened wouldn’t change that it had happened. He couldn’t do anything and if he tried, it would just cause trouble for the rider.

Taured felt that he should correct Solomon. Niko and Arashi hadn’t been sent by the rider’s council to investigate his handiwork after the Urgal attacks. That was Taured’s job. He had been sent by the council to investigate things that were more important at that time. So it was based solely on Niko and Arashi’s desire to ‘soothe their egos’ as Solomon referred to it, that had them track this man down. However, he would wait until the end of the story before he would do so. It would be rude to interrupt him while he was speaking. However, if he paused long enough to warrant the rider to put his point out there, he would take it.

Taured was relieved that Solomon hadn’t finished the pair off. It wasn’t to say that he was relieved that Solomon had been under equipped to enter battle, but rather just relief for the rider pair’s safety at the end of the battle. Nodding his head, Taured wondered if Solomon was finished his history now. He would like to correct and inform Solomon on some things before they continued any further. “Well, if you’d like to know, no one sent the pair to investigate your actions with the urgals. They did so of their own accord, I ensure so. Seeing as I have not been informed about new employees under my position on the council, they were never sent out to investigate by the council,” he paused, thinking about what should be said next. “Judging by what happened, I assume it was mainly the dragon that instigated the violence. However, I must agree, that if someone were to injure my dragon at such a young age, I probably would have reacted with violence as well. I, however, wouldn’t act on that violence until I ensured my dragon’s safety and well-being.” it was unnecessary information that Solomon probably wouldn’t care about, but Taured felt it right to share his opinion on why Niko acted with violence after injuring Arashi’s wing.

It seems as if Taured had finally made Solomon speechless. He didn’t respond to his comment about judging others as well as allowing him to change Solomon’s opinion of him. It probably sounded ridiculous to the man, as to why someone would care about one opinion of him so much most likely baffled him. However, it was something that Taured and Varden believed in deeply. They always tried to give people the benefit of the doubt. People were always amazing them with their actions. If they had taken the time to judge all humans based on the reactions to their being riders, or even just passing through, then Taured and Varden wouldn’t have gotten to meet so many incredible people. It was wrong not to give people the benefit of a doubt.

Thinking back to when Solomon stated that he hadn’t been ready or prepared to fight Niko and Arashi, and how that predicament had caused him to walk away, Taured thought that he’d found a solution to their combat issue. Whether Solomon felt at odds about combat was because he was a hunter and not a warrior, or whether it was something else entirely, he shouldn’t be opposed to a few allowances to the battle, would he? Taured hadn’t intended to allow Varden in the possible battle from the beginning, however now, Taured felt it right to inform Solomon to this. “Of course, no matter the actions taken in changing your opinion, I guarantee that my dragon shall not take part, if it eases your mind. It would be unfair for an older dragon and rider to take on a human alone, not to doubt your abilities. As well, if we engage in combat, you may take time to prepare yourself before we begin,” it wasn’t that Taured was set on fighting Solomon, it was simply because, when Solomon had said that he would rather not fight, and Taured had offered him to suggest something else, he believed Solomon would suggest something else. He hadn’t thought that he wouldn’t have another idea. As well, it turns out that Taured didn’t have any other ideas either.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

Well, it had certainly seemed that This Elf was on the same page as Solomon was his agreeing that Solomon’s decision to leave The Wyvern-kin and its Elf alive based on the situation at hand merely served to confirm that. Once more This Elf’s seemingly reasonable nature causing Solomon some confusion, however, this time around he was able to conceal it... He couldn’t bring himself to admit it, but there were fewer humans with a nature quite this reasonable, Solomon had no idea what to make of This Elf... At all.

“Ja, my survival first.”
He stated simply, falling silent in order to listen to what else This Elf had to say on what Solomon had just told him. Not that the specifics bothered him all too much, regardless of whether or not The Wyvern-kin and its Elf were sent to investigate or they showed up on their own initiative was not an important factor. The end result had been as it was, though, Solomon was unsure as to why This Elf felt he needed to explain that to Solomon, was he concerned that Solomon had been inconvenienced?

That possibility was even harder for Solomon to grasp.

“I’m unsure why you felt the need to explain that to me.”
He said calmly, it may have been an unneeded explanation, but it did cause Solomon to wonder just how many of The Rider’s own were as undisciplined and prone to fits of vengeful rage as The Wyvern-kin and its Elf were. With as much power behind them as they had such things were simply signs of imbalance at its most obvious... In the back of his mind Solomon wondered just how soon The Rider’s would face their own version of “The Incident”... After all, it had only taken a single man with a grudge to destroy Solomon’s clan and bring the rest of them to their knees... What would it take for The Rider’s to experience that kind of hopelessness?

He shook his head gently, it didn’t matter, and if they were capable of stomping out those kinds of things then the chances were that it wouldn’t come to pass... Though, Solomon would have loved to have been around to see it happen.

Solomon was sorting through his –still- chaotic thoughts when This Elf spoke once more, what he said serving only to further confuse Solomon, during his first encounter with them The Elf had reacted as Solomon had expected him to, attempt to neutralise the thread first. The second encounter had ended when The Wyvern-kin had made the mistake of letting Solomon recover, but This Elf... Was that inexperience or naïveté speaking?

He blinked.

“I don’t... Surely the priority would be to neutralise the threat before aiding comrades... It’s the mistake the Wyvern-kin made during our second encounter, after I had managed to knock-out its Elf it stopped to check on him, giving me the time I needed to gather my wits enough in order to incapacitate it again.”
He said calmly, injured comrades were a liability during any form of combat, or as his mentors had usually said “dead weight”, priority then went toward keeping everyone else either alive or uninjured before going to pick up the dead weight. That this lot seemed to do the reverse of what Solomon had been taught confused him. Dow did anyone here survive when they didn’t fight for it? Was this really such an easy land to live in?

His silence continued his thoughts slowly, but surely getting more and more chaotic, he didn’t understand much of what This Elf seemed to think of as second nature... The culture gap couldn’t be that great, could it?

Solomon remained deep in thought for a while longer, there was a chance that at some stage he would have to spend more time around the natives and at least try to learn their customs... But, not yet.

That was when This Elf decided to speak once more, again, clearly wanting Solomon’s opinion of him to change. He had to admit that he... Admired This Elf’s determination, he hadn’t met very many determined beings in this land as of yet, so it was refreshing to hear that at least one person didn’t get contented with their life here.

But, he was a Hunter not a Warrior... No matter what stipulation This Elf could set to try and make the supposed fight fairer it would never be a solution that Solomon would be comfortable with... Though, This Elf had offered to give-up the biggest advantage he had right now... But, Solomon wasn’t convinced, no, he would need proof a little bit more solid than that, but, he could hold off on asking that for a moment longer.

“So, I have your word that no matter how bad things start to look for you I won’t get jumped by your Lizard?”
He asked calmly.

“You may have reservations about killing and try to hold back from such a conclusion. I however, have absolutely no issues killing someone, even in an arranged fight. I will aim for nothing less, and, given what I’ve seen of your lot so far, I highly doubt your Lizard would sit by and let me kill you.”
He finished off calmly; he paused for a moment, just to see if either of them would catch on to the direction he was moving this in. However, he wouldn’t give them the time to answer him, not, yet, he wanted them to know just what getting his respect would mean.

“Unfortunately”
He said, pausing for several seconds.

“I am going to need your words to have more meaning behind them first.”
He concluded; it wasn’t that he thought they were lying, far from it. But given the way that This Elf had already explained what he would do for his Lizard Solomon had very little doubt that the same would stand in a reverse situation, and, those whom hadn’t yet learned to desensitise themselves to various situations would undoubtedly not be able to keep their emotions in check... He may not have ever had a use for his, but he understood that emotions did funny things to people... Sentient creatures, given that he was going to be putting himself at a disadvantage by accepting a trial-by-combat in the first place, he would need promises that were a bit more substantial before he accepted This Elf’s challenge first.

[Mali]

Taured couldn’t understand a mindset of thinking of yourself first and others second if at all. Sure, survival was an important thing to keep in mind however, he couldn’t understand leaving someone such as his dragon behind. Varden was his dragon, they were bonded by mind and soul, and however, it was deeper than that. They considered each other brothers. That kind of bond couldn’t be broken so easily based on survival alone. It would take far more for Taured to leave Varden behind, knowing that he probably wouldn’t make it out alive. In addition, it wouldn’t only be because if one died, the bond would be broken and the other may be driven to insanity either. He would do anything for Varden. As long as Varden asked him to trust in him, he always would.

Furrowing his brow, he was surprised that Solomon would tell him how he felt about his words. He hadn’t thus far and it perplexed the elf just a bit. Had he started to get to Solomon just enough that the male had started to slip? “I am head of the resources section of the rider’s council. I felt the need to point out that to my knowledge, they hadn’t been sent out on my orders or others’.” it was plain and simple and had to do with how judgemental Solomon was. He still hadn’t bothered to learn Niko and Arashi’s names. He probably referred to them as well as everyone else with a name of lower stature than he saw himself. If he still viewed Taured and Varden in such ways, then he would have to explain something like that in attempt of changing his opinion of the elf. “Bad multitasking on their part. But no, my dragon is brethren to me, I would never leave him based on my survival only,”

Nodding his head, he allowed Solomon to continue his line of thought. Aside from rhetorically asking for what he’d already stated, he knew that Solomon had more to say about this than just that simple question. Upon his second statement, Taured turned to look at Varden. Varden frowned, knowing what Taured was going to ask, but not sure of his answer. He rationalised that he’d told Taured he wouldn’t interfere no matter what happened, but he hadn’t considered what would happen if Solomon attempted to kill his rider. He hadn’t thought that he would need to think of it. However, he was soon convinced of his answer. He wouldn’t do anything. He wouldn’t go after Solomon for killing his rider at all. Of course, he would be deeply pained for losing his rider, however, he’d given his word that he wouldn’t interfere and they never went back on their word. “No, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t interfere after giving word to my rider of not doing so,” this time, Varden addressed Solomon out loud and in the open. He didn’t want to take so much time asking for permission to enter Solomon’s mind again.

As he turned to face Solomon again, it seemed as if this offer wouldn’t be enough for him. Taured understood. He’d engaged many a man in battle to have them betray their word. It was a main reason that he made sure never to do so. As Solomon spoke to Taured and Varden in the ancient language, Taured smirked to him. He hadn’t been in Alagaesia long and he’d already picked up on that much of the language. He could be a magical prodigy. Taured wished he’d taken up the offer after all.

“I give you my word, no matter how this may end, my dragon shall not interfere or attack. Although, I wish you to know, I plan to win this battle with your life intact. I shall offer you the time needed to prepare yourself,” Taured spoke in the ancient language fluidly and gracefully. Unlike Solomon, Taured almost sounded regal with his speech. Solomon seemed to have a more noticeable accent when he spoke the ancient language. However, the ancient language should be enough confirmation in his words. If it was spoken in the ancient language, then it was solid and fool proof. To go back on something said in the ancient language would be a dishonour.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

And more statements that simply caused Solomon confusion, he highly doubted that he would ever be able to fully understand the differences that this land held. Nor would he ever make an effort to do so, there was simply no reason for him to do so. Better to stick to the things he knew and then use those to adapt to new situations, why should he bother adhering to the customs of commoners and amateurs?

However, he had no need to comment on what This Elf had to say at first, if what he was saying was true, then Solomon had been right in the regard that the Wyvern-kin and its Elf simply held a personal vendetta against him. The thought amused him, getting put on the floor once due to an attack that THEY launched had humiliated them enough to have them seek him out on their own.

Solomon chuckled.

“It seems that while you aren’t blinded by a sense of racial superiority the same cannot be said for the Wyvern-kin and its Elf. I get the feeling that being put on the floor by a human has more to do with their vendetta than they want to admit.”
Solomon observed calmly as This Elf finished his explanation, once again, something Solomon did not understand, but, this time there was no need to comment on it. No, he was already frustrated enough by the number of things This Elf had already said, much to the point where a “trial-by-combat” seemed like a good idea if only to alleviate some of his frustration.

This Elf still didn’t infuriate Solomon to the same point as his Non-Human Mentor did, so at least that was the one good thing that was rapidly coming out of this situation.

Solomon fell silent once more as This Elf turned to look at his Lizard, Solomon took that opportunity to lower his mental barriers, he had no reason to presently expect an unprovoked attack from either of them, and if The Lizard wanted to assure Solomon itself that it would not attack Solomon during the approaching combat, then Solomon would let it.

He listened as both the Lizard and This Elf gave their assurances that there would be no outside interference; that the upcoming fight would be between Solomon and This Elf... That was all he needed to hear.

However, he allowed himself a small smile as This Elf finished what he had to say, that he was going to be holding back gave Solomon an advantage, but, he wouldn’t underestimate This Elf, no, he knew much better than that, especially in open combat.

Calmly he stood up straight and lowered his arms, yet stayed on his perch for just a moment longer.

“Good, you seem to both be aware of the risks involved when facing me.”
He said calmly, dropping himself down to a lower branch. He repeated this several more times before finally turning himself into the last drop and digging one of his spiked heels into the trunk of the tree to lower his descent to the ground.

He tore his heel from the tree and took several steps forward; taking a mental note on how tall his foe was... Were all Elves so damned tall? He pushed the observation to the back of his mind, he had killed a wyvern, size meant nothing and Solomon knew it.

He drew his venomous short-sword from its sheath and span it by the hilt, not yet taking his stance, since This Elf and his Lizard had been... Kind enough to acquiesce to Solomon’s request he supposed that it would only be fair to return to favour... At least to a degree.

“Very well Elf, just remember that my aim is to kill, but, if the situation arises where the both of us are left standing, I will make an effort to remember your name.”
He said calmly, spinning his blade by the hilt once more, catching it this time in the reverse-grip style. Finally he took his stance, crouching low to the ground he kept his sword-hand close to his body and placed the tips of his fingers of his free hand on the ground.

Keeping his form compact in order to present a small target he looked back up at This Elf, at this point Solomon was ready whenever This Elf was.

“By the way, Elf. You win when I’m dead. The only victory in life is through survival, the only loss, through death.”
He stated calmly.

“Now, whenever you’re ready, Elf.”
He finished off, watching This Elf closely, as always Solomon knew the value of allowing his foe to make the first move. He held true to that value and remained where he was, unmoving, simply watching and waiting.

[Mali]

Solomon seemed to remain quiet on quite a few things that Taured had to say. Was he saying too much and ruining the moment? Solomon didn’t appear to be irritated with his speaking, however, Taured took his silence as a means to stop talking as much. He smiled at the partial compliment. He felt that Solomon hadn’t meant it as a compliment; however, Taured felt it as such. To say that he wasn’t blinded by a sense of racial superiority meant that he was commenting on his lacking sense of racial superiority. That was a compliment by Taured’s standards. He didn’t thank Solomon however, seeing as the male would probably deny that it was a compliment.

More silence to what he was saying, and waited patiently as Taured and Varden conversed about the fight, and about what would happen. They didn’t want to think about what would happen if Taured were killed in the battle. The fact that Varden had given his word meant that he would have to walk off with the feelings of insanity starting to take over. He had no idea how long it would take before he would start to feel the insanity approaching, but he didn’t want to think that it would take long. The longer it took may just make it worse, the moment of its attack being lengthened to unknown lengths.

Solomon stood up fully on his perch, Taured watching to see when he would finally come down from the tree. He was still a fair distance away from him. He wasn’t as far as he had been when first entering the clearing, however, he was still a good 15 feet away from the tree trunk. Watching him drop down from branch to branch, Taured felt it right to get one thing across. He would state it in the ancient language to make his point valid. It was their battle. Varden wouldn’t interfere at the end or during the battle, however, that also meant that Solomon couldn’t attack Varden. That would be foul play. “Yes, we do. I’m glad that we’ve agreed, Varden, my dragon, shall not be attacked and he shall not attack,” it was a simple statement and made his point. There was no need to comment on it, but it was right to conclude on their battle arrangements.

As Solomon got to the last branch, Taured took note of how he dropped to the branch and seemed to slow down. As soon as he had to tear his heel from the tree, Taured noted the probable blade or spiked weapons in his heels/ Aside from the blade which was evident to be his main form of weapon, similar to the spikes, there were any number of hidden weapons that Taured had to factor in. Just because he couldn’t see them, didn’t mean that he shouldn’t expect them.

Unlike Solomon, who didn’t have much for protective wear on, Taured had a few items to protect himself. After seeing what that blade had done to the one man mainly, he had to make sure that there would be minimal possible damage. He had metal chest and back plates on under his tunic, made by Rhunön and from the best metal that they had in Ilirea. He sported two hawk gauntlets, which covered everything from his forearm to mid way down his fingers. They didn’t cover his fingertips. However, the gauntlets were magical to prevent most attacks, as well as allow the hawk to know exactly where they are no matter what. Aside from that, Taured only had his magically waterproof boots and regular cargo pants on. His neck and legs were his most vulnerable parts entering this battle.

Smirking, he liked the sound of that. “Although, I hope you do not condemn some use of magic. I’ve been taught to use it in tandem with my swordsmen skills. Oh, and in case you don’t hear me at the end, my name is Taured Doenning.”

[/i] Again, he spoke in the ancient language. He would address him with it when necessary from now on, now that he knew Solomon could speak and understand the ancient language. As Solomon moved into a compact position his one hand holding the sword, the other on the ground, Taured reached for his own blade with his left hand. He would use his left for now, but he was ambidextrous in battle, he’d been trained so during the Blue Divide.

Chuckling, he took note. Get to a point where he can kill Solomon and then end the battle. Leave him incapacitated. As long as that happened, he could end the battle his way and Solomon would admit defeat, hopefully, admitting it gracefully. Of course, Taured had mastered placing time locks on his spells, so walking away would be easy. He refrained from saying, ‘you’d never remember my name if you were dead,’ it wasn’t needed to taunt Solomon right now. And besides, he wasn’t the arrogant type.

It took an instant for Taured to gauge where he was positioned, the distance and several possible plans of attack. Spinning the blade in his right hand, he decided on his best course and charged in. Of course, elves weren’t just taller, but also faster. Taured moved with exceptional speed unto Solomon, his right handed magical gauntlet lowered to block against an attack to his legs, his sword raised high. Since his chest was protected, he had no worry leaving it exposed, hoping to through Solomon just a bit. He would use his gauntlets as his shield since he didn’t have one with him and it was part of his fighting style.

Upon reaching a good proximity where he expected Solomon to move, and allowed enough distance that if so, they wouldn’t collide, and his blade would still hit, Taured brought his sword down with extreme force. He was rather strong. He was 194; he was in the peak of his metaphorical late 20s. Upon contacting with Solomon’s body, he moved his blade to made a side swing, trying to aim for his chest. His gauntlet protecting his head now as his arm moved awkwardly to make such a low side swing. Even if Solomon were to stand up, it would still be awkward since there was an entire foot difference in their height.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

This Elf was very protective of his Lizard; if there had been any doubt about that beforehand then This Elf’s latest statement would have dispelled them immediately. But, why? That they were close Solomon had gathered, but why did he feel the need to tell Solomon that the Lizard was out-of-bounds –so to speak-? Solomon presently lacked the equipment he would have needed to deal any sufficient damage to this Lizard... Though, the use of Wyvern venom against them presented an interesting question. However, that was a question that would go unanswered, at least for the time being.

“You need not concern yourself with that detail. I am not equipped to deal with your Lizard right now anyway.”
He replied; there was no need for him to acknowledge that the Lizard had already promised not to intervene... Solomon had a reputation to keep, and getting frustrated enough to actually agree to a trial-by-combat in the first place was not his best foot forward.

He kept his stance intact, carefully taking note of This Elf’s attire as he continued speaking... The torso and arms seemed to be well defended; however, he would need to confirm how well armoured his foes torso was... His head, neck and legs seemed to lack any real defence, which made them Solomon’s targets since his venomous short-sword fared poorly against plate armour... It was primarily a blade for delivery stealthy strikes after all.

He looked his foe in the eyes briefly as he finished speaking... Taured, well, if the situation did conclude with both Solomon and Taured being left alive then Solomon would have to commit the name to memory... He pushed it to the back of his mind and held his position and his stance, Solomon kept a straight face, now he was serious.

“I’m not holding back, Elf. Even if you are not going to kill me, fight to survive.”
He said simply in response to This Elf’s question –or statement rather- surrounding the use of magic, Solomon may not have liked it. But, there was no real way he could stop This Elf from using it, best just to allow both sides to fight to their fullest than try to make up rules of honour... At least that’s the way that Solomon saw it.

He held his position; This Elf would make the first move.

And he did! Solomon held his ground as This Elf ran at him; he kept himself tense and ready to act at even the slightest moment’s notice. He kept his stance low to the ground and immediately started moving to the left as his foe closed the distance. Admittedly, Solomon’s manoeuvre had been a guess, but it had paid off as it allowed him to avoid the down-ward slash that served as his foes opening attack.

His foe wasn’t finished; he immediately followed up with a sweeping slash, aiming to hit Solomon from his right. However, Solomon was more than ready for the follow-up, having kept his crouched stance intact he had been able to recover from his first dodge quickly and prepare for his next move. Solomon raised his stance slightly, and then in a single fluid movement jumped a short distance into the air, twisting as he did so, he altered his stance as his feet left the ground, straightening his body out and drawing his arms as close to his torso as possible, almost literally allowing him to roll over the blade while he was in the air.

He landed silently, resuming his crouched stance as he recovered from the evasive manoeuvre; however, during that same manoeuvre he straightened out his sword-arm and aimed a heavy diagonal slash of his own for This Elf’s thighs and knees.

As he landed he was able to resume his stance immediately, he paid no attention to whether his first counter-attack actually hit This Elf or not and immediately span himself on the spot. Straightening out his right leg as he did so, his intention to use the momentum on the sweep to take his foe off of his feet, if Solomon could accomplish that he would be able to go straight for his foe’s neck and end this fight as quickly as possible.

[Mali]

Note: for the battle, since Taured is mainly speaking in the ancient language, spells will be Bold Italics

Taured was protective over Varden for various reasons. One being that they considered each other brothers and that meant that Taured was technically the older brother. Even though Varden had been laid many years ago and he was slightly conscious inside his egg, he hadn’t hatched until Taured was 40, making him technically older. Older brothers tended to be more protective over younger brothers. There was also the fact that Varden may be a dragon, but compared to most dragons, his scales weren’t protection. They were quite smaller and allowed him more agility, but weren’t large enough to protect him too easily. They protected each other equally although; Taured seemed to take initiative of protecting Varden much more.

Then the compliment ceased to matter. Fight to survive; did he think that Taured would half-ass this battle? Solomon had made it very clear that he intended to kill him and that wasn’t something the rider would burden his dragon with. He would never wish to leave Varden to the insanity of losing his bonded rider. It would be cruel. Almost an insult, Taured remained visibly unmoved by the comment. Solomon doubted him so much that Taured couldn’t believe his arrogant view of stature. “I intend to,”

[/i] There was a slight hint of annoyance in his voice, but very slight and hardly noticeable.

Catching nothing but air, Taured watched as Solomon made a graceful jump over him. He turned to face Solomon to try to catch him off guard but turned into Solomon’s attack, slicing through his pants from front to back of his left thighs. Wincing immediately, knowing the effects of the blade, Taured makes his own move, performing several back flips to distance himself; he gets started on containing the venom immediately. While flipping repeatedly, he whispers his spell. “Using the strength of my body, contain the magical properties of the venom from spreading,”[/i][/b] Of course, after landing his five back flips and now being a good nine feet apart, the cut was visible. Where the blade had made contact was a bright purple, with just a tinge of lighter purple surrounding it. As long as he remained strong, the venom wouldn’t spread, the weaker he became the more the venom moved through his system. Simple spell.

It was after his landing that he noticed how Solomon had made to sweep him off his feet, however he had evaded it with his flips. It was then that he started to charge toward Solomon again, throwing his blade from left to right, he made to make a side slash to Solomon’s left side again. Upon getting a close enough distance, immediately after the swing, he made to block his neck and face area, as they were his weakest points in the battle. As soon as his left arm was in a ready position, he ducked down into a spin to try to use his blade to knock Solomon off his feet. Rising back up, he made another downward slice to try to get him pinned.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]