Lailah Van Telias's Story

"Uhhh... I swear I walked by here three times already..."

Lailah sighed, looking between the map in her hand and the ocean of foliage around her. So dense, so homogenous! It had been a week since the young fencer departed from her cozy boat home in the Far West Ocean, a week since her dear father tasked her to seek out the Kingdom of Polara. And a few days since she first started getting lost.

Lailah's suit of chain rustled and clinked with every step. The bushes brushed against her faded brown leather boots, damp soil embedded on her soles. Over and over again, the fencer stared at her map with gaping blue eyes. Pointlessly, since no matter how she looked at it, she had no idea where she was. Or where she should go.

She chided herself. "Damnit, Lailah! Focus!" She had heard of the recent troll trouble this area had gotten into. She was confident of the locals' ability to face the monster, and thus sought not to go out of her way to hunt it down. She was late enough already. She hoped the snow elf royals were the forgiving sort (though somehow, she was skeptical of it). A sudden, high scream in the distance caught her ear. With wide eyes and without further thought, the fencer bolted to its source.

"Hellooooo?! Is anyone there?" she shouted at the top of her lungs. Her right hand reached and gripped onto the hilt of her rapier, wary of incoming trouble.

The sound of clanking mail soon alerted Tikal the fairy of Lailah's approach below. Loud, unsubtle, the very antithesis of a jungle inhabitant. The young woman soon slowed to a halt right underneath the fairy's tree. She panted and lurched forward, both hands on her thighs, azure cape fluttering behind her.

The fencer stopped, stood straight, then looked around.

Only to realize that she had gotten herself even more lost than before.

"Agh, I swear! This Forest looks the same everywhere...!" she whined, slapping a hand to her forehead. All the while, she remained oblivious of a certain fairy's presence overhead.

“Well, now, your highness, I have a question for you. Why did you come down from the Elven high kingdom to Frosthiem?” Ash asked with an arrogant tone.
“Obviously to kill this ice troll, but I get the feeling there’s a different answer that you’re looking for.” Yevoc replied.
“Ah, yes. Very observant of you. Tell me, does this troll act like a typical ice troll? What has he been doing? What’s his goal?”
“No, he’s organized the local goblin tribes and other smaller trolls. He’s leading them on raids against the supply shipments that are going into the city.”
“So what does this tell you?”
“That there’s either something on the supply shipments that the troll is looking for, or he’s trying to starve out the town’s people.”
“And why would he be trying to starve out the town’s people?”
“There’s something in Frosthiem that he wants and he can’t get to it when the town’s people are attacking him.”
“Exactly. Now I ask again, is this typical behavior for a simple ice troll?”
“No, they aren’t that smart, they act on basic instincts, there’s no way a troll would be able to do any of this unless he was being controlled.”
“And who ever or whatever is controlling the troll wants something that’s in Frosthiem, and I’d be willing to bet whatever it is they’re looking for is in the ruins of old Frosthiem under the city.”
“So what do we do?”
“Well if you plan on killing the troll you might want to do it soon. We’re about to have some company, sounds like something big is coming this way as well as a few others, not to mention one of my own kind hiding in the trees.” He sneered as he pointed to the branches, though she was too small for Yevoc to see from that distance. Yevoc looked off in the distance and saw another elf and a white minotaur walking up to the hill.
“Maybe they could help us kill the troll.”
“Sure, I guess. If you don’t mind sharing the credit with them too.”
“You know I’m not just in this to make a name for myself, don’t get me wrong I like the idea of getting some notoriety, but that’s not the only reason I’m doing this. There are people out there that help others because it’s the right thing to do.”
“Okay, whatever you gotta tell yourself.”
“Hey, you guys, are you here to fight the troll too? We could use some help if you are.” Yevoc called out.

A heavily armoured figure moved through the forest, greatsword at the ready and wings folded close to his body to avoid catching them on stray branches. During his journey northward into Polara, Alexander Typhen had heard from the last couple of villages he had passed through about an ice troll terrorising the surrounding countryside. And with the aid of goblin minions, which struck him as quite unusual. His curiosity became yet another reason to track the beast down.

Thaumatic servos quietly whirred as he strode through the undergrowth, relying on his size and powered armour to wade through and create a new path where none were readily available. His greaves had become stained with mud during the long trek, and his tabard was in a similar, slightly tattered condition. He would give these due attention once his business was concluded here.

Just then, a voice. Alexander stopped dead in his tracks. A maiden's voice, all the way out here? He grew suspicious, expecting fairy trickery at play, but not long after came another voice elsewhere, this one male. Staying still for some time as he decided upon a course of action, the sky knight finally chose to head towards the source of the girl's voice, as that one sounded much closer. While he made an attempt at trying not to be spotted, he was hardly the most subtle thing to be found in the forest, unless the eyes and ears of the forest happened to be blind and deaf.

Vanarak continued his slow jog up the hill, He had no intention of being quiet, Anyone nearby would easily hear him. And that was quite apparent since somebody was already calling him out, Was it the one who screamed earlier? His hearing already witnessed of several people being up by the hill, perhaps they are trying to ambush him. It seemed his earlier intuition was wrong since the elf had stayed behind. It didn't bother him since the clanking of heavy armor could be heard above.

Reaching the summit Vanarak took a moment before cresting it, A thought struck him to actually be smart and scouting out what he will encounter on beforhand, But he quickly pushed that thought away, He would use his usual approach. Doing this he made one sudden charge up the hill, kicking up a large cloud of snow around him, The arrows in his back barely bothering him anymore. He swung his axe of his shoulder as the snow settled around him. Honestly he was mostly attempting to look a mighty combination of Intimidating and Majestic. With the snow and arrows an untrained eye could easily mistake him for a monster.

He grunted slightly as he looked around, An Elf and a Fairy was before him. The fairy didn't look all that threatening but they rarely do. The Elf on the other hand looked like he could atleast put up a fight. He walked slowly into the clearing, No words. He knew very well that there where more people around, This could perhaps just be some kind of robbery...

Tikal settled down with a tiny sigh and laid back on her branch, disrupting some of the snow around her. It was cold in Polara but within her first week of being here she'd learned and mastered a simple spell for warmth. Being bundled up didn't do much good for flying. Closing her eyes, she placed both hands on her stomach and began thinking of subjects that made her relax. Knitting, flying, doodling.. "Hhmm.." she exhaled. A good idea could hit someone in the face, but for some people it had to be coaxed out and convinced that it was indeed a good idea. But Tikal was only allowed rest and relaxation for a maximum of 10 minutes before someone came bursting through the trees. They didn't physically make much noise, besides that squeaky sound that snow made, but vocally they made her sit up and look down. "Huh." Tikal huffed, watching the girl with a flowing blue cape. She listened to her aggravated plee about being turned around, smiling a little. Human misfortune was often funny. "Poor soul.. Ah well." She kept her voice low so that the girl couldn't hear her speaking to herself. Not that it would be easy to find her in the first place. She was still tiny.

Soon after having a laugh at the female, on the other side of the branch, that elf and her cousin began talking about the Troll King. The name just popped into her head. Summoning her binder and pen she labeled her doodle just that. But as she listened to their conversation they made a solid point. A Troll, especially a big one, wasn't very smart. So they wouldn't be able to rally even more dumb trolls and goblins and make them attack as one coherent group. Outside forces and magic seemed to be the only option.
Sitting up, she snapped her binder shut. "This will make for a very good story. And as a plus, when they kill it, I can examine it closer!" She giggled maniacly for a bit before clearing her throat. "Easy Tikal.. just stick to the sides and keep it cool.." she did a little woosa before continuing to observe the feild.

After a while of observing, a third player entered the game! Well not really a game because there was a strong possibility of dying.. But still. The thing made a grand entrance. It charged up the path, throwing snow into the air and creating a puff trail behind it. Tikal stuck her upper body over the branch, upside down to see what the hulking figure really was. Another goblin? This one sure was brave! But when the snow settled her breath caught and her eyes widened. Oh.. Oh my.. What is that... What is that.. What is that?! Quickly, she summoned her book and scrabbled to stand up, distrupting more snow on her branch and causing it to tumble to the forest floor. Her wings fluttered as she took off down the length of her branch to get a better view of the white bull that was now quietly entering the field. Tikal felt her excitement travel to her hands and could hear her wings humming. She was shaking for a few moment before she snapped out of it and quickly began doodling, but only taking up the top half of the page when she did. She was going to study this white bull. Yes yes. She was going to study him down to its favorite tune and bathroom habits. She giggled excitedly and began bouncing knocking more snow to the ground, but she would still be out of sight, especially to the eye untrained for tiny-fairy spotting.

After inhaling deeply, Lailah slumped her back against the tree and slid down slightly, at lost at where to go, or what to do, even.

"I knew I should've taken up that elven guide's offer...," she thought aloud.

Before she could wallow in further woe, however, she could feel a presence approaching. Something heavy, by the sound of the footsteps. Heavy, yet steady. Ever vigilant of the wild's dangers, Lailah hopped away from the tree, dug her feet deep into the ground, and drew her blade, pointing it to an approaching silhouette.

A tiny gasp escaped the maiden's lips. Her eyes widened. But her stance did not falter.

A very large silhouette. Armored, by the looks of his round pauldrons and what seemed like a winged helmet. Oh, and actual wings too, on his back. Surprisingly unarmored. But perhaps that would have been too cumbersome.

"R-reveal thyself, gargantuan one!" she proclaimed, her voice and wrist slightly shaking.

The fencer tilted her head, her eyes squinting to admire the craftsmanship on his armor. Her sharp sight could vaguely make out ornate runes on his vestments. Perhaps a noble, not unlike her?

"...Or-or would you like me to go first?" the fencer asked. With the clearing of a throat and a nod of the head, she continued, "I am Lailah, daughter of House Telias, from the shores of southwest Whitebeach. A pleasure to meet you!.... I hope."

As the white minotaur got closer it became apparent just how much larger he was compared to Yevoc. He didn’t respond but had rushed up to him in a show of grandeur. Ash, coward that he was, shrank back down to his smaller size and fluttered up onto his shoulder.

“Not to be a downer or anything, but didn’t the Snow Elves enslave a bunch of minotaurs, like 400 years ago as labyrinth guards? Not saying that this guy’s holding a grudge, but you might want to be careful around him.”

“Oh shit! I completely forgot about that.” He gasped as he instinctively raised his arms up and crossed his swords in front of himself in a defensive position just before the minotaur stopped inches in front of him.

Drake missed his room. That warm, cozy, welcoming room at Comfy Igloos. What a way too appropriate name for an inn up in Polara... He dismissed the thought and instead focused on how much he hated the cold. The southern regions of Gialpha were closer to the equator. They were near-tropical, warm nearly year-round, and the people were simply carefree and life-loving. He swore the Nordics and Snow Elves were colder a people than the actual weather up here in the north.

Whatever. Polara was cold, water is wet, and the townsfolk were having an issue with a troll on the outskirts of their city. Nothing new, necessarily. Last he heard from the people, however, was that he wasn't the only one looking to tag and bag the beast for a reward. Which was good, to say the least. Drake wasn't so keen on going toe to toe with a monstrosity like an ice troll all by his lonesome. Really the only good thing to come from that would be not needing to split the reward. The image of the townspeople hoisting him up in their arms, chanting his name, and calling him savior of Frosthiem danced around in his head. He shook it. He'd rather the gold than the appreciation in the hearts and minds of the people. At least gold was physical and had its uses. The abstract would be gone with time, and likely sooner than most would think.

Wrapped up in a heavy jacket and white cloak, a new hat to cover his ears, and snowboots to deal with the cold mud and freezing snow Drake continued to march through the forest in search of this troll. At some point he came across some tracks in the mud and slush. The footprints were large, larger than his at least, but they weren't a troll's footprint. Come to think of it, they're more like bootprints... Perhaps they were one of the people in search of the troll.

After several more minutes of walking he came upon what looked to be a rather heavily armored Avian and some... girl? Was that a girl? Might as well have been some teenager in a blue cape. Didn't matter. Drake maintained a small distance from the two as the girl was apparently introducing herself like some nervous wreck. He kept a hand on the hilt of his sword in a casual manner to avoid appearing on the offensive, content simply to observe for now.

Inevitably spotted as he made his approach, Alexander watched as the maiden drew a type of sword with a thin blade. Curiously, she stood her ground and did not run despite being alone and facing a being that was much taller and heavily armoured compared to her.

He listened intently as the maiden introduced herself. A noblewoman. That explained her choice of attire. Such garments were not a common sight among the peasantry. Satisfied that she was not a threat, the sky knight lowered his sword.

"I am Alexander, son of House Typhen, from the woodlands of eastern Forestien," he responded in kind. "Likewise, it is a pleasure... but what is a young maiden from a noble house doing all the way out here without so much as an escort?" Before he could listen to the girl's answer, however, his hearing picked up the sound of footsteps coming their way. A human male, clad in something more suited for the snow.

"And who might you be?" Alexander calmly asked this newcomer, slowly raising his sword in case the man proved hostile. "Friend or foe?"

"Nobody," Drake replied. "And a potential friend." He remained nonchalant with one hand dug into his coat pocket for warmth and another resting on the hilt of his sword. He strode forwards so the armored figure apparently named Alexander and the noblewoman Lailah so the two could see him better and know he intended nothing derived of malice. "I'm looking for an ice troll around these parts. It's been terrorizing the outskirts of Frosthiem."

Lailah listened to Alexander's introduction with wide-eyed enthusiasm. House Typhen! The name sounded vaguely familiar to her, something from one of her many heroic novels, she presumed. Before she could answer his query, however, another soul had arrived. Tall, dark, and eye catching, with the rugged look of a romantic anti-hero, the kind her cohorts would giggle and swoon over. He would certainly be at home at one of her pirate anthologies!

The fencer listened to 'Nobody's' introduction. She was somewhat wary of his lackadaisical attitude, yet he seemed friendly enough. 'Nobody' was barely able to finish explaining his sentence, when Lailah suddenly jumped back, her brows furrowed and her mouth agape.

"TERRORIZING?!"

She yelled, her jaw hanging wide in indignity. That word seemed to have caught her attention instantly. Her azure eyes gleamed with determination, as she suddenly stomped forward, and pumped her right fist.

"Then we cannot let this preposterous creature live another day! Sir Nobody, allow us to assist you in this noble quest!" She shouted with great fervor and swung her fist to swat the empty air, the swift motion causing her cape to flap dramatically.

In that instant, Lailah had completely (hopefully, temporarily) forgotten her original goals. The fencer grabbed the shoulders of the two taller men beside her, pulled them close, and smirked.

"This we shall do! In the name of LOVE and PEACE!"

A long, awkward pause.

Lailah glanced left and right, then loosened her grip on both their shoulders. A grip which seemed abnormally strong for a girl her size.

Her expression softened, and her blue eyes gazed at the two larger men like an unsure puppy. She might have been a bit caught up in the moment. Slowly, she turned to look to Alexander.

"...U-uhm... that is-is also why you're here, I presume?"

"TERRORIZING?!" The call may as well been the wail of a banshee Nyx thought.

Nyx muttered a spell turning invisible unseen to anyone that couldn't detect magic. Silently she sneaked towards the voice only to find three people a girl the screamer.. a man and walking armor with wings.
Nyx listened gathering they too sought the troll. What an odd group though. She knew even she couldn't fight an army of goblins alone though.

Nyx sighed and raised up her spell of invisibility canceled as she pulled the goblin map out "If you are hunting troll it would help to have the map to his home.."

Alexander regarded this 'Nobody' with caution as the stranger moved closer to himself and Lailah. His head tilted to one side at a slight angle when the man mentioned that he was looking for an ice troll. Of course, he should have realised that he would not be the only one, but what chance did this lone, lightly armoured commoner stand against a troll?

The sky knight's helmeted head whipped round when Lailah exclaimed her surprise, along with her intention to join the two on this quest. She even pulled him and the unknown human close - a feat that surprised the avian given the fact that he was wearing a complete suit of armour - already seeing the two as close comrades despite having run into each other not five minutes ago. This woman was naive, and yet, she was prepared to drop whatever business she was up to in favour of taking up arms for the good of the people. Qualities worthy of any knight, airborne or otherwise.

"Yes, I am also here for the ice troll," Alexander confirmed with a nod of the head when Lailah sheepishly asked him. "We shall head out at once, and -"

He was interrupted by the voice of yet another individual. This time it was a dark elf, appearing to offer them a map of some kind. The glow of his helmet's optics seemed to narrow slightly. "How convenient that one would have such an item," he remarked drily, hand resting on the hilt of his greatsword. "Almost too convenient..."

While he was relieved by the fact that the minotaur was in a cheerful mood and laughing, Yevoc once again couldn’t help but feel insulted by the comment about his sword being kitchen knives. Nevertheless, he figured it was better to stay on this guy’s good side so he obliged and kept an eye on the cave where the troll had retreated after throwing the boulder at him.
“Oh yeah, this is much better than killing the troll on our own.” Ash muttered.
“Why don’t you make yourself useful and fly your tiny ass up there to see if the troll is there or not?"
“That’s actually not a bad idea.” Ash said before fluttering off to the cave at the top of the hill. A few minutes later he turned around and flew back out of the cave and hovered a few feet in front of the entrance before turning to human size. “Hey you guys might want to come look at this. The cave comes out into a goblin village and they seem to be enjoying the supplies they stole. Also there’s a group of people in the woods a few yards over there.” He said as he pointed to the group still in the woods.
“Well, …” Yevoc paused, realizing he didn’t get the minotaur’s name “… sir, once your friend gets those twigs out of your back, I’ll get my pixie and we can go put my fancy kitchen knives to the test. Or if you’d like we can stay and see if these others are friendly.”
“Watch your tongue snowflake!” Ash snapped at Yevoc, pixie was viewed as a derogatory slur to the fairies.
“Well, you don’t have to come along with me everywhere if you don’t want to.” He chuckled back at him.
“I can put you frozen ass back under that boulder again, too! Remember that!”

It was the winged armor that responded to her...
"How convenient that one would have such an item," he remarked drily. Nyx noted his hand on his sword as he added "Almost too convenient..."

"Convenient for me...Not so much for the goblins I killed to get it..." Nyx said darkly. "What matters is I have a map right to the home of the creature we seek... I could have easily left you three bumbling though the woods but I know that even I can't take on a troll and his goblin army alone so I chose to trust you."

Nyx paused and looked right at the winged armor " So will we work together or will you draw that sword thinking me evil and share the goblin's fate?"

Drake had just recovered from the noblegirl's shouting and uncanny grip when a voice behind the three sprung up. He, like the other two, whirled around towards the source to find a rather depressing figure. Thin, lanky, pale, and lithe, Drake's mind flit from adjective to adjective as he looked the dark elf up and down.

He didn't blame the suit of armor for being skeptical of the elf's intentions. Anyone who looked tall, dark, and broody would elicit distrust from any sane individual. Given the incessant shouting going on past the treeline the now-four were standing at, it seemed not everyone present was entirely sane.

Drake fought the urge to dig his canteen out of his coat to take a swig and instead flexed his grip on his sword's hilt before speaking. "I, personally, would rather cause more similar fates to the rest of their kind here than meet one myself. We're more likely to succeed against the troll and his goblins with numbers than if we were to go in individually." He pulled down his furred hood to look squarely at each person around him, instantly regretting it as soon as he felt the biting cold. "I'm not the sentimental type, and speeches aren't my thing, so convince yourselves to stay or go. Lead the way, elf."

Lailah's eyes gleamed in attention, as another joined their company. A dark elf female, with a dour frown on her lips, and a gloomy look in her eyes. Alexander seemed wary as the elf proposed her map. With brows raised in alarm, she quickly looked between the two, eager to intervene before an altercation broke out.

Thankfully, 'Nobody' beat her to the punch, and coolly, concisely, asserted his opinion on the matter. Lailah nodded once, her face beaming. "I am of a mind with Sir Nobody! Strength in numbers and all that," she added. As they began to follow, the young fencer, barely half the armored avian in height, nudged him and grinned from ear to ear.

"Don't worry, Sir Alexander! I shall protect you, if it needs be," she confidently proclaimed, then flipped her side-ponytail, the brown locks bouncing sprightly. With utmost conviction, she emphasized,"This, I swear!"

As they continued walking, an ever-smiling Lailah looked between 'Nobody' and the surly elf. Such a sullen group. She hoped she could bring a bit of sunshine to the three, at least!

"Oh, by the way, Miss Elf! If I may be so bold, I think you would look three times as pretty with a smile on your face!" She suggested while wagging her finger. The blue-eyed noble then turned back to the nameless rogue, inquiring blithely,

"Wouldn't you agree, Sir Nobody?"

While still not inclined to trust the elf, who proved to be as conceited as any other, Alexander could see merit in the points raised by both Lailah and 'Sir Nobody'. "Very well, but I must warn you, even a lowly guardsman can make short work of a goblin. Overconfidence in one's abilities can lead to a swift death." Without another word, he followed them, ever alert for any threat that might present itself.

His attention was quickly drawn to the young noblewoman nudging him in the side, offering to protect him from danger. Him! A sky knight! Alexander found himself laughing slightly at the thought. "I shall bear that in mind, should I require your aid," he replied good-naturedly.

As the group walked through the forest, the sky knight kept his wings folded close and his eyes and ears open. Once again he had his sword at the ready in case they ran into the troll before reaching its cave. If the elf wanted to stab them in the back, at least she could hardly do so from the front, which provided a small comfort.

Alexander listened as Lailah suggested that the dour dark elf should put a smile on her face, which elicited another chuckle from the sky knight. It was a rare thing to see a genuine smile from an elf, especially among their nobility, he recalled.

Nyx's souless eyes seemed to darken more as she listened to the group mainly the woman... do you ever shut up? She wanted to ask but controlled herself for now...

" My name's Nyx by the way." Nyx said as she led on her steps barely making a sound. " Map says there is a goblin camp before the cave...I would suggest we sneak around it and go right for the prize...But the lady and the tin can don't seem the sneaking type..."

Nyx paused turning to the others "So any ideas you got? It could help to know what fighting skills we all have as well...Plan an attack based on that...I myself am skilled in stealth and magic."

Yevoc glanced over at the minotaur and the other fairy. They seemed to be otherwise occupied.
“Well, I guess it’s just you and me dragonfly.”
“Oh for fuck sake, my name is Ash!”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m on my way up. Just warn me if the troll comes back.” Yevoc called up to him as he began to climb up the hill to the cave. As he reached the top he was able to see the others that Ash had mentioned earlier. He was no just slightly more cautious when he was able to make out that a Dark Elf seemed to be leading the group. While Dark Elves and Snow Elves didn’t really have anything against each other, Yevoc knew that Dark Elves were not to be trifled with.
“So should we wait for the other two?” Ash asked.
“I think they’re busy, I’m sure they’ll catch up, though, if they’re serious about killing the troll.”
“So what’s your plan, run into the village, swords swinging, freezing everything in sight until you can kill them?” Ash asked sarcastically.
“Well, it was more along the lines of killing and freezing as I go, but basically yeah that was it. Why? You got something better? I doubt you can do much damage with that dagger there, so a little magical backup might be nice.”