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Post by Gwendriel Gladerider on Jan 6, 2017 17:58:32 GMT -5
And into the flame I fell. | Flipping the comb between her fingers, the solitary elf frowned as she brushed dirt from the delicately carved design. Though she’d found it with a few strands of her sister’s hair still tangled in the wooden teeth, she didn’t hold out much hope for finding what was left of her family. It had easily been weeks between the time the comb had been lost until it had crossed her path and though she’d strayed further and further from Cynderfall in her attempts to find them, she’d only come across camps and fires that had long since grown cold. There was no way to be sure that it was even their camps, or even that they’d been the ones that had dropped the comb. But somehow, perhaps, they’d left it as a message.
For months, she’d revisited the site she’d found the item at, finding herself frequently there at first, hoping that her family might show themselves or that she’d find some other clue that would lead her to them. But she’d found nothing and lately she’d seldom wandered too far away from the forests around Cynderfall to look. Perhaps it was time to face the reality that she was indeed chasing a false hope.
Perched on a tree branch hanging a good twenty feet high, Gwendriel was shaken from her thoughts by twigs snapping underfoot. ”Human? Ku’rasi?... Perhaps Therian… judging by the weight of their step… Certainly not elven.” Twisting on her perch, Gwen shoved the comb back into her hip pouch and readied an arrow, knocking it and waiting to draw. One could never be too careful, especially with the nature of the forest surrounding Cynderfall and the monsters that lurked just outside of the town’s reach. But as she moved to get a better look, a breeze rushed through the trees and the branches creaked apart, giving her a good enough view of the newcomer to know they were no real threat. It was just another resident of Cynderfall, one of the many foolishly trying to tame the settlement and forest and turn it into some kind of establishment.
But truthfully, she couldn’t remember their names. Of course she probably hadn’t paid much mind to begin with, she’d never planned on staying as long as she had. Her original goal was to find her family and move on but it seemed fate might have had different ideas in store for her. Still, she was restless and as she shoved her arrow back into her quiver, slinging her bow to her back, she dropped to the ground a few feet from the villager. ”Bit dangerous for a stroll, yes?”
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Post by ashesinclair on Jan 6, 2017 21:40:16 GMT -5
An unlikely meeting with an acquaintance | Ashe walks out of the Lightning Lounge after a relaxing day of playing her instruments for the patrons. She saunters off holding her newly acquired silver and walks towards the woods. Looking at the sky, she can tell that it is well past midnight, seemingly close to three in the morning….
“Perfect…” she sighs. Ashe is wearing her typical black attire, blonde hair fastened within her cape, with her instrument on one hip and her sword on the other.
Ashe loves coming to the woods in the night, hiding in the shadows, before praying to Velia as she did nightly. However, tonight that would not be the case… Her last few nights out in the forest, she noticed someone had been breaking some tree branches, seemingly stalking prey, or hunting it. Ashe didn’t bother being stealthy, she could take whatever would come at her.
Just then, a woman who had met Ashe a few times before by the name of Gwen as Ashe recalled dropped down from the trees in front of her. Ashe drew her sword the moment she heard someone coming down from the trees, but lowered it when she realized it was Gwen in front of her, “Bit dangerous for a stroll, yes?” the elf known as Gwen said to Ashe.
Ashe smiled, and further lowered her weapon, “That may be the case, but it is a bit more dangerous to be lurking in the trees and dropping in unexpected on someone like me, Gwen." with a smirk, continued, "How is the search for your family going? I remember you asked for my help once long ago before my trip to Riverwood.”
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Post by Gwendriel Gladerider on Jan 7, 2017 2:20:17 GMT -5
And into the flame I fell. | For what it was worth, Gwendriel felt Ashe to be nobler than most in the town. Though the elf still held less compassion to the humans and other races than to her own, if she were to never see her people again, Ashe would make for a decent conversation companion. So when it was her that she spotted trekking through the forest, she felt more relief than she probably would have admitted. Illuminated only by the moonlight and the small candle in her lantern, Gwen stepped forward and held the lantern up, leaning against the tree she’d dropped from moments before.
She couldn’t help but smirk and shake her head. The worst thing in those woods were straggling undead or wild cougars that occasionally crept up on her. But she easily dealt with them. She was a wild elf, she was adept at blending in with her surroundings and making herself invisible. That skill had served her quite well since her village had been decimated. ”Perhaps, but if it weren’t you, I wouldn’t really be worried about injury.”
”Well… This isn’t the worst surprise.” She shrugged a shoulder, motioning toward the bard. ”Hopefully you had a night of wondrous applause and too much coin to carry.” It was rare for the blonde wild elf to express much outside of sarcasm and spite but every once in a while, if one were to earn her respect, it wasn’t quite as hard for her to open up.
When she mentioned her family, Gwen’s expression turned a bit sour. ”No word yet, I keep going in circles, but my search has yielded nothing.” Ashe was the only person she’d trusted to expose her intentions to. If it weren’t for her offer to help, Gwen wouldn’t have divulged as much information as she had, either.
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Post by ashesinclair on Jan 7, 2017 4:57:54 GMT -5
An unlikely meeting with an acquaintance | A slight frown spread on the human's face, "I'm sorry to hear that, Gwendriel. There are a few more things in town that must be taken care of before I can help you search more..." Ashe said in a sorry tone of voice. Ashe's voice picked up as she continued, "I'm not sure that you heard about the new appointments of power in town. Q'tar, the tavernkeeper is now the Esquire and Sharara, the other Kurasi has been appointed as Squire."
Ashe motioned for Gwen to walk with her as she spoke. They were heading deeper into the forest that Ashe and Gwen had both become so accustomed to. They hardly broke a twig as they both walked with a certain stealthiness about them. "There was also a theft in town, stirring up enough trouble for everyone, especially Q'tar, who was stolen from. You should come back to the town for awhile and rest up before searching more tonight. Maybe we could speak to Q'ta-" Ashe stopped herself mid-word, realizing that she, herself, would not want everyone in town knowing her business either, "If you are comfortable with it, with their new titles, Q'tar or even Sharara could help us track your family down." Ashe tried to smile and seem genuine, but she knows there is truly so much at stake here for Gwen.
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Post by Gwendriel Gladerider on Jan 7, 2017 22:54:16 GMT -5
And into the flame I fell. | With little knowledge or patience for the politics of the human world, Gwen paused a moment as she tried to take in what Ashe had told her. Apparently people were promoted int heir town and it was some sort of big deal. ”Wait… who… Is Q’Tar the one with the…” Gwen made a gesture with her arm, as if to indicate a bolt of light. She’d only met him a few times from her stops in at the tavern but their conversations had been brief at best. Sharara she knew from the few missions she’d helped with, although she’d never struck Gwen as someone of that much responsibility but again, she knew little of human politics.
Pushing off from the tree, Gwen fell into step alongside Ashe. They were heading deeper into the forest, which was all Gwen had known most of her life. Her family and tribe had always been nomadic, moving around to avoid the seasons, to chase herds and stay away from monsters. When they’d finally taken to settling for a little while, well it didn’t take long for the monsters to catch up and decimate her people. There were still wild elves out there, maybe some others from her tribe but none that would be home to her. ”Thieves are dealt with swiftly and mercilessly in my tribe. Steal once, lose a hand. Steal again… well… it isn’t so pretty.” She replied, shrugging a shoulder. ”Unless your ku’rasi mages have tracking better than I… I doubt they’d be much more help than alone.” Gwen thought for a moment, pausing in her step to glance up at Ashe. ”They wouldn’t have a tracking spell, would they? They could use this…” She reached into her bag and grabbed the comb, holding it up for Ashe to see.
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Post by ashesinclair on Jan 8, 2017 9:58:18 GMT -5
An unlikely meeting with an acquaintance | At Gwen's motion of lightning, Ashe laughed, "Yes, he's the one with the lightning practically seeping out of his skin."
As Gwen spoke of the punishment thieves received in her tribe, Ashe instinctually grabbed her right wrist. Moving her bracelet out of the way, she held onto a small, thin scar that went across the underside of her wrist. It had been six years since she was given this scar, since the last time she had been caught stealing anything. Ashe was almost wincing in pain at the memories of her time trying to make it as a young, poverty-stricken bard in Winterrend. At the time, Ashe was living in taverns that she played in while hoping the tavernkeepers would not expect more than silver from the young girl as payment for their generosity in letting her stay and perform... Ashe shook the thoughts out of her mind as she continued listening to Gwen speak. After she finishes speaking of thieves, Ashe says with melancholy, "The issue here is that the thief was never found... Although, I have my suspicions..."
Ashe stops in her steps when Gwen does, "They wouldn’t have a tracking spell, would they? They could use this…" Gwen said as she held out the comb. Surprised at the question, Ashe says, "I'm not quite sure, actually..." Ashe seemed to be thinking for a moment before continuing, "There are a couple in town that may be able to help... The Squire, Sharara, may know of a spell for that... Although, she is quite busy nowadays...-"
Ashe then had the perfect person in mind.
"You did meet Raphael, right? The tall guy wearing red that runs the temple and a shop in town? Always has a deadpan look on his face, if not a smug grin?" Ashe questioned, trying to describe Raphael in a way that someone would remember, "He favors - uhh - beheadings?" Ashe grimaced, and decided that Gwen would know who she was referring to by now. Ashe's voice turned less serious as she finished, "He knows all sorts of things! I'm sure he wouldn't-" Ashe corrected herself mid-sentence, "Probably wouldn't mind helping us out!" Ashe was surprised she used the word "us" implying that they were now a team... "I guess I don't think we're just acquaintances after all." |
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