Forever on the run }{ ~OPEN~

[Kilaray]

Jarrah gave a quick nod of thanks to Talwyn as he heard Echo ask her question. Nibbling on the fruits, he took a quick second to orientate himself with the area. Come to think of it, which direction would they be going? Usually he just wandered without paying much attention to where he was.

Maybe he should draw this out before he confused himself too much. He'd be a little more likely to remember their route that way.

Doodling with his finger in the dirt, he marked where the ridge, Tamasha Village and a few other points of interest were. Once he figured out where the temple was located, he added a few more mountains around the area that would be to the southwest of where they now sat and tapped the empty space right in the middle of them.

"There. That's where we're headed. The temple's nestled in that little valley between the mountains. It'll take at least a couple weeks to get there if we make good time." He remembered something then and paused for a second. Ooh, wait... Might have to make a bit of a detour...

He'd almost forgotten. His village - or what was left of it, anyway - was located not far from that valley. They would have to pass pretty close to it to get to the temple. While Jarrah wasn't certain, he had his suspicions that his brother had settled in there with his band of cronies. At the very least, they should give that area a wide berth.

Hoping Echo and Talwyn hadn't noticed his hesitation, he tried to brush it off and instead returned his attention to them, smile back in place. "If we could secure some horses somewhere, we could cut off some time," he added, handing the pouch back to Tal.

[laraine]

Echo nodded to Jarrah as she looked at the map with him.

Hmmm so it's a temple...

She tried to ignore her somewhat empty stomach and instead concentrated on the fastest way to get there.

He is right, we will probably need horses from somewhere.

She thought for a second, then realized a town a bit from here had been recently hit by the very beings she had been tracking and meaning to kill. She saw it on the way, if they get there within another day or so the horses might still be there.

" I think I know of a place to secure some horses. But we'd have to get there fast. It's a town nearby, but it recently had been attacked." She didn't want to scare the two. But the sight of the town itself would probably scare them a lot more.

It was then that her stomach growled and she blushed. "Are those fish done?" She asked, trying to not look either of them in the eye after that embarrassment.

[Talwyn]

((OOC: SORRY SORRY SORRY. I was tired, lazy, feeling blah, etc. etc. Will try to reply sooner again next time!))

Talwyn eyed the map carefully and nodded. "Doesn't seem that hard to find. Though as you said, it'll take a fair bit of walking to get there..." Taking the pouch back from Jarrah he glanced at the man. Obviously he had noticed the hesitation, though other then glancing at him to see if anymore information was forthcoming he did nothing.

As Echo informed them they might be able to find horses at a recently attacked town he shifted his weight slightly uncomfortably. He was used to dealing with the more... greyish, side of the law. But he was not without his honor and morals. Of course, if there were no survivors there would be no problem... then again... would they really miss three horses?

He had already grabbed one of the fish when the girls stomach rumbled. With a chuckle he held out the fish for her while grabbing one of the other two. "Yeah, they're done. So let's eat them and hurry up to that village shall we?" He had made up his mind. They'd get some horses there, one way or another, and find that temple as soon as humanly possible. And he would at long last rid himself of this curse.

[Kilaray]

((OOC - That's okay, Tal. It happens. ^-^))

Biting his lip, Jarrah did his best to hold in a chuckle at the girl's embarrassment. He had to turn his face away for a second to keep himself quiet. Once he knew he could talk again and keep a straight face, he turned back to Echo. "Another country heard from, huh?" he said with a quick wink to let her know he was just teasing.

The thought of heading to a village that had recently been attacked left behind an unpleasant feeling, though he was quick to push the thought aside. Demolished towns reminded him of something he would rather forget. But at least Echo had given a heads-up. It would be easier to hide his initial reaction once they got there since he knew what they would be getting into.

After everyone in their little band of misfits had finished eating, he did a quick check in his bag to make sure everything was there that was supposed to be. "Okay, then. We ready to head out?"

[laraine]

(OOC: No worries Im actually very patient )

Echo made a face at Jarrah's teasing, but ate her fish faster than a normal human would. She stood up as the others finished and nodded to both boys, then gave them both a small smile.

As they walked through the ridge, Echo wondered about how much she should tell them about the town that had been attacked. She knew her lord would not like her talking about the bandits, and her involvement with them.

Still, when they saw the damage those evil beings could do....She wished she could tell them...

But she already made a mistake going with them on this quest. After it was over she decided to disappear.

It only took them a couple hours to make it to the outskirts of the town. Echo stopped and looked down.

Before them lay almost a wasteland. Some structures still stood, but barely. The town had been consumed by a fire it appeared. A large and dangerous one.

On the ground in various places were the burned and bloodied bodies of this towns inhabitants. A couple of stray horses were neighing and running around the outskirts. They appeared to be confused without their masters.

The air itself was thick with fire and death, although the fire had long since burned itself out.

[Talwyn]

Surveying the village, the gruff adventurer became even more quiet. His hands were clutched into tight fists and he was trembling slightly. A single glance at him however, showed it was from rage rather then fear. Without a word, he started moving again towards the village. Looking around, it was quite obvious there were no survivors and as such, being the pragmatic person that he is, headed for one of the houses that seemed to have withstood the onslaught rather well in comparison.

Going straight for the kitchen of the ruined house, he scoured the shelfs and cabinets in search of food before moving on to some of the other houses that looked promising. After he was done he rejoined Echo and Jarrah. Reaching into the pouch he pulled out one of the apples he had just found and casually tossed it to the girl.

Checking the horses, he went over the sturdiest looking of the beasts and heaved himself into the saddle. "You two ready to go?"

[Kilaray]

Try as he might, Jarrah couldn't completely mask his initial reaction at the sight of the destroyed town. Almost immediately his smile disappeared and the slightest hint of a scowl appeared on his face. It was clear he was disgusted. Alaron's mercenaries may have been deceptive and ruthless - but at least they didn't take out entire villages like this.

Shoving those thoughts aside, he turned his attention to the nearby stray horses. As Talwyn wandered off, Jarrah went about calming the animals so they were approachable. It kind of worked both ways. Dealing with the horses helped get his mind off the condition of the town and the unpleasant memories that surfaced as a result. By the time Talwyn returned he'd resumed his casual demeanor and had - for the most part - gotten the animals under control.

One horse, though, was still rather skittish. So when asked if they were ready to go, he simply nodded and climbed into that one's saddle. The animal gave him a bit of a hard time and stomped around a little. But Jarrah managed to calm it relatively quickly and held onto the reins of the remaining horse to keep it still so Echo could hop on.

[laraine]

Echo blinked as she saw Tal disappear into the city, only to return and toss her a apple. She caught it and started to chew away. Then she noticed that Jarrah was calming down the animals and waited for her to climb on.

She was agile, so jumping high enough to get on a horse was no problem. She smiled to Jarrah. "Thanks!"

She then turned to Talwyn and waved the hand that held her apple.

"I think were all ready Talwyn lets go!"

Still, she looked back at the decimated village and bit her lip.

I swear... one day I will kill those people..the ones that did this..

[Talwyn]

((OOC: I am once again terribly sorry for the late reply. I know it's only three days but my mind is occupied by Starcraft II (beta invite w00t) and some more personal stuff leaving me feeling not all that creative atm.))

Tal merely shook his head as the girl sounded almost enthusiastically about leaving. He had forgotten what it was like to have others act like that around him as most people preferred to avoid him. With a click of his tongue, he ordered the horse to start moving and he rode out of the village without looking back.

Recalling the crude map Jarrah had made earlier that day he slowed his horse as they reached a fork in the path. Eying both paths carefully, the beast came to a complete stop as he pulled back the reigns. Patting the horse absentmindedly his eyes narrowed as he kept looking from one path to the other.

The right path was a more direct course... but something was nagging at him from the back of his mind. Wait, a broken bridge! That's it. The path lead to a bridge, but last time he was here that bridge had been broken. And considering how desolate this place was, such a bridge wouldn't be repaired quickly.

Looking up at the sky, he noticed it would be dusk soon and the path ahead could be treacherous. Finally turning to face Jarrah and Echo, they could clearly see the impatience in his eyes. "...From what I remember from last time, the bridge on the right path was broken. My advice would be to just assume it is still broken and take the left path..."

There was a slight pause as he looked away again. "That path however is quite treacherous even in broad daylight... So I shall leave it up to you to decide if we set up camp here or continue." Obviously, Talwyn was anxious to keep moving. In fact, he gave the distinct impression that had he been alone he probably would have ignored the risks and gone ahead.

[Kilaray]

[[OOC - Don't sweat it. I've been busy with yard work, anyway. ]]

That road was dangerous, huh? He didn't have to be able to read minds to tell that Talwyn would have kept going it if was just his choice. And to be honest, Jarrah couldn't really fault him for it. But if the path was that bad even during the day, it didn't make sense to keep going when darkness would soon be setting in.

So with an apologetic smile to Talwyn - as he knew how anxious the other was to continue on - he said, "Perhaps we should stop for the night, then."

[laraine]

Echo looked at both boys reactions and decided from there what to do. She yawned and looked tired.

She rubbed her eyes. "We can go on if you'd like Talywn. But I'm afraid I wont be of much use power wise until the morning. That's how they work. If its as dangerous as you say I would become dead weight and you both would have to spend your time protecting me. It would be smarter to start out in the morning. Don't worry, we will make up for lost time tomorrow I promise." She looked at them both and gave a small smile.

Besides... I have to talk to my lord to tell him this turn of events....

[Talwyn]

Shaking his, Tal jumped from his horse. The beast seemed relieved to be released from carrying such a burden. "You're powers are irrelevant Echo." He stated rather bluntly. "The dangers this path carries are not mere bandits or wild creatures. It is hard to navigate with a lot of uneven footing. Even in full day light it will be quite an arduous task to keep ourselves from falling down into the chasms below."

Tieing the horse to a nearby tree he looked around. He rearranged the food pack and without a word scurried of into the bushes, obviously trying to find some extra food. Returning sometime later he did not look entirely satisfied. Sitting down with Jarrah and Echo at the camp fire he took out several strips of jerky which he passed around before nibbling on one himself.

"I managed to set some crude wire-traps near a watering hole. With some luck one of them will have a rabbit or something tomorrow morning." And with that he grew quiet again. In his mind he was mulling over whether or not he should take the two any further. Thinking about it, he realized he himself would not have aided either of the other two without expecting anything in return.

Also... it was his own fault he was like this now. Dragging others into danger just wasn't right. Which in turn caused his mind to turn to the question of whether or not he owed them the truth of why he looked like he did. He really did not wish to discus it... but from what he remembered, the path ahead was truly dangerous and it was not up to him whether or not his new companions wished to take a risk like this.

[Kilaray]

In the silence that followed, Jarrah couldn't help noticing how Talwyn seemed to have something weighing on his mind. As a medic, he'd learned early on how to read people by their body language and expressions. But he knew better than to prod. If Tal wanted to talk about it, then he would. Otherwise it wasn't his business.

After a moment or two he stretched and stood up. "Excuse me a minute, would you?" He didn't wait for them to respond before heading into the nearby trees, giving the skittish horse a quick pat on the nose as he passed.

He didn't go far, just enough to be out of sight of the other two. Leaning against a tree, he let his eyes drift shut and tipped his head back against the rough bark. Eventually his mind began to wander. He realized then that he'd forgotten how to carry on small talk in his time on the run - hence his reasons for going off on his own for a bit. The silence had grown a bit uncomfortable.

The more prominent part of him would be glad when this whole thing was over and he could go his own way again. It had become easier to just avoid dealing with people, period.

[laraine]

Although the short black hair masked her true hair color. She was a red head through and through. The instant Tal told her, that her powers would be useless. Her pride and anger flared. She was certain he didn't mean the talk in such a mean way. But unfortunately Echo was young and rash. She also wasn't used to dealing with people, especially men. A faint memory of her brother floated through her mind, and her anger was temporarily forgotten. A sad smile formed on her face as she ate the jerky.

She was losing energy not being able to eat as much as she was used to. The silence between the them all finally broke as Jarrah got up to pet the horse and think.

Her attention soon turned to the two boys, sighing inwardly at the fact that they were both so lost in their own misery and thoughts that they refused to work as a team.

Echo's eyes darted to a tree suddenly. she could smell the foul beast from here. A human soaked with the blood of innocents.

Her own objective entered her mind once more. That was right, she had to slaughter those demons before they killed more. and now they were spying on her. Its true the bandits believed she was a threat. But she hadn't been tailed by them before. It made her feel uneasy and she felt if she let the man get away, the bandits would do something to hurt the others as well. But still, she didn't want to scare the two spies away. She leaned over to Tal close enough to whisper in his ear.

"Listen. we have two spies to the right of us. They aren't a part of Jarrah's brothers group. They are the group I'm after. I'm going to tell Jarrah, but don't attack them yet. If they get away we might have more trouble later on. I want to attack them when their guard is down...Okay?" She smiled to him, then stood up causally and walked over to Jarrah, startling him from his alone time. Again she got close enough to whisper to him.


"Jarrah sorry. but it looks like we have trouble. Sorry, it looks like the band I'm tailing decided to give me spies. I need you and Tal not to attack them until their guard is down...if they get away I don't know what those bandits will do to us. They could make things very difficult." She smiled to him again and made her way back to the fire. She stood before the fire and stared into its flames. Waiting for the perfect time to attack the spies.

[Talwyn]

((OOC: Well, it's a reasonable length, which kinda surprises me since I didn't feel like writing but ok. Don't expect too much yet though.))

He wondered how the girl could be so sure, but saw no reason to argue. He merely nodded as he folded his hands behind his head and lay down, staring into the sky. Was it really necessary to attack these "spies" though? After all, it could just be a figment of the girls imagination. She was only 16 and had already gone through a lot, it wasn't that much of a stretch she was imagining things.

Besides... even if there -was- someone spying on them, well, Tal would personally congratulate him if said person was still on their tail tomorrow evening. With all the forks and winding paths, not to mention the little shortcut he planned on taking if the cave hadn't collapsed in the meantime, it would be pretty hard to keep tracking someone who did not wish to be tracked.

Still staring at the clouds, he heard Echo coming back to the fire. Lazily, he pointed up as if trying to point out one of the clouds to her. To any potential onlookers, it would seem like he was merely talking about the clouds with her. "Are you certain we are being watched? And if we are... does it matter? I highly doubt they'll be able to keep up with us once we leave here tomorrow."