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Oh, thankyouthankthankyou for posting, I was so bored it wasn't even funny. Anyhow, I don't have time to post right now but I will tomorrow morning. Btw, I LOVE Trinias's sig!


Sya kneeled on the ground to get a better view of the cabin. It looked very old, being covered in moss and lichens and exposed to the weather for goodness-knows how many years.

She peered at it, holding her breath. Was it really part of The Huntsmen's village, or just an old house? Was it safe to go explore? She voiced her thoughts to Trinias.

He shrugged. "I'm not sure, but we'll never find out if we don't go look. Come on," and he began walking in the direction of the cabin.

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Need a name??? Need a character??? I GOT LOTS!!!
Email me or visit my site at [url="http://"http://www.danicsoft.com/kat"]http://www.danicsoft.com/kat[/url]

[This message has been edited by iKaterei (edited 01-04-2002).]

Violet walked up to Moonshadow to try once again to have a conversation. "Wasn't it exciting back there?" she said. "I've never been on a real adventure before, have you?" "Yes." replied Moonshadow solemnly. "Will you tell me about them?" asked Violet, "Fine" she said. Moonshadow sighed and began her long story.

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"Have you done 7 impossible things before lunch today?"

Moonshadow looked up as Violet approached, figuring she wanted to resume the conversation that had been interrupted before. Not that she really wanted to talk about it, but she appreciated Violet's good intentions. She was pleasantly surprised that Violet did not ask, and began her tale. She shortened it considerably, though, and mentioned only the more recent events, since telling the whole story would have taken too long, and she didn't feel like it, either.
When she was finished, Violet fell silent for a while, thinking about what she had been told. "And what caused your bad mood, then?" She asked quite unexpectedly.
"Well..." Moonshadow began. "I had kind of an argument with an, uhm, friend of mine not so long ago, and I really don't feel like talking about this right now. Suffice it to say that man are all stupid, and were only created by mistake."
Violet tried hard not to laugh.
Moonshadow looked around, and sighed. "Okay... there are a few exceptions. But Flynn's not." She crossed her arms, pouting.
"Ah...yeah." Violet said, a little confused. From what she had gathered, the two were almost engaged.
"Oh, never mind... anyway, we've fallen back. Better hurry up!" Moonshadow quickened her pace, smiling at Violet and enjoying the mild breeze, uhm, the cold wind. A storm was coming, she could feel that. She would have to think about a better protection for Arsloss. If she modified the spell a little...
It wasn't much later that Slayer announced they would set up a camp. With Sya and Trinias gone hunting, it wouldn't make much sense to continue, so they could better start looking for a suiting place for a camp.

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As l lay in my bed staring at the sky I asked myself:
Where the hell did the roof go?

[This message has been edited by Moonshadow (edited 01-04-2002).]

"Finally" Violet whispered under her breath "I have gotten Moonshadow to smile, and to talk to me." While the others were setting up camp Violet started to make preparations for dinner.

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"Have you done 7 impossible things before lunch today?"

Sya followed Trinias over to the cabin. Apparently, they were at the back of it, so they walked around until they came to the doorway. The wooden door had long rotted away, but the porch was still there. Trinias walked up the steps and peered inside. "Nope, it's too dark to see anything," he said. "Do you have a torch or a candle?"

Sya nodded. She pulled a torch out of her bag and lit it, then handed it to Trinias. He stepped inside and glanced around. Sya followed him.

In the flickering light, they could see that animal skins were hung from the walls. Surprisingly, they looked as if they had just been put there. They must be preserved by magic of some sort, Sya thought. She walked over to one and ran her hand down it. this fur was beautifully soft, and it looked faintly silver, but that may have just been the light.

At the end of the house there was a large fireplace. Ashes were still sitting in the bottom of it. There wasn't any furniture except for a heavy oak table which had been pushed up against the wall.

They stayed in the house for a few minutes, and then Trinias turned to Sya. "This definitely looks like it could have belonged to The Huntsmen. If it did, then there must be other houses near here."

Sya nodded and led the way out of the house. All around, plant life had overtaken the area. Trinias blew out the torch so as to not set fire to anything.

It didn't seem like there was much else, but Trinias bent down to examine something. He beckoned Sya over and gestured to the ground. "It looks like there used to be a path here. Most likely they had their homes slightly separated, with paths running in between each. The vegetation has covered most of the old routes, though."

Sya agreed. Actually, she couldn't see anything remotely resembling a path, but she trusted Trinias.

Trinias led the way through the undergrowth, making a path through the thick plantlife. At one point, it was so dense that he turned back and asked to borrow Sya's quarterstaff. He used it to push aside the vines and bushes.

After a minute or two, they came into a clearing. Two houses had been built side by side. Trinias turned back to Sya. "I'll look in the left house, you take the right one. Oh, here-I should give you your staff back." He handed back the quarterstaff and they both walked over to the cabins.

Sya stepped into the house. This one at least had windows, so she could see inside. It seemed that the occupants of the house had been more wealthy- the furs seemed of a higher quality and tusks of some animal were mounted on the wall. There was some elaborately carved furniture, including a polished oak desk. There was paper and a quill on the desk. Obviously the paper was preserved by magic, because otherwise it would have long rotted away.

She looked at the papers. They were apparently records of sorts. Some listed trades that had been done with people in Cademia, and some appeared to be a journal.

Suddenly Sya realized that Trinias was standing right next to her. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "I didn't hear you come in. Look- I found some records."

Trinias nodded. "I think these two buildings belonged to the same person, probably the leader of The Huntsmen. This would be his office, and the one next door was where he lived."

Sya looked around at the house again. "I wonder why they left. I mean, from the outside it looks really old, but the inside was probably preserved by magic. You can still see that they were very wealthy."

"I really don't know," Trinias shrugged. "From the looks of it in his house, they left very suddenly. There's still food on the table, and there was a broom lying on the floor like somebody had been sweeping."

"Really? That's odd. And that brings up another thing- if they left so suddenly, why go to all this trouble to preserve everything?" Sya frowned.

"Once again, I really don't know. Anyhow, it's getting dark outside. We really should go back to find everyone else. Maybe we can come back here later." His tone of voice indicated that he planned on returning, sometime or other.

Sya nodded. She wanted to stay and look for other houses; they might be able to find something else out. But Trinias was right. The others might be looking for them.

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Need a name??? Need a character??? I GOT LOTS!!!
Email me or visit my site at [url="http://"http://www.danicsoft.com/kat"]http://www.danicsoft.com/kat[/url]

As Sya and Trinias were walking away from the two houses, Sya felt something strange under her foot. A loud hiss suddenly shot from the thing under her foot, and Arsloss stood on the tip of his tail, making himself seem very large and looming with his hood open to Sya.

Sya gasped, but then saw that it was Arsloss.

'Do not ssstep upon me, Sssya! I wasss looking for thee...you and Triniasss...'

'We explored and found these two marvelous houses, Arsloss, and we were just about turn back,' said Sya timidly.

'It isss all right...Sssya...for I am no enemy of thee...' Arsloss stated as he lowered himself to a more comfortable height. 'But pleassse, when thou hast returned to thy camp, exsssplain all about thisss houssse you ssspeak of...'

Sya and Trinias walked quickly back to the camp, and then told about these three houses they found. Slayer looked quite interested, and declared that he himself would look at these houses -- with whoever wanted to come along. Everyone, it turned out, wished to come.

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YakKa Foob MoG. GRuG
PubbuWuP ZiNk WattooM
GaZoRK. CHuMBLE SpuZz.

As Violet was preparing dinner, Sya, Trinias, (and Arsloss suprisingly) returned. When Slayer announced that he was going to inspect the houses, Violet willingly agreed to go. As they approached the houses a great silence filled the air....

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"Have you done 7 impossible things before lunch today?"

The clouds that were above the mountains the previous day now covered the whole sky. As the party set out for the Huntsmen's village, guided by Trinias, Sya and Arsloss, the snow began to fall.

On the way Slayer spoke to Trinias. "I understand that you're a pretty good outdoorsman. Does that extend to mountains?"

"Yes," responded Trinias, "I'm most comfortable in the woods, but I've done some mountain climbing in my day."

"Good. Ordinarily, I think most of us would have little trouble in mountains, but with this weather..." Slayer stuck out his hand, letting a few flakes accumulate in his palm. "I think some of us may need the help of an experienced mountaineer."

The group approached the abandoned cabin, wondering what they might find.

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Slayer's guide to Cythera:
[url="http://"http://www.macclassics.com/cythera/cythera.htm"]http://www.macclassi...era/cythera.htm[/url]

[This message has been edited by Slayer (edited 01-05-2002).]

As they re-entered the building that had been an office, Sya glanced speculatively at the furs hanging on the wall, then turned to Arsloss.

"They may make some good, warm clothing for you, don't you think?"

"Yesss, Sssya, you may be correct, yesss," the serpentine creature replied. "Will you asssissst me?"

Sya nodded, and helped him take down the chosen pelt.

Trinias, after briefly showing Slayer and the others around, went to stare out the window. "You know," he commented after a while, "that snow's getting quite heavy - and I suspect it'll get heavier. I don't think we'll find a better place to shelter than this. Why don't a few of us go fetch our gear, and we can set up camp in the buildings?"

Slayer and Avatara joined Trinias at the window. "Good thinking, Trinias," Slayer said. "We better do it quickly, while we can still find our way. Rogan, Talos, Brink, lend a hand!"

As the six men walked out the door, Violet hurried to catch up. "Where are you going?" Moonshadow queried. "They should be able to handle everything, between them."

"Yes, but they might forget to bring my dinner!" Violet replied, as she disappeared out into the falling snow.

Moonshadow gazed after her for a moment, then sighed. "And if I don't go, they might all get lost. I doubt Trinias has much experience finding his way in a blizzard!"

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On the other hand, you have different fingers.

[This message has been edited by Trinias (edited 01-06-2002).]

"Well, I turst you can set everything up here as far as possible," Moonshadow commented, to no one in particular, as she slipped out of the door, closing it behind her silently. For a moment she stood still, turning her face upwards and enjoying the snow falling through the branches. Then she set off after the men and Violet. At the rate the snow was falling, they'd probably be stuck even before they reached the old camp, which was quite some way ahead. Better hurry. She started to run, her feet barely even touching the snow, and not leaving a trace*.
It didn't take her long to find out that they had obviously lost their way. She stopped to think for a moment, then decided to take the risk of flying in this weather. She transformed, and took wing, sweeping over the nearby areas in low circles. The group shouldn't be too hard to spot, unless they found a shelter somewhere.


*Did I ever tell you that I really like Legolas (no matter whether movie or book)? No? Well... (edited out due to the possibility it might be interpreted as attempted planning)

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As l lay in my bed staring at the sky I asked myself:
Where the hell did the roof go?

[This message has been edited by Moonshadow (edited 01-06-2002).]

Something was wrong with Rogan. He couldn't put his finger on it, but his mood was definately changed. He used to be talkative as well as creative, but during this quest he had stayed in the back, not saying too much at all. The wine didn't taste too good either... and now, he was fighting the elements as the snow fell down on the group, more for every second. And it started to become colder and darker.

Slayer broke the silence: "It's getting colder, we have to speed up" he said.

"We would want to get back to camp before it gets completely dark" Rogan said, "a lot of hungry animals out here, no doubt, and with this weather..."

Rogan got interrupted by a sudden howl, presumably coming from behind them.
"What the Devil was that?" he said as he turned back and unsheathed his sword. Brink, who was walking behind Rogan, didn't stop and bashed into him - nearly knocking Rogan to the ground. Fortunately, he didn't hit Rogan's blade.

"Sorry!" Brink said, "I can't see a thing here!"
And he was right, it was getting much darker, and impossible to see anything.

Talos lit a torch. It helped a little, but the heavy snowfall still made it hard to see anything. "But what was that howl?" he asked and looked back.

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Light a candle for every sinner, put the world on fire!

Visit my [url="http://"http://home.no.net/huffweb"]homepage[/url]! Currently only in Norwegian, but soon English as well.

[This message has been edited by Rogan (edited 01-06-2002).]

There was another howl, louder this time. Whatever it was, it was getting closer.

Everybody was tense, waiting for the animal- if it was an animal- to appear. Some of them were holding their weapons.

Suddenly, a huge white wolf bounded into the clearing. It took no notice of the seven people, instead letting out another long howl. It stared up at the sky for a minute, taking no notice of the swirling snow, then finally it turned its attention to the seven people standing there.

They couldn't help but notice that the wolf's eyes were glowing blue. It gave a creepy effect, with the light illuminating the nearby snow.

Rogan took a step toward it, brandishing his sword, but it growled ever so slightly and shook its head. Rogan stopped walking, not out of fear, just that it seemed to be saying, 'Don't come any closer.'

The white wolf barked and ran over to the humans. It stared at them intently, then to everybody's surprise, said in a calm voice, "Hello, my kithayas."

Slayer stepped forward. "How do you know how to speak?"

The wolf smiled at them. It raised its head so they could see the chain around its neck. From the chain hung a small sapphire.

"This amulet is the Amuleus un Aurora- the Amulet of Light. I can speak to you with it." The wolf smiled again. "I am called Silvre. I will not ask of your names, for many do not like to reveal them, but if you wish you can tell me later. Now, to business- Yours first, mine later. Where are you going in the blizzard?"

Avatara stood next to Slayer. "I don't mean to be impolite, but why do you want to know what we're doing?"

"Because you obviously are lost," the white wolf said simply. "I can lead you to shelter."

Now Trinias stepped forward. He sensed that they could trust the wolf. "We're getting our supplies, and taking them back to our shelter."

Silvre nodded. "I saw the supplies a little ways back. Wait here, I shall fetch them for you." The wolf leaped out of the clearing.

It returned soon, carrying some of their possessions in its mouth. It dropped them at Slayer's feet, and left again.

The wolf took many trips back and forth between them and their camp, until at last everything was there. It looked at them wisely for a moment, then spoke again. "Now, you have your supplies. Do you know your way back to your shelter, or do you want me to lead you?"

The group exchanged glances. Did they trust the wolf to lead them to the right spot? And how would it know where their camp was?

Silvre shook her head. "I know what you are thinking. First of all, you -can- trust me. I have contact with somebody that you may know from Cademia- I shall explain later. And I saw you leaving the old cabin of the Huntsmen- how I know what it is, is not important. Now, you seem to be undecided. Most likely that means you don't know your way back, so, pick up your supplies and follow me!"

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Need a name??? Need a character??? I GOT LOTS!!!
Email me or visit my site at [url="http://"http://www.danicsoft.com/kat"]http://www.danicsoft.com/kat[/url]

The white falcon swooped around in a great arc, scanning the ground below through the falling snow. She heard the wolf howl, and saw it approach the group; she easily recognised Silvre, and knew the group was in good hands.

Exhilerating in the feeling of flight, she continued to soar as high as she dared towards the dark and glowering clouds. As she rose, she became aware of another's thoughts impinging on her own - she'd forgotten that once she was in bird form, with Temrel's ring transformed with her, there was a telepathic link between her and Flynn.

If she'd been able, she would have grimaced in annoyance.

The trace was faint, and Flynn was apparently unaware of it; the link was stronger at her end, probably because it was her transformed ring that initiated it. Once her initial anger faded, she realised that Flynn was thinking mainly about her - and he was very depressed.

"He misses me!" Her heart began to lighten at the realisation. She allowed herself to lose height, until she was low enough to alight upon a branch, high up in a tree. She settled in to do a little eavesdropping.

----------------

Trinias nodded to Silvre, somehow instinctively trusting her. "Please, lead on."

Silvre seemed to look right through him with her deep, penetrating gaze, then turned and trotted off in what everyone hoped was the right direction. Trinias picked up his and Sya's packs, and set off after the wolf. Violet slung her pack on her back, then picked up the still warm pot of her stew that Silvre had thoughtfully retrieved with the other gear. She then followed after Trinias.

The others stood around for a moment, looking at each other questioningly. Then Slayer shrugged, slung his pack on his back and also started out after Silvre. The stillness having been broken, the others followed his lead.

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Sya looked up as the door burst open, and Trinias stepped in. At least, she thought it was Trinias; it was a little hard to tell through the layer of snow covering him. Without a word, he handed over her pack, and went to stand with Arsloss, shivering, in front of the fire he'd started in the hearth. Callie was curled up on the large mantle, soaking up the rising warmth.

"Did you get lost?" Sya asked Trinias mischievously, as the others began to file in from the cold.

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On the other hand, you have different fingers.

In the cabin, all but Sya huddled around to, or got as close as possible to, the fire. Sya took some food from the packs and gave it to her hungry, cold, and tired bretheren. Soon, they were quite warm. A little bit of Rogan's wine was passed around before everyone was quite ready to go to sleep.

Slayer yawned and then spoke, "Everyone is here, correct? Good. We can go to bed then," he continued, "as I assume we are all dead-tired."

"Hey, where's Moonshadow," Talos said, "she was with us when we went out to get our stuff... we lost track of her!"

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Bronze: the other gold metal.   | |   And so the space toaster hardened the outer layers of the doughy, ooey-gooey ancient Earth...
Bacchus Publishing: [url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/vftp/show.pl?product=evo&category=guides&display=date&file=ChroniclesByJake101.sit.hqx"]Chronicles by Jake101: the unposted chapters[/url].

Violet was just about to fall asleep when she heard someone say Moonshadow was gone. She sat up and got her eyes into focus, "Everybody stay calm" Slayer said, "I need five volunteers to go out and find Moonshadow.". Violet was the first to raise her hand.

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"Have you done 7 impossible things before lunch today?"

[This message has been edited by Violet (edited 01-07-2002).]

Trinias looked up at Slayer's request, and sighed; he'd only just thawed out. "She's a winter elf, remember, she knows what she's doing. But if it makes you feel better, I'll help search."

He turned back to the fire, soaking in as much warmth as he could, while everyone made up their minds.

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On the other hand, you have different fingers.

Sya nodded. "I'll go and look for her too, since I didn't go out earlier. She may be a winter elf, but these storms can be bad for anyone. It's not safe to be out there."

She stood up and began putting on her cloak.

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Need a name??? Need a character??? I GOT LOTS!!!
Email me or visit my site at [url="http://"http://www.danicsoft.com/kat"]http://www.danicsoft.com/kat[/url]

Trinias looked regretfully at the furs on the wall, but there wasn't time to make one into anything wearable. Instead, he pulled a nondescript grey hooded cloak from his bag, and put it on. Behind him, Sya gasped - he'd seemed to vanish before her eyes.

"That's no good, Trinias," Slayer commented. "If you wear your chameleon cloak, we're just as likely to lose you too!"

"Got it covered," Trinias replied. He turned back to his gear, and unsheathed his bow.

"Wow, that's really something!" Sya exclaimed, seeing the Opal Sting's swirling, glowing colours.

"Just keep an eye on the bow," Trinias explained to Slayer. "It should make a good enough beacon."

Slayer nodded, satisfied. "All right then, all who're coming to search for Moonshadow, lets get moving."

Several of the occupants of the cabin walked towards the door. "I would have liked to asssissst thee," Arsloss said, as Slayer made for the exit.

"It's all right, we understand," Slayer replied. "Being cold blooded, you're not really suited to these conditions. Just keep the fire going for us, OK?" he grinned, as he closed the door behind him.

He looked around at the snow covered ground. It was already about 3 feet deep - deeper in places - and still falling heavily. Visibility was very poor.

"Right, last time we got lost far too easily. This time, we need to make sure we can find our way back. Does anybody have some rope?" Rogan quickly began digging in his pack, and after a few glassy clinks, pulled out a coil of thin rope. "Ideal."

Slayer inspected the wall of the cabin, but found nothing to fasten the rope to. Seeing the dilemma, Trinias fired an arrow into the base of the wall, at a steep angle. Slayer tested it, and decided it would hold, if not overstrained. He tied the rope, and stood up to address the group again.

"We'll follow the rope as far as we can; after that, we'll see what we can come up with."

Single file, they marched out into the forest, always keeping one hand on the rope.

"Everyone fan out," Slayer instructed, as they reached the end. "Violet, stay here. Everybody stay within sight of Violet - she's our marker. If you happen to lose sight of her, stop and call out."

At that, most of the group split up and moved off in different directions. Trinias hesitated; seeing that, Sya held back too.

"Aren't you going to go and search?" she queried, a little annoyed. "Isn't she a friend of yours?"

"Don't you care if she isn't found?" Violet asked, shocked.

"It's not that," Trinias commented, deep in thought. "I'm just not convinced this is the best way to go about finding her." With that, he raised his bow and loosed a shaft high into the sky; as it left the bow, it burst into a bright flare of red light. They watched the red streak arc high up into the sky, then fall back to earth some distance away, out of sight. It was followed by another, and another; eleven in all. Then Trinias turned slightly, and repeated the process - again, eleven red glowing arrows.

The two girls looked at each other, and shrugged.

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Moonshadow was contentedly basking in the warm glow of Flynn's thoughts, high up on her branch, when she was suddenly distracted by a red light arcing through the sky. She followed the path of the light with her sharp Falcon's eyes, until it stuck fast in the snow, some distance away, still glowing. It was followed by several more, at roughly the same trajectory, all landing fairly close to the same spot as the first. After the eleventh light had fallen, they stopped.

She realised then, that they marked out the letter 'M'.

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On the other hand, you have different fingers.

[This message has been edited by Trinias (edited 01-10-2002).]

She tilted her head slightly, wondering, at first, what the sense was in 'drawing' an M on the snow. Then realization hit her. They were looking for her! How stupid. She was a winter elf after all, she knew how to survive a blizzard, and a Cytheran blizzard was really no problem, at that. But they were apparently worried, and so it would probably be better to return. But what a pity it was... oh well. Her companions were probably freezing out there, so she shouldn't keep them waiting. She spread her wings and jumped of the branch, gliding down to the ground. There she transformed back to walk the rest of the way. It was a nice feeling. It didn't take too long, not even with the storm, to find the way back to the edge of the forest. She saw Trinias, still with his bow in hands, Sya and Violet in the cover of the trees. Apparently, none of them had noticed her. She could probably have stayed there, unmoving, and they'd never see her as long as the blizzard still raged, because she just fit in perfectly with the background. With a sigh, she descended further down the slope. Trinias noticed the movement and called Violet's and Sya's attention to it. Violet waved as she recognized Moonshadow, and the elf waved back, smiling. Trinias called out for the others to return, and Moonshadow couldn't help but feel a little guilty when she saw how they were covered in snow and obviously freezing. Everybody whole-heartedly agreed when she suggested to return immediately, effectively avoiding any curious question as to what exactly she had been doing.

*Btw, Violet, if you'd post some info about your character in the Character Info topic, that would be great, and helpful for us when writing about your character *

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As l lay in my bed staring at the sky I asked myself:
Where the hell did the roof go?

[This message has been edited by Moonshadow (edited 01-09-2002).]

When they arrived back at the cabin everyone went to bed except for Moonshadow who still hadn't her dinner yet. "I'll tell them in the morning," she decided " but first I need to eat and get some rest.".

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"Have you done 7 impossible things before lunch today?"

Halfway through the night, Sya woke up. She hadn't really been able to sleep. Maybe it was the wind howling outside- she was a light sleeper, after all.

Sya waited until her eyes adjusted to the dark, then she quietly got up and looked around. Everybody had gone to sleep on the floor, and they all appeared to still be asleep. She silently walked around them and stopped by the window. It was a good thing the window had glass on it.

The glass was completely frosted over. She used her sleeve to make a small hole in the frost so that she could see through. Snow was swirling outside and the wind was making a terrible racket.

Sya sat there for a long time, watching the blizzard. It wasn't a normal winter storm. There was just something... different about it. Something not quite right. She shivered, glad that everybody was inside.

"Cold?" came a voice from behind her. Sya turned around in surprise and saw Trinias standing there.

"Oh!" she said. "You startled me. Don't do that anymore," but she was smiling.

Trinias grinned back and draped a blanket over her shoulders. "You shouldn't sit by the window without a blanket, not in this weather anyways."

Sya nodded, grateful for the blanket. She hadn't noticed it before, but it was very cold by the window. Making sure not to disturb the people still sleeping, she told Trinias what she thought about the storm.

He looked at the window, which had completely frosted over again, and said thoughtfully, "You're right. I don't know how to describe it, but there's something odd about this blizzard. I'm glad Moonshadow's back."

"Me too," Sya said. "Oh, by the way- I really like your bow. That was amazing when you used it earlier, when we were looking for Moonshadow. Are all of your arrows like that?"

Trinias shook his head and proceeded to explain about the bow. Sya listened intently, and grinned broadly when he finished.

"I can't wait until I get my own bow," she sighed. "I guess I'll have to settle for my quarterstaff, though."

"Maybe you'll get one soon," Trinias shrugged. "But for now, I think we should get some sleep. If this storm has let up by morning, I expect we'll be leaving again."

------------------
Need a name??? Need a character??? I GOT LOTS!!!
Email me or visit my site at [url="http://"http://www.danicsoft.com/kat"]http://www.danicsoft.com/kat[/url]

[This message has been edited by iKaterei (edited 01-09-2002).]

Trinias awoke gradually, with the smell of coffee in his nostrils. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see Moonshadow holding a cup and waving it under his nose; knowing how much she detested the stuff, he took it to be a kind of peace offering.

"Thanks," he said with a grin, sitting up and taking the cup from her. He sipped a bit, then sighed in satisfaction. "That's really good."

"I wanted to apologise for ignoring you," Moonshadow said. "It was uncalled for, no matter how mad I was at Flynn."

"I understand," Trinias replied. "Just don't do it again, OK? We Ronin share a strong bond, it's true; but you've been through so much with us, you're like part of the family now." He reached out and gave her hand a squeeze. "And that has nothing to do with Flynn!"

Moonshadow smiled, and ruffled his hair. "I'll just think of you as 'little brother', then."

Trinias laughed softly, glancing around to make sure he hadn't woken anybody else.

------------------

Violet awoke to the smell of cooking. She wasn't sure exactly what it was, but it smelled good. Blinking her eyes open, she saw Moonshadow sitting by the fire, occasionally doing something to a pan.

"Wow, that smells great!" she enthused, walking over to kneel by Moonshadow. "You'll have to give me the recipe!"

Moonshadow laughed. "Oh, I'm not the cook! Trinias just asked me to watch his pancakes while he went out on an 'errand'."

"Trinias? He cooks?" Violet seemed quite surprised.

"Yes, 'trail' cooking, Flynn calls it. Trinias is used to hunting alone, and fending for himself. He also said something about thinking you deserved a break."

A short while later Sya, Rogan and Arsloss had joined them, gathering warmth from the fire and waiting patiently for breakfast to be ready. Moonshadow had almost given up waiting, when one of the windows banged open and Trinias crawled through.

"Why did thee enter in sssuch a ssstrange manor, friend Triniasss?" Arsloss enquired.

"See for yourself," Trinias replied, indicating out the window and along toward the door. Several of the group, curiosity piqued, did as he suggested.

"Wow, that's some snow drift," Rogan commented. "How are we going to get out, with all that piled against the door?"

Sya shrugged. "If we have to, we can always use Trinias' exit."

Trinias, by this time, had inspected the pancakes and decided they were ready to serve.

"I'll do that, if you like," Violet offered. "It's the least I can do, since you saved me having to cook anything."

Trinias thanked her, then wandered over to where Sya was still looking out the window.

"Look what I found in one of the other cabins," he said, unwrapping a cloth wrapped bundle he'd brought back. Inside was a four-foot bow, complete with quiver of arrows.

"It's not a very powerful one," he continued apologetically, as Sya's eyes widened, "but it's a good size to get started on."

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On the other hand, you have different fingers.

[This message has been edited by Trinias (edited 01-10-2002).]

Just then Slayer noticed a flash in the half open window. He quietly pointed this out to Trinias, and they proceded towards it. The others seemed too wraped up in Sya's new bow to notice anything. Trilnias opened the window, and peered out into the frosty morning. Trudging through the snow several yards away was a man in a heavy dark cloak.

Exchanging glances with Slayer, he then proceeded to call out. "You there, reveal yourself". At this point as the others began to wander over, (Sya half-hoping this to be an oppertunity to 'try out' her bow) the man walked foward.

"Who are you?" asked Slayer, as he drew his sword. Cautiosly he eyed the man's staff.

"Thar be no need to draw arms, master" purred the creature. It was now apparent that the man was not a man at all, but rather a half-tiger half-man creature. The others, unswayed, began to clutch weapons also.

"Who are you though?" asked Trinias suspiciously. The creature lowered its hood revealing the head of a male tiger, with deep yellow eyes and large whiskers.

"I be Garendor, and I come from far away"

*Please read my new character post"

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[This message has been edited by Majik Tiger (edited 01-10-2002).]

Sya looked at Garendor. She was used to seeing unusual species, but this person was very interesting. she had never seen the likes of him before, and judging by everybody's else's expressions they hadn't either.

Slayer poked his head out the window to talk to Garendor. "Is there any particular reason why you're in the middle of nowhere, just after a violent snowstorm?"

Garendor smiled. "I could ask the same of you, my friend. But for now, I have a question of you. Be you on a journey to someplace?"

Slayer nodded. "Yes, we are- we're headed towards the mountains."

"Then, would you be so kind as to allow me to join you on your quest?"

Surprised, Slayer turned around to face the others. "Is that okay, if Garendor comes with us?"

Everybody exchanged glances. Did they trust him?

To everybody's surprise, Violet shrugged and spoke up. "Well, I think we can trust him. I mean, he hasn't tried to attack us or anything, and..." she lowered her voice so Garendor wouldn't hear, "even if he does try to attack us, we're more than a match for one person."

The rest of them nodded in agreement. Slayer looked out the window again. "Yes, we all agree that you can join us. Now, you might as well come on in and have some breakfast- we were just about to eat- but unfortunately you'll have to come in through the window. The door to the cabin is blocked."

Garendor nodded and climbed in through the window. He noticed as he came in that something definitely smelled good!

***

Sya sat down on the floor next to Trinias. She set her plate down and picked up the bow, running her fingers along the smooth wood. Sya had often imagined owning her own bow, and now all of a sudden she did have one.

Trinias watched her examining the bow. "Do you like it?'

Sya looked up. "It's wonderful! I can't wait to use it, but I'll have to learn how first. Maybe-" she looked anxious, "maybe you could teach me?"

"Well, you're going to have to wait awhile," Trinias laughed. "I don't think you'll be doing much shooting in this forest- too much snow and trees."

"Oh, of course," Sya grinned. "And I expect we'll be leaving as soon as we can get out of here. I mean, there's your way through the window, but some of us might have trouble getting through and it would be difficult to get all of our supplies through as well."

Trinias nodded, and looked around at everybody eating their breakfast. "I really hope we can get past that snowdrift somehow. This cabin wasn't built for so many people."

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Need a name??? Need a character??? I GOT LOTS!!!
Email me or visit my site at [url="http://"http://www.danicsoft.com/kat"]http://www.danicsoft.com/kat[/url]

*** OoC ***
Avatara: I wasn't sure if you intended to post the 'exit' or not; if you still want to, just edit the relevant bits out of this post.
*** BiC ***

Breakfast was soon over, and everyone busied themselves packing up. Unnoticed, Avatara slipped out the window.

"One thing to remember about that bow," Trinias remarked to Sya, "we know the Huntsmen used some magic, at least to preserve things; we don't know what magic, if any, they placed in their weapons." Sya nodded in understanding, and turned back to her packing.

Trinias then made his way over to the desk, and picked up the two books Sya had looked at earlier. He wandered over to Brink, and handed him the ledger. "This might be of interest to you, since the Huntsmen traded a lot with the people from Cademia."

"Thanks, I'll look at it later," Brink replied.

Trinias took the other book over to Moonshadow. "Sya thinks this might be some kind of journal. If it is, it might explain why the Huntsmen left so suddenly, and why they never returned. Worth a look, do you think?"

Moonshadow looked at him speculatively. "Sya thinks? Haven't you looked at it yourself?"

"Uh, that's something else I've been meaning to ask you," Trinias responded. He was highly embarrassed, and his face burned bright red. "Do you think... I mean, if you can find the time... maybe when all this is over..."

He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. "Do you think you could teach me to read?"

Moonshadow stared at him in astonishment, just as the door opened and Avatara strode back in. There was no sign of any snow.

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On the other hand, you have different fingers.