Hunt the Great Hellwyrm

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"I suspect they are related only in so far as they both result from Freehaven's destruction. It may frustrate us though, I had hoped the seer may aid us in learning more of the culprit." He responded to Asana as he dismounted, then turned in the direction of Fang's words.

"Another stranger then. How may we help you friend?" He called to the newcomer.
 
Rand followed after Aramil as he pushed his way through light under brush into the surrounding forest, dragging his decrepit mount behind him. The horse seemed reluctant to move after the displacement of Baros' transportation spell, but Rand tugged a little harder on the old leather of the reigns, and the horse gave in and followed, meaning Rand only had to scurry for a few moments to catch up with the plodding mount bearing the either intent or asleep old man.

He travelled in silence just behind Aramil for long moments, until the sounds of voices from the clearing faded, and the natural sounds of the forest surrounded the pair and their mounts. He listened for any sounds of their being followed, but even looking back, there was no sign of anyone trailing them. Drawing a breath, he prepared his words carefully, settling on being quite open with the old man whom he had taken a liking to.

"So, what are you really doing here Aramil?" He asked "Going to Freehaven, following the Spell-sword here, chasing Dragons..."

He hoped he hadn't offended to old man - he hoped he was still awake up there in the saddle! - but something just didn't seem right to Rand. Aramil seemed out of place in this merry little band. Maybe just Rand being paranoid, but then again, maybe something more...
 
As the horse trotted along, the old man finally slowed it to a stop, feeling Rand close behind him. Finally, he allowed himself to straighten up slightly, revealing that he had not drifted off into yet another slumber. He let the facade slip for the moment, taking his attention away from the foliage and whatever herbs may have lay beneath. The heavy brown hood sagged softly as he cast a glance to the sky, a deep breath filling his old lungs noisily as Rand spoke.

There was a momentary pause between the two, before the old man chuckled, a harsh raspy chuckle, withered by age. His voice following soon after in similar fashion. "For now, I have to come to watch." He said with a pause before continuing on; "I am old. My days of adventuring with dragons and spellswords are long gone. Nothing more than memories to me now. Yet, old as I am, tales such as Freehaven still sometimes reach my ears and I can see the great importance in this undertaking." He gave another pause, as if gathering his thoughts before he continued. "Certain things can not go unchecked. While I will not slay the beast, nor even attempt to do so, if the wisdom of my years, can help guide this band of youthful adventurers, I will lend that guidance."

He let his words sink in, before he turned his horse 'round to Rand. For the first time, beneath the hood a flicker of violet light pierced the shadow, the semblence of earie eyes fading as quickly as they had appeared. "I will tell you this much, my friend... all the distance and trees in the world will not keep this conversation from some of our party." He paused for effect once more. "But like youself, I have no inclination to spend any amount of time in the home of knights such as Baros. To that end, I promise that you can trust in me, and at the end of it all, all will be revealed."
 
Rand slowed to a halt as Aramil did, and his mount immediately set to trying to munch on the leaves of the surrounding trees. Loosening his grip on the reins, and gripping them only at the very end, he allowed his noisome Horse to chomp to his hearts content. Rand watched the cloaked back of the old man closely as the other spoke, and a slight frown creased his otherwise smooth forehead.

Aramil paused, as Rand considered his words, and then turned. A faint glow seemed to dwindle beneath the shelter of the old man's hood, something which surprised Rand. I suppose it shouldn't have really. Why else would an old man be here, with us?. But his face remained unperturbed, just the frown fading away.

Hecouldn't help but see the sense in Aramil's word - had they wanted to, Rand was sure everyon in their little band could have spied on this conversation without ever stirring a foot in their direction - Light, that damned spell-sword is probably listening right now! - but they had said nothing incriminating, nor even illuminating. All that had been revealed thus far was that Aramil was more than he appeared. Which was much as Rand had expected.

Rand smiled "Trust doesn't come so easily to me I fear, but, we'll see what we can do" the smile turned into a grin "And all will be revealed at the end, will it? Well, it gives me something to look forward to then!". He allowed himself a gentle chuckle, before casting his eyes behind him, his smile fading.

"What do you make of our companions? Baros and the Elf seem plain enough to me, but what of Lox?" he toyed with the gold-cased pommel of the dagger at his belt as he spoke, seemingly unaware of the action "And the others? They seem very aloof, and I don't think they have our well-being foremost in their minds... after all, the realm is a big place, and chasing Dragons is a dangerous business. People can have 'accidents', or disappear..."
 
While Rand spoke, the old man went about his usual business of teetering slightly in the saddle, as if the struggle to hold himself up was becoming too much. Though he said nothing of it, the journey had begun to take its toll on him. He gave a long moment of thought to everything that Rand had said, before pursing his lips beneath the hood in thought. Eventually he responded rather simply; "Trust rarely ever comes easy these days. Of that I completely understand."

Then the issue of Lox and the others was brought up. The Old Man's hood swayed slightly with a grunt, which turned into several hoarse coughs. Once he caught his breath the old man responded kindly of Lox; "Lox, The Magician, or whatever he is... Is wise beyond his years, that one has seen much. I would not be concerned about him." There was a pause, and a noticeable change in the tone of the old man as he spoke; "The others, all have their own motives, such as they are. I do not think either of us are of any consequence to them. I'm not too concerned about them, nor do I expect any malice on their part... But as you said, trust doesn't come so easy in these days."

He paused, before with a half grunted chuckle he added; "Perhaps in my younger days I would have been more wary of such beings. But I am old now, and I've lived too long as it is. Death is no longer a consequence I fear. Especially if it will relieve me of the company of that stuffy knight!" Beneath the hood, the old fellow was smiling, though it couldn't be seen among the shadows. He added finally; "I think Baros and Asana are true to their word, though I'm certainly in no hurry to go waltzing into a nest full of chivalrous over-zealous knights any time soon. Shady rogues and forlorn, hooded old men do not fit in with such a crowd as well as one might hope."
 
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Asana Tremons eyes narrowed a moment looking towards the new commer with some apprehension before turning around to Lox and shrugged. " This kind of thing always makes me weary I tell you new folk poping up right in a place you think might be safe as if we are being followed" said Asana before looking to Fang and dropping his head a bit . The concept of a watcher seemed a bit over done to be watched as if to be evaluated as a hero bugged him abit. However at least Rand, and Aramis had to be having fun. Closing his eyes he pictured the old man and Rand Dancing through some meddow while Amelina pointed and laughed at the two of them caught up in thier inexplicable joy of the moment. For a few moments Asana's eyes remained closed as he started to laugh loudly, but his day dream of humor ended suddenly as he recalled where he was.

Looking to the Dragon a moment he wondered if the Dragon knew what had made him laugh so loudly and could only assume the Dragons abilities were not those of a seer or clarivoyant.Clearing his throat as Baros turned his attention towards the new commer he spoke quickly " Any Proceedures I need to know before I find a bath house or purchase some supplies and maybe a horse or three ?, as it would be better if we split up and get done here as soon as possible we do have companions waiting in the wilderness who would probably prefer some amenities rather than being smelly and in the woods with out them knowing we are living up the lavish life style of your order."

Asana had no wish to parle with the new commer at least yet he was filthy with ash and cultist blood, and beyond that he was an elf among Men and would need to up keep his races pride. That and his red wings burned from the earlier pelting of stones and dust in the burnt hollow that was once the city of Freehaven.
 
Baros took in what Asana said and then nodded. "Everything here belongs to the order. It is not for sale, but once I explain our quest to the Knight Captain we will be able to secure mounts and supplies." He gestured to a passing squire.

"Squire, please show my companion to the bath house." The squire snapped to attention.

"At once Knight Leutenant", the youngster said.

"I will discuss our quest with the Knight Captain, once you are refreshed we can plan our next move."
 
Fang eyed Xa'aro curiously. He seemed to be suddenly frozen in time. Had the memory of that day been so strong upon seeing the elder that it shackled him in fear? But then, how could it, given that the child had never seen him in his humanoid form? It was of no consequence.

He eyed Asana curiously. The elf was mistaken in thinking the dragon did not have such mental capabilities. In fact, the combination of being half Dreamer, who were powerful in mental abilities anyway, the blessing given to him by the living entity of dreams, and his own mental practices, placed his mental abilities at the top of his list of skills. Still, he kept them in check, and did not spontaneously scan the other party members' minds for activity, though he was fairly sure now who he could get away with doing it to.

He said nothing as they spoke of acquiring supplies. Let them get what they would. They were likely to factor him in, as well, though he would need none of what they could offer. Still, too much was better than not enough, and even he did not know how long they would be away.
 
Asana nodded slowly to Baros's words. He almost wanted to argue he could not see how any such encampment could not have a trading post of any kind, but looking around it was slowly sinking in. Unlike the temples of Tyr these were far more than a standard order they walked the different planes by will alone and thus had access to supplies and resources hundreds of kingdoms alone could barely manage to exploit for millennia. Nodding to Baros and looking to the young squire he followed behind him stretching as he walked. His eyes moving over the walls and buildings and people he could see.

This Chapter house was better guarded than some keeps upon the high road back home. Clearing his throat as he walked behind the squire he continued to look around curiously. He almost walked into the squire as the squire came to a halt outside of a building where the door seemed to be sweating from the amount of steam building inside. Glancing to the squire he took a step back and spoke in a lyrical voice " Thank you my good man " He said side stepping the squire and pushing on the door finding his robes suddenly heavier and his armor hot and uncomfortable. Swinging his bag off his shoulders he reached up and unclasped his helmet pulling it off slowly and pushing it into his bag and looking around to the cubbies for each persons items.

After disrobing and placing his bag and robes into one of the cubbies he moved towards the bath. His slender form slipping into the hot water forced him to emit a low groan. He could feel his muscles starting to relax and began to wash himself and glance around. "Still very disappointing there are no dancing girls, or fine elvish or even human women to assist in this arduous task of removing the soot of freehaven from me, but oh well It is an adventure and not a holiday." he said to himself trying to convince himself he needed not the dancing girls.

Thirty minutes later a pruned elf was sliding out of the bath his skin a rosy glow from the heat of the water as he searched for a towel. However he found no such towel and attempted to summon a lesser air elemental yet sadly the spell did not work in the least, to which Asana could only assume that the wards of the Chapter house prevented the summoning from working as he had hoped. In the end he pulled a spare cloak from his bag and used it as a towel before getting dressed and walked towards the exit of the chapter house there seeing a fresh stack of towels. With a small twitch of irritation under his right eye he hoisted his bag onto his back and exited the Bathhouse, feeling fresh as a daisy.
 
When Asana returned, Baros was talking with the Knight Captain and they were looking at a map on the long table. "It is three days ride, but we must track whatever was responsible." Baros said.

"You do not believe it was a dragon?" The Knight Captain asked.

"I have seen no proof. My companions seem to be certain, but I cannot say where their certainty comes from. A dragon could not destroy a town like Freehaven in that way. Not in such a definite way. None survived and it seems there was no warning. These other effects, such as its effect on the Seer trouble me."
 
Fang simply shook his head. Baros was drastically incorrect in the ability of older dragons. The ignorance was unfortunate. The elder supposed the other could not be to blame, though. That he was aware of, Fang was the only dragon with that sort of power at his disposal who made himself known to the majority of the world, and when it came to most dragons who traveled the world, Baros was correct. They did not have the ability to destroy an entire city, and certainly not without warning.

Fang wondered if he should mention precisely why he knew the creature responsible for what happened to Freehaven was of dragonic descent, if not actually being a dragon. He knew it would not sit well with many of those in this chapterhouse, but it would likely help them to prepare more fully. He quicklky weighed his options, and the consequences of each, then decided to wait until a more fitting time, keeping in mind the role of neutrality which he carefully had to balance at all times.
 
Asana looked to Baros and the Knight captain and shook his head a little " So we know the exact trail of our prey ? and where its stopped Baros ? " he said quizzically, he knew he had been in the bath for a bit, but long enough to have the exact path of the beast and where it was dwelling seemed far far to fortuitus to be reality. Clicking his tongue he looked towards sparky or atleast how Asana was labeling the dragon in human form mentally for the time being. .

"Well we should hurry with the gathering of supplies then and be ready to move quickly" He said looking over at Baros and the Kight Captain."If we intend on making Feehaven a isolated incident." His grey eyes looking over to the dragon thinking that while the seers may be able to tell a general direction perhaps the dragon could name the acctual destination.
 
Baros hook his head. "Not the exact path. The Seer is too ill for that, only he in this chapter of my order can do that. We have received word that the so called Three Villages on the road up into the Shining Hills were attacked. Not destroyed, and most of the villagers escaped, but the creature the survivors described may be that we seek."

Baros picked up the chart and rolled it up. "Take it, we have others," the Knight Captain said.

Baros nodded "We will need a mount for those of us without one, plus..", the spellsword paused "do you have any of the artisan's work here?"

"In the vault below this room, take what you need, I will transfer it into your care." The Captain said.

"Come with me, we may need some of my order's more potent arms." Baros said to Asana.
 
Asana's glances to him did not go unnoticed. It seemed the elf was quite interested in the dragon. He supposed he may have been, as well, were the roles reversed. The elf seemed much more confident about the nature of the creature than did the spellsword. Thus, it would only be natural to wonder what another draconic being was able to do in order to aid the situation.

Fang took a few steps toward Baros, this time willing to offer his services. "If your seer is unable to track the draconian," He paused for a brief moment after that word. Baros knew he was a dragon, and perhaps would think twice about questioning the nature of the beast if such a term came from him. "I can track a path of travel rather quickly." Of course, Asana was right, at least partially so. There was the potential that Fang could determine an exact location, and possibly even the destination, but the elder was unsure if the seers had such a capability. He was certain they would be unable to tell the destination. Thus, Fang did not offer it, as doing so would be too much interference. This way, he was simply accelerating what would occur, regardless.
 
((Not posting Mith?))

Before they went to the vaults below, Baros responded to Fang. "You are welcome to try. We should do our best to ensure we are pursuing the correct creature."

((He'll be able to get a good idea of the direction, which is where Baros's Map suggests, but nothing more. Its not really a dragon afterall, its something far worse, that just looks like a dragon.))
 
((Mith was taking a week off))

Asana looking back and forth from his companions he smirked a little to himself in self pride concerning his right guess concerning the Dragons ability to pinpoint the direction of thier target. Looking to Baros and the Knight Captain he nodded and then spoke. " Well the supplies should be gathered and checked and then we should move quickly lest the trail grow cold, and another city suffer the fate of Freehaven."

His silver eyes moving around the area slowly as he was impressed with the set up of the chapter house. He would have to try to treturn one day when he was not chasing creatures destroying massive cities, he thought to himself.
 
"This way." Baros said, and then lead Asana towards one of the side passageways, then down a narrow staircase. They passed two guards standing in niche's in the wall, and then Baros placed the palm of his hand against the door. Words spoke in an old language from around them, and Baros responded in the same tongue. Then the door opened before them.

Inside, the room was lit by the same magical means as the hall above. There were several racks of unique looking weapons, as well as tables with chests upon them.

"We should see if there are any slaying arrows. I think there should be some that are potent against dragons."
 
Asana Looked haggard as they moved although he was freshly cleansed and felt much better from the bath his eyes wandered around the halls almost vacant he was taking in the place but it seemed to have a extra planar feel to it as it he was half in the world he knew and half outside of it like standing in a door way but not moving in or out. Taking a deep breath into his lungs he kept pace with Baros. Looking around and cursing loudly " To the Nine hells and back the bloody Dragon left with out helping carry any of the supplies!" He said loudly.

As Baros had already entered the room and mentioned something about slaying arrows he shook his head back and forth slowly " I think Arrows would be about as useful as throwing a pebble at a giant considering what it did to Freehaven, what we need is element enchanted weaponry and scrolls, this beast has to be susceptible to one or the other, but slaying arrows will probably miss, let alone I doubt there's a bow strong enough to piece this things scales if it is indeed a dragon we hunt " He said with disdain over the word dragon. Having the Watching dragon disappear was certainly putting him into a foul mood.

Clearing his throat slowly he looked around the room " Might you have something like a way to enchant a living creature as one would do with a bag of holding, and some extra dimensional material ? " he asked his silver eyes sparkling brightly. Before looking to Lox he hadn't said much since his encounter with the fiend back in Freehaven, but Asana knew it must have taken a lot out of him. Sliding his glance from the seer to the boxes around the room he wondered what marvelous treasures he might find with in them and if they would be of any use against the evil beast..
 
The elder dragon in the skin of a human had no so much as disappeared, as he had gone to deal with a matter of some importance...speaking to the elder council. It was not through magic that he did so, thus, the wards around this place had no affect on the conversation.

"We were mistaken as to the nature of this creature, neutral one."

-"What do you mean, council?-

"It travels in the guise of one of our kind. It even allows itself to be tracked as if it were one of us. But it is not.

-"What sort of beast can fool the whole of the Elder Council?-

"We do not know. It hides its true nature even better than it pretends to be of our species. It may be time for you to take more of a direct role."

-"If this beast is not truly dragonic then what do you suggest I am to do against it? My authority is only over dragons.'-

"You are the warrior, nameless one. We leave that matter of the decision making to you."

-"A fine game of pass the buck, as always, council."-

"Think what you will, councilman, but this beast must be stopped. It is a threat to the whole of The Balance."

-"Very well, then. I will update you when I have a better grasp of the situation."-

"We look forward to it, neutral one."

-"As always, council."-

Fang shook his head and went back to the two searching for some type of weapons to use against the creature in time to hear the mention of enchantments. "If it is assistance with the use of magic you need, then I am more than willing to provide it. Of course I would need to be granted clear use through the wards here. My abilities are great but I would not wish to risk such a hinderance."
 
Baros shrugged. "These wards were put in place before even my grandfather first picked up a sword, and many have been overlayed since. I would not know how to do such a thing. Nor do I understand what you wish to acheive Asana."
 
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