Fantasy [Closed] A nation in havoc

[Rhaine]

Ru listened intently, nodding in agreement. With his last statement, she tilted her head to the side. "No, I wanted-" She was interrupted as the Paladin questioned them, bringing himself into the conversation with a smile. She was startled by his question, and the fact that he overheard. She hesitated, glancing to Dan before she spoke. "Yes. In Dalania, after the...the Shattering." She had heard the man use the term before when he was speaking to the Prince. She was glad that Dan had brought it up. She had been meaning to discuss it with him in depth. She still had so many questions, and she had wanted to give the mess in her head some kind of order. Ru stayed her words now. She didn't know the Paladin, and could say nothing for him in terms of trust.

Cassander looked to Nia, then to the water, then to the group back near the fire. He couldn't foresee such an opportunity coming around again in the near future, and he was never one to shy away from a spontaneous adventure. With a shrug, he reached back, pulling his shirt over his head and discarding it with a quick toss. He stripped down to his smallclothes that were more like breeches in nature, and he began wading out into the water, the waves meeting him without reservation. The water was warm, and the tension in his muscles released, surrendering to it. He couldn't help but grin. When the water reached his waist, he bent, and dove headfirst through the water, coming up a few feet from where he started, brushing his dark, wet locks from his face. He was still tall enough to not have to tread, and he gestured toward Nia. "Scared?" He called over to her, a playful note to his words.

TheCountryWarrior Duke of Doge

 

[TheCountryWarrior]

The Paladin smiled. "Excellent! What did it look like, what did it do, do you think it's still there, do you think I can kill-" his words were cut short as the fire popped and sparked and went out. He had been so engrossed in asking about the demon he hadn't cared he was talking to an Pointy Ear and hadn't noticed the cause of the erratic behavior of the flames.

Dan sighed heavily, almost abnormally heavily. "Oh dear. I doubt the Prince will like seeing the fire he worked so hard on be out. You should go do something about that."

The Paladin narrowed his eyes at the boy. What was this elf fu-uh-lovers angle? "It seems you are correct. I should... go... do that." He turned to the forest and walked away, muttering under his breath.

Dan smiled a sly smile. "That should keep him busy for a while. I mostly just wanted to see if that worked." Dan chuckled a tiny bit.
Rhaine

 

[Duke of Doge]

Nia puffed out her chest and pouted "No! I just..." her heart rate increased at the thought of what she'd be doing. "f-fine!" She slowly stripped down to her undergarments. Not to be all sexy like, but because she was embarrassed. Once done, she would wade out deeper into the water, before diving under, and coming up next to Cassander.
Rhaine

 

[Rhaine]

Ru seemed both startled and overwhelmed with the man's excitable, rapid fire questions that she couldn't comprehend all at once. She watched on as Dan maneuvered the situation, inadvertently sending the Paladin away. She turned her gaze to him, a slight spark in her eyes. "I'm gathering that you're something of an Ah'ta. It's our word for fox, though it has several other meanings - some not as appropriate as others." She flushed slightly, becoming aware of her own words. She averted her gaze, regretting her utterance. She had said too much. "Not that...they have anything to do with this situation." She shook her head slightly, internally cursing herself. She hadn't meant to deviate from their previous topic, but she apparently couldn't help but embarrass herself in front of him every chance she got.

She cleared her throat, running a shaky hand through her hair, gathering herself back together. "There's something...something that I can't seem to get out of my head. I don't understand-" She paused, giving a huff. "I don't understand anything that happened down there, but I do have something specific I wanted to speak of with you."

-

Cassander gave a laugh as she relented. He rose and fell with the swell and decline of the waves. They weren't too aggressive, and he was able to maintain his place. He averted his gaze from Nia as she undressed, an odd, flustered sort of bearing coming over him. He shook it away almost aggressively in favor of ease, his bright, light-heartedness returning with a force. He was elated to be in the sea, emerged in warmth. His dark gaze rose as he heard her wading through the water, and he grinned as she came to his side in a sweeping dive.

"Good to see you haven't forgotten how to swim. I would've had to save your life all over again." He poked fun with boyish charm, though there was a lower tone to his last words. His eyes fell heavily over the cut that marked her face, though he was able to maintain his pleasant expression. He had always meant to talk to her of what had happened, what she had seen, though it was just like him to make a joke of it.

He deserted the train of thought, sending a slight splash in her direction.

TheCountryWarrior Duke of Doge

 

[TheCountryWarrior]

Dan chuckled at her words. A fox huh? Foxes were cunning creatures, for the most part, and Dan took this as a compliment. He nodded assuredly to her, prompting her to speak. "Of course. What do you need, Songbird?"

The Paladin hacked his way through the brush of the forest with his sword, gathering what he could under one arm.

Rhaine

 

[Caffeine Freak]

Sam popped up behind Ru and Dan. "What'd I miss?" He hummed, his gaze openly sliding to Nia and Cassander half naked in the water. "... Oh. Quite a lot, apparently." His surprise melted into a suggestive grin as he strode over to the embers of the fire.

TheCountryWarrior {Perhaps Sam and the Paladin could get an awkward friendship thing going? Just a thought.}

 

[Duke of Doge]

Nia laughed and shielded herself ftom the splash "What would you do? Turn the entire ocean into stone?" She joked, before slowly starting to sink into the water "Heeeeeeeelllp! I caaant swiiim!" Nia held out her arm as she slowly, and dramatically sunk.
Rhaine

 

[Rhaine]

Ru kept her gaze low as she began. "Back when the bandits attacked, the-" She made a startled sound of surprise as Samuel appeared behind them. She hadn't heard him approach, and she made to reply, but he seemingly answered his own question. She watched as he strode over to the fire, noticing the bow that was now strung over his back. He hadn't struck her as an archer, and she found a bit of amusement from the discovery.

Her gaze returned to Dan, and she began again, her expression returning to one of intrigued consternation. "That man... the one you couldn't stop. If he had truly been mortal, you would have slain him a hundred times over, but he kept coming." She shook her head in disbelief. "Then, when he knocked you unconscious, he left faster than I've seen anyone move before." She looked down to her lap. "I knew he was heading for the Princess, but that was the last time I saw him.... and the only sign that he ever existed is the cut over the Princess' brow." She looked up to Dan again. "The demon must have been controlling that man, but how was he stopped from killing Nia? Have you ever seen anything like that?"

-

Cassander gave a smirk, grasping Nia by her forearm and raising her up until they were eye-level above the water. "I don't have to turn the ocean into stone to save you from drowning. If anything, that would be counterproductive." His words were smooth and light. He gave a huff, breaking her gaze and letting her slip from his grasp. He looked out towards the horizon. The ocean had no end from what he could see.

"I don't even know how I did that back there. I'm not sure how I would manage to again." He submerged briefly, brushing his hair from his face. He looked to Nia, giving a shrug and an easy grin. "Maybe my magic is only activated when you're in mortal danger." He held up a hand, wiggling his fingers as if to cast magic. "That's a theory I would rather not test, if it's all the same to you."

TheCountryWarrior Duke of Doge Caffeine Freak

 

[TheCountryWarrior]

Dan jolted in surprise as Samuel made his presence quite known. When he moved over to the small embers Dan refocused on Ru, listening intently to her words, a sense of confusion growing as she spoke. "That's a good point. I mean no offense to the Prince, but I doubt he could've killed him. So what happened? Perhaps we should ask them when they return."

The Paladin stalked back with a frustrated look on his face. "I finally realized that the wood for the fire was still here. I helped no one. Thanks a lot!"
Rhaine Caffeine Freak

 

[Duke of Doge]

Nia met his gaze and held it wordlessly until Cassander broke the moment. Listening to his words carefully. A smirk slowly slid up Nia's face. "Here's a theory I'm willing to test!" Pause for dramatic effect and "how does Cass react when splashed?" She said quickly, splashing him with a wave of water, immediately after, she gave a short giggle, covering her mouth with her hand.
Rhaine
(I FORGOT TO TAAAG)

 

[Rhaine]

Ru nodded in agreement. "Yes, though, I have more than one question for them. That demon...it wanted the Princess. She must know something." She dropped her gaze, hugging herself tighter in the chilly air. "If it is after her, then it's after us now. We all almost died down there. We deserve to know." Her voice grew soft near her last statement. Giving voice to it only made it more real. The demon could appear again at any moment, and Ru was more than fearful in the prospect.

Her attention was brought away as the Paladin returned. She responded with cautious cadence, not meeting his eye. "Well, we will need the wood you've collected to keep the fire going through the night. You have helped."

-

Cassander's brow bent at her declaration, an amused, slightly wary look in his eye as he took in her devious smirk. He was met with a face full of sea water, and he spluttered a laugh, immediately sending a sharp splash her way. "Evidently, he retaliates." He submerged briefly, blinking the water from his eyes as he came back up. "It's good to know that some things never change." It was a playful remark, and he kept his gaze on her. Something occurred to him, and he gave a laugh. "Though...if I'm remembering this right, you were taller than me for a few years." He shook his head with a good-natured countenance.

"Thankfully, I have triumphed in that respect."

TheCountryWarrior Duke of Doge

 

[Duke of Doge]

Nia held up her hands to block the incoming wave, sputtering salt water out of her mouth. She stuck out her tongue, shaking her head "Bleh! Gross!" Once the salt taste was gone she gave a playful scowl in Cassander's direction. "Hey! Don't hate me cuz you aint me mister! I am not short. I am. Fun. Sized. And packed with attitude!" Nia said to him, always feeling defensive over her rather short height.
Rhaine

 

[TheCountryWarrior]

The Paladin didn't meet the Elfs eyes, and his frustrated glint remained. "I suppose. I'm going to... secure the perimeter. Or something." He walked to go do... something.

Dan rolled his eyes and focused once again on Ru. "That's what I've been afraid of. If it can use people, what else can it use?"
Rhaine

 

[Caffeine Freak]

Sam decided to save the rest of his thermite dust for later, instead cracking open one of the bottles he'd shoved in his satchel and pouring it over the piled firewood. He promptly dropped a lit match onto the fabrication, searing flames roared to life.

Deciding he should keep busy, Samuel elected to follow the Paladin. Appearing beside him, Sam piped up, "Don't be so hard on yourself. You helped me back there, my amusement isn't going to spark itself." Even as he teased, his eyes were on the treeline, his paranoia unable to shake the feeling of being watched by something.

TheCountryWarrior

 

[Rhaine]

Dan's words brought something to Ru's attention, and she cast her gaze out before returning to him with fervency. "If...If the demon can take hold of people... how-how do we know he hasn't done so with one of us already?" She uttered the concept with hesistance, as if she thought he might think the notion ridiculous, though they had every reason to at least consider the possibility. Her gaze towards him took on a new light, and she considered his bearing with a mindful eye. She didn't believe he was under any influence not of his own fruition. He couldn't be. His mannerisms were too finely singular, too completely his own to be fabricated. Still, she wanted to trust him, and she knew in this case, her eyes might simply believe what they wished. All the same, her countenance towards him didn't harden for a moment.

-

Cassander gave an amused, laugh-like sound at her immediate, sharp protests. He shook his head, rising and falling with the wave. "I never said you were short, and no one is doubting your level of attitude." He remarked, endeared by how quickly the slight comment sent her on the defense.

He continued, looking down at her with a light, easy gaze. "I simply commented on the fact that you are now shorter than me. That's not so bad, is it?" His voice grew quieter towards the end, though the smoothness of his cadence was not lost. They weren't children anymore, and his pleasure in standing taller than her no longer sourced from an immature competitiveness. It was a different sort of satisfaction, perhaps partly due to a fulfillment of growth, but also rising from a feeling that could only be described as rightness.

TheCountryWarrior Duke of Doge

 

[TheCountryWarrior]

Dan's eyes widened, glancing to the royals playing around in the water. They couldn't be possessed, they seemed... normal. Granted he had known them all of a week or so, but they were playing as young people do. He looked now to Sam and the Paladin. Sam seemed... uh... normal? As normal as he'd ever been anyway. But the Paladin? They'd only just met him. The prince was sure to trust one from his own homeland. The thought never entered his mind that Ru might be possessed.

Dan looked back to Ru, no suspicion present towards her in his eyes. "I can't help but think it's rather convenient that we met a Paladin on our way to the Empire. I don't know. Maybe that's what it wants, it's playing mind games with us, sowing suspicion among our group."
Rhaine
-

The Paladin shook the frustration out and turned to this guy that assaulted him at first sight. "What was your name again?"
Caffeine Freak

 

[Caffeine Freak]

Sam played with the idea of using an alias, but quickly (and somewhat depressingly) realised he didn't have much left to his name. "Samuel Weiss, at your service." He sketched a bow. "I make stuff." He shrugged a shoulder to emphasis the short bow slung over it. "I'm also a pretty slick playboy, not gonna lie." -Well, he did lie, Sam couldn't remember the last time he touched a female - yet his belief held firm in that if he said it enough times, it would actually become true. "You're... Devin, right?"

TheCountryWarrior

 

[Duke of Doge]

Nia was going to say something smart and witty, but the setting sun was almost completely gone. "We should probably head back now" she told him, letting him take the lead. Once on shore, she would speak again. "Hey, Cass." Once she acquired his attention, she soflty poked his nose with her forefinger. "Boop" she said with a childish giggle soon following.
Rhaine

 

[Rhaine]

Ru's brow bent, and she gave a nod. "You're right. I think...I think we should keep the possibility in mind, but paranoia can be a real enemy in situations like this. We can't lose our heads. We have to think rationally." She turned her gaze to the fire, holding her hands out to it in hopes of the heat seeping further through her. She was silent a moment, before she turned to look at him with a sincere bearing.

"I...I do appreciate your companionship and council, M-...Dan." She caught herself, and spoke the informal, familiar title with intention. "It is vital to have someone you can trust in times like these. I don't take our...confidence lightly, and I don't take it for granted." Her gaze flitted back to the fire, and she hugged herself under her cloak once more. "I just thought you should know." It was a quiet, slightly shy addition.

-

Cassander nodded, casting his eyes to the sky and the fast fading sun. It would grow colder soon. The light had already started to dim and disperse. He made his way back to the shore, freezing in his movements when Nia spoke his name. When she poked his nose, he gave a huff, brushing her hand away with a good-natured smile and almost a comforted disposition.

He shook his head back and forth in a manner that slightly resembled a dog, the water from his hair flying every which way. He stopped, finding his pile of clothes with no difficulty. His hair had already begun to dry, and more so resembled a large, frizzy cloud of curls than hair, and the thin fabric of his breeches thankfully took easily to the dry, northern air. It was only damp when he began dressing, slipping on his baggy, coarse layers. All the same, he did manage to dry off using his raggedy cloak. It was at least good for something.

He looked to Nia, pausing a moment before finding his words. "We should get back to the fire with haste. The light is fading fast."

TheCountryWarrior Duke of Doge

 

[Duke of Doge]

Nia used picked up her clothing, putting on her fine white cloak, which somehow remained clean through everything. Nodding in agreement to Cassander before walking back to to camp. "Hey Ru, hey Dan. We're back, obviously..." she would say upon entering the area, where she then added fuel to the fire, causing it to get larger and hotter. Nia stood next to the fire with her back to everyone else. Opening up her cloak to reveal herself in just her undergarments and using the heat to dry off. Nia blushed at the action, and was rather embarrassed. But at least she'd dry off quickly, and thats what was important. A smirk found it's way onto her lips as she'd comment at the somewhat double meaning of "Guys" she snickered "The camp just got hotter"
Rhaine TheCountryWarrior

 

[TheCountryWarrior]

Dan smiled and glanced to the floor, a small shade of red showing in his cheeks. "G-good. I'd hate to be talking to myself. Thanks for listening I suppose, no one's done that before. I not sure if you know this but, you've showed more compassion to me, a total stranger, than I've ever experienced from someone outside my family... and almost within it too. Thank you. And not to mention-" just then, Cassander and Nia showed up, causing his next words to cease existence in his throat.

The Paladin laughed at the "slick playboy"'s self title. From the looks of this child he had never been near a girl, much less was a "slick playboy". He held out a hand to shake and introduced himself again. "I am Defessus of the Holy Order of The Empire of Calcia. Pleasure to meet you mister Weiss."

Rhaine Duke of Doge Caffeine Freak

 

[Rhaine]

As Dan spoke, Ru's gaze found him with a softened, disarmed sensibility. She gave him her full attention, hanging on to every word. For a moment she didn't feel the cold. He ceased to speak, and she gave a slight shake of her head, about to ask after what he had meant to say, to chase after the unspoken words. It was only then that she heard Nia's voice, and noticed the return of the Prince and Princess. She was flustered and slightly crestfallen, but she didn't let it show for more than a few moments. She hugged herself tightly under her cloak.

She flushed at the Princess' words, casting her gaze to her lap.

Cassander gave a light laugh, running a hand through his still damp, thick cloud of hair. He took a seat by the fire, shaking his head in mock-disapproval. "Four out of ten. Not impressed." He remarked on her joke, the frigid air finally finding him with full force.

Ru gathered herself, speaking up. "Dan and I had a few questions we wanted to ask you two." Her eyes lifted only briefly. "If that would be alright."

Cassander leaned back, gaze reaching the pair a few feet away. He jokingly thought to himself that the two had been conspiring together. It wouldn't have been a stretch. He had often noticed the two conversing quietly to themselves. "Questions? What about?"

TheCountryWarrior Duke of Doge

 

[Duke of Doge]

Once completly dry, she dressed herself again. Sitting across from Dan. Blinking as she spoke "yeah, ask away"
Rhaine TheCountryWarrior

 

[Caffeine Freak]

"Likewise." Sam shook the Paladin's hand. "We should return to the others, looks like they're gathering up over there." He nodded over his shoulder before spinning on his heel and striding over.

Sam dropped down on the midpoint between Nia and Dan, stretching his limbs toward the fire. "Ooh, twenty questions, I love this game." He began idly chucking twigs into the flames, secretly eager to devour any arising gossip.

Rhaine TheCountryWarrior Duke of Doge

 

[TheCountryWarrior]

The Paladin nodded. "I quite agree! After you sir!" The Paladin followed San over to the fire and laughed as he sat down. "Oh I love that game!"


Dan regained a measured composure as he relayed his and Ru concerns, ignoring Sam and the Paladin, looking directly at Nia and Cassander. "We were wondering as to the nature of that demon we encountered in your family's vault, and that bandit that threw me down like a doll, even though I had mortally wounded him several times over. Why did he hunt you down, Queen Nia, when he could've killed all of us? This also begs the question... what happened to him? Where did he go? I assume he was under the influence of the demon, but why would the demon want you? And where did he go?"
Rhaine Duke of Doge Caffeine Freak