Special Ingredients (Riley)

[Joshua]

"Get out! Get out! GET OUT!" the elf found himself shouting as he brandishing a staff wildly about in the air. Two small children rushed from the angry male's tent, leaving behind the shattered and once costly instrument of glass, the contents of which were now soaking into the dry ground beneath his feet. "And don't come back, you thrice-blasted, flea-ridden brats!"

How he hated not having his own space any more. In days gone by he had an entire laboratory in which to conduct his experiments... And now? Now he had a stool next to his bed in the far left corner. Blasted trees... blasted children... blasted... ELVES! Yes, that's right, blasted Elves. He wouldn't say it, but he was furious with his own kind. He felt slighted, as if it was their fault he now had to stay in a tent rather than his grand suite in the royal palace of Ellesmera. In a way it was, but not fully. No, everyone was to blame for everyone's many differences... not just the elves.

Taking in a deep breath, he looked to see if there was anything to be salvaged, but what was done was done, and the experiment that had taken him two weeks to cultivate was ruined and he would need to regather the ingredients and start anew. He quickly grabbed a scrap of parchment and began writing down the needed items. The hardest to find would be the needed Seither plant, as he wasn't even sure if it grew on Vroengard. He certainly hoped it did as he had used the last of his form the mainland, and it wasn't exactly easy for him there now... not with both humans and elves wanting his head.

He sighed as he started out for what the others had taken to calling the Hinterlands, his pack filled with a waterskin as well as a few scraps of papers on herblore and bottles in which to store his findings. He decided on only his staff as it would serve him well enough. He had sang it himself back in Ellesmera, and imbued it with several enchantments to strengthen its integrity as well as to return to him should he lose it. It would be all he needed to protect himself... well, that and a wee bit of magic...

He closed his mind as he walked, not wanting anyone to know he was leaving for fear of them attempting to stop him. He was never quite sure how much value he had to the riders. Yes he could fight, but his true value was in his vast stores of knowledge. Some days he felt like if he sneezed a guard would burst into his tent, and others he felt completely alone and as if no one would even know should he simply disappear. Odds were that with his luck, today would be one of the days in which they believed him to be as valuable as the tomes he had read and restored, and as such, he wasn't taking any chances.

The varying shades of green that comprised his robe began to better and better blend into the landscape as he neared the large, moist forest which covered much of the island. At least one part was similar to his old home, though that is using the word similar very loosely. The large green expanse before him was so wild, so unlike the forest that made up the Du Weldenvarden. This forest could be scary at times, and not just because of its denizens... The Hinterlands was dangerous of its own volition.

He blew a stray lock of his white-blonde hair out of his face as he made himself ready to enter the wood. Thinking that at this point it might be good to leave a sign should people discover him missing, he took out a scrap of parchment and attached it to a tree at the forest's edge. It simply gave his name, the date, and that he came looking for samples of the forest's wildlife. If someone truly found out what he was doing, it may not be pretty...

[Riley]

Riley was standing on a tree branch, holding onto the side of the tree and watching his dragon stalking a fox. "Good, stay down wind, get lower. Remember, you're not flying now, you need to remain hidden." He instructed, watching as the dragon got lower. She really didn't need help hunt, but she wanted to learn to hunt better from the ground. So Riley had started teaching her what he knew, granted he had modified it slightly to befit a creature who walked on all fours and needed to pounce instead of using a bow and arrow. But the basic principle was the same. "Focus Taesi, wait for the opportune moment, breathe and let it happen when it needs to." The dragon listened to her rider, and waited, then pounced he body bringing the fox down on the ground hard. Her jaws shot out, gripping the fox by the neck, and with a fierce twist, broke it's neck.

Riley couldn't help but smile, "Good job, remember you're not always going to be small enough to hunt like this, but the stealth skills will always be useful." He turned to look at the way they had come, seeing a new shadow in between the trees. Riley's eyes narrowed, and his mind merged with Taesi's further. "Do you see this?" He asked, the purple dragon turned her head, looking in the direction he indicated. "It looks like this person is hanging something." Riley narrowed his eyes, then smiled, he had been practicing his magic more. He muttered a quick spell, sharpening his vision as he peered at the person standing at the opening of the forest.

Riley smiled, ending the spell and returning his vision to normal. "Is that the lorekeeper?" Taesi asked after she looked through his eyes. "It is, let's go see him." Riley gripped the hilt of his sword and jumped down to the ground, landing easily and starting the walk to the lorekeeper. Taesi joined him quickly catching up and matching his pace. She reached up and gently poked Riley's shoulder with her snout. She had been growing almost constantly, soon she would be big enough to ride. Riley was very excited for that, that was going to be training he was vastly looking forward too. He was going to get to be one of the few living beings that would fly.

It took them a few moments to reach the lorekeeper, the violet dragon poking her head out of the forest. "Greetings lorekeeper, what brings you out today?" The dragon asked, as Riley leaned against a tree. He considered it for a second before pressing the first two fingers of his right hand to his lips and performing the first part of the elven greeting. Despite being a Rider, he was still used to performing the greeting first, despite the fact that he was fairly sure he should be the one greeted first. "Good afternoon, I'm Riley Wolfsbane, this is my partner Taesi."

[Joshua]

Malenwryn turned as he heard branches rustling slightly. He saw a spot of purple emerging from the trees and after a moment more, it was evident that the purple was actually a dragon, and a youngling at that. He felt an alien presence prodding gently at his mind, one that was obviously said dragon. Realizing he still had his shields up, he lowered enough to permit communication; however, his thoughts were still resolutely guarded. "Greetings, Honored One. He replied to the dragon's inquiring mind. "I search for the ingredients I need for my... work." The telepathic answer wasn't a lie... per se, waiting weeks on an experiment's results as well as caring for it could certainly be counted as work, but he was not about to tell some hatchling or her human rider his true experiments, at least not unless they proved themselves to him. The fact that he had replied in the Ancient language should at least buy him some time as nearly anyone who knew how to speak it knew that one could not lie when speaking it.

Malenwryn had no real prejudice against the human which now greeted him, and thankfully had enough sense to address Malenwryn - an elf - first. The scholar actually supported the Riders joining the pact, in fact, he lost his job and nearly his life in support of such a thing. He was however quite prideful and didn't need some short-life upstart thinking he no longer needed to show respect to his elders... which Malenwryn was, and by well over two hundred years in life experience alone...

He looked at the rider a moment, evaluating the greeting in his mind. He was decent enough... for a human. He returned the gesture and continued, saying the second part of the greeting. "The pleasure is mine, Shur'tugal and Honored-Taesi. My name is Malenwryn Galahath, former keeper of the royal library of Ellesmera and current Lorekeeper of the Riders." He almost wanted the young rider to ask why he was only the former keeper of Ellesmera, but he figured that would be too far-fetched of a request of fate. Almost everyone on Vroengard had a similar story, only most had not fallen quite so far.

He paused a minute, looking them over. They couldn't have been sent out after him, could they? After all, why send a hatchling dragon and fledgling child of a rider after him? Unless they didn't think him any trouble, that is. Perhaps that was the case, and they were sent to collect old bookkeepers while the others were out scouting the as of yet untamed lands. He didn't think he could be more insulted... "And what, may I ask,brings you out to these parts?" he asked, no hint of offense or anger in his voice. "After all, the Hinterlands are quite dangerous. Isn't it a bit reckless to come here so soon after your mutual bonding?" At the least hint of deceit, the elf was prepared to flee. It wasn't as if the human would be able to catch him, his speed paling in comparison to the lorekeeper's. He would not go back to camp before gathering his needed ingredients, not even if Arnuriel himself and his disgusting beast of a dragon came and commanded him!

He decided he would wait though, and hear the boy out. After all, it could have just been coincidence that they all bumped into one another, but then again, Malenwryn only believed in Wyrda... not simple coincidence. There was a reason they all found each other, but whether that reason was one which the elf found agreeable or not was remaining to be seen. He would however see it, and soon...

[Riley]

Taesi bumped Riley with her snout, still speaking so that Malenwryn could hear her. "Riley, I do not want to hear you greet anyone other than the council or Anurin and their dragons first ever again." The young Rider gently touched Taesi's head with his right hand, the gedwey ignasia tingling lightly at the touch. "Ah, but I am still human. It is far easier to keep the alfakyn from wanting to kill me more than many do. Not that you want me dead Malenwryn-elda, but many of your kind do wish me dead. Especially now that I am a Rider." Taesi let out a low grumble, acknowledging his statement, "I still do not like it, but do as you will." Throughout the entire conversation, Taesi had been speaking in the common language. Riley shook his head, and translated what Malenwryn said for her. "Still working on her ancient language, I translate as I speak for her."

Riley leaned against Taesi's leg as she moved out of the forest more, snapping up the fox she caught and eating it, the crunch of bones coming from her maw until she swallowed the fox. "I've been teaching her how to hunt from the ground." Taesi snorted, smoke flying from her nostrils. "It is too easy to hunt these creatures of the ground from the sky. Besides, even young as we are, we can more than handle ourselves. There is a reason that Riley is known as Wolfsbane." Taesi stated, taking great pride in Riley's title, before she could stay more however Riley tapped her neck and shook his head. "Despite Taesi's desire for otherwise, I have been making her stick close to the edges."

Riley felt a pang as he thought of all the knowledge contained in the books that had been under Malenwryn's care. "All that knowledge Taesi... Think about everything that could be learned!" The dragon nodded her head, "In time Riley we will learn it all, things will not always be as they are." The young Rider nodded, then took his weight off the dragon, coming to stand next to her. "Would you like assistance Malenwryn-Elda? It is as you say, these forests are dangerous. I would not have someone who has studied as you have become lost to the dangers of the Hinterlands, or worse, by a mishap that could have been prevented with extra sets of eyes."

[Joshua]

Malenwryn could barely hold back the snort that begged to answer the dragon's prideful remark. The dragons hadn't been able to greet anyone... first or otherwise until the elves had made the Rider treaty with them. Her human however, was much more reasonable; Malenwryn was liking him more and more as each moment went by. The rider knew his place, and surprisingly was a bit humble, more than the elf would have expected, or even required for that matter.

"I should say not. I believe I would end whoever even attempted such a thing... out of personal injury if nothing else. I did not give up more nearly one hundred years of my life only to have the first human rider in history perish before he had even started his training in earnest." Malenwryn said, knowing that what the boy said was true. Many elves did want Riley dead, or at the very least for his current position to still be an impossible and grasping dream of the humans.

He nodded in response to the Rider's comment about translating for his dragon, but also thought to warn him. "I see, but be careful you do not make a habit of it. Dragons, like any being, are still vulnerable to learned helplessness. A helpful nudge is good, but it is not good for such a thing to be constant."

He turned his face away and nose up as the dragon devoured her meal, the thought of the fox's life so quickly extinguished - and for sport - churning his insides slightly. He wasn't much for war in the first place, though he knew it necessary, but senseless killing - especially of animals - was abhorrent to him as well as most other elves. "I see..." He did not miss the pride in the dragon's voice once more and it made him secretly long for her intense training to come sooner just so she would be knocked down a peg or three by her betters. It would do her good in the long run since the hatchling was so keen on talking like she had already won the war. He once again nodded in approval of the human's words and surprising amount of common sense - he must study this one further - before replying. "That is, perhaps, for the best. I have only heard stories of what lurks in the confines of these forests but if they hold truth, a flameless dragon would be rather outmatched."

The next thing the human rider said surprised him more than anything else. He was actually offering to accompany him? Though his delivery of his request could have been better, as it seemed he believed Malenwryn needed protection that would be within his power, it did afford the elf valuable study time, as well as four more eyes to alert him to any dangers. He was quite capable of defense or even escape, but these were both meaningless if caught by enough surprise. He thought about it for several moments, weighing the different aspects of the idea. The human was not completely insufferable, even somewhat pleasant... definitely respectful, even if he did seem to think that the person he was offering to accompany was simply a scholar. It was also a good idea because if he was with him in the midst of the hinterlands, he was not back at camp telling the world where the scholarly elf was or what he was doing...

"Very well. Considering that such an idea is not completely without warrant, I accept your offer with my thanks." he said, shifting his staff to his other hand. "But do be careful, and if you see something, do not go after it on your own. You have elected to accompany me as my assistant and therefore as my ward." The last thing he needed was the young dragon and rider charging after some huge monster only to be slaughtered on his watch. The era of human riders would begin and end with the boy, that much would be certain. Did the boy even know magic? He thought he had felt something a little earlier, but there were so many interferences and anomalies in this place that he wasn't sure what to think. He certainly couldn't ask him if he knew about magic though, for he had read of some of the training the riders went through and how they were and were not supposed to find out about their magic ability.

[Riley]

Riley nodded at Malenwryn's comment about his translating for Taesi, taking that into consideration for future reference. He then shrugged at Malenwryn's comment. "Decided to double the time, Taesi gets to hunt, and we can practice her hunting from the ground at the same time." He paused here, then looked at the dragon, then back to the elf. "For the record, I did not earn the title Wolfsbane from sport hunting either." At Taesi's urging Riley sighed and decided to continue, though he spoke in the ancient language this time. "A few years ago a group of bandits was attacking a village, the mercenaries I had been... forced to join was paid to stop the bandits. The bandits had a shrrg, I killed it." He reached up and tapped the shrrg fang hanging from his neck. "The villagers started calling me Wolfsbane."

Riley was slightly distracted for a few seconds, as Taesi asked him what words had meant, and pieced together what he had said. After he finished he turned back to Malenwryn, listening to everything he said. Nodding a few times, "Ah, but I am aware you are stronger than me, physically, mentally, and magically. I offered to assist for two reasons, I might be able to learn something. And no matter how careful you are, six eyes are better than two." Riley had the scars to prove that fact, he'd lived to tell the tale more than he cared to admit. He was more interested in learning whatever he could than going out and doing something dangerous. Taesi on the other hand. Before they even considered stepping into the forest he rounded on her.

"Repeat after me; I will not do anything intentionally dangerous while we are exploring the forest." Riley stood there and tapped his foot until she repeated it for him. He even coached her on the proper pronunciation of several words before he was satisfied. Out of sheer reflex, not even thinking about the action he had repeated it so many times, checked to make sure his sword was clear in its scabbard. Riley hadn't even realized what he had done until after he heard the clink of the sword closing in it's sheath. He shook his hand, taking it away from the hilt of the sword. He almost mentioned something about it, then decided against it. If Malenwryn didn't say anything, then he wouldn't either. "So what exactly are we looking for?"

[Joshua]

Malenwryn listened closely as the Rider explained his story, and nodded in approval as he acknowledged his own shortcomings. It appeared that this human was a gem, seeming genuinely respectful of his elders, and more importantly, his betters. The fact that he wished to come just to learn was also of interest to the elf. So many humans only wanted to destroy things, and he had seen many of them trying to get a dragon to hatch for them purely for glory, or to spit in the face of his people. This... Wolfsbane however, he seemed different, and this certainly was the good sort of different.

He couldn't help but chuckle as the male made his dragon swear in the ancient language not to be foolhardy, or rather, charge headlong into immediate danger, which to the elf were counted as synonymous. The reluctance of the beast was probably the best part of the day so far. To know what she was swearing to do, to have to place any sort of rule over her at all must have been a struggle and something that warred with her insides; Malenwryn could help but find the tiniest bit of irony in the whole situation.

Riley's question brought him out of his internal revelry. "Ahh, well. I am searching for several specimens of different plant matter today, the most important of which is this." he said, fishing out a bit of parchment and holding it up for the pair to see. "The Siether, or Witch plant. The oil acts as a preservative and it is imperative that I obtain several samples for use in my research. I also need to find Nightshade, Wormwood Leaves, and Tiger Lily Nectar. All of these will provide valuable... should we find them and should they work together."

He did not disclose what they would combine to make, nor did he give any hint of withholding such information, rather, there was not even a pause as he placed the parchment back into his satchel and turned, staff in hand, to the forest and entered underneath the canopy...

His staff was definitely a welcome addition to his excursion, its length working to hold aside branches as well as test the ground before he placed his own weight on it. Twice already he had discovered a patch of swift sand this way, and it had only been half an hour since he had entered the forest! Not only that, but he was rather decent with it in a fight... "Are you doing all right back there, young rider?" he asked, leaping gracefully over a fallen log and landing atop another's stump. With the rider and his dragon keeping lookout for living dangers, it had kept him relatively free to watch for the natural, sneakier dangers such as the swift sand.

A sudden - and completely foreign - presence on the edge of his consciousness followed by feeling several more of the same caused all elvish playfullness to vanish from his countenance however, and as he reeled in his mind, he called to the rider to do the same, only keeping enough out to speak to his dragon. No sooner had he told him this than several large creatures flew into view...

Sporting brown feathers, sharp beaks, and wickedly curved claws, the beasts were at least six feet tall with wingspans of thirteen. Malenwryn could see the blood-lust in their eyes, the violent snapping of their beaks and loud, vicious cawing not needed to show their intentions...

Not hesitating as they began diving a toward the party, the elf held up his hands and touched the magic pool in his mind as easily as one would pick up a sword. "Treavam, taune du líf frá du fethrblaka!" He shouted, the magic dripping from his words causing a nearby tree to spring to life and use its branches to both catch and impale one of the winged creatures. He nodded firmly in pride before dancing to the side and pointing his staff at the wing of another. "Jierda!" The snap which sounded through the forest and the squawk of pain evidence that the creature's means of flight had been shattered...

*"Tree, take the life from the Featherflapper!"
*"Break!"

[Riley]

Riley nodded as Seither was mentioned, he had used seither oil many times in the past, of course the kind he had used had been the deadly kind. "I'm familiar with seither oil." He muttered, making a mental list of everything else that Malenwryn mentioned as well. Seither oil was a preservative, however it could also be used as a weapon if the right spells were said over it, along with a blood sacrifice. Riley hoped that the elf did not want the weaponised form of it. However even if he did, then he assumed that it would be for the benefit of the Riders, not to hurt them. Otherwise he would have done everything in his power to stop the elf.

Riley and Taesi followed Malenwryn, the dragon had more trouble following because of her size, but Riley had almost no issues. "I'm good. Taesi is almost to big for this, but we're fine." The violet dragon snorted and started to reply, then caught the scent. "RILEY!" That was when Riley felt the attack on his mind, and Taesi felt one on hers. The Rider and dragon merged their minds, easily fighting off the attack with their combined power. Though partly due to Taesi's inexperience they had difficulty fighting back, but at least they were able to defend themselves.

There was a distinctive ring in the air as Riley drew his sword, a spell he had placed on it himself to make the sound, with an almost effortless motion he sliced off the head of the first creature that attacked him. Taesi jumped on the one that Malenwryn had wounded, snapping it's neck easily. Riley turned to the next one with a fluid motion and raised his hand, "Brisingr!" A cone of violet fire erupted from his gedway ignasia, engulfing the bird and reducing it to ash. He ended the spell by closing his hand, his eyes narrow as he spun around, searching for another threat, his sword gripped tightly in his left hand.

Riley slowly cleaned the sword and then sheathed it, the elven blade had been better than any other sword he'd ever wielded. It almost felt like an extension of his arm, almost. There was still something slightly off about the blade, but it wasn't enough to make him want to go get it reforged or altered. Of course this line of thought caused him to wonder when he was going to get his Rider sword. Most likely when his training was complete, pushing the thought from his mind he turned to Taesi to make sure she was alright. She had another of the creatures under her, it's throat hanging from her mouth. "You missed one." She stated, turning back down to the creature and sniffing it. "Don't eat it, we don't know where it's been."

Riley turned back to Malenwryn and clenched his hand several times, the hand he had used to reduce one of the flying creatures to ash. "Well, that's that." He muttered absentmindedly, checking everywhere around with his physical senses and his mind. "Birds! We wish you no harm, leave us be and we will leave you be!" Taesi snorted, "I doubt they would attack again after you turned one to ash, and the elf brought a tree to life to spear one." Riley shrugged, then turned back to Malenwryn, "We should be on our way before more show up."