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* Lisl leans on her knees as the tilted landscape of Bleakhill settles around them, taking deep lungfuls of country air to settle her abused stomach. * Jaret clutches at the air for support, a little green around the edges. "Oh... that's... *awful*." * Lisl is dressed much the same as she was at the brief council of war at the Hall, although she's cleaned up a bit. Two wolves lean against her flanks, heads and tails drooping as they cope with the aftereffects of the teleport. * Felice rolls on the ground coming to a stop in a crouch with a smile on her face, "That was fun." * Lisl straightens, giving Felice a disgusted look. "That clinches it. Cats are *weird.*" * Felice is dressed in her usual shorts and halter, though she's added a pair of fingerless gloves with a set of short blades sewn into the backs of the gloves. * Felice smiles as she stands up, her tail swishing around her as she sniffs the air. * Jaret is unchanged from the meeting at the Hall. * Lisl rubs the two wolves between the ears, kneeling down to murmur softly to them. They shake themselves and bound off into the darkness, sweeping out to the right and left of the little scouting party. ::everything is still completely quiet, occasionally broken up by a distant fragment of bird song:: * Felice looks at Lisl, "This isn't right." * Lisl shakes off a small shudder, listening for a moment before pointing northwest. "No... there's a lot worse in town, though. That way." * Felice sets off silently in the indicated direction, her ears and nose twitching. * Jaret follows the pair, loosening his rapier in its scabbard. * Lisl follows Felice, spreading out a little, moving quickly and quietly. ::the group heads up by the road with the desperate gouge marks in its center hump, heading towards the desolate remains of Bleakhill. The wind blows a faint scent of ash and blood towards the more sharper-scented members of the group:: * Lisl sets her jaw, her face grim as they press onward. ::at the fast pace, they soon arrive at the wreck of the town, the gouged perimeter where the palisade once was, the burned out buildings, the massive dark stain around the trio of stumps in the center of the village, and the ash pile in the militia courtyard:: * Felice occasionally jumps to the top of the more stable remaining structures, surveying the area before dropping back to the ground. * Lisl slows as they cross over into the town, giving Jaret and Felice a chance to look or not, as they choose. * Jaret surveys the town briefly, his face darkening. * Felice pauses to scratch at the base of a wall, revealing a doll and a handful of small bones. * Lisl waits silently, statue-still, yellow eyes reflecting the moonlight. * Felice whimpers softly before turning her bright blue eyes on Lisl and giving a perfunctory nod. * Lisl frowns a moment, patting her belt pouch. Her brow clears, and she crosses the compound to pause briefly by the ruined trees, bending down to poke at the blood-soaked soil. After a couple of minutes, she straightens again with a look of grim satisfaction, washing her muddied hands with water from her 'skin. * Lisl walks back over to stand near Felice, and looks around for Jaret. * Jaret has walked in a small circle, looking at the burned out village, not saying anything. He looks over at Lisl and nods. * Lisl gestures northwestward again, towards the hilly track leading up to the lookout. * Felice sets off silently again, resuming her occassionaly aerial survey from any perches that appear capable of holding her weight. * Jaret follows Lisl and Felice not looking back at the remnants of Bleakhill as he leaves it. * Lisl moves up the hill at speed, only slowing as she spies the now-dark bowl of the lookout fire. ::the abandoned lookout post is quiet, and nothing emerges from it to challenge the trio as they advance up the pass:: * Lisl keeps a wary eye on the wooden tower as they pass it, settling her shoulders as they leave the flat clearing. * Felice pauses to scamper up to the top of the tower, surveying the surrounding lands. ::the timber of the tower moans and creaks as Felice runs up it:: * Lisl waits for Felice, looking back questioningly. * Lisl raises her hackles at the noise in the midst of the unnatural silence, keeping watch from the base of the tower. <Felice> ::After a few moments Felice jumps down again, rolling to absorb the shock of the landing and shaking her head to her companions once her feet are under her once more.:: ::the tower creaks one last protest as Felice jumps off, and then all is silent again:: * Lisl winces, nods, and turns back to the trail, putting her fingers to the ground briefly and bringing them to her nose. * Lisl catches up to Jaret, putting a hand on his arm so as not to startle him and pitching her voice to his ear. "No sign the Dragons got this far." * Felice pauses, tilting her head to apparently listen in on Jaret and Lisl's conversation. * Jaret makes an unpleasant face and shrugs. "Best get on with what we're here for. Keep an eye out, though." * Lisl nods and slips past him, taking point and following the broad track the careless raiders made. * Felice silently follows Lisl, apparently content to remain on the ground now. ::the track is obvious, the ground pounded flat by many heavy boots, heading back up into the heart of the mountains:: * Lisl keeps an ear peeled for local wildlife as she leads the group higher and higher. ::all the trio can hear is the occasional bit of birdsong, the area unnervingly quiet:: * Jaret follows Lisl and Felice, looking all around. * Lisl keeps moving, her expression grim. With a faint shimmer of silver, her Claws appear around her right forearm, but she keeps her left hand free. * Felice pauses occasionally to sniff the air. * Lisl calls a halt as the moon dips low, straightening a bit and letting her Claws vanish again. * Felice looks to Lisl questioningly. * Lisl moves close to her companions to confer quietly. "Near as I can tell, we've been on this same trail six hours, and I haven't even seen sign of a pee break." <Felice> That is impressive. * Jaret stops and breathes. <Lisl> It's fishy, is what it is... ::turns, squinting back down the track:: We've come... I'd say about 40 miles from Bleakhill. There's something missing, here... <Jaret> What could we have missed? * Felice nods, "Yeah, all the wildlife. This happened months ago right. The wildlife should have returned by now. Unless something's still scaring it away." * Felice makes a face, "My guess would be undead, but I REALLY don't want to think about an army of undead orcs." <Lisl> ::looks frustrated:: Damned if I know... even raiding parties don't normally move that far, that fast. ::nods agreement with Felice:: Orlann said there were orc mages, but still... all we've heard is... birdsong... ::trails off, looking stricken. She tilts her head back and howls once, a drawn-out, trailing note:: <Lisl> ::After a few minutes, a large, coal-black wolf with startlingly golden eyes melts out of the darkness. From behind them, an even larger black-and-tan wolf trots towards the group, tongue lolling. Lisl nearly staggers in relief.:: * Lisl kneels for a moment to scratch their ruffs as they wave their tails and consult in soft whines and yips. * Jaret cracks a smile at the sight of the two wolves. <Lisl> :standing again, her expression faintly amused:: Well, Bear found a rock he likes, but other than that, nothing. ::she scratches the black-and-tan wolf between the ears as he leans heavily against her thigh:: * Lisl cocks an ear again for a moment, listening to the birdsong around them. <Jaret> Well, any light in the darkness, I suppose. <Lisl> Hmph. ::shakes her head, muttering:: Getting paranoid in my old age... <Felice> Paranoid? <Lisl> I was just remembering... ::shakes her head:: Never mind. They're just birds. I'd had a bad thought. <Felice> So do we keep going, make camp, or get Zoya to take us home? <Lisl> ::looks back in the direction they'd been headed:: I don't see this track bearing fruit soon, but I'd still like to know where this lot came from, and what sent them so single-mindedly to Bleakhill. ::frowns:: On the other side of the coin... I also want to know what happened to Adiethian's men. <Lisl> If we're staying, we'd best make camp here. It's only going to get colder, the further up we go. <Jaret> Lisl, I don't question your desire to find out where these orcs came from, but how long are we going to follow this trail? <Lisl> ::shaking her head, sounding frustrated:: I'd wanted to follow it back to wherever they came from-- they had to have come from *some*where. ::glances back again:: But we've already come farther than I'd anticipated. * Lisl scrubs a hand through her hair. "This is just plain... unnatural." <Jaret> Highly organized goblinoids attacking cities... unnatural is one excellent word for it. * Felice shrugs, "I think we need to follow the trail, if not at this moment then at least after we rest. If this is part of the force that hit Arabel then everyone needs to know what they're up against. On the other hand, if it is undead, or mass mind control I'd feel a lot better with a spell thrower around." <Lisl> A priest would be nice. And I don't think there's much chance of any "local" help, either. I haven't heard anything *but* birds. ::nods agreement, and sighs:: Well... if we get Zoya to come pick us up, Jaret will get to sleep in a real bed, we can all get a decent meal, and at the worst she can send us back here in the morning. * Felice nods in agreement. <Lisl> ::adds grimly:: And we can catch up on the news in the meantime. * Jaret nods. "Perhaps if we return, it's with a faster mode of travel , as well." <Lisl> ::nods:: Didn't want horses getting eaten or giving us away, but under the circumstances... <Lisl> Right, then. ::fishes in her vest for Zoya's bead, and crushes it between her fingers:: |
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