Exploring the swamps ...

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

Walking south from the Village, Blackback made good speed through the ever-brightening morning. Travelling alongside the river, the troll was quite pleased with the walk; the recent rain made the air less thick and hot as it would become later in the day. He even thought that the mystical moss, bad as it was for them all, gave the forest an even more mystical feeling than usual.

As the troll made his way south of the river bends, a faint scent of rot came into the air. This part of the river went straight into the swamps. The vegetation began to change, the massive trees made way for greyish, wiry trees that was still tall and heavy, but with trunks twisted and garish in appearance. The river branch itself began to branch and then branch again over and over, until the water almost stopped moving but simply sunk into the ground, leaving a mass of boggy islands half-floating on the water-sick ground as far as the eye could see.

Blackback climbed a fallen log and tried to stare into the foggy twilight. Small animals moved in the darkness. Mist drifted over the ground. The swamp stretched on and on from here.

"From here on the ground gets more treacherous ..." he muttered half to himself. Where to find a cure to the plague in this? "What now?" he grumbled.

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Argh! a sound could be heard around the shadows. Jonas fell into Blackbacks path, covered in thick moss. Damnit, whats happened, I can't even heal my cut's!

He hadn't noticed the mountain troll yet and was moaning to himself, as he pulled himself up, he saw Blackback.

Cor almighty, I haven't seen a Mountain Troll in years, what on earth has happened here?

He brushed off some of the moss, he then removed his staff from his back and used it to hold himself up.

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Staggering through the woods, the elf began to falter on the uneven ground. Certain spots were getting muddier, wetter, especially with the rain. She enjoyed rain, but this wasn't her typical shower-walk. This rain made her feel very poorly, and she couldn't understand why. The forest around the young elven halfing was sad, or angry, she couldn't decide which. She never was good at comminicating with trees.

Töd stumbled her way through the woods, until she began to see the scenery change. She had mostly followed the river, and now the land outskirting the river seemed to be getting damper and damper. Finally she saw a familier sight from a distance, and moved more quickly towards it. Her long blue-black hair waved behind her, nearly covering her broadsword. The sword strapped to her back was taller than she was, and very simple. The sword in it's sheath on her hip, however, was more decorative and light. The figure she saw ahead was the being it had been bought from.

"Blackback, my dear old friend," she puffed as she finally stood beside him. Looking up, way up, into his face, her thin lips formed a genuine smile, but it faded quick. "Why is it I feel so aweful lately? It's a lovely, wet day, and yet I am not comfortable in my element..."

She nearly missed the magician standing nearby, but caught him out of the corner of her eye and flashed him a polite smile. Töd looked out to the swamps, wondering why she had never come across them before.

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Blackback swiveled around, startled at the approach of Jonas. He had expected a few of the creatures from the village to follow in his tracks, but he didn't think he'd seen this one before.

"Greets" said the troll, reaching for his large hat, for the fourth time realizing it was not there anymore -- he had lost it somewhere in the forest after the Balraa attack and the subsequent moss-explosion that had knocked him out cold. "A strange place to go sight-seeing, friend." he commented to the moss-covered man. Before he could comment further, a familiar small woman appeared through the undergrowth.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my favourite elven halfling! boomed the troll. Blackback lifted the halfling straight off the ground in a one-arm bone-crushing greeting-hug. "Haven't seen you in a while, girl" he said. "Last time must have been at the encampment in the meadow, right before the pillars of flame. Or maybe at your duel with the dark angel. Long time no see."

He turned back to the imposing sight -- the mile upon mile of bog that stretched before them. "I wish this could be a more jovial reunion. But I'm here on official business" he sighed, adressing them both. "There is a plague in the forest, see. It makes everyone sick, takes away their powers, both of the body and the mind. It just hit us out of nowhere, just before nightfall last night. This strange moss seems to be the carrier of the damn thing.

Most of the forest leadership have been camped up at the Village since, trying to figure out what to do. We got a visit from a bloody Greater Grey too. Big monster came up to the village and looked right into the tree house. Told us that the world was coming to an end and that the Hivemind is coming." Blackback shrugged helplessly. "Yeah, you heard it right. No more Balraa troops. The Hivemind herself is coming here! My bet is she's got something to do with 'da plague too. Softening us up before the slaughter ...

... anyhow, Gaeva split us up to try to find a cure to it. All them magical types can't very well fight the Hivemind without their powers, now can they?
So here I am, standing in a friggin' swamp, looking for somethin' that looks like a cure in this nasty non-troll-lovin' place.

You can imagine how much I like this assignment."

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The halfing tried to dart out of the troll's armspan, but wasn't quick enough. After rejoining her arms to her shoulder joints, she brushed herself off with a laugh and looked up at Blackback with a smile.

At the mention of people loosing their powers, however, Töd's mood noticeable worsened. She didn't know what she would do without her powers, they were her way of life. Up until now, she had been secluded deep in the forest with only one friend, and had heard no wind of any plague, or illness to the forest. Startled at the seemingly impending doom, the elf sighed.

"It has been far too long, indeed, Blackback, this is horrible... You're the first I've seen besides one, in a few moons, and you aren't right. Nor am I, and I assume this man isn't either," she said mourningfully, motioning to Jonas. "I cannot use the water of this swamp in many ways, whereas if I had my full power I could... I am finding it more and more difficult to hold my sword, even whilst walking. I do not like this one bit.

"You say you are on an assignment to find a cure? I will help within all my limits, and even beyond. Does anyone know what a cure might be, or where to find it? Or are we all just on a wild chase?"

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"Wild goose chase more like it ..." muttered the troll under his breath. Loudly he said: "I know a good herb when I see it, but I'm no healer nor alchemist. There are others coming here from the village more versed in herbs and potions than I am. Maybe together we can make a difference before it's too late."

A hollow, rumbling cry echoed through the forest. It was distant, carried by the wind, yet remniscent of great power. Blackback put his hand to his ear, but the sound was not heard again.

"That came from the north-west" he mumbled, looking worried. "See how the light is changing ? The morning has arrived. If the Grey spoke truly, we don't have much time. The Hivemind could already be here."


-------
OOC: Unknown to Blackback and the others, that howl did indeed come from the Lost fields; where the Hivemind has just emerged through the gates of the multiverse. See the right thread there for details.

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((OOC: If Töd hadn't already lost her powers, being touched by Blackback would have, since he was infected by the moss (wasn't he, I think he was)))

Jonas took in what was said, and had to cover his ears from the deafening blast.

You mean, we have no powers until a cure can be found? well, I'll help you, it seems my abilities won't come in useful but I can wave a staff around well enough to stop anyone attacking, but I guess a Mountain troll could do that too.

He then looked at Töd. My name is Jonas, and what might I call you?

He smiled, a suave, respectable smile which hinted of wealth and uper classness. Well, he was a magician.

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((^ was meant to be me, computer is messing up all my posts... damn pc/ezboard...))

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((OOC: Ack! Everytime I have to disappear I'm left behind -_-; Must--keep--up--this--time!))

Jah~lila's delicate nostrils flared at the odor of the swamp. She slapped a biting insect smartly with her silver tail as she picked her way through the uneven terrain. The howl that tore itself through the air sent her ears swivelling in its direction. Trying very hard not to think of what that horrible cry might signify, the mare addressed Blackback, "You are right, Blackback. We must get to searching immediately."

Sending her calm gaze over the dreary landscape, the mare looked thoughtful. "If you've no other idea of where to begin, I suggest we look for patches of moss that look different from the others. Since this disease was spread through the moss, any herb that might kill the moss should have a hope of killing the sickness, I think."

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Blackback nooded to Jah-Lila "Hi, Jah. Yeah, that howl did not sound good at all." He tapped a tusk thinking about Jah-Lila's suggestion. "I like it" he said finally. "The moss is as good a bet as any. We'd better stick together though. There's moss all over this place, so we have go further in. The ground gets more and more boggy with every step."

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((occ: Am I too late to join in with Rynn?))


"Yes, it is wise to stick together. Although I've never been around here before, it is a nasty place and the ground almost swallowed me whole a few steps ago."

The voice came from the small silver fox that was making her way over to the small group. She smiled at the others, and stretched out into a sort of bow. "I am Rynn," she said, remaining in her position as she spoke. "I hope I am not too much of a burden, but I wish to help in finding a cure."

The fox straightened now, and looked up at Blackback expectantly. He seemed to be somewhat of a leader of the group, so naturally she wanted his opinion. If they did not want her to come, she just needed the word. Maybe the people of the Meadow could use her assistance if she wasn't needed here...

Rynn continued to smile, awaiting their answer.

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Jah~lila snorted her agreement with feeling. The memory of that howl was not one she would soon part with. "Troth, Blackback. Everyone, keep a weather eye for those beasts Umber told us of, or this may be a short trip indeed." Flicking one ear she commented dryly, "If it sweetens your temper any, those here who wear shoes shall surely ruin them. More business for you, troll." To Rynn she nodded a polite welcome. As she turned to look at the fox, she noticed a dark herb jutting out of the ground.

Pulling up carefully with her teeth she showed Blackback with evident satisfaction. "Flea-bane, Blackback!" she murmured around the bitter plants. Raising her voice so that everyone could hear her, she said, "If you do not wish to be plagued with insects, you may want to crush some of these and rub them on your skin. The smell may be foul, but I should think it would be worth it.


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Töd smiled at Jonas, and answered relatively quietly. "Töd Kinn, at your service." She had too much on her mind to offer much more of an introduction than that. She was debating on whether or not to go warn her friends about this plague. Truth be known, they probably knew all too well what was making the forest sick. She could either run to tell someone what they all ready knew, or stay and help search for the cure.

Deciding on the latter, the halfing gave a brief sigh. She took Jah-Lila's suggestion, not really knowing for sure if it would have an effect. She would trust the unicorn, simply because she had no better to trust. She stayed quiet, observing her surroudings and listening keenly for anythingout of the ordinary after the howl.

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Blackback nodded absent-mindedly to the Silver fox. "Hello, friend Rynn" he said. "We need all the help we can get. You look more light-weight than the rest of us, so maybe the ground will carry you where me or Jah-Lila would fall through. Same goes for our staff-wielding friend here. " the troll squinted into the morning twilight.
"I think the leader of the Mithren pack is coming here too -- Umber, wasn't it? He might have some idea of direction in this place."

Blackback grinned at the white winged unicorn "Shoes ... yes, that is indeed a good idea." he blinked with glittering black eyes, for a moment the old Blackback, unburdened with plague and war: " I actually have a new set of golden horse shoes in my stores mylady. Would match your hooves perfectly, I'd say. I hear they are all the rage among the hip unicorn herds of the north ..."

Turning serious again, he looked at the herbs in Jah-Lila's mouth. "... Flea bane? Excellent find, mylady. Everyone: You are all wise to listen to Jah-Lila here. Smear it on your hides and help each others if you can't reach or don't have hands. You'll regret every missed patch later."

And with that, the troll began surveying the nearby ground for some more flea-bane to distribute.

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Jonas smiled at Töd, then turned to the rest of the conversation, he knew little of herbs, but after both the unicorn and the troll had said it would be ok, he covered himself.

He turned to Jah-lila, that was what the Troll had called her."Would you like me to rub any of the herb into your skin?" He spoke kindly and in a voice which he had previously only used when speaking to someone of more important to him. Both this Unicorn and the Troll seemed to be the most senior members of this little gathering.

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The white mare's eyes glittered with amusement at the change the mention of potential profit had affected in the grim visage of Blackback, however briefly. Her own features were as calm as usual, but the mare was troubled. Worry for Meali and her father had not left her since this nightmare had begun, and the sudden lack of magic was very like finding the world suddenly without sunlight. It was a cold sort of emptiness, and she did not care for it at all.

As Jonas turned to her, she in her turn moved her head on its graceful neck until he stood under the vast black regard of one of her eyes. At his offer for assistance, the mare tooked thoughtful for a moment, raising one of her hind hooves slightly and placing it back down again. Normally, she would find a larger patch and have a good roll in the pungent stuff, but time being the issue that it was, Jah~lila decided the suggestion had merit. "I would thank you to do so, friend Jonas. Have a care, a little goes a long way with Flea-bane." Jonas was his name, wasn't it? She had only been half listening as he introduced himself to Blackback's halfling friend.If she had known the man's thoughts, she would likely have been amused at the notion she was of any real import.

As she passed her burden of herbs to Jonas, Jah~lila was relieved to get the awful things out of her mouth. Small wonder insects would refuse to bite something that tasted so foul! Whilst she knew that pests could slow down their search measurably, the little voice within her head that urged her to hurry screaming in frustration at this tiny delay.

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As she finished rubbing herself down, the halfling turned to the fox and smiled slightly. She knew she could just roll in the herb, but she figured she'd attempt to give a hand, so to speak.

"Rynn, was it? Would you need any help, as you are of the same relative nature as Jah-Lila?" Töd asked, very politely. She made sure to use a tone that would insult neither being. In earlier circumstances she had found that some were self-concious of such things. She had once offered to untangle a horse's mane, and had received a nice hoof to the chest in return. Grimacing at the memory, her colourless eyes sparkled. She hoped neither the fox or unicorn would do anything of the sort.

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Raven walked as quickly as she could and Finally caught up with the others, she had changed her clothes so that she wore a robe of dark grey and had a set of traveling boots on. "Hello all, I am Raven, a powerless witch. If no one is in objection I suggest that we look near the heart of the swmp for the herb that we need and if anyone notices ANY plant that seems out of place of just to ordinary tell me or anyone else that is knowledgable in herbs, please." She said this quickly, hoping that she put alll of her despiration and uurgency into her words. Raven didnt know why but she felt that time was running out for everybody and not just herself...

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[Blue]

Umber had made his promised sidetrip to move his now large family to the packlands, and left Melody, Cortina and his pups at the den. Safe he hoped. They had continued to throw objections or suggestions and worries at him the whole time, scared something might happen to him. Umber didn't want to be seperated from them either, especially not now that Melody would need him to help take care of the newborns! But he had to protect his family. Aready he had had to admit failure to do so by bringing them to the Village, hoping that numbers would provide the safety he could no longer give them without his magic. It was humilating. The big proud wolf did not want his family to see him continue to fail like this, so the plague must be lifted! To end the arguement he had said his goodbyes and run off, leaving them behind as he ran in the direction of the swamps. There was no time to be diplomatic about it.

Now he ran towards the swamp, guided by his nose during the last part of the trek he made at that running lope his species was so well known for, the run a wolf could keep up for days if necessary. It was the only way his weakened body could carry him all the way to the swamps. At least the cloud of whatever it was at the Village had relieved him of his pains, and it still seemed to be holding, much to his relief. Ig his paws had still been hurting his as much as earlier, he would not have made it, Umber was sure of that.

It was their scent that told him he had finally caught upo with them, and again he silently cheered his nose continued to work so fine. Something he suddenly felt not so happy about the moment he came to a stop among them, and realized that other scent he had been smelling didn't come from the swamp as he had thought...it was them.

"You stink," he said rather surprised. It wasn't all of them, but it was enough. It wasn't so much a bad smell as something that made him want to stay away from them. It also made him think of insects...of being one. He did have several insect forms, though he rarely used them because it made him feel insignificant, but it was there, and that part of him was screaming bloody murder right now. Odd. Wrinkling his nose he decided it wasn't important enough. The very distant roar had reached his sensative ears as well, and conveyed it's message of urgency just as well.

"Any reason you're all standing about?" he asked the troll directly. He didn't know the others, except for the female in a dark grey robe, whom he hadn't spoken to and thus felt no reason to acknowledge her existance, and the white mare, whom he was inclined not to like simply because of her looks. Which left only Blackback, whom he didn't really like either, but at least he had been willing to come here. Such a large body would surely draw the attention away from the rest of the party should danger arise, which would be just fine in Umber's eyes.

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Blackback lifted an eyebrow at Raven's abrupt appearance out of nowhere, followed by just as brief an introduction and swift flow of words. "Hello, powerless witch." he said. "We're just moving out. We're just waiting for ... ah, here he comes."

Blackback nodded at the large wolf. "Damn right we stink" said the troll, putting some newly found fleabane behind his ears. "We'll be eaten alive in there otherwise. You should put some on yourself too. As I said, we where just waiting for you to get going. "


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Jah~lila watched Umber approach with that familiar gound devouring lope serenely and snorted her amusement at his reaction. She could very easily imagine her "sister" Fao saying precisely the same thing in this situation. Perhaps it was a wolf thing. She nodded to him in greeting briefly, putting the notion from her mind. Turning from the wolf to the abruptly introduced witch, the mare looked curiously at her. "The heart of the swamp? Whyfor there specifically? Do you know something we do not?"

She was rather surprised by the short demand. The swamps as a whole were equally fertile, or so she had thought. And the very center of the swamp would be the most treacherous and unpleasant to try to navigate, if indeed it was possible to her estimation. There was usually so much muck in the middle of swamplands that they didn't support too many herbs, but if Raven knew for certain the herb would be there it would narrow things considerably. Jah~lila was curious indeed how the witch would have gotten such amazing knowledge if indeed she had it.

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Rynn smiled and bowed her head in greeting to the troll. Yes, it was true; she was a lot smaller than the rest, about two or three sizes smaller than Blackback and Jah-lila. It would be easier to get across the Swamp than some in the group, but also much easier to get lost in the mud holes and other dangers. It was a nasty place, and the fox didn’t like it much. Her impression didn’t improve much when Jah mentioned putting on the fleabane. Fleas too? What a place!

Rynn glanced over at the halfling, nodding at Töd’s offer. “Yes, that would be great. As I cannot transform, and I would rather not roll in the herbs, I would appreciate your help.” The silver fox turned so that she was facing Töd and wrapped her tail around her legs.

“Mmmm. Actually, I’d rather not have to put the stuff on at all. What a dreadful place, this Swamp.” She said conversationally, her ears twitching in slight amusement. And then the wolf approached. Rynn’s nose twitched in disapproval.

“Well, you don’t smell so great yourself, wolf.” She half muttered, turning her head away from the others to look off toward the swamps. Rynn listened to the words that were exchanged, however, and found herself agreeing with Jah-lila’s words. Did the witch know something? They could use all the help they could get, and Raven’s help was appreciated, but Rynn could not help but be a little suspicious. However, her wish to be in her human form for just even a little while overpowered her suspiciousness.

“I’m not sure about going into the center of the Swamp, really. It seems like there would be the most dangerous.” Rynn said, glancing from Raven to Jah-lila.

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Smiling warmly, Töd ground more fleabane in her palms and squatted down next to Rynn. Gently she started working the stuff into the fox's fur and skin, being extra careful not to press to hard in certain spots, yet making sure it was well rubbed in.

"I can understand why you wouldn't want this stuff on you. It smells absolutely horrid," she stated with a disgusted tone.

After she was finished rubbing the herb into Rynn, she remained squatted beside her, and looked up at the rest of the group. The halfing couldn't help but let out a loud snort when her ears picked up the fox's comment towards Umber.

"In all my vast knowledge," the elf started, obviously sarcastic, "the dangerous parts are the parts to go to. I know the bare minimum abot herbology or anything of the sort, but I'll take a guess that to cure something so grave, we'll have to work pretty hard to get what we need."

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After watching Umber dash off from the packlands, Cortina didn't know what to do. Finally, though, she dashed off. While it was in a different direction than the other wolf's, it was only for show. She soon turned to follow Umber's trail. It was impossible to tell rather this was her being childishly foolish, or rather it was a show of her more mature side. Either way, she knew Umber would not agree to it.

And the she-wolf made a good note of it. Her nose was stronger, as well as all of her senses. This allowed her to stay out of Umber's range while he stayed in her's. Staying a distance back, she followed him away from the pack and down the river towards it's wide delta. Then, he stopped.

She could the sound of him stopping and stopped abuntly, taking a few steps back. This was as close as she dared to get towards the others gathered. Yet they voices weren't very clear to her. What on earth could they be doing? A gold tipped ear flicked, wondering what the hold up was.

OOC: *Cortina Innocent Look* Aww, she's grown up and not listening to daddy anymore.

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"We can keep discussing this when going" said Blackback curtly. As others had already pointed out, there was no time to loose. He really wanted to get this over with. "There is moss all over this place, so we must move south from here at any rate. Maybe we will find moss-free patches further in, whether it's in the 'heart' or not. Personally I have a feeling these marshlands just keeps going and going ..."

The troll picked up the fallen remnant of a wiry grey tree trunk half burried in the moist ground. It was thick as as his underarm, but his long fingers had no trouble gripping it. Shoving off the myriad of bugs and larvae crawling over its underside, he broke the trunk from its root over his knee with a powerful snap. Moving up to the other end he snapped off a few side-branches and finally the remnants of its crown with his strong clawed hands. He was now left with a heavy length of tree-trunk, tall as a grown man -- a wandering-stick and heavy club all in one, as close to a 'traditional' troll weapon you were ever likely to find.

Blackback had a practical mind. "I suggest the lightest four-feets go first, followed by da' humanoids, after weight. You guys scout ahead, test the ground. As Rynn said, everyone give a shout if you see any strange herbs, and if you get in any trouble the rest of us move up to help. No offense, lady Jah-Lila, but I guess you weigh about the same as me, probably more. We two should take up the rear. "

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Jah~lila tossed some silver forelock out of her eyes, in total agreement with the troll's proposals. "I take no offense at simple truth, friend Blackback." The mare was, though slim, still a mare (a well muscled one at that), and the weight of her huge wings only made her heavier. Plus, Jah~lila's own practical mind recognized the good sense of putting the small ones with their sharp senses at the front and keeping the most physically imposing specimens at the back to act as a sort of rear guard. She had not for a moment forgotten that creatures were supposed to dwell here, creatures not reputed to be in the least friendly. Something else occured to her as a wise idea, however. "Mayhap, Blackback, it would be better suited to our purpose if I were to fly and look for dead patches from the air while you search below. We might cover more ground this way, methinks."

She did not mention that she might be able to spot the swamp-things better from this angle as well. Jah~lila was fairly certain the thought would occur to him, and there was no point in wasting time of explanations.

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((OOC: Sorry, in such a blah mood right now))

Jonas, over the time of various explanations, had carefully covered Jah Lila with the disgusting odour. He then began covering himself, starting from the feet, raising up until he reached his head, which he distastefully covered. if only he had his abilities he could just shield himself, he thought mildly.

He turned to see the New arrivals and politely nodded at them, then looked at Blackback followed by Rynn (has anyone shared names, Jonas did with the first ones).

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Töd listened keenly to Blackback and Jah Lila, as they seemed to be taking position of leaders of the group. She agreed with the arrangment proposal, and knew she was lighter than the other beings of her nature (the wizard and witch), so she took a spot in front of them. She wondered where Umber would take position, as she didn't know if he was a heavy wolf, or even if he cared. She knew too little about him, and she wasn't comfortable with that.

It was times like this she was glad her nose wasn't as strong as others. The halfling could see the looks of distaste on everyone's face. She could of course smell the herb, not to mention the general stink of the swamp, but she knew the others were picking up on the scent even more. She felt a tang of sympathy, but then realised such a strong nose would be so helpful in other cases, that she would be able to live with bad smells.

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OOC
I knew Cortina would follow...

IC
Umber laid back his ears at the suggestion of him putting on whatever it was they were rubbing into their skins and furs. While the idea was a very good one he had to admit, once he realized what it was for, the insect part of him still rebelled. So instead of taking the relief from the bugs he knew lived in large swarms ahead, he shrugged and declined, "I can handle it."

Rather satisfied with Blackback's decisions Umber stayed quiet. He saw no flaw in the plan, though he would have prefered to have that big troll in front of him as a shield. Yet he knew that if they did get into real trouble, it wouldn't really matter what their positions were, they'd all be in trouble anyway. Besides, this way he could be guided by his own senses, not those of the others.

He started to turn towards the swamps. He was obviously one of the smaller ones along with Rynn, though he probaby weighed more than some of the humanoids, his weight was better distributed as he walked on all fours. That and he had big paws. "I know I said I've been here before, but don't expect me to lead you around. There is no such thing as knowing your way in this place," he said to the oters without looking at them. It would help with Jah~lila being in the air, though he wouldn't thank her for it. "Just keep in mind that not all the shadows you see from up there are actually shadows," he warned her dryly instead, "These...plants, have a funny way of tricking the eye." And the mind, and the ear, and the nose. Especially the last one Umber recalled with distaste. A plant that smelled like rotting flesh was an abomination! Especially one big enough to swallow you whole, it just wasn't right.

Moving at a walk towards the darker area in front of them, Umber was still shaking his head at this memory. He had no clue Cortina was behind them.

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Rynn glanced over at Töd, and smiled appreciatively, fluffing her fur slightly by shaking herself. The smell was horrid, and her nose was burning with the scent, but it was something she’d just have to deal with for the moment.

The troll and the unicorn seemed to be natural leaders, and agreeable sorts, and as Rynn wasn’t much of a leader anyway, she listened to them. The fox demon nodded in agreement to the plan, and took her place next to Töd, already liking and trusting the halfling.

“May I stick close to you, my friend? I believe that I trust you enough, it would be nice to have someone in my general size to talk to.” Rynn chuckled, bowing her head slightly in Töd’s direction. “By the way, what is your name? I don’t think I caught it earlier.”

((occ: Töd and Rynn are about the same size, right?))

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Raven was aware of the other's suspicions that she knew more than she let in and decided to let it be, let them think that she knew about the things to come. In truth she didn't, her foresight had left a huge hole around the space of time the battle was to be in so she had no knowledge of the things to come for now. "The reason I say to look in the heart is because the most important and poweful things are always kept close to the heart of everything, but I have been wrong...."She said and winked at the troll. Then she took a step forward and landed on her butt in a huge mud puddle. She looked at her clothes and laughed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

OOC: Töd's about 4'5", so you tell me.
IC:

Töd smiled as she realised she had made a new friend. She opened her mouth to reply to Rynn, but couldn't control letting out a short laugh when her colourless eyes saw Raven fall. After blushing a little because she had laughed, she regained her composure and managed to speak to the fox beside her.

"I wouldn't mind one bit, thank you. M'name's Töd, pleasure to meet you. Rine, was it?" she asked, mispronouncing Rynn's name completely. She hadn't been paying much attention when introductions went around.

Her broadsword was now back in its holster on her back, meaning she was ready to get moving. The elf would've loved to keep it out, but now that she was loosing more and more of her magical powers by the second, it would be useless to her within a matter of minutes. If need be, she could always pull out her more decorative blade. All she was thinking about at the moment, however, was getting going. She wanted to find the cure to this mess.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Curious, the wolf realized that she needed to get closer so as to actually hear what was going on. That would make things more difficult, though. Yet it needed to be done. If she couldn't hear then she couldn't help them in the least. And if she couldn't help them, then why be here at all?

Cortina got down to a crawl and started to inch her way forwards. After two steps, the canine stopped. She flicked an ear up and listened. Then, she pressed it back against her head again and repeated the motion. Crawl...crawl...stop and listen. Crawl...crawl...stop and listen.

Then, the scent of fleabane hit her nose. She bit down to keep from yelping, started and disgusted by the scent. It was simply horrid on her sensitive nose. "Achoo!" she said softly as the first wave overpowered her. Started by her own sound, she quickly placed her front paws over her nose. Slowly, she became accustomed to the smell. She just hopped that she hadn't been heard. Slowly, she crawled to the side to hide better.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

OOC
I know it's not my turn yet, sue me

IC
Umber heard Raven fall and looked back, rolled his eyes, and didn't react in any other way. Looking forwards again he continued to walk forward in a rather slow pace. He could see where the River started to branch off, and decided the best bet would be to walk on the river bank while it continued to be solid earth. They'd know soon enough when hard earth turned to mud, which in could turn to water, slosh, quicksand or anything else quickly thereafter. He heard someone sneeze, but paid it no mind, it wasn't surprising after all.

Deciding on this he sped up until he was moving at a fast walk, and headed towards the water, and followed it to where the trees were no longer large and pointing straight up. Here it became darker, the ground was softer, and their surroundings turned from green to brown, though the vegetation was very much alive. Staying by the waterside he moved on, only straying from the straight path he was taking to move around a particular thick or wide patch of trunks, vines, or roots. So far so good, but they hadn't really entered the swamps yet, this was only the transition from the the forest to the murkyness beyond. Making a face Umber tried to focus on their goal, and kept his eyes, ears and nose moving constantly to pick up anything out of the ordinary right away.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You should be a little quieter next time..." Melody said quietly from Cortina's side. The pups weren't with her, but with Imzadi, she wanted to be here with her mate, something told her that only bad things would happen here. She smiled and nudged Cortina's cheek, her own nose wrinkled slightly due to the smell.
"Stick close..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Blackback set out after the moving Umber, but since he was to be at the back of the group he gestured for the others to start following Umber's lead before him. Absent-mindedly he held out a large hand to help Raven up from her sitting position. Waiting for the witch to take it and the others to get going, he turned back to Jah-Lila: "A flying scout, huh?. Sounds good. If there are some moss-free patches somewhere you might perhaps see it in some colour-shift or something." The alpha wolf's comments also seemed reasonable, Blackback had little to add -- he didn't know much about the plants in the inner of the swamp after all. "You will see far, but you will be seen far too, white as you are", he said to the angelic winged unicorn. Blackback gestured at his massive definately non-magical club. "Get down here if you get into any trouble, you hear? None of you magical creatures should be doin' any heroics alone at a time like this."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The winged mare looked at Raven for a moment distractedly, and there was a distinct impression that if she had possessed eyebrows, at least one of them would have been raised. She refrained from comment, however, in interest of getting underway. She heard a sneeze come from somewhere behind them, but paid it no mind at all. Stopping to investigate why someone is sniffling in the middle of a plague made absolutely no sense. Whatever shape the sneezer was in, it would be better served by a cure than immediate attention.

At Blackback's response Jah~lila nodded, glancing wryly at her conspicuous coloring for a moment. Being purely white was as good as wearing a target on the battlefield. She usually counted on her speed and skill to save her, but ill as she was, she wasn't able to use either to full advantage (and even when she could, fancy flying might help you dodge arrows, but it didn't stop them. All it would take is filling the sky with them and hoping one would hit). If she was injured now, she wouldn't even be able to heal herself. It was a vulnerable position she had not been in for years, and she found its taste unpalatable now as ever. Blackback's words were sobering ones indeed. "I shall take what care I may. I have become somewhat fond of my own skin, and should not care to lose it now."

Jah~lila hung back as the others moved out to give her more space to take off. What concerned her quite as much as her exposed position when she got up there was the effect the plague might have had on her sense of balance. She had not forgotten the bout of dizziness she had suffered earlier, but in the interest of time it was a risk she was forced to take. One good thing; hot swamps made thermals that were easier to ride, much like deserts. If she glided in a series of wide circles from thermal to thermal, it would save her a great deal of strain and help her look more thoroughly where it was most needed. After all, she could trust the group she left on the ground to keep a sharp eye for what was in there immediate surroundings. It was a sound strategy.

As soon as she felt the main body of the search party was far enough ahead, Jah~lila extended her long wings, stretching them briefly. They were longer and of a different shape than, say, Geaven's with lighter bones far more prone to breakage. Crouching down, she raised them until they formed a slightly steep v over her form and leapt, bringing her wings down simultaneously in an enormous sweep, bearing her up and nearly meeting directly under her. It was, without a doubt, a slower takeoff than she might have done healthy, yet another reminder of weakness. She did not rise to high for fear of losing sight of the moss and then, Jah~lila winged off after the others and into the swamp.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It took all of the young wolf's control to keep from jumping up at the sudden voice next to her. Cortina relaxed slowly, realizing that it was only Melody and that she too had followed them. She smiled at the older wolf and lightly tapped her with her tail.

It was in this moment that she realized something very important. The wolf had put all of her attention on the group infront of her, as she normally did. Unfortunity, this was not a normal case. Usually, her empathic powers would alert her if anyone came nearby, but for now they were gone. Her ears flicked back at the thought. She couldn't even bare to think that they might be gone forever.

Seeing that she would have to be more careful, she became more alert all around her. She heard the others starting to move ahead and slowly began to inch forwards.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Blue]

Rynn’s ear twitched slightly. Had the halfling mispronounced her name?

“The pleasure’s all mine, Töd.” She watched the others distractedly for a moment, and then turned back to the elf. “And yes, my name is Rynn.” The fox demon emphasized her name slightly, trying to correct Töd without embarrassing her. Rynn never had the heart to correct people like that. In fact, Qui, the shimmer who had rescued her, had called her Wynn for the first two months they’d known each other.

Rynn watched the mare take off as she walked beside Töd, and smiled in her trademark gentle way. Unicorns and Pegasus has always been beautiful types of creatures to her. Many of the shimmers in Naraku Shii had taken forms of horses and other equine-like creatures, and the fox demon had grown rather fond of them. Rynn sighed softly, and then turned her attention to the long trek before the group.

“How long do you suppose it will take to find this cure?” Rynn asked the halfling.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

OOC: All right, this is how I'm seeing the order: Töd and Rynn up front, then Raven and Joseph, then Umber, then Blackback bringing up the rear, with Jah in the air and the two other wolves trailing behind (so far) unnoticed. Am I right?
IC:

The halfling blushed a bit as she heard her mistake.

"Oh, sorry. Rynn," she repeated, just to make sure she got it right. Seeing the fox make no gesture to correct her further, she accepted that as being correct. Smiling almost sadly at the next question, she answered slowly.

"I... soon, I hope."

Töd was barely concentrating on convorsation with Rynn, let alone what was going on with the others behind her and the fox. Her colourless eyes were darting from herb to shrub to bush, falling apon every oddly-shaped plant. A few times she almost spoke up about one, but decided against it, figuring they weren't far enough into the swamp yet to find anything worth while.

After a few moments she addressed the whole group. "We're looking for herbs, or things of such nature. What's to say the cure isn't something else? Are there other parties looking for other things? Perhaps a being who's inflicted this curse, or perhaps some magical incantation that can put a halt to it?"

She was mostly curious, but she wanted to get the group thinking. Maybe something she said would spark a thought in their mind, and they would think of something that could help them.

The elf carefully chose her steps, as the ground was getting softer and softer now. There were patches where her feet began to sink into the ground, even with her light weight. Elves were light creatures, but it was obvious her weapons were weighing her down. As a result, much of her attention was spent on choosing where to step. The grounds were getting worse and worse to walk on.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

((ooc:sorry it has taken so long.lol I have been busy with other posts.))

IC: Raven took the troll's offered hand and pulled herself up. She brushed as much mud as she could off of her clothes and looked up at the troll. She heard the elf's question and answered it,"Because Gaeva said to look for herbs, and any magic that goes near the infected or the moss infescts the caster."She answered curtly,but kindly. Her eyes twinkled with humor and wisdom,"Let us carry on carefully.Joseph would you mind walking with me?As we are both light in weight,it would be sensible." She asked.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

((OOC: His name is Jonas, Joseph is someone else entirely))

Jonas nodded to Raven, he hadn't participated due to him trying to work out how his powers could be gone.

"Ok, so this curse or virus or whatever, it takes all amgic away, and is transfered by nearly everything?" He then thought for a moment.

"A cure would be in the most unmagic like place for it to have remained inconspicuous until now, unless it's just in a hard to find place. yeah, I'll walk with you Raven."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

OOC
That order seems ok, except Umber is leading the way for now, so he's in the front. And he's not that big, lol, just for a wolf he is.

IC
The voices were clear enough for Umber to pick up everything being said, but he hadn't offered any reply back in the Village unless he was sure it could somehow help them figure this out, sohe saw no reason to say anything now. Töd probably was just trying to catch up on the situation anyway he reasoned with a snort as his golden eyes flew from side to side as it seemed to get a bit darker. He kept the flowing water to his left, as long as remained a more or less clear body of water they wouldn't have to worry about where they stepped. When land and water became hard to distinguish it would be time to worry.

While the trees were smaller compared to those in the forest, they grew wide at the top here, and seemed to incline and hang over them, taking away much of the morning light. Not that he need that much light, but like it was with most creatures, the absence of light seemed to imply danger to him. And in this case, he knew this was very true, though they might still be on the very edges of the swamp. Even now he could hear vague rushing sounds deeper in the swamps, and other gurgling noises. The geysers and the very water was making those sounds further ahead. And they were going straight towards it Umber thought with a sigh.

Suddenly his left paw became very warm and he looked down just as he put down his right front paw as well. "Ugh, mudpool!" he growled annoyed, though a part of his mind was racing, was it too soon to encounter quick sand already? He was having some trouble pulling out his paws, so it couldn't be ordinairy mud. "Some help here!" he called as calmly as he could at the moment without looking back. The trick to quick sand was not to move, and though the big black and brown wolf found it hard to believe that was what he had stepped into he decided not to risk it and didn't move at all.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

OOC: It's more realistic to have the smaller, nimbler four-foots up front respond quicker to Umber's (relatively calm) outcry than large Blackback at the rear. So I'll hold my post for now.




~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Jonas saw the wolfs predicament, and immediately pushed out his hands to create a forcefield. The moment it didn't make one, he remembered his magic was gone, and pulled out his staff, extending one end close to Umbers mouth.

"Bite onto this, I can pull you out if you can grip hard enough."

Jonas stood covering as much earth as his body could, meaning he shouldn't fall in with Umber.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Raven walked up behind Jonas and gripped his staff."May I help?"She asked. She thought she heard a slight scream but,she didn't pay it any attention.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Cortina moved forwards slowly. She found her form moving closer towards Melody and slower than nessecary. The mud was begining to cling to her fur and her footsteps fell with obvious unconfidence. It took the wolf to realize a major problem with her plan. She couldn't see the path she walked. The forest was easy enough to travel because she was use to it. But here, in a place she had never been, that is difficult enough to travel for the seeing, she began to worry. This might not have been such a good idea.

The wolf stopped though, ears alert forwards. She thought she had heard Umber say something, but her thoughts had distracted her for a moment. An ear flicked towards Melody, wondering if she had caught it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Melody could see Cortina's unease as they walked through the swamp and stepped in front of her, "Here," she said softly, nudging Cortina's mouth open and letting her bite onto her tail, "I'll guide you through, just don't bite my tail off, okay?" she said with a small smile.
She led Cortina on a little way until she had a clear view of Umber, she could see the others trying to help him out of his predicament, if they were unsuccessful she would pull him out by his tail.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Having seen Jah-Lila take off, Blackback didn't get to walk far before the front group stopped again.

There where insects in the air, some so small that they where like dust, others long as birds, humming past them in jerky motions, their transparent wings glittering in the dim morning light. So far the fleabane seemed to be working, they didn't bother him. He looked around. It didn't look much like a swamp yet, but the swamp had indeed started quite a way back, he judged. Umber was trying to circle it, but they where already inside it. The water from the river was going underground since a forth-way back, undermining the banks, making the ground treacherous. Soon there would be no river and only a mushy water-sick bog all around.

Looking over their shoulders, it looked like Umber had stepped on unsafe ground, even though it didn't seem to be very deep. The others had it under control, so the troll just stood there silent, keeping an eye out behind them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As she had expected, the air over the swamps was quite warm indeed. It felt better on her aching wings than the thin chill of most flights. Hot air wanted to push up, and in one used that they could save themselves a great deal of energy. Feeling out the air currents, it took Jah~lila little time to establish a pattern that would suit the current purposes. By glidingfirst in two wide circles and then in several smaller ones, she could keep pace with the group slogging it out on the ground below, look for danger in the wide circles and for the "null" patches in the moss.

The white mare mused to herself as the little company got going, keeping her mind off of the disconcerting difficulty flight was in comparison whith what it usually was. She wondered with wry amusement if after all of this was over and done with, she would wind up with an irrational dislike of moss in general. Her ears swivelled groundward at Umber's cry, but as she wheeled above him, it was clear that those on the ground had things under control and she would only be in the way. Instead of following her typical Healer's instinct to swoop down and make whatever was wrong right, Jah~lila stared into the murk for anything that might think to sneak up on the distracted party.

Like Blackback, she was finding the flea-bane to be well worth the delay already. The rather gross shade of muddy green in had colored her beautiful coat was even marginally effective camoflague if she stuck to brighter patches... not that she didn't still stick out like a fish in the desert, but every little bit helps, hey? Insects hovered in black parasitic clouds or dotted the air individually. It would have been a very dangerous health risk had they not stopped to apply the pungent herb. After all, the Healer knew full well how horrible ilness spread by parasites could... Jah~lila's head snapped up on her shoulders as an idea struck her with the force of a lightening bolt.

This magic devouring plague... how was it spread, exactly? Not by air, not by water, and not precisely by touch. It would take time for any disease to penetrate the body's defenses, even in the mage created diseases she had encountered. Sometimes not much, but it would take time; with this plague on the other hand the infection and the symptoms were as instant as they were devastating even in the case of humanoids wearing armor and dragons whose scales normally shut out all harmful comers. When that formidable armor was touched--instant infection. In short, it spread like a supernaturally strong virus spread by parasites. The other symptoms (the fever, the aching, the stomach troubles, etc) seemed to point her mind in that direction as well. Which meant that they were looking for a cousin to flea-bane. There were only so many medicinal herbs that discouraged plague-rats, fleas, birds and other pests at the same time as treating the damage they caused. There were fewer that thrived in swamps. Suddenly this little mission seemed a bit less doomed to failure.

Gliding down to hover over the group (something her muscles protested vehemently) Jah~lila said just loudly enough to be heard by everyone (with the possible exclusion of Cortina and Melody, who had not come far enough into the open to be obvious from the air, particularly as she was concentrating more on the land deeper in than that they had just left), "I've a theory on how this plague spreads, friends. If I am right, I may know which herb we seek... But if I am right, so are you, and we are headed for the very heart of the swamp."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Raven got a grip on Jonas's staff. "Ready?"She asked Jonas and Umber. She felt bad for the wolf, but if they couldn't pull him out they always had the troll,that charming creature.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Umber didn't like having that staff, a possible weapon, so close to his head while he could not move the front of his body. Bit it was an obvious attempt to help him, so he swallowed the growl away and bit savagely into the wood, his teeth sinking in. He wasn't really trying to damage the object, just making sure his teeth wouldn't slip an give the sides of his mouth splinters.

Leaning back until he was almost in a sitting position the big wolf used the two legged ones' force to do the rest. Between the three of them there was enough strength to do what Umber had not been able to with just his hindlegs to work with. He felt his forelegs come free almost immediately, though it still took some pulling for some actual movement to remove them from what appeared to be ordinairy mud. It even smelled liked ordinairy mud he absently thought. Odd. He had had enough time to look around himself though, whatever he had stepped into stretched out in front of them. he had thought it to be safe ground to tred on, but on closer inspection he thought he could see differences. Some places were slightly less "wet" looking. His next step would be to see whether this was true. But first he had to get out of it.

At that moment his front paws came free, and Umber found himself suddenly first sitting down, but then the momentum sent him rolling over backwards into his two helpers. With a surprised yelp did he land rather ungracefully, and with a growl did he stand back up.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Cortina smiled at Melody's actions, feeling the soft tail next to her nose. As gently as she could the wolf bit down and followed along. Prehapes this wasn't the best idea. The flea-bane was on the ones ahead of them, but not on Melody and Cortina. Already, her fur was beginning to itch although she couldn't stop to scrathe for fear of pulling on the other wolf's tail and couldn't let go for fear of being lost.

Umber's yelp and growl quickly distracted this thoughts though. "[p]Wa Apam?[/b]" she asked, trying to speak for she had forgotten the tail was in her way. ((She asked what happened BTW. ^_~))

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Blackback looked up at Jah~Lila. It looked tough to keep hovering like that, so he didn't ask her to explain her theory in any detail. "You think it's something you could see from the air?" he shouted up at her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Raven had heard the winged unisis's words, and she had enarly laughed when she hears them. She ended up laughing when she got tumbled up in Jonas and the wolf. Her musical laughter rang out in the swamps and then it seemed to get sucked up. She extricated herself from the entanglement of legs and fur. She steadied herself with her staff and then set about making sure none of her herbs had fallen out of her satchel.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Melody looked back to Cortina, "Not sure..." she replied quietly before putting her paw down on some wet moss. She yelped as she slipped out into plain view of the others, including Umber. She knew he'd be angry they followed him, and how stupid she looked with Cortina attatched to her tail.
"Uh... hello..." she said with a nervous laugh.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

OOC: I've not posted for -far- too long... And I am so, so sorry.
IC:

Seeing that Jonas and Raven had taken care of Umber, quite humourously, Töd smiled. Stopping only for a few moments to make sure everyone was still present, and letting her ears pick up on Jah Lila and Blackback's talk, she was content enough with the situation to move along. She very carefully chose her steps, but lost her footing here and there. She was thankful she was a light creature, otherwise she would've most likely been in the same situation Umber had just been in.
Her colourless eyes darted to Jah Lila when she said she might know what they were looking for, and the eagerness in her eyes was quite apparent. She quite easily heard Melody's strange entrance, but didn't even pause to laugh at the sight of the other wolf clamped onto her tail. She wanted to hear what the one hovering above them had to say, and what Blackback's reaction would be.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

OOC
I know it's not my turn yet, but eh

IC
Umber sniffed loudly in Raven and Jonas' direction, embarassed and not willing to show it. He didn't bother to thank them, he sure wasn't grateful for the fall after all! Walking back and forth a little till most of the mud had fallen off of his paws he then shook out his fur for good measure, and to try and convince the bugs that just because he was the only one without repelent he wasn't necessarily the tastiest of them all.

He was also looking up at the white mare, considering her words in silence. The healing world was a fascinating one, both by magic and by the more common herbolgy, yet he knew as good as nothing of them both. And while he had no reason to suspect the mare to be lying, that didn't mean he could not be suspicious. Besides, who was to say how smart she was after all, for all Umber knew she was the local idiot who liked to fancy herself a healer.

Sniffing in Jah~lila's general direction as well he was about to turn about and continue on when Melody and Cortina fell onto the scene. Surprise, shock, happiness and outrage all tried to master the wolf's mind at once as he stared at his family. With his ears completely upright he looked at them for the first few moments as Melody spoke, even trying to decide whether he was seeing things. But as he was not the only one looking at them, he had to conclude both his mate and daughter had disobeyed him and gone after them after all.

Raising himself so he was standing tall the big black and brown wolf still backed his ears at them. "What...? Why did you come? I said it was dangerous here!" he said without coming any closer to them, and surprisingly, without raising his voice or turning it into a growl. His mixed emotions at seeing them hadn't claimed a victor yet.

"Turn back Cortina. How could you bring her here, Melody!" Anger seemed to be on the winning hand though.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Cortina whimpered softly at Umber's words, realizing that they had stumbled too close to the others. While he did not growl, his disappointment was enough to sting her. She let go of Melody's tail and instinctively lowered his ears. It was horrid to see him upset with her. And it made the pain of disobeying him all the worst.

Yet she jerked her lowered head up when he accused Melody of bringing her along. "She's didn't. I came right after you. It's not her fault, it's mine!" She stopped, startled at her words towards the one she loved so dearly. Seeing as she had already spoken too much, she had to continue. "I didn't want you to go alone...."

Again she stopped, seeing for the first time how much of a bad idea it was to come along. Just a few seconds before, she had been holding unto another's tail in fear of getting lost. And she, unlike the others there, had no fighting powers. Also she, like the others there, currently no powers what so ever. Her ears and tail lowered, thoroughly shamed by her actions.

An ear flicked towards the others, wondering what they thought. Surely they had to be ferious that more trouble had follow them. More to keep an eye on. Maybe she shouldn't have came at all. But she didn't want her Umber to go alone and risk getting hurt, even if he was with so many others.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Blue]

Jah~lila shook her head in answer to Blackback's question, sparing a long glance for the wolves. It didn't seem like the confrontation was anything too serious and her wings ached abominably from hovering in her current condition, so she did not interfere, she merely answered Blackback's question. "I do do not think it likely, friend. Most herbs are well blended with the landscape. The most I may do is what he had planned already."

The plan they had agreed upon still seemed like the one with the greatest chance of success. The white mare could only hope it would be good enough. There had been few times she had wanted to fail less than now. It didn't matter a fat damn (as Fao would say) who found the herb, so long as it was found before the plague began killing the very old and the very young. The thought of all of the younglings she had met--Silverkitten, Wintersky, Tayvia, Meali, and the rest--ill and in that kind of danger lit a fire in her eyes and in her heart. Jah~lila was determined to see that they were spared that ordeal if it killed her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jonas smiled as he got himself back up, there, he saw a flicker of something, hidden in the distance. It brought forth a memeory, a memory quite harsh, from the war.

It brought some feelings that Jonas couldn't let these people see. And So her ran off, leaving the others with no explanation and little chance of following. He continued running through the Swamp randomly until he found a place to calm himself. Here was a little quite grove, and here he calmed as the quicksand he was on top of slowly pulled him down, he only realised to late, and died knowing he was alone.

((Jonas is now dead))

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

OOC: I'm going to ignore Jonas' hasty departure.
-----------------

The troll nodded up to Jah~Lila, to mark that he had understood. Then he rolled his eyes at the wolves facing yet another delay. "Don't worry, mylady" he called up to her. "With the speed them wolves are travellin' at, I'm sure we're going to die of old age long before the plague has time to affect us further."

Turning back to Umber he said, clearly irritated: "Get rid of your pals or bring them along, brownie. But please do it today. We have a whole forest sufferin' here and a long way to go."

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Melody snarled in reply to the troll, her hackles raising.
"Funny, I would have thought someone so stupid as a troll would have slowed down this party more than we have," she growled before looking back to Umber.
"I came here to help you and to make sure Cortina was safe," she said firmly, sounding very much like an alpha wolf, "If she's staying then so am I."

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Töd nodded, mostly to herself, in agreement with Jah Lila. This was taking far too long. Her lips parted in preparation to ask Blackback if maybe he, Jah and herself should press forward without the others, but Melody's comment towards the troll distracted her. Her colourless eyes flared with rage, and it was obvious she was struggling to keep her anger to herself as she spoke to the wolfess.
"I do suggest you watch what you say, my lady. Blackback has done nothing but support this group and keep us on track. It is obvious he has done nothing to hinder the speed of our travels, so if you would kindly keep your lips from speaking any more words against him, it would suit you quite well."
As she spoke, the elf tried her hardest to keep her tone straight. However, it was apparent she had a lot of respect for Blackback, and refused to see anyone speak of him poorly. She didn't want to start a conflict, but she didn't want to see her friend put down. To avoid having to listen to Melody's reply, she turned to Blackback and sighed. Her long blue hair blew in the faint breeze, and she seemed to have gained some dignity back.
"Now, can we please press on? I can't stand to think of the number of creatures in this forest suffering from our lack of organization."

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The big wolf calmed down a bit as Cortina spoke, he couldn't really get mad at her anyway. She was no longer a small pup as she had been when he had first stumbled upon her, but she still held a very special place in his heart. While he knew she couldn't see it anyway, he still refrained from smiling at her. He did disapprove of her having followed him here after he had told them both to stay at the den, but she took the responsibility for them being here, said she didn't want him to be alone, and once more he couldn't deny he loved this little golden tipped young wolfess. he shook his head helplessly and looked at Melody, seeing she wanted to say something as well, but before she could the troll spoke.

Umber whipped his head back at Blackback's words, "You're talking...about my family," he snarled viciously around his bared teeth at the troll. His anger had returned, but it was not aimed at the other two wolves this time. He barely heard what Melody said, but Umber did glance at her and nod. he couldn't send them back alone, not with Cortina being helpless and Melody still weak from birthing. Here at least he could keep an eye on them. Protect them.

Töd's words however didn't sit well with him as well, and though she had spoken relatively respectful, the big wolf actually advanced towards her with now raised hackles and every intention of attacking her for the insult he felt she had delivered towards Melody. Only his own common sense in the back of his mind let him advance half a dozen stiff legged steps before holding himself back, though not changing his threatening posture towards the blue haired female as she turned her back on the wolves.

"If you don't like our "organization", two-legger, then by all means, you lead," he said in the same manner as he had spoken at Blackback, snarling. He didn't sit down, but also didn't move a muscle other than to vaguely indicate the direction they were heading in with his head, towards the large brown area he had stepped in and gotten stuck, and the darker wooded area behind that that seemed to indicate the beginning of the "real" swamp area. There water and land would blend together, and only a good sense of smell or sight would guide one on in relative safety. In the short silence a faraway gulping sound could be heard from that direction, followed by a distinctive rushing sound of water. It lasted for just a couple of seconds.


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Jah~lila's wings burned with fatigue, but as the group degenerated from search party to bickering foresters, the white mare did not fly away. It took a great deal to make the normally serene mare take abrupt action, but in this situation, every moment was precious, and the mare was under quite as much strain as the others. When Umber began to advance on Tod, the healer moved sharply, swooping down to land between them, knowing that taking off again would cost her dearly, but seeing no other choice.

"Enough!" she said shouted cooly, clearly displeased at everyone's behavior, for one moment her old self, large wings still extended and black eyes filled with fire. She turned first to Umber, his mate, and his daughter and said very softly, and not without sympathy, "Packleader, no one means you or your kin any real disrespect, but I ask you, for the sake of the rest of your family back in your lands, to move with great urgency. It is the youngest and the eldest that fall first to illness. I do not think I need to tell any of you that the youngest and most defenseless against this hellborn plague are Mithren's newest children. Have a care and work with us, who want only to help you." Throughout this speech, her head had lowered on its graceful neck to better look at the wolves, looking to each of them in turn (including the blind she-wolf) with great intensity.

Then, she turned back to the troll, head lifting as she stood tall and proud once more. "Blackback, friend, I am glad you so grasp the gravity of the situation, but biting words do not sting folk into action. Rather they make the attacked bite back and bite harder." White wings mantled like a hawk's when defending the nest.

Turning so that one burning black eye gazed at the wolves and the other on Blackback she said softly, "It is no more wise to provoke a wolf than a troll. I am going. If you will settle your differences and come with me, that is well, and I welcome you all as my companions. If not, Alma help me, for I will find it or die trying. We have wasted more than enough time, and it is not we who shall pay first for this foolishness." The mare sprang again for the sky, wings beating mightily as she gained altitude and left the others on the ground. Jah~lila knew she had not been as delicate as she normally would, but she too was frustrated, and she was in deadly earnest. She could not regret any of what she said, whoever she may have offended. Time was running out.


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Blackback raised an eyebrow at Melody at the she-wolf's rather crude reposte. It was clear the she-wolf had little practice in insults, lest she would surely not have grabbed at such straws as the age-old insult of a troll being stupid. He had heard that one so many times it was more amusing than insulting. Besides, considering that many of his brothers did have the joint intelligence of a bowl of sour milk, he normally agreed with that notion wholeheartedly.

Umber actually bared his teeth at him. That blind wolf clearly was a soft spot with the large alpha, the troll thougt. Blackback stood firm, returning the wolf's glare from his height, a toothy grin playing around his tusks.

He was actually more surprised by Töd's quick response in his defence. Everyone was sickened and irritated, but to see the halfling speak in such a heated fashion -- and over him, no less -- was unexpeced. He made a quick blink in the direction of Töd.

Jah~Lila intervened and Blackback couldn't help but smile. She sure had a cooler head than most here. She was right, but Blackback felt no shame; this group needed to kick into action, one way or another.

"No hard feelings from this stupid troll, mylords wolves" said the merchant, making a sardonic bow in the direction of Melody and Umber. "After you. Lead the way, so we can save the forest.
... Today, preferably."

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Raven had stayed back, out of the arguments, as a witch worked behind the scenes and seemed to do things more unnoticed than others. She saw Jonas running off and called after him, but he didn't seem to hear her. "If you will not lead the way, my dear wolf, I will. People are dying, and I for one need my powers to help them. If this herb we are looking for does indeed lie in the swamp, I for one am not going to stand her and let the whole forest die when we could be saerching for it." Her voice was calm, but she projected it for all to hear, her violet eys burned with passion and desire. "Now lets get moving, as the Mr. Blackback said, TODAY." She added.

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Töd had to literally bit down on her tongue to prevent her thoughts being spoken. If she had the time, her reaction to Umber's stance would have been great, but the urgency of finding a cure took priority over personal fueds. As the wolf raised his hackles towards her, all she would do was steady her grip on the ground. She refused to show anger or fear by bringing her blade forward. They needed to move.
Instead of parting her lips and speaking her mind, the halfling began her steps onwards. Many had spoken of moving again, but none of them had put actions to their words. She didn't want to add to the wait, and didn't want more conflict, for the time being. Slowly but surely, the elf began to walk away from the group. Umber had instructed her to lead, so she would until someone tried anything otherwise. With one last look over her shoulder, mostly at Jah and Blackback, Töd began to search once more.

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OOC
For the sake of trying to keep up with the other plot a bit I'm not going to wait for Melody and Nightwolf to post...

IC
While Umber resented Jah~lila's interference, he had prefered to have Töd answer for herself. But at least now he knew she was not a local idiot. He respected her for pointing out his own newborn children were in danger right now, and delay would only worsen their chances of survival. While he would not admit to it, he now knew the white mare had a brain, and so the rest she had said was given more credit. Blackback obviously wasn't looking for a fight, maybe he hadn't really meant to sound insulting either earlier, Umber knew he wasn't the only one who was tired, but Töd was a different matter.

He didn't acknowledge the mare's words verbally, though one of his ears was trained on her while his gaze remained on the blue haired female Jah~lila was partially shielding with her own body. Glancing at Blackback when he spoke Umber didn't reply, which pretty much meant he was going to drop it. But his golden gaze kept going back to Töd after the white mare took off again. She walked on, apparently willing to lead them on after all. Umber didn't mind this idea. Slowly turning his body as she passed him he watched her walk on.

Motioning to Melody to follow and pressing his shoulder against Cortina's to let her know they were moving again he followed at a very slow pace, his head held low while he watched Töd walk on. He did not know whether she had made the same discovery he had while he'd been right on top of this brown mud-like substance. Or inside it anyway. He'd seen that up close some patches of mud looked different, and were most likely the spots that were actual ground and could hold their weight.

He didn't speak up though, he wanted her to take a wrong step and get stuck like he had earlier. This could mean more delay, though Umber had no intention of stopping to help her if she did get stuck. She had made no attempt to help him after all. Umber now held a small grin on his muzzle. While the other female had moved forwards as well, Töd was still in the front. Slowly Umber followed without looking at Blackback, not wanting to reach the mud first again and give away the way to cross it. There was no reason for her to jump across it, so odds were Umber would get his wish to see her fall. Intently his golden gaze remained on her like a predator looking at his prey.

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Blackback set out after the others, then he blinked and turned around. A bright white light shone in the sky, seeping down through the forest canopy, casting gastly shadows along the ground. It lasted but a moment, then it was gone.

"That did come from the north-west." he said grimly, continuing to walk. "Jah! Do you see anything from up there? What was that light?"


---------
OOC: See the Lost Fields thread for the source of the light. I guess the Hivemind would be airborne by now, on her way to the Meadow ...


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OOC: Arg, sorry for the wait for a reply. I was working alot last week. >.<

IC:
Cortina's attention changed, hearing Jonas run off. Instinct was to follow him, to see that he was okay. But that was when the trouble arised between the group. She felt terrible by the fact that she was slowing them down. Then, when the mare landed and reminded them about the pups, she felt worse. Sure, there were those watching the young creatures, but their delay doesn't help them or the others that were sick.

Cortina turned her head towards Umber when she felt his familiar touch. Understanding that the action meant that they were moving once more, she turned to follow them. Her head was lowered, sniffing the ground intently for any clues. She knew the ground was changing, becoming more swampy and less firm. Still, she did not dare slow down again. Mud clung to her paws, in some places sticking hard, forcing her to pull to bring it back up.

The only thing that bothered her was Jonas. Where did he go. The others didn't seem worried, so he had to be alright. But why did he leave like that. Fortunity, she didn't get much of a chance to think about it. The trail took all of her attention.

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Raven was glad that they had finally started off again, she had tired off waiting. She set off, alone now, for Jonas had left her. She walked slowly, using her staff to test the ground before her. She made progress, but slowly.Her raven black hair glistening in the bright white light.

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((Sorry it's taken so long for me to get to this, i've been working lots! Getting net back at home next week though, yay!))

Melody refrained from saying anything else to the Troll when he gave his sardonic bow, instead she allowed herself a soft growl and returned to her mates side. She knew Cortina was more at risk in such a barren environment than she was, even if she was weak from birthing so many pups, she still didn't consider herself at any less strength than any of the other animals here, for weren't they all sick and losing strength?
"I'll watch over her," she whispered softly to Umber, taking up position beside her mate and Cortina, who she looked upon almost as a daughter now rather than a friend. She pressed her nose gently to Umbers cheek before carrying on with him through the mud, ignoring the revolting sensation of it becoming stuck between her claws.

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For a reason unknown to her, Töd noticed a silence had fallen among the group while they walked. Progress was slow, and the lack of communication was making it slower. She could sense an air of uneasiness about them, and wasn't pleased. If they were to find a cure for the forest, they would have to work together and put their different knowledges to use.
Step after careful step the elf's eyes searched both the ground and the few trees around them for any sort of plant that caught her eye. All the while she felt the ground ahead of her with the decorative sword usually carried by her side. It had, in fact, been purchased from Blackback by her friend, and if the circumstances were different, Töd would be asking the troll more about it. She wanted to know who made it, and any history to it. Garta hadn't had any time to explain about the blade after giving it to the halfling. Smiling at the memory of her friend, Töd moved on with her search.
For now the elf was managing to avoid sinking into the ground, or falling, as her weight was relatively light. Once the ground got considerably soggy, however, it would most likely become difficult to find footing. Keeping this in mind, the elf trecked on in front of the group.

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To Umber's disappointment Töd proved to be bright enough to test the ground in front of her before stepping onto it. Sulking a bit the wolf moved on in silence, making sure his shoulder continued to touch Cortina's to guide her along. He did not want her to end up in the same situation he just had been himself, stuck in the mud. Or whatever it was.

Looking up with surprise at the sudden flash of light coming from the distance he flattened his ears. The last time something had spread over the forest it had been a strong wind that took all of their abilities away and made them sick to boot. The light was gone right away again though, and Umber did not feel any different. What had that been? A bit uncomfortable he glanced at Melody, but did not comment, or respond to the troll's shout. If it was a threat from afar then the flying mare would hopefully warn them in time.

While carefully, they still moved on rapidly enough to cross the mud in a relatively short time, and Umber watched how Töd continued to make her way around and over the large roots that grew above ground, making the thin trees look like they were standing on stilts almost as tall as Blackback. They could squeeze themselves through the little jungle of roots to get through, though the troll might have to make some more effort, his size making it hard to push through the small openings. Umber knew the "real" swamps started at this point. Before they had gotten through the densest part of this forest of tough roots they would be wading through water which would turn warmer and warmer the further they pressed on. After that there would be even fewer parts of actual dry land.

Now the sound of a small explosion followed by rushing sound for a few moments could no longer be missed. They were the geysers of the swamps that as far as the wolf had been able to tell had no fixed location. As he hopped up to carefully clamber over a root that had started to grow horizontal and then squeeze himself between two other ones he started to pant, his mind on those explosions of water. They were hot, some even boiling, and he had been hit by a couple of them the last time he was here. It hurt.

OOC
Pushing it along a bit ^_^

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((Sorry, i'll post on monday on my day off, I swear!))

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She caught a feeling of something, but had no idea what. It was as unnoticable as a tiny fly resting for a moment. And with her powers currently gone, it had a more padded effect. Because she couldn't see, the light made no difference. Besides, there was more important matters at paw.

The roots were growing larger and thicker. The ground was softer and rippled at the edges. While she didn't wish it, nessecity demanded separation from the other two wolves as she squeezed into the tight places. But as long as they stayed where she could smell them, she was find.

She walked slowly, tapping the ground with her paw before walking forwards. It had been ages since she had taken such care in walking and had forgotten the difficulty in it. Yet Cortina had taken enough head butting into trees to teach her not to run rapidly and recklessly though the unknown area.

Still, she could feel the ground becoming more clear and watery. The sand was much finer, and clung harder. Her claws were out and tapping the ground, attaching to any firm ground she could grab on to. And it was quiet, much to quiet. Even her keen ears had trouble finding any sound, but for the explosive gysers, the first of which made her jump untill she (slowly) grew accustomed to it. Prehapes she shouldn't have followed her Umber here, as it was much more dangerous than she had originally thought. And too quite.

She creapt slowly forwards, moving closer to Töd, although she kept her tail close enough to tap the two wolves. She felt very comfortable next to the halfling. Cortina smiled, hoping the other would catch it.

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[Blue]

Raven looked up above her, at the trees towering over her, and knuckled her back. The walk was kinda tiring when she had to test the ground in front of her, ecspecially when she hadn't had sleep in over 48 hours. She tossed her black hair back over her shoulder and then decided to tie it up in a pony tail. When she finally dubbed herself ready, she continued on.

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OOC
In order to keep up with the mountain thread I'm going to jump forwards in time a little. They have simply been doing the same thing the whole time, struggling through the yucky swamp as it becomes more dense around them, much darker as the sky becomes obscured, and land and water only have vague boundaries anymore.

IC
Umber kept a constant growl in the back of his throat as he waded through the water. It came to his belly, so not deep enough for him swim, but still making his progress slow and bothersome. He felt the mud on the bottom squish between his toes, he felt stray remains of vegetation slowly float past him in the smelly water, and he wanted to rip apart the insects which kept settling on and onto his dirty fur. "Once we get out of here I'm going to take a long, long swim in the River," he growled to no one in particular, his teeth flashing as he bit off every word.

Suddenly he felt the ground beneath him slope upwards and he looked down in surprise. Ahead there was more water still, what little light there was reflected off of it all around them, yet as he moved on it seemed it was just a very small amount that only barely covered the ground beneath it. Once more, the swamp had betrayed the eye, and Umber growled. At least walking was made easier once more as the water now covered only his toes, and with his fur dripping he continued, casting glances at his companions, finally turning his gaze up to search for the white form of Jah~lila. He knew she was up there somewhere, though he couldn't see her.

Suddenly he froze still, and his growl stopped abrubtly. There had been no geysers for a while now, and they had been lucky to avoid them altogether so far, but now there had been another sound as well, Umber was sure of it. His ears standing upright he carefully looked around them at the bushes and outlines of the large trees his golden eyes could make out in the distance. He glanced at the others to see if they had heard something as well when he heard it again, and whipped his head to the side.

Rustling sounds, like feet running. It had been but a moment, and he saw nothing, but it was enough. He lifted his lips for a growl of warning, but instead only a whine came out. "Be careful," she said softly, his eyes and ears racing each other for speed as he tried to look everywhere at once, and catch any stray bit of sound, "They found us, don't let them surround us!" He spoke of the ones he had warned them of at the Village. And just as he said this, two bright spots of light flashed on the other side of where he had heard the rustling sound, but they disappeared just as swiftly again, unseen by Umber.

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At the back of the group, Blackback was having a little easier travelling since belly-deep water for Umber meant water only up to his knees (his lower knees even, since his legs where adiapose). Being able to lift the feet out of the water helped a lot. His coat was bigger trouble. It dragged in the water behind him and he had given up on trying to lift it up by now. He would have a lot of interesting inhabitants in that coat when he got out of this place the troll thought sourly.

The wolf seemed to have led them well thus far though -- they were at least headed into the depth of the swamp alright. The muddy water they where walking through where criss-crossed with roots and low slumping trees looking like skeleton hands where constantly drawing closer to each other, weaving their dark green fingers together into layered tapestries and a broken roof full of chirping and buzzing life.

All around them stood a constant cloud of insects. The fleabane was certainly helping those that had taken it, but still the insects was taking their toll.

Umber spoke from the front of the troupe, and since it was the first time anyone had said something for a long time (opening your mouth allowed the insects in there), the words travelled all the way back to Blackback at the rear. He stopped and looked around, his club still over his shoulder. It was dim under the woven canopy, but here and there strays of morning sun were throwing thin pillars of light down to the ground, pillars glittering with insect bodies, dazzling the eye. Blackback squinted into the punctured gloom without seeing anything. "What?" he grumbled, a bit too loud.

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OOC: Really sorry for the wait.
IC:

Her Elven ears picked up on the footsteps perhaps as well Umber's Wolven ears, and she emmediately slowed her pace to a very near stop. She knew little about what was going on with the Forest, but she clued in easily enough that the Wolf didn't think these visitors were friendly. She wondered what they could possibly be doing all the way out in the Swamps. 'They've found us?' she repeated in her head. Why were they searching in the first place?
Töd's colourless eyes darted around and she saw Cortina smile, but as she turned to speak to the young Wolfess, she heard Blackback speak perhaps just a little to loud, and tried to signal to him to be quieter by putting her forfinger to her lips.
When her sword was in fighting position, the halfling asked in a low tone, "Who's they, and why'd they be looking for us?" The question was mainly sent to Umber, but it was moreso a general wonder, she didn't mind who answered, as long as they were discrete about it.

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((Again, sorry for the wait!))

Melody stopped abruptly when Umber warned them all that someone had found them, it was most disconcerting to not know about whom he was talking and how much danger they were really in. Melody backed up a little and stood by Cortina, she nuzzled the young femmes cheek gently and whispered, "If we have to run, bite my tail hard and I'll lead you, alright?" she said quietly, she didn't care if Cortina made her bleed so long as they all escaped harm safely.

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Silence followed the words of the others. Umber didn't answer right away as he was still looking about them, trying to catch a glimpse of what he felt must be there. But when nothing happened, nothing coul be seen or heard, the wolf backed his ears. Had he been wrong, was he so paranoid that he had imagined the sounds in the silence? Yet the female blue-hair had reacted as well, he had seen her stop from the corner of his eyes when he turned to look and search for the origin of the sound. It couldn't be just him.

Surrounded by water, shallow as it was, the group stood still and looked about. Yet silence around them was maintained. Umber took a deep breath and checked to see Melody and Cortina were alright before bothering with the others. "The things that live here, I meant them," he started, trying to sound offhand to cover up what now seemed to be an overreaction of his earlier, "They don't take kindly to... and here he sucked up his breath and his ears flew back once more as he stared wideyed beyond Blackback to the back of their group.

He had heard nothing, yet now their little group no longer stood alone. Behind and out of range of Blackback now kneeled a small figure, one Umber knew was no taller than Töd of their party. The figure remained still, observing them calmly with eyes large and black, but with a glowing white orb in the middle of each eye that stood out in the relative darkness. It's body was protected by natural armor the color of mud, and covered by what could either be decorative decaying and dried vines, or actual growths from their own body that twined all around them, Umber had never been able to tell. It had no hair though it's head was not smooth either, other growths protruded from it. The lower end of it's face held a mouth, but other than that and it's eyes, it had no other facial features visible.

"These are our lands," the thing said calmly in a soft whispering voice after it had observed each of them for a moment. Disaproval however was clearly heard in it's voice, with maybe a hint of a threat. It was hard to tell whether it was strong or not, it certainly didn't seem to be a match for any of their party, but Umber was not fooled. Their strength did not lie in their bodies, but in their number. Nervously his eyes moved around to see where it's fellows were, trying to spot those telltale white spots in the darkness, but saw none. It looked like this creature was alone, and that made the big wolf even more nervous.


(By Barbannis)


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Raven had kept calm when all of this was happening, at least on the outside, on the inside she was screaming. "What is that thing Umber?Please enlighten us before it attacks."She said, suprised by the icyness of her own voice. She looked at the creature with violet eyes, her mind flitting over every kind of creature that she knew of and was frightened to learn that she didn't know this one. She gripped her staff and readied herself incase the thing decided to attack.

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Blackback spun around, following Umber's glance. He caught is breath, trying to see what this thing was. He had passed through the outskirts of the swamp before, but this was new. Obviously Umber knew more of these guys than he did. Raven's calm question reflected his own thoughts. The wolf should better spill what he knew, and soon.

"Aren't wolves supposed to have keen senses?" he muttered. Raising his voice, he said: "Anyone who can sneak up on a party consisting of so many wolves have my respect." Better not mention Jah~Lila hovering above, in case she had not yet been detected. Blackback tried a friendly smile at the small creature. The thing was protecting its real estate. Blackback could understand that. Any creature that had a sense of ownership was a creature Blackback could relate to. "Blackback's me name. I'm the merchant of the forest beyond this realm. Nice swamp you have going here ..."

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Unable to keep it in, the drow made a small giggle, but she kept it stifled. The creature looked very strange. Was it just protecting it's land, or was that just an excuse to attack the search party? She debating adding to Blackback's comment, but was unsure if she wanted to tell this newcomer what thy were looking for. She decided to leave that information to, likely, Umber or Blackback to tell, as she figured they would be doing most of the talking. Truth be told, she was hoping for some action, she hadn't swung her blade in battle for a long while. But she didn't want to get the rest of the group in danger.
With a small, humourus sigh, she finally beathed, 'Good 'ol Blackback.'

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The creature cocked it's head at being called a "thing" by Raven and turned it's head to look at her, but gave no comment or response to it. Without ever blinking it observed Blackback next as the troll spoke, still with it's head tilted to the side, giving it a curious expression. It remained in it's kneeling position in the few inches of water however, forcing it to look up at them, an obvious position that placed it at a great disadvantage should any of them attack.

"I wouldn't put too much thought into it," it replied to Blackback as his gaze passed over the three wolves present, "Their 'senses' don't mean too much in here." This time it sounded amused. "And this 'nice swamp' is ours," he said in his same whispering voice, louder now, "You're not welcome here." A strange growling sound came from it's throat now, but died down almost immediately again.

Umber's ears were pressed back and his lips were slightly raised to show his teeth as he looked over the swamp creature. Pretending he didn't hear it talking he gave what he knew of the things, "They are fast, they are hard to see, and they travel in groups," the big wolf said, and once more his eyes darted around, trying to spot the creature's companions. He saw none of the white spots dancing around them. Umber had taken no offence whatsoever at the creature being able to sneak up on them with the wolves present. His nose was clogged with the smells of the swamp, and the thing itself smelled like a muddy plant.

He raised a paw as if about to take a step closer to the rear of their group, where the creature kneeled, then changed his mind and set his paw back in the water, "Are you alone?" he growled at it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Blackback was pleased to hear this creature could talk so well. For a moment he had half expected it would only grunt short sentences at them before calling in those gazillion buddies with-heavy-weaponry that Umber seemed to be expecting at any moment. Whereas the creature was small, just glancing at the alpha wolf's reactions made it clear this thing was something to take seriously.

Blackback shook his head, grinning wider. If this thing was clever enough to talk back at him, it was clever enough to hear him out. "Now, now, let's not be all defensive like that, Umber!" the troll said, smiling sweetly at the wolf. "This fellow has done us no harm. We are just talking here. Yes, a friendly chat between wanderers, that's all." Blackback turned to the swamp creature. "Hey -- If you say this swamp is yours -- I believe you! You and the swamp have a lot in common, that's for anyone to see." The troll made a generous gesture. "To each his own, that's what I always say. We certainly have no claims here, that's definately true! Infact, we're just passing through. Yep. Didn't even know you guys where here, as you noticed.
We have no wish to step on any toes ... or roots or wines or whatever it is you have that we can step on."

Blackback caught his breath and contined:
"... So. As I said, I'm Blackback. May I ask what I shall call you?"

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Melody kept her hindquarters in Contact with Umbers as she turned to cover his back, her sharp eyes scanned the murky hazy atmosphere of the swamp, the smell was enough to make her eyes water, but she wasn't prepared to let her guard down, not when she had so many young pups to return to when this was over. She lowered her head, hackles raised as she watched keenly, all the while shifting her weight between her dainty paws lest she should sink into the mud from being stationary far too long. She rolled her eyes at Blackbacks conversational skills but said nothing, if they were about to be ambushed petty arguments were best left aside... for now anyways.

((Told you i'd be back))

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OOC
Welcome back ^_^

IC
Umber squeezed his eyes shut for a moment when Blackback mentioned how much the swamp and this creature had in common. If it was meant as a compliment, he prayed the thing would actually take it as one. The troll was a smooth talker, but either he was nervous right now, or Umber was too paranoid to catch the more subtle meanings behind his speech. It sounded more nervous jabbering to him, except the troll's voice, thankfully, remained confident and cheery. Better he did the insulting than Umber if it meant they would go for the troll first then. Still no sign of the others.

The creature still hadn't moved as it looked up at them all from it's kneeling position, whatever could be seen from it's facial features appeared to either remain neutral or uncaring at the words, or just unreadable. It moved it's gaze to look them all over again, not saying anything for a few moments as if thinking, and finally moved. It lazily started to glide it's long fingers through the little water around him, looking absent minded while doing so. "You may ask, but I will not answer." he said with a movement that looked like a shrug. "So you acknowledge you are on our grounds now, yet still you remain here," he said, an odd rasp that could pass for an amused chuckle came from his throat.

"I believe it is time for you all to leave now," he said, sounding very reasonable about it, but then his voice changed to a lower pitch, "Or we'll make you leave. Your choice of course, but we prefer the second." He had slowly gotten out of his crouch while he said the last until he stood up more or less straight, water drops dripping from the limbs that had been resting in the shallow water. He did not move forwards, and even when standing up straight still had to crane his head back to be able to look Blackback in the face. He did not look like a threat, but his tone obviously implied he thought himself so without a doubt.

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To Blackback's credit he didn't change his tone in the slightest at the creature's not-so subtle threat. His club was over his shoulder, but he was strong enough to flip it off with one hand should he need to. Blackback was no warrior per se, but he had spent most of his life in the shadier neighbourhoods of human cities. He wanted no fight. There was little gain in a fight. But he was no fool. At least the thing was still talking to them. Let it think him nervous if that made it feel more confident.

Blackback said, in a reasonable tone: "Well, now that we have established that we have no ill will on our part, hear me out. There is a good reason we are on your lands see, you-who-remains-unnamed. And the reason is we seek something here -- not to steal or anything of course; No, it's something we are willing to trade handsomely for, should it be available here. We didn't know the realm was claimed -- nor where to find you people for that matter -- or we would of course have come and asked you directly."

Blackback conciously hesitated, hopefully allowing the creature's curiosity to take root. Should he tell this thing about the plague and the cure they sought? It was a gamble. Then again, so were all things in life.

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Töd felt very helpless. All she figured she was right to do was stand there on alert for an attack. But she hadn't noticed this creature come up, how was she to notice another? Not being the best of actress, she didn't dare say anything out loud to risk chancing any plan Blackback may have had. Thinking to herself, it showed on the Drow's face that she wasn't too impressed with the situation. Keeping her stance ready, she tried to act calm and fit with what Blackback was describing.

OOC: So lame... I'm sorry. Can't post well when she's got nothing to say.

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Moving the fingers of one hand without flexing any other muscles the creature patiently listened to Blackback, seemingly having forgotten it had just threatened them all and perfectly willing to continue the conversation. It glanced at the wolves one by one now though, then rested the glowing white orbs in it's eyes on Töd, before finally looking back up, way up, to Blackback.

"My name is still no concern of yours, and you do well for a trader. But you should not beat around the bush so much. You seek a cure for your sick, to regain what you lost. You seek in the wrong place. Your kind lives at the edges of life, not like we do in our home here." It stretched out the same hand and made an arc that took in their surroundings, "If you did, you would have known that you came searching in the wrong place, that you already have the cure."

It lowered it's arms and wriggled it's feet for a moment it what appeared to be glee, and it's mouth moved so it's shape changed, resembling a failed grin.

"I will tell you what it is, we will do this trade you offered." It wriggled it's feet again, the vines or roots resembling toes moving madly in the water, making little splashes, "Is an answer to cure your sick and restore what was taken from them a suitable offer?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Blackback looked dumbstruck. This sure was a strange creature, to change its moods so quickly. And how could it know so much about what was going on when Blackback and the others knew next to nothing the other way around? "It's indeed a suitable offer" he stuttered, trying to shake his surprise and regain his composture.
"Pray tell what it is you demand of us in return."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I don't like the sound of this." Raven said. She had lowered her staff, but many,many years of practice and use made her deadly with it, and she could have it back up in a second flat. "We shouldn't be barganing, but that thing knows the cure, and I for one would really like my powers back.So lets do it." She told the troll.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

'My dear witch,' Töd said softly with an odd tone, 'I think the troll is wise in his speach. Would you rather not get this cure easily without a fight? We are unsure how many of these creatures there are around us, as well as their capabilities. If worst comes to worst, I'm sure we'll put up a good fight, but let us solve this peacefully if possible.'

The drow tried to keep her input quiet, hoping the creature, or creatures, near them wouldn't hear, but had no idea how intune their ears were. She didn't mean to lecture the witch, but didn't want a sudden fight to come about if they were close to getting a cure for the plague.

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OOC
Long post, I hope there is no vagueness.

IC
The creature listened in silence to Blackback, showing no sign of that humor now, just out of place patience. But it's attention strayed to the two female humanoids. Whether it could hear their conversation or not wasn't clear, but still it continued to slowly move his white glowing stare from one to the other, even after they fell silent. A few moments more passed where it did not respond or take his gaze off of them, ignoring the troll and wolves. Then it seemed to have decided something, and with an air of disappointment craned it's head back up to the troll once more.

"Deal," it said as if everything had been decided between the two, and continued in a dead serious voice, "You seek for a cure as if it were a medicine used by healers, you are wrong to do so. You are all too simple to understand the true nature of your distress, it is rather pathetic, though amusing." While the words were degrading, the tone of voice did not change, sounding only barely interested now, "The true cure lies in forgiveness and trust, only then will you truly be able to set everything back to normal and survive yourself."

It fell silent then, not moving even it's toes now. Then it's eyes seemed to glow brighter all of a sudden, the being stood up straighter, and the malformed grin returned, odd on a face that did not seemed to be build to be able to smile. "What we wish for in return..." it began, and there was no mistaking the glee in it's raspy voice, "We delight in a successful hunt...yet we despise a failed one. You will turn our failed one, in a success. The most unexpected one, for we never thought it would be so after such a long time." And while he spoke the last few words, while it's glowing white orbs remained on Blackback, it's right arm raised and the hand folded togather until finally a single twiggy finger pointed straight at Umber, the creature's toes splashing madly in the water once more.



Umber's discomfort hadn't changed much during the whole conversation, but he had taken some comfort from Melody's body next to his. She was alert he was proud to see, and thankfully hiding the weakness come from birthing very well. While he did not think she would be able to hold out in a fight for very long, at least she wouldn't hold back either. And while Cortina was at a big disadvantage, she too held firm, her shoulder pressed against his own. Umber was proud of the females of his family, and while his mind kept racing as he tried to ignore the fact that he would be in a very tough spot if he had to defend the three of them, the others did not matter so much, this little observation made him just a tad bit more easy.

The troll seemd to be doing a good job now apparently, if the thing was willing to hand them a solution so easily. Yet at the same time Umber grew more nervous. This wasn't like these creatures at all. When he had first encountered them years ago they hadn't even tried to communicate with him like this, just tried to kill him right away. It had taken some very creative shapeshifting, and half a dozen different forms to get away from them alive. It had been like they were everywhere, and even when he tried to take to the air in bird form they had just brought him back down with stones and other objects. And now there was just one, and he was talking like a civilized thing. It just didn't make sense to Umber and he shook his head. Were the ones he had encountered before from a different tribe or something? Or was this single one the exception?

Suddenly umber found himself being pointed at as the creature spoke of hunts. Uh oh. His ears flew back as he tried to figure out what had just happened, or what this meant. He knew though, it suddenly sprang clear in his mind. This single one wasn't an exception, he was a part of all those others, and they were angry at him for having escaped them last time. How did they even remember him!! His golden eyes flew around, expecting to see that army of glowing white orbs finally surrounding them, but again there was just the gloomy darkness. It was the last thing he did before the world seemed to turn on him.

All that had flashed through his mind had taken but a moment, because almost right after the creature pointed at him the ground beneath them all changed from the solid mass covered by roots and pebbles and a few inches of water, to a wriggling mass of liquid earth. "Run!!" Umber shouted, but before he could even finish the one syllable word he felt many hands close around his back paws, followed immediately by a pull so strong and sudden that Umber had no time for a single movement other than to shout a surprised yelp as he slid into the no longer completely solid ground. He tried to hook his front paws on the ground to keep his head from going down, but they simply slid through the mud.

Suddenly everything was dark and Umber tried with all his might to fight himself free from the earth, to climb up. But the grasp on his legs didn't let go, and he went down deeper, feeling things slither past him. He knew what he felt were the bodies of dozens of other swamp creatures, hidden beneath the ground where they could apparently live. Mud slid down his throat as he tried to call out in his panic, and into his nose in his frantic attempt to breathe. In that moment he knew it was over. The creatures could easily move through the hard solid ground, softening it up by digging tunnels, making his passage through it as easy as pulling him through water. So this is where they hid all the time. He had not known, never guessed this. His body started to ache in protest against the lack of oxygen, and Umber wanted to howl and whine, wondering how far below the surface he was now. They never had stopped pulling him.

Suddenly the hands let go and the moving earth and bodies around him stopped. While slowly losing consciouness Umber wondered what had just happened, then suddenly understood. It no longer mattered, he was too deep down to make it back up and live. The earth around him quickly grew solid once more without the movements of the creatures that had left him down here to his doom, the heavy weight above him pushing down on his body, hurting him. Umber hadn't been able to move a limb all this time, and now felt his ribs and everything else slowly crush together. For some reason he had to think of his mother and brother, the only ones who had loved him for a while. They had died. His entire old pack had died, and now so would he. Umber felt sad, felt like he had failed. Then images of the members of the Mithren pack flashed through his mind one by one, finally focusing on Cortina, Melody and eight vague little shapes that were his pups of flesh and blood.

"At least they loved me," was Umber last thought before his ribcage gave in and all his thoughts went quiet forever.



In one solid movement the big black and brown wolf had disppeared from their view as the mud closed above him, still wriggling. While it was now very obvious that there were many swamp creatures in the ground beneath them, tossing, turning and digging, none came above ground, and none grabbed any of the others by their legs. They made no sounds either, only the wild splashing of the water and mud took over the scene.

The creature that had approached them still stood before Blackback, apparently unafraid and still unmoving, though he had lowered his arm again.

"You have what you want, we have ours. The deal is over." Then he wriggled his toes in the rolling mud, apparently having no trouble standing upright and keeping himself from sinking in the mud, something the others would have more trouble with. Instantly six other creatures crawled out of the mud on all fours, then stood upright as well, three of them flanking the speaker on both sides, they eyes holding the same eery white glow.

"We love a good chase," the speaker then said, the threat clear in his voice. All seven of them then started to hiss menacingly, crouching down, though not moving closer yet. The ground around and also beneath the party grew even wilder, softening up the earth even more, and with every passing moment it would become harder and harder for the remaining forest inhabitants to keep from sinking into the mud.

OOC
Umber has "left" the thread...

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OoC: I'm not posting IC yet, it' not my turn... But oh my god Umber! Noooo! I honest to god felt really, really sad reading that.

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Blackback wrinkled his forehead as he listened to the strange creature's words. He was saying there were no cure to be found here in the swamps, that much he understood. But the creature gave no answer, his words rather gave rise to more questions. Trust? Forgiveness? Forgive who? Blackback had no idea what to make of it.

As Blackback pondered, the creature kept talking. Blackback was almost too distracted to hear what it was saying ... Then things happened very fast. Blackback heard only a short shout and a yelp from Umber. When he swirled around, the wolf was already gone, taken right from the middle of their group, the muddy ground moving with a sickening wet sound.

"Wha --" he began. But when he looked back at the glowing eyes of the creature he fell silent. He had been about to demand to know what they had done to Umber, but one look at those white orbs and hearing those words that now were beginning to register in his mind told Blackback exactly what they had just done to the alpha wolf. This would be the last they'd ever hear of him.

He'd hardly known Umber, but that didn't make his death any less chilling in its brutal meaninglessness. That was not even a "chase"! a part of his mind said, while the rest of him tried to not panic. The ground under his feet suddenly felt way too soft for his confort. He only hoped his large tree-club would make him harder to pull down. Blackback felt a strong urge to wipe away that smug tone of this creature. His club would fit just fine smack in the middle of the creature's face -- right there between those white orbs, infact. But Blackback didn't move. If he did anything aggressive in this place he had no doubt it would probably be the last thing he ever did.

"A riddle of words is meager pay for a life" he said instead, not able to hide his bitterness. "But we leave. Next time we meet we willl well remember the way you do business." His tone was not threatening, only factual. He owed that much to his profession at least.

Blackback took a deep breath and forced himself to take a slow step backwards, then another one. His face was the neutral mask of a skilled merchant, but inside his troll blood was boiling. Next time, pal he thought silently to himself. Next time we'll negotiate with only solid bedrock beneath our feet. Let's see how calm you are then. A few steps back he turned around and began a fast walk, feeling the stares of the creatures burn into his back.

"We are leaving! Now!" he growled, before even reaching the shocked remnants of his group. There was no time to grieve anyone. Let them hate him later, but they had to get out of here. He called out to the one here he knew the best: "Töd! Get those wolves and the witch moving! Towards the mountains! Go, go go!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Her colourless eyes didn't bother to hide her confusion and panic. The Drow stood, astonished, until she heard Blackback speak her name. Her sensitive ears perked up as her eyes darted from the spot where Umber once stand, to Blackback's feet sinking (his were the most obvious), to the creature's glowing eyes. Hatred showed through her face, and she wanted nothing more than to rip her sword through the creature's throat. She didn't know Umber well, and he had made a comment or two she didn't appreciate, but his mate was beside him. The one being whom he loved wholeheartedly, and who had proven her love in return, in Töd's eyes, by trailing him. It was obvious she cared for him greatly. Yet she had to witness his apparent death. The drow couldn't help but want to cause someone serious pain.

Nevertheless, she snapped out of her trance and said a quick 'yeah' to her troll friend. Inside she was praying they wouldn get to fight these creatures, if there were more than one, but Töd had regained her composure, and showed little emotion on her face now. Being closer to the wolve's height, she bent closer to Cortina.

'We're leaving. You can grab a lock of my hair, or a piece of clothing, or get help from Melody, there. We need to move, quickly but calmly, please, m'ladies. Raven, you as well. Watch your step.'

The Drow spoke softly while issuing these commands, but made it apparent things were urgent. She had considered picking Cortina up, because the ground would be getting more and more difficult to walk apon, however she left the idea for now. If things became more frantic, the thought was in the back of her mind. She smiled quickly to Raven, and began walking, looking towards the mountains, then to her feet. Her eyes glanced above her very quickly, trying to get a quick scan of the air for Ourania, but she didn't want anyone else noticed, so it was brief and unsuccessful.

Töd continued marching forward, taking the lead. She would feel safe with Blackback bringing up the rear, the other three close in the middle, and herself leading. She was the lightest, likely, as she was only 4'8". 'Follow me,' she spoke, broadsword in hand. If need be, she would more than likely be able to manouver herself to defend someone, and this is what she wanted. She didn't look back to see if anyone was following them, she would leave that to the others. She kept her eyes in front of her, picking a safe path for the others as best she could.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Raven gave a startled gasp as Umber went down into the mud. She knew that the wolf would more than likely die down there and that made her mad. "It was not a fair deal at all."She said,agreeing with Blackback. When the troll said for them to leave, she stood for a second and only moved when Tod did. She wished that she hadn't left her sword back at the Village, for she wanted to slice that creatures head from its shoulders. "*Htaed wollof ouy dna ekat ouy nwod.*" She said in curse form, knowing it was useless.She walked and caught up with Tod looking back at Cortina and Melody, knowing what pain they felt. Her violet eyes filled with tears, but she steeled herself and hardened her heart, I can not afford to let the others see my pain, and my weakness, she thought.*Death follow you and take you down.*

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Melody span when she felt Umber move from beside her, she stared in horror as he began to vanish beneath the mud. "Umber!" she cried desperately, her heart feeling like it had torn in two. She dug furiously at the mud, trying desperately to bring her mate back, her love.
"Umber!" she cried again, tears spilling over her ebony fur, her whole body shook when she realised he was too deep, she couldnt bring him back now. Had the ground not started to shake she would have given up there and then, allowed herself to sink into despair. But she had pups to think of, Cortina to get home safely. She whimpered quietly as she stared at the spot where Umber had vanished, still wishing that he would reappear and lead them back to safety.
"Go," she whimpered to Cortina, nudging her in the right direction with her tear stained muzzle, "Your father told you to run... Go!"

((Does this mean Mithren has no Alpha? Or would Melody be alpha...? Is she the oldest?))

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OOC
Currently there's no alpha, no, but I'm sure the wolves will solve that problem eventually ^_^ Btw, I won't be posting much in here anymore, so don't wait for me.

IC
The three creatures at the front moved, moving to the sides while keeping up their hissing. They kept their glowing white orbs on Töd now, following her, sizing her up, their hands and fingers moving eagerly, but they did not follow. Not yet. As the others moved after the blue haired female the white orbs turned to the next, inspecting them from top to toe, looking for a weakness, a hint of hesitation. The ones below ground continued to tunnel, the ground closing in right away behind them, causing the mud to roll around beneath the party's feet, the ground no longer stable and the water all around making it even easier to be sucked down if you stand still for too long.

A few crawled out of the mud behind them, and started to hiss as well, a concert of the threatening sound seeming to echo around now. But they too did not follow, though a few made a couple of eager steps forwards, the tension in their bodies screaming themessage that they wished to rush forwards and attack. While the ground beneath them was just as dangerous as everywhere else, the creatures seemed to find their balance easily enough, and did not even submerge their feet in the mud. None spoke, only hissed, none responded or reacted to the words spoken.

[Griatch]

With the sound of the creature's hissing in his ears, Blackback took up the rear guard. If they could only get onto firm ground! Töd had taken the lead and the others seemed to follow suit. He had worried about the wolves doing something stupid, but they seemed to be following along, albeit in a dazed shock.

As the group moved away from the immediate area, the ground became covered by a thin layer of dark water. Blackback wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. The swamp creatures were not following them -- so far. The hisses were soon fading into the distance behind them.

"Töd, " he hissed up to the front of the line. "I don't see any following us. But get ready to leg it just in case ... we have to get to solid rock before those guys change their mind."

[nightwolf714]

OOC: I know, finally I reply. >.< Since it's been a while, this post starts with the creature pointing at Umber.

IC:
Cortina had kept slient for the most part, not understanding what any of them were talking about. But she understood Umber was worried about something and stood next to him. Her ears flicked from one direction to another in hopes of finding the others. Her nose told her that they were somewhere, but she couldn't figure out where. If only she still had her powers, they would have told her instantly.

Because of her eyes, Cortina did not know who the creature was pointing at. But she couldn't miss the sudden tensing of Umber's body. His cry startled her. What was wrong, what did the creature want?

The wolf felt a hand reach up and brush her leg and instantly knew just what they wanted. Her ears fell flat and her tail curled under her body. In shock, she heard Umber fall beniegh the swamps surface.

"UMBER!" she cried out, her distress heard clearly. She too clawed in vain at the mud. She shook her head, tears rolling down her muzzle. Cortina knew it was useless yet she didn't seem to care. "Father," she whispered softly, still clawing weakly at the sand.* Her body quivered in her heart's pain. Out of all the ones in the small group, Cortina had knew the brown and black wolf the longest. And these creatures....No, it couldn't be true!

The voices drifted past her, unnoticed. The ground grew weaker below her paws. But she didn't care. Her Umber was lost from her. She felt like a tiny pup again. Again, her father was stolen from her. The normally gentle wolf wanted to fight those creatures, wanted to force them to bring back her Umber. She stood, paws sinking into the earth, her body shaking horribly. Cortina wanted to howl, to cry, to lie there and not move again.

Then Tod's voice and Melody's came to her. They were faint, as though coming from a distance, but quickly grew rather sharp in her keen ears. She felt the wolf's nudge and turned to face that direction. Then, she ran with all of her heart in the movement. She simply let her paws lead her, not caring about where they took her.

Cortina knew there were others of that kind behind her, that their own lives were on the line, that silence was key. Yet such simple observations left her mind. Her eyes closed and her maw opened as a bitter sweet howl rolled out. Yes, it was prehapes the most foolish thing she could have done. It didn't matter as she ran at Tod's heels and just before Melody, near Raven and the troll.

*Don't know if ya'll out there know the importance of her saying this, so a quick explaination. That is the very first and only time that she had ever called Umber her father. Not because she didn't like him or didn't think of him as her father, she just never called him that.

[Toadie]

Deperate for her powers back, the elf seemed to have gone into a haze. She didn't want this anymore, this pain. She had only joined the group a while ago, and yet she felt she was all ready in the same level of despair as the rest. If she had her powers, their problems would be solved. The ground would be solid, she could form a barrier around them, and perhaps send a few blasts at the nasty, hissing creatures behind them. Becoming livid, an attempt was made to stop thinking of the loss at hand.

Töd began walking on her toes, gingerly taking every step. Her eyes darted between the ground and what was in front of her, she dared not look back at the creatures, showing them her nerves. Shre realised her lightweight helped her stay above ground, but wondered about the others.

'Friends, if possible, keep yourselves on stones, roots, branches even. Blackback, I would suggest attempting to span your feet apon a variety of supports. Come this way, all, towards that treeline.'

She knew little about forests, but had explored enough to understand trees rooted firmly into the ground. Attempting to bring the group closer to a line of trees, she felt the ground shifting underneath them. She just wanted out.

OOC: Well, I guess sinse m'lady here's leading... Where to, guys and gals?

[Griatch]

OOC:
@all in the fleeing group

I would suggest straight eastward towards the mountains. I would also suggest we speed up the time-step and define that we will reach the mountains once we have all had a chance to post, say twice more -- unless Geava has those hissing creatures give chase of course. What say you people, or do you want to roleplay some more encounters in the swamps?

[Toadie]

OOC: Man... I'd love to fight something. Probably not those creature-dudes unless Val was planning on that the whole time, but maybe a snake or something from the swamp. I dunno. I just want some action. = P Either some action or making it to their destination. Either or the two would please me.

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

OOC
In the name of ending this quickly I suggest you try to avoid fighting them ^_^

IC
At first it seemed the creatures stayed behind, their hissing fading as the group hurried away towards safer ground. The ground still moved here and there, proving just how many of them there were, spread underground, but they did not move towards them. Slowly the ground grew more solid from the lack of tunnelers beneath, and the group fleeing for higher ground where there was no layer of water covered the mud beneath them. The roots of the trees also made it impossible for the creatures to follow them underground as it created obstacles they could not pass safely.

But as their surroundings grew relatively safer, the sudden silence of their surroundings that was only broken by the occasional explosion of an errupting geyser was filled with hissing once more, coming from behind them. They could not be seen in the twilight darkness of the swamp, nor the telltale glowing white orbs of their eyes be spotted, but the sound of persuit had begun.

[Griatch]

I agree that we'd better finish this. "
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It felt better when the water was no longer sploshing around his ancles, but constantly the feeling of uneasiness kept growing. Blackback tried not to think about how Umber had been sucked under without having time for more than a yelp.

Töd was leading them steadily onwards and the wolves were still stunned enough to just follow them to safety. He wondered what this would mean for the Mithren lands.

Slowly the swamplands changed character. The trees separated and the ground became firmer, if still water-sick. More air and light penetrated down to them and through the openings he could start to see the mountain slopes. Despite being a mountain troll, Blackback didn't think he'd ever been so happy to see a mountain before. Nice, solid ground beneath his feet. Just a little bit further, maybe half an hour of walking, no more, and they would be safe ...

... That's when the hissing began anew.

"Run!" he howled -- and a troll can howl very loudly. "Put those feets down faster than you've ever done! They are coming! Head for solid ground! Run! Run!"

[Toadie]

The elf was just beginning to feel reassured of herself and her safety, when the hissing caught her ears. She began to run, even before Blackback gave the advice, or command. A little afraid of the hissing creatuers, she didn't want to look back, but she knew the others were in danger, too. Her eyes searched and found everyone, but she was fearful for the younger wolf.

'Keep following me, or the sounds of my feet!'

Töd's colourless eyes staggered between where she was headed, the group, and the ground. She was trying to step on things that would make noise as much as possible: leaves, twigs, puddles. Her feet hitting the ground wouldn't make much noise; she was too light.

The group was getting closer and closer to the safety of dry land. After reaching such a point, she wasn't sure of what would come next.

[Raven Black Cat]

Raven followed closely behind the elf, not wanting to chance getting caught by the things persuing them. Her ravenn black hair streamed behind her as it broke free of the leather thing and flowed like a banner behind her. Her robes billowed out around her, coupled with her pale skin, she seemed a ghostly appartaion. The fear in her mind didn't show on her face, at least she hopped it didn't. "We must hurry they are gaining!!" She shouted, her musical voice flowing around the party members as they fled.

[Blue]

(( Gaeva gave me the go-ahead to get you all to the Lost Fields so that the Plague can end, so here's your ride The Rishy-express I recommend you keep all arms and apendages inside of the shadow at all times >D))

There was enough shadow here to help aid Rishcath in reforming his body, yet at the same time, he found it interesting that he was actually having to try for the first time since he first became what he was. Indeed, like the other oddities it helped to make him feel real once more. In his arm he held the Willow child, and that was the reason he did not go any further into the Swamps to search for the party. No indeed. He could not risk loosing the girl, after all, he was... "responsible" for her now. He looked around, his eyes glowing softly due to the plague that was now in his body, his joints ached a little, but that would soon be remedied.

He had a slight problem however. He didn't know where exactly the party was. If he was lucky they wouldn't be very far off, if he was not, they may be dead. His eyes looked around the small area he was in, keeping the child within the folds of his cloak. This place had a darkness to it that interested Rishcath, though he found the pull of the mountain rather interesting as well, if annoying. Slowly, Rishcath took a few steps closer to the swamps, his eyes searching. He knew that they probably hadn't failed, these creatures seemed to love their home very much, and it seemed to this dark Zunhal that they would do anything to defend it. Now, I simply need to find them. Thought Rishcath to himself, and finally he moved forward a little more, tilting his head up and letting out an unearthly shriek.

Birds within the swamps either took flight, or became silent as Rishcath called out, this was just the start however. A blood curtailing sound that froze the listener, but then his voice called out, deeper then his normal one, projected through the shadow. "Travelers! If you can hear my voice, come this way. We've little time!" He then regained his posture, and only called out once. If those who traveled with the troll did not hear that, then the likely hood of them hearing anything ever again, was abysmal. So, now we must team up to figure all of this out, we must learn from what one another has learned. Interesting, this idea of teamwork.

[nightwolf714]

Cortina nearly stumbled when the booming voice entered her head. Instantly, she changed directions so as to face him more, yet not leave the group. The wolf gave a sharp yelp, to make sure that the others had heard the loud voice. By now, the ground was very much familiar to her and gave her no problems. Paws quickly found small patchs between the roots and branches. It was obvious now that the canine had little trouble keeping up. If anything, she was finding the run rather easy.

Soon she found herself infront of the man. She skidded to a stop and just bearly avoided bumping into him. The child's scent came to her now as well. One of her golden tipped ears flicked towards the child, then backwards towards the group. She just hoped that they were still right behind her.

[Melody wolf]

Melody had stayed by Cortina's side as they ran, she too had stopped at the sound of the voice and chased after the young femme, she of course stopped in time, being able to the see the one that had called them. She couldn't bring herself to speak, the pain of theirloss burned in her chest and made simply breathing difficult.

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

Willow's eyes had gone up the moment Rishcath lifted his arms a bit to cover her completely with his cloak, curious what he was going to do next that he would feel the need to tell her not to be afraid, certain it would be something magnificent. Being enveloped and then swallowed by darkness wasn't exactly a new experience to Willow, but it was the first time it had happened while she was being held in the arms of someone she trusted. It made the trip so much more enjoyable. Still, she had instinctively reached out with her hands and firmly gripped the dark cloth surrounding her to hold on, though she felt no motion.

While the swamp hardly let any light come through, it was still lighter than the shadows they had traveled through, and the little girl eagerly poked her face back to the surface to take a look around. Delighted she discovered they were in a whole different place now and lifted her eyes to Rishcath's hood, admiration clear in them. He had just done something quite unexpected, something that raised him even higher in Wilow's eyes. Rishcath truly was powerful! She was about to tell him so when his voice boomed out it's message. It was quite unexpected, and loud! Startled her body shook as she winced, wishing she hadn't moved a muscle instead and remain cool. Removing her hands from her ears she looked back up to him.

"That was loud..." she said, blinking. "Where are we now?" she then asked. While she had seen Rishcath survey the lands beneath while they were in the Mountains, she hadn't been paying attention to where he had been looking. Never having set foot in the swamps before the little girl had no clue where they were now, just that it was neither the forest nor the mountains. All she knew was that others on the same missions as Rishcath -like he needed help, Willow was sure he could do this by himself- were probably somewhere around here.

The sounds of rushing feet made Willow look down from her perch in Rishcath's robed arms, just in time to see the wolves appear. Surprised she looked at them, then smiled. It was like a master calling to his servants, and his servants obeyed immediately. Look at them pant even, they had hurried to come to Rishcath's call. Feeling quite proud of him Willow sank into a more comfortable position. Others could be heard as well on the wolves' heels, just as a curious hissing sound in the far far distance.

[Griatch]

The world had been filled with nothing but squushing footsteps, bussing insects and the distant sounds of the creatures for what seemed like an eternity. When this tense calm was shattered by the booming voice it almost made Blackback fall over his own feet.

Who were out here shouting for them? Blackback tried to think, but his tired, plague-weakened mind couldn't really think of anyone. It could be anyone. In fact, it could very well be a trick by those creatures. They were so close to the mountains. This could be one last trick to lure them into a bog. Blinking he saw the non-blind of the two wolves changing direction to head for the voice.

"No wait! You don't know if ..." he began, seeing the blind one following suit. He couldn't just stay here. He had to follow, swearing.Young foolish wolves! Where they so eager to follow Umbers fate that they just ran off to any first scary voice that called for them?

Then again, maybe wolves had better intuition than trolls, because when the wolves stopped in front of Richcath, he recogniced the creature that had called. Blackback had seen him in the village. He had been sent off to the mountains, whereas they had gone the swamps. Hopefully he had had more luck.. The small child the dark one held was also familiar. WIllow. Yes. Willow was the name. Whatever these two were they were not swamp creatures at least.

Huffing, the troll came to a stop too, glaring at the wolves before looking back to make sure they had not lost anyone on the way. "Your timing is impeccable, dark one", said the troll. "But we better get out of here, head for solid ground. That hissing is getting closer by the moment."

[Toadie]

The dark elf could be seen hestitating on following the voice. So far the hissing creatures hadn't raised their voice, and didn't sound much like this new one, but she could never be sure. Besides the hissing creatures there were also other dangerous feats in the forest. However she saw everyone putting their trust into this offer, and followed suit. How much worse could it really get?
Töd spoke of nothing, for now. She didn't dare slow the group down anymore.

OOC: Late and lame reply. Don'tcha love it? Uhm, just so it's made clear, if I get really behind in the remainder of the thread, Smurf has my permission to use Töd to her will. Hopefully I'll keep up.