Kasmandre Posted March 28, 2003 Report Share Posted March 28, 2003 As everyone began to fan out in pairs looking for the horse, Sheemie made his way over to the currently horseless John. "Mr. John-sir?" Sheemie stammered. "Mr. Griever said I should look with you. He said we should keep all our fools in one sack, so he did." "Oh. Ok. Have you heard the one about the mage, the healer, and the fighter in a rowboat?" "Nope. Sheemie's never heard that one so he hasn't how's it-" Sheemie cut off as he tripped over a root and fell to the ground. As he hit the dirt, something flew from his hands and landed on the ground a few feet away. After helping Sheemie to his feet, John picked up the "something." "What's this?" he asked. "It's some books nice Mr. Kasmandre asked Sheemie to get. But Sheemie doesn't know where they came from. Sheemie didn't see them when he got breakfast ready this morning, so he didn't." John brushed some dirt off the cover of the topmost book. In the moonlight he could see the symbol burnt into the cover of the book. He recognized it instantly. It was the very symbol he was marked with, the Symbol of the Wizard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasmandre Posted April 5, 2003 Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 (edited) Meanwhile, Usagi and Katzaniel were searching not far away. A few minutes after leaving the path, both half-animals had caught the scent of horse, and fear. "John must've scared the daylights out of that thing," Usagi muttered, just loud enough for Katzaniel to hear. Still in animal form, the tigertaur growled in agreement. "Skittish animals, all of them. I'd rather trust my own two feet than some half-tame beast. After all, I'm faster than 'em anyway." Another growl, this one more of a warning. Usagi turned his attention completely on the task at hand, inwardly chastising himself for letting himself get sidetracked. Ahead was a clearing in the trees. Inside were entirely too many horses. No wonder the path had been so easy to follow, it'd been made by about a dozen horses. Taking another look into the clearing, the pair noticed a crude campsite set up beyond the horses. In it, the apparent owners of the horses sat around a fire, cooking what appeared to be a miserably small meal. Those who were not directly involved in preparing the meat, were occupying themselves in other ways: repairing and maintaining bows, making new arrows, or simply brushing at their horrendously dirty clothing. "Some kind of hunting party?" Usagi muttered, knowing right away that that couldn't be the case. Few men hunted in this area, fewer still this close to the road. Also, the party was too large to be a regular group of working men out for the weekend. But too many of them were archers for this to be anything else. The leaves rustled beside him where Katzaniel was sitting. She had transformed into her tigertaur form. "No, not hunting. But what're so many men doing out here?" "My thoughts exactly. And why are they so dirty?" "No...not dirty, sooty. They're all blackened. It's like they were in some fire." And then it clicked: arrows flying out of the trees, Griever setting fire to the trees and the arrows stopping. These were the remaining bandits. Before either could give voice to the realization, another figure entered the light shed by the campfire. He was dressed in fine robes decorated with various symbols that seemed clean of any soot. He carried himself with an air of superiority attainable only by a member of the privlaged clergy. He stood slightly aloof from the others, waiting for the food, but acting as if he was surveying the area, glancing at the fire, the horses, the surrounding forrest. ------------------- Meanwhile... ------------------- Daryl and Griever were also following a horse's trail through the woods. As they went, they continued their conversation from earlier. "So, you never answered my question," Griever said. "Why are you traveling with Kasmandre?" "I could ask you the same question," Daryl answered. "Of course. If I had known that fool was going to join, I might not have. Honestly, he's more touble than he's worth. At least I got him to go off with that strange little elf. I don't think I could stand any more of his 'jokes.' But, we're avoiding the question. And I asked you first, anyway." "True. I suppose it's because-wait a minute." Darly stopped his horse and looked through the trees ahead. "I can see John's horse. It looks like it's got its lead caught on a tree." "Well, at least we found the thing. Frankly, I'm surprised Katzaniel and Usagi didn't beat us to it, two trackers being better than one. I'm afraid I've been no help in this search." "That's fine. You can get its lead untangled. Gods know we don't want to have to go searching for it again when it gets a whiff of me." Griever dismounted and approached the horse carefully and began freeing it from the tree branch it was snagged on. Then Daryl spoke up again. "Wait. If I'm with you, Katzaniel's with Usagi, and John's with Sheemie, who's with Kasmandre?" Griever thought about that for a moment, then replied. "Crap." ------------------- Meanwhile... ------------------- Kasmandre looked at the haphazard camp before him and the sooty archers within. He knew it had to be around somewhere, the fire couldn't have killed all the bandits, especially after he'd put it out. And here they were. Maybe the books were just a coincidence, but Kasmandre doubted it. For these men to be after those books, combined with his dreams and his quest, was a little too much for mere coincidence. These men had something to do with the Wizard and Cassandra's capture. Kasmandre knew that he should have told the others about all of this. Their help would be valuable, but John's horse running off was far too great an opportunity. And, after all, if the odds were too great, Kasmandre could always go back to their own campsite and wait for the others to return before taking any action. It was as simple as- A faint rustling sounded from the other side of the ragged horse lines caused Kasmandre to tense up. He stayed stock-still, barely breathing, for a moment. When he heard nothing else, he went back to watching the bandit camp. After a moment, a man in stylized robes, a priest or mage of some sort, stepped into the glow of the fire. Most of the symbols were unfamilar to Kasmandre, but the few he recognized, he didn't like, especially the one that matched the one on the books. This man wouldn't be the Wizard himself, but perhaps a close underling. If anyone in the campsite would know something, it would be him. Kasmandre eased his Raimen daggers out of their holsters and carefully emerged from the trees, staying hidden in the shadows at the edge of the clearing. The bandits all appeared to be archers, so if Kasmandre could get in close, he'd have that advantage. And as for the priest, well, Kasmandre'd been doing this type of thing for a few thousand years, he should have an advantage over him, too. Edited April 16, 2003 by Kasmandre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Pointy One Posted April 5, 2003 Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 His silent attention focused on the camp, Usagi easily noticed the glint of Kasmandre's Raimen daggers being drawn from their sheaths. It was fortunate that he was the only one to notice. The rabbit warrior whispered to Katzaniel. "I have a feeling the camp's about to get a lot more busier... perhaps you could shift-" Usagi was interrupted by Katzaniel, who had a clear understanding of what was going on, and what to do. He shifted into a black panther of the darkest shade and stalked off into the shadows. Hunching low, almost crawling, Usagi approached the camp with great stealth, a trio of kunais hidden benath each of his paws, ready to send flying at the first notice. Usagi didn't like the odds of fighting so many archers head-on, but he'd risk it if he had to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katzaniel Posted April 6, 2003 Report Share Posted April 6, 2003 As soon as Katzaniel recognized the filthy bandits for what they were, she wanted to pounce on them, tear them apart. She felt the ancient witch doctor somewhere in the back of her mind, cowering, and perhaps it was that small presence that kept her tensing muscles from releasing, that kept her from trying to take them all. Even realizing that with only herself and Usagi it would not be a wise idea, it was difficult to stay where she was. Her mind was racing. Could they make it back to warn the others? Would they lose the opportunity that attacking now might gain? She was glad when her narrowing eyes caught the daggers on the other side of the camp. If it was not Kasmandre, at least it was one of the others from their pack. From their group. she told herself firmly, slipping into panther form. Sometimes it worried her that her mind slipped so easily into its old ways of thinking. Then again, if it meant that her body continued to slip with ease into familiar forms, she could put up with it. Exchanging a glance with Usagi, she stalked off into the night, coming up to Kasmandre from behind. All worries of taking him by surprise melted away when he looked at her coolly. She had been concerned that he would not hear her until she was close, and then perhaps panic when she trotted up to his side - or that he would notice her, but not recognize her. From his lack of surprise, she was not sure that she had needed to go to him to announce their presence. Even so, she nodded at him, and then across the encampment where Usagi remained hidden. Kasmandre, looking grim, returned the nod. "Usagi?" He spoke softly. She dipped her head once, and he launched immediately into instructions. Whispering rapid commands, his eyes firm, she doubted him not for a moment. He was a good leader. When he finished, she set off to relay to Usagi what he needed to do, and then to execute her own part of the plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasmandre Posted May 8, 2003 Report Share Posted May 8, 2003 Kasmandre, Usagi, Katzaniel The assorted archers sat around their little fire, grumbling about their recent defeat and trying to keep from shuddering whenever the Shamin walked past. Whatever else, the old mage was not a man to be on the bad side of, and failing to retrieve those books didn't exactly endear any of them to him. All there was to do was wait until day- Then, suddenly the campfire exploded in a great flash of light and heat, temporarily blinding all those around it. When the spots cleared, it became apparent that things had just gotten worse. The great cat and the rabbit-man from the earlier fight were among them. And, worse, the Shamin seemed to be occupied in a fight with another of the fighters, the scarred one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katzaniel Posted May 22, 2003 Report Share Posted May 22, 2003 Katzaniel bounded into the fray, dispensing quickly with any remaining and slightly unskilled fighters. In very little time there was, due to the cat and to the others on her side, only a few of their opponents left, and all good at staying alive. Even so it did not take long for the small group to rid themselves of most of the rest. After the initial thrust and the following panic, when everything seemed to have calmed down, Katzaniel allowed herself to look around for stragglers. She was surprised to note that more than a few remained - four of the archers had positioned themselves protectively around Kasmandre and his opponent. Looking for a way past, and meeting Usagi's eyes for a moment, the pair of animals started forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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