Archived Topic: Adventure Awaits!

Niamh looked around the forest.  A small frown crept over her face.  Lost.  How utterly embarrassing!  Her first real time on her own, and she was lost.  

The trees reached up around her, obliterating the sun from sight.  The moss grew thickly on all sides of the trees.  Well, a troubadour was welcome anywhere.  She shifted her satchel with her shawm in it.  That little instrument made her welcome nearly everywhere she went.  Granted, she had to be careful of trouble makers, and there had in recent years started to be more bands of outlaws and such roaming the countryside.  That was what had lead to her adoptive parents retiring from the wandering life of a troubadour, and taking up the more sedate life of a musician at Holt Elska.  But I know how to take care of myself, she thought in frustration.

She chose a direction at random, making sure it was not where her pawprints came from, and set out determinedly.

Alas it was easy to get lost in woods such as these. The forrest had a habbit of swollowing up wayward adventurers and those with out a map.

Despite the danger the woods still provided one of the more pretty landscapes the world had to offer. Or at least so thought the fox.

Vannon never really did care to examine scenery for more than a short period of time unless forced too...as he had been since early this morning from before the sun came up.

The young fox could hardly believe that he had snared himself with his own trap. He must have accidentally hit the snare with his leg when he was setting it up and so where the fox had hoped to catch a plump and tasty meal he had instead caught himself.

He hung suspended by one paw, twirling slowly through the air. The rope above his ankle was slightly frayed due to the efforts to cut the rope with his short sword. Vannon never did realize how hard it was to get enough leverage to either swing, or saw, a rope such as this, especially while hanging in the air.

It took a certain level of fittness to perform the feat as well, one that he lacked even before he came here.

Vannon had grown fat upon the stores of the ship that brought him here, but looking at him now one could scaresly imagine that the fox was once a pot bellied beast.

The fox was at the limit of his survival skills and it showed. Starvation had thinned out his meaty frame, leaving his ribs showing under his grey fur and his yellow underbelly hollow.

Vannon didnt look like he had much energy left to give before he got ensared by his own trap. But then something caught his eye and gave the fox hope.

He saw...movement. Yes! He could see movement in the woods! It was still far off but his suspended position allowed Vannon to view a beast moving through the woods at the bottom of the hill he was currently on.

And in the next moment the beast dissapeared from view. With renewed strength the fox pulled himself up and began to slice tbrough the rope. It came free with a loud snap, dropping Vannon like a sack of potatoes onto his head.

He let out a loud yelp before getting himself back on his feet. He would dash off, yes, dash off and cut this new beast off in what ever direction she was going, and then rob this beast of what ever food it was carrying. If they didnt have any...well, nature had given him teeth and claws for a reason.

Or at least the fox thought. After taking a few moments to work out the cramp in hie leg the fox trotted, or rather limped his way into the bushes.

"Oh bugger!" Kaidon yelled out in frustration as he tripped over another tree root. He fell face first to the ground with a small thump and got up slowly, sighing in annoyance. Five times already hes tripped over a tree root when he entered this forest after leaving the ship that brought him here. Rising up, he dusted himself of dirt that gathered on his brown tunic and readjusted the slung longbow over his shoulder along with the quiver. Checking to make sure his sword was still on his waist, he resumed walking through the forest.

He heard his stomach rumble and groaned in annoyance. He shouldn't have ate all the food in one go to quell his stomach and not save some for later. Food was going to be a problem along with water, shelter wasn't much a problem with this many trees about when he heard sounds in the distance. A silent prayer went through his mind as he hurried forward, making sure not to stumble again. Finally another traveler like himself wandering about like him! Maybe this time its not a hunter after his head like back at the port, he still had trouble getting over how he got away so easily.

Dante tripped through the forest, whistling a tune as he went.  The sun shone brightly through the forest in patches and bird sang in the trees above.  It was a beautiful spring day and Dante had not a care in the world.  He had finally done it.  He'd escaped the dusty old castle and started on an adventure of his own!  

Ah, what adventures he would have!  Just imagine, running across some poor creature being held hostage by an someone evil.  He would show that villain what for!  Drawing his saxe, he swished it through the air, pretending to slash at the villain.  

"Unhand the poor creature!  At once!  Or I'll show ya what I can do with this here knife!"

He leapt forward and dashed around the trunk of a tree, "Yer gonna get what's comin' to ya, you fowl beast!"

As he flailed his saxe around, he caught the tip of it on an over hanging branch and tripped over a root at the same time.  He fell forward, landing face first in the dirt.

He quickly sprang to his feet and dusted himself off, face red with embarrassment.  But then something caught his eye, a mark on the ground that looked like another creature had tripped over the same root he had, but this creature was much larger.

'My first real adventure!'  he thought, and set out after the tracks that would lead him to this creature.

Niamh started when she heard the noise.  It had sounded like the sharp cry of a creature, quickly subdued.  She narrowed her eyes and looked around cautiously.  Nothing in sight.  Yet...

Growling about her stupid coloring, she wriggled her way into some bushes where she would be less visible and settled in to wait and watch and listen.  If there was something out there, she wanted to know what it was and what it was doing before it saw her.  

If, of course, it hadn't already.  She tugged her brown tunic around her and pulled the hood on her cloak up to cover her white fur more.  She then sat in silence, waiting.

The woods were certainly alive with wayward travelers this day, thought the fox. Little did he know how true that was. So far his nose has only picked up the scent of the otter.

Vannon stalked the woods, keeping close to the ground and switching between four legs and two, occasionally bouncing off of a tree or rock.

He pauses to sniff the air before moving slowly into view of the otter. Standing on his hind legs Vannon rests his paws on his hips and leans to one side.

He is a lttile short for a fox. A grey furred beast with a tinge of brown to his pelt, especially highlighting his off yellow underbelly. A thick otter hide belt wraps loosly around his waist. The short sword at his side has a small holster that leaves the iron blade exposed but has no scabbard.

A small sleeveless vest is left unbuttoned around his chest. It appears to be made out black mouse fur.

The fox takes another sniff of the air. He growls in frustration before moving further into the woods, grumbling as he walks, "Blasted stupid weasel thing. Where did it go?"

Something made Kaidon stop in his tracks for a second and his ears perked up. He heard another not far ahead of him...and someone else some distance away behind him. "Not the Hunters again!" He said quietly with fear in his tone as he frantically searched for a place to hide. There, a large enough bush and into it he went, trying to cover up much as he can to hide himself. Many thoughts went through his mind now, one was how to get out of this without fighting.

"Come on think!", the purple eyed badger thought to himself as different scenarios played through his head. It wouldn't do him any good if he didn't know who was following him firstly, and thats what caused him to really think now. It could be a hunter...but he distinctly remembered the direction he took from the port and this other wasn't exactly coming from that direction. Maybe he was just overracting, no, paranoid thanks to his uncle sending out killers after him. He then decided to wait and see who was following him.

Stumbling over tree roots, Dante followed the tufts of churned up dirt as he tried to figure out what sort of creature would make these tracks.  He really wasn't much of a tracker, but it was pretty obvious where this creature had fallen, when it had.  In between the falls though, Dante wandered aimlessly in the direction he thought the creature had gone.  He was so intent on studying the ground that he rarely looked at his surroundings and didn't notice the badger hiding in a bush.

He scratched his head, "Garsh dangit.  Where'd th' bugger go?"  Wandering around in a circle, he tripped over a trailing blackberry vine and fell.  Muttering under his breath, he picked himself up off the ground and saw, toes?  Freezing half way up, he stared at the toes that peeked out from under a great big bush.  He cleared his throat and got to his knees, slowly looking up.  "Erm, ah, 'ello...?"  He questioned as he tried to make out what exactly was hiding behind the bush.

Niamh sat motionless as the fox glanced her way. As its eyes passed over her and moved on, she inched a paw down to grasp her dirk. She wrinkled her nose in disdain as it spoke. Weasel thing indeed!

It couldn't be very skilled at tracking if it had missed her, she thought. Not all foxes were bad, as a matter of fact she had know quite a few who were friendly. But since she was traveling alone, it was best to have a pessimistic view of those she didn't know. She remained in the bushes, dirk drawn, waiting to see if perhaps the fox was going to double back and try catching her unawares.

The grey furred vulpine paused again, tail twitching behind him. "If I were a white furred weasel, where would I go?" He said aloud. For a long moment the fox just stood there, contemplating.

Finally he cast his head back to sniff the air. A toothy cheshire like grin spreads slowly across his snout. "I have you now..."

With out another word the fox darted off into the woods, in the opposite direction of the white furred otter. It looks like some other poor beast was about to make Vannon's aqaintence.

Kaidon soon managed to get a somewhat blocked look at who was following him and almost let out a breath of relief. A otter...and why was this otter following him in the first place?

I'm getting paranoid, the badger thought to himself worriedly when he heard the otter trip and fall right in front of him. Then the badger had the thought of just revealing himself to help when he heard the otter say hello...while staring right at him. He let out a sigh, so much for his attempt at hiding as he parted the bush away, revealing himself fully.

"Um...hello." Kaidon said awkwardly back to the otter as he dusted himself to get rid of a couple of stuck leaves and twigs. He had to look down since he stood quite a bit taller, but he had a face of nervousness as he shuffled awkwardly a bit in place, not knowing what else to say.

Dante's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open at the sheer size of the creature that stood before him.  It was a badger, he'd heard of them, mostly as amazing warriors in the chronicles that he read, but he'd never seen one before.  

The badger shuffled his feet, and Dante at last came to his senses, realizing that an awkward silence hung between them.  "Er," he mumbled and then stuck out his paw, "Th' names Dante, Dante Riverstone."  He grinned cheekily up at the badger, "I'd be pleased ta make yer acquaintance Mr. Badger, sir!"

Niamh heard a crashing in the bushes heading away from her.  She waited for several moments and heard the sounds growing fainter and fainter, and then wriggled out from her hiding place in the bushes.  She wondered if the fox was alone or had companions as she scanned the woods around her.  Not a sign of anything at the moment.  Maybe she should trail the fox, just for a little while, to see if he met up with anyone.  that would allow her to gauge the danger better.

Curse this stupid pelt, she thought as she grimaced down at her white fur.  If only she had a dark pelt, like a normal otter, it would be so much easier to move unnoticed.  She looks around her at the damp earth and grimaced again.  She carefully placed her cloak to one side, and then proceeded to rub mud all over any exposed or nearly exposed areas.  She rubbed it in thoroughly, with a slight wince when she thought of how hard it would be to get the mud out of her pelt when she was done.  

When she had fully coated herself in mud, she cast about on the ground looking for the fox's tracks.  When she found them, she began to carefully follow them, sticking as close to cover as she could.  She kept her paw near her dirk, but left her bow unstrung.  If she came upon someone dangerous suddenly, the bow would be of no use.  And if she came upon someone dangerous without them seeing her, well, there would be plenty of time to string the bow then.

Little did the fox know the irony of his position. The hunter becoming the hunted. How poetic.

At the moment all he was concerned about was filling his growling gut. "Quite you. You'll give us away!" He said loudly to himself. Grumbling as he walked the fox continued on for a little while, sniffing the ground and walking in circles until he moved on to the next area.

When the fox heard voices up ahead he became silent, dropping to his belly he crawled like a snake until he came across a series of bushes hiding himself from the otter and badger.

Unfortunetly for him Vannon could only see the otter's head from thie vantage point. "Oh! So thats where you went you little weasel. You met up with an otter!" He said in a quiet whisper and giggled. He could almost taste what ever food they were carrying.

Then again he was hungry enough he might forgo civility and add them to the menu...

The fox shook away the thought. He held no grudge against eating meat. Collecting it though, that was a tad more gruesom.

Not to mention it would be a tad more dangerous to just pop out here like a crazy beasr, stabbing people at random with a sword. No, he was going to play this right and propper.

Circling back a few feet to a small clearing the fox licked his own paws. He gave himself a quick grooming, patting down loose fur and making himself look less like a crazy half starved fox, if only slightly.

"Got to keep up appearences... no one likes to be robbed by poorly kept scoundral1" the fox said again to himself for no decernable reason. Having completed his task Vannon walks towards the two beasts once again. He pauses only once to take a deep breath. "Showtime."

Rustling the leaves of the bush the fox steps out into the light. He still cant see his elusive white weasel behind a series of other green leaf bushes, nor the badger that ACTUALLY stands there, but he can clearly see the otter.

"Well top o' the mornin to ya! Might fancy day for a walk through me woods eh?" The fox announces in a bright and horriboy botched english accent. He leans against a near by tree with his arms crossed over his chest.

Well...his first meeting with this friendly otter was going great so far he guessed. He wasn't a hunter, that was clearly evident and his attitude seemed alright. If there was one thing one could say about Kaidon, he may be just a little bit too trusting to those not openly trying to hurt him.

He almost stepped back a little when Dante stuck out his paw, "Th' names Dante, Dante Riverstone." he said to him. Maybe his luck was finally turning around for once and made a small smile when the otter grinned cheekily. "Its um......a pleasure to Dante Riverstone." He replied back and accepted the paw nervously, shaking it slightly. "Its.....Kayn, not Mr. Badger, my name that is." He said to half correct him, it was better to not involve such a kind otter in his trouble.

Then he heard another voice coming from behind the otter, it belonged to a fox who walked into view. Thats when Kayn/Kaidon released his grip and put his paw onto the hilt of his sword, "Y-your woods...fox? I-I believe no one ow-owns these woods sir." He said with a false bravado, hiding his unwanting of a fight to occur. His paw shoke slightly as he kept it on the hilt of his sword as he kept his purple eyes on the new arrival who was leaning on a tree now with no care in the world.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meetcha then, Kayn!"  Dante smiled at the quiet badger.  He was about to ask Kayn where he was headed when a voice interrupted him.  He turned and saw a rather scrawny looking fox leaning casually against a tree.  Behind him, Kayn called out in a shaky voice, "Y-your woods... fox?  I-I believe no one ow-owns these woods sir."

Finally, something exciting was happening to Dante!  He broke out in a wide grin that totally negated what he said next, "Yes, far's I know, no one owns th' woods, Mr.  What'ere gave ya th' idear that you did?"  He looked the fox up and down, trying to figure out what he wanted from Kayn and himself.  

The fox was very scraggly looking, like he hadn't had a bath in a year, and he was painfully thin.  Dante felt his softer side feeling bad for the fox and wondering what had happened to make a creature suffer so.  But there was something that kept him from feeling completely comfortable with this fox.  Maybe it was the tales that he had read over and over with villainous foxes in them, or the few foxes that had been by the castle and the monks had sent packing because they only wished to steal from and bring harm to the creatures there.  There was something, call it a sixth sense, that told him that the fox was not all that met the eye.

Niamh followed the fox's tracks for a distance and then paused. She could hear voices. She dipped into a crouch and moved towards the voices cautiously. Peering through some bushes, she saw the fox, a badger, and an otter. She wasn't sure what was going on, or if she even wanted to be a part of it. But it was too late for that now, she was a part of it whether she wanted to be or not. Quietly, she knelt and strung her bow and put her arm guard on. Then she inched forward through the bushes into a good position, just in time to hear the badger and otter protest that they didn't think the woods belonged to anyone. She fitted an arrow on and drew her bow slowly, then spoke.

"They're right, you know. These woods are unclaimed by anyone, but especially by the likes of you, fox. I've got the drop on you, so reach your arms up slowly, or you'll get an arrow through your gut. I don't miss."

Several emotions crossed the fox's face in only a few moments. Oh how he looked so smug, so sure of himself. Vannon was acting so cool, like a dashing and daring fox bandit. He would make some witty banter, threaten them a little with his sword if needed, and make them shake in their boots until they handed over all their valuables.

And then the badger stepped out from behind the bush.

"You...you are not a weasel." The fox squeaked. His features seemed to change. His ears flattened out, his tail curled around his legs and some how Van seemed to shrink by two whole inches.

Somewhere along the line the fox had made a grave miscalculation. But just because the badger towered over him and could probibly twist him into a knot doesn't mean the situation is hopeless.

And then the muddy otter appeared!

The fox twisted his head around, eyes wide with a mixture of shock, terror and and bit of anger that some other thief was trying to muscle in on his turf out here, in the middle of the ruddy woods of all places!

'Think fast fox or end up with an arrow in yer guts', Vannon thought as he wracked his brain for solutions to the problem.

"The woods belong to all the beasts that live in them, gal...or...sir." the fox shielded his eyes from the sun as he peered at the mud covered otters hiding place, "Huh...your not the little weasel I'm after either." Vannon said, stitching excuses and words together on the fly.

There were times, however few, where his liud mouth came in handy. Whether or not the story he was about to craft was believable however was up entirely to the beasts around him...

"Honest mistake really. So sorry for the trouble but you are obviously NOT the weasel bandits I am looking for. Becaaaaaause I'm the local forrester! Yah! You don' wanna shoot a forrest Lass. Really bad for business, law abiding or otherwise. That's a hanging offense, that. On account of our important job to...forrester the forrest..."

The fox held up his paws far away from his sword in hopes that the bow beast would not find him threatening...or notice that he was slowly back stepoing away from the grouo assembled here.

Mixed emotions racked through Kaidons head now, the situation was not looking good. His hopes for a peaceful resolution were dashed when another otter arrived and had her bow aimed at the fox. He can't let this just go on, he just couldn't. So he decided to finally act by stepping past Dante and somewhat got between the otter and fox. "Just hold on! No one needs to get hurt now, okay?"

"And please sir, just stay there for a bit okay?" he said calmly to the fox and then turned towards the new arrival. "Please mam, hes...just a confused traveler and probably hasn't had much to eat in a while." He said trying to convince the muddy otter to not shoot. His convincing all depended on how the otter would react to his defense of the fox. "I.....i know him okay?" He added lastly, hoping that would help with his convincing.

Dante's eyes widened when a mud covered otter emerged from the bushes behind the fox.  She held a draw bow in her paws and addressed the fox with a cool voice, telling him to reach for the sky.  The fox had become obviously agitated and was fumbling around for something to say that would appease the crowd.  

When the fox claimed that he was the local forester Dante scoffed, what an obvious lie!  He'd lived around these parts his whole life and knew the local forester was an aging squirrel.  As for the band of weasels that the fox claimed to be searching for, Dante couldn't say if he were telling the truth or not.  There were a lot of bandits around these days.  

What surprised Dante the most was when his new-found acquaintance claimed to know the fox.  He whipped his head around with a furrowed brow.  "But, ya can't know him!  If'n you did, why didn't you say so soon as we saw 'im?"  He turned and walked over to the fox, standing almost nose-to-nose with him, "C'm'er you, I know for a fact that you ain't the forester, less you can climb that there tree with no difficultly, but that's besides th' point."  He stepped back and crossed his arms, "So if you'd just kindly tell us what yer doin' 'ere and where yer going, we just might be willin ta help you out.  We're peaceful creatures less you got some villainous intentions."  He glanced meaningfully at the fox's thin stomach.  "And I do happen to have a nice scone in me pack that's just settin' there waitin' to be ate."  Dante raised an eyebrow and waited for the fox's reply.

Naimh sighed and moved so that the badger wasn't blocking her fully from the fox, and relaxed the bow to half drawn.

"You know this fox?  Seriously?"  She scoffed doubtfully.  "Well, then, were you both planning on robbing this otter?  None of this makes any sense at all, and I dislike things that don't make sense.  Why don't we all sit down and everyone can explain things.  I'll even explain myself."  She glanced at the nervous fox.  "Don't try anything stupid, fox.  I'd hate to have to exert myself because of you."  

Niamh stepped fully out of the bushes and stared at the three creatures in front of her, waiting for a response.

Vannon could only stand in shock from each creatures reaction to his presence as he considered his next course of action.

Option A.

The fox draws his sword and takes the brown furred otter hostage. "Huzzah! I am an evil bandit! Give me all your monies or this one dies!"

And then the fox gets shot by the archer and stomped on by the badger. They have a bon fire later and make Vannon into a fancy scarf and there was much rejoicing.

The End.

Yeah...Vannon didn't like option A and he felt fleeing in panic (a favorite choice for him) to be a tad too dramatic and possibly fatal.

That left option C. Playing along and sitting down like a sane and normal person to enjoy a living chat around a camp fire. He could use the beasts kindness and generosity to...

Vannon paused in though. It finally hit him. kindness and generosity.

The otters may not trust him, but they havn't tried to kill him yet. One offered him food, the other offered to at least listen to his story before deciding to shoot him. The badger had even stepped in to keep the fox from getting shot! For a stranger! A fox no less.

Something stirred in the beast as old memories surfaced. Coming here for the first time with nothing but pocket lint and a the clothes on his back. The first inn he stayed at accused him of theivery and the guards ran him out of town.

The first beasts he asked for help were a pair of squirrel travelers who took him into their camp, gave him a meal, and tried to rob him while he slept.

The list went on and on. Each day turning into a struggle for survival against nature, against highway beasts before he became a bandit, and then against fellow highway beasts after becoming a bandit.

Something profound struck the fox then in these beasts simple acts of basic beastial decencey.

Ears flat against his head the fox's eyes dialated. His muzzle began to snivel and large tears began to stream down his cheeks.

"You mean you...and you tried to...and your not going to...?" With little other warning Vannon casts his head back with a loud wail. Crying profusely the fox launches himself at the brown furred otter, trying to wrap his arms around the otter in a tight bear hug where he continues to cry and weap.

The fox didn't even try to steal his wallet.

He never expected the last part to convince them, but he never expected it to backfire either. "I...I its because....umm..." He honestly had nothing else he could say and the stammering was obvious in his tone, so he gave up. Then he heard the otter with a bow ask him if he was planning on robbing dante with the fox, he gasped in shock at the accusation.

"I would never rob another beast I would have you know!" He said in a sudden outburst towards the otter that surprised even him. His expression changed again to that of his shy self again, "I'm sorry about that...mam." He said in a apologetic tone. Then he was again surprised when the fox all of sudden started wailing like a dibbun and attempt to get Dante into a bear hug. Truly, this day was filled with surprises at every turn.

The fox looked from Dante and Kayn and then back to the other otter.  His eye's widened, and Dante thought he saw tears forming in them.  "You mean you...and you tried to...and your not going to...?" he stammered, he then let out a loud wail and flung himself on Dante.  Blubbering and mumbling incoherently, he wrapped Dante up in a hug.  

Stunned,  Dante patted the fox on the back, "Er, It's okay.  There, there."  He looked at both Kayn and the otter with a confused look.  Then shrugged his shoulders and patted the fox on the back once more, leading him over to a tree root, "Well, er, Mr. Fox, why don'tcha sit yer self down here and tell us a bit 'bout yerself.  Now, now, you're perfectly save with us, we won't do nothin' to ya."  He smiled brightly at the fox as he sat down.  "Th' names Dante, what might you be called?"

Niamh let her bow string go completely and rubbed her eyes. This scene was getting stranger and stranger by the moment. "No worries, I'm sorry for offending you, sir. And no, Mr. Fox, nobody is going to hurt you without cause." She rubbed her face awkwardly and tried to loosen the tension she felt a bit by jesting. "I make it a habit not to hurt anyone unless they're going to hurt me or someone else if I don't." She offered a nervous half smile. Oh lord, did she stink at social situations that didn't fall under the typical "wandering troubadour" category. And this one certainly didn't. She almost wished she'd just walked on by. But not quite.