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[Selena]

The hull of a small Calatian longship, finally used as intended, ran aground on a rocky beach at least a thousand miles from their homeland. Selena and her small crew of elite warriors had discovered a large bay on the western edge of the continent and decided that was as good as place as any to make landfall. Their instructions were to take a land route down to the southern tip of the land, so tall cliffs must have bordered the shores there. She didn't want to sail all the way down to find out and then be forced to double back. She preferred overland routes. Having grown up underground, she didn't feel entirely comfortable on the sea. It was too... exposed. Granted, the Koridian navy having many powerful ex-pirate vessels with dozens of cannons probably had something to do with her discomfort.

Selena jumped over the side, her boots landing in swirling tidal waters, and helped pull the ship onto the shore with the others. Unlike those powerful Koridian vessels, the smaller Calatian longships were light enough to be carried straight onto land for safe-keeping. When the longship was secured on the beach, Selena sized up their location. The rocky beach led into rolling grasslands, beyond which were thick trees. It was a temperate land, not unlike the northern half of Verden. Mountain peaks could be seen in the far north, and to the south, the direction they were heading, was a steady, even rise in terrain. Apart from the chattering of animals and the sound of the wind, the land was silent. They hadn't seen any settlements. It was wild and untamed.

Selena liked that. Maybe, when her skills as a leader were no longer required, she could go out and explore the unseen for a few years. Almost as good as fighting.

With so far to travel, there wasn't much time to waste. Daylight was going to be a precious commodity. Selena grabbed her bag of supplies from the longship and slung it over her shoulders. Her spear would make for a good walking stick. She had sketched the coastline on the way down with a small stick of charcoal, so she had a small map going for Calatia's records in the future. She'd have to keep it going every time they stopped for a rest. Korento could be a valuable place to strike Koridai from, provided that the Empire hadn't discovered it yet. If they had... well, maybe things weren't as barren as they seemed.

"Stretch your legs out," Selena said to the others. She took her own advice. "We've got one hell of a walk ahead. Be sure to shout if you see a wrinkled old hag. Either Chik or the Witch, whichever one we encounter first."

She waited for the rest of her team to get their acts together before setting forth.




(ooc: You can still wrap up stuff in the Hall thread if you want, but good to get this one going!)

[Sir Turtlelot]

Turtlelot rather enjoyed the long voyage to Korento, as it gave him plenty of time to read the book Leo had given him. Verden had quite an interesting history to it. One thing he did notice, was that it has always been a very... violent, and militaristic place. It seemed as though peace was never really around, or when it was, it wasn't there for very long before somebody went to war. Turtlelot set the book to the side once the the coast was in sight. The sight of a distant coastline brought back memories from when Turtlelot had his own ship and crew. It was very nostalgic feeling.

Once they reached the shallows, Turtlelot jumped out with the others and helped pull the longboat to shore. After the boat was ashore Turtlelot took his weapons out of the boat. He put on his belt that had his tomahawk and sheathed saber attached to it, and picked up his spear. He would just have to be careful that the pointed cap on the bottom of it didn't get stuck in the ground while they were walking.

"Stretch your legs out, we've got one hell of a walk ahead. Be sure to shout if you see a wrinkled old hag. Either Chik or the Witch, whichever one we encounter first." Selena had said to the group. While everyone else in the group got ready, Turtlelot walked to the edge of the beach and stared at the ocean. Like Calatia, it was another beautiful sight. It was shame he could no longer go swimming in it though. He turned around and looked at the island.

"Let's hope the natives are friendly."

Edited by Sir Turtlelot, 18 April 2010 - 01:32 PM.

[Crimson Lego]

As he unloaded the bags of supplies from the longship and handed them over to a Snakehead, Leo glanced up at the terrain of Korento and wondered how he never thought of it being this way. It looks a lot like…the old Verden.

Before they had set sail, he had given strict orders to the six soldiers of the Baker Team to safeguard the capital. “The Koridaians will be waiting for us to become weak,” he warned. “Don’t slack off; keep the women and children out of danger at all costs.” After that was done, the dwarf selected 5 Snakeheads that had been in the system at least 3 months before Selena was attacked; thus, those chosen would be unlikely choices as imperial spies. Finally, he had headed back to his room, grabbed his rifle, packed up some food from the Cuisine, and retrieved the mission log of the diplomatic operation to Virrat from Ambassador Yildun. We met the witch in Komitaa; maybe this will give us a hint of what else she wants us to do. Just to be cautious, Leo also borrowed a grey wolf from a friend, so that they would be able to track scents and see if there were any kind of dangers nearby the expedition as they headed south.

At last was the departure. Taking up a spot in the back of the longship, the general had slowly read through every detail of the Virrat mission log, hoping to find other hints. So far, he couldn’t’ discern anything unusual besides the fact besides the words ‘Ahrem’, ‘Korento’ and ‘southern tip’. Nothing at all about what we could be facing on this continent…great. Nearly throwing it over the side in frustration, Leo contented himself by rolling up the paper and setting it aside. It might be useful lately, he had thought. After some quick conversations with the Snakeheads about each of their specialties in fighting, the general took out his gun and try hitting some nearby seagulls; he managed to down 3 but wasted 5 rounds of ammunition. Getting bored and bored by the minute without anything interesting to do at hand, he was finally relieved to hear ‘Land ho!” from one of the sailors. Finally.

Leaping out of the ship and into the water, Leo waded onto the shore, rifle gripped tightly in his hand. Locking and loading with the bolt, he scanned the area for any possible traces of previous visitors and deduced that there were none at all. Good for us. Lowering his weapon, the dwarf pulled the tracking dog ashore, and handed the leash over to another Calatian. “Give it something to eat so it doesn’t starve,” he said. After hearing what Selena had to say, he did a few short exercises, making sure his arms and legs wouldn’t be cramped from the long walk down to the southern end. Grabbing his own bag of provisions and slinging it over his chest, Leo looked around at the small region in front of him. “She’s here somewhere,” he murmured. As he spoke, the objective seemed to anchor itself in the dwarf’s mind, giving him an iron-like sense of resolve and courage.








It was time for Chikara to pay.

[tsume]

ooc: This is my first time doing this i hope i didnt mess up to bad.


Tsume awoke at the crack of dawn as he does everyday to start his working day. He lived alone and off the land so a days work was a years survival. "Ahh, another day in paradise", Tsume said sarcastically. He didnt exactly hate his life but he wanted more. He wanted adventure and glory. Living in the middle of no where with almost no one around accept that crazy witch that was always saying "The Universe knew all". Yeah there was a small town down by the shore, that he visited often for trade, but there was no glory to be found. In town he was feared. If he was pissed off by some little man, well [img]http://forums.legendsalliance.com/public/ALOT.png[/img] of people were little compared to him, he would just bash their face in without even thinking about it. He was a very angry person that the townspeople just scurried away from. He did his business there, maybe stopped in the pub to have a few shots and a few pieces of pie, and just left. He didnt really associate with anyone. He was just a loaner with a temper and love for pie. He was essentially a farmer who grew potatoes and domesticated chickens. After his daily work and trip to town, he would work out by lifting trees from their roots and tossing them as far as possible then running to fetch it and throw it again. He was extremely strong. Just years of hard work and boredom gave him this special gift.

Tsume was taking a trip to town to get some pie, when he saw a vessel come up on the beach. It was very rare for anyone to visit this distant place. so naturally curiosity struck him, and he wandered towards the ship to see what was going on.

He came upon a man slightly bigger than himself, which surprised the hell out of him because he has never seen anyone even close to his size. The man, well at least Tsume though he was a man, seemed to be wearing armor and had a off feeling about him. As he approached this thing, as he finally saw it couldnt have been a man, he was definitely curious and wondered what these weird foreigners were here for.

"Hello there! Welocome to Korento! Did yall get lost or somethin? We dont get many visitors round here", Tsume looked at the larger body of armor as it twirled around and didnt say a word.

Edited by tsume, 18 April 2010 - 08:05 PM.

[Sir Deimos]

Synile seemed to manage a longboat to himself. Well, the troops were there, but they were no names. They had names, of course, but names that weren't meant to be learned. The underlings always seemed to die off. Suddenly, there was a loud cry. One of the soldiers had spotted land. Synile was a bit impatient, and took up a spot near oars, and did his share of the rowing. It helped feel like the boat was going faster than it actually was, and besides that, his muscles could use a warm up. With some exercise to keep his mind focused, the rest of the trip seemed to breeze by.

Synile hopped off the boat and into the water, helping to pull his boat ashore. The second his boat was secure, Synile glanced at the landscape. There was a rather sizable mountain range on this land. He immediately felt the urge to explore the mountainside. That unfortunately would have to wait. Selena coached the younger members about warming their legs up for the hike. We could be walking for a very long period. Well, a long walk never bothered him. And his hangover was virtually non-existent.

It's a very good thing I refilled the reserves before this trip. Who knows what's down on this coast... It may be a long time before another drop of the drink.

Suddenly, a local seemed to run up towards the armor, Turtlelot. Synile had made a note to try and learn names before leaving for this latest mission. He also made a note of sharpening and oiling his blades before the journey. Well, the nodachi never seemed to require maintenance. Synile was far from Turtlelot's ship, and couldn't make out what the man was saying. He was what most people would find to be intimidating. Looked to be about Synile's height, but had much much more muscle mass. Synile unsheathed two throwing knives and held them at the ready, in case whomever this was turned out to be unhappy.

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

With an abrupt bump, the ship had stopped rocking. The wolf's head rose up from his rest, the swords that had laid by his side doing the same. He sprung, making a beeline past the beach, and soon the only sign of him was some odd movement through tall grass ahead.

It had been surprisingly easy to hitch a ride. All he had to do was lay in one of the longboats and refuse to move when the vikings decided to push off. Seems they didn't want to waste any time trying to move a disgruntled wolf.

For the time being, the wolf kept a wary eye on the Calatians.

[JRPomazon]

Jordan was late to leaving the ship on the account that he took a nap on the way over. He didn't sleep very well the night before because he had opted to wear his armor to bed, which history had taught all great warriors that doing such a thing was NOT a brilliant idea. Sore like you couldn't believe, he probably would have been more comfortable sleeping on a mound of freezing snow. After it had reached the shore, he was pushed off by a viking who was telling him something about not slacking off or whatever, he didn't really pay attention.

Waking up, he took in the landscape which appeared to be, in the truest of forms, natural.

"Not a bad place to live."

Verden had been nice like this, but the temperature wasn't quite as warm as this unless you went further south where the canyon and the desert used to be.

"Hello there! Welocome to Korento! Did yall get lost or somethin? We dont get many visitors round here"

Oh, a local. And he speaks in a language we can understand? This should be pleasant. The viking he was addressing though, not nearly as pleasant. He was looking at him like he wanted to smash his face. Jordan quickly moved between the two to prevent unnecessary trouble.

"We're here on business friend, perhaps you can help us get our way around. You see, we're looking for this witch who wanted to speak with us and I'd hate to be late to an appointment."

[Crimson Lego]

As the last of the luggage was unloaded and the rest of the crew got off the longboat, Leo began examining the immediate area of the island they were in. Pretty nice place; maybe we should all move here once the war is over. Unfortunately, he knew that would probably be a rather bad decision; with more population came greed, selfishness, war, and death. If there are any civilized inhabitants in this place, we should leave them alone; they don’t need a Cataclysm on their homes or people, he thought, turning to gaze at the endless ocean to the north of them. Shouldering his rifle, the dwarf immediately brought it back to a viselike grip when he heard a new voice. It said, "Hello there! Welcome to Korento! Did y’all get lost or something? We don’t get many visitors round here" (or something like that). Turning around slowly, he saw an unfamiliar man walking towards the group of Calatians.

“Stay sharp, boys,” murmured Leo softly; the group of Snakeheads immediately tightened their grips on their weapons, watching the newcomer warily. “He could be one of Chikara’s people.” Quickly, the general double checked the chamber of his gun to make sure it was loaded; sighing in relief, he brought it up and walked closer towards the man. Doesn’t seem like an imperial, but you never know. Harold Jenkins had beaten up a Koridaian prison of war in a Calatian town, and yet he had tried to destabilize the entire mission to Virrat. Agents are always where you least expect them; for all we know, Chikara could have bribed half the citizens in the nearest settlement to keep an eye on us. He could literally hear the dog behind him drooling with anticipation, as if waiting for a chance to tackle the stranger and rip his skin out.

After the Snakeheads had strategically positioned themselves around the man, Leo waited cautiously as Jordan answered the man’s question. Wouldn’t it be better to give him another reason so that the empire wouldn’t find out what we’re up too? Unfortunately, they would just have to hope for the best; for now, the dwarf would just keep the trigger at hand while he waited for a response from the stranger that would show whether he was a Koridaian or not.

[tsume]

Tsume didnt take much to being ignored. It is a sign of disrespect. Tsume's anger seemed to rise above the service quite for even another man saw this and stepped between them. He starred downed the armor, as the man spoke to me.

"We're here on business friend, perhaps you can help us get our way around. You see, we're looking for this witch who wanted to speak with us and I'd hate to be late to an appointment."

Tsume replyed in a strained voice because his anger has not yet subsided, "I dont know how much help i can be of. The only witch round here is a long ways away from here, by where my home lays. She doesnt really seem like a which, to be honest with ya. Shes always going on about something about (Tsume waves his arms around foolishly), "The Universe knows all". I think shes a nut. I help her with her home from time to time, but other than that i dont go up there. Shes just plain old weird. Now i would show yall where she be but i cant just bring trouble round for her. If you want me to help, you gotta tell me what you want with her and why i should help yall weird foreigners."

[Crimson Lego]

Narrowing as the man began saying something about knowing a witch living near his home, Leo lowered his weapon slightly and wondered if he was actually talking about the Voodoo Isle one, a fraud, or just an imperial that figured out their mission and was trying to throw them off the trail. We should probably just take his word on it; none of us know anything about this island, thought the dwarf. Snapping his fingers to signal the other Snakeheads to lower their guard, he examined the man somewhat closer.

Interesting outfit. The newcomer also seemed to be wearing a sword on his back, and some black clothing as well. From what his point of view, Leo thought that the man looked somewhat like a guerilla, judging by the light clothing he was dressed in; he also wore a red eye patchs over his right eye. A former pirate, maybe? He could be here on Steel’s orders, spying on us. After all, he is one of the highest Koridaian officials.

Sighing, the general stepped forward. “Thank you for the offer,” he said, smiling. “However, friend, it may be better if we all get to know each other before we set off into Korento. My name is Crimson; what is yours?” asked Leo politely.

[tsume]

Tsume eyes the little man.

"Hello there, I am Tsume. Well if we shall talk about all of this where should it take place. We can go into town and have a drink at the pub but if privacy is your wanting im sure we can have the pub master send over some med and whiskey. You dont have to worry about paying. Ill take care of it. Though i would prefer to talk your highest in command. As i see yall are kinda like a small army or something."

Tsume looks over the scene, sighting all kinds of men and woman in what seems to be fighting gear. Tsume is scared. The last time they had visitors like this, he lost his mother. He was prepared to fight all these people even though he would surely lose in the end. Tsume is not afraid of death but afraid of failing this land that seemingly has no protection but himself and a few men from town. If this is the Alliance he would fight and kill as many as he could for the sake of his mother. Tsume decided to try and meet the leader first. If he does deduct that they are here for horrible reasons. He will at least kill the leader.

Edited by tsume, 19 April 2010 - 10:07 PM.

[Rhiannon]

Rhiannon stepped off the boat and hoped on to the sand. She loved the warmth of this place and was so tempted to just take off her shoes and run through the oceans edges. It would be paradise to relax in the warmth of the sun for once, instead of warmth from the a fireplace. A voice snapped her out of her dreamland and reluctantly she looked to where it was coming from. A huge man came before them, he had a quaint way of talking and Rhiannon immediately sensed that this man was a friend. Tilting her head to the side she studied him and smiled. After yesterday's events Rhia decided to take a positive outlook on life and take everything in stride.

"Hello there, I am Tsume. Well if we shall talk about all of this where should it take place. We can go into town and have a drink at the pub but if privacy is your wanting im sure we can have the pub master send over some med and whiskey. You dont have to worry about paying. Ill take care of it. Though i would prefer to talk your highest in command. As i see yall are kinda like a small army or something."

Rhiannon decided to jump in, maybe she could calm him down a bit. Selena, although sensible, was not the most sensitive.

She stepped out from behind and approached the man slowly. She held up her hand to single that the others should stand at ease. She looked straight at the General, she knew he did not trust easily, however she hoped her eyes conveyed her message of trust to him. She hoped he did not feel undermined. She bowed slightly to the stranger and spoke softly with a smile.

"Good afternoon Tsume. I am Princess Rhiannon. As you have already been told, we are looking for for a witch. We require information from her. We do not want any trouble, if there is any, please be assured we did not cause it. Perhaps a drink might be nice to settle the tension we have created here. However, I shall leave that decision up to Selena."

Rhiannon hoped the Koridians would not show up, it would be so nice to have a peaceful mission for once. Plus, it would be excellent to be on good terms with the natives here because this place was simply marvellous and she would love nothing more that to get in a bathing suit and lie on the beach some day.

[Selena]

It was always better when Rhia smoothed things over before Selena tried to talk. Rhia was nice. Rhia was innocent. Rhia looked completely and utterly harmless. It was easy for her to gain the trust of strangers, and that was a skill Selena didn't so readily have. Point in fact, Selena was already pondering (at least in the back of her mind) the possibility of conquering the dear people of Korento so that she could expand her kingdom and strike Chikara from a new location. There were ample resources around, it seemed like. She couldn't help it. Conquering things had been Selena's profession for the last six centuries, and it was hard to break a habit that old. She at least had the ability to keep those thoughts deep inside her skull where no one could detect them.

Selena leaned forward and gave Tsume a respectful bow.

"I am the commanding officer of the group," she stated. "We mean you no harm. My companion speaks the truth - we're here to find the witch. I don't know how much news you hear about the continent of Verden, but our land is suffering under the reign of a super-powered tyrant. The witch came to my people and said that she could offer us assistance. We've come to take her up on that offer."

It was advantageous to expose their real purpose. It was a "good" and "noble" one, after all, despite how those words made Selena's skin crawl. It would be easy to win over the population. Perhaps she could annex Korento without having to use her weapon in the first place. But where was the fun in that? Okay, okay. Before she got carried away with the thoughts of pillaging and plundering, it was good to see what they were dealing with.

"I would be very interested in visiting your town. We know nothing of this land. We do have a limited supply of gold with us, so please don't feel obligated to buy us drinks. We can all hold a lot of liquor - you'll probably regret making that offer!"

[JRPomazon]

Jordan turned to the others that had begun to surround Tsume, unsure of what it was that was running through their heads. Leo was being defensive, he tightened the grip on his rifle as if he expected to have to fight this guy they just met. Was he always so paranoid or was the past two years made him that fearful of strangers? The princess was laying down the sweet talk like icing on a cake, not the same way Selena did before. No, this seemed different somehow, he couldn't quite place his finger on it. Then there was Selena . . . and that was all he wanted to know right there.

"Why are we going to bother sight seeing Fossil? The sooner we get going the better. We don't know whether or not Koridai will be on the move and by the looks of it, most of your better warriors are here instead of Snowpeak."

[Selena]

Selena looked back at Jordan out of the corner of one eye. "Because when a creepy looking witch suggests going to an unexplored land in order for us to receive a 'gift,' that translates as 'trap' to me. It's better to learn a little about what we may be up against before barging straight into a potentially life threatening situation. Koridai has its hands full with the remnants of the Alliance, and Chikara won't be doing anything too destructive without me there to see it. She has an obsession."

"Also, they might have some nifty souvenirs in their gift shop."

[Sir Turtlelot]

It wasn't much time from when the native known as Tsume approached Turtlelot, and the group of Calatians that soon followed to greet the man. It was probably a good thing they did, Turtlelot wasn't exactly sure what to say to him when he first approached. He had spent the entire voyage reading that book, he didn't really think to ask what to do in that kind of situation. Another reason why this was good was that Turtlelot could sense the man's anger towards him for not replying to him, but that seemed to subdue and transform into tension towards the Calatians. Turtlelot didn't blame him, considering that having a group of soldiers one day arrive on the shores, wasn't always a common thing to occur. It sometimes ended badly.

Turtlelot observed Tsume, he was a rather large man, not quite as tall as himself, but much broader. His skin that was visible was covered with scars and he wore an eyepatch. Perhaps he was some kind of warrior who had been in many battles, or just a man who got into a lot of accidents. Regardless of which, the man had an incredible amount of muscle mass, much more than that of average humans, or average soldiers for that matter. Most interesting... Turtlelot thought to himself.

However, there was something about this man that bothered Turtlelot. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was something. He knew that the man could be a very valuable ally, or a dreaded enemy. Turtlelot hoped for the first, he preferred not fighting if he didn't have to. Still, he figured he may as well try and make the best of the encounter.

Placing his hand on Tsume's shoulder Turtlelot very quietly said to the man "Do not fear for the well being of your home, we are no threat to it. This I can assure you."

Walking over to Selena and Jordan, Turtlelot spoke up "Selena, I would have to agree with Jordan on this. If the war is about to start, then we shouldn't waste our time. If I may make a suggestion, perhaps we could kill two birds with one stone. Divide into two groups, one follow Tsume back to his village to learn about the island and the witch, and another group explore the island a bit, just to make sure there aren't any Koridian bases or traps nearby. We could meet back at the village, around say, sundown and discuss what to do next."

Edited by Sir Turtlelot, 19 April 2010 - 11:40 PM.

[Sir Deimos]

"The armor speaks sense." Synile's knives were away now, convinced that the situation wasn't going to escalate any time soon. "And I wanna explore the surroundings." Synile stretched out a bit. He was still sore from the boat ride. "Plus, I'm pretty good on liquor for now. I'll accompany you as far as the village, then vanish when the big guy isn't looking. No need to let him know we're exploring the landscape. He may get angry and think we're gonna ransack something, or pillage something else. Not that I'd mind that of course... It makes sense that he'd not trust us. Also, if we do let him know our intentions, and Koridai is already here, then it'll end badly."

Synile was basically telling Selena what he intended to do, instead of asking permission. Plus, he was pretty sure she'd see the sense in it. Well... fairly sure.

"Also, dibs on leader. I mean, if a whole unit is going to be out in the field, they need someone at the helm." Synile winked at Selena, knowing it would either have her see things his way, or completely ruin his credibility.

[Steel Samurai]

The huts and workshops that lined the sands of the beach were ramshackle in appearance, seeming to have been made out of little more than driftwood and vines. The local tavern was the only building of real note. It appeared to have been carefully crafted from the trunks of the large trees which, aside from a rabbit trail of a path or two leading off into the underbrush, surrounded the beach where the party were now standing. The air was hot and dry, and though the local vegetation was plentiful, it did not look particularly lush.

Ten or so men strode out from the tavern, which had no walls on the front, but opened onto a sailcloth awning, allowing for al fresco drinking. Their skin was the color of rich chocolate, contrasting greatly with the light, tanned complexions of the other inhabitants. Seven of the men walked stiffly, hands at their sides, heads bowed. Two of the remaining men walked nervously, eyes darting this way and that, as though they expected at any moment to be attacked. They walked behind the seven. It was the man at the front of the group that was of most interest. He walked firmly, confidently, a smirk spread across his broad features. His hair was long, and hung in thick strands of rope across his back. An old smoothbore musket was slung across his shoulders, and the rest of his group carried spears with heads that glowed a strange purple color.

"Ahhh, beggin yo pardon ma'am," He said, addressing Selena. His voice was deep, rich, and carried a curious inflection. "But if I'm noot mistaken, you'ah Selenah, leadah oof the thah Calatian vikings. I be Bob, and tha witch o' Voodoo Isle sent me tah lead ye to her." He smiled wide, yellowed, sharpened teeth scattered unevenly in his mouth "This be not Voodoo Isle, as I'm sure ye knoow, but it was mah home, at least until Chikara took it from meh."

The two behind him sat down on the sand and lit what looked like a piece of rolled paper. They passed it back and forth, inhaling through one end. A strange aroma filled the air. Bob looked back and scowled.

"Eyyy, boys, don't be passin' tha janey right now. We be leavin' soon."

They grumbled and got to their feet. The other seven stood right where they were. They hadn't moved an inch. Bob turned back to the Calatians.

"I sorreh about that. Sometimes th' boys don't know when to herb and when to abstain. Me, I don't touch it. I like my mind tah be on toop of it's game. Now, it be best if we leave now. It be a far journey to tha witch, several weeks at least, even with tha witch's magic aidin' our steps." He touched a pendant around his neck. "Don't worreh about supplies, thah boys and I know everything good to eat in this forest." He turned to go, but suddenly looked back. "And I bettah noot be hearin' of any problems from your men, Ladeh Selena." His eyes were uncannily fixed right on Synile, a dangerous and intelligent gleam lighting his brown pupils. "In Calatia you may be big shit, but heah you could disappear and not a person would notice. And disappearin' ain't so difficult."

The group sent by the Witch turned, and began walking towards the underbrush.

[tsume]

Tsume watched as a man with a musket across his back and followed by what seemed to be slaves or soldiers, walked up to the foreigners. Tsume took note when the man called them Calatian vikings. He has heard of them but not much. The land had few travelers so news of the world around was rare.

Tsume suddenly tensed up when the man mentioned the witch. His information was completely wrong. Tsume wondered where this man came from and what his intentions were because obviously he was up to no good. He wasnt sure if he has ever seen the man before. He knows most of the townspeople just by his daily trips. The man didnt really seem to be from around here. Tsume was on alert now and didnt know what to do. Should he tell the Calatians that the man was an obvious imposter. Would they even trust him enough to listen. He knew for a fact that the trip to the witch was only a days walk for normal man, maybe 2 if the heat was overbearing.

Tsume looked at the Calatians around him. He thought he should tell one of them in hopes they would trust him, but which one. The General seemed way to tense and didnt seem to really trust him, the armor still had him pissed off by the disrespect, the other little guy seemed unimportant, but there was one that seemed she would listen. The Princess was a beautiful woman who seemed to be able to put Tsume at ease somehow. He looks into her eyes and sees innocence and compassion. Something he has only ever seen in his mothers eyes.

Tsume approaches the the Princess, "Excuse me Princess, may i have a word with you? Please". Tsume does this is in such a way he scared himself. He was so polite he said please.

Edited by tsume, 20 April 2010 - 08:20 AM.

[Crimson Lego]

As Selena, Rhiannon, Jordan, and the others all took their sweet time gazing around at the area and coming up with plans, Leo was turning around slowly and examining the actual continent himself. Something doesn’t feel right, he thought, watching as the group of men that claimed to be messengers of the witch spoke to Selena about trouble, business, etc. From his point of view, the dwarf could not logically understand or come up with a good reason why the witch would even bother sending a party of men that had grammar problems to set up a meeting and talk, not while they were on the other end of the island from which they had been told. Besides, she seemed to be a sorceress herself, and could have simply teleported over to give them the message. Either the witch is crazy about being formal to foreigners, or these men are friends of Tsume and rigged up the whole thing…or the Koridaians have gotten wind of what we’re planning to do here. Glancing around, Leo could see that the other Snakeheads were just as tense as he was; 2 of them even had arrows notched to their bows and were ready to attack the newcomers on his cue. Signaling a stand down sign with his hand, he turned and gazed up at the blue sky, wondering if his abilities out in the field had been compromised since the Cataclysm or recent missions.

Of course, maybe all the previous missions that had been compromised with traitors or assets were making him go crazy. The diplomatic mission to Virrat was nearly destroyed by Corporal Jenkins killed Lucas and nearly Yildun, but it was just an average thing that happened during warfare. The ‘tyke bomb’ Chikara planted in a supply carriage was dangerous, but they were probably being used everywhere to trick Vikings into letting double agents into the Kingdom. Loosening his grip slightly as he thought about the other alternatives, the dwarf truly began to wonder whether he was becoming too mentally unstable for the job. Maybe I’m seeing things or something like that; should I resign my post after this mission is over? Thinking that possibility over quickly, Leo shook his head. Who would control the Snakeheads if I go? They’re pretty skilled, but most of them like to go their own way.

Glancing up at the cliffs in exasperation, he thought saw a hunched, old woman dressed in gray standing atop the rocks, leaning on a cane; she raised her left hand as if in a greeting or salutation. A blink later, the witch was gone, no trace left behind of her existence except for a few wisps of wind on the air that was moving towards the southern end of Korento.

Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, the general turned slowly back to where the other strangers were standing; they were now headed back towards the inner part of the land. It could all still be a trap, he pondered, stroking his beard while thinking. We haven’t exactly been given too much solid information or evidence that any of these people even know who the witch is. They could all still be Koridaian spies that were given all this info from Chikara, Steel, or even General Magnus. Any of those high-ranking officers could have been Nevertheless, he intended to take up Tsume’s offer and find out what was really going on at the village. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Leo turned around and looked up at one of the Calatians. “What is it, Private?” he asked patiently, wishing the man was shorter.

“Sir, there’s another ship out there,” whispered the Snakehead, pointing out at the sea. “It came around the shore as soon as we started pulling the longboat up onto the beach. It’s been there for at least 5-10 minutes.”

“What?” Turning around, the dwarf was surprised to see a ship with black sails merely sitting there with no visible crew members on the deck. Raising his rifle up, he made some calculations and knew that he wouldn’t be able to hit it from here. Reluctantly, he lowered the weapon down and turned back to the others. We’ll have to deal with that later if there’s some time. Quickly looking over at the group of strangers, Leo gathered around the other Calatian warriors, who seemed to be discussing splitting up and exploring the continent more. “I can go with Tsume back to the village with the Snakeheads as well,” he said quietly, nodding at the 5 Calatian troops standing behind him, face to face with the settlers of Korento. “I can tell there’s definitely something odd about these people, and I want to find out whether the Voodoo witch was actually planning to give us a weapon to fight Chikara or was bluffing about the whole thing to just waste our time and keep Snowpeak vulnerable to imperial attacks.”

[Rhiannon]

Everything seemed to happen rather quickly. The men came out of the bush and she could instantly feel the tension and warning radiating off Leo. Such a distrusting man, she thought. Although as soon as their leader spoke and his words took meaning Rhiannon raised an eyebrow in question. He was directing his words towards Selena and no one else. Curious as to why he didn't take a second glance at the rest of them, Rhiannon tried to stop the retreating figure. She was just about to shout at him to stop, when the native man, Tsume, spoke to her.

"Excuse me Princess, may i have a word with you? Please". Rhiannon smiled at the man. By the slight look of shock on his face, she was sure he was in some sort of turmoil. She trusted him so far, but knew from many years of experience to be wary. She glanced at Selena for support. She had her head turned. Letting out a nervous giggle, she replied as calmly as she could.

"Yes of course, we don't mean to barge in on your land. We should be gone before you know it." She looked over at anyone in her group, hoping someone would have her back if things went awry. It wasn't as if the man scared her, he had an air of sense about him. It was his size that made her nervous.

[Sir Turtlelot]

Something was not right, and Turtlelot knew he wasn't the only one that sensed it. There was something about these men, something... sinister. Messengers didn't usually travel in groups, or at least groups that large. He could be wrong, but his intuition told him otherwise.

Turtlelot once again began observing his surroundings. He saw the village in the distance, the buildings there were interestingly made. If there was time later, he would have to go observe one. He looked over to see Leo and a few soldiers looking out onto the sea. He looked in the direction they were and saw what they were looking at. It was a ship with black sails, just sitting there. This place just keeps getting stranger...

Turtlelot noticed that Tsume had approached Rhia, and spoke to her. He couldn't exactly hear what he said, but it looked as if he wanted to talk to her alone. Rhia spoke back to him and began to look back at the group. There was a small hint of nervousness in her expression. When their eyes met, Turtlelot gave Rhia a slight nod to go on ahead.

Edited by Sir Turtlelot, 20 April 2010 - 06:10 PM.

[Selena]

The others might have been made uncomfortable by the arrival of their strange guides, but the opposite was true for Selena. Regular people were strange. She was far more used to, well, guys with their teeth shaved down to points and peculiar weapons. Oh, they were not to be trusted at all, but that was part of the whole experience. Villains understood each other very well, and it was good for Selena to be reminded of the fact that she was a villain at heart. Playing the role of Calatian hero all the time had gotten to her. If she kept it up, she might genuinely start to become 'nice.' It went against everything she stood for. A while longer and she might start acting like Rhiannon, and that was a frightening thought.

Were the guides potential Koridians? Everyone was potentially from Koridai. Did Selena care? Not really. For all Selena cared, it could have been Steel himself in blackface. After centuries of fighting, she needed challenges to keep her entertained. Although, the insistence of the guides to leave so soon put a damper on the idea of fruity cocktails by the beach. Maybe on the way home.

"Looks like we'll have to hold off on the welcome drinks and exploration for now," Selena said to those still nearby. "Guess you get your wish, Jordan. Let's move out. Keep your wits about you, but don't do anything stupid unless I tell you to do something stupid. Don't force us to kill them in gruesome ways when they know the actual way there. Supposedly."

Selena started to follow the guides, and took a look at Rhia. Discussing something with the guy as big a boulder. No time to get friendly or attached to the locals.

"After you're done talking, catch up!" She shifted her attention to Tsume. "Thanks for the drink offer, but we've got to be going! Sorry!"

[tsume]

Tsume looks into the beautiful eyes of the princess and spills what he knows and what he fears. The princess seemed upset. Tsume tryed to comfort her.

"Dont worry. The guys can easily be handled if they decide to attack you guys. I would surely fight." Tsume goes to grab his favorite weapon that his father apparently used, as told by his mother. "


"Shit!", he realizes that he has his sword and not his bo staff. The sword was a gift from the witch. He has never used it to fight with and wasnt sure how he would fare with it. He just had it on him to look cool in town.

"Damn im dumb. I dont even have my good weapon with me. Well if it comes down to it princess ill just bash all their little faces in and then take you to get some pie.", Tsume looks at the princess in hopes of a flirty response. Then Selena approached, "After you're done talking, catch up!" She shifted her attention to Tsume. "Thanks for the drink offer, but we've got to be going! Sorry!". Tsume hadnt been paying anyone else any mind, until Selena said something. Suddenly Tsume flared up and yelled, "NOO!!!", He surprised himself because he had planned on the princess informing the others of his suspensions. "You cant go with those men. They are imposters. The witch is only a day walk from here. These men are not from here and i wouldnt trust them the least." Tsume waited for a response as Selena eyeballed him with curiosity.

Edited by tsume, 20 April 2010 - 06:59 PM.

[Rhiannon]

Rhiannon, smiled at the man. So sweet. So innocent. He was big, oh yes, but much too young for her. Although, to everyone's eye she looked rather young. Rhiannon believed the Canyon had made this so. Being merely a skeleton for so long preserved the youth in her skin. However in this circumstance, she was more than old enough to be this boy's great grandmother. She giggle at the thought.

"After you're done talking, catch up!" Rhiannon glared at Selena and waved her on.
As Selena walked away, Tsume cried after her. "You cant go with those men. They are imposters. The witch is only a day walk from here. These men are not from here and i wouldnt trust them the least."

Smiling, she turned to Tsume and spoke. "Ah dear friend. Your sudden loyalty is much appreciated. If this turns out badly, we could definitely use all the help we can get. Your sword would be an asset to our group. I think, though, that you will learn we have a good head on our shoulders and can take care of ourselves."

With an innocent smile on her face, Rhiannon focused on Selena's dagger, slightly sticking out of her belt. Ever so carefully, it slipped out and danced in the air over Rhiannon's outstretched hand. This place made her feel alive and young again. Laughing, she glanced at the look on Tsume's face. "See my dear? All will be well."

[Selena]

Warning that the guides were not local? Oh, hell. That was going to drive her soldiers crazy with paranoia. Selena still didn't care. Maybe there were multiple witches on the island and Tsume just happened to know the nice one? Maybe the witch was moving to a secret location. Whatever the case, Tsume had not been expecting their arrival - the guides had.

Selena felt something move on her belt and she immediately pivoted around to glare at Jordan, thinking he'd gotten a little liberal with the placement of his hands. No, it wasn't Jordan. He was too far back and looked too surprised at her sudden turn-around. However, turning around had given her a good view of the dagger floating away and coming to rest just above Rhiannon's finger as she showed off for the local man. That dagger was a priceless memento that was centuries old! She'd taken it with her into several key battles, she'd stabbed Chikara with it, and Chikara had stabbed her right back a few years later. That was not a plaything!

Selena marched back over and snatched the dagger out of the air. She sheathed it, and this time she snapped a strap of leather in order to hold it in place regardless of whatever telekinetic powers certain princesses had. That was when Selena noticed it. The googly-eyes of the local. Tsume liked her. Rhiannon was being quasi-flirty back. Oh, no way. Time to nip this one right in the bud before it started.

"She's already part of a prestigious harem," Selena said.

At that point, she slipped one finger inside the collar of Rhiannon's shirt, and began tugging her away in the direction of the guides.

"And no doing parlor tricks with my knife, thank you!"

[Crimson Lego]

“Let's move out. Keep your wits about you, but don't do anything stupid unless I tell you to do something stupid. Don't force us to kill them in gruesome ways when they know the actual way there. Supposedly", Selena had said to Jordan before following off after the 10 guides towards the scrubs.

To Leo, following the guides could mean near disaster for the entire group of Calatians (and Jordan as well, but he had the wind on his side). I seriously hope Selena is considering every result that this could lead to, he grimaced, walking along with the Calatian leader. Over the two years that he had been in the Kingdom, fighting to bring down Chikara and the Empire, the dwarf had put his trust in Selena’s decision making and such. Just about every citizen living in Calatia had to if they were going to survive. Especially the fighters; without a head, the snake would writhe and quickly die. Leo had personally witnessed that: after Khuffie died, the Alliance could no longer regroup in another location and were forced onto Andiel, a colony 20 times weaker than what the old organization had been. Of course, the massive army they claimed to have on Verden was a good comeback, but they had councilors. Not very good emperors.

Making eye contact with one of the brownish men and merely nodding back in greeting, Leo maintained his gaze until the man looked away. He doesn’t trust me at all; I don’t either, he admitted. Now he was even seeing hallucinations, just like the witch on the cliff. She might have teleported, but why would that happen if she sent a bunch of guys to bring us to her? Glancing up at the men, the general noticed that the leader, who called himself Bob, also had a rather large gun. A musket, to be exact, he told himself. Not as accurate as a rifle, but it’s powerful enough to kill any of us in one shot. Except for Turtlelot. For a fleeting moment, Leo wondered if it would be a good idea to just shoot down the man and then force the remaining ones to lead them to the witch. Not a good idea; we have no idea what these people are like. Once they’ve seen our aggressiveness, they might kill themselves, call for help, or just shut up and refuse to move. The gunshot will probably alert anybody within a mile. Sighing, he resigned himself to defeat. The fighting would have to wait.

“You okay, sir?” asked a nearby Snakehead. He had a rather deep, assuring voice that helped with confidence. He held a large pike in his right hand and the banner of Calatia in his left, but didn’t seem like the kind of person that would kill.

The dwarf nodded in reply. “I’m fine, thanks.” Walking on silently for a few seconds, he turned back and whispered to the man. “Soldier, can you help me with something?”

“Anything, General.”

“Good.” Glancing at the brown men, who were far enough ahead to not hear anything, Leo said in hushed tones, “I want you to keep an eye on those 10 guys up there. If you need, bring in 2 of the others and make sure they don’t make any…unnecessary moves that could bring us harm. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.” With that, the Snakehead moved up a few steps, trying to see if he could hear what the strangers were saying. Sighing in relief, the dwarf gripped his rifle tightly as he gazed around at their surroundings, searching for any hidden presences. A few moments later, he heard Tsume yell something out to the group; quickly digesting the words, he turned around slowly. Is this whole thing a joke? Cocking his rifle, Leo walked towards Tsume. "What do you mean by impostors?" he asked. "What do you know about them?" Behind him, the guides were standing with confused expressions on all of their faces.

Edited by Leo Crimson, 20 April 2010 - 08:57 PM.

[Rhiannon]

Rhiannon giggled as Selena pulled her away. She gave the woman a big hug and thanked her. Rhiannon felt drunk off this place. She never realized how much she missed the sand and the sun and the warmth encircling her like a blanket. She attempted to twirl around, but was caught still by Selena's finger. Bowing sheepishly, she decided she better calm herself down before she hears a lecture about it.

"I'm sorry I took your knife, Lena. I just wanted to show that I could take care of myself. I'm a big girl, but no one seems to look at me like that. Although I don't mind the extra caution and maybe I do tend to get hurt. Hm," Rhia trailed off in thought. It was then she noticed that the bush was getting thicker. She didn't much like being in the thick of the jungle, and shivered at the thought of the bugs that could fall on her. She hated bugs.

[Steel Samurai]

Without breaking step or looking back, Bob called back to Tsume and Leo, though he seemed far too far ahead to be able to hear them.

"Oh mah boy, you be tinkin' of thah witch of Hoodoo isle, noot thah witch of Voodoo isle. She be a-livin' a few hours down that trail, there." He motioned to a trail to his right, which snaked off into the dry, pastel green and brown brush. "She's noot more than a herbalist wida taste foah philosophy. She talks a loot of crap, but I heard her real name had soomtin to do wid a mirror." He turned, looked at the two, and flashed a crooked, shark-toothed grin.

"Nooww, everyone had best stick with thah group. You go wanderin' ooff and there's noo tellin' if you be found or no."

[JRPomazon]

Jordan tapped the dwarf's shoulder in a playful manner, getting his attention almost immediately.

"Leo, you're making me nervous. Calm down." He said as he watched the guides move on.

"You're a big shot general now right? What kind of leader shows this kind of tension in front of him men AND superiors? If things do get out of hand, and that is a big IF, then we'll take care of it."

He looked over at Selena, who was talking to Rhiannon and Tsume about some sort of harem.

"The fossil is keeping her cool, follow her example."

It was a miracle he just said that, hopefully no one heard that. He moved away from Leo and moved along. One of the ways to survive in the cursed lands was to make sure suspicion and paranoia, although healthy in moderate doses, did not control everything you did. If you were too frantic, you would move too much and the cursed would be on you like flies on a horse's ass. If you stayed in a "safe place" for too long they would hunt you down eventually. After witnessing many warriors fail to exercise this kind of restraint, he realized that to not get this habit down was to ultimately forfeit your life. He walked closer to Selena and the others.

"Oh come on now Fossil! Let those crazy kids have some fun, eh?" He shouted to Selena, a sarcastic tone in his voice but mostly just giving her a hard time.