You're not from around here are you? [Flashback/Solo]

[Apos]

Apos sat with deadly patience as he watched the hunter 20 feet away from him spit onto the ground, wave annoying pests from his face and take a sip from his container. He looked bothered, as he looked deep within the cave before him. Apos narrowed his eyes at the strange man before him, studying him more closely. From behind the shrubs, Apos could see that he was lean, in shape, and knew how to use the weapons he'd pursed to himself for this trip. Apos couldn't quite understand what drew hunters to this jungle. Were the Myrians so famed for their fierceness and vigilance in battle that others thought it to be a challenge to come and fight them? How foolish. He would not find whom he was looking for. Apos found him quite easily. The men who came here for the thrill of fighting Myrians were clumsy...and loud. "Talk to me, buddy!” The man yelled into the cave. Apos looked at the hunter, then down to his hand at the crossbow he was holding. His hands raised the weapon and his finger contracted on the trigger. This particular crossbow was designed to equip two large arrows and shoot them both at once. He fired off a shot for no reason, the arrows flew at amazing speeds lodging holes in the wall of the cave in the vicinity of the unexpected visage, sending hardened clay, dirt, and insects in all directions. Apos looked on, wandering why he did it. Perhaps he was testing his weapon? Or maybe he was simply nervous. The man ignored the bugs as he lit a torch and eased tentatively forward. The long void in front of him was dark and uncaring. At first glance he probably couldn’t tell if the hollow was natural or had been excavated. Apos watched him as he eased into the cave and rose from his hiding spot to silently pursue him inside. Apos tread on clouds as he followed the hunter inside. This cave in particular was Apos' own spot. He'd spend nights here when he didn't feel like being in his home. He loved nature and the jungle, and he found life adventurous being both the hunter and sometimes the hunted. He continued to follow the torch until it stopped. Apparently he'd come across his ceremonial section. It was where he killed animals, offered them and their hearts to Myri and consumed them. He was not in town, but he was no heathen. He still praised his Goddess. Apos heard the man as air he'd previously sucked in went out of him in tandem with the tension when he saw a strung Beast hanging from the ceiling. It had been neatly and efficiently quartered before being hung from the roof of the cave by its massive right arm. Blood dripped softly into a collection pail. Neither the pail nor the smartly butchered condition of the massive corpse suggested that the bloody work had been carried out with any specific research in mind. There was a gape in it's chest, and its entrails were missing, evident of the gash in the beast's midsection. None of the parts were lying on the ground, so Apos assumed that it led the hunter to believe he'd eaten them. Which he did.

[Apos]

The hunter vomitted, and sounded as if he were going to heave over just from exertion. "All that wasted water. Doing shit like that'll get him killed in this heat before I even get to 'em." Apos said in a hushed tone. He looked on as the man continued to examine the cave after he finished wasting water and food. Additional artifacts scattered around the cave hinted that someone hereabouts had exerted knowledgeable efforts with the aim of personal survival. A slight movement made the Hunter turn sharply and raise the crossbow, but this time he didn’t shoot. As he shifted the torch, its light touched on a second strung-up figure. From his surprised stance, Apos guessed that he recognized it immediately: his partner. Apos heard the man make a sound of pity. Apos looked at the two men as they got closer. One was hung from the cave's ceiling, just as the beast was 10 feet away. The man whom was strung up said something. "Elric..." "What a strange name..." Apos said to himself as he rose from his crouched position and started running towards him, Ulak drawn in his right fist. Elric leaned closer to hear what he was saying. “Behind you . . .” "Behind...?" Elric whipped around. Apos could tell that he was in perfect condition and as fast as he was, Apos' attack that slashed at his head still grazed him. Visible heat waves, wind, and bad light conspired to impair his vision, leading him to fire his crossbow wildly, repeatedly. Already unbalanced on the slight slope inside the cave, the powerful recoil sent his twisting form stumbling backward. Landing on his butt, Apos watched as he loaded two more bolts to fire in the general direction of whatever had taken the big swipe at him. Obedient to Newton, and Unbeknownst to himself, Apos simply watched as his wild shot missed him entirely and slid Elric backwards, toward the precipice that reared the cave. He nearly went over. Nearly. Apos watched in fascination as reflexes obviously born of necessity saw Elric throw out one arm. It slid off the rock it clutched, but his strong fingers locked into a crack just wide enough to offer a grip. His other hand clung to the crossbow. Carefully, very carefully, Elric eased off the weapon’s trigger. Given the downslope on which he now found himself, one more shot would break his grip on the rock and send him over the edge, but his weapon was empty of arrows anyway. Apparently, he'd found himself in a stable position, but Apos wouldn't allow him to live, not for the ignorance of coming to this place. This region.

[Apos]

All Elric had to do was work his way upward, using his knees and his hand, until he was safely back up on the more level portion of the ground. It was then that Apos' own pair of feet stepped into his view. They were bare, and were as creamy tan as the rest of his body, baked in the sun of Taloba. Something about them however, the way they were placed or the clean definition of the toes, in this dirty jungle-climate, made Elric think of those feet running. Of savage, primal speed. Automatically his eyes followed them upward. Apos could see the surprise in his face, insofar as he was still capable of being surprised. Apos was bald, with a strong visage and reflective eyes that had the stare of a starving jaguar. Elric would be able to sense, if not see, the musculature rippling beneath the apparition’s strung together clothing fit for a climate this hot. Ambling unconcernedly forward, as if Elric no longer held the crossbow, Apos crouched down to stare at the hunter. His posture, as much as his indifferent attitude, suggested either lingering brain damage, supreme stupidity, or ultimate confidence. Elric did not have to debate long over which was the most likely. He found that he could see his own scarred, jungle-battered face reflected back at him in those shiny lenses that were as inscrutable as their owner. Apos brought one hand forward. Elric flinched slightly. Opening his fingers, the man revealed the contents of his hand. It was a human ear, raw and bleeding at the base. “Yours?” Apos murmured quietly. Though deceptively soft, his voice pierced cleanly through the humid, hot wind. There was a pause. Then Elric clamped a hand to one side of his head. His bare fingers came away bloody. Biting heat and surging adrenaline had combined to numb him to a point where he hadn’t felt the appendage being torn away. Unfortunately, in the shocked realization of the moment, he’d grabbed for his missing ear with the hand that had been anchoring him to the protruding rock. Grip lost, he scrambled briefly for a second handhold. The muddy ground and crumbling rock was not compliant. He went over the edge of the deep drop silent, to Apos' best guest accepting his fate. Rising, Apos walked fearlessly to the edge of the precipice and peered over. Nothing. Apos walked away from the precipice and made his way back to his strung up prey. He spoke to him, his basic language laced with heavy Myrian accent "Are you ready to be sacrificed to Myri, outsider?"

[Schism]

Witty Grading Title Here Apos Skill(s): Body Building +1 Hunting +1 Observation +1 Intelligence +1 Intimidation +2 Wilderness Survival +1 Stealth +1 Weapon: Ulak +1 Larceny +1 Lore(s): Sacrificial Worship From Afar Defending one’s Territory like the Tigers Note(s): Quite a few of the points awarded come from background action (stringing the man up, dwelling in the cave, and the fact that Apos so stealthily snatched the man’s ear). Do enjoy. I hope they open up new skill doorways for your PC. Although brief, I do like Apos’s take on territory. Flashback more often. Like everyone else says: let me know if there’s anything to look over regarding the thread or grade. Well done, Apos.