Quest [Regional Quest] Stranded

[Kane]

Sira carrying the others over the rockslide was certainly a sight. Kane probably would have laughed at the tangled limbs had the situation not been so dire. As it was, they would need to wait for all who would be fighting to be over the wall before they could do anything about the rocks. His shoulder’s sagged in relief when they made it across. Now they could get to work. Kane almost physically jumped upon feeling an unexpected hand on his shoulder. Had... had the Valintar just complimented him? He opened his mouth to respond, but could barely force any noise out. “Err, uh, yeah. Um, th-thanks.” And then the Valintar himself went forward to help. Kane had to admit, a leader willing to work himself was respectful. Clearing his throat, he addressed everyone. “I’ll bring the horses to where they need to be.” Then he took hold of the reins of the horses and began to lead them. People sprung into action, fetching the ropes and attaching them to the horses, and the horses to each other to combine their strength. Kane began to check the ropes attached Ansel, making sure they’d hold but also weren’t going to harm the horse in any way. The other horses would need to be double checked as well. “Would someone mind making sure the ropes on the other horses are good?” A sudden yell from the Valintar distracted him, turning Kane’s attention back to the huge pile of rocks. Eilea was clinging to the side of the rocks. He could have sworn that she’d been on the ground earlier. How had she even managed to get up there? With a sigh, he shook his head. That didn’t matter at the moment. Right now, they were waiting on her to be rescued. They couldn’t pull down any rocks with the Vantha attached to them. Luckily, help was on the way. Sira swooped down, and with some admirable maneuvering, managed to grab onto Eilea and safely carry her over the rocks. Good, they could begin now. Turning back towards the others, Kane called out, “We can start now! Everyone back away!” He moved his way in front of Ansel, quickly patting him on the neck on his way. His horse was stationed between the other two horses, and after a quick scan around the area to ensure that none of the party were in harms way, he began to pull on the reins. Gentle coaxing was given to the horses as they moved. Slowly, the ropes began to be pulled taut, and the boulders began to act as if they were moving. Kane watched them anxiously, hoping this plan would work well.

[Eilea]

Eilea felt her body tremble, her muscles ached tremendously. She could feel her strength letting her down. Her hands hurt. She had broken several nails in the whole ordeal. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. Her feet weren't supporting her enough, either. “Shyte!” She cried as she slipped down, against the rocks a bit more. She regretted her idea of climbing. The Vantha looked down. “Oh Morwen...” she rolled her eyes at her own stupidity and tried to think of something to do, or a way to get out of the situation. And then it seemed the large Wind Eagle had gone out of her way to take the others who had stepped forward over the landslide. She let out another swear and tried to lean in against the rocks. “Such a bad idea.” She whispered to herself as she heard the Valintar's call. “I'm so stupid, so very very stupid.” The Vantha closed her eyes, trying to contemplate what to do. Her options were limited. It seemed that letting herself slide down would be the best bet, but would likely end with lots of pain. She opened her eyes and looked down once again. There was a shriek. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught something. It was Sira, flying back towards her. But there was something unsettling about the approach. “Oh no... no no no...” The air movement from the wings created a wind that made the girl slip. “Oh goodness! No!” Eilea whispered, but quieted as she heard a voice in her head. She stiffened as the great bird's talons took grip of her. Pain shot down her body and she let go of her hold on the rocks completely, trusting the Wind Eagle's strength. It was the most uncomfortable thing Eilea had ever endured. It hurt, the bird's talons holding her, almost as if she could be torn apart in any moment. Luckily, the flight didn't last too long. The Vantha hit the dirt in a roll, much like she tried to land any jump, but this was completely unintentional. The girl pushed herself up, to sit, but was so sore from the climb and being flown over the rockslide, that she was unsure what exactly to do. The checked her bow and the bag of arrows and was quite happy to see no damage, but even if she tried to shoot, it wouldn't be her best shots by any means. And then she looked towards Sira, eyes wide. “Thank you.” Eilea said, speaking loudly. “Thank you.” As if in reply, a warning flooded her mind. It was a warning. Eilea nodded and watched as the great animal, the great being, her hero, took to the sky once again. She got to her feet, her bow in one hand, an arrow in the other and began to look around, paying close attention to what surrounded her. Her eyes held a gray tone, for she was nervous of what would happen. On one hand, she was very happy and thankful to be on solid ground, on the other she didn't know what was going to happen and her heart was racing in her chest. On top of everything, she really needed to rest, but the girl knew that wouldn't happen anytime soon. “What now?” She glanced around again, waiting. The biggest problem she faced, was that she was too disoriented to focus on any specific thing.

[Elna]

The outsider boy didn't respond right away, having been distracted by the other dark haired outsider. She was speaking softly and in common so she couldn't hear all that the girl had said to him, but she could see that she left her horse with him before heading up too the wall. "Just what was it that she was up too?" Elna wondered to herself. It didn't take long for the girl to make her intentions clear, declaring that she was about to start climbing up. This struck Elna as beyond stupid. "What was she thinking?" Elna thought to her self "Kaden just said Sira would handle transportation, and on top of that people already raised a big fuss about Ardal climbing up. Trying to climb now was just going to throw everyone off." On the other hand Ardal was now reaching the top, while knocking a few rocks of the ledge in the process. Elna clenched her fist in victory as he threw himself over the top and out of view, she had hedged her bets on him and she was glad it was a success. Besides, she sure didn't want to end up felling responsible for somebody's death.

Elna's gaze was brought back down as she heard a thud down beside her. Another woman now stood near the two of them, declaring that she had found the rock. "Come on now! I already found a fitting rock." Elna declared back at the women. Elna felt like she had been completely ignored. That said their was some hypocrisy in that feeling that was lost to her, considering she never bothered to tell anyone she would search for it while she went to put her falcon to the side. Regardless, Elna's already high frustration was growing because of it. She tossed her own rock on the ground next to it and threw up her hands. "Fine whatever, I'll start securing a horse or something." She said, disgruntled.

Elna caught a glance of the rope that Ardal had thrown back down. Perhaps it was fitting anyway, that she should be putting her own rope to use. She grabbed the rope and brought it towards the nearest horse. Unfortunately, she really didn't know where exactly she should be tying the rope to. She had no knowledge of horses and couldn't see any part of its body to tie it to without presumably hurting the thing.

Horses were dumb animals anyway. They were so lanky and clumsy, they had the kinds of bodies that were a liability in such mountainous regions. If the outsiders didn't bother bringing them in the first place and used their own perfectly good legs to get here, getting over the wall would have been far easier. There would have been no need to tare down the wall. Not that any of that mattered now, might as well put them to work and make them useful.

In continuing to look for a spot for the rope, Elna finally noticed the handle on the saddle. The way it was wide on the top yet narrowed down on the bottom seems like it would keep the rope form slipping off. On top of that if she put it there it wouldn't be directly on the animal and putting it in any undo harm. Elna put one foot in a stirrup so she could reach up and tie it down. She was surprised by how docile the creature was, standing good and still while a stranger climbed all over it. At the very least it was an obedient creature, so it had that going for it.

With that, the dark haired new group leader instructed everyone to clear out. Elna hopped back down and moved in front of the horses, away form the rock wall. Elna missed just how he was planning on implementing his plan, how he used the rocks they found and how it was going to pull down the wall, but she had to have faith in the plan for now, even is the ropes just slip off pointlessly.

[Arandolya]

Watching the woman with a worried pair of golden orbs, Arandolya muttered a curse every time she slipped, praying the girl would come to her senses and return to the ground. Though she had a sense of determination that was admirable, with so much going on, Arandolya failed to see the logic of having another in danger on the sliding rocks. If the blood falling from her forehead now wasn't proof, she wasn't sure what would be. A familiar voice distracted her though, and Arandolya turned to look as a petite blonde appeared from the midst, shuffling over to make room for Iosha.

Looking the Konti over, Arandolya assured herself the woman sound, and smiled in a warm acknowledgement. Piecing together the woman's Common, Arandolya let out a snort, commenting, "Ah, I think I, might have a betters chance, ah, than you, sister." The word sister rolled off her tongue in an odd way, new to her, and strangely liberating to say. As Arandolya studied her half-sister, she couldn't help but wonder how they managed to find each other. Fate was on their side that day ... and perhaps a little bit of ghost intervention. Arandolya knew her mother would be thrilled she knew the truth, and wished she could introduce the two of them. Imagine, to have a family reunion ...

Suddenly though, Sira's voice rang in Arandolya's mind. It was startling, to say the least, and she couldn't help but let out a small little gasp as she looked towards the Kelvic. Though she had had the Wind Eagles speak into her mind before, it never became a norm that didn't surprise her as the times were few and far between. Arandolya listened closely to the instructions before grabbing hold a leg, careful not to tug at any feathers, and stay out of the way of her wings. It was ungraceful, jerky, and probably one of the most unpleasant experiences with a Wind Eagle she'd had, but it did the trick, and Arandolya successfully took a step beside Iosha and nocked an arrow.

Her golden eyes took scope of the area, and watched as not only one yanus, but another faced them. Arandolya had never run into these personally before, and only knew from legends during training and whispers midst the apprentices. The avian were nothing to ignore though, as they had quite a few tricks up their feathers, and Arandolya grudgingly thought of them as she waited.

After moments of silence, the screeches and burst of activity would have caught her off-guard had Arandolya not been used to the stop-go of the wilderness. Scrambling backwards, arms protecting her head, she listened to Iosha's words, gathering what she could from the Common. Either way, knowing the woman's ability with her own bow, Arandolya dared not leave her alone, consciously directing her path to join Iosha's as she dropped back. Little sister or not, she sure as Priskil was not about to let Iosha stand alone in case these things found her more interesting.

The Konti moved quickly, swiveling on her heel to fall into a practiced stance. Subconsciously looking it over, Arandolya cast a quick glance at her target before drawing back her bowstring and raising it, having held the arrow nocked from long before. Though she silently congratulated on Iosha identifying the most likely way of bringing down such a large bird, she wasn't extremely surprised the female missed. Even she would have difficulty making such a target, and she had been trained as a hunter. Arandolya paused long enough to drop into her usual stance, pulling her bowstring fully back as she did so. Mind whirring to register the wind blowing slightly to the right, and the forward movement of the birds, Arandolya felt the feathers next to her cheek as she breathed out and released. This arrow whistled towards the bird's wings as well, though slightly closer to the body where if it swerved slightly left like her arrows normally did, it had a chance of hitting the body.

Iosha darted around her as she looked for chances to release her arrows, and Arandolya dropped into a steady rhythm along with her, conscious of her location as to not bar a shot or vision of the bird. The owl was screeching, and Arandolya chanced a small look to see the little figure darting around the Yanus and away. Just what is he planning on? Fingers brushing over the fletching of her arrows, Arandolya kept count as she nocked another, waiting for the bird to slow so she could chance a shot towards a vital spot.

[Maria]

Riding on Sira was not exactly the most pleasant experience the archer had ever had. Maria has ridden Wind Eagles before for her parents each had one, but the rides had been few and short. This one one the kelvic was no different. Only it was crowded and hard to stay on. Fear gripped the young red head. Not fear of being on the bird, but fear of falling off. Never had that fear touched her before. It was a new and unwelcome experience. Luckily it didn't last long. When Sira landed, Maria got off quickly and started to observe the area around her. There were two Yanus birds. Nothing Maria had ever had to deal with before. She knows of their poison only from stories spun from her father's lips. Needless to say, Maria knows only enough about them to be careful. She grips her bow and knocks an arrow. She draws back the string as she has been taught and looks at the two birds. Mentally she tries to figure out what target she would most likely hit. As her blue eyes carefully watch the two birds, she catches the sight of the owl kelvic start for what seems to be the Yanus birds' nest. She watches him with confused eyes, trying to figure out what he is trying to do. Maria questions whether or not she should try and take a shot. She wonders if she should wait and see what this kelvic is trying to do first or just go for a shot. She looks back towards the two Yanus birds and quickly makes her decision. If she can make a clear shot she will take it, if not than she won't even try.

[Whimsy]

On one side of the rockfall, chaos reigned, people yelling, confusion everywhere. On the other, heaving arms and hopeful glances towards the rock. Each side were fighting their own battle against the natural world, and neither side looked good. They, humans, were too different, too civilised in their cities and their learning. They would have to think like a beast to overcome these obstacles.

The group fighting the poisonous, colourful birds scattered. None had taken the role that Kane had stepped forward into, and for that, they were failing, intimidated by the poison and the claws of the two ferocious beasts in front of them. Arrows flew and missed, Iosha and Arandolya both failing to connect with any flesh, wing or feather, their arrows spent and disappearing into the forests behind them. The whistle of the arrows only served to agitate the birds further, squawking and darting through the air. Still, though, they did not attack the group, too nervous to leave their chittering chicks, still unable to fly, alone. Perhaps that should have warned the group, and the majority of the fighters seemed reluctant to harm the Yanus. Above all, the shadow of Sira darkened the battlefield, the great Wind Eagle still hanging back.

Alori's cry of desperation echoed through the clearing of the pass, and the Yanus turned, honing in on that one sound, the confusion of the rushing around too much for them to combat. For all their dangers, they were still only two, and perhaps more unprotected then the hunters: and they had their children to consider. One, the larger, began to beat his wings at Alori, and let loose a chilling cry, bone-chilling, while the other hung back near the treeline: to defend their chicks to the death. As the Yanus advanced, all hope seemed lost.

Until a brave little owl swooped forward, screeching a warning that the Yanus would understand: stay back! Alori was forgotten, the pesky owl the new target. With a screech, the male Yanus turned from the girl and followed the Kelvic. The Yanus was impossibly fast, but Ishgrameer had lightness and size on his side, as he dove into the trees where the young were. Screeching, the two Yanus followed after him determinedly. Darting through trees, moving around branches, a wild chase ensued. Ishgrammeer would fly right over the nest, seeing the baby chicks chirping, before darting around and tree and up through the foliage, up up and away. The Yanus would slowly stop following him and protect the young. It was done. Ishgrammeer's plan had worked.

Back with the fighters, silence reigned while they waited for Ishgrameer to return with baited breath. On the path lay three rainbow feathers from the Yanus for the taking: they would fetch a pretty price back in Wind Reach.

On the other side of the rockfall, the group had a much easier time. Kane's leadership and the Valintar's commanding presence had an effect on the group, making it much easier to work as a team. A few dissenters were present, but mostly silent, Elna muttering to herself disgruntled. With a few heaves of the horses, and throwing of smaller rocks to dislodge the boulders, three came crashing down from the center of the pile. "Look out!!" Kaden called, and the group hurried back, determined not to be crushed to death by the falling stones. When the dust settled, they looked to see a giant gap through the rockfall, wide enough for the group with their horses to clamber over. A laugh went up throughout the group, seeing that the Yanus had fled.

"Come on, then," Kaden called, gesturing the others through, himself going through the hole last. When Kane stepped through, he held a hand on the boy's shoulder, nodding. "Well done, son. You did good." A significant smile was shared between them, and eventually the group passed through.

When Ishgrameer returned, Kaden would turn and address the group. "That was our first challenge. We don't know what kind of challenges may await us. But if we should be in a situation like that again, think before you act, and for the sake of the Gods, work as a team." With a significant glance at Elna and Eilea, Kaden would turn and begin walking down the path again. By the mid-morning of the next day, with an overnight rest, the group would be in Thunder Bay.

.

[Alori Sai]

"Oh! Oh petch!"

Alori snapped as she noticed the large bird coming towards her. If it had been any other animal, and any other situation, she wouldn't have hesitated and taken it down. But this was another of the beautiful birds of Wind Reach, and it had a family that it was trying to protect. She couldn't do it, Alori couldn't kill another mother it was as simple as that. Instead of firing, the tiny Avora turned and raced for cover. She hoped that she would be able to make it and somehow, or someway the bird would give up the chase and go else where.

But as she raced, she could see it's shadow over her, Syna's light shined brightly that day and yet she found herself covered in a shadow, wings beating on either side of her. It was too close, and for all her pain and sorrow, Alori wasn't going to die. Suddenly Alori jerked to one side, coming off her feet as she turned herself mid-air while notching her arrow back to her bow. Just above her, she could see the bird reigning down upon her, and the little huntress didn't seem to have a choice. A tick pasted and she slammed into the ground, her legs bent, and bow raised out in front of her.

However just as she was about to release the arrow, something happened. a heroic little owl swooped in and drew the bird off her. She laid still for a moment, before quickly pushing herself up so that she could watch the flight battle more closely. Alori took a deep breath and relief washed over the teen. Within moments the Yanus fled and the owl returned unharmed. She stepped forward while looking around at the others in the area before she glanced down and noticed the three feathers laying on the ground at her feet.

Alori ran a finger through her hair as she knelled down and picked up each feather. They were beautiful and very colorful. She could already imagine how such a thing would look in her hair, or how much it might go for back in the city. Standing up, Alori held the feathers in her grip and looked around for the owl. Perhaps he could want one for himself, he certainly deserved a reward for his bravery.

A suddenly call of warning rang out, followed by the tumbling of rocks behind her. The Avora turned around to see that the others had all made it through and headed over to regroup. Kaden had another speech to make and Alori stood and listened to what he had to say before they all headed off again.

[Sira]

Sira watched the chaos of the battle from high in the sky. Truthfully, there was little she could do. There was no space for her to fight as an eagle, unless the Yanus went out into the open, and that wasn't going to happen. If she went to get her gear, by the time she got it, flew back over the rocks, landed, and joined the fight it would have been over. And it was over, very fast. Sira screeched a warning to Alori that she probably could not hear as the Yanus came at her, but in the end she was saved by the owl kelvic, whose name Sira did not know. As long as they moved quickly, they could likely get past the Yanus before they decided to attack again.

On the other side of the rocks things were going much more smoothly, despite the earlier failures at teamwork, and before long the rocks were down and the group was able to pass. At least that had been a success, Sira thought to herself, though she wished she could have done more. Wind eagles did have their limits, however.

Sira landed shortly after the rocks were cleared, shifting back to her human form immediately, and quickly dressed and strapped back on her gear. After that she went straight to Alori, or Aela, as Sira truly knew her. She had a feeling she understood why Aela had not been willing to attack the Yanus, and even though it almost cost her life, Sira was proud.

"That was a close one, Alori. I'm glad you're alright."

Sira didn't spend too long with Alori, however, and made a point of walking around to check on everyone else. Luckily, nobody had been hurt in the battle. She would have felt terrible if somebody had, considering Sira had failed to do anything useful herself.. save for dropping more people into the path of danger. But that was the past, and it was time to move forward. The Valintar was ready to go, and hopefully they would arrive in Thunder Bay soon. As they began their journey once more, Sira searched for the other kelvic, the owl who was the hero of the day, in her opinion anyway. She wanted to thank him personally for leading the Yanus away.

[Iosha]

Seeing her arrows streak past the bird, Iosha reacted back for another one when she looked up at the large colorful bird. She saw the heroic act of Ishgrameer diverting the bird's attention away from the party. The konti lowered her bow as the colorful birds ran back in to the woods to safety. Putting her arrow back into the quiver, she looked over the group and wondered the reason for their hesitation in fighting the colorful birds who openly showed aggression towards the party. The konti knew the Inarta basically worshiped birds, but if a bird, wolf, cougar, or bear attacked her, Iosha even if she was a konti would defend her own life to the death if she had too. Yes she wasn't a blood thirsty murder, but she wouldn't actively kill a living creature for the fun of it either. Iosha made a vow that she would only kill a animal or a mortal if she was either hunting, fishing, or defending the life of her family, friends, and her own life. She wasn't going to be a complete pacifist like most konti or healers because she wasn't going to be a victim ever again. Ishgrameer made the right call, and he should be rewarded for it too. Iosha just wished Arandolya and her weren't the only ones getting their hands dirty in the whole affair. Iosha understood the reason Sira didn't engaged because she would be a severe disadvantage if she engage the birds in the confined space, and Alori might not have had time to shoot at it. In the end, the most important thing was everyone got through the ordeal without a scratch.

Iosha looked at her sister, gave her a warm smile, and said slowly in common, “Arandolya, thank you for staying by my side.” Iosha reached over a squeezed her shoulder. It was a strange feeling having family again, and it was nice Arandolya was willing to go into danger with her. As she walked back to group, suddenly the rock wall came crashing down and few chimes later the rest of the party emerged from the rock barrier. Iosha took a sigh of relief when she saw a Dek lead her horse through the rock wall. The konti started walking to her horse when the Valintar started to address the group. Iosha stopped and listened to the leader of Wind Reach talk, and the konti could tell he was displeased at their performance. She wasn't going to doubt her actions in the fight because she was trying to defend Alori from being attacked by the colorful bird. It was just frustrating watching her arrows completely miss the bird, but she happy they missed too because the bird would have charge her too. Walking over to Ishgrameer's bow, the konti picked it up, brought it over to her horse and secured it in the saddle bags.

Glancing over at the group, she saw Sira talking to Alori who holding three of the colorful feathers, and she wondered when they dropped from the creatures. Turning back to her horse, she stroked his white mane and said softly to him in kontinese, “You were much more useful than I. Yes you were Moonfire. I missed the most colorful target in Mizaher twice! It was embarrassing, and Kovi would be shaking his head at me right now.” She decided to hug the next of her horse and said in her native tongue, “You did a great job, Moonie. When we get to Thunder Bay, I will find you something tasty to eat maybe I can buy a whole bucket of oats!” The horse nudge her with his head, and Iosha decided to give Moonfire a break and walk besides him the rest of the way to the port town. When her equipment was secured, Iosha walked her horse next to Arandolya and said with a smile, “Arandoyla, I want you to meet Moonfire. I guess you can say he is part of the family now.” When the group started to move again, she decided to make ideal chit-chat with the red head the whole trip down to Thunder Bay.

[Ishgrameer Windwalker]

The chase had been, well, quite the chase. His mind was still plastered with the sight of the chicks below him, chirping fervently. The sound of the Yanus close behind him. It was a rush, and the blood in his veins was pumping. Yet, with each wing beat that took him further away from the chase he felt exhaustion cling heavier upon him. Eventually he found sight of the group, which was now safely out of harms way from both the Yanus and the rocks. A wave of relief crashed over him.

He hovered once or twice in the air trying to locate his gear. He imagined that in the aftermath of his daring endeavor that Iosha must have taken it again. His eyes darted to and fro, locked as they were in his forward vision-as befitted an owl. He came across Alori, whom was holding in her hands feathers that had come loose from the Yanus. They were truly beautiful, and of course would fetch a good price at market if he wasn't mistaken. He thought to himself that he would delight having one woven into his hair. The aesthetic appeal alone would delight him, but of course it would serve as a reminder that some good had been done, and of the event itself.

However, that could wait, for they had much more pressing concerns ahead of them. Namely, the reason that they had endeavored out here in the first place. Instead he sufficed by simply spotting Iosha at long last, and descending with a relieved swoop towards her. Upon landing he found himself standing alongside her horse as she conversed with someone. While she did so he did his best to covertly change into his gear, and strap on his bow and arrows.

He did not need praise, and he doubted many would give it to him. His actions had been brash he admitted, but in his eyes necessary. Either way he would keep to himself unless approached. Thunder Bay would not be far away, and he needed to regain his strength for the challenges yet ahead of them.