[Assam]

Ah... the wonders of travel... there was simply no beating the sensation of having the wind at one's back, pushing one's ague steps just a touch further... driven by naught more than a simple desire to see the world, and before one the unravelling road that crept up from the rising horizon, where the heavens met tha lands in an intimiate embrace; the skyline composed of silvery strands of clouds, their serpentine forms flying across the skies, steadily onwards as they fled from the rising sun. Lovely thing that, the sun, how its light stretched across the landscape, kissing the environs with its golden touch, it made for a rather picturesque day, it was breathtaking and wondrous to behold.All of this mixed in with a palpable sense of anxiety and dread, of fear and excitement and other pleasant things that bubbled through the surface of conscience, likened to the brewin.... -wait a minute- Said he to no one in particular, as an arched brow gave way to wary eyes for one's surroundings, even in his little levity he'd not been so distracted as to miss it entirely, as for what 'it' was a sound, swift and subtle... thinking he'd have missed it entirely were it not for a single moment of weakness. It'd sounded like the splitting of wood, the reverberations of moving foliage as it was pushed aside, and the hushed sound of air being forced between clenched teeth and an ovaled mouth, pursed lips signaling that one was in fact making too much noise. Yes, he was sure he'd heard it, the snapping twig, the rustling leaves, the voice of someone shushing a group of other voices subtler than the first. (Yep... bandits...) he commented to no one in particular, as he turned his neck about in an attempt to get a better look, he didn't and soon made the rookie mistake of standing still whilst inspecting his surroundings. (It won't do me well to just run-off in an efferic way.) he thought, assuaging himself in a way to ignore the fact that the bandits were closing in, however and by the time he'd taken notice of this he'd been caught.

This was a tale of another day however, the wounds still fresh from his attempt to escape. Oh sure he could have flown away, but there wasn't enough space for a running start, nor elevation enough to attempt a jump. He could have kicked up a cloud of dust and scamper out in his fabricated confusion, but the ground wouldn't... and he'd not received sufficient instruction to attempt such (Kafir be damned). He could have done anything, but the fact of the matter was that he hadn't and the men... the armed men... had done away with most of his belongings. He could still recall their leathers and hides, their faces contorted into vile smirks, the sneering and overall chiding remarks that left their uneducated mouths. Still, it did him little good to remember, as no amount of recalling, of replaying these scenes in his mind would allow him to see where they'd gone, and -by extension- where his things had gone. He hadn't much in the wa y of belongings, some trail rations and water... perhaps a second change of clothes and ... a ring given to him by Kafir, but he'd not care to see it missing -then again- he could always 'procure' one off of the other apprenti... no, there was nothing the HE owned that he'd miss, however there was something in his possession that would surely see him beheaded when he came back to his land to explain why he'd not brought Vizier's daughter'd not be garlanded by precious stones of foreign lands.

Kafir would have his head for this... and that was the least of his worries; still the fact of the matter was he needed to retrieve those stones, and was perhaps why he continued to stand at the crossway in that dirt road. Not that he'd find much, the training of Azat being what it was. Naught much in the way of investigative skills and more along the lines of performing favors in exchange for little nuggets of knowledge. So then this is why you'd find this over-dressed, zanaryan fellow, cursing into the open air, wings extended in his rage as he looked about -futibly- for those responsible for this slight... this slight which would cost him his life -if it went well for him-. Perhaps it is why he seemed completely oblivious to any passersby, and wouldn't -say- notice one of them walking toward him at the time.

[Elena]

Unfortuately, Elena's wages were not enough to live on, and her occupation was not enough for that ever-present thirst to make something of herself and her abilities. She was a prideful creature; not the condescending, arrogant type, but the type that believed they were self-sufficient, the type that kept a brave face to those that wronged her before crawling away to lick her wounds. There was a fierece competition between her and her fellow Peacekeeper sibling, a competition that perhaps would not have existed if one of them had chosen to pursue a career as a warrior.

She found herself searching for odd jobs and errands. One of these had been to excercise her neighbour's dastardly Shadowkin, which often refused to comply, and would morph into irritating creatures to escape her wrath. Eventually, she quit the daily battle with the excuse that she was being overworked at the shop, and had had to avoid the 'Kin's owner and maintain the false pretense of exhaustion and of being at work.

The Anyelos loved her job, but until she could improve her newly-formed healing skills, she would be her boss's apprentice and not his equal. Strangely, it had been Nate who had briefly mentioned the need for a diplomat/warrior/mercenary to help rid Corantha of a particularly stubborn gang of bandits. She realised the extent of the riskiness of a lone Peacekeeper doing the job, but if she didn't, then she wouldn't be able to afford her apartment's rent. Plus, if things got nasty, she could, erm, blind them. Or heal their wounds.

As bandits often are, she imagined their camp would be discreet. As she questioned Corantha's townfolk, or at least any who would answer, she scribbled down wildly into a tiny notebook and nodded. She rather felt like she was investigating some a lot more serious than the whereabouts of a bandit camp, she thought as she approached her latest victim. If she could locate the ringleader, and use a diplomatic approach, she might have a chance if not all the bandits were present at the camp when she got there.

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[Kiel]

Kiel hopped down from the anka's saddle, grateful to be on solid ground. “Like, dude, man,” he told his pocket, where Shane was snuggled. (He wasn't actually sure what her current form was; she just kinda looked like an oversized blob of shadow with poofy fur, but she was sooooo cute like that, man!) “I thought my face was gonna fall off, hahahahahaha!”

He'd never ridden on an anka before, so all those stories about just how fast they could go had never really seemed real, you know? But, like, they'd made the 800 mile trek to Corantha in, like, ten minutes or something, and that was pretty impressive!

Even if he had left most of his stomach back home in Alexandria. “Uugggghhhh. I'm never eating again.” And five seconds later, after getting his bearings and arranging to meet the taxi for the last return journey at 10pm (he was a stowaway, haha, but the "driver" was pretty cool and let him on for free since he was already carrying cargo back and forth anyway), he realised his stomach was grumbling and rummaged in a pocket for a snack.

He was just taking a bite out of the sweet-but-smooshed babana when he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure, and he nearly choked. Like, “Dude! Are you stalking me?!” 'Cause this would be the second time he'd "just run in to" Elena since meeting her in Nate's clinic, you know, and it was getting kinda creepy. “Wahahahahaha, that's awesome, it's awesome. Watcha doin', man?”

---

Lau ~ Do you want to fast-track them to the road so they can bump into Assam? That way, Iggy's not playing by himself for too long, and he can help lead them to the camp.

[Assam]

Foolish, stupid, imbecile, a pox upon ye and other nasty thoughts crept out of his mouth; the twisted words of the Zanaryan tongue leapt out of his mouth like spiders crawling up his throat, he could feel their needle-like legs boring into his insides, as their skittering steps left an inflamed respiratory tract, and the ague of his non-stop shouting. Everything about him was tensed, from the stilted huffs that left his lungs as he angrily took in another breath, to the way his wing seemed about to pop from their leathery cover. One could see the bat-like bone structure as the leathery-black skin was stretched taught over the wiry frame of the bones beneath it. There was also the land... it seemed to correspond to his current mood, shifting about quickly and unappeasably, destroying everything it could get its hands on; the ground even quivered as his body shook with rage, the world about him transformed by his seething contempt for himself, and the bandits that had made off with the Aziz's gift. It was truly a spectacle, to behold the changing landscape, how minute ecological disasters formed about him, creating structures too bizarre to behold and then surreptitiously as they appeared they were swept off by another influx of emotion. The land would cry with him, if he could take a moment to calm himself... but the fact of the matter was that he could do little to remedy his situation, all of that learning, from tuning oneself to the cycles of the world, to tweaking them just slightly to create ramifications visible to the naked eye, it'd been for naught!

His little outburst would surely be noticed, but he wasn't in a position to care, he needed only to get this out of his chest, and any person getting caught in this would be an 'unfortunate casualty', thankfully this little bit of levity was a short affair, lasting only the better part of 10 minutes as he stood there, shouting to the four-winds whilst vilified magics created tortuous patterns upon the land, but he did eventually recover, as did the lands. Not a lot of power to this one, just barely learning the means through which one could manipulate the world about him, so whatever changes he inflicted in his rage had been temporary ones (thankfully), still it'd done little to remedy his situation. Sure, he was refreshed, but he was still missing one set of stones that were worth more than Kafir's collective of apprentices put together. Sighing, he sat down, cross-legged in the middle of the road, his ponderous wings slowly contorting back to their stowed form as they folded into themselves. His relieving of himself had not been without consequences, as he felt the strain of holding his wings in such a menacing position for so long, the numbness of ague and tired flesh, the dull pain of fatigue on top of the wear and tear of travel. That's why he'd not flown, he'd already carried himself for a long enough distance and was in the midst of allowing his wings to recover... at the least he now knew never to take a break on an open road.

Somewhat dejected, he looked about his surroundings once more, in hope of catching someone else heading in his direction, thinking that if he traveled with someone else there was a chance he'd find those bandits once more, and at least with more than one person he could fend reasonably for himself. (Yes... that could work.) he said to himself reassuringly, assuaging himself that things would surely not end this way.

[Elena]

As her Lois Lane-style interrogation came to an end, Elena frowned and sighed. The locals were obviously a bit too scared to have even thought about where the bandits might be, but she had a good idea that it would be on the outskirts near to the main road for easy thievery. Now, all that had to happen, was that Elena Dalianis became the luckiest girl in the world, and suddenly knew how to execute martial arts on tough bandits.

With fierce determination in her eyes, the feeling of fear was delayed as she made way for the road. She froze as she heard that oh-so-familiar voice, eyes darting around the for the source, and lighting up when they landed on Kiel. “Kiel!” she exclaimed, mild surprise in her tone; but not as much surprise as last time. “I'm, well, I'm a bit low on cash... And they're offering a reward if anybody can move on a gang of bandits, see.” She realised how stupid it sounded for a little mild Peacekeeper to tackle such a task single-handedly.

Her eyes drifted over Kiel thoughtfully, and she remembered last time when he had shown to her his mighty katana. Biting her lip anxiously, she spoke again. “You'd be perfect to help... I mean, what chance do I have? I read a book on diplomatic tactics last night, and I've had help with my tutor. But if things get messy, you could always get us out of them.” She grinned, reaching for his hand as she tugged him out of the town and along the road without waiting for an answer.

Ooc; May I have gmod permission to move it along?

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[Kiel]

Yep, definitely. ^^; Same for me too?

---

The idea of Kiel being "perfect" for anything was kinda laughable, even to him. After four hundred and seventy eight years of being told he was a runt, that he talked too much, and that he was a greedy idiot, he actually had very little confidence in himself despite all his outward bravado and cheer, so, like, the fact that Elena was relying on him totally made his day.

“It's kinda creepy, though, man.” His use of the word "creepy" had always exceeded the bounds of its actual definition, though, even before he came to the mainland with a Dardanian accent, so, like, it wasn't so much "actual creepy" as "just plain weird". But he cheerfully took on the bridle of "experienced warrior" like he knew what he was doing, thankful that he'd not only come fully equipped with his katana like always ('cause, like, even idiots knew better than to wander around Elysia without a defence of some kind, even if it was just a case of running and screaming and running some more), but also his throwing knives.

Like, but the set of twenty had dwindled down to a set of ten 'cause he totally kept losing them bending them outta shape or something while he was training. (He was also kinda convinced Derry kept stealing them for her nest... like she didn't live in a forge with a weaponsmith who could make her her own.)

But anyway, so, like, here they were on the road out of Corantha, 'cause as they'd been talking they'd overheard some guy talking about some weird goings-on in the jungle just outside the town.

"I'm telling you, there's a hydra on the move. The trees and the ground were shaking and a bunch of birds shot out of the canopy like their tail feathers were on fire."

"Don't be ridiculous, Cas. Those things don't come up this far. Too close to the mount—"

"I'm telling you, there's something going on out there. I thought the jungle was going to open up and swallow me."

This illicited a "hrmm" response from the person "Cas" was talking to as he considered the possibility of lunastur causing earth tremors, then dismissed the idea as ludicrous. "Open up and swallow me" maybe, but not tremors too. "Well, maybe it's a Nymph showing off or something."

Kiel hadn't heard the grumbled response to that, but, like, from the reaction it seemed like that "Cas" guy wasn't convinced. Given the utter fiasco that happened the last time he'd run into a hydra, and that, like, still no one had dared go after, it was probably a bad idea to go into the jungle after hearing something like that — but with what Elena'd gathered about the bandits she was looking for, and the fact that the Corantha was so far out of the usual hydra migration paths, they'd pretty much agreed it'd be a good idea to at least check it out.

So here they were on a jungle trail, totally chattering away like they weren't looking for, like, monsters or bandits or something else that probably wouldn't be impressed by the noise, and munching on Kiel's babanas.

---

I don't think I've skipped anything vital but let me know if you guys want me to edit something.

[Assam]

OOC: No, I've no problem with moving things along.

Having had this moment to himself allowed him to see things a touch more clearly, and allowed the land to recover following his moment of expression. It wasn't like him to shout at the top of his lungs in the middle of nowhere, then again it wasn't every day that he maneuvered himself to a position that would see him beheaded. It was the political machine of the Zan, the driving motion for their existence, it seemed... and he loathed every aspect of it. Why had he sought escape from his prescribed fate by ascribing to another? What has wrong with him? This and other questions crept into his mind as he allowed himself a moment of doubt, to ponder and reflect if it was too late for him to simply run off. Then again, if he was so disenchanted with it, why not leave on the very first day? The fact of the matter was that he couldn't, not in this life at least... to become beskmata and be barred from entering the lands, his home, he couldn't face that. (Not long now though....) he reminded himself that he needed only surpass Kafir.

Taking hope in that, he allowed himself to stand, somewhat assuaged by the fact he could ...- in the foreseeable future- surpass Kaf -No... not soon enough-, it'd been 300 years, it was not as though this was just around the corner... Zan planned for ages, because they often would live through them. It was one of the curses of being so long-lived, to have to spend 10 times what a regular person would doing unpleasant things, lessons were drawn out longer than they needed to and any due process could take as much time as required because you could. Where other people complained about something taking years, Zan saw things in terms of decades, of generations and even entire ages. And though the general consensus about this, was that mere instants didn't feature in the drawn-out lives of the Zan, they'd be wrong...

Still, he couldn't have this... Kafir certainly wouldn't, and the option to transcend the situation by outliving the bandits was not an appealing one, especially since Kafir had promised to teach him how to actually hurl stones with their unique talents, and he very much wanted to know that. Steeling himself, he resolved that if another didn't pass through this road, that he'd deal with the bandits personally... it was 'how' that was beginning to bother him. Lost midst thoughts of tactics and whatever maneuvers he found himself absorbed in his little world once more (he seemed to be doing that a lot lately). He recalled something (ironically) coming from Kafir, and having read something on the matter. He couldn't recall the exact words only it sounded vaguely threatening... (Hmmm....)

[Elena]

As much as Kiel was an imperfect warrior, it made Elena feel a lot better to know that he was by her side. The whole situation would have been very silly, she probably would have been held prisoner. She could fly away if she could get a running lift-off, but the chances are that somebody would spear her or catch her before she could take off. But, hey, that was Elena - she was incredibly pessimistic, and slightly dramatic.

She relayed what she had learned as she walked with the 'Varian, their lucky run-ins becoming less impressive now - not that she was complaining about seeing Kiel, just that they seemed to follow each other around or something. The walk was pretty pleasant along the trail, and they even earwigged in on the conversation of some men outside of the town. Whatever the man had experienced, it could probably help them locate the bandits; surely they were the only things out here capable of such commotion. The man had mentioned hydra, but she didn't even want to consider that possbility.

Elena finished the banana Kiel had given her, her eyes scanning over the radius around them for anything seemingly usual. They halted on a Zanaryan, and vaguely remembering that Zanaryans had an affinity with the elements, she wondered if the source of the disturbance was him. “Hey Kiel, we should probably go over and ask if he saw the bandits? Unless he is a bandit... He doesn't look like one, he's unarmed.” She deemed it safe to head over to the man, and debated as to whether or not they should use an alias... Or maybe just not say their names at all.

Cautious, the Anyelos left a good six feet between herself and the Zanaryan. “Hello there, I and my friend here heard of a disturbance out here, and were wondering if you knew anything about it...?” It was the best she could come up with. She glanced nervously at Kiel, waiting patiently for him to back her up. Zanaryans didn't like Anyeli, generally (to the extent of her experience), so it'd probably be better for Kiel to do the talking anyway...

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[Kiel]

“Ummmm,” Kiel mused aloud as he followed Elena's gaze to a Zanaryan standing on the dirt track like he was waiting for a caravan so he could hitch hike or something. Be waiting a long time, man... But, like, “I dunno if he's unarmed, you know, 'cause, like, Zanaryans can be all "rawr" with the fire and stuff, you know?” Granted, he met few Zanaryans, even working as a courier and in a weapon's store, but, like, as far as he could tell they were kinda like imps: They looked defenceless enough, but get a bunch of them together, or get them riled up, and bam!

And that wasn't even considering the whole "I don't like you" stuff...

Well, but that was oversimplifying things, but Kiel kept his eyes open as they approached the Zanaryan and started quizzing him. He kinda felt like the muscle, for a change, and bounced on his toes, probably looking for all the world like an excited kid waiting to open his birthday presents. Hahahahaha. “Yeah, like, apparently there was an earthquake or something, but we're looking for this gang of bandits, right, and we figured maybe they had something to do with it, you know?”

[Assam]

...and were wondering if you knew anything about it?

The words seemed as though coming from the edge of a cliff, the aether carrying it aloft a gentle zephyr that tickled his ears; somewhat irked, his wings replied in kind by twitching slightly in place, not moving enough to flap, nor unfurling too little to denote a spasm, simply a tic, cocking his head he turned to face wherever the sound had originated from and with a most confused expression locked eyes with the person responsible, he saw her hair, eyes and those of his companion... then his gaze fell toward the wings at her back and his own and everything went to hell from there. Mustering all his self control and with a feeble-sounding voice he replied: 'Excuse me?' he asked not because something had distracted him, rather out of incredulity, that one of the 'angels' would refer to him without spitting in his general direction. Sure, Zan were plenty unpleasant on their own, and they held all other ... non-Zan conditions with as much suspicion as one would an Aziz (and all good Zan knew that every other Zan were always plotting something), but to think that an Anyeli would willingly approach one of the fallen was laughable. Still, the woman had shown no hostility and Assam knew to respect that, besides there was also the matter of the dracovari standing next to her... strange creatures they, he'd not frequented their lands much so they were something of an oddity to him, he wondered then if he'd be able to extract a story or two to add to his collection... (No wait -dammit!- first the jewels) he reminded himself, shaking his head before the strangers as the second stranger spoke to him.

To be frank, his relaxed manner of speech was unnerving, though somewhat welcomed by a Zan who had had quite enough with the highly political life of all Zanaryans; making mention of the earthquake from a while back, he couldn't help but shift his eyes away from the stranger's and utter, just under his breath: 'That, I may be responsible for.', his wings positively retracted after saying that as he reminded himself of those brief moments in which the land shifted under his uncontrolled power. That being said it'd been awesome, empowering even... and now he doubted he could do something of that magnitude under his control... then he recalled the last of the... relaxed stranger's words, 'Ah yes...' he interjected, as he turned to face where they'd come from to relieve him of his possessions. 'I know of them, and they of me; so you're to route them then?' he concluded, seeing as at least one of the strangers had a blade or something to defend himself with, whilst his Anyeli accompaniment was without. 'I'm not trained to use a blade, even then I doubt it'd have helped...' he remarked, focusing on the Anyeli's unarmed aspect before returning to the matter at hand. 'So, what's your plan? You who carry the name of dragons?' he said in jest, though admittedly he'd never been quite good at it... why is it that when Zan said anything it sounded like an insult?

He definitely needed to work on that, if he was going to spend this much time on the road, it'd do him well... he guessed he could always try and ignore the fact that not everyone was busy to clamber onto the next echelon of society. Funny that, he thought as he paced toward the general direction of where he'd seen the bandits emerged, and tried to get a feel for them, or at least for any easily identifiable mass of more than one that was in the vicinity. 'Their camp is in that direction.' he explained, not taking anymore time off the two strangers as they set about the task of negotiating or cutting through the raucous lot responsible for this slight. 'Mayhaps we'll get to see your handiwork with that blade...' he said, walking away from the two strangers and toward where he sensed them, 'Then again...veritas credo oculos.' he said, a hand being raised to point to his eyes.

[Elena]

It was common knowledge of the prejudices and discrimination between Anyeli and Zanaryans, but she hadn't really been raised up around it. Arsenia consisted of all Anyeli inhabitants, and she had once or twice heard the older ones mention Zanaryans, but she'd never met one. The only distinguishable feature, apart from the devillish horns and wings, that she noticed was the smell around him. But it would be rude to show that she even noticed that.

Hopefully, he wouldn't do something like whip out an unseen knife and slit their throats. Or if he was the cause of the 'disturbances', the earthquake or whatever, then hopefully he wouldn't drop them into a massive, bottomless fissure. She nodded in support of what Kiel said, slightly nervous but trying to organise things.

Although the Zanaryan didn't address his question to her, she piped up since Kiel she was the one who had dragged him along. “Well, actually, we thought we'd try diplomacy... At first, anyway. I'm a Peacekeeper, so I'm a pacifist. If things get nasty, Kiel here is quite the warrior.” She grinned at her friend. “Thank you for directing us. Are you joining us?” She began to head off toward the direction the Zanaryan had pointed them in. It could prove useful to have a Zanaryan on their side, especially if he was the one who had caused the earthquake. But, really, it came down to whether he wanted to join the fray... or negotiation.

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[Kiel]

Sorry for the delay, guys! I had a hectic week and then had to focus on the plot.

---

“Wah!” Kiel practically jumped back, holding his arms up and out defensively when the Zanaryan confessed the 'quake had been his fault. But, like, he kinda seemed contrite, and it wasn't like he'd caused too much damage, right? Like, right? And it wasn't in Kiel to hold a grudge or anything, so he dropped the defensive pose almost immediately and instead started wondering how the guy came to know, and be known by, bandits.

Kiel's suspicious stare probably looked more comical than serious, and only got worse when the Zanaryan said, “You who carry the name of dragons?” “Like, wah?” Kiel didn't get that whole formal, fancy speech thing. He grew up on a farm in the boonies, on a continent already sparsely populated, but his family were all pretty formal and strait-laced so he should still have caught on to the lingo, right? Except, like, he was academically and linguistically lazy, and because he talked so much he'd pretty quickly discovered ways of saying things that didn't involve ten sentences for one thought.

He totally didn't get the joke, man, and that just made him stare at the Zanaryan all the more warily. “Wahhh, I don't have a dragon, man.” Pout. “Like, I wanna get my dragon, you know, but my dad keeps telling me "you're not ready, you're not ready", you know?” His imitation of his father's deeper, grumpier voice hadn't improved since the day he started doing it when he was, like, fifty or something.

“Kiel here is quite the warrior.” Immediately, he giggled like a little girl. “I am, I am, wahahahahaha!” He pulled out his katana to brandish it clumsily, still giggling. “Except, like, I never really killed anyone with it before. Except, like, a gytrash when Zeph took me home for my birthday and we totally got ambushed. But, like, actually, I think the lion was before that, but that was totally by accident, you know?” Before he could delve into the story of how he'd made his first kill in the desert, Elena thanked the dude for directing them, reminding Kiel of something.

Like, why did the guy know where the bandits were camping?

And, like, “Latin, wah.” Talk about stereotypes. Kiel still struggled with the language of rituals even now, and he'd been studying all summer! (Like, insofar as he'd get out his book and then decide the store needed cleaning or something...)

But, like, for sers, man. “How do you know where the bandits are camping anyway, man? Like, you're a bandit, right? You're a bandit, a bandit!”

[Assam]

'Diplomacy...' he repeated, his tone somewhat subdued at the mention of all this 'peacekeeping' business. In his travels he'd never encountered someone of this ideology, Zan valued power overall so for someone to abstain from using it to impose one's will was a concept too alien for him. If you were slighted, you lashed back, and if your opponent continued to fight back then you simply found a way to route them... that being said, callous displays of powers served little point and it was the proper application of force that netted you the better outcome, perhaps the angel was right and a more diplomatic approach would be more efficient? Still, he was sure that getting them to return what had been taken from him would be near impossible, however the appearance of the Dracovari swordsman assuaged him somewhat... if things got ugly they could always fight their way out, Assam's distaste for combat notwithstanding. It was the sort of thing he fantasized about, sure... there was nothing more exciting than rushing into a group of men, brandishing a weapon of his own in hopes of striking them down; the whole affair was quite romantic, and so appealed to him even if he knew deep down that he hadn't the heart for it... still, given the way bandits behaved it was very likely he'd see some sort of action today.

The Anyeli's companion showed a bemused expression as the Zanaryan's words rung empty, his relaxed manner of speech irked Assam somewhat but he couldn't help but feel refreshed at the way both strangers acted without the formality normally expected among his people. The one known as Kiel then went on to explain his actual experience with swordplay, at the mention of this Assam's hopes took a plunge down the proverbial well, and his body reflected this: his proud posture was contorted into a slump as his shoulders relaxed to a posture of 'oh spite' whilst his wings 'shrunk' into his being. Of course his face didn't show, but the rest of his body was giving a pretty clear signal of disappointment. 'Oh...' he said as he considered if it wasn't too late to ask the bandits to just off him there and avoid the wrath of the Aziz when (if) he got back. He proved to be too distracted for either of the stranger's words to reach him then, until he was branded by Kiel as one of the bandits, at the mention of this he raised his hands in defense as to try to persuade Kiel out of it, offering nervous excuses as to why he knew where the bandits were located.

'I -what?- ... no! -I just- ...look you've got it all wr...-me? a bandit?- where do you get off saying -what?- I don't even...' the words fell out of his mouth shortly after tripping over themselves and falling to their death, taking note of this he quickly rectified his response in an attempt to defend himself. 'No! If anything I'm the victim here! I took to walking because I was resting my wings when I was attacked. They made off with my things, but I managed to catch a glimpse of them as they were living... it was only a matter of 'feeling' where they went afterwards... (raucous bunch... I can feel their steps even know...) ' he added beneath his breath. As per the matter of joining, he could only offer an enthusiastic yes and offered to lead the pair to where he knew the bandits to be... whatever transpired them was in the hands of Xanth...

[Elena]

When the Zanaryan echoed the word 'diplomacy', Elena had archly raised one eyebrow. It seemed quite disbelieving, and she felt mocked; of course, it didn't seem to be the best route to take, but it was the only route she could take. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't be violent, only defensive. So, if things got nasty, she would defend Kiel and herself courageously as best she could - but hopefully they wouldn't go that badly.

Elena hadn't considered for one moment that the stranger might be one of the bandits, which was probably further evidence of her naivety and faith in other people. As had happened many times before, the worst crossed her mind; he might be one of the bandits, luring them to the camp so that they could rob them and kill them. Alarmed, she looked at Kiel and took a small step closer to the 'Varian, which made her feel slightly safer. Now that the idea was in her mind, and the Zanaryan hadn't done himself justice with his nervous stuttering, they would probably have to keep their eyes on him.

“Okay, well you go first and lead the way to the camp.” She hovered by Kiel's arm, reaching out to hold onto his upper arm. Elena figured that like, the Zanaryan couldn't slit their throats from behind or stab a knife in their backs or like cause an earthquake and throw them about. “We'll be okay. Anyway, let's go.” She still stayed close to Kiel when they set off, admiring his katana. She figured that she could be a bit naive, which was probably why she could be manipulated. Things would have been much worse if it was just her on this little quest.

→ Piper's Boutique | Beyond Tonight | Odette Yustman ←

[Kiel]

Kiel totally wasn't accustomed to being the hero, man. Like, he was always the hero, you know, but never the hero, you know? Like, he raced into battle without a second thought for the danger to himself, but usually had to be rescued or something, so, like, it was crazy weird that Elena was hanging off his arm like she was a damsel in distress and he was this big, strapping warrior in shining plate armour, you know?

“Haha, it's cool, it's cool,” he told himself with a grinning giggle, verbalising what should probably have remained totally internal. “Wah, but, like, yeah. What she said.” 'Cause he totally agreed that the guy smelled fishy (and literally of brimstone). Except, like, he claimed to know where the camp was, so they needed to stick by him, so Elena's solution of having the guy walk out front was totally a good one, you know?

Except, like, “Dude, man, I can't walk and guard and hold your hand, okay?” He said it with his customary friendly grin, though; he totally didn't mind if a chick wanted to hang onto him, you know? Although, like, Zeph would kill both of them for just holding hands if he ever found out...

Taking care to put himself between Zanaryan and Apali while they walked, Kiel kept his hand on the hilt of his katana and, like, tried to slow his pace so they could both keep up. He was used to heat like this, you know, coming from Dardanos, but he figured Elena was from the mountains so she probably wasn't accustomed to walking in humidity and stifling heat like this, and, like, who knew what Zanarya was like?

Eventually, they brushed through the jungle close to the camp, and Kiel stopped. Like, Elena wanted to try the pacifist approach, but Kiel had actually learned something from his time with Zeph. “Like, let's scope the place out first, okay?” He wanted to get an idea of how many bandits they faced, and what species they were so he could gauge just how much trouble he'd gotten himself into...

[Assam]

Nodding to the angel's request, the Zan folded his wings as tightly as he could, winding them into themselves as to ease the task of sneaking around. He'd no idea how to go about doing this, but the angel had so requested, and with her partner in tow he set about the task of leading them as close as he could. Not being seen would be the hard bit, as for reconnaissance he could always focus more intently on the scattered tremors that the bandits cast upon the earth. Assam found some bushes to use for cover, and leading the group through a winding maze of foliage did they come about the edge of the camp. It was not much, a disorderly array of tents with open supply crates piled beside them, a firepit and still more tents far away... this couldn't possibly be it, he thought as he scanned the area about then reminding himself that his eyes had already betrayed him once and he'd do well to cast them aside in favor of higher senses. Keeping things quiet, he made a gesture for his companions to stay still for a moment as he closed his eyes. Being fairly fresh at the whole 'elemental manipulation' thing meant he still needed to enter a trance to be able to do even the simplest of things, something he hoped to outgrow in the near future.

Casting aside his senses, he knelt down to the ground, pressing his ear to the dirt as he attempted to get a feel for the place. His regular senses disappeared one by one, until he could construct one that amalgamated sound and touch in the same form, he spread his arms as magicks ran its course. Tendrils of thought unfurled from their berths in his mind, and lashed out from his head, their tips touching upon the ground as his thoughts melded with those of the earth. He could feel the tremors of his own body on the ground as he maintained his odd position, he could feel the subtle vibrations coming from his stilled companions... still, he needed more and attempted to expand his domain. The metaphorical tendrils formed a web that spread about the ground, attempting to catch any movement with its 'strings', a construct to hold his thoughts whilst he took in more alien sensations than he'd felt during his training. The Azat cast a wider web as it began to pick up the subtle undulations of movement, as steps were taken from within the camp. He could feel as foot touched ground, and depressed the soft earth upon which he sat, furthermore he could 'feel' a rough number of these bandits through his web.

He slowly pulled back his web as he compiled the stray sensations in his mind, attempting to make sense of it all whilst resisting the strain of using his powers. There was a dull sensation in his head, as though its insides had been replaced with cotton and a flash of pain that ran from the base of his skull and down his spine... For a moment he agreed with Kafir, as the dull ache of his mind resounded heavy with the Aziz' voice saying: You're too green for this. The web had retreated to his mind entirely as he opened his eyes in a sudden motion. He blinked a couple of times to make sure he wasn't still 'reading' the earth and relayed the information to the other two. 'There are a couple of them held up in the big tent from here, a larger group in that one farthest and a few making rounds... I can't get a read for them as they're moving around... I'd say there's about 12-15 of them in the camp.' a conservative cipher, which seemed to coincide with the group that had attacked him not too long ago.

[Elena]

As the three musketeers headed deeper into the rainforest-y jungle-y environment, Elena found it more and more suffocating to be there. She desperately fanned herself, keeping close to Kiel while they walked and letting go of his arm due to her sweaty palms. Nervously, but making sure that Kiel didn't sense her uneasiness, she glanced at the stranger and noted his willingness to comply with their demands. She was sometimes an overly-trusting person, which would probably be her downfall, but she knew the seriousness of the situation they could be in and was taking precarious steps with the stranger; he could turn on them at any minute.

The Anyelos tripped over as the Zanaryan held a hand for them to be still, and crouched down silently before she was spotted by the bandits. The camp didn't look that big, but it wasn't so much the numbers that scared her. It was the bandits themselves. This was practically a suicide mission, really, but there was no turning back now. She wasn't sure what the Zanaryan was doing, but she kept a close watch on him and shuffled closer to the 'Varian. Not out of fright, just it felt a bit more comforting to be nearer, when her pulse throbbing violently in her ears and a dry lump had formed in her throat. “How do we go about this then?” she asked Kiel, despite supposedly being the leader and organiser of this fun-packed trip. “They're going to kill us, and put our heads on poles, and eat our corpses, and loot us.”

→ Piper's Boutique | Beyond Tonight | Odette Yustman ←

[Kiel]

“Wahahahaha.” Kiel had the presence of mind to keep his chuckle low, but he beamed at Elena like they were out for a jaunty stroll around a quiet neighbourhood rather than in the middle of thick jungle with, like, who knows what slithering out of the bushes at them and bandits waiting to take their heads off.

If it'd just been him, he'd probably have rushed headlong into the bandit's camp and just, like, come what may, you know? But, like, Elena couldn't keep up with him, for sers, if it came to fleeing for their lives, and who knew about the Zanaryan?

So for once, he actually put his thinking cap on, and squatted in the bushes to get a better look around. Speaking in hushed tones, he mumbled, “Weh. Well, like. You wanted to take the diplomatic approach, right?” She was a Peacekeeper, so it wasn't like she could throw herself into battle with him, like, right? And while he didn't think for a second they could be talked down, that's what diplomatic empaths did, like, right? Which she was, as far as Kiel knew of Peacekeepers, and, like, hadn't they ended the Anyeli war a bunch of times just by talking and waving their hands and hypnotising people and stuff?

So, like, he came up with a super genius awesome plan! “Like, okay, so, like, here's what we do, okay? You take Shane with you, okay, and you do your, like, diplomatty chatty thing, okay? I stay here with Assam as back-up and, like, if they attack you, we've got your back, okay? But, like, we keep the element of surprise and stuff, you know?”