Circe
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Post by Circe on May 12, 2009 3:36:12 GMT 5.5
Circe accepted the cloths gratefully. “Thanks, er – what did you say your name was?” She removed the soiled overshirt and reapplied the pressure cloths in its place. The blood flow had slowed a considerable amount and she was no longer feeling as lightheaded as before. She dabbed around the wounds, trying to clean up the excess blood before it dried.
She looked up as Leopold approached them carrying medical dressings. It was at this time that she noticed how pale his eyes were but if it affected her, it wasn’t reflected on her face. “I was ambushed by dwarves further down the mountain, but I was able to fend off most off them. The one who caught me with the arrows got away though.” Her expression became serious when she paused, deep in thought. “There were only four of them - probably just a scouting party - but the bowman might have gone off to get reinforcements. Don’t worry; I’ll be out of your hair long before they’re able to make it up here.”
Circe rolled her shoulder absently to test the mobility her left side. She grimaced and dropped her arm. That side would be out of commission for a solid week or so, at least until it healed completely. “You two are going somewhere? In this weather?” she asked, suddenly curious. They might be able to travel by foot, but Circe doubted that anyone could fly through the snowstorm that was brewing outside.
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Post by Destiny on May 12, 2009 11:51:20 GMT 5.5
She watched as Circe applied the clothes she had brought to the wounds, she was sure that was more hygenic than actually using her clothes to put pressure on the wound, the clothes could not be in very good condition after whatever she had been through. "I'm Raelie...I'm a map-maker. And you're welcome, I'm glad to be able to help." She bit her lip, worried and anxious, but quite at a loss of what to do for the woman, she was scarcely fit to be a healer of any sort, having next to no knowledge on the given topic. She was glad she had made it clear to the woman that she was not a healer, just in case she had a misconception, and she was more glad that Leopald was a healer who could actually do something under the given circumstances.
"Dwarves..." she muttered. She had heard about an area in which they stayed, and had been wondering if she could map that area. "Are they always hostile?" If they were, that was another area to write off, she did not plan to be shot by arrows. It was hard to dodge stuff in mid-flight and harder to fly fast if the weather got nasty. And she had no idea how good these dwarves were. "Were you flying?" She supposed the woman would not care that she had found out that Circe was a Rajegh, it had been pretty obvious. Raelie had not met many Rajegh, just new a little bit about them, but she knew that they could change into their true form and fly.
She winced as the woman tried her left shoulder. She smiled nervously as the woman asked about their going. "Actually, we were planning to go down south a little bit.." She paused. "To..you know...make maps." She bit her lip. "But no I can't fly in this weather, its silly to even try, and I don't think we'd want to walk either. Maybe after the snowstorm ends?" She looked at Leopald questioningly after this statement. She was also reluctant to go with the woman in front of her injured so badly, they would of course not leave her in such a bad condition. She looked at the sky, which was now blowing in torrents. "Should be a few hours at least, before it settles down enough to fly. Or walk comfortably. I don't think any dwarves will follow in this weather."
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Post by Leopold Martin on May 14, 2009 8:32:50 GMT 5.5
"We don't get that many dwarves so close to here," Leopold said casually. He added in a mumbling whisper to himself, "I wonder the cause." He knew dwarves were indeed present in this area, yet something always held them back from coming this close to the Monastery. Deep in thought while he helped Circe with her wounds, he tried to figure out their ethics - and why he had a bad feeling.
"Dwarves have minds of their owns," He said. "So how hostile they are depends on what they view. However, they are usually aggressive when provoked, that's for sure." As a Knight-in-training a few years ago, Leopold faced a small tribe of dwarves while scouting the lower Kuhn mountains. He was in clear view of them, and none attacked him. Alternatively, the small men may have felt intimidated by his weapons, battle-horse, and exquisite armor.
"Whenever need be," Leopold said to Raelie while wrapping Circe's bloodied wounds. He was in no hurry to take Raelie toward the uncharted route, he would leave once necessary. "However, we should leave before night breaks." The reasons why were obvious.
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Circe
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Posts: 36
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Post by Circe on May 15, 2009 5:17:44 GMT 5.5
Circe stilled as Leopold began wrapping her lower torso with fresh bandages, her eyes following his skilled hands with interest. Her gaze traveled up his arms and settled on his face as she studied him. She frowned slightly and shifted her attention to Raelie. "No, I wasn't flying." A small grin crossed her face when she added, "I probably wouldn't have gotten wounded; the arrows would have simply hit my scales and bounced off."
Circe waited for Leopold to finish up before she continued. "I've never seen dwarves this far up the mountain either. The only race I've ever seen at this altitude are the minotaurs, but even they've been disappearing as of late." She shrugged and leaned back in the chair, relaxing a bit. The initial pain was gone, the only reminder of it was the dull stinging in her abdomen. "I'll see what I can find out when I make it back down the mountain. If something's happened, the best place to find out would be at one of the taverns in town."
Following Raelie's gaze to the sky, Circe couldn't help but agree. The snowstorm was only just beginning and it looked like it would get a lot worse before it let up. She doubted that the storm would end before morning, though. "I'd like to come with you two if you don't mind. I can only do so much with only the use of my right side." Circe glanced at Raelie. "Besides, I can help you with your map. I know a lot of this mountain range by heart."
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Post by Destiny on May 15, 2009 11:32:33 GMT 5.5
She frowned too, "I don't have scales, so I best stay far clear of that area..." she said, in a softer voice, because her attention was divided between the interesting new visitor and the weather. Though she could try and map from a higher height, she thought it best not to try that, it would be too dangerous and there were other areas to map as well. Maybe after a few years of mapping all of Arysia she would come back and try...she shuddered at the thought and tried to keep a straight face. She was not coming back to the Khun Mountains, and she knew that very well. Come winter, she would be far away from here.
"Then why do you think the dwarves don't come to the monastery sometimes?" she asked Leo. "Surely, they too must be requiring assistance sometimes, even if they do stay here permanently. And it's so hard for anyone to live up here..." She grinned. "I should know, I've been trying, and I nearly broke a wing during an avalanche last year." She shuddered. "Not a good experience. It would have been much worse had I actually gotten hurt up there, with no idea of where to go for help, but it was still bad." She nodded to Circe when she said she would see what had happened by talking to some people, it sounded smart. She was feeling a little out of depth in the conversation.
She looked once again at the window, and then at her two companions, and said, "Sure you can join us, Circe, it would be a lot of help...and if there's one thing I need it's help!" She grinned. "I'll just go out and look at the weather, to see how it's going and how soon it might let up." She looked at Leo. "If it doesn't look like we can leave by late afternoon, we'll call it a day and try again later, maybe tomorrow or something." She nodded, and then rolled up her precious map and put in the pocket at her waist. "Mostly I'll be fine, I don't recommend coming after me, the snow's pretty heavy. After all, if I get lost I can just fly high and reach this place once the snow stops..." She smiled nervously. "Though if I don't come for a long time, maybe I might need help." She hoped not, as she stepped out of the heavy door, which she closed behind her. A blast of cool air hit her.
((OOC: Going to step out of the thread for a while, so you can continue, and then I'll come back, or roleplay myself as out in the snow or something as and when possible.))
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Post by Destiny on May 29, 2009 8:35:40 GMT 5.5
((OOC: Sorry for the double post, returning now.))
Raelie stepped out into the cold snowy day. A few flakes alighted on her face, which she shook off with her long sleeves, and then after carefully observing the sky and the wind, she took off gracefully into the blue, blue sky. There was no experience like flying, nothing so much fun, nothing so laced with danger, nothing that gave such a rush of fear and ecstasy at the same time. She found herself grinning. She flew around a little more, assessing the weather conditions, and then, finding that the wind was getting too strong, came down once again on the frozen ground.
She shivered and made her way back to the monastery on foot, opening the heavy door gingerly, and then entering. Her cheeks were red and flushed with the cold, with snowflakes on her light, short hair and clothing. At the doorstep, she shook off some of the snow from these places, not wanting to dirty the monastery. The grin was still on her face. Flying was so much better than being confined in a small room! She could never be content in a single room all her life, no matter how many advantages were to be had from that. t t She smiled at Circe and Leo, or almost beamed. "The weather seems to be clearing up a little bit. We should be able to walk, but not fly." Her tone became slightly mournful when she mentioned that she couldn't fly. "Unfortunately." She sighed. Walking was all good and fine and safe but it definitely wasn't flying. Within her people, Raelie had been called Swyft, as she preferred speed and was a good flier. She looked wistful at that thought. Maybe when everything was over she'd go back and meet her people again. When everything was over. Still filled with excitement, she half-walked, half-skipped towards her companions and then looked out before saying, "Maybe one hour, before we can leave. Maybe we should pack some stuff we might need." She had some supplies with her, she had been working, after all, but she wasn't sure it would do for all three of them.
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Circe
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Post by Circe on May 30, 2009 20:57:08 GMT 5.5
Circe gave Raelie a nod as she headed outside, then turned to Leopold. "How long have you lived on this mountain?" she asked him. In the many years that she had lived in the Khun, she had never come across this particular monastery; there were others scattered about, but on different mountains. Though, to be fair, she rarely came this high up the mountain this close to winter. In the summer months the monastery could be easily hidden by the dense canopy of the treeline.
"It's just that I've never seen any kind of life in this area before; not even smoke from a fire," she clarified. Circe stood, wincing slightly at the sharp pain in her side. She opened her mouth to say something else just as Raelie returned, but seemed to change her mind about whatever she wanted to add and just listened to Raelie's report on the weather.
Circe looked between the other two and said, "I'm ready to go whenever you two are. The dwarves could still be out, so we'd be better off if we were prepared for an attack." She picked up one of the arrows from the floor and examined it. "I'm pretty sure that they don't poison their arrows, but it might be best if we brought various antidotes with us." She paused and looked over to Leopold. "Do you know plants native to this part of the mountain that could be used to make poisons?"
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Post by Leopold Martin on May 30, 2009 22:04:40 GMT 5.5
Leopold finished wrapping Circe’s wounds far earlier than Raelie’s return. He carried the unused bandages and supplies back to the cabinet for later use. “I’ve only lived here for two years,” Leo said preoccupied with rearranging what was in the cabinet. He understood what Circe added. Life on this part of the mountain was little to nonexistence. No blood-burn creature could live in such conditions without proper provisions and specially built shelter. He looked toward the sound of Raelie’s return. At first, she sounded happy, yet the further she carried her sentence, the more her heart fell.
Flying was different, unique to the upmost. One whom held that ability, showed the sky manipulation and control over the seemingly endless space. Leo knew Raelie most be disappointed about the weather, the wind particularly. He smiled, “An hour is wonderful to prepare.” He could gather some important items needed for the journey, as well as bare his armor for the episode. “Maybe the sky will clear as well.” He added in hopes to raise Raelie’s spirit, if only a smidge.
Leo shut the cabinet while replying to Circe, “Poisons, Poisons.” He had to think about it for a moment. He never once made a poison to take out or stun dwarves before. What are the weaknesses of a dwarf? Death, he supposed, like all creatures. Well, Leopold didn’t exactly know what took a dwarf down, but what he did know was better. “Rosary Pea seeds,” He said as he walked to the other side of the room. He looked out of the window facing the garden, not expecting to see anything like everyday. “A single Rosary Pea seed has caused death. If one or two of its oils spread on an arrow surface, think about it. A very lethal ‘injection,’ may I say, for the stricken.”
“We have a plant here that carries the seeds,” He said disregarding the ‘even though it is incredibility sinful for a weapon, so do not use’ warning in his head. “As for antidotes, I always have some waiting for emergencies.”
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Post by Destiny on Jun 2, 2009 10:28:31 GMT 5.5
She did not think she would fly. It would not be the smart thing to do anyway. Leo could not fly, and neither could Circe in her humanoid form, and if she turned into her pure form she would fly too fast for her to catch up. Rahjegh were naturally far more powerful when it came to flying as compared to Mesia. Most people believed the Mesia had got a raw deal - being no more powerful than humans in any form and yet being able to fly, but being at the mercy of the elements. But then, she preferred to be able to fly, at least sometimes, than to be born as a human, who could hardly walk and preferred to ride on big beasts like horses that she found quite disgusting.
She smiled at Leo, who she thought was trying to be reassuring and said in her soft voice, "Yes, maybe it will." She tried to bring optimism back into her voice and was successful, though she did not manage to smile half as sincerely. She turned to Circe suddenly. "Wouldn't the dwarves have gone away? I've heard they're not good with very heavy winds, they are short and thus tend to be more easily affected by winds on high mountains. But I'm not sure, that's just a story my mother used to tell me when I was very small. You know the one about the dwarf who gets blown off a mountain..."
They had probably not heard it, she reflected. She was from a different land then them, with different stories and different traditions and different songs. She was different. She shook her head at the thought. Arysians and the Tribes were getting along with each other to a fashion now. "Listen, we should probably eat something before we leave. I have some food in my pack, we should eat some of it now, to keep up our strengths." She took her pack, which she had left in one of the corners, and pulled out some bread and cheese. "Not the most appetizing of foods, but good for energy," she said with a smile.
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Circe
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Post by Circe on Jun 2, 2009 20:09:50 GMT 5.5
Circe thought about the story for a second, trying to place it. She knew that she heard some folktale before that slightly resembled the story Raelie was talking about, but she couldn't remember who or where she had heard it. She gave a small shrug and said, "Maybe, but from experience I can honestly say the shorter you are, the less likely the wind will hinder you. But your smaller weight is likely to work against you in strong storms like this one. I just think it's better that we go prepared for the worst, rather than the alternative."
Circe walked over to where Leopold stood at the window and looked outside. "The Rosary Pea seeds... How fast do they work - are we talking minutes or hours?" She turned and looked up at him; the storm prevented her from seeing very much of the garden anyway. "We could put the seed oil on a couple of daggers or throwing knives."
"Eating would be great," she said with a lopsided grin, accepting Raelie's offer of cheese and bread gratefully. As she chewed she mulled over what kind of rations they would have to bring. It took a little less than two days - maybe a day and a half - to travel down the mountain in normal, good weather. With the storm she estimated it would probably take twice that. The nearest town to this particular mountain was Varreth and it was about a day's trek from the foot of the mountain. "We should bring a week's worth of rations with us, the storm could get worse while we're out. It'll take us at least three or four days to make it to Varreth, but longer if the storm stays this strong or gets worse."
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Post by Leopold Martin on Jun 3, 2009 7:50:06 GMT 5.5
Leopold pictured a small dwarf tumble over and off the mountain by the wind’s great strength. The story sounded familiar to him, the dwarf’s doom to be precise; however, he could not recall much of it. “Rosary Pea Seeds carry a little toxin called ‘Abrin’,” He replied. “Mere minutes, and the poison will kill.” He thought of an example, and continued with a more grave tone. “Abrin is in the coating, and when it is broken it kills. Less than 3 micrograms is enough to kill, which is less than the amount of poison in one pea.”
Cheese and bread was enough for Leopold. He took some of the offered food, thanked Raelie, and ate. He swallowed a bite and said, “That is a good idea. There are enough supplies we can pack here to take along with us.” He kept out the pessimistic words he waited to say “incase something bad happens,” just to avoid jinxing the team.
((In real-life, they kill in 3-4 days, but I am going to change it a bit for this.))
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Post by Destiny on Jun 3, 2009 10:38:52 GMT 5.5
"No, you've probably not heard this particular story.." she said with a half-smile. She did not explain why. Neither seemed to have placed her accent as an invader, and if they had they did not seem to care, so she took no pains to enlighten either of them. If they truly accepted her, Arysian or not, then she was grateful but she had learned the lesson long ago that it was better not to voluntarily attract antagonism. She pushed a lock of her short, light colored hair back wards, and took a bite of the bread and cheese. Not half bad.
Rosary pea seeds...somehow they made her think of something bad. If they contained the kind of poison Leo and Circe were talking about then they probably were pretty bad, but somehow her feeling was of something else completely. She grappled with the memory, trying to remember, but she could not. "Is there time enough for an antidote to act, if we are hit? A few minutes isn't long...maybe we can take the antidote before as a precaution for the poison?" Some antidotes were like that. In the tribes, there was a particular snake with fast acting poison that was rather common. The only antidote was made from the leaves of a plant, but many people would chew the leaves before hand so that they would not be affected by the poison.
"Maybe we can go to my camp? We can get food and other such practical supplies there...blankets and the like. It gets cold in the nights here. And food, and shelter, and things like that...I think it would be on the way."
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Circe
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Post by Circe on Jun 4, 2009 21:46:54 GMT 5.5
Circe finished up her ration of bread and cheese. The faster they were able to leave, the more time they would have to travel while the storm was still calm. She didn't fancy being caught in an onslaught of snow and wind. "Leo, the Rosary Pea seeds - is the poison toxic to the touch?" She planned on putting the poison on one or two of her daggers, but if she'd get sick just by touching it...
Circe looked around for bags they could carry things in. "I can still carry my share of stuff," she said, referring to her bandaged side. The bandages were lightly stained by her blood but not to the point that they would need to be changed any time soon. She turned her head when Raelie suggested they stop off at her camp first.
Nodding her head, she said, "That's a good idea. How far down the mountain is your camp? We can pack a little lighter if we can resupply when get there."
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Post by Leopold Martin on Jun 5, 2009 0:15:04 GMT 5.5
“It will not hurt us if it touches our skin and we wipe it off.” Leo said after the last bite of bread and cheese. “Open wounds will take in the poison quickly since the blood will be rushing through. Our skin does not work as quickly as open wounds. It will take our skin nearly 30minutes to absorb anything. The worse that can happen is a simple allergic-reaction rash. As for an antidote,” He continued with a sigh, “there is no antidote for Rosary poison, none at all. The only defense is gloves.” Indeed a grave conclusion, yet Leopold, a caution person, knew said poison would not engulf his health.
“Alright,” Leopold said in reply to Raelie. Another safe location was a wonderful installment during this harsh weather. He went into the other room, and returned merely a few minutes later with full first edition White-Knight Armor. ((Instant wardrobe change!))
“Do you want to use the poison?” His gloved hands held a vine full of Rosary pea seeds. They were red in color with a black spot at the tip. The plant was an aggressive grower, so there were no worries about running out. They could even take some with them if they want to poison the enemies in another manner. “I can make a few vials in five minutes.”
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Post by Destiny on Jun 5, 2009 11:13:57 GMT 5.5
The others had finished their food, and she was nearing the end of hers too, since she was a fast eater. She hastily swallowed the last bite and then looked at her companions, both of whom were talking about the poison. She had never been a fighter, to tell the truth, but she knew enough to protect herself in dire danger. She pulled out her long, thin dagger from somewhere within her clothing, fast and supple. She had that, of course, speed and flexibility but little else. She did not even have her bow and arrows. "We can put some on this dagger too...but I'd prefer if we didn't...I'm not like to use it anyway." She did not like poison. The tribes called in the coward's weapon.
"No antidote, is there?" she said with a small frown. "That will be..uh..hard." She, at least, was wearing gloves, it was cold on the mountains, but that was still a precarious thing to do. A small hit anywhere would be grave. "What if we're hit and clean the wound immediately? Bind a strong cloth on the hurt part to stop the spread of poison?" She was no healer, like Leo, but all people learned a little bit of self-preservation when out in the tribes. It was a a highly dangerous place, the north east. No wonder the tribes had overrun the fertile, safe, beautiful lands of Arysia.
She nodded as they talked about going to her home. She frowned when they asked how long it would take. Walking, in such weather, she had no idea. "Maybe a full day...we should reach by a little after nightfall if we walk fast." She knew the roads well, at least. She pulled out her map, spread it out again, and then traced the road to her home with her finger, gently running it over the parchment. It was a fairly straightforward way, though an hour or so down the wrong road, if she was not wrong about where they were going. Still, shelter would be a necessity if they were to take this path.
She stopped and stared as Leo suddenly changed into armored clothing...white and shining and so strange. Of course, he had told her that he had been a knight, but still..it was strange. She looked at him, feeling once again uncomfortable and lowly born among people who were obviously better born and more educated than her.
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