(Anyone feel free to join. Just stay active.)

Paito Grimm placed five crowns on the counter in the book store and picked up the two reading books he had just purchased. After thanking the store owner, Paito headed out into the stret and into the late afternoon sun. The young Ride noticed the stares he was getting from the town's inhabitants and laughed to himself. He must have been a strange sight walking down the street dressed in tanned buckskin leather. Paito slid the two books down into his bag along with a few spices and food seasonings that he had purchased.

"Seroc, I bought two books for you." the Rider said mentally to his dragon. "I should be back at the camp soon."

A gruff voice replied in Paito's head, "Good. How long will it be before you return?

I'm still in the town. I'll be back soon though. Once I get back, we can head north until sunset. Paito assured.

Paito and Seroc were eager to find someone to train them in combat and magic. Paito had taught himself basic combat and magic skills and Seroc was three years old and capable of breathing fire. However, neither were seriously skilled. Paito had determined that their best bet for finding a teacher would be to head for Ellesmera in the north.

Presently, Paito reached the outskirts of the town and walked from the road into the thick woods. Through the holes in the foliage above, Paito could see the orange sunlight reflecting from the glaciers atop the nerby mountains. He marveled at their beauty and continued walking. Paito was a man who loved nature. He was a mountain man and could live off the land for months at a time if necessary. It had been a little over three years since Paito had been wandering alone through the forest and come across an abandoned Dragon Rider outpost. It was where he found Seroc's egg along with an old map of Alagaesia and a book translating the Ancient Language into the basic language.

After walking for about ten minutes, Paito arrived at his camp where a greyish-brown dragon rested by a small fire. THe flickering light reflected off his scales like hundreds of mirrors. Seroc lifted his lare head and opened his dark green eyes. Beside him were the remains of some creature that the dragon had eaten for dinner. All that remained were some gnawed and bloody bones.

Paito reached into his bag and removed the two books he had purchased.
"These are basic reading books. I probably won't be able to teach you anything tonight but we can start on it tomorrow. Right now I need to figure out how to getto Ellesmera."

Sounds fair to me. Where exactly is Ellesmera and why should we head there? sked the dragon.

"Because, I asked around and found out that it is supposedly an Elf city. Perhaps someone there can help us or at least tell us where we can find help."

Paito piked up a piece of charcoal from the campfire and spread the map out on the ground. He looked at his current location and drew a line from there to where Ellesmera was marked on the map. He had heard that Du Weldenvarden was full of magic and that one could easilly get lost there. Finding Ellesmera wouldn't be easy for just the Rider and his gragon.

Paito said to Seroc, "On second thought, we should just stay here and get a fresh start in the morning. We won't get very far tonight."

-Paito and Seroc

OOC: I'll join.

IC: Eriel frowned and leaped from the tree she was sitting on to the next as she caught a very, very pale light. Her eyes angled downwards like a cat's as her pupils made use of the little light that was present. The moon was shining, Eriel could still see a little of its rays come down, for awhile, until it was blocked off by clouds.

Eriel turned her head as the light disappeared, then lit her own up, within her palm a glowing orb of light, shining forwards. Eriel grimaced as the branch below her crack. "Damn..." She cursed softly and push upwards with her left hand, allowing her to perform a cartwheel before landing, her cloak flying around her as she did so. Eriel stopped and listened, shutting her eyes so that her ears would take over.
Nothing
Eriel drew her dagger quickly and threw it at a bush, crouching low. A few startled rabbits scampered out. Eriel raised her brows and retrieved her dagger then started to run, hood covering her eyes. Eriel sighed as the orb started to drain on her energy then let it dissipate. Eriel shut her eyes and ran, using her mind and ears to see.

(OCC: I have to work until ( PM tonight so I won't be able to post a decent reply until then. I just wanted to let everyone know.)

Paito awoke early in the morning and stretched out on the ground. He pushed his blanket off and sat up. The cool, fresh morning air was illuminated by the golden sunligt streaming down through the gaps of the leaves.
Seroc lifted his head and yawned tiredly.

Paito asked as he got to his feet, "Did you sleep alright last night?"

The dragon replied, "Not really. I thought I heard things creeping around in the woods. I did not see anything but I could have sworn that somebody walked right past me.

Paito asked, "Are you sure it wasn't just a deer or something? They're all over the place."

Seroc answered, "It was probably my imagination."

Paito placed some wood over where the old camp fire was, held his hand above it, and said, "Brisingr."
Orange flames ignited the wood and soon, Paito had a cooking fire.

He said to Seroc, "I'm going to cook some breakfast. I suppose you are going to find your own breakfast?"

Seroc nodded and said, "I will return in a little bit.

The dragon leaped into the air and with a couple beats of his wings, Seroc disappeared through a hole in the tree canopy. Paito set about making his breakfast. First, he placed several strips of dried meat on a tree stump and gathered berries from bushes nearby. Paito took a few spiced from his bag and sprinkled themon the dried meat. Then he placed a flat rock on the fire and put the meat on top of it. While the meat cooked, he want down to a stream and splashed water on his face. Paito hoped that the next place they stopped would have more fruit to choose from. He was getting tired of just meat and berries everyday.

Paito sat down next to the fire and checked on his breakfast. Discovering that it was finihed cooking, he began to eat. Paito then began to shop more wood to carry with him on Seroc's saddle bag. After all, he could never tell when they might have to stay in a cave on a rainy night and have no dry wood available. Paito knew from experience to bring dry wood with him on long travels. He raised his hatchet and was about to bring it swinging down into a small log when a voice from behind startled him. Paito spun around, the hatchet still held above his head. He froze when he laid eyes on th figure standing at the edge of the clearing. (Occ: I'm assuming he is wearing his armor. If not then I can just go back and edit this.) Paito his eyes moved over the Elf's armor and he could tell that either this person was a very skilled blacksmith or very wealthy to afford such armor. He guess the man was an Elf because of the pointy ears and the silver hair that were visible beneath the helmet. After a few seconds, the shock wore off and Paito lowered the hatchet by his side. Unsure of how to reply to the Elf's greeting, Paito cursed himself silently. How could he have hoped to go to Ellesmera if he lacked even basic knowledge of Elven culture? He had no idea how to properly greet an Elf or even how to properly speak to one. All Paito knew about Elves were that one alone could take several umans in a fight. For these reasons, he decided to play it safe and not to pose a threat.
"Good morning, sir." the rider responded in an unsure voice.
He wanted to call Seroc but resisted as the sudden appearance of a dragon may provoke the Elf.

The appearance of two more people surprised Paito further. He glanced from Mesaraih to Eriel to Keralin.
The rider asked, "My name is Paito Grimm."
He was still unsure of whether the strangers couldbe trusted. Eriel's glare made him uneasy and he was relieved when she looked away.
"How did you know I was a rider?" Paito asked.
When Emrhyst arrived, he decided to called out to Seroc, "Seroc, three people just showed up in my camp. One id another rider. Stay close but don't come down unless I tell you to. I don't know if they're friendly or not.
The dragon relied, "I'll be right there, Paito. Stay alert. Run to the road if you have to and I'll get you out of there.
Paito then asked the strangers, "What exactly do you all want?"

(OCC: Sorry for taking so long to reply. A tornado came through earlier today and knocked my power out for a while.)
Paito nodded to Mesaraih and said, "Nice to meet you. I apologize if I seemed strange. I just don't know who I can trust. I have been trying to keep the Empire from finding out about my dragon. The last Imperial slime that messed with me got a nasty surprise."
He then said to Seroc, "I think it's alright. You can come down here now.
A few seconds passed and Seroc slipped through a hole in the canopy and landed with a thud on the forest floor behind Paito.
Paito introduced, "This is Seroc. We've been trying to find someone who can teach us about the ways of Dragon Riders."
Seroc spoke up, "We were going to try to find Ellesmera."
Paito aded, "We hoped someone there could teach us what we need to know."

Emrhyst prummed deeply and nudged her face against Aelir's. I miss you. She smiled and looked into his eyes, holding her gaze.

OOC: Pass turn

Paito was overjoyed to hear this. He feared it woud e difficult to find Ellesmera on his own.
"I think we'll take you up on that offer then. It would take us forever to get there by ourselves."



The elves were obviously powerful and skilled in magic and combat.
Paito asked hopefully, "Um, since I still require training, I was wondering if one of you could perhaps teach me. I know we just met but me and Seroc been looking for a teacher for a long time. Especially after that encounter we had with those soldiers. These two imperial soldiers apparently liked my sword and tried to take it from me. They said a mountain man like myself had no use for it and to give it to them in the name of the king. I told them to back off and they refused."

"But then they met me." Seroc added.
Paito explained, "I killed one and Seroc took the other. It's just as well too. Had they lived, they would bave blabbed to Galbatorix and then we'de have his minions chasing us everywhere. I guess we were lucky to only have to face two soldiers. I doubt I could have taken several of them."

Keralin contected Eriel via a mind link, Should we take him to Oromis?. He looked at the others and said out aloud, "The others will start looking for the patrol you killed in an hour or so. It'll take a bit of convincing to let you train in Ellesmera but I'm sure we can convince queen Izlanzadi(sp) that you're not hostile to us."

Aelir looked back into Emrhyst's eyes, enjoying the sight. I missed you.

OOC: I know the queen's name is wrong but i'm too lazy to look up the book

OOC: *Checks book* Actually... you're right! Oo

IC: "Hm?" Eriel mused and turned towards her mate. Sure, but they're going blindfolded, and if they decide to resist then, I'll probe them. She grinned. It had been awhile since she's interrogated someone. "We'll bring you, but you're going blindfolded and if you resist... Well... Let's just say, I won't be too gentle" Eriel winked at them. "Although, you won't have to till you reach Ellesmera right?" She turned towards Keralin.

Emrhyst smiled. Our riders are gonna leave soon. Aelir didn't respond. Come on love bird, snap out of it... He groaned. Emrhyst laughed and licked his face. Come on!

[q]"We'll bring you, but you're going blindfolded and if you resist... Well... Let's just say, I won't be too gentle" Eriel winked at them. "Although, you won't have to till you reach Ellesmera right?" [/q]

Paito didn't find the idea of bein blindfolded very appealing but it didn't lok like he had much of a choice. An opportunity to find a teacher had presented itself and he wasn't going to blow it now.
The rider nodded to Eriel. "Alright, you may blindfold me. I don't think I like the sound of the second option."

Seroc aded, "I agree but I won't like it.
Paito said to Seroc through his mental link, "It's going to be fine. I will put the blindfold on you if you want. We don't want to upse these people."

He then turned to Keralin and asked, unsure of what the next step would be, "So what do we do now? It's still pretty ealy and we could probably get some traveling done today."

Not only was he eager to et started on the journey but as Keralin had mentioned, the other soldiers would be out looking for the patrol he and Seroc had taken out. The last thing he wanted (or needed for that matter), was for the Empire to catch him. Paito turned and walked back over to his fire and kicked dirt on it to put it out. Then he turned to the others again and awaited a reply.

Eriel grinned and started walking in the direction of Ellesmera. "Come on, it should be alright as long as we don't fly."

OOC:-Pass

Paito suggested, "Let's get moving then."
He quickly placed hs simple saddle, which was just a deer hide pad with foot holds, a handle for holding on to, and some storage bags, on Seroc's back and walked back over to where his camp fire had been. Paito knelt beside it and pushed dirt over the site. to make sure it was out. Then he covered it with leaves and twigs to hide the site.
Seroc asked, "Would you like to ride on my back, young one?
No thanks. I 'll walk for a bit. The rider replied. We may be able to fly tonight though.
The dragon snorted in disappointment at not being able to fly but otherwise didn't protest to having to walk. He understood the danger of flying in daylight, especially so close to a town.
Paito strapped his longsword and dagger to his belt and slung his pack over his back and said, "I'm ready to go. Someone lead the way."

OOC- What's awesome?

Mesaraih did not know if he should be the one to lead, so he waited patiently to see if anyone would do so.
OOC-Pass turn

Paito followed the others, enjoying thequiet morning. Then, he noticed that Eriel seemed to be on high alert about something.
Just then, Seroc warned, "Young one, we're being followed!"
Paito asked, "Where are they?
The dragon paused and listened for a second, "Behind us. They are still a good distance away.
Paito took an arrow from his quiver and notched his bow.
"What's going on?" the rider asked nervously. The last thing he wanted was a garrison of Imperial soldiers or worse, emerging from the bushes.

Paito asked, "What are we going to do? Those soldiers could be here before long. And we don't know how many there are."
Seroc added, "They're still quite a ways off. If we're quick, we may be able to lose them in the trees."
"Or at lest set up an ambush for them." his rider agreed.
Paito wasn't looking forward to having to take on Imperial soldiers but it looked as if he may have to do just that.

Paito quickly heeded Eriel's warning and ran off into the woods after Mesariah with is bow in hand.
Seroc ran up alongside him and ordered, "Paito, get on my back! I can run faster!"
Paito protested,"But...
"NOW!" the brown dragon roared, his green eyes narrowing.
Paito climbed onto Seroc's saddle pad and the dragon bolted off after Mesariah at full speed.
Paito notched his bow and prepared to fire at anything that emerged from the trees. More screams filled the air as soldiers died behind them.
"Stay alert, friend." Seroc said to Mesariah. "They could come from anywhere."
Paito looked back, trying to see where Eriel and Keralin were. He figured they were trying to hold off the enemy.
"I wish we could fly, Seroc, that may be what they expect us to do."
"Yes." the dragon sighed. "One of those black "things" may be lurking and waiting to pounce. We'll be safer in the trees where we are out of sight.
"Somehow I didn't picture myself doing this when I got p this morning." Paito said to Seroc.

OOC: Aeraldi, your turn, please post.

Seros dashed through the woods at high speed. For a moment, it seemed as if Paito and Seroc had lost the soldiers but about five emerged from the brush on either side of them. One took aim ad the dragon rider but Seroc swung his tail and knocked all five of the soldiers off theri feet.
"Thanks, Seroc." Paito said as they continued to run.
Paito was mroe afraid now than he had ever been before. The last thing he wanted was for Galbatorix to get a hold of him.
Seroc growled in rage as an arrow from an enemy crossbow bounced off his touh scales. Paito saw the culprit duck down behind a bush and fired his arrow. There was a cry of pain and te soldier stood up with the arrow sticking out of his throat, and fell over.
Seroc leaped off the ground and glided between a couple of trees to put more distance between him and the pursuing enemy.
Paito was getting another arrow ready and was caught off guard when Seroc took flight.
"Next time, let me know when you are getting ready to do that."
The dragon nodded briefly in reply and weaved between two trees and then ducked under a low branch.
Paito watched as the soldiers fell further and further behind and after just a few seconds, Seroc touched down on the ground again and folded his wings.
"We should keep moving, young one. I just bought us a few extra minutes to spare."
Paito nodded in agreement, hopin the others were alright.

Eriel looked at Keralin worried. "You better stay alive..." She said softly. "Or I'm not gonna be too happy..." Eriel continued, giving him a hug as she did so. "Go on, I'll get them away." Eriel said then fired an arrow between Mesariah and Paito, using it to tell them to stay away.
She turned and drew her blade.

OOC: Short post

Paito was abut twenty yards away when the Shade first appeared. It looked like things were about to turn ugly and Paito decided to take action. He notched his bow and took aim at the Shade's back, knowing that even if the Shade blocked the arrow, perhaps he'd still be distracted long enough for the others to do something. However, as he was about to fire, Eriel's arrow flew past and sruck a tree nearby, a warning to back down. The rider as tempted to fire anyway but sighed and lowered his bow.
"I trust they know what they are doing. They want us to stay out of the way." Paito said to Seroc.
The dragon replied, "Then get on my back and lets go."
Paito climbed on his back and said, "Alright, head north. The others can find us when this mess is over."
The dragon dashed off into the forest, away from the Shade. They had only run for about a minute though, when a vine from a tree suddenly sprung our of nowhere and wrapped itself around Seroc's neck and tightened, causing the dragon to stumble and fall. Paito was thrown from the saddle and landed with a thud on the ground. Seroc choked as the vine toghtened around his throat. Paito saw this and quickly got to his feet. The vine was moving up into the tree, pulling Seroc's head upwards. The dragon managed to turn his head enough to spit a ball of orange flames at the vine, setting it on fire and causing it to snap. Seroc fell to the ground gasping for air and Paito quickly cut the remaining vine loose.

Seroc sat up, panting, and Paito asked, "Seroc, are you alright?"
The brown dragon nodded his head and answered, "Good timing."

An arrogant sounding voice bellowed from the trees, "That was so easy it was almost sad!"

Paito's hand grabbed the eagle head hilt of his longsword and he demanded, "Who are you? Show yourself!"

A figure dressed in elegant robes jumped down out of a tree and said, "My name is of no importance to you. I have a proposal for you though. The king wished to meet you and your friends and has asked me to bring all of you to him."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Paito retorted.
This man was clearly not a Shade but still, Paito remained alert anyhow.

Seroc growled in rage at the man but the man smply responded, "Shut up, dragon. If it were my dicision, I would have just broken your neck outright. The two of you are in no position to be making threats. I was also told that if you refuse to come along, then I may kill you."

"Enough talk then. Bring it on." Paito spat.

The magus laughed and said, "You truely are pathetic. You have raggy clothes and an ugly dragon to top it all off. He is not even a nice color like the others."

"He wants you to attack him. Don't give in." Seroc warned his rider.
"Besides, all he seems to be capable of is making threats." Seroc added, so that the magus could hear.

Paito nodded to his dragon and held his sword in a defensive position. He then closed up his mind the best he could to protect against magic attacks. However, he feared that his meger magic skills wouldn't be enough.

"I see what you're trying to do." Paito said. "It won't work."
Seroc spread his wings as if he were ready to take flight at a moment's notice.

The dark magus shouted, "I see you are going to be stubborn."
He pulled back the hem of his robes, revealing a shorts word.
The magus drew the sword and raised it above his head. The magus swung downward, but Paito blocked the attack. Paito parried off a series of heavy blows and as Seroc made his way around to the back of the magus. The dragon blew a torrent of fire at him and Paito ducked to the side but the magus just caught the fire with his magic, making it hover just in front of him. Then he glanced over at Eriel, who was fighting th sldiers, and said coldly, "Lets see how your friend likes this, shall we?"
The magus shouted something in the Ancient Language that was too fast for Paito to understand, and the ball of fire was hurdled in Eriel's direction.
The magus then turned his attention back to Paito and smirked, "Now, dragon rider, let's finish this so I can bring you to the king.
Paito held his sword tightly, preparing to block or dodge an attack. He tried to think of any spell that miht catch the magus off guard long enough for him to do something.

The mage grinned at the scene that rsulted from his attack and returned his attention to Paito.
The mage hissed some phrase that was too fast for Paito to understand but he thought he heard "brisingr" somewhere in there. The hilt of his sword suddenly became red hot and Paito shrieked in surprise and dropped the sword.
The mage then taunted, "Since you refuse to come along quietly, I will have to bind you."
Paito suddenly had a idea. If the mage wanted both him and Seroc, the most logical thing to do would be to take out the toughest first, meaning Seroc.
Paito shouted to Seroc, "Run! Run for it!"
"But I..." the dragon began to protest but he read Paito's thoughts and caught on.
"Do it! Trust me!" Paito shouted.
Seroc turned and bolted toward the dense brush.
The magus shouted, "No you don't!" and used a spell to knock Paito aside. Then he pointe dhis left hand at Seroc and began to shout a binding spell.

Paito sat up, grabbed the hatchet from his belt, removed the leather cover from the head, and threw it at the mage, shouting, "Thrysta!"

The hatchet whirled through the air at the mage's head. He sensed the attack and turned to block it, but it was too late. The hatchet found its mark and imbedded itself in the mage's skull right above his left eye. He shrieked in agony.

Paito stood up and reached with right hand for the dagger on the left side of his belt. In a flash, he reached the mage and grabbed the hatchet's handle. He wrenched it from the magus's skull and swung it downward, burying it with a sickening crunch right between the magus's eyes. Then he plunged his dagger into the man's heart. The magus collapsed to his knees with a blank expression on his face. His eyes rolled back in his head and he fell forward, dead.

Seroc trotted over to Paito and lowered his scaly head over his rider's shoulder.
"What now?"
Paito stroked his dragon's chin gently and answered, "Maybe we should help Eriel. See what you can do about those soldiers. I'll cover you from that tree."

The dragon nodded and leaped into the air. Paito quickly climbed a tree and perched himself on a sheltered branch where he could quickly take shelter behind the tree if he had to. He notched an arrow to protect Seroc. Seroc glided through the trees and turned toward Eriel. A large tree shook as Seroc propelled himself off of it with his hind legs. The dragon unleashed a torrent of orange flames upon a group of soldiers that were hacking their way through the bushes. A couple of arrows whizzed past Seroc and Paito spotted the archers. He fired and hit one in the neck. Then Paito notched another arrow and shot the other archer in the eye. He ducked behind the tree as another arrow flew his way.
Seroc blew moe flames at enemy soldiers and informed Eriel, "We killed the mage. That should put them at a disadvantage!"

Paito fired another arrow and took out the last archer. He surveyed the scene and saw soldiers running away as Seroc dove and blasted the area with fire. With the soldiers, gone, Paito climbed down from the tree and ran over to where his sword was lying on the ground. The rider cautiously picked it up and sheathed it.
Seroc announced, "It looks like they're retreating. Should I go after them?"
"No. Let's go see what we can do with the others." Paito replied.
Seroc landed next to Paito and folded his wings. Pait climbed onto the dragon and rode toward the others to see what he could do.
Seroc walked over to the oters and Paito clibed down ans said, "It looks like they're starting to retreat! What should we do now?"
He lanced at the dead, bloody corpses scattered around and made couldn't help but marvel at how amazing an Elf's fighting skills were. They seemed to have nerves of steel.

Seroc asked, "Ready to go, Paito?
Paito nodded and checked that the saddle to make sure it was ready for flight.
Then he climbed onto the dragon's back and said, "Alright. Let's get moving."
Seroc crouched and then leaped into the air. With two beats of his mighty wings, he climbed up through the trees and into he bright, mid-morning sun.
"Don't forget. I still want to learn to read." Seroc reminded Paito.
"I know. Right now, we need to get to Ellesmera alive."
The dragon nodded and climbed a little higher, jining the others. It looked like they were heading northwest.
Paito asked Keralin, "Keralin, how long will it take us to get there at this rate?
He was hoping it wouldn't be that long. After all, he knew that even Seroc was getting impatient. That was saying a lot because Seroc was usually pretty patient. Besides, he was eager to fing a master.

As Seroc flew smoothly through the cool air, Paito turned and noticed the others slowing down.
He patted Seroc on the neck and said, "Slow down a bit. Let the others catch up."
The dragon nodded and slowed down. Paito said nothing but he glanced over at the others to see what was happening. He saw Eriel climb over onto Keralin's dragon. He admired her skill. Nobody could have paid Paito enough money to try that move in midair.
Seroc asked, "What is going on over there?"
Paito replied, "I don't know. I'm trying to see."

Eriel turned her head, looking at Keralin's feet. "He's crying..." She said softly, returning her gaze to Mesariah, focusing mainly on his face. "So... I guess it's because he lost someone dear to him?" She looked at Keralin, unconsciously inching closer to him, if only a little. "Or did that someone decide to throw him away..." Eriel said softly, trusting not her voice. Deciding to lighten the mood, Eriel let a smile come across her face as she sent the funnier images of Emrhyst as a hatchling, as an adolescent and what she was now over to Keralin and Aelir.


OOC: Should we skip ahead 1 day?

(OCC: Yes. Let's skip ahead a day.

Paito awoke the next morning and stratched tiredly. He sat up and looked around.
He got up and began to cook breakfast which consised of bsweet bread mixed with wild berries. He mixed some of his flour with sugar and water, creating two flat Paito started a small fire and placed a flat stone in the center. Then he put the weat dough and berries on the rock and began to cook it. It was ready to eat within a few minutes and Paito began to eat.
He then asked the others, "Anyone else want some of these? i can make some more if you want."
Seroc stood up and replied, "I'm not real hungry. I'll hunt tonight."

Paito finished his breakfast and played his flute for a little bit. He needed to wash up before they traveled any more but he decided to let Eriel finish first.
Paito asked Keralin, "When were you going to blindfold us when we reach Du Weldenvarden or when we get close to Ellesmera?"
He wasn't too keen on the idea of having to possibly spend several days blindfolded and hoped it would not be until they were closer to the city.
However, as long as they got to their destination, Paito was willing to do whatever it took to get there.

*Time skip*

Eriel quickly walked back to the group, a towel over her head to help dry her hair. "So... Who's next?" She asked.

Emrhyst turned and snarled Mesariah, baring her teeth for a second then turned away.

OOC: -Pass

Paito replied, a, "Seroc has been with me for about three years. I found the egg in an abandoned fortress near The Spine. We have been making our way in this direction for the past three years, trying to avoid the King's troops and find someone to teach us more about magic and ow to use it. Until yesterday, it looked like we had been successful."
Seroc added We wish to help overthrow the king. I hate him for what he did to my race.

OOC-Pass

Eriel walked over to Mesariah and asked the same thing.

OOC:Pass

Paito nodded and said, "You have our permission."
He could tell Seroc was nervous but it didn't matter. This was something that would have to be done.
A strange sensation came over Paito as the spell was cast and everyhting seemed to fade out. All he could see were the trees, but everything else was shrouded in darkness. His eyes felt like they had swollen to twice their normal size, though they really had not.
Seroc said This feels so wierd.
Paito replied, "I know. Hopefully it will be over soon.

OOC:-Pass

"Good" Paito said.
It looked like things would be alright now. Hopefully they would be to Ellesmera soon. Paito could tell that Seroc wanted the journey to end soon as well. Seroc carefully made his way through the trees along the forest path. The spell cast upon him was causing discomfort but the dragon saw no point in complaining.
Paito patted him on the neck and said, "Don't worry. I'm sure it won't be that much longer. Some day, when all this mess is over, it will be safe for us to travel freely."
Seroc replied, "Let us hope tht "some day" is soon. I don't know how much more of this sneaking around I can handle."

OOC-three passes in a row, eh, Eriel?

Mesaraih wasn't happy to not be able to see anything anymore, but he didn't complain, and neither did Fenirexes. He just hoped it wouldn't be for too long.

OOC-Pass

OOC: Yea I know. I'm just blank atm. Was 2am when i posted that.

IC: Eriel yawned and looked around, taking in the air that always was there when she came back to Ellesmera. She stiffened as a gust of wind blew, but no animals moved. She turned towards Keralin for a second, noting that he had noticed it too.

Her ears twitched as they picked up the high pitched sound of steel cutting air. Eriel turned and deflected the dagger with her vambrace, raising her bow quickly.

Emrhyst walked over to her rider and wrapped her body around her, leaving only enough space for Eriel to see and shoot, acting as her shield.

At first, Paito was excited to finally be in Ellesmera, but before he had a chance to get a good look around, he saw the others suddenly go on high alert. He drew his sword and looked around, but the attackers were nowhere in sight.
Seroc growled and stepped in front of Paito.
"Stay behind me, Paito! I'll protect you!"
Seroc looked around at the trees and bushes, but there was no sign of the attackers anywhere.
Paito hoped that maybe they were just suspicious elves or something, and not the empire.

The appearance of another shade was the last thing paito was expecting, especially here.
"You've got to be kidding me." he whispered to Seroc in a state of both awe and disbelief.
Seroc replied, "We aren't running anywhere, rider. Not unless they tell us to."
Paito was guessing that this Shade was a lot tougher than the previous Shade and the mage from earlier, especially since he seemed to have done something to the elves.
"Seroc, be very careful. This one means business."
"If he works for the king then he must die! He knows the location of this city!" Seroc hissed.
Paito put up as many defences around him and his dragon as he could manage to safely put up. Then he waited.