Sophie's Quest

[Neko]

The sun shone beautifully over the outskirts of Ternadan as it rose above the mountain tops. Its rays caressed the corn, and other various vegetables the farmers grew (If one looked close enough, they might have been able to see the plants smiling). Tirelessly working away in the field was a small girl, who had been up well before the sun. On her left arm she carried a basket, while with her free hand, she picked ripe vegetables from the fields. A yawn slipped from the girl?s lips. ?Sophie, we need to go into town today, right?? A familiar voice questioned. Flying toward her was a raven, his dark feathers held a tint of blue. ?Yup yup, Mimic. Since mum hasn?t been feeling well, I have to be the one to set up shop today.? Sophie replied to the bird, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. She had only made the trip to town once or twice, and both times she had come across misfortune. The farmers had always been easy targets for bandits and other such enemies, since city guards tended to...well, stay in the city. Sure, they could go to town and complain to the guards, but the bandits would be far off by then.

Sophie hadn?t always needed to work so hard; In fact, her family had actually been quite wealthy as farmers. However, many years ago, after a bandit raid, most of their crops along with the crops of neighboring farmers, had been burnt down. While they managed to salvage a few of the vegetables, it simply wasn?t enough. In one night, they had lost almost everything. Now, Sophie?s family was doing their best just to make ends meet. Mimic, the raven, plopped himself on the farmer girl?s shoulder. ?Don?t worry, just use those stabby things your father gave you.? Mimic reassured her, easily catching on to her nervousness. Sophie smiled. After the raid, Sophie?s father had given her special throwing knives.  ?Yeah, you?re right?I?ve been training a lot you know! Eventually, I?ll be so good, I?ll be able to protect both mum and dad from any nasty bandits.? She replied with confidence. Sophie imagined herself dressed as a ninja, gracefully riding the world of bad guys. Unfortunately, despite her wild fantasies, the girl simply wasn?t suited for such combat. She had been taught various healing spells by her mother though, which she was quite good at.

?Alright Mimic, it?s time to head out.? Sophie said. She had finished her morning chores, and now stood on the path to town. Beside her was a small cart filled with vegetables, and pulling the cart was a tiny old mule.

The bright morning had turned into a rather cloudy afternoon, which Sophie wasn?t all that happy about. ?Come on?you can do it!? Sophie spoke encouraging words to the mule as it walked lazily along. It took little time before Sophie arrived at the area she was most scared of - the forest. This small forest was what separated her families farm from the main city?and while it was small, it was the perfect hiding place for thieves. She took in a nervous breathe before continuing forward. She would have loved for her father to come along and protect her - But he had his own business to attend to. It was up to Sophie to bring in the money that day, and she didn?t want to let her parents down.

Mimic took the lead, wanting to see if he?d be able to spot anything, or hear anything suspicious. ?Hear anything, Mimic?? Sophie whispered. The bird mentally sighed. ?Sophie, I?ll let you know the second I do. Please stop asking?. Only five minutes into the forest, and she had already asked him that same question 5 times. Sophie sighed, and instead tried focusing her attention on more positive things. While dangerous, the forest was also beautiful. She focused in on the singing of nearby birds, their song calming her nerves slightly. ?Do you know what they?re singing about Mimic?? Sophie asked, truly curious. Mimic was silent for a moment, before finally giving her an answer. ??I don?t think you want to know.?


They continued on, and had finally become more comfortable with their surroundings...a bit too comfortable. Sophie cried out, something large hitting her on the back. She toppled forward, landing hard on her knees. ?Ow!?? Sophie whined. She slowly turned, scared to know what she?d be faced with. Her eyes widened in fear. Standing above her was a group of five, their races varying. One was large, and looked as though it might have been some sort of ogre. It held a club, which Sophie assumed was what had hit her. Beside that creature was something short, possibly a hafling. All wore masks, and all were equally terrifying. ?Did you bring this just for us?? The small one taunted in a high pitched, female tone as she climbed up on the cart. Sophie was already close to tears - due to both the pain in her back, and just pure fear. ?M-mimic,what do we do!?? Sophie began to panic as she begged Mimic telepathically for some sort of solution. But, to her surprise, the raven was nowhere to be found. ?Mimic?? Sophie said aloud, her voice coming out as a frightened squeak. Sure, she had run into bandits before, but never this many at once, and none quite this scary.

The hafling began digging through the cart, obviously thinking something more valuable could be hiding beneath the food. ?Got any coins on ya??? One of the five asked, his voice gruff. He was tall and slender, but his dark clothes hid most of his features. A human, perhaps? Sophie quickly shook her head at his question. It was a lie though, Sophie was in fact carrying a small coin purse. She had planned to get her mother more medicine while in town.

The tall one moved toward her, and Sophie panicked. She pulled a throwing knife from beneath her dress, (The knives had been strapped to her leg) and tossed it at him. But, to Sophie?s surprise, he caught it. He looked at the knife for a moment, as if examining it, before tossing it straight back at Sophie using a simple flick of the wrist. The handle smacked her right in the forehead, causing her to cry out and fall from her knees to her back. Before she could react in any way, the ogre had roughly picked her up by the arm. ?C-come on, please, I?m not some sort of rich merchant!? Sophie pleaded, her head now pounding. Without a word the human came forward and dug through her pockets, finding the coin pouch with ease. Sophie fell silent. ?Oooh gimme gimme!? The hafling exclaimed as she rushed over to the human, and snatched the pouch from his hand. She hurriedly opened it, moving the coins around as she counted them. ?Eh, not too bad I guess.? The hafling mumbled. ?Got anything else??

Sophie stared at the ground, defeated. She was disappointed in herself. She was given the responsibility of transporting the food, and providing for the family?she had failed.

To be continued?

[Throndir]

* * *

The sun was high in the sky as its rays shown down outside the gates of Ternadan covering the area in a bright glow. It was just a bit past mid-day and it was just when things were starting to heat up. Both in the temperature and what the paladin was engaged in.

Annia brushed some sweat from her brow as she stared at her opponent. The paladin would always train at various times of the day, or whenever the opportunity presented itself. The days she wouldn't be on a mission, she spent many hours simply practicing with her blade right outside the gates of the city. Many times, and usually, it was by herself; simply going over the stances her mentor had taught her, or fending off an imaginary opponent, but this time, it was different. This time she had an actual opponent.

She had seen him arriving into town not too long before, he was probably just coming back from a mission. The emblem that the figure wore spoke all too clearly of his allegiance to the Guild of Galas'nor, much like Annia herself. She had seem him a couple of times in the past, and though Annia never had a chance to really talk to him, the paladin did notice many of the individual members of the guild. Especially if they were unique.

As Annia readied her greatsword again rushing in to hopefully catch her opponent off-guard, she couldn't agree more that her opponent was indeed very unique. For the halfling carried with himself a sword way too large slung on his shoulder as if it didn't weigh anything at all.

[Linwelin]

The halfling grinned with glee as Annia rushed toward him. I didn't even have to taunt her into it like the rest. I was asked to spar. ASKED! This is WONDERFUL! He whipped his large greatsword out of its scabbard, swinging it up into a blocking slash, just in time to clash with her blade. However, his blade's momentum pushed her back slightly, with him continuing to grin over his blade at her. "Good try. My turn!" With that, Kin whirled, executing horizontal slash across the pushed-back paladin, knowing she could block it, but wanting to see her movements.

He was still trying to figure her out. No one ever asked Kin to spar, mostly out of fear he'll lose himself and end up hurting them. But not only was he asked to spar, but she sad to not limit himself. He could use his favorite sword! She was looking for a challenge, but why? Well he was determined to find out. Maybe testing new techniques? If so, then Kin had one of his own to try, but not just yet. After all, he's not about to kill a guildmate! He needs to make sure she can handle it.

[Throndir]

Goodness, he can swing that sword just as easily as he can carry it. The paladin thought as she was pushed back slightly from the sheer weight and momentum of the halfling simply blocking her attack. She had seen the halfling move just the faintiest of movements, but it was all Annia needed to know to understand that overly sized weapon would be headed her way. A single twitch, and the large greatsword whistled in the air horizontally slashing at where she was.

She gripped her own greatsword as she swung it deftly to block the attack. The sword wasn't as maneuverable as the katana she kept sheathed, but it did well enough as she positioned her sword to block the attack. She wanted to get a feel of how strong the halfling really was, but as the blow connected, she had almost wished she stepped back in order to lessen the impact of strike rather than taking on the full weight of the sword.

Well. Almost.

Steeling herself, she pushed and swung her sword with just enough effort to block the attack, not a moment later she reversed the flow the weapon, using the ricocheting effect from the sword to launch her own strike. Annia realized that the halfling must have been testing her to attempt an easy-to-block attack, so the paladin aimed lower than normal, just enough for the halfling to easily evade as well. A test for a test.

[Neko]

* * *

Mimic pushed his wings as fast as he could, his little raven heart pounding. He had seen the bandits coming - And he knew the second they were spotted the two of them would be unable to escape. So, without a word, he had run off before the ambush happened. They were close enough to town that he'd have a chance of actually finding help before the bad guys ran off with their things this time. It was incredibly hard to leave Sophie like that, but it was the only option he had. He often wished his body was something more durable, so maybe he'd be able to protect his best friend. But, for now, he'd have to enlist the help of others. He flew up above the trees, spotting the city straight ahead.

[Linwelin]

* * *

And dodge Kin did, better than expected. He was actually out of the way before the sword was half way to him. "I know it was just a test, but just because I have a big sword doesn't mean I can't move. Half-assed attacks like that won't even touch!" the halfling blabbed. "Though I guess I should get serious, you look like you handle yourself well enough to not get hurt."

Kin suddenly relaxed, and his movements while moving his weapon into his next stance much more efficient and sharp than before. The glint in his eyes said he was coming as he lunged forward, incredibly, with a thrust. It speared toward Annia, but just short of reaching her, Kin sliced down slightly, catching it in the dirt. He spun off the sword using its momentum, then used his own to yank it from the ground, twirling it then slashing horizontally close range.

Despite the spectacle, it was obvious this was a new move as some of the motions were a little clunky. However one thing was certain, the bluffed thrust started a dodge, which made the switch to a horizontal slash difficult to dodge. There was no doubt much thought had been put into the technique. He just lacked the skill to pull it off well.

[Throndir]

With the sword thrusting towards her, Annia had planned to dodge out of the way. A quick side step, using her sword to guide the piercing weapon out of harm's way would have been enough to parry the blow. But as the moments ticked by, the halfling's maneuver caught the paladin by surprise. The sword thrust into ground, just at the perfect angle for the halfling to continue to completely change the direction of his attack.

Ahh... Annia's mentor said as the paladin hurriedly attempted to parry or dodge the blow. She couldn't have responded even if she wanted to as the sword came too quickly. She started to roll out of the way, and to her credit she managed to get her greatsword to some-what deflect the blow, which increased the strength of her flight due to the momentum of the overly large sword. Though the awkward parry was enough to loosen the sword from her grasp as her blade started being thrust upwards. As Annia was still in midair, and seeing that her greatsword was by now useless, already the handle was slipping through her grasp, she started to draw her katana, her mentor and friend. She quickly thought of rolling and drawing her blade, then continuing the fight fluidly, but as her grip tightened on the blade, she chose not to.

The threshold of deciding the course of action passed, and the armored lady found herself staring at the clear bright sky.

You still have a lot to learn Annie. When one knows their weapon enough, they can pull off any number of manuevers. The greatsword can be a cumbersome weapon in a lesser wielder, but master a blade and any can be as powerful. That short one did indeed prove the fact. There was a soft and warm chuckle. All things considered, you did well enough. I never truly did give you any lessons with those greatswords your people are so fond of.

Dejected, though she didn't really say anything as she knew her mentor's words were indeed true. She stared quietly at the skies instead. She saw what looked to be a small bird flying in the skies, though, speedy, and hurriedly.

A bird?

No it's a plane! No it's...! SUPERMAN

[Linwelin]

Kin saw that the blow did as much as he had hoped for, sending his opponent flying off to the side and disarming her. He saw Annia reaching for her katana, but then slacken and not draw it. She's conceding...? "Awww, but it was just getting fun! Well whatever, score one for the Kinster!" He says as he pumps his arm in success. He then walks up to Annia, seeing that she is instead spacing out toward the sky. "You know, you'd probably lose less if you didn't end up staring at the sky so much." Kin states matter-of-factly, as he looks in the direction she's now spacing out toward.

He blinks a couple of times dramatically, "Well what do you know, it is a bird! Isn't that rare! A common raven flying in the sky!" He says the last part sarcastically, really not sure what was so special about it. Then he realizes it is flying in a strange manner after all. Right toward them! "What in the...why's it flying straight at us?"

[Neko]

Mimic had finally made it to the city gates! His wings were a bit tired from flying at such high speeds, but he didn't have time to slow down now. Luckily for him, two what looked to be capable warriors stood just outside the gates. Both appeared as though they were already prepared for battle...Now, he could only hope the two would have the ability to decipher his message. He dove downward toward them, before flaring out his wings to slow and make a circle around the duo. "Please, help! Follow me!" He pleaded. However, in reality, his cries for help came out as frantic caws and intense wing flapping. He clawed at the female warrior's armor, then darted back in the direction of the forest. He would repeat this process multiple times.

* * *

While the bandits who had attacked Sophie were happy with the coin bag, it simply wasn't enough for them. Few people ever traveled through the forest, and they had no intention of missing out on potential profit. Sophie had been thrown into the cart, her wrists tied together behind her back. "You heard what happened to that slaver guy's operation, right?" Sophie had heard the hafling say. "Some warrior from The Guild of Galas'nor snuck in and ruined the whole thing. Not only did he lose slaves, he had to move the entire operation!" She had exclaimed. "In other words, he's probably more than willing to pay for some new ones, you know, to get things running again." Sophie remained quiet. As much as she had wanted to fight, she knew her abilities wouldn't be anywhere near enough...If only she had enough money to receive proper training, maybe then she could have escaped this whole situation. But no - bandits had taken her families only profit years ago, and even now they continued to meddle in her life.

[Linwelin]

* * *

"What in the nine hells does that crow think it's doing!? Kin said as he watched it fly back and forth multiple times, cawing uncontrollably. "Well it's not like normal animals can think or talk, I doubt it's trying to say anything. Let's spar again!" Kin ended excitedly as he turned to Annia. Darned bird distracting my prey...

[Throndir]

Normally, Annia would have complied, sparring with an actual fighter who knew more swordplay than the regular ruffians she was more accustomed to would have been great practice. There wasn't that many occasions to be on the other end of a fellow guild member's sword too, and it was an interesting experience for the sword fighter as she proceeded to pick herself up. The talents of the guild members were far and varied; most she had seen and encountered were already skilled and powerful in their own right. She was glad that the halfling had appeared. It gave her a chance to test herself against them, though, as she was starting to figure out, just using her skills learned at the temple was not enough by far. She would have agreed to another spar.

But as the paladin watched the raven dashing to and fro, cawing, and at times sweeping near them to lightly claw at her armor, it seemed more than just a little different to her. She never claimed to have any knowledge of beasts or animals, but the raven was indeed acting strangely. It was fascinating to Annia. The strange and interesting things have always been oh so very fascinating to the paladin. She was mesmerized at the constant flapping of wings, and the strange behavior exhibited by the raven. She had never seen anything like it before, and as it kept dashing to and fro from the direction of the forest to her, she realized that the raven must have wanted them to see something in there.

A strange raven leading her to another strange sight? Annia was literally smiling at the interesting aspect of it all.

"Even still, the raven wouldn't be acting out of the ordinary if there wasn't something bothering it. Look at how it constantly keeps darting back and forth from us to the forest." Even as she said the words the raven again came towards her, scratched her armor, then darted speedily towards the forest again, only to flap its wings hard to reverse its direction and repeat the process. "A wise friend once told me to always listen to your surroundings; the field in which you fight on, the obstacles around you, potential allies or enemies, anything that can possibly have any outcome, including animals." She hoped she sounded sincere enough and wise in her words. But an intruding thought came to her from her katana.

You're just curious about the raven aren't you? He teased. Inwardly the paladin frowned. She realized it wouldn't be so great to have a ex-member of the Knights of the Golden Dawn, Silver Arms, and current member of the Guild of Galas'nor to be lead so easily astray by a bird. Yet as she thought about her mentor's question, she couldn't help but respond back. She didn't always like how her mentor could so easily read her.

Yes... She thought uneasily as she glanced at the halfling.

How curious?

Very.

Why?

Just look at the raven!

Enough to ditch your duel? He stressed the word duel.

Annia remained silent. She didn't want to go against her mentor's wishes, and she knew him well enough to know that a duel or even spar was supposed to be a sacred thing. The paladin was conflicted. Suddenly the sword imparted her an image of what to do, with the tingling feeling of mischievousness. Various images, like a flash of pictures one after the other to show a scene was presented to her. The sets of images displayed to her might just work. Though, it was strange that her mentor would even suggest it. She felt a hint of fondness from her blade, though, she didn't really think anything of it. She turned back towards the halfling.

"Very well then." Annia said as she picked up her greatsword. "Let me show you one of my special techniques." She stressed the word special techniques as if she was about to show something spectacular.

But with that, the paladin swung her greatsword, letting it go at just the right moment for it to dangerously fly towards the halfling, aiming straight towards his neck. It became a projectile, whirling quick and lethal as it sped towards its target. In just that moment, Annia ran, or rather, darted forward.

Not towards the halfling. Not towards her flung sword aimed at him. But to the curious raven. And to the forest that seemed to get just a bit more curious with the fact the bird was related to it.

I can't believe you would have even suggested it! In response, the familiar warm chuckle resounded, and her katana hummed in satisfaction.

[Neko]

At the halfing's words, Mimic felt a bit of anger. What a hard headed creature to assume the raven had no intelligence! Hmph! However, he wasn't one to give up, and had continued clawing and cawing. It seemed as though the female warrior would be ignoring him as well, as she instead went to attack the shorter one. However, to Mimic's surprise, she came darting back toward him. Assuming this meant he had finally convinced her to come along, Mimic went straight toward the forest with no turning back this time. He made sure to keep at a reasonable pace, knowing that it was unlikely she'd be able to keep up if he went at full speed.

[Oath]

* * *

I had taken it upon myself to investigate the bandits in the area as I had heard that they were a problem for the local people but I had no idea that they would also be taking people as slaves. I had lets say acquired a set of bandit clothing, and since my enemy do not know what I looked like I had donned their garb and joined their troop to see what I could discover for myself.

I had scarcely been with them a week when this current situation arose. A young girl, who looked to be a maid was robbed by these fellows. It was not the first that I had seen them do this week, but since I was making an attempt to blend in I did not stop their activities to see if there was something greater going on under the surface of this just being a ragtag group of brigands that terrorized the area.

It greatly amused me that these two-bit bandits had heard of me, not by name, but by deed. Little did they know that this group of bandits would likely meet the same fate as that group of slavers, but first I am going to make an attempt to figure out where the group of slavers I originally interrupted relocated to for a repeat mission. However I do not want this girl to fall into the hands of slavers, at any cost.

?Hey boss, where do we plan on taking this girl?  I didn't know that there were still any slavers in the area.? I hope that the leader will take the bait, but if he doesn't I will have to bide my time a bit longer.

Meanwhile, I look at the girl that has been captured. I'm not sure what to say to her, but I know I have to think about this carefully or I will blow my cover.

[Neko]

Now that they had gotten all set to go, the bandits began pulling the cart and made their way off of the trail. Although people didn't come around often, it certainly wouldn't be safe for them to stay in the open like that. Upon hearing one of the bandits question about the slavers location, the tall human spoke up. He was the leader of their small group. "A little ways outside the farmlands." He stated flatly. The halfing spoke next. "They haven't been set up for long. The owner of the place decided to lay low for a while..and well..he's back in business now!" She explained with a laugh. The ogre was at the front of the group, carefully clearing the way for the others. The halfing was at the back, quickly covering their tracks. Sophie quietly sighed and leaned her head against the cart. How the bandits could talk so casually about something like this was beyond her. "Awh man, I'm so hungry though! We should buy some food with the money we get for dropping this kid off." The hafling suggested. "You're being too loud. Shut up." The human suddenly said. The hafling complied, although she wasn't happy about it.

[Linwelin]

Kin was surprised. REALLY surprised. Special technique! He barely suppressed a jump for joy. I wonder what kind of...gods! He barely drew his normal greatsword in time to parry and redirect the flying blade. "Well admittedly that was interesting, but that hardly constitutes as a-" He sees her running off after the bird. "Gah, are you kidding me!? YOU COULD HAVE JUST SAID NO! I hate being lead on like that." Kin stood there fuming, but once he cooled down after a few seconds, he yelled out again. "Damn it all, wait for me!"

Kin sprinted after her, sheathing his sword again so he could run easier. "Why in the world would you do that? You were so eager to fight before, and now a bird is more interesting!? Talk about insulting, you're one weird woman!"

Then again, she's still one of the only ones to actually asked me for a fight. Kinda hurt, but I'll get over it.