Her stare is lightly uncomforting to Lausen, but he has never been the type to shy away. He stares back into Lifth’s eyes, not knowing if she’ll take it as a sign of respect or arrogants. As suddenly as her gaze struck Lausen she dropped it.

"Leave us and I know not what will find you. But come with us, my dark warriors and I, and I promise you, all you will find is battle."

Lausen’s posture drops and he stares in the sky as before. “Huh! Battle, something I sought all my life. Perhaps the very essence of my existence. All that I see among your party are men and women of equal or less strength of my own. None capable of sending me to my grave, except maybe you.â€

Breif Summary of Friday Night's Events:

Lifth left Lausen by saying that he would indeed find what he was looking for with them.

Ende fainted in the chapel and was attended by Karada (heavily armed woman) and Carm (robed man with demon).

Lifth met up with Wargolth, who managed to follow the party to town. She took him to Kayn and left them to discuss things.

Lifth found Ende and the two newcomers. She revived Ende and left with Carm. Lifth and Carm discussed things before Lifth basically asked if he would adventure with the party.

Kayn searched for a blacksmith, which he found.

Wargolth took a nap.

Ende spied on Lifth and Carm.

Karada went to the blacksmith and met Kayn.

Ende then spied on Kayn and Karada at the blacksmith but was discovered.

Lifth arrived at the blacksmith just as Ende exposed Kayn as a darkelf. The blacksmith refused to work for Kayn and Kayn left. Karada quickly followed after.

Carm spied on all of this with his demon cat Vjex.

Lifth had strong words with Ende.

Ende sought out Kayn.

Karada expressed to Kayn that it is not the fault of a person for how they were born.

Ende arrived and took Kayn's weapon back to the blacksmith.

Lifth found Carm and Carm agreed to accompany the party.

During all this Graft stayed at the brothel. William was MIA. Lausen contemplated Lifth's words.


-------------------

Very Happy That's the basic run down of it. Please continue on these points.

I can't believe that I'm doing an errand for a stupid elf. At this point, I'll do anything to shut Lifth up. That foul woman makes my blood boil to no end. Talking to me like she knows me and telling me what to do. There is only one person who tells me what to do... me. For now, I will play along until my strength returns. Then I shall sever all my ties in Midgard like I did with Asgard. Then I will slay that cloaked man before he remembers who I am. Might have to kill all of them. I can't let Odin find me, no matter what. Dammit! What am I thinking? That woman can obviously read my thoughts and here I'm plotting.

There is that smithy again. Time to force him to fix the damn weapon. I approach him, trying not to make a scene like last time. He watches me cautiously and notices me holding the dark elf's weapon. I didn't even get a word in before he turned me down.

"What do you think I am? Stupid?"
"I don't think you want me to answer that question."
"That weapon belongs to the dark elf. I will not touch it."
"As much as I dislike the elf, that woman won't stop pestering me until his weapon is fixed up. So come on."
"You are a terrible negotiator. I'm not doing anything"
"Grr... fine, I'll do it."

I storm off to the outskirts of village. I grab some suitable stones and get to work. Not like I'm completely inexperience with this sort of thing.

.... In order to shake his already tortured memory of the earlier scene with the goblin attack when they had first wandered into town, William had begun to walk the stone paths of the pretty and tranquil mountain civilization alone (Grefit, he remembered Lifth calling it), glancing this way and that momentarily at the scenery around him - but generally keeping his face lowered to the ground and away from the notice of many passerby - and finding some sense of bliss in the perpetually falling leaves that billowed and swayed about the tiny cloaked elven figure as the gentle wind whisked them away from their rightful dwelling places on the trees canopying the path. It served him no purpose to be haunted by his witnessing such brazen violence as that which the two strangers had enacted upon the goblins; this probably wasn't the end of such visions of people's lives being violently ended that would plague the elf's usually delicate sensibilities whenever he would sleep from this moment on to the end of his centuries-long life, and besides, William had to remind himself, in spite of the fact that the two strangers and their feline monstrosity were mere mercenaries who probably did not give two pieces of copper about the safety of the innocent townsfolk here, they did save these people from being ruthlessly plundered and slaughtered by the equally violent-natured goblins, after all. William could not very well argue against that. Even more than undisciplined goblins being torn to pieces by two solitary figures with disturbing powers, the elf would have hated to see the women and children of this village spitted on the end of bloodthirsty goblin swords.

... He thought of all of these things for a good long while, pondering so many questions that he had about life as a whole, the sense of its preciousness regardless of whatever race created by the gods - be it human, goblin, elf, or dryad, etc. - that all forest elves upheld a firm belief in, balanced with the need for oneself to defend his own and those precious to him against those who do not have such a strong regard for life, ... and why the elf constantly felt his childish convictions and ideals so strongly opposed and challenged all throughout this journey. ... Maybe I am being forced to grow up by embarking on this adventure with companions such as these to entrust my life to, ... and it is simply happening in a way I never expected, the elf thought, feeling a little confused, not relishing these feelings of misery at all. He stopped, lifting his face to the sky and inhaling the crisp air deeply with eyes delicately closed, hoping to alleviate the inward tension in his heart somewhat in the so-doing.

"Mister, ... you a Pointy-Ear, no?" William's sensitive elven ears shifted a little in the breeze at the sound of a child's stammering, naturally grammatically-flawed voice, and felt a small tug on the sleeve of his cloak. Although still a child himself, by human or elven standards, William was strangely appeased by the sound of such a voice. He glanced down to see a human boy of what looked to be no more than five years old, with disheveled brown hair and the ghostly white, wan face of what might be a walking corpse, but also bright, shining eyes that spoke of a strangely mature intelligence lingering just behind the green irises.

"Yes, I am," the forest elf answered, trying to quickly rearrange his somber expression and the what would have been a grim tone in his voice given the current circumstances, so as not to frighten the child away. He leaned down to his knees to be more level with the young human's face, thinking of how sadistically amused Ende must think this scene were he to be watching - a swordsman whom Ende always insultingly termed an "elfling" stooping down to the height of a child even younger in years than he. "... I take it that perhaps someone like yourself has not yet seen one of my kind traveling through here, huh, little one?"

The child nodded, looking a little solemn. He swallowed hard, appearing to gaze into the distance past William. "You ... not bad person, here to hurt me, then, s - sir?" William thought this odd as a lead-off question between two strangers meeting for the first time, for he did not think that even the way he held his treasured sword to the back of his cloak would cause him to appear dangerous or menacing to even younger children, but then the elf followed the hapless-looking child's gaze back towards the entrance of the village, ... precisely where the grotesque spectacle of a village invasion gone horribly and unexpectedly wrong had occurred about an hour ago, and William was disheartened to learn right then and there that this innocent creature looking up at him with hope-filled eyes had seen every last second of the one-sided battle. He sighed deeply, unable to contain its morose tone before his new friend could hear it.

William tried to smile, resting a gentle hand to the top of the child's head. "No, I am not one of them, nor am I anything like these monsters who attacked you, ... or those two, for that matter," he added as an afterthought, glancing up over the child at the two mercenaries who walked together, appearing to be involved in hushed conversation underneath a large cherryblossom tree atop a small hill in the distance. 'You have no need to worry, little sir."

As the day draws to a close Lifth deals with the arrangements of continuing on with the journey. She makes her way around the village and speaks to several people. At the end of it, she has both a course of action and a deadline. She walks towards the town center, reaching out with her mind while she does.

------------

@All players: ALL PLAYERS RECEIVE THIS MESSAGE IN THEIR MINDS.

"Meet me in the Town Square."

All players know that this is Lifth saying this. No one knows that this message was sent to everyone at once. All characters please respond by making your ways to the Town Square. Once everyone is there I will post the plan for the next leg of our adventure.

Thanks!

It wasn't long before the sun set on that day. Allot seemed to have taken place for being such a remote and isolated town what with that strange being and his demonic pet as well as the outgoing female mercenary as well as Ende's childish spying antics. Still lingering in the library reading under candle light the passages of the Poetic Edda, Kayn was just about to the point were he was about to close the brittle pages of the book when something tugged at the back of his mind.

"Meet me in the Town Square."

Kayn took the book and walked over the creaking floor to the spot where he'd first retrieved the book and slid it carefully into it's rightful place. Beside it was a book bound in leather entitled "Prose Edda" in old runes. Kayn ran his fingers down the dusty spine of the worn book. Maybe some other day he'd have time to go through it.

With nothing more than a slight pause, he walked over to the table at which he sat and put out the candle. Now the only light that was allowed into the building was that which seeped in through the window from the full moon outside. Kayn walked by the desk at the entrance to the library where the old man sat asleep. Kayn was greatful for his hospitality... which doesn't seem to come by often in this world. After a moment, Kayn reached behind him and flung his hood up over his head once more and left the building, making sure to close the door quietly.

Now outside, he began to make his way to Town Square. The town had a much more serene presence after nightfall. That, or Kayn just preffered the empty streets. It wasn't long until the Town Square came into view. And there he saw Lifth, staring blanky into the sky. Kayn had so many questions for her that he didn't even know where to start. But then again, she probably knows as such and would refuse such information even if presented with said questions. All Kayn could do was worry about the task at hand... or the near future. Which ever the case may be.

Karada shrugged her shoulders when she heard the voice, trying to rid herself of the itch it had produced... Like little eyes watching her every move.

Grumbling under her breath, she made her way to the town square and leaned against a nearby building, trying to be unobtrusive as she waited to see what would happen next.

William had spent a good deal of the afternoon dozing blissfully at the base of a large orchid tree at the north end of the town, the back of his head rested comfortably against its unusually soft bark, hands folded together just above his lap, and the Northern Longblade left lying in a bower located near the base of the tree where the forest elf lingered, displayed in such a way as though it had been left in what was intended to be its final and eternal dwelling by an owner who had perished in battle as the very last of a long line of noble warriors who'd passed the sword down through countless generations as the family's one and only tangible legacy, and this sword would never be placed into the hands of a living being ever again. William was really only half-asleep those many hours; the continuous but peace-instilling sounds of smaller children playing in the grassy, tiny field nearby were somewhat successful at keeping the elf's sensitive pointed ears semi-erect, and the ears seemed to fidget and make small leaps upward every few seconds in response to the pleasant stimulus, allowing William's eyelids to remain softly shut in his superficial dreamlike state yet refusing his mind the permission to enter the mode of true unconsciousness that sleep brought.

".... Meet me in the central part of town ...." A voice came to the elf at one point that might as well have been the touch of a ghost - light and feathery but somehow intrusive in an unwelcome way - upon the very recesses of the pointy-eared young swordsman's fragile heart. William's eyes flared open. .... It was the girl, the one whom he and many others had been charged to protect at all costs (and indeed there had been many opportunities to do just that so far on this journey) this entire time, Lifth. There was somehow no mistaking it, although certainly William had never wished at all to immerse his youthful desire for knowledge into the study of telepathy.

The elf leaned farther back a few moments to gaze into the afternoon sky. It was as though he would somehow try to store this feeling of tranquility away to sustain him in the moments of danger and suffering that were no doubt soon to greet him once more - tranquility that had somehow, and most blessedly, followed in the wake of a terrible memory such as the one of seeing innocent villagers on the verge of being spitted onto goblin swords, only to see fell creatures seemingly even more frightening than goblins then spill their wicked blood in an unquestionably inhuman and barbaric way. He tried to smile, a faint but nonetheless genuinely attempted smile, and then, after gingerly lifting the fabled Northern Longblade from its shady place of temporary but fulfilling slumber and into scholarly young hands again, William set his face determinedly in the direction south and began to walk back along the stone path, wondering if it was all just coincidence that his cloth boots had seemingly begun to hold a martial ring in the tone of each of their steps.

After Lausen and Lifth parted ways Lausen spent the rest of the day training near the boarders of the now quit mountain town. Lausen is more exhausted from his training then from the battles the days before. He stands dripping in sweat and nothing but his pants on. Holding his katana in his right hand near the end of the handle and his left near the tip of the sword he launches a full power trust toward a tree. The blade slid through the tree all the way to the guard. “If I can combine the same technique used in the “Shock Waveâ€

Quite some time had passed as I deligently worked on Kayn's odd weapon. Not that I cared for his well being, but I've been taught that if you are to do a job you do it right. This weapon has been neglected quite a bit. The blade was so dull that it was pathetic. Then again, it isn't made out of the same material as my spear. My weapon doesn't require much to keep it in shape. I'll keep at it until this thing can cut through stone... the woman is calling for me? I'm not going anywhere until I'm finished. She can wait.

Lifth enters the square to find all in attendance, accept for the Aesir. The party is scattered, each standing to themselves. All Lifth can do is sigh heavily.

"As all of you may or may not know, we journey to Hoddmimir Forest on a mission of great import to King Sigurd. The threats we face are numerous, and possible insurmountable. Each of you is here for you own reason," she pauses, catching her breath, "And because of this we stand divided. We shall not last long. I will not ask you to come together as friends or even comrades, but if you wish to survive this ordeal, you must come together as something. I leave it to each of you to discover what that something is."

Alsvider runs up suddenly with several horses following. Lifth starts towards the horses, but pauses for a moment and then turns to Kayn. She holds out her hand and his bladed staff appears in it, gleaming like perfection. She tosses him the blade and closes her eyes for a moment before turning to Alsvider and mounting. She rides out of the town without a backward glance.

@Ende - While you are working on the blade it suddenly disappears from your hands. A moment later you feel a presence in your mind. "We ride Aesir, and we wait for no-one."

Your mount trots up to you expectantly.

@Karada - While Lifth's eyes are close you feel a presence in your mind. It says nothing to you before leaving, but imparts an urge to follow Lifth.

----------------

@ All - There are enough horses following Alsvider for all of you to mount.

Grr... that damn woman, I wasn't finished yet. Whatever, not like it was my weapon. I guess I'll tag along for a little while longer. I'm curious as to what reason we need to send this woman to a stupid forest. Once that is settled I'll leave and leach off of some less annoying individuals. Okay, horse, lets go.

As Lifth spoke, Kayn scanned the party with his hood-consealed eyes. Come together as something, huh? Definately not the most profund bit of knowledge he'd ever run across. Reguardless, she does have a point.

The night was clear. Many stars lit up the sky, and the moon, it's self was as a spotlight for the party that evening. It was obvious that no one really was tired, even after everything that had happened. I guess that after what they went through, even casually stroling through a town was medicinal. Kayn enjoyed it while it lasted, even with almost being ran out of town.

As Kayn was thinking about what she was talking about, she gained his attention. And there in her hands was his weapon. And it looked better than before. The blades glinted as the reflection of the moon bounced of the flawless metal. Kayn took it with nothing more than a nod. Looking behind Lifth, he saw the horses approach. It wasn't long before Lifth was already mounted and heading away.

Kayn strapped his weapon to his back like always and leaped up on his saddle-less horse and began to chase after. The cold night air whipped up around him and his hood jumped from it's place leaving Kayn's long hair to fly freely in the cool breeze. No real point in hiding it now.

"Hoddmimir..."

Karada snickered when she saw there was even a horse for her. Walking past it, she followed the woman who was obviously the leader on foot until she reached the edge of town. Then she left the road and walked to where her own horse awaited her, morningstar strapped to the saddle. Mounting, she once again followed Lifth.

Lausen slowly finds his way to his feet and starts toward the horses. "I guess this one will do." Lausen mounts the horse and follows the rest of the group.

Graft's Post -

Graft approaches a black steed, his hand held out before him. The horse snorts and stamps, staring nervously with flared nostrils.

Then, as soon as Graft touches the horse, it calms. He mounts without incident and follows quietly behind Lifth.


-------------

Carm's Post -

Carm laughs amusingly at Vjex's disgruntled look. The demon cat is not usually comfortable with creatures large enough to crush him when he's in kitty form.

"You'll just have to deal with it you know. We have a long road ahead of us and I, for one, refuse to walk the entire way."

With that, Carm gracefully mounts and Vjex performs a flying leap to the back of the horse, which sends the mount galloping in fright after the rest of the party.



-----------

Story Continuation -


The party makes good progress on the winding mountain path. A breeze continuously sweeps through the valley they ride through, dampening the heat of the day. There are few travelers on the road, and none of them are heading in the same direction. In fact, all of them seem to be in quite the rush to go back towards the town.

As the day approaches noon, the party nears the end of the valley. However, there seems to be no path that leads up out of it. Then, as the party suddenly passes a bend, they see a small fortified position literally brimming with Dwarves. Very unhappy looking Dwarves.

Lifth immediately hails one to ask what the hell is going on. His reply is a swift and curt nod in the direction of a large cavernous hole in the side of the valley.

"Thas tha Argt Tolen, Lass. Da be tha only way oot ogh dese perts. Filled wit dem blasted gobs roght nuw. And tha wurst part be, de goot hustages."

The second the dwarf stops talking Lifth kicks Alsvider into action, charging into the giant cavern and beyond.

----

The cavern is huge. It's mouth alone is the length of a football field. Lifth has just charged into it, so she's easily seen. But the further she goes in the darker it will get without a light source.

Wonderful... she is headed into another dark hole. Like she suddenly got amnesia and forgot our last little incident. She could have at least prepared before heading in. This woman is so damn reckless. Goblins are fairly weak creatures, however, we are moving into their terrain. It is dark and they clearly have the advantage. She may not have much to worry about, but we sure do. She can handle her own for a while. I need to make some quick preparations. I rip a branch off of a nearby tree and use a tiny portion of my power to light it. Boy, this is going to be fun.

"Well, boys, we are headed into the belly of the beast. Make some quick preparations... or do I have to remind you of last time?"

Once again she darts off on her own... but by this time, Kayn didn't care nearly as much seeing as the gap between Lifth and the rest of the party's power was so grand. Reguardless, Kayn's been vigilant with whatever he has done in his life and doesn't plan to stop now.

Kayn leans down and whispers elvish to his mount... the animal then pick up the pace as he passed Ende, and follows after Lifth. As Kayn approached the gaping chasim, he saw other dwarves leaving. In passing, Kayn snatched a lit torch from one of the dwarves hands who was in the proccess of fleeing.

All can was think to himself, "Great... another cave."

Karada shrugs when she sees the apparent leader trot into the cave. Following the dark elf's example, she 'borrowed' a torch from a dwarf. She checked the sword at her waist, making sure it was free to come out clearly, and loosened the morningstar attached to her saddle. Rolling her shoulders to loosen tense muscles, she headed into the dark cave, her torch casting flickering light on the walls and causing dark smoke to bunch at the roof.

“Humph… am I the only one who has no idea what that dwarf just said?â€