Aldenaz Asteroth's Story

KING ALDENAZ

The day was just beginning as Aldenaz walks through a large corridor decorated with elaborate paintings of knights, old suits of armor and the occasional randomly decorated vase. As he heads to his room he appears slightly more joyous then has been normal of late. With all the things going on in the kingdom, and even the continent he hasn't had much time for hope. Now he has a good reason to hope and that reason is in the form of adventurers about to enter his fair kingdom. He was supposed to send a retainer to greet the adventurers and for all intents and purposes that is exactly what he's doing. For all Madi knows he is sending one of his generals to welcome them. She can't know the truth that instead of sending Tryvellian, The king himself will go in his place. As he turns down the last hallway before his room, he dismisses the guard and tells him to call his son to his bedchamber. He was intelligent enough to know not to tell his son until the last possible minute of the adventure he was about to embark on, and he knew that if Madi had ever caught on there would be hell to pay. He strode over to his wardrobe and grabbed his large, black cloak. He quickly dawned it and put his long-sword on his belt. He put away his crown in his bottom drawer where he knew Madi wouldn't look and turned to head toward the door. He grabbed lucitar from his bedside table. Just as he was about to head out the door, Nasyrk stepped inside. " My King?" he asked as he wore a puzzled look on his face. The king just smiled and handed him an extra black cloak. " Put that on and follow me. " he commanded as he headed out the door.

Without looking back to be sure Nasyrk was following, he made a dash for the side window of the castle's second story. He quickly hopped up on the outlook and jumped over the side. He hit the ground with a slightly loud thud and looked back up to see Nasyrk looking down in annoyance. " Not this again." The young man says as he mantles the wall and jumps down as well. He hits the ground with almost no sound at all and follows the king out of the castle. As Aldenaz begins to get farther from the castle, he puts up his hood and hides his hammer within his cloak. If anybody see's his face or the hammer he will be caught before his escape even occurs. They follow the wall of the courtyard until they reach the end, where there is nothing but a straight shot to one of the castle gaits. All they have to do is get through two guards and the're free. " I need a favor from you my boy." the king says with a smile as he pushes Nasyrk in front of him. Without saying another word Nasyrk walks up to the guards. They salute and greet the Royal Champion as he slowly leads them inside the watchtower next to their post. As they step inside, the king makes a quick dash across the courtyard and sprints through the gate. He then quickly makes his way to the first building he sees and hides behind a column. The most difficult part about breaking out of the castle was now over and he was now in the rich part of the capitol city. All that would be left of his escape is to walk the rest of the way to the main gate and easily slip out with the crowd. He waited for Nasyrk to meet him outside the castle main gate and they both headed to the town gate. It was a fairly simple walk to the gate, and just like the king knew, the security was much less severe there. They easily made it out with the crowd and set their sights on the small fishing village of xurex.

The path to Xurex isn't too long of a journey, but bandit activity has been greatly increasing because of all the refugees Taramire had been taking in. Bandits were no big deal for Nasyrk, so the king wasn't worried about the trip in the slightest. They quickly made their way to the village using main roads. If there were any bandits in the area, either they were smart and picked their targets well, or they didn't yet know they were in the area. Before the two of them made it to the village, the king stops and gets Nasyrk's attention. " This is very important. " The king says as he makes eye contact with the young man. For the rest of the day you will call me by the name Tryvellian and I am a general of King Aldenaz's army. With a nod from Nasyrk he happily turns and heads into Xurex. As he looks around to try to get a feel for the people of the town, he spots a large, lively building on the edge of the river. He immediately notes it as the tavern and points it out to Nasyrk. The paladin brightens up a little at the thought of warm food and a nice cup of ale. They head into the tavern and the king walks over to the bar. As Nasyrk attempts to sit beside him, the king stops him. " No sir, today I need you to watch over me from afar." he said as he points across the room to an empty booth. While ignoring the protests, Aldenaz orders a nice cup of ale and sparks up a conversation with a random bar patron. His plan is to wait patiently for the adventurers as he slams down some ale.

Nasyrk annoyed by the fact he can't be close to protect his King should anything happen, walked over to the booth and ordered some ale with some fish. He sat cautiously eating, watching over the tavern for hours. Nasyrk began to feel Aldenaz wasn't going to be in any harm around such joyous people and started to relax.

Many of the men were laughing and making a ruckus over the conversating. A few men got into an argument and began fighting. This got Nasyrk's tense as he feared the king would get involved as his king was more of a peacekeeper than a warmonger. To Nasyrk's surprise the King laughed and cheered on the brawl. Until the bartender was able to settle things down and the tavern became quiet once again. Nasyrk relaxed again to drink more of his ale while they waited for the adventures.

KING ALDENAZ

King Aldenaz was having a merry time drinking with the common folk. He loved being outside the castle walls, every time he snuck out he always felt so alive! Whenever he did, it always reminded him what he was fighting for. The man he had been talking to all night was named Nigel Astros and he was a fisherman. He told many stories about rough encounters on the sea and great hauls he could bring back to the village. Nigel even had a friendly, although enthusiastic fight with another man named Tom, who was also a fisherman. The fight was about who's fishing spot was most successful. The king happily heard the two bicker for awhile before he happily explained that both were excellent fishing spots and told them a secret he once heard from a diplomat that once stayed at the castle. Since he was a general of the army, it wasn't odd that he heard information such as this. Both men were so overjoyed to receive the information they each bought Aldenaz a round of ale. He felt slightly bad inside for not being able to show his true identity, but it couldn't be helped. He would just go on letting them believe he was the man named Trevellian. After his fifth cup of ale he was feeling really content. Relaxing for a change with his people was an extremely important event that he wouldn't miss for the world. King Aldenaz loved his people, and it was times like these he truly felt like he was a happy king and he knew he was doing the right thing. Just as long as Madi never found out. Just as that thought entered his mind, there was a commotion outside. He heard shrieks and cry's and saw several people run into the tavern.

"A Witch!" one cried as she made haste to the middle of the tavern. The rest followed her in and stood beside her. All were out of breath and one appeared to be hurt. It was a young boy who seemed to had been burned by the witch just above his right arm. The king quickly stood and walked over to the group. He pulled out a bottle of an unknown liquid and poured it onto the wound. After letting it sit for a moment, he took a portion of his cloak and ripped it from the rest, then proceeded to tie it over the wound. He looked up into the boy's eyes and patted him on the head. " It's alright son, you're going to be just fine." he said as he stood up and looked toward the first person that entered the tavern. At this point Nasyrk was already up on his feet and standing not too close but just close enough to help if anything went wrong. " Where did it go?" The king asked as he helped her up off the floor. " She is just outside the Henderson's house." she said, then soon realized the person she was talking to wasn't from her village. " Its the path next to the house across the way from here." she said as she was slightly embarrassed about not realizing it sooner. The king quickly looked over to Nasyrk and nodded before he spoke up one more time. " My good friend Nasyrk will slay the witch." he said with certainty as he helped the woman over to a nearby chair. He handed several pieces of silver to the Tavern owner and spoke again. " Food and drink for any who are hungry as we wait for the good news." As he spoke he walked back over to Tom and Nigel and sat down. He smiled and spoke again to his two new friends. " So .... Want to make a bet on how long he takes." The king says as he takes another drink of his ale.

Nasyrk slowly regained consciousnesses, feeling like a fool with how easily the witch knocked him down. He looked up and saw the knight standing above him with his arm out. When the Knight said. "I'm Blue Adavahr, Knight of the sword." Nasyrk looked into his face and to his armor as he grabbed the knights hand. "Blue? Seem's like that'll be tough to remember... I am Nasyrk Vul'Kath, Paladin of the Sun and..."Nasyrk stopped his sentence thinking he shouldn't state he is a Royal Champion. "Where is the witch? I do not sense her near by." After hearing she got away Nasyrk became disappointed and felt even more a fool. In his eyes he failed his king. Nasyrk nodded when Blue suggested to go back to the village. "Every one is hiding at the tavern for safety." Nasyrk stated.
While they walked back Nasyrk began thinking more and more on Why a witch was here and a very powerful one at that.

Nasyrk and Blue reached the Tavern and at the sight of them the village cheered. The King could tell Nasyrk wasn't so excited and walked over. The King talked softly to not stur up the village. "She isn't dead is she?" Nasyrk replied embaressed and humiliated, "No sorry; however, I cannot sense her near. I believe we are safe for now." After the little chat Nasyrk then introduced Blue. "Tryvellian, this knight stood against the witch alone before I arrived. I say he has earned a few rounds, eh?"

Sir Blue Adavahr

Sir Blue and Nasyrk exited the forest and re-entered the village. Both were silent, but the knight was lost in thought. He was thinking about the witch and all the bad things a witch could get into if you let it roam free. It wasn't just their screw up that was unnerving Blue, it was all the questions. What made the witch so much more powerful then her kin normally are? Where did she flee to and for what reason did she not finish the fight? Why was there a witch in this area anyway? This place was peaceful and wasn't far from the capital city. There shouldn't be any reason for a witch to be roaming these parts, they usually stick to secluded places. Most of these questions Blue assumed would be answered in time, but for now he had to find the witch and make sure it couldn't hurt anyone anymore. As soon as the duo entered the village, A large man exited the tavern and headed towards them, followed by cheering townspeople. They seemed to be cheering on the return of Nasyrk, but the large man knew something didn't add up. " She isn't dead is she?" The man said quietly as he stepped closer to the knight and the paladin. Nasyrk looked nervous when confronted with the large man. "No sorry; however, I cannot sense her near. I believe we are safe for now." The paladin said as he didn't break eye contact with the floor. "Tryvellian, this knight stood against the witch alone before I arrived. I say he has earned a few rounds, eh?" He quickly changed the subject as he kindly introduced the knight. Blue once again placed his gauntlet to his chest in salute as a respectful gesture to the general. The king did the same as well as a slight bow. " Indeed." he said as he turned to lead the way into the tavern. The three men walked over to the bar area and the man know as Tryvellian ordered three pints of ale. They all sat down and waited for their drinks. Just as the drinks were placed in front of them, a guard and a young girl entered the tavern. Soon after another guard entered and rather loudly yelled something about a fire. Blue Tryvellian and Nasyrk all stood in unison, all seemingly thinking the same thing. As they all turned, the girl appeared in front of them. "Um. I'm not sure which one of you is Tryvellian but my friend and I received a letter telling us to meet here. That fire they're talking about that's where she is please I need someone to help her she's stuck fighting a..." She said as she looked around cautiously. "...witch. My name is Freya." she finished in more of a whisper then anything. " Don't worry." Blue said with a smile. " I'll take care of it." he said as he turned and ran towards the fire.

The knight left the tavern and looked to the sky. He saw large plumes of smoke rising from the far away forest. That must be where Freya's friend is, Blue thought as he headed towards the impending threat. Once he received direction, he ran to aid the woman being attacked by the witch. Blue didn't know who this person was, but he hoped she was strong or at least intelligent enough to stay alive long enough against such a strong opponent. The knight knew of only a few who could easily fight against such a powerful witch with no backup, which meant it wasn't likely Freya's friend would survive. Blue pushed his negative thoughts away and focused on quickening his pace. He needed to get to the area Freya described as quickly as possible. As he ran through the forest at an extremely fast pace, he didn't care about all the thorny branches slightly damaging his armor. A few stray branches hit the exposed flesh of his neck as he ran, although he didn't care. He could finally see the plumes above him after a good amount of running. The knight slowed as he saw a large black crater in the ground. He came to a stop near it as he took a closer look. While analyzing the burning hole and confirming it was the same witch as earlier (he would now know those fireballs anywhere), he heard a loud screech and the sound of magic being cast.

Watching Blue run out the door, the King turned to Nasyrk nodded and ordered, "Go!" The King then turned toward Freya. "Can you make sure he doesn't get lost. His temper from earlier may get the best of his senses." Freya nods and turns toward Nasyrk. Nasyrk replies, "Lead the way M'Lady." Just before they were out the door the King added, "Keep her safe and make haste!"

Nasyrk followed the young elf girl as close as he could. "No matter what happens Freya, I will protect you and your friend will be safe. I haven't fought with this Knight much, but I know he will keep his word."

After a good bit of running Nasyrk noticed the smoke pillars and increased his speed. "Quickly can't be too much farther." Nasyrk said as they burst out of the tree lines.

Sir Blue Adavahr

Nasyrk and Blue were fighting intensely for awhile. They took turns attacking, one after the other so the witch could never land a real hit, but boy did she try! There were points in the fight where either Blue or Nasyrk should have died, but at the exact moment the other parried the blow and countered. There was no reason for them to be so good at fighting together, besides the possible similarities with their upbringing. Blue had no idea what Nasyrk had been through in his life, but he could tell whatever it was caused him to train vigorously. Together they brought the witch to a weakened state, just weak enough for Kael's soul steal to work. The only thing Blue was concerned about besides keeping Nasyrk alive was Kael. She had been fighting the witch for who knows how long and now he was asking her to do a very draining spell. The old Kael wouldn't have had enough energy to do both, but somehow he could tell she wasn't the same as she used to be. Blue had absolute faith Kael could defeat the witch, so it allowed him to give his all to the fight at hand. That and the fact that Nasyrk was such a great fighter made the fight seem almost natural. Besides the simplicity of the fighting style, They clearly grew more and more tired by the moment. The longer they fought the greater the possibility of them making a mistake, and for this fight one small mistake could mean death for all of them. Luckily as soon as they both felt like they were about to drop, Blue heard movement from behind him. Kael stood, eyes glowing red and holding a large purple ball of magic between her hands. " Move," she said as she spoke words in dragon tongue, which he could secretly understand, and sent her energy at the witch. Not long after being hit by the spell, the witch attempted to de-spell it by summoning a wall of fire around herself. She didn't succeed and Blue could see the soul being ripped out of the witch and dragged into the dragoness's hands. Whenever Blue saw Kael like this he knew that if it ever came to a fight between them, he would surely lose. Not just because he couldn't hurt Kael, but because she really was a powerful Mage. The second they saw the soul leave the body, the witch's body began to wither down to a husk and disperse into dust. Blue and Nasyrk were both on a knee, attempting to catch their breath. They were sweating from head to toe and exhausted. As Blue took account for his and Nasyrk's injuries, he saw Kael quickly lose strength and fall to a knee, being caught by Freya. " I'm fine. Those two have injuries. See if they need healing." she said as Freya attempted to heal her. Nasyrk had taken slightly more damage then Blue throughout the fight, but he quickly healed himself until he was good as new. Blue really wished he had an ability like that, it would be so much easier then sewing up and bandaging wounds. Luckily for this fight he wasn't hurt too badly, nothing a good nights rest wouldn't fix anyway. The knight respectfully declined the offer to heal him and walked over to Kael's side. " I know we have a lot to talk about." he said with a small smile. " I'm glad your ok but I think you should take it easy for awhile. " he said as he knelt down. " I know you don't like being touched, or at least you didn't, but i'm going to carry you back to the village." he said as he picked her up by holding her under the knees and behind the back. "If it pleases you, later you can punch me." he said with a small chuckle as he remembered their times together. As he walked past Nasyrk he gave a small nod as thanks, which he would give proper thanks at a later time. It was quite the walk to the village, and he was pretty tired. Once they came into view of the pub, Blue lightly put Kael down. He bowed his head and apologized and headed into the establishment. He didn't wait for them to come in, but he walked over to the tavern keeper and asked if they had any rooms he could rent for the night. The Innkeeper's response was slow at first, trying to gauge if the knight had the money to pay. " I have three rooms for 8 silver a night. How many do you need?" he asked. " I'll take them all." Blue said as he handed the man the money. Luckily he had taken enough from the bandits earlier that day to more then pay for the rooms and dinner. He recieved the room numbers and Keys from the Tavern innkeeper and headed back to the group. He handed one to Kael and one to Nysrk and decided to sit down at the empty table in the corner of the establishment.

Nasyrk nodded at Blue and watched him pick up Kael before they headed off to the village. Nasyrk turned toward Freya and said, "Freya." He slightly bowed, "Thank you, the village will be happy to hear this witch is finally gone." Nasyrk pulled his cloak back over his body and headed toward the village, eager to have a nice meal with ale and relax.

When they arrived at the tavern Nasyrk overheard Blue buying out the bedrooms but paid no mind to that. He announced to the villagers the witch is dealt with and preceded to make his way to his king.

Nasyrk sat down next to his king and quietly spoke, "I believe your adventurers have arrived. The elf girl's friend is a very powerful mage. She isn't human nor is she evil. She stole the witches soul and put it into a bottle. I believe the witch said she came for the mages heart? A dragon heart. Freya can heal wounds much like I can myself but to others at a much faster rate. And the knight he is mighty with a blade and..." The King stopped him, "I'd love to here the story but I have a favor for you." Nasyrk replied, "But of course? What is it?" The King looked down knowing Nasyrk wasn't going to like what he will say. "I want you to go with them on this Journey." Nasyrk was shocked, "But Sire... I..." Before Nasyrk could say much the King continued. "You have been my champion for quiet some time and are like a son to me. This is not what you are meant to become. You are trained for so much more. Besides, You have an unanswered past and I can see it troubling you. It kills me to see you suffer so. Go on this journey and then free yourself." Before Nasyrk had any time to rebuttal the king went up to the bartender and yelled out. "How about a few rounds for every body, huh? Nasyrk sat quietly and at the table to collect his thoughts.

When she finished supplying what healing she could, Freya turned back to Kael...only to find the Knight had picked the half Dragon up and was carrying her to the village. If that wasn't shocking enough 'who the hell would be crazy enough to pick miss Kael up?' Kael seemed to just let it happen. Freya frowned and felt something grow in the pit of her stomach. Everytime she had even put a hand on Kaels shoulder the woman had nearly bit it off. It had taken months before Freya was able to hug her and only receive minimal growling in response.

'Who the hell is he?!' She fully intended on following them and get some answers when she was stopped by the other man. Had he mentioned his name to her? She couldn't think clearly to remember. Well regardless, he was speaking to her. Thanking her? She didn't do much except beg for help. Her cheeks flushed in slight embarrassment. Maybe now Kael would teach her some offensive spells or at least let her train with a weapon. She smiled at the man and bowed lightly. After he as well turned to the village Freya started to head back as well.

At the village gates she was greeted with the pleasant surprise of her horse there. He had waited. She smiled and apologized to the animal for riding him so hard and then leaving him. Poor thing. Conflict rose when she saw Kael standing outside the tavern down the road, but after a moment Freya chose to tend to the horse before joining the others. Kael was a grown up, she would probably have scolded the elf for further neglecting an animal. She led him to some water and began taking the saddle and their bags off.

~*~*~*~*~

She must have been exhausted. If she wasn't then there was no way she would have allowed Blue to carry her, carry her quite a distance even, without at least a witty remark. He had told her she could hit him later, and she had been so out of it she hadnt even been able to think of something to say. And then he had apologized after putting her down, and heading into what looked like a tavern or an inn. She watched as he went up to the bar and had an exhange, barely registered the other man joining him as Freya stayed outside to tend the horse. Lost in her thoughts Kael laughed softly.

They had first met at a place similar to this. Only at that time Kael had wanted to kill the Knight because of his family. Somehow her anger and distrust of him had vanished, partly because of Malik and mostly because of the mans damned persistence. She laughed again and sat on a bench to wait for Freya. She was way too tired to be thinking of the past. She should have found a way to erase her memories of all of them, after leaving the way she did she didnt deserve to remember.

"Miss Kael?" Her purple eyes stared at the girl in front of her for the longest time before Kael finally woke up enough to respond.

"Er...is the horse settled?" She cleared her throat and stood to walk into the building.

"Yes. Hes a good horse. But I think now you should have some food and some sleep."

"Hmmm." Just as Freya had said that Blue walked over to them and handed Kael and the other man keys. The man had been telling the villagers that the witch was dead before moving speak with a hooded man. Kael was too tired to register more than that. Blue had walked to a table, probably to wait for food.

"Oh! Thats Trevelyan! We should go introduce ourselves. Hes who we were supposed to mee-- ....Kael?"

Freya had started to drag her over to the hooded man. They got halfway before Kael took her arm back and steadied herself. The Elf looked back with a worried expression on her face.

"That fight was only the first. I warned you this wasn't a game. If you still wish to go along on stupid quests and 'save' people and form a team or whatever fool idea you have, I wont stop you. I'll follow you to keep you from dying. But I will strongly urge you every day to give this up and simply go home. We aren't heroes Freya. We aren't adventurers. We can't save everyone and I sure as hell dont want to form friendships with people just to have them die on me!" Kael stopped and pinched the bridge of her nose before continuing with a slightly lower voice. "I will go to sleep. My appetite can wait. Think about what I said. If you still wish to join them when I wake then fine. Also don't you dare think I've forgiven you for ignoring me earlier and running like an idiot into battle."

The entire time that Kael had spoken Freya had flicked her gaze between where Blue was sitting and the Half Dragon. The woman frowned and realised the elf had to have guessed that they knew each other by now. Oh well. She would deal with it later. For now she gripped her bag tightly and left the main room before Freya had a chance to respond. No doubt the elf would choose to stay. She had always ignored Kaels warnings when it came to 'fixing things'.

Finding the room Kael didnt bother to lock it behind her or even put a blanket over herself. She simply closed the door and fell on the bed, all energy gone as she passed out with memories flying through her mind.

Sir Blue Adavahr

Blue had taken a seat at a mostly clean table in the back of the pub. He ordered the pubs main dish, which happened to be some form of bass, as well as a large helping of potatoes and veggies. Along with his order he also asked for a nice large cup of mead, as well as a pitcher. As the knight waited for his order and after the waitress brought out his drink, he couldn't help but look around the pub. He saw Kael and Freya enter the Tavern and speak to each other, before the dragoness went upstairs presumably to sleep. Freya had looked over to him several times while the conversation went on, which he caught out of the corner of his eye. The knight also noticed the man he fought alongside earlier talking to a hooded figure, which he had assumed was the man Blue came here to meet. Both the conversation with the paladin and the conversation with Kael were just out of earshot, so even if Blue wanted, he couldn't eavesdrop. He was curious, but it was already a long day and no matter his curiosity, he decided to concede defeat on the idea of listening in. As the cloaked man ended his conversation with the paladin, he stood and offered another round of drinks, which was followed by a loud cheer throughout the tavern. Blue noticed a large portion of the noise coming from a table not far off to his right hand side. There were four men drinking and having a merry time. It seems they had devoured a large amount of alcohol and were telling some pretty interesting stories. Before his food was delivered, he grabbed his ale, stood and walked over to the group.

" Do you mind if I join you?" he asked as he gestured to an open chair.

" Of course yah can," A friendly looking man said as he pushed it out and offered it to the knight.

As the knight sat, he listened to the many joyous stories the men were telling about funny things they had seen and done. How they were proud of their sons and daughters for standing up to some no-good bandits on the roads just outside of the village. One particular story caught Blue's attention about the state of the continent and he learned some useful information about his new enemy. After hearing the news one of the men decided to tell a story of his wife leaving in the middle of the night and all the things she could have possibly left him for. Besides the fact that every other man had berated him for dimming the mood, Blue took the story to heart and thought of how Kael had left their group without a word. Without even finishing his drink, or waiting for his food he stood up and left the table. He tossed several copper coins onto his original table and headed upstairs towards his room.

As he was about to ascend the stairs leading to the rooms, he was stopped by Freyah. "Umm," she said, as she decided how to ask her question. "I need to ask you something," she said nervously. The elf was playing with her hands as if she wasn't sure where to put them. "How do you know Kael?" She finally spit out. Blue saw the desperation in her eyes and her expectation as he thought to answer. "We ..." He started to say before he stopped himself. " If Kael didn't tell you yet she has her reasons. Just do me a favor and don't let her carry all of her burdens alone," he said with a smile. "She might not show it, but compassion is good for her," he finished as he turned and headed upstairs to his room. After entering the dark, lonely feeling room he tiredly removed his armor, laying it piece by piece onto the bedside table. He looked over his armor, admiring the tough assortment of steel that constantly saves his life. It recently received a new blemish, only further proving the Knights need for additional intense training. He would have to continue with his training if he wanted to protect people. That thought got him thinking about Kael. Just that morning he thought he would never see the young dragoness again, and now she was across the hall. He wondered what would come of tomorrow as he laid down and drifted off to sleep.

The first thing he could sense was power. A being of immeasurable power could be felt in the back of the knight's subconscience. Blue couldn't see anything besides darkness at first. It felt like his eyelids were too heavy to open and he would be forced to see nothing but black for eternity. He didn't want that! He was raised in the light, and he believed that everything he did was a form of light added to the darkened world. The Knight had seen some awful things while doing his duty, and to him everything evil was represented by the darkness. He frantically looked around, trying to find anything other then the extreme black. He continued to turn and to strain his eyes, until he saw it. One small, dim light in a sea of darkness. Normally this light wouldn't even be enough to light up a room, but in the nothingness of its surroundings it seemed like the brightest beacon of hope. He didn't know how, but he knew this meant to never lose hope. No matter what enemies he would come to face, he just had to hold out hope that everything would be alright. Even in a sea of darkness, as long as there is a small amount of light there was always a chance. Then the scenery shifted, turning from the darkness and the light of hope to a vast chasm. There were rock walls on all sides of him, as high as the eye could see. He quickly felt another presence besides the original feeling of power and he turned to look. "Kael?" he said as his eyes widened with shock. "I have so much I want to speak with you about," he said as he tried to take a step towards her. All of a sudden he couldn't move his limbs. Every time he tried to move his leg, Kael moved farther and farther away. He could tell she was trying to say something, but he couldn't understand what. The only words he thought he could make out were Mother, and Priestess. Every time he would strain to hear her she would seem more quiet. "What are you trying to tell me," he yelled as she grew further away, even shrinking into the wall. Finally, with her gone he could move his limbs again. He sprinted full force to the wall she was just at and banged on it with both hands. On his third hit, the wall gave in and he was bombarded by rubble from all sides. Like a rock slide gone wrong, he was burred alive, only to be then standing on a flat plain surrounded by lively green grass. The grass pedals blew strongly in the wind, causing the normally invisible breeze to create a serene scenery. Blue felt that same powerful presence again, this time coming from somewhere above him. He looked up to see a massive shadow with bright yellow eyes. It had the vague shape of a dragon, with its long tail and wide wings. The shadow looked down on him and despite what he should be feeling all he felt was a mutual respect. He wasn't sure what the shadow wanted, but he knew it was waiting for something. All of a sudden, the earth fell from under him and he was falling. He fell for what felt like hours until finally, he could see the ground that he was barreling towards. He hardly had enough time to panic before he would have splattered against the rocks. Right before he hit, he woke up with a fright. He sprang up in his bed, sweating all over and breathing heavily. He looked around his room to try to see if anyone or anything was there. After finding nothing out of place, he laid back down and slowly went back to sleep.

Blue awoke the next morning to the sound of chatter coming from outside. He must have fallen asleep with the window open because it was fairly loud. The first thing he thought about was how vivid the dream was and how he remembered every bit of it. Normally he wouldn't dream at all, or if he did he would hardly remember anything about it the next morning. This time however he remember the feelings, the smells and the textures. This didn't seem just like a dream to the knight. Blue figured he would have to figure out exactly what he just went through later. He pushed his covers off his body and kicked his feet off the side of the bed. He stood up with a long yawn and a stretch, preparing for the new day. He walked over to the table holding his armor and began to put it back on. One piece at a time until all he had left were his gauntlets. After finishing, he remade his bed and gathered his things. Blue assumed the general would be awake early and wanting to speak with him. He quietly walked down the corridor and down the stairs, trying not to wake up the other guests. As he descended the stairs, he saw that his hunch was right. Travellian was sitting alone at a large table in the middle of the pub. Travellian, The innkeeper, and Blue were the only three in the room at that exact moment, but Blue had a feeling it wouldn't last for long. He also realized he had never truly introduced himself to the general. The knight walked over to the table until he was about five feet away from the general. He raised his gauntlet to his chest and bowed slightly. " I am Blue Adavahr, Knight of the sword and defender of justice. I received a letter asking for my assistance, and I have come as soon as I was able. I do not require payment of any kind for my assistance, and I hope you can trust that I will do whatever it takes to uphold justice," he said with a semi-confident smile.

King Aldenaz

The king almost introduced himself to the knight properly. That would have been a terrible mistake, which could have been a serious problem. He really didn't want Madi to learn of this, and He wanted to know how these adventurers acted without knowing of his pedigree. He gave a slight nod back and introduced himself for the first time. "I am indeed general Travellian," his booming voice said as he looked the man over. "Knight of the sword you say?" he said as he sized up the knight. "My king will be happy to receive your help and I guarantee we will be needing it," he says as he gestures to one of the empty chairs. As Blue took a seat, he began to see the other adventurers waking and coming into the pub's main dining area. As they all introduced themselves and he did likewise, he was sizing each and every one of them up. Once everyone was gathered, he decided to begin by getting right to the point. As he looked around the table at the knight, the mage, the healer, and the paladin, he could tell they would eventually make a great team. He decided to just go for it and began explaining their quest.

"My king wishes to thank each and every one of you for coming this far to aid Farador. He will be happy to reward you all with whatever you desire at the completion of the overall mission. First we need to make sure everyone that got the letter is here. It seems as if we're missing one," he says as he looks over everyone again. "Of course!" he said as he hit his fist against his palm. " We're missing the frog man," he said as he looked everyone in the eyes one person at a time. "Well I guess that mission was a bit too much for one person, despite how slippery that one person is," he said with a chuckle. "In that case I sure do have a first mission for you!" ..........

The Frog in the Cell

The room was dark and the air was stale. There was only a single torch to keep the small dreary cell lit. Within his cell, Edric remained motionless as he hung three feet off the ground, suspended by the shackles on his arms. His body had been beaten and bruised. There were cuts running along his left arm and a gash above his right hip. His captures were nice enough to stop the bleeding, but they only saved his life so they could interrogate him.

As Edric regained consciousness, he shifted his gaze around the room to examine his surroundings. The room outside his cell didn’t appear much bigger. There was a small weapons rack holding a couple polearms and spears on the left hand side of the room and a table had been placed in the center. There were two goblins sitting at the table outside his cell.

“I’m telling you, we should gut him and cook him up, I’m sure the Warden wouldn’t care!” exclaimed the first goblin as he waved his knife in the air. “No! The Warden said to keep’em alive.” objected the second goblin as he sat polishing his blade. “Can’t we just have a taste, maybe a bit of his legs! I could really go for some frog legs” retorted the first goblin. The second goblin gave a sharp glance to his companion. “Tell ya what! You can go ask the Warden yourself if you’re brave enough, but until then, don’t touch the damn frog”

Edric stopped listening at that point. He shook his head as he thought ‘Why does every enemy I come across want to eat me!?’ Edric gave a sigh and turned his attention to his shackles. Edric knew he could easily melt the shackles, but he knew he wouldn’t get much further than that. He was to weak and wounded to pull off such a feat.

“Well look who’s waking up!” Edric looked back towards the goblins to see his guards staring at him. “You’ve been out for awhile little frog, but don’t worry! The warden will be more than happy to play with you a bit longer.” Both the goblins began to burst out in laughter as they enjoyed peering at their prisoner. Edric looked at the goblins and gave a smug grin “I wonder if you two will still be laughing once I hang you off the battlements by your entrails.”

“He’s a little shit talker isn’t he!?” One of the goblins exclaimed as he opened the cell. The goblin grabbed a spear from the weapons rack and approached Edric. He placed the tip of the spear right against Edric’s throat. “Now look here Mr. Frog. The only reason you’re alive right now is because the Warden wants you alive.” He pulled the spear back and exited the cell. “You might as well make yourself at home. You’re going to be here for awhile!” The goblin locked the cell and placed his spear on the rack. The two goblins resumed their conversation once they returned to the table.

Edric gave another sigh. “I’m going to need a miracle to escape this one.” He muttered under his breath. While he remained bound to the wall, Edric tried to recall how he got into this mess to begin with. ‘I knew I shouldn’t have taken a reconnaissance job from that old miser.’ Edric had taken a job to sneak into the mountain fortress of Mt. Terran. He was short on coin and needed a petty job to get by. However, Edric met a strange old man in a cloak a few weeks back that offered a good bit of coin if Edric would infiltrate the fort and evaluate the forces within the walls. Unfortunately for Edric, he had terribly underestimated the size of the forces inside as well as their tenacity; thus leading to his capture.

‘There is still one thing I don’t understand. This Warden that those damned goblins keep talking about is the closest thing to a leader that I’ve seen.’ Edric pondered on the subject a bit longer. ‘If I do make it out of this alive, I need to pay a visit to the warden and see what information I can squeeze out of him, but first I really need to regain my strength and tend to these wounds.’

*Clank!* *Clank!* *Clank!* Edric quickly looked up as he tried to identify the source of the sound. It sounded as if someone large in size garbed in heavy armor was approaching. Both of the goblins jumped up in attention, someone big was coming. Someone that the goblins feared. The clanking of footsteps grew louder and louder until they were just outside the cell.

“I take it our guest is comfortable?” Spoke a deep voice. A large orc stood before Edric’s cell. The orc stood 8 feet tall, no perhaps 8 and a half feet tall. It was hard for Edric to tell, his vision was still obscured from his poor condition. The orc was huge, that much Edric could tell. The orc wore thick plate mail armor and wore a thick steel helmet garbed with two large horns on top with a series of smaller horns running along behind them. A massive battle axe rested on his back. It looked as if it was 9 feet tall on its own and the blades were thick. It was clear to Edric that this orc was strong and its sights were narrowed on him.

“Take my guest to the torture chambers; I have some questions for him” The orc turned and began to walk down the hall. “Yes warden!” Squealed the goblins. There was only one thing on Edric’s mind. ‘shit.’

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Time was passing slowly, seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours. ‘How long have I been in here’ wondered Edric. Suddenly Edric was slashed across his chest. He let out a loud painful cry of agony. At that same moment, a goblin mage began to seal his wounds shut to avoid Edric dying from bleeding out. “You should just answer my question frog, I could make your death so much painless.” The warden stood in front of Edric, relishing pain he was inflicting. “Where did the Monks of Knarish move the keystone to?” asked the orc with a low toned growl.

Edric had remained silent up to this point, content with not answering. Edric looked up to meet the orcs eyes and gathered his breath. The Warden’s expression began to change as Edric was getting ready to talk. He was ready for Edric to cave in and answer his question.

After gathering his breath, Edric finally spoke. “Go fuck yourself.” And he spat his acidic spit right in the orc’s face. The Warden jumped back and howled with rage as his skin burned. “Bash him! Smash him! Beat him within an inch of his life and throw him back to his cell!” Roared the Warden as he walked out of the chamber enraged.

The goblins did not hesitate to lash at Edric. He screamed and howled in pain until he couldn’t take anymore. Everything went dark as Edric lost consciousness. As he slipped into darkness, one last thought crossed into his mind ‘I hope my sister is safe.’

It was late no one was in the tavern so Nasyrk finally decided to get up from his seat and go for a walk as he was not quiet tired. Just before he was able to get out the door he noticed Freya coming down the stairs.

"Evening M'Lady" as he bowed and started to go out the door. Freya stopped him and asked. "What do you know of Blue and Kael?"
He looked some what confused, "What do you mean? I only met him just before you with the first encounter with that witch." She seemed frustrated with the answer but continued. "Oh.. well what brings you here are you with Travellian?" Nasyrk smiled and chuckled, "You ask many questions. Are you not tired it is very late." She replied, "Are you not as well?" "Not really, I plan on going for a little walk. I advise you try to get some sleep. We can talk more later. Now good night M'Lady." He bowed once more and went out the door.

Nasyrk checked back to make sure she did not follow and he could be alone for his walk. He walked up to the stream not far from where he and Blue fought the witch and knelt down at the edge by the water. He pulled his hood back and took his helmet off to see his reflection in the water. It's time... so many years and I can finally go forth and do what I have trained my whole life for...He..will pay... Many hours have passed but the moon was still out. Nasyrk figured he could just sleep here.

He dreamed, he could see the sunshine bright on a calm day. His mother smiling at him while he played. He was in a familiar place, his home town Vishe and then he saw flames and a man walking through the town. Nasyrk was helpless he couldn't do anything but watch everyone he ever knew die in front of him. He wanted to help them but he couldn't move. Then the man grabbed his mother. Nasyrk's anger grew more and more as he witnessed the tragedy of his past. He fought with himself trying to move trying to do anything to save her. Just before the man drove his sword into his mother. He heard her saw quietly, "I love you Son." Everything went black.

Nasyrk woke up, breathing very heavily and sweating. He felt extremely hot as if he was on fire his hands burned the most. As he regained his surroundings he jumped into the stream to cool off. He looked toward where he laid and saw small remains of ash and smoke as if there was a small fire. He was confused but disregarded it. He pulled himself out of the water and looked up. The sun was starting to rise. I better get back to the tavern. he thought to himself.

He arrived at the tavern just in time to see everyone else sitting down. He nodded and yelled out to everyone joyfully. "Good morning everyone. Sleep well?" He took his seat and listened to what Travellian had to say. When he heard him state that a Frog man was the missing adventurer, he cocked his eyebrows and gave Travellian a wierd look. "Excuse me you said a frog man? As in a frog that turns into a man? Is he a prince? Or is he some sort of Battletoad?

Travellian then told us. He sent the frog man to scout out a fort a few days trip just north of here. "Well lets hop to it shall we? Nasyrk said with a smile and began to grab his things. He waited for everyone else to leave before he stood up. He walked to his King and nodded, "Good B.." he said quietly. The King in return grabbed him and hugged him. "It is an honor to of had you at my side. Thank you Nasyrk. Make me proud Champion." Nasyrk could feel tears in his eyes, he has spent years protecting his king. This was the first time since he finished his training that he would part with his king. The king made him feel like he was family. This gave Nasyrk comfort and encouragement.

Nasyrk ran up to Blue, Kael, and Freya and kneeled down. "It will be an honor to fight along side with you all for this journey" He stood back up and smiled as they began to walk north.

Kael woke hungry. It was the only thing she could really register as her eyes opened. The first few minutes of waking was just hunger. Her limbs ached and her stomach felt like a wasteland. For a moment she was confused as to why she wasn’t looking up at the roof of her and Freyas’ house, but that confusion soon melted away with the memories from yesterday breaking through the hunger. They were ‘fixing things’. Joining adventurers and fighting ‘bad guys’. Blue was there. Freya had ignored Kaels’ warnings and rushed into the middle of a fight with a witch. There was a second witches soul in the bag next to her. With a sigh she finally sat up to get ready for the day.

Freya was asleep on the other bed in the room, their few bags were piled neatly near the window and a glass of water had been placed on the table next to where Kael had been sleeping. The key to the room was there too and so Kael assumed that Freya had locked the door. ’Damn. She took care of everything again. Now I feel terrible for wanting to yell at her.’ Her head spun as she drank some water and moved to get clean clothes out of the bags. A simple blue shirt and black pants would do, Kael suspected that they would be travelling soon and figured that a comfortable outfit would do best. At the sound of her companion waking Kael turned to her.

“Morning miss Kael.”

Something was off, Freyas’ smile was barely there and the girl wouldn’t look at her. Was she expecting to be yelled at first thing in the morning? ’Well, I did say I hadn’t forgiven her.’ She sighed again and shook her cloak off, laying it on the bed next to her bag. She turned to the Elf.

“Good morning. You can relax. I’m not going to lecture you just yet, I think I got my point through mostly yesterday. Should we have some breakfast?” She was about to exit the room when Freya spoke softly.

“You and the knight….”

So. They were going to talk about this now. Well Freya wasn’t known for being the most patient person in the world, especially if something was troubling her. And that was clear to anyone who looked at the girls’ face. Kael sat next to her and thought about her words.

“He has a name, it’s Blue. I knew him before I came to this country. I didn’t think I’d see him again. I was wrong. Some god is probably dying laughing at me right now.” Freya nodded but still wouldn’t look at her. “He’s …a good person. He is persistent as all hell, and loyal? He stuck with the group far longer than I expected anyone too, myself included. No one asked him to, he just felt it was the right thing to do and so he stayed with us.”

“Yeah but. He picked you up and carried you. I can’t even give you a hug without you threatening to bite you. And he wouldn’t tell me anything!”

She chuckled at her companion. “Are you jealous? You’re silly. I’ll be sure to punch him, he knows I hate being touched. But I’m guessing that fact wasn’t enough to override his need to take care of people.”

“I’m not jealous!” At this the Elf glared at Kael with such intensity that she was sure the wall behind her would catch fire. “I just… You won’t tell me anything about your past. I figured eventually you would feel comfortable enough to tell me but then your words yesterday about people dying and that guy Blue and just I don’t know!” At the end of her rant she hid her hands in her face and grumbled.

Kael was silent for a few moments and scratched the back of her neck uncomfortably. She should have probably explained everything before they set off on this journey.

“Well you know how I can’t transform into a Dragon? And how sometimes my magic doesn’t work? That’s a result of me doing something terrible to a lot of innocent people. The High Dragons punished me by sealing half of myself away until I completed the tasks they had set for me. My mentor, Screthin, helped me start this. I was a very, very angry person back then.”

“Why were you angry?” Freya was at least looking at her now.

“I felt betrayed by someone I never thought would turn on me. I was hurt, I was alone, and I had no idea how to handle all these emotions. I acted out in my anger and was punished for it – rightly so. If they hadn’t stopped me and if Screthin hadn’t found me I have no way of knowing where I would be now. Probably dead, hunted down by Dragon hunters.” Her eyes turned a light blue remembering her mentor. “Screthin sent me to a village, and I met a boy there. I guess the easiest way to describe him was to say he was an angel, though it’s not completely accurate. He was the first person I could really call a friend. And it was the first time I willingly chose to stay by someone other than one of my own kind. After Screthin died I was lost and he was there to pull me out of it. Then we met Blue.”

Freya was watching Kaels eyes as the woman explained. “I wanted to kill him. I smelled his blood and recognised his family line, a bunch of Dragon hunters. I’m still not sure how he was able to convince me that he had nothing to do with him but I supposed it helped that he didn’t smell like death.”

“You could tell by his blood what family he belonged to?”

“Well yeah. It wasn’t the first time I had smelled his bloodline before. I had come across Dragon remains before that had the scent on them. I didn’t know exactly who they were, of course, but I knew enough to recognise a dragon hunting family.”

“So you, a Half Dragon, became friends with a guy from a Dragon hunter family.”

The return of Freyas smile was suspicious and Kael narrowed her eyes while nodding. “Yes, that’s pretty much what happened.”

“Aaaw Kael! That’s like something out of a romance book! That’s so adorable! I can’t beli—“ Her gush was interrupted by a hand smacking her upside the head. Freya laughed at Kaels red face.

“It w-was nothing like that stop coming to conclusions on your own you stupid girl or I’ll stop telling you what happened!” She cleared her throat and glared to cut off more of Freyas giggles. “Our group gained more weird members that stayed a while and left on their own ways. Malik, Blue and I remained together for quite a while before things got really crazy. There were demons and werewolves and an apparent god of death at one point. For such a mixed and large group we did pretty well together, I even helped a witch get her soul back.” ’Granted, I was the reason the witch nearly lost her soul in the first place, and Dara attacked me first anyway, but Freya doesn’t need every detail.’

“So what changed? Why did you leave?”

Kael wasn’t sure how to answer that one and she screwed her face up in thought. “Too many things happened all at once I guess. A friend….died and I couldn’t help but think that I could have done something to prevent it. If I had been stronger, acted faster, got there sooner. Logically I know that it was a tough battle and if it hadn’t been her than it probably would have been someone else, but that didn’t help matters. Then Malik disappeared, as did our crazy Elf and his Witch wife. Dante….well his brother got kidnapped and he became someone I no longer knew. That hurt. And I just couldn’t handle it. I had promised him nothing would happen to his brother, I had promised Malik I would protect him, I had promised Blue I wouldn’t leave. In the end I couldn’t keep any of my promises. I left while everyone was asleep and travelled as far as I could. I abandoned my responsibilities and the people I cared about and I came here. I swore I wouldn’t get involved in things like that again.”

As Freya took it all in Kael got up to grab her bag of coins. The hunger was becoming unbearable. “So does that help ease your mind a bit?”

The girl stayed silent for so long Kael was beginning to wonder if hitting her in the head had been too hard. Before she could check her companion, there was a blonde elf gripping her into a hug. Kael fought every urge to growl and shove her away to listen to the girl speak.

“It makes sense now. Why you were always so protective and worried. You didn’t want to lose anyone you cared about again. I understand.” When Freya pulled away she had a giant grin on her face. “But Kael you can’t keep running away because no matter what I’m going to keep dragging your stubborn ass back. And I think you can’t simply throw your friendship with Blue away either!”

’When did you become the mature one out of the two of us?’ Freyas words, though a lot brighter, reminded her of Screthins. “Maybe you’re right. But I think before anything else we should really get some food. I’m about ready to start eating the villagers.”

“Kael no. We talked about that. Eating people is bad,” the elf said with an amused expression.

“Yeah yeah. Lets go eat then.”


Entering the main dining area Kael and Freya saw Blue and Tryvellian introducing themselves and sitting at a table. Kael sighed and walked to the bar to order some food while Freya took the hint and went to interact. The blonde elf bowed lightly at the two and smiled.

“Good morning. I know I already said this but yesterday was a tad exciting and so I felt I needed to introduce myself properly. My name is Freya and I generally stick to healing people while my friend, Kael,” she nodded in the direction of the Half Dragon. “is very strong with magic. We received your letter and have decided to come help.” The other man from yesterday walked in and Freya smiled at him as Kael finished placing an order and joined them at the table. “Also thank you very much for coming to our assistance yesterday. It wasn’t … the preferred way to introduce ourselves but thank you again.” Freya chuckled and sat.

“Yes, thank you for saving my idiot charge as she ignored my warnings and rushed straight in the middle of a fight with a witch.” Kael smirked softly at the elfs red face and patted her on the shoulder to let her know it was only half in joke. “For now gentlemen I will rely on Freya to speak for the both of us as until I have eaten I am more likely to bite you than answer any question asked.” She started eating as soon as her food arrived.

Freya groaned at the tone of Kaels voice and shook her head, choosing to ignore her companion to listen to the last introduction. Once they were all acquainted Tryvellian became speaking to give them their first mission. Kael continued to eat silently, listening but not offering any input into the conversation. Freya had the suspicion that the woman was going to try absolutely everything to get the two of them out of helping. Well, the elf resolved to simply try even harder to keep them around the group and help out. Dragons were stubborn but Freya was more so.

((OOC: I apologize for the EXTREMELY late and lower quality than normal post. I have gone through a whirlwind of events including a cyclone in the town where I live and have not had even a tiny bar of internet until just recently. I’m trying to get things fixed and back on track but for now just continue on and use Freya as much as you need. She’s basically an NPC for now until I do up a character sheet for her eventually. I will try and post as frequently as I can. Again sorry guys!!!))

Sir Blue Adavahr

After everyone introduced themselves in turn, The general explained the details of the mission. Tryvellian dutifully explained how he had sent this frog-man to a heavily guarded enemy fort several days travel to the north on an extremely important mission. He wasn't kind enough to explain the mission, but he did tell them about the assassin that was sent to complete it. The assassin himself wasn't well known, but once Tryvellian mentioned the weapons he carried Blue knew of several of his deeds. The knight didn't like assassins. He didn't think they should be trusted, but this assassin didn't seem as cut-throat as the rest. With the frog-man's background explained Blue couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for the poor creature. The entire time the general was talking, Blue took slight glances at Kael. He really wanted to talk to her but he didn't know just how to approach her. He knew after yesterday's events she would be hungry and he hoped she received a good rest. For now he would have to save any questions for later. As he was thinking, he realized he wasn't entirely paying attention to the general's briefing. " Let's hop to it shall we," he heard the paladin say as Blue rolled his eyes. Great, we have a court jester with us, that ought to come in handy; he thought to himself. Everyone gathered their things and began to head outside to gather around the entrance to the tavern. As soon as Nasyrk exited the tavern he keeled down in front of the trio. "It will be an honor to fight along side with you all for this journey," Nasyrk said with what looked like excitement in his eyes. " The honor is ours my friend," Blue said as he bowed back. As Nasyrk stood, the knight smiled and they all began their journey north.

As they walked, the Knight kept vigil of his surroundings. He had spent weeks travelling through these lands and no matter what terrain he traversed he couldn't help running into things that wanted to kill him. After the first several hours of walking he began to get confused. Not even the animals came out to attack. He couldn't tell if it was because they were in a larger group or if this place just hated him, but he assumed the ladder. There was little small talk between the group throughout the first day's walk. Blue still didn't get to speak with Kael yet, but he knew he would get his chance tonight after they ate. After walking for most of the day and only taking a couple small breaks they found a nice area to set up camp. It had a decent source of fresh water and the Knight saw what appeared to be Elk tracks. If he could track it, he could easily shoot the elk for their dinner that night. The group began to set up camp, which consisted of several small tents while Nasyrk began to set up the fire. As the paladin was attempting to light the fire, Blue pulled out the pieces to make a bow from his pack. He had purchased the bow from a merchant when he first arrived in Farador. The bow was compact and could easily come a[art so it could fit easily into his pack. All he would have to do if he needed to hunt was to take about a minute to put it together and it was ready to go. The knight had only used the bow once or twice since buying it, but he was well versed in archery. It took him much longer then it should have to put the bow together, but once he was done he was ready to enter the woods and find the elk. It only took about twenty minutes to track, and once he found it it only took one shot to take the creature out. He aimed for the Elk's Vitals, waiting for the perfect shot so he wouldn't cause the creature any unnecessary pain. The elk didn't get very far after the strike and he was easy to follow due to the blood trail. The Knight prepared the meat and properly disposed of the leftovers and headed back to where the group was camped. He walked over to the fire where Nasyrk was seated and sat beside him. He set the meat in his leather bag dedicated for food and lowered it onto the ground near the fire. " Are you any good at cooking? " Blue said as he began taking the cooking utensils out of his pack. He stoked the fire, waiting for the paladin to answer.