• Graded • Burned Bridges

[Vluharqih]

CREDIT

Arc 716, 27th trial of Ashan

Loud shouting pulled Alex from Uleuda, jarring her into the conscious world. She bolted upright, eyes widening as she took in an odd red light flickering across the canvas of her tent. The voices outside were getting louder, and she could almost make out what they were saying. One word was repeated over and over, though for the life of her she couldn't understand it through their thick accent.

At the same time as she finally heard what they were yelling, she realized what the strange light was.

Fire

She tried to leap to her feet, tumbling gracelessly to the ground as the blankets tangled around her calves. Panicked, she tore them off and stumbled out the tent to a terrifying sight.

The far side of the camp was engulfed in roaring flames, the heat buffeting at her as she tried to make sense of the scene. Kydrel's tent, set up at the base of the tree, was covered in fire, the heavy canvas sagging as it ate through the wooden stakes. The horse, panicked, was screaming as falling embers landed on its back. The smell of singed hair made her gag, and she rushed over to untie the beast.

It yanked and pulled, nearly catching Alex's fingers in the knots as she struggled to untie it. She cowered behind the horse, trying to hide from the heat. Her fingers slipped over the tight knots, and they refused to yield despite her best efforts.

Finally, in desperation, she sprinted back to the tent and grabbed her dagger. She slashed at the ropes, determined not to let her horse die with so far still to travel. The terrified animal tore past her, knocking Alex to the ground as it sprinted away from the fire. She turned to watch it go with a sense of dread, the realization that it might not come back dawning on her.

But a pair of strong arms reached out and caught the poor beast as it fled, and hands stroked its neck gently as it whinnied and bucked in place.

Two burly men had caught the horse as it ran down the hill. As soon as they halted the horse, they quickly shouted something to each other, and one began to sprint towards her. As he drew near, Alex saw a strong, broad face mostly covered by a thick beard. He was yelling at her, and like before, she couldn't make out a word of it. His hands were waving, gesturing, almost threatening Alex.

After all, its not often a man as wide as a house comes barreling towards you, let alone in the middle of the night when your camp is on fire.

Oh great. What's this now. A robbery too?

She was not in the best frame of mind. As the strange man headed up the hill, he gave up on shouting and headed straight for her. Tensing, she crouched as the hand that held the dagger clenched the pommel. He came closer and closer, and just when she was about to swing, he charged past her.

He pulled at her bags sitting perilously close to the blaze, heaving them down the hill as if they were filled with feathers. She had taken them down from the horse last night- together the two packs weighed nearly as much as she did. After the bags tumbled down, he reached around the tent, simply pulling the stakes from the ground. The heavy canvas filling his arms, he ran back towards the other man who was still holding the horse. Alex was in shock, unable to process what was going on. Confused, she half walked, half stumbled down the hill after her bags.

She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to do, or how she was going to stop a man who could likely throw her as easily as the bags, but she had to try. As she drew near, the men turned and looked at her, still talking. The dagger in her hand was drawn, and she unsteadily walked closer. The one man gestured to the other, still babbling, and his companion simply plucked the blade from her grasp, setting it down gently on the ground. They turned and looked at her, smiling.

"What were ya planning on doing with that?" The one asked her. As her heartrate slowed, she could finally hear through their accent.

She opened her mouth to speak, but a coughing fit wracked her body.

"You- you can't take my stuff." Her voice sounded hoarse and weak, though a tinge of fight could be heard.

The men looked at each other again and laughed deeply. "We don't want your stuff. We saw the fire and figured we'd help."

Alex blushed, slowly realizing how ridiculous she had been. As she turned to look beside her, she realized that Kylar was still missing.

"Wait! My...I don't know exactly what he is. But there was someone else in that tent!" She gestured towards the remains of his tent, overshadowed by the enormous pillar of flame surrounding the tree behind. As she did so, she realized the futility of the statement. Anyone in there would be dead.

The two men looked at each other, and shrugged, confirming her thoughts. "He's long dead now. Nothing you can do for him."

She stared blankly at the flames, not sure how to feel. One the one hand, she didn't really know him that well, and what she did know about him was that he was an impatient, isolated asshole who liked it that way. But at the same time, he was still a person, and aren't you supposed to feel bad when someone dies? Regardless, she turned away from the flames, deciding to just put it behind her.

"Well ya can't be staying here. Come on back to our camp and we can talk about this in the morning." The pair of men grabbed her packs and horse and headed off, leaving Alex no choice but to follow.

[Vluharqih]

CREDIT

Arc 716, 28th trial of Ashan

The men were Frys and Freh, twins from the city of Uthaldria. The pair were the most pragmatic people she had ever met, and that was saying quite a bit. Their rough ways and coarse tongue told Alex that they were uneducated long before the topic came up in their conversation, but they possessed an abundance of common sense. It was nearly impossible for her to tell the two apart, and the twins seemed to be amused whenever she would mess it up.

When she had arrived at their camp, the pair had set about efficiently setting up a spare tent they owned. Within bits her stuff was set up, leaving her surprised and slightly peeved. The men hadn't given her much of a choice in the matter, though it hardly seemed to be on purpose. Rather, it felt as if they didn't even realize she might disagree, or not want to share a campsite with them. Granted, she had no other real options, but she still would have liked to be given a semblance of a choice.

The men bustled off to bed soon after she crawled into her tent, and their soft, rhythmic snoring drifted through the fabric, into Alex's ears. The sound was peaceful and gentle, and had lulled her off to sleep. She had slept more soundly than she had since she had started the trail, and felt significantly better when she woke.

The next morning the smell of bacon cooking permeated the camp, and she stumbled out of her tent to discover the twins had cooked for her, assuming that she would be hungry. The pair seemed to have half a pig roasting on the fire, and she had watched in awe as they covered it in a sea's worth of salt, and devoured it all.

She had heard their story between mouthfuls of meat. The two were exotic animal trappers, men who braved the dangers of the Fields of Gauthrel to harvest various parts of the terrifying beasts that roamed the lands. They were currently out on a contract to collect the stomach acid from Black Gulpers and Death Worms, which was then processed into a disinfecting agent for doctors.

She had fallen silent at the last bit of information, remembering the previous night, and what kind of predicament she was now in. Kydrel had died, and his money was in his bag, in his tent. This meant that she was out 100GN and a guard. There was no way she'd be able to kill the worm herself, and she was running low on funds to hire someone else.

The site fell silent as the twins watched her struggle with something, giving her the time she needed to sort through it. After lengthy deliberations, she asked if the pair would be interested in another contract.

"Well we might be, but that depends on what you'd be wanting from us." One of them, Freh she thought, spoke without even looking at his brother.

"Oh, not much. Just wondering if I could just get at the next Death Worm you catch. I need the eye." She spoke flippantly, but fervently hoped that they would agree, as she had no where else to turn. If they didn't agree, she'd have to try and cross the Field alone, and find someone in Uthaldria. Luckily, the pair seemed interested.

"Um... The beasts don't have eyes." One of them looked at her with traces of sympathy across his face, but Alex had no time for his condescension, even if it was unintentional.

"Yes, there is. One eye, deep inside its head. I expected those who claim to hunt the monsters would know that." Her tone was snarky, and the brother had the good grace to blush and look down.

The other brother spoke up, leaning forward intently. "And ya won't be touching the stomach?"

"No. I just need the eye, whole and undamaged. I'd be willing to pay you... say 55GN?"

The brothers turned their heads quickly towards each other and leaned back, studying her. They seemed suspicious of her all of a sudden, and she could almost see their walls go up. She fidgeted under their scrutiny, wondering what was going on behind their eyes.

"Well you must be sent by Karem herself. You said 55GN?" Their voice showed the incredulity, and she frowned at their tone.

"Yes, why?"

They turned back to each other, nodding once.

"You've got yourself a deal."

[Vluharqih]

CREDIT

Arc 716, 31st trial of Ashan

The twins later informed her that their father had developed 'pissing stones', as they called them, but the medication was too expensive for the family to afford. The exact price it would come out to was 55GN, and it something they had been discussing the night they saw Alex's fire. She felt an odd tingle down her spine at the words, but shrugged it off as coincidence.

The trials had flown by, and soon the long-awaited night began. The brothers had spent the day preparing for the Death Worm, having chanced upon its tracks early in the morning. The massive hole it left made Alex's stomach turn.

Thank the Immortals I found them... I doubt Kydrel and I could've taken something this big. Her worries didn't seem to be shared by the twins, who were nearly giddy with excitement at finding the tracks. They claimed that the beast would be nearby, having burrowed deep underground for the day. At night, when the bright sun fell, it would reemerge somewhere around the central hole, and be looking for food.

They set up their camp at noon, far away from the entrance. The fight with the beast would be messy, and no one wanted a flukey strike or swing to cause the Death Worm to crash through their tents. After that, they headed back out, a pig in tow.

Alex, after hearing their plan, couldn't help but smile- their ingenuity was impressive.

The trills ticked slowly by as the three sat behind a rock, several dozen feet away, covered in grasses they had cut down. The Death Worm seemed to work mainly off its sense of smell, and by providing live food so close they hoped that it wouldn't notice their scent, partially hidden by the grass.

Alex meditated during this time, realizing that she would be of little help if anything went wrong. Her skill with the blade could best be described as 'abysmal' and she'd be more likely to hurt herself than the Worm. After Frys had forced her to practice her knife skills in front of him, he had demanded that she sit this fight out.

"Watch and stay quiet- ya might be able ta learn something."

Breathing steadily, she planned on doing exactly that. Her mind felt like a rock in a river, and she felt some tension leak from her shoulders she hadn't know she was carrying.

It's been too long since I did this.

She tried to remember when last she had set aside time to meditate, and came up blank. Regardless, her slow breaths made the time fly by, and soon she was jolted from her peace and quiet by the brothers scrambling over the rise.

She peered over the hill to see the worm. She had completely missed its arrival, the pig nowhere to be seen. All she could see of the worm was a long, writhing pink body, slime glistening on its skin. It was seamless, and she couldn't tell which end was which.

This might be a bit harder than I thought...

The brothers yelled, splitting up as they circled it. They both drew bows, shooting arrows into the worm, though it seemed to be a useless task. The arrows lost most of their speed as they pushed through the thick slime on its body, barely pricking the skin.

But the pressure caught the worm's attention.

It whipped around, a smooth blob seeming to be its 'head' scenting the air for its prey. It seemed to list sideways, momentarily, before righting itself and lunging forward. Frys (or Freh) jumped backwards, expecting the sudden motion. The end of the worm opened as it leapt, small pincers extended from its flesh to try and pull the small human in.

It was then that the other brother shot his arrow. Back and forth they traded its attention, each one managing to dodge the Worm's thrusts, mere inches from a rather gruesome end. As the Worm twisted and turned, Alex caught sight of something she thought might be the pig- a large blob about halfway down the body, pushing out the sides much like a snake that swallowed an egg.

She watched, unable to help the occasional gasps as a the Worm missed by a hair, or when the slimy body of the Worm obscured her vision. Eventually, even she could see the effect their combat style was having on the beast; its lunges were slower, and it took it a few trills to turn back to the other twin. It moved slower and slower, and the brothers took advantage of its flagging energy. They pressed their luck, dodging in close to slash with shortswords they drew from their waists, before dancing out of reach. Blood, thick and black, soon soaked the dirt and the noxious smell made Alex gag.

If that's the blood, how bad is it gonna smell when I try to find its eye?

Regardless, she was way too far in now to quit.

As she watched, she saw the end. One of the Uthaldrians leapt in, changing their rhythm. As he flew through the air, he landed on the beast blade first. It cut deep, and the blade obviously sliced something important as the Worm fell over, unmoving. The brothers relaxed their tense stances. Freh (or Frys?) hopped off the corpse and up the small hill towards her, beckoning her down. She clambered down the hill, gazing around the empty field as she did so. With how intently she had been watching the fight, a whole horde of monsters could have crept up and she wouldn't have known.

Luckily only the crickets were around for miles, the bright moon lighting the grassland as well as any torch. As she approached the dead beast, the rancid smell grew worse. The brothers seemed immune to the stench, and invited her to climb up.

"Well come on then! The nights a wasting!"

She patted the small blade at her waist, suddenly realizing that it was beyond inadequate for the job.

"Any chance I can borrow that?" She said, gesturing to his bare blade.

He passed it over, and she glanced back to the corpse, reluctantly drawing closer. She stabbed the blade deep inside, trying to remember what she had been told as a child. Was it in the head, or in the ass? The head would make more sense, but these...things weren't made with 'sense'.

She sawed the blade back and forth, very aware of the eyes watching her. The thick, mucous-like slime coated her hands and dripped down to her clothing. As the blade inched its way through the body, even more blood spilled out, and she gagged. The black liquid steamed in the cold night, the steam rising from it soon soaked her body and she felt herself begin to sweat.

Finally, she had cut all the way around, and she peeled back the skin. The flesh was transparent now that the blood had drained out, and she peered, trying to make out the blob that was the eye. Seeing a shape that might have been the eye, she shoved her hand through the jelly that made up its body. She forced herself not to gasp, scream, faint or in any other way embarrass herself. But Immortals was it hard, The slightly warm body was rapidly cooling, but the occasional spasm would run through it as the brothers poked and prodded, looking for its stomach.

I can do this.

She leaned in, feeling the warm jelly seep up her arm to the shoulder, and her fingertips just brushed the edge. Stretching, she hooked a hand around the back of it, and gave it a sharp yank, severing the cords attached. She pulled it out, ignoring the disgusting sucking sound it made as her arm came free.

And there it was. Finally. After over a season of work: the eye. It was misshapen and lumpy- the first time that she had ever seen one before the tumors had begun to grow. She felt a grin creep onto her face as a sense of satisfaction seeped through her.

To the others, however, Alex baring her teeth was a terrifying sight. She was covered in every fluid the Worm had to offer, blood spattered across her face. But the feral grin as the light shone off her eyes made the twins take a step backwards. Then the moment was gone, and she was just a young woman, filthy and reeking.

[Vluharqih]

CREDIT

Arc 716, 72nd trial of Ashan

She arrived in Etzos after one of the longest trials she had ever had. The horse had been returned to its owners, which meant she was required to walk the remaining week on foot. She had run most of it as a Velox, tightening some straps to adjust the backpack to work better on a four-legged beast. But for the last trial she had stayed a human, not wanting to draw any extra attention to herself.

She had risen before the sun, and had watched her shadows lean towards the city on the horizon as it fell. Finally, she was back in the city.

Home.

The thought came unbidden to her mind, and she stopped in place, not noticing the curses from those behind her as they crashed into her.

What?

It had been a long time since she had felt comfortable in a place, or felt as if she belonged. And after only spending a week here, she already felt like that? What was wrong with her?

Shaking, she pushed the thought aside to deal with another time. As she pushed her way in towards the crowds in the Outer Ring, she felt increasingly claustrophobic. The season of solitude had changed her, without a doubt. She was far more comfortable with only her own company now, and more independent than she had been before. Several attempted robberies by lone famers, thunderstorms and a freak blizzard had given her confidence in her ability to survive whatever the Immortals threw at her next.

She arrived at the Gardeners Grace, and sighed as she looked up in the dim light at the hanging sign.

Well, here goes the rest of my life

[Maltruism]

Come and get your Loot!

(There's plenty more where that came from)

VLUHARQIH:

Skills:

• Animal Husbandry +1
• Blades +1
• Detection +1
• Endurance +1
• Etiquette +1
• Field Craft +2
• Hunting +2
• Intimidation +1
• Persuasion +1
• Surgery +1
• Tactics +1

Knowledges:

• Basic
  • Adjusting a Pack for Velox Form
  • Fire Priorities: Self, Livestock, Gear
  • Immortal Spawn: Death Worm
  • Immortal Spawn: Black Gulper
  • Learning Appreciation for Solitude
  • Listen to Those with Experience
  • NPCs: The Brothers Frys & Freh
  • Sometimes Strangers DO Help
• Specific
  • Death Worm: Bigger Than First Imagined
  • Death Worm: Locating the "Eye"
  • Death Worm: Signs of Proximity
  • Frys & Freh: Uthaldrian Trappers
  • Frys & Freh: After Rare and Dangerous Game
  • Frys & Freh: Willing to Deal
  • Hunting Tactic: Bait for the "Open Mouth" Shot
  • Hunting Tactic: Light Wounds to Slow it, Then Go for the Vitals

Loot:

Death Worm "Eye" - sold to Mr. Gardener for 300gn
Cost of 55gn for aid, 35gn for a weeks' rent of a horse

Injuries:

Nothing to speak of

Comments:

I did not see an exact indication of the precise date you rented the horse.
So I just called it a week and figured 5gn per day.
PM me with any comments or concerns