Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2019 5:19:26 GMT -6
Hello Starborn, and welcome to Vagabond Plot 702: Taste of Ash Team Leader: Blair Participants: Abel, Cecilia, Ida, Donnacha, Damianus, Eon, Adari Please keep the following in mind!- Posts must be a minimum of 175 words. There is no maximum!- No strict order is enforced, but there must be at least two posts between your own character's.- No god-moding or reading characters' minds (unless your pony is a literal telepath, anyway)
- Always get consent before harming another character!- Your team is precious. Try to interact with everyone. <3- Have fun! Even if your pony isn't. 8'D
Prompt: After their most successful raid ever, the Vindicators have kept low profile, focusing on training their numerous new recruits and managing their quickly dwindling foodstock. Now the amalgamation rumors from Eithne can no longer be ignored. A new Aodhian superweapon, the whispers say. Your scouting party has been moving slowly over several days, careful of what you might find. Keeping to the forests to avoid any Aodhian patrols, you have just broken camp on the fourth day of your journey when you come across a young equine… And a body. Location: Northern Eithne Time of Day: July 9th, early morning Weather: Clear, still cool You do not have to wait for your leader to post!
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Post by foalish on Jan 3, 2019 17:34:29 GMT -6
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Post by NorthernMyth on Jan 3, 2019 18:38:01 GMT -6
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Blair | TheifPost 1
Word Count: 448
Dawn broke, Leaving a low mist to settle. Dew soaked grass tickled at the young fillies pasterns and fetlocks. A creeping silence lay over the forest. Like a storm or earthquake had passed through it. Blair trod lightly across the forest floor at a slight jog. Her saddlebags lay across her flank, chiming quietly with every step. Her mask caressing her muzzle with a black thin fabric. She let out a sigh as she came to a stop. Blinding sunlight flooded over her coat giving her form a warm afterglow. The filly soaked in the sun's blissful heat for a moment. Closing her eyes and rolling her head in its direction. Before moving forward into a walk. Keeping to the tree line.
She continued on for a short while. Her mind wandering to an unknown place. Something glinted in the far off distance. She stopped herself.
The filly opened her mouth. “What in Eithne?” She letting out. Raising an eyebrow at what seemed to be something big and made of metal. Sitting against a tree further away. Skeptical. The filly wondered if she had walked into a Chevalier patrol. She fell in behind a tree to her right. Still looking towards what she guessed might be a shield of sorts. After a few moments with nothing happening, the filly began to skulk forward. Slowly making her way from tree to tree.
Eventually making it to the spherical object. It was indefinitely a gold plated shield, adorned with a large dragon crest and sun etching behind it. Undoubtedly an Aodhian shield. The fillies ears fell against her neck. She knew of the Chevalier patrols that had been sent out because of the Vindicators. But for them to come this far was concerning. Blair approached the shield. And it didn’t take her long to see its owner.
A scene lay before the filly. An armored stallion lay between the brush and leaves. Clad in gold and red, again undoubtedly an Aodhian Chevalier. Blair's stomach clenched. Worried they may be still alive. She watched for their sides heaving. Or perhaps their legs moving. But nothing. The filly approached cautiously, swallowing hard and gritting her teeth. Well, they were dead alright. Eye’s still open, glassy and cold. Flies had started to take an interest.
The filly took a sigh of relief and began looking them up and down. By the looks of it, they fell from the hill up above and snapped their neck on the way down. “Unlucky.” the filly guessed. She began to search them over for anything valuable. Scavenging a necklace and an earning. Her ears flicked back. Hearing footsteps coming closer. Her head turned quickly in their direction.
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Post by galekxy on Jan 3, 2019 20:31:10 GMT -6
A B E L
Vindicator Soldier
... ...
There had been so many changes in his life recently, that sometimes Abel felt overwhelmed by it all. In just a span of what seemed like months everything had become different. He was a kirin now- and a Vindicator, a soldier. He had chosen this- partly because of Cecilia, but also because he wanted to. Sure, he was following his friend, but he had his own reasons now- especially as a kirin too.
There had been training, and Abel felt like a wide-eyed colt through it all. But now he was out here, his antlers brushing against low trees, and walking beside Cecilia with other Vindicator's. They were meant to be scouting, and Abel kept his eyes open.
The kirin still only had some throwing knives, but he had become quite skilled with them through training. His gaze cut to Cecilia before scanning the forest around them again, eyes glancing off his other companions in the group. Being a Vindicator had made him feel like he belonged somewhere. He had learned so much, and felt himself grow into someone with purpose. It was nice to know that there were others wanting to achieve the same stuff. Travelling alone with Cecilia had been good- he had enjoyed it, but now he had camaraderie. And Cecilia seemed happy. She liked this new life. So, he walked with the scouting party, stepping quietly so that he wouldn't make too much noise.
A bitter scent filled his nose. It was faint, but it was definitely there. He couldn't quite pin it, but it wasn't pleasant. He looked to around, a question in his eyes, wandering if anyone else had picked up on it too.
... ... Word Count: 280 Post 1 |
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Post by kerarose on Jan 3, 2019 22:56:50 GMT -6
ADARIVindicator Specialist (Spy)Interacting with: Anyone, Everyone, Blair Adari's eyes peered through the forest that was quickly growing lighter as they traveled, their hoofsteps padding softly through the pine needles covering the ground of the forest. Her eyes roamed over the forest and her compatriots as they walked, her large form leading the way through the quiet woods. Her ears swiveled this way and that, picking up any foreign sound, her nose smelling for any scents that she did not recognize.
She looked back at the group following her, noting their placement and forms. Her heart still hurt with jealousy at the two kirins among them, wondering why her god had not blessed her as he had them, especially the young colt, Abel. But she fought it down, as she always did, and remembered his and Cecilia's willingness to learn under her tutelage. They were good kids, and Adari cared deeply for them, as she did all of her students. Her gaze then turned to Ida, whom she had been with on their very successful raid on Valore. She considered the mare a friend, and it was too bad about the infected eye.
Her eyes landed next on Donnacha. The unicorn was surly, that much was sure, but Adari could sass him back and keep him focused on his reading and writing when needed. In time, he would be reading just as well as she. She glanced briefly at Daimanus- Adari did not know him well at all, and perhaps they would know each other better when they returned to the Bunker. She made a mental note to speak with him that night, once they had set up camp. Eon, the last in their group, was perhaps the one she knew best. They were both spies, and she had great respect for him.
Just before turning her head back to the front, she caught Abel's change in facial expression, the question in his eyes and the slight wrinkle of his muzzle. She whipped her head back around, smelling an all-too-familiar scent.
Blood. Death.
She gestured to the group to hold still for a minute, while her head whipped this way and that, trying to find the source of the scent. There, in a small gap in the trees, the scent was strongest. She took one silent step forward, then two, and then she spied a light form in the shadows. A young horse, looking over a dead body, rummaging through its belongings. A thief.
Pulling one of her daggers free, a whisper of a noise from its scabbard and its finely honed edge sparkling in the light, she pinned back her ears and angled her head back towards the rest of the group, keeping her eyes on the thief. "We are not alone," she mumbled back to the group, hoping that the small mare did not hear.
Post #1 // WC: 478 |
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Post by Ribbon-Wren on Jan 3, 2019 23:39:21 GMT -6
Ida || Vindicator SoldierIda stopped up short behind Adari, snapped out of her daydreaming. She was supposed to be looking out for danger but her mind was prone to wandering, especially after several days of extremely boring and uneventful walking through the Aodhian woods. The vindicators all had their strengths and weaknesses, and focusing sometimes happened to be something she struggled with. But hey, that's what the other vindicators with her were for, right? With this mindset, she failed to recognize that Adari's attentiveness had been the only thing stopping her from simply waltzing into the clearing where the thief now stood.
Ida soon realized the severity of the situation as she caught the glint of something gold leaning against a nearby tree. An Aodhian shield. A Chevalier's shield. "Chevaliers were here." She hissed at the group, nodding her head towards the nearby shield. "Should we turn back and go around?" A confrontation this deep into enemy territory could spell disaster for their small party. They had limited medical supplies, and even with their growing numbers the Vindicators couldn't bear to lose anyone to slavery. She tapped her hoof nervously on the forest floor; the longer they stood around the more likely they were to be spotted.
[Post 1 || 206 words] |
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savorda
Dwarf Star
avatar by posy-punch
Posts: 61
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Post by savorda on Jan 4, 2019 20:41:04 GMT -6
| eon you have suffered enough it's time that you won |
I will never truly escape this place, will I?
Eon knew damn well what he was getting into when he joined the Vindicators. Still, the anxiety that clouded his thoughts every time he is sent into Eithne is hard to shake. At least he can find comfort in moving amongst the trees. Traveling in the heart of Valore again would have all but fried his nerves.
Eon took up the rear of their group as they traveled. His paranoia was of some use from time to time. While his eyes were focused on the forest around them, his ears were straining to catch even the faintest of croaks. His raven, Void, flew ahead of them, looking out for any immediate threats. His definition of "immediate threat" was still fairly different from Eon's, so he didn't bother alerting the stallion of the corpse in their path. Adari's warning made Eon tense. Without so much as a warning to his poor bird, Eon slipped into Void's head. Looking at the ground from so high up made his stomach lurch. He could feel Void's disapproval, but the raven offered no protest to the intrusion. Void circled the corpse and surrounding forest, but Eon couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. If there was anyone, or anything lurking, waiting for them, he couldn't see it. The stallion returned to his view, his legs a little shaky underneath him
"I didn't see anything, just the mare, and the corpse." Eon paused for a moment. "But still tread carefully."
253 words | post 1 |
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pyvern
Nebula
avatar by lemonyh!
Posts: 24
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Post by pyvern on Jan 5, 2019 13:41:03 GMT -6
DONNACHA || soldier .. vagabond .. he/him .. .raise a glass to freedom
Donnacha let the cold, crisp morning air wash over him as he progressed through Eithne's forests, glad to be on the move and outside the Bunker once more. After their the successes of their previous missions, he had been cooped up in the Vindicators' underground home for months on end- training the new recruits that seemed to flow into their ranks in greater numbers than ever. For many, he knew, returning to Eithne was not something they had enjoy, but Donnacha relished the oppurtunity. If the soldier was to be truly honest, he knew next to notihng about their current mission at all, but he was glad to be here either way.
As their party moved further onwards after breaking camp, Donnacha couldn't help but wonder what this 'superweapon' could possibly be. He couldn't imagine what it coyuld be, though he knew Aodh's herd to be advanced in science. At least, the unicorn reassured himself, they had a strong enough group: the two young kirins - Donnacha was still in awe, he had to admit, he hadn't seen one of Ignacio's children before - Cecilia and Abel appeared to be donig well with their training, and certainly seemed at home in the Bunker; Adari's presence was reassuring, they had worked well on their last mission together; as for Damianus, he didn't know the soldier that well, but he'd have to trust in him; and fimally, there were Ida and Eon - he didn't know them well, but Donnacha had heard the retellings of their mission freeing the labour slaves, and was glad to have them at his side.
However, it seemed they would come across an unexpected equine that morning.
At Abel and Adari's warnings, his teke slid towards the dagger he had borrrowed befire leaving the Bunker, and he too noticed the smell of blood in the air. Then he saw it: between the trees, a young filly crouched over a body - a thief, seemingly, as she appeared to be stealing from the remains. The golden shield glinting in the weak sun then caught his eye.
Chevaliers? This close nearby?
Despite Eon's assurances that there were no more Chevaliers nearby, Donnacha was still wary. He frowned as he aksed aloud, "Why would a Chevalier be wandering here, in the forests, completely alone? Don't they travel in pairs, mostly?" It didn't seem likely to him, though he supposed it was possible. Whatever the case, they had to keep moving.
As silently as possible, Donnacha pulled the dagger fully out of its sheath, also reaching for his shield, while his lion familiar, Aslan, seemed to sense his mood and started growling lgihtly.
You couldn't be too careful. |
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Post by Rhaenera on Jan 6, 2019 6:38:53 GMT -6
Damianus;Vindicator Soldier
Let's have a Toast to the Incompetence of our Enemies.
Northern Eithne, He remembered this place. The paths he'd walked on his way out of the grasps of Slavery, everything Aodh thought he was worth. The path he later returned to when he was full of hate, to teach Aodh what they had created. He was forced to leave this place for such a long time when the Vindicators started pulling bigger stops on Aodh, the Crucible alone more than tripled the patrols. Now they were back, where they shouldn't be, investigating rumors of a supposed super weapon; it was foolish.
Not that Damianus opposed to the foolishness, he was a fool, being back on Aodhian soil was an opportunity for them to strike fear into their heart; Aodh may have a new weapon, but so did they.
Kirins, creatures of legend, two of them had recently joined the vindicator ranks. They were revered as gods to the Aodh they knew today, the very symbol of what Aodh once represented- their bloodline, their God. If anything Celilia and Abel alongside them when they murder a couple patrols would be a pleasant feat, Ancient Aodhians killing Aodhians, Ironic.
However, Aodh's new super-weapon was intriguing. What could they possibly have discovered past the power of a Wyvern nestled under their city, if that hadn't scared their enemies into submission, what else would? Fire. He thought, it's Aodh, it's always got something to do with fire.
All the wildest possibilities went through his head shared with several other snarky thoughts, half to pass the time and half to deny the fact he was actually uneasy; anxious. The trail had been uneventful and that was rare on the roads to Ethine between war and their attacks, not to mention the scarcity of slaves nowadays. No doubt Aodh would be chasing down vagabonds like hounds, so where were they?
Maybe he'd spoken too soon, they had approached a scene with a living mare and a corpse. Is that.. He didn't finish the thought, stuck between who the Mare was and the Dead Chevalier, then the rest of the group revealed their concern. The most prominent concerns to him were those of Ida's and Donnacha's, he'd thought the same things, rather the lack in chevaliers in general.
"This far in, with what we did to em, there should be more." The lonely corpse was still odd, they did travel in pairs out here. They really weren't alone. Were there cultists this far into Eithne? Who else was killing them? "Not the only ones out here that Aodh made enemies with, let's go find out who our friend is, shall we?" He couldn't quite make out the Mare, yet. Friend or Foe it seemed like they killed a chevalier, that was enough for him.
WC: 457 | Post #1 |
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Post by NorthernMyth on Jan 7, 2019 20:08:04 GMT -6
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Blair | TheifPost 2
Word Count: 347
The filly huffed. Pushing herself out to look broader. Though she was clearly outnumbered. A band of equines lined the trees in front of her. At first, her mind went straight to Chevaliers. But as her eyes followed over each member, she could see there was a clear contrast of different backgrounds. With her ears still folded flat against her neck, she let out a few words. “Can I help you?” Her Aodhian accent droned on but was still prominent. Beginning to listening to anything they had to say. Her brows furrowed as she continued to scan the crowd that began to gather. The filly looked the two Kirins up and down first. Blair clenched her jaw. She had heard the whispering tales of the ancient species coming back into existence but this? She was more than a little curious than she thought she’d be.
Blair's eyes continued over them until they settled on what looked to be a familiar face. The mare's ears quickly swiveled around to face forward again. An eyebrow raised in suspicion. Adari? The name came to mind. The mare had mentored Blair years before. Meaning these were most likely Vindicators. The fillies neon pink teke reached around to untied her skull painted mask from the back of her head. The light, silky fabric dropping from her face. She had no need to hide in front of them. A smile braised her face, her head lowered. “Old Mentor, How nice it is to see you again.” Blair's voice bellowed at Adari. Her bright pink eyes softened and her standoffish posture melted away. Though she wasn’t sure if the mare remembered her. Or was even happy with seeing her at all after the way she left.
Perhaps this was a bad idea. The group came closer towards the filly, she almost forgot about the body. “Also, no I didn’t kill ‘im. He was already dead when I found him like that.” Trying to convey she wasn’t dangerous. Her teke reached around to her saddlebag on the side of her flank. Placing the mask inside.
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Post by kerarose on Jan 7, 2019 21:51:43 GMT -6
ADARIVindicator Specialist (Spy)Interacting with: Blair, Anyone who responds
Adari couldn't believe that she hadn't recognized the young mare's form in the woods. Blair had been one of her finest students, and Adari had been sad to see her go. She smiled at the youngster, joy lighting up her eyes. "It certainly has been a long while, Blair," she said, a small chuckle escaping her lips. "What have you been up to since I saw you last? Hopefully nothing I wouldn't do." She followed that up with a wink, for there was little she wouldn't do, either on a mission or in her personal life, and Blair knew it, just as everyone else did.
Adari watched as the mare removed the mask on her face, sliding it into her bag. The mask did not seem to line up with what she remembered of Blair, but she had no doubt changed since she'd left. Nodding to the rest of the group, telling them with her gesture that this mare was ok, she slid her dagger back into its sheath on her side. She looked at the Chevalier then, noting his stiffness, the buzzing of the flies. This Chevalier had been dead for a while, it seemed, but Adari did not relax her guard on the surroundings. Where there was one Chevalier, there was always more, and this one had not been dead long enough for his companions to have left. Surely they were still searching for him. So, while her weapon was sheathed, her ears still flicked about the woods.
Turning back to her compatriots, she nodded at the surroundings. "Someone needs to make sure that no one is nearby." She gestured with her head at where the Chevalier seemed to have come from. "I don't want us getting cornered by Chevaliers because we got sloppy."
She then gestured with Blair towards the body, and took a few steps towards it, hoping the mare would follow. She noted the neck, twisted and bent at an odd angle, and the path of bent foliage to the top of the hill. She heard Blair's remark about her not killing the stallion, and she nodded. "I think this one was just dealing with a massive dose of bad luck, Ignacio bless him." She might not agree with Aodh about slavery and other issues, but she wasn't going to curse a recently-deceased stallion. Life was sacred, and she wished his soul on to better things. Her brow furrowed then. "But what is a dead Chevalier doing all of the way out here? And why alone?"
Adari didn't like the feeling that came over her. She suddenly felt on edge, as if something bad was going to happen. Lifting up her head once more, she looked every which way about the site, seeing nothing, but it didn't settle the nerves writhing in her stomach. She just prayed that Ignacio would protect them, and that they'd avoid danger.
Post #2 // WC: 492
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Post by ThatDenver on Jan 8, 2019 10:17:36 GMT -6
Adari is right.
A lone chevalier is an anomaly.
At first you do not see anything, but with the coast clear, more of you move to the vicinity of the body.
Cecilia notices it first.
Some paces off from the body there is a set of tracks. Bloody tracks. They lead back into the forest. They can’t be more than a day or two old, for it has rained recently.
She walks up to them, curious. The tracks come from up the hill, from where the chevalier fell.
Up on the ridge of the hill, there is another body.
But this one is not a chevalier. You can tell immediately – there is no armor gleaming in the sunlight.
The body is small. Lifeless.
It is a child.
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Post by foalish on Jan 8, 2019 10:37:01 GMT -6
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Post by galekxy on Jan 8, 2019 14:59:48 GMT -6
A B E L
Vindicator Soldier
......
He hung back as the body and the thief were discovered. He felt out of his element, even with the recent training. He had been happy doing that, but this- this was harder. Abel could not take his eyes from the body. The kirin wasn't sure if he had ever really seen a dead horse before. It really wasn't a nice sight.
The horse they found with the body seemed harmless enough. One of the other Vindicator's even seemed to recognize her, which made Abel relax a bit, though the body still unnerved him. The others didn't seem bothered though, just curious and cautious as to what happened. Cecilia even nudged the body with her foot, which made Abel wince back slightly. This had been a life, and now... there was nothing.
He stepped from hoof to hoof, until he noticed Cecilia slowly wandering away. She seemed occupied with something, her head down. He watched, wondering what she could be up to, until he noticed the tracks that weren't her own. He didn't follow his friend, instead keeping his eyes on her. But when she shouted down, Abel's coat prickled and he looked to the others around him. Then the kirin turned and followed Cecilia up the path, careful to avoid the blood that littered the ground.
Abel stopped at the small body beside Cecilia. "It's- It's a foal." He briefly wondered if this could be a trap of some sort, and the thought made him glance over his shoulder, glad he had joined Cecilia up here. No one should go off on their own until they could figure out what was going on.
... ... Word Count: 274 Post 2 |
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Post by Rhaenera on Jan 9, 2019 0:54:54 GMT -6
Damianus;Vindicator Soldier
Let's have a Toast to the Incompetence of our Enemies.
Blair. He thought he had recognized the coat, the distance had made it harder to be sure if he was even sure he remembered her right. It had been so long since she'd been apart of the vindicators she didn't cross his mind as often anymore other than the odd event she'd come by to trade off some supplies. Living almost solely outside the bunker he was usually one of the firsts to see her come by but he hadn't expected to see her out here.
She shouldn't be out here. You could get caught. He'd scold her aloud if Adari weren't present, Adari who had already begun to converse with the filly. The two were closer than he'd ever been to either of them and he didn't feel like enduring the wrath of the mare for saying something she might deem out of line. It didn't bother him any less, Blair was a child, too young to be caught up in Aodh's labor force.
Damianus mostly ignored the conversation, conveniently not hearing Adari's order to check their perimeter. It wasn't that he hated Authority but he hated orders that, to him, were unnecessary, who in their right mind would come across a body and not be checking their hindquarters? He always did have an attitude and hesitance to cooperate with those who shared his negative traits.
Still, he became more alert the second Blair made it clear she hadn't killed the Chevalier. Then a little less when it became apparent that the Chevalier had simply fallen down the hill and broke his own neck. The thought had almost induced an amused laugh from him, "Aodh's finest defense force are killing themselves now, awesome." He deemed the glares or other uncomfortable forces worth it. "If he just fell his friend probably ran home to cry about it. Mystery solved."
Any response to his comment might have gone over Damianus's head once he resorted to picking around what the Chevalier had left on his corpse. The body justled stiffly to his teke pulling at pieces of armor among other things, flies bustled softly with each movement. It was good materials Aodhian or not, whether they sold it or used it for themselves it was all worth taking. "Shouldn't we take this, it's good stuff. I'd take a guess they don't need it anymore."
While he tried to figure out a way to relive the Chevalier of his armor, Cecilia's comments were heard but weren't given much mind. The second Chevalier, or the one who pushed him. He figured, something to explain how they were so careless to kill themselves on this hill in the first place. Nothing that particularly made him uneasy.
"It's- It's a foal." He heard the kirin speak loud and clear, the statement, the very idea made their voice echo in his ears.
His heart dropped.
WC: 478 | Post #2 |
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Post by NorthernMyth on Jan 12, 2019 19:56:27 GMT -6
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Blair | TheifPost 3
Word Count: 438
The filly smiled brightly at Adari. “Too long, old Mentor. Oh you know, Killing Chevaliers. Robbing rich Aodhians and giving it to those who need it more. Your model Robin Hoof.” Blair chuckled, catching the mare’s wink. “I can see the Vindicators are still doing well with numbers.” She said looking over Adari’s following flock before she instructed them to scout the place. Something Blair hadn’t been given the chance to do yet. The filly followed the mares gaze to the body. As bad as it was, Blair was used to this now. She was neither disgusted nor put off by it. But money was money, and in this way of life, it was just about everything along with survival. The palomino watched as the Kirins climbed the hill, following the trail.
Her head turned to another familiar face. Damianus stepped towards the body. A horse she knew from the passing. It hadn’t been too long since seeing him last up, at the point. The filly bowed her head a little. “Nice seeing you, I guess we got lucky with this one. A little too close for comfort don’t you think?” The stallion began picking at the body. “He’s empty, well for the most part. If you can carry the armor. Be my guest. It’s too heavy for me aaaaaand, not really my style.” Blair grinned a toothy smile once more. A moment of silence, disturbed by one of the horses up above. The words made a shiver go down the filly’s spine. Moving up over the hill herself.
As her sights sought over the crest of the hill she saw it. A small lifeless body, just a little bit bigger than her. Blair swallowed hard. A colt, probably between the age of 9 and 12. A unicorn with two small bull horns laid at either side of their forehead. A dull, black and baby blue, torn cloak shrouded their light pearl coat. Or what was left of them.
Blair pinned her ears back. Spitting out the words “By Ignacio!” with a gasp as the others gathered. She took a step away. Bodies of fully grown, adult horses were one thing. But seeing something like that was heartbreaking. She was bold and rebellious but she still had a heart. She moved over to a broken line of bushes and trees. Turning her back to the group. Blair's eyes fluttered as she attempted to get the vision out of her head. Opening them again, she let out a rather loud yelp. Loud enough for the others to hear. It wasn’t just two bodies… There were more. A lot more.
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Post by ThatDenver on Jan 12, 2019 20:24:54 GMT -6
Crossing the broken line of tree and bush, Blair comes across three more bodies.
Your cursory assessment would be that they died of blood loss. Although there is nothing on the bodies themselves to identify them as such, it is what they lie next to that betrays their identity. A broken and emptied cart of supplies lies next to them. It is beautifully carved with the dragon symbol of Aodh – a symbol of oppression and elitism that you hate, but that seems almost comforting under the circumstances.
The bodies are cold, and the blood on the ground is dry. Whatever killed them happened some hours ago at least. You note that no predator has touched the bodies, however – they can’t have been here for more than a day.
You see the trail continue from them for a few more yards, before it vanishes into the brush and becomes unreadable. Hoofprints and wheel tracks diverge in all directions before the undergrowth claims them. There is no point in following this trail. It will lead you nowhere – for these are the prints of those who survived.
Up on the ridge, where the child lays, the trails of hoofprints and wheels and paws continues up the hillside. To follow them into the open is to track where these dead Aodhians came from.
You spot another one of those Aodhian carts on the foot of the large rocks – a part of it is peeking out. Even from your point of view, it looks crushed, as if the owner abandoned it at full sprint and allowed it to crash into a stone wall.
Beyond the rock, the trail goes on, up and up the gently sloping hill. To solve this mystery, you have a bit of a climb.
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savorda
Dwarf Star
avatar by posy-punch
Posts: 61
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Post by savorda on Jan 13, 2019 1:10:33 GMT -6
| eon you have suffered enough it's time that you won |
Coincidence was odd this deep in enemy territory, but Eon wasn't about to turn his nose up at a possible ally out here. If Adari trusted Blair, as it seemed she did, that was enough for Eon. While some of the other talked, Eon kept watch. While this chance meeting brought a brief moment of respite to their tense group, they were still in Aodh. He watched Cecilia wander off out of the corner of his eye but paid no mind to her. If she found something, she'd let them know. Cecilia did just that before Eon could send off Void, who in all of the commotion had settled on Eon's back, to patrol the skies. Eon followed Abel as he too went to investigate what Cecilia discovered.
Nothing could have prepared him for the foal. His heart dropped to the ground. He was fine with a dead chevalier, but a dead child was crossing an unspoken boundary. It made him sick, so much so, he all but ran after Blair as she ventured further into the forest. Even more bodies. What did they stumble upon?
The tracks were utter chaos, leading this way and that. They were ambushed, that much was obvious. But by what? Or who? Was it even their business to find out? They had a job to do, and this wasn't it. If Aodh had a superweapon, surely they wouldn't use it on their own citizens. So this really wasn't any other their business. But the foal. It really put him on edge.
Void's croak startled Eon out of his thoughts. The bird sat perched in a tree above another crushed cart, only this one had another solid trail leading past it and up a hill. Eon huffed, turning to the others.
"We should follow it."
300 words | post 2 |
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Post by kerarose on Jan 13, 2019 15:40:01 GMT -6
ADARI Vindicator Specialist (Spy) Interacting with: Daimanus, Cecilia, Abel, Eon
Adari’s ears pricked up at Daimanus’ harsh words. “Show some respect,” she barked at the stallion, her ears pinned back. “A life was lost today, and that’s not to be taken lightly. Take the gear, if you want, but show some gods-damned respect.” She snorted loudly at the tall stallion, angered at his callous words. Although the two looked remarkably similar, with one or two equines asking a few times if they were related, despite his horns and her lack of them, Adari tended to not like the stallion due to his lack of care for other equines of the Aodhian variety. Leaning her head over the body, she whispered a prayer for the lost soul. “May Ignacio bless you in whatever the next world offers you.”
She looked away as Daimanus started to rifle through the armor on the dead Chevalier. Although she was not above stealing from traveling parties and those they had knocked unconscious, stealing from the dead rubbed her the wrong way. Her lip curled as she turned away from the body, heading back towards the rest of the group.
“There’s a bigger issue up here,” came Cecilia’s comment from the top of the hill. Adari looked up, and noticed the two kirins looking down at something, horror on their faces.
“It- It’s a foal.”
Adari’s heart sank- a foal? Was it hurt? She raced up to the top of the hill, her hoofsteps falling quickly. She skidded to a stop before the kirins and looked at the ground, praying that it was alright. But her prayers had been for naught.
The child’s body was clean, with no obvious injuries from an animal, but it was undeniably dead. The legs were cold and stiff, the eyes glazed over, the mouth slightly open in the stillness of death. Adari tried to keep back the tears, but lost the fight as one slipped out and down her cheek. A child? Dead? What had happened here?
Adari sniffed once, twice, pushing down the urge to cry. She couldn’t fall apart here, not on-mission, even if she desperately wanted to. The death of a child was something unbearable to Adari, having been a mother herself, and seeing one left out in the woods like this to rot was heartbreaking. She glanced up from the stiff form, taking note of her surroundings. Someone would pay for this death.
Lowering her head to the foal’s body, she sighed. “May Ignacio bless you, little one, in what comes next, and may your blood not be shed for nothing.”
She turned to confer with her kirin comrades, but then she saw them. Three more bodies, all dead, drained of blood, next to broken carts with the Aodhian wyvern upon them. A symbol that Adari hated- they all hated, no doubt- but it paled in comparison to the massive amount of bodies, lying bloodied and broken on the ground.
Adari let loose a gasp. "By sweet Ignacio's sun," she said, shock diluting any other emotion on her face, "who could do such a thing?"
Looking down, she noticed a trail of tracks, leading up the hill. "We should follow it," said Eon from somewhere behind her. She nodded in agreement, and once again pulled her dagger from its sheath. Turning to face the group, she forced herself to stand taller. "Clearly, something is going on here, something bigger than a superweapon. If something, or someone, is able to take out five Aodhians under guard, then we must know what it is, so that future raids can be safely protected. Eon and I, and anyone else who wishes to, will follow this trail. Anyone else, feel free to do whatever you wish, but stay close and on your guard. You can't help anyone when you're dead."
With that, she turned and began to climb the hill.
Post #3 // WC: 659 |
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Post by Rhaenera on Jan 13, 2019 18:22:06 GMT -6
Damianus;Vindicator Soldier
Let's have a Toast to the Incompetence of our Enemies.
It- It’s a foal. It seemed like an eternity had passed since the words were actually said, echoing eerily in his head like a ghost begging to be remembered. A Child. Dead.
He'd forgotten the armor now, he'd forgotten the Chevalier all together. The life of a Chevalier was of very little importance compared to an innocent life such as a foal. He wasn't sure why he moved so quickly- desperately up the hill to the little body. Perhaps a part of him in the minutes time didn't exist thought if he could just get there the child could be saved; but he couldn't.
He's wasn't a God.
Death was a part of life for the mortals, it's what everyone said. Something Damianus numbed himself to in his early years of life, grew to enjoy when it came for the right equines. While he stood beside his comrades, staring, he realized he'd been repeating those words of wisdom within the confines of his mind.
Death comes for us all. A life-less body as pale as Aodh's ex-boy king.
Death comes for us all. A life-less body with bull horns nearly like his own.
Death comes for us all. He was so young- too young.
Not for Children. The vindicators killed equines, they were death for so many. To protect those that couldn't protect themselves. They never killed children. They protected them. They would Avenge them if they failed.
The body count grew. The air seemed too fresh for how many there were, for how much blood there was caked on the ground surrounding them. A bloodbath. Aodhian lives never meant much to Damianus, he was usually amused by their death but this- this was different. He was different. There was no justice behind this slaughter. No proof they supported the enslavement of others; not every town in Eithne participated. They murdered a child, maybe more than one.
If nothing else he had to figure out what caused this-who. Alive was preferable, Ignacio knew why. Most of the vindicators did. "Let's go get them."
WC: 343 | Post #3 |
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Post by foalish on Jan 13, 2019 22:14:09 GMT -6
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Post by galekxy on Jan 15, 2019 21:18:30 GMT -6
A B E L
Vindicator Soldier
......
He hadn't noticed at first. His eyes had been so centred around the young foal, that the rest of the world had become blurry. His heart was already racing, and the young horse wondered what he had gotten himself into. He had- he could have never expected to see death in this way. He had lowered his head to touch his muzzle gently to the foal's cheek, when he heard the next exclamation. "By sweet Ignacio's sun,"
Abel lifted his gaze, sight tracking what the others had now noticed. There were more bodies. He took a small step closer to Cecilia, needing to be close to her. She seemed unfazed, but maybe it was just her way of coping.
The group seemed to wish to follow the trail- to figure out who (or what) had killed all these horses. Horses who Abel realized were namely trained chevaliers. He listened, feeling the tension rise in the air as his companions seemed to resolve themselves for a fight. But the kirin wasn't sure if that was a good idea. There were only seven of them- eight if you included the thief. Surely that wasn't enough to face whatever could wipe out a group of chevaliers.
"We'll need to be careful. If whatever did this... We need to stick close to each other, w-watch our backs. But we shouldn't split up." He shook his head, the words he wanted to say already spoken by others. The kirin watched as Adari started up the hill, following the path. "We need to all go with her." Looking at the others, with a longer glance at Cecilia, he started to follow Adari up the path, eyes scanning the scenery around him. He focused his blessing on making his steps lighter, and the climb easier. He had to save all the energy he could.
... ... Word Count: 307 Post 3 |
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Post by Ribbon-Wren on Jan 18, 2019 10:56:21 GMT -6
Ida || Vindicator SoldierIda stood before the child, filled with grief. Though it wasn't as if she hadn't seen death before, it always broke her heart to see the life of someone so young taken away. That foal would have had their entire life to live if they hadn't been killed here, and the possibilities that could have been filled her with sorrow. She said a small prayer to Kaia, partly out of respect and partly out of habit, before steeling her gaze and turning back towards their group. This was why she had become a vindicator; to help the helpless like this foal so they wouldn't have to grow up in a world of violence and hate.
Trailing behind the kirins Abel and Cecilia, she came upon the other bodies and the cart littered around the next clearing. There was no sign of animals anywhere, and Ida began to feel a sense of dread as she realized that a horse must have hurt these people. Animals were predictable, but horses were not. As she followed at a slight distance behind the group down the trail, she could not help but wonder what on earth could have driven them to kill so many in cold blood.
[post 2 || 204 words] |
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Post by ThatDenver on Jan 18, 2019 15:15:12 GMT -6
THE CARNAGE
The trail begins as a gentle slope, but towards the top, it rises up. You must really work your muscles to get up those few final lengths, and as you do, the wind turns.
The putrid smell of burning fur and flesh fills your nostrils.
Perhaps you don’t want to peek over the ridge after all?
You already know what you will find.
Finally, on top of the hill, you look down a slope and into a valley. The signs of a battle are immediate and obvious – there is blood on the ground, accompanied by broken bodies and items alike. You can see the remnants of several caravans, and simple everyday items spilling out of them. Whoever these people were, they were moving their lives somewhere else.
It is a sad scene, even from your vantage point. Most of the bodies have been piled onto a pyre, making it impossible to sort out the exact sequence of events, as only a few bodies lay where they must have felled.
The pyre – the source of the disgusting smell – burns weakly. It looks like whoever tried to light it didn’t do a terribly good job, and the feeble, stinking smoke rising from it is ample evidence of the fact.
There are perhaps thirty bodies in total.
There is no sign of the culprits right now, but from the neatly piled weapons and armor on the side you assume that they will be back sooner rather than later.
Still, you’ve come too far to not explore at least a little bit.
Going down into the valley you may discover the following:
- Closely inspecting the remnants of the two large caravans reveals obvious burn damage which resembles similar damage you’ve seen from the use of Fire Manipulation blessing. You also note that although the furniture and other such items have been left alone, food has clearly been carried off – there are a couple escaped potatoes and veggies rolling around on the floor.
- Quick inspection of the neat pile of armor and weapons reveals not only the expected Chevalier issue gear, but items clearly belonging to common farmers; worn out old blades and axes brought along for self-defense. There are also disturbingly few weapons in comparison to the amount of bodies.
- There’s plenty of blood, ash and drag marks on the ground, but you can make out several trails of galloping hooves and some carts leaving the scene in all directions. One of these is the trail that you followed here. You also notice that there seem to be more bloodstains than there are bodies
- The bodies remaining on the field seem to belong mostly to what you assume are Chevaliers, at least from their muscled bodies and the many wounds needed to bring them down. The armor has been stripped, so you can’t be sure. The clearly trained combatants make up a small percentage of the bodies; only five in total. Notably, there is a branded individual among these corpses: an old and grey mare with remarkable physique that some of you might recognize as a famous retired pit fighter
- Taking a closer look on the pyre (if you can stand the smell), you see that most them are young, elderly or clearly impaired in some other way – one has a rather hideous wooden leg. You spot a few dragon brands among them.
- Walking away from the scene, opposite the direction you came from, you see an orderly trail leading away from the scene, many cloven hooves accompanied by tracks of cart wheels. You notice that some drag marks lead to these prints before vanishing.
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Post by Rhaenera on Jan 19, 2019 3:35:55 GMT -6
Damianus;Vindicator Soldier
Let's have a Toast to the Incompetence of our Enemies.
Foolish, Damianus rolled his eyes as the Kirin berated him. A kirin that wasn't with the Vindicators but a few months but assumed what they were capable of. As if she didn't know the damage they subjected the aodhians too in the heart of their own country. He was more than happy ignoring Cecilia until the colt was mentioned. Regretting it? The foal did nothing to regret, he was attacked- murdered.
Losing his temper wasn't something Damianus had a habit of, but emotions got the best of everyone. "Maybe you Forget what We do Here. Fight for those that can't. Put our lives on the Line. Willing to Die for the Cause. There is a murderer out here that has no quarrel with adding the blood of the innocent to their name. I intend to stop them from doing it again." He didn't yell, but his tone was firm, brazen.
Foolish he was, ironic as well. Just months ago he had been cheering for the death of Aodh's boy-king. A year ago laughing at the idea of the little rat being murdered in their bed. They were only a child. He understood that now. Something in him had clicked when he had seen that colt lying lifeless in a pool of his own dried blood. Had he ever seen a child dead like that? So young with so much to experience. He couldn't recall a time, and yet, he yearned it for that Stupid king, Amadeus. Somehow, he'd grown a soft spot for the little rat, before today he hated it, but now- he understood it. They were a victim on those paths, a scared child, no king.
Sulfer. Every thought Damianus had buzzing through his mind was cast aside. The air was full of the sharp, bitter smell of Sulfer, Charcoal, and Death. It assaulted the group with such aggression one could almost feel like death were warning them. Death beyond this point, Turn Back.
Breaking the hill sent his bones cold. Blood. A Battleground. A Slaughterhouse. A scene of the dead, twisted and broken- burning. The Chevalier and the colt were only the start of this bloodbath; or the end. This.. pyre they might have been thrown into all the same. Damianus stepped closer to it, burning bodies enveloped his senses and the smoke stung at his eyes. He could almost hear the bustle of what happened here, the screaming, crying, the fear and panic that had such a dense smell of its own. He couldn't smell it now, all he could smell, see, and hear was the pyre, a sick joke to the dead burned by their murderers.
These weren't chevaliers. It wasn't easy to make out anything identifiable in the pile of charred bodies still in a slow burn, but their forms were still there. Most of them were small and feeble. Unease set in, looking at the pyre now for more than just a pile of dead bodies. There were young bodies here, seemingly not much older than the colt they'd found. A wooden leg stuck out like a sore thumb, blackened and ashy on the side nearest the fire. It was what was next to the leg that sunk his heart through to the bloodied and charred ground.
A Dragon Brand. There were Slaves, burning here with their masters. In a tone that was taken back, hurt, and enraged all in one he spoke to no one specifically. "Is this a fucking joke? Burning Slaves?"
Learning that the dead here were slavers didn't ease him, it only made the fear, uncertainty, worse. Aodh had plenty of enemies but none that the vindicators knew of had the numbers to do something like this. Too precise for another Wyvern. Serora was far too scattered in the war to do something like this, not to mention nobody being hunted in their homes would willingly walk into the belly of the beast. Cultists wouldn't come this far into Ethine, even if they did, despite outnumbering the Vindicators they still didn't have the numbers for this kind of fight. This scene wasn't really their signature either.
No, the Pyre he once thought was mocking Aodhians and their god began to seem like more than that. Nobody burned bodies but Aodhians, out of what he could remember from so long ago the stench of executions was something he could never forget. Yet Here were a pile of Aodhians and Slaves, Burning.
"This can't be Cultists, sure as hell wasn't us," Damianus spoke differently now, the anger had passed, he was wary. Especially given the setting suggested that whoever it was wasn't quite done here. "Who could have done this?"
WC: 784 | Post #4 Notes: Damianus checked out the Pyre,
but didn't really notice in detail who was all in it other than slaves.
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Post by foalish on Jan 19, 2019 11:37:21 GMT -6
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savorda
Dwarf Star
avatar by posy-punch
Posts: 61
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Post by savorda on Jan 19, 2019 20:20:26 GMT -6
| eon you have suffered enough it's time that you won |
Eon had been the first to suggest they investigate further, but every step they took up the hill only served to fill him with more dread. Nothing good can be found over the crest of this hill, and they all know it. Still, they pressed on. The stench of burning flesh hit him like a brick wall when the wind shifted. Eon ignored Void's incessent croaking as the bird circled above them. He saw something, but Eon couldn't stomach jumping in his head right now. He only delayed the inevitable. The carnage revealed itself below them as they finally reached the top of the hill. More death. That's all that waited for them below. The pyre unsettled him more than he liked. Little care went into to it, but those bodies were already burning. They won't be of much help. Eon hurried down to investigate the few remaining bodies still littered around.
It obvious those remaining were all chevaliers, or at least it was a safe assumption. They were far too well muscled to be average citizens. Why were they stripped of their armor? Perhaps whoever managed this needed the armor, but who could be possible of such destruction but need armor so desperately they steal it off their fallen foes? He was so lost in thought he hardly noticed Cecilia until she spoke.
"Cecilia? Are you ok?" he asked. She was tense, almost unbelievably so. It certainly wasn't the carnage. She didn't even bat an eyelash at the foal, certainly, this wouldn't do her in. Something was wrong.
259 words | post 2 |
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Post by galekxy on Jan 24, 2019 12:38:40 GMT -6
A B E L
Vindicator Soldier
......
The climb was easier because of his blessing, but as he crested the hill, any kind of strength seemed to leave his body. A weight crushed down on him, and the young kirin struggling to breathe.
It was- it was terrible. A strangled sound came from him, and he stumbled back a step. He wasn't sure if he could go any closer, but the others around him moved forward. Abel took a shaky breath, eyes seeking out Cecilia. In his fright he had partly missed what she had said. She had been in battles? A chill went down his spine as he finally found the willpower to investigate also.
He heard Damianus mention that they had been burning slaves, and Abel could see that for himself also. He walked slowly among the disaster that had happened, trying to take it in- to become accustomed to it. The kirin went to what would likely be the least traumatizing thing there, and that was the caravans. Anything of value had been taken. "They took all the food." Backing away, he turned again to his comrades. He couldn't answer who might have done this. He had no idea. He tried to think about possibilities- but usually it was Aodh that were the violent ones, but they had been defeated here.
There was quiet conversation among the horses around Abel, and he was faintly listening while also lost in his thoughts. He heard Cecilia speak, but didn't pay attention until Eon's voice piped up. He snapped to attention, eyes turning once again to Cecilia. "What did you say?" Had she said king? It puzzled him, as the King of Aodh surely wouldn't kill his own chevaliers and slaves. That didn't make sense. But then, who?
... ... Word Count: 291 Post 4 |
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Post by foalish on Jan 24, 2019 13:02:20 GMT -6
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Post by kerarose on Jan 25, 2019 19:17:25 GMT -6
ADARIVindicator Specialist (Spy)Interacting with: Cecilia, Everyone
Adari's heart sank when she crested the hill, barely maintaining her composure, fighting down the urge to gag at the sights and smells. Overlooking the scene, she gasped aloud when she saw the pyre, poorly burnt, full of bodies, both large and small. Shock was written plainly on her face when she saw the dragon's mark on a few bodies, including one of a retired pit fighter that Adari had seen and talked to a few times. By no means did they consider each other friends, but still, the shock of knowing that mare was no more greatly saddened her, and a single tear rolled down her cheek.
Then, she saw the orderly tracks leading away from the carnage, the cloven prints sinking deep into the earth. Cloven-hooved unicorns? Adari thought, turning her head slightly to get a better view. But surely there would be one or two sets of uncloven hooves, she pondered, scanning the ground for prints that differed from the vast majority of cloven ones. Finding none, she paused, horror growing on her face. Could Ignacio's children really have caused this? She prayed to her god, pleading with him that kirins weren't to blame here. But then, hidden in the brush, a sparkle caught her eye. Venturing closer, she saw it, and her heart sank.
A scale, gleaming in the light, its finish smooth and lustrous. She grasped it gently with her teke, bringing it around to face the group. "Kirins did this," she said, forcing her voice to hold strong. "Militant, most likely, and willing to harm any that are not their own. I guarantee that you won't find a kirin body in that pyre, considering we've seen none so far."
Hearing Cecilia's whispered King made her take a few steps away. Having her confirm, seconds later, that the Kirin King might have been behind such senseless slaughter, she straightened to her full 17.1 hands and walked towards the young kirin, killing grace evident in her form. "Your King did this?" she said, shock and disgust leaking off of her. "Tell us what you know. We need to have a plan from here, a way to protect ourselves and any others that may venture here. Any information you have, we need. Even if you think it's insignificant." She locked eyes with the mare, anger veiled by determination, both that this threat would be properly handled and destroyed, and that no other equine would die at the hooves of those who had caused such carnage today.
Turning to the rest of the group, she held her head high, pointing her head to the neatly stacked weaponry and armor. "We should take the assailants' armor and weapons," she said, her voice flat and lacking nuance. "If they have no weapons, they will be less able to hurt this many again. It may slow them down, and we could use the gear." A final toss of her mane, punctuating the statement. "Clearly they plan to return. We should be gone soon. Grab whatever you can and we'll go. It would take too long to bury the dead, but let them rest in peace."
Adari sighed, taking the fallen scale with her as she began to pick through the gear, eyeing any weapons and adding the ones she could to her bag. She refused to let these monsters hurt another equine. No more would die by their hooves, she was sure of that.
Post #4 // WC: 582 |
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