In reply to Byron Rockhead (msg # 904):

Aliana listened to Byron, as if she were a student in a class.
"I guess because of what I was, the humans back at the library never became too close to me.  Elves were all but unknown in that area until recently, so I was more of an oddity than a real person to many of the humans there, almost as if I were some mythical denizen haunting the reference wing.   I just didn't  have the perspective to see it."

Once Byron was finished with Lorrik the halfling decided to help him train too. He saw the young human was good with a bow so he knew the youth had good dexterity so Twiggy handed him a dagger to teach the basics "Byron can teach the sword and warrior ways, but you are still young and your muscles have not matured yet.  They will soon as you train but you can try weapons that rely more on finess than brute strength.  Here are two of my regular daggers you can have them.  Let's practice throwing them and the basic parrys and thrusts. Since you do not have heavyer armor I am going to teach you to fight defensively.  Fighting isnt all about beating your opponent but not getting beat up in the process."  Twiggy let Byron play with the ladies as he had Lorrick ducking and rolling using the daggers as a deterrent more than a weapon.

To most humans, elves never seem to change before our eyes.  While that may be true in a physical sense because of your long life span, it is not totally true in the mental senses.  I have seen a couple of elves change their outlook on certain things as they have learned things about the world outside of their homes.

Nolan waited until after dinner to question young Lorrik. He wanted to let the adolescent feel safe again while getting to know the group. He watched him train with Byron and now Twiggy, but with the way things were going, the best he would be at the moment would be a guard. But, you won't improve unless you train.

After everyone has had their supper, we should gather around and talk. We need to figure out where we're going.

At dinner, Kali listens to the c9onversation of Alaina and Byron with some interest. Sitting next to Byron, with Raieylan curled up between them seemingly sleeping, She could relate to the topic at hand. "What Byron says is true Alaina...in the druid order there are many elves and half elves, and while many look young still, have seen many more years than their human brethren." The woman had a smile as she continues.  "...though some of the human elders have transcended and become ageless in themselves."

She looks at the woman with recognition in her eyes. "In truth, the order see's life like the elves, a a path of growth, much like the growth of a tree." She smiled at her....her Druidic nature, plus her heritage, gave her a 'elvish' way of looking at things. "Some of my kin regard tree's much like the elves where all other beings are the humans....tree's that have lived thousands of years see the pass of time, while we all live our lives in their shadows." The woman looked at the fire and sighed. Whenever her thoughts came to her mother's race, she became wistful.

She took a bite from a pear as she looked into the fire. "In truth Aliana all we can do is live what lives we have and pray that our deeds may have us remembered....And perhaps our children." At the last words, the druid blushed a little as she looked in the fire and patted the cat at her side.

I never thought of looking at this issue from that perspective Kali.  Just more along the lines of what I have seen.  And I'm not much older than Lorrik.  I will be 19 in about 2 months. By Amara's and Aliana's lives I have lived but the briefest amount of time compared to them.

Kali hears my voice crack just the slightest bit.  She also notices that I don't say anything about her age or appearance from one or our previous conversations.

Alstadin may have had something to do with how I see others.  Seeing as he is a Dwarf and they have longer lifespans than humans.

I feel Raieylan's tail swishing against me as he lies there.

In reply to Byron Rockhead (msg # 907):

Aliana smiled wryly.
"I've certainly learned a considerable amount, and changed extensively, though there's still more to learn."
She didn't think about how half of her personal possessions were older than the brawny fighter.

She also gave Nolan her full attention, eager to hear what was next for their group.

Even with the door installed below, the skylight remained a vulnerability that Nox wasn't keen on surrendering... though given the awkward surveilance it had offered he and Myarra on Byron's counseling session with Aliana, he'd opted to move back away from it's edge-- unrolling his bedroll and staging his own camp on the rooftop, enjoying the crisp fresh air that the altitude provided.

He meditated on the openness of Byron, a facet of human nature that continually baffled him. While not ALL humans were so open, the other half of his ancestry WAS the opposite. As a product of a dichotomy older than time itself, his ability to live on that razor's edge was what had enabled him to learn the rare elven art of melding steel and spell so rapidly as to have surpassed his Sifu in a mere handful of years since Her death-- she was the truest elf he'd ever known.

His mind wanders further into his contemplations of human nature, and his own seeming detachment from it... Comparisons and contrasts reminding precisely why he identified so little with that half of himself; it strikes him suddenly, and he almost laughs. He'd come to associate human nature with Byron. Byron had become his baseline for human. Much as Nox admired and respected Nolan, or Piebald, or the handful of beautiful human girls he'd flirted and more with... it was Byron who felt more human than anyone he'd ever met.

From his pack he pulls a sharpening stone, and he begins to work the edge of his greatsword... eyes still scanning the perimeter and skies above.

There were worse people that could so embody the human race.

Myarra too remained on the roof.  Partly it was to stay on guard, but also to avoid either having to explain herself to Lorrik, or come up with a disguise.  She was going to have to do one or the other by morning, but frankly didn't have the energy to waste on the task tonight.

Besides, while she could teach the boy some sword work, he was such a neophyte that there was nothing she could teach him that Byron couldn't just as well ... probably better.  For now, she was happy to remain a shadowy voice on the rooftop.

"Elf, dwarf, human, or whatever, we only have today.  If we survive that, we get another day.  I have no idea of my parentage, and therefore no idea how long I'll last.  But be it 100 years or a 1000 years, an orc arrow could still cut whatever time I have left to nothing at all.  I find it's best not to waste time and emotion worrying about it.

Tonight I'll stand guard.  Tomorrow ... probably fight plant monsters.  The next day ... well, who knows.  If I live that long, I'm sure it will be interesting as long as I hang around with you lot."

True Myarra.  All we have is today.  But most people of all races want to believe there will be a tomorrow and more tomorrows after that.  We know we are going to face danger tomorrow, and the best we can do is to prepare for it as best we can and believe that there will be a tomorrow after that.

Looking at Nolan.

Nolan, do you have any suggestions on how we prepare for tomorrow's challenges whatever they may be?

The group notices a subtle change in Byron's voice and manner.  The lightheartedness is replaced by a colder determination.  His attention is focused on Nolan.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:03, Mon 29 May 2017.

After finishing practicing Twiggy goes and makes a nest in the corner then discusses the mission "Do we know where the stone is? You have seemed to find the others fairly easy."

Nolan didn't comment about anything with the previous conversation as he just stared into the fire thinking about something. He wondered what was really out there as he remembered Roenthelm staring down the trail that afternoon. Plant creatures that attacked from the sky and rose from the ground and shot thorns at you. So far, the group hasn't found anything of the sort.



Well, Lorrik here will have to describe to us where he has been, so we don't go wandering around in the dark like we've been. Not that we've gone all that far. He was attacked by flying plant creatures at a broken bridge. We'll need to know where that is, Lorrik.



I'd say that the stone is right square in the middle of the gardens and the only reason why we've found others is because we searched for them quite thoroughly after research. So, I suggest we go deeper into the forest and stay on the trails and search any ruins we find.

Turning to Lorrik, OK, young man, tell us where you have explored and what you found.

Kali listened to Nolan with a serious look on her face, in this light she almost looked like a teenager, but her serious note gave her an older look....one that was mysterious and not entirely human.

....thanks to her mothers blood.

She looked at Lorrik with a smile. "I'd also apreciate it if you described these flying plants. Size, Color, anything that stuck out in your mind....thorns, smells. If i can figure out what they are we may have an advantage."

Nox rolls his shoulders, muscle memory reminding him of the barbbed tip of an orc arrow that had once slammed into him from behind thanks to Myarra's words. "Friendly advice... don't let it be an orc arrow." It's a bit jokingly, he knows that only a few can truly decide the manner of their death-- but there's an edge to his joke that indicates he'd felt and survived such a bite.

"As I said before, me and my friends came here to look for treasure to pay our bills. We planned to stay out here for a couple days and when we found this place in decent shape, we took the time to fix it up a little. We figured that we could hunt rabbits and squirrels, since we do that all the time on our farms. We know what plants are good and bad and we know what berries to pick. With the well of fresh water in the back, we figured we were set. We took the left path and found what was left of an old building next to a fork in the road. We searched what was left of the place, but found nothing. That was at least 2 hours from our base. We took the left trail, figuring if we needed to flee, it would be easy to find our way back. I really enjoyed the walk out here. We walked maybe another 2 hours and decided to walk back. I marked the trail with some rocks, just in case we wanted to come back here. We all figured that we were on the edge of the forest. I got a rabbit on the way back for dinner."

"The next day, we came back to the same fork in the road, but took the right path this time. Maybe 30 minutes in, I saw a bear and her cubs and we all ran back as fast as we could before we were noticed. My friends were getting upset that we weren't finding any treasure, so I figured that it was probably found long ago. After our bear encounter, we ate lunch at the base here and then we took the right path here. We found another fork in the road and another ruined building. We searched what was left of the place and came up with nothing. We found some wild berries and came back to base."

"The next day, we decided to take the right path here again and then take the left path at the fork. We found another fork in the road and another ruined building. We found what was left of a camp in these ruins where I found my sword that I broke later on on the plant creature. I never saw a zombie before. It came out of one of the rooms. At first I thought it was an injured adventurer, but quickly realized that nobody could survive the wounds it got. His left arm was gone and the body was littered with needle-like twigs, so we shot it full of arrows. We found some money and some equipment and buried the poor guy. He smelled really bad. We were going to go back the way we came, but I had a feeling the left path would take us to the first fork we traveled, so we took it and I was right. We were worried about the bear, but we didn't see her. I shot another rabbit for dinner that night and we found more berries. We were excited because the gear we found would cost at least 30 gold in town and there was 8 gold, 5 silver in the pack. We got more arrows for our bows and the long sword I broke.”

”The next day, we went on the right path again, then right at the fork and we found the broken bridge. We were climbing down into the riverbed when the flying plant creatures came down from the trees and attacked us. They were my height with long arms and wings. They were all green with moss and little flowers all over them. I tried to hit it with my sword, but it felt like I was hitting rock and my sword broke. Then one of the creatures killed Marlo and we all scattered. I ran back up the side and I felt something scrape my back as I ran away. I kept running until I reached the base here. Then I woke up to you all healing me.”

Byron listens intently to Lorrik.  Watching him closely as he tells his tale.  Drawing a small map in the dirt without looking down at it.

Lorrik, I want to take another look at the sword you used to hit this plant creature.  I also want you to show me how you swung the sword at it.  We are going to walk through that sequence.  I suspect one of two things caused your sword to break. 

Turning to look at Kali.

I'll need a little help from you.

"I don't have the sword anymore. I dropped it when it broke."

Lorrik stands up and with his practice "sword" branch, he swung it like he did on the plant creature. Anyone who is proficient with a blade would see nothing wrong with what he did. All of you are experienced adventurers. The sword was either just junk, or this plant creature requires a magical weapon to actually do some serious damage.

Sister Aliana took notes while listening to Lorrik, including making a map based on his description.

Lorrik, based on your physical description and what you have shown us just now, I would guess that it could only be damaged by magical weapons.  There is nothing wrong with the way you attacked it.  Just with the result.  However, you might have gotten lucky and hit it just right to stun it just long enough to allow you to escape.

Standing up and looking toward Lennox.

Nox? Can I talk to you, Kali, and Aliana alone for a couple of minutes?

Walking off towards far edge of where we are all gathered.

In reply to Byron Rockhead (msg # 923):

Though confused by the request, Aliana stood up and joined the private converstion

Kali stood up and walked with byron, her mind clearly on other things as she walked. "Something familiar about them...i just can't put my finger on it" She mutters more to herself than anyone else.

She stood beside Byron and looked at him

Twiggy just listens and thinks of his first adventure. He to thought treasure just laid everywhere.  Watching Byron and the others walk off he just waited.

"Well, Lorrik, you're one step better than the zombie you killed, even if you lost your treasures. You're still alive." Roen said "You should thank your deity for that. There will always be treasures to gain and lose. You only have one life."

Lennox frowns at Myarra, clearly not a fan of ceding his sentinel duties, but shrugs. "You got the 360*? Be back in a few." He vanishes with the blink of an eye-- There one blink, gone the next.

The warrior appears in the room below in a soft burst of shadowy whisps; visible for the first time to their findling, having been nothing but a detached name and voice from above the tarp until now. He makes no gesture to meet him beyond a casual wave, and instead walks over to Byron's indicated meeting location where he proceeds to lean his back against the wall (one foot flat against it, coiled for a quick push).

Speaking quietly so we aren't overheard by the others.  More so to keep Lorrik from being alarmed rather than anything else.

I know Myarra's sword is magical as well as mine and Kali's.  Do we have any other magical long swords besides the one I've loaned to Aliana that we could arm Lorrik with?