Jewel Princess » Places

         Drogoth

The man fell to the ground without so much as a yelp. The only sound made was the impact of a limp corpse falling on the various types of leaves on the forest floor. Drogoth smiled and quickly disappeared once more, leaving the ground to be stained red and hiding in a hollow tree, the man squeezing in without too much difficulty.

It had been all too easy to lure the Shades into the forest. A few soothing words promising a shortcut to the destination and they were off, eager to follow the scimitar wielder. They had left the town from whence they came quickly, and hadn't stopped at all until they had come to the dense woods. There was no way out for them, as Drogoth knew that very few of them would have even the slightest idea where they were. They were simply too deep in Drogoth's trap. They were like flies stuck in his web, and now, like a spider playing blissfully with its food, he hunted them and it was quite unlikely for any to escape his grasp.

Drogoth was all too eager to head into the woods, as it made his job significantly easier. He was still coming to terms with what he was, and he could use the options that came with the forest. Now he could ambush with ease instead of fight them all at once on the open road.

The former Shade thought about the way he was able to eliminate the ones previously following him. From the reactions he had felt earlier with a simple insect, he was glad he still was able to kill. It was, of course, due to the fact that the Shades are evil. There was simply no other explanation that made the least bit of sense.

A sudden cry to his right broke the man away from his thoughts and he knew his snare had worked to perfection. He quickly ran over to where the call originated and hid in a bush looking out at the unfortunate Shade squirming and hanging upside down. He knew the man’s cries would soon draw more victims towards this location, and Drogoth waited patiently for the moment to come.

The man’s cries were answered by two more Shades, one being a man and the other a woman. Drogoth grinned as they both went to work immediately by hacking through the simple trap, a vine being the makeshift rope.

Right on time, he thought. He rolled forward out of the bush silently as the previously tied Shade hit the ground with a groan. He drew himself up to his full height and stood behind the group patiently, water slowly forming at their feet.

The one who was hanging was now looking down, brushing the leaves and dirt from himself and trying to salvage at least some of his dignity. Therefore the woman was the first to turn around, and with a cry of surprise met her end with a scimitar rupturing her heart. At the sudden noise, the other two looked up just in time to see a pair of liquid daggers inches from their heads. Drogoth was already walking away, and with a small hand movement, the daggers punched through any and all resistance on their path from one side of each of the Shade’s necks to the other.

Drogoth was almost done, and when he was, he knew exactly where to go and what to do, no matter the consequences. He was tired, hungry, and had absolutely no idea how to convince the group, but he had to try.

"The things we do for family," the former Shade mumbled. And with that, he disappeared once more into the forest, searching for the last few stragglers that have managed to evade him thus far.

Entalo

Entalo shook himself as Anton spoke to him, inquiring quietly as to whether or not Rue really was the Princess of the Fae. Entalo gave a little nod to him and almost immediately after, Rue walked by and offered the two of them water. He had been thinking about his past, and was grateful for the opportunity to think about something else, no matter if that something was as small as the taste of water.

I need to find something else to dwell on, he thought. The past is much too annoying. He accepted the water and thanked Rue, taking a sip from the bucket. He realized how dry his mouth was as soon as he did so and he coughed as he swallowed, taking another small sip after the coughing subsided then passing the bucket to his friend. Anton, despite being somewhat at awe at the recent discovery which of course Entalo had heard while his friend was unconscious, took the bucket eagerly.

The larger man took a more direct approach, gulping the water several times and depleting about a quarter of it in a few seconds. Entalo cleared his throat, hoping to draw his attention, but to no avail. Entalo sighed then took the bucket from Anton's grasp, handing it back to Rue. The axe wielder looked at Entalo strangely, then seemed to catch on that Aelianus had yet to drink any of the water. He said a quick apology then grabbed his axe, testing it's sharp edge in an attempt to escape the awkwardness he was obviously feeling. Entalo smiled at his friend. He sometimes overlooked things, but at least he always tried to make it better with an apology.

He really is a nice man, thought Entalo as he had many times before. At least when he isn't fighting, that is. Focusing now on whatever else was happening in the small encampment, the most interesting besides a chirping bird being Aelianus's request to Raiyn. Entalo watched closely, eager to see what kind of response the man would give. More than one of us could learn something from him, he thought with a slight smile.