Demon Corruption

[fantasy]

It was during the first light of dawn that the hidden elf village came awake. The inhabitants came out of their tiny huts and greeted friends and relatives as they went about their business, going to do their work, or to school to learn the elfish ways. This village was labeled by a rough sign that hung over a tiny gate in which few came and many went. The township of Nurlleaf was a tiny outlet, a province town of Elf-Lillian, the capital of Silyan. Nurlleaf was well known for its secrecy, its hidden arts were kept for those who were born their. Some would call it a clan, and many people shared the same last name. Aramil Nurlleaf stood at the threshold of his small cottage. He had two loving parents, one a logger and the other a healer. He smiled as he shouldered his pack, his young face beaming at the bright blue sky, and the wind blew his short hair. He then started out towards the main road of the village, wielding a finely carved walking stick.

“Aramil!” a voice came from the cottage and the young elf turned. He looked like a teenager almost, but not quite a man, to be said right. His mother stood at the door for a moment, and his younger sister was there as well. “Take your sister to school before you go wandering off!” his mother shouted and Aramil looked down at the floor and went back to the cottage and walked his sister out into the main road. “Always dragging behind me Cara.” He mumbled upset that he had to delay in his journey. They walked for a bit, Cara Nurlleaf remained silent during their journey, looking at all of the people, some who had noisy carts and others just carrying their things. They eventually reached the old school house and Aramil stopped his old teacher was there, waiting for him.

”So this is it, eh Aramil? Finally venturing out of the village…” the man said from the school door and Aramil nodded. “Remember, you’ve been chosen to represent the village at the Karkalem interracial school of magical study. Just image all of the people you’ll get to meet!” the man seemed almost jealous, but Aramil couldn’t really tell. “Oh, I bet it will be real exciting Master Elijah.” Aramil stated gripping the walking stick firmly. The truth was- the adolescent was scared of the unknown, and also a bit excited. He had earned the right to go to Artine, and represent the elfin people in Karkalem- the capital city of Artine- which was a human nation, but it welcomed all of the races to attend their sacred schools. It was a rare honor, and Aramil was forced to go… his goal of being a guard of the village had sort of died, but his dream of being a warrior would not. No matter what school he went to, he would fight on. He gave his teacher one final look and then left the small town and ventured off into the great unknown of the world.

Aramil Nurlleaf was looking at the strange path before him. It twisted and turned this way and that. There were lines of trees on both sides of him, sometimes in thick brambles, or thin like a savannah. The curious elf looked about wonderfully. He had only heard the tales of the outside by his teacher, who had once served in the royal guard for Silyan household. The Silyans’ were noble elves who were descendants of Franz- the wise and powerful elf who liberated the land of Sirenvous- where the elves were first born. For some reason, that Aramil had forgotten, the Silyans left Sirenvous and moved steadily north. The elf child smiled as he had remembered the thoughtfully lesson of the first elf king of the land Silyan, for Aramil was named after the first king- although they were was no blood relations, Aramil had treated this noble like a son would a father- a hero in Aramil’s eyes. First King Aramil had fought in the Artine wars, and brought peace to Artine, and helped sign peace treaties with First Artine King, Karkalem. It was well known that Aramil was a good king all around- and now his daughter Ara ruled the elfin people.

Aramil laughed to himself and began to hum a merry tune of his village as he walked across a bridge onto a new path. Here he would travel southward, in till he reached Elf-Lillian, the capital of Silyan. The sun began to sway towards evening as Aramil reached the Scarlet Cliffs, the border from the wilderness to the capital. He stopped to rest, knowing that if he was to make it by midday tomorrow he would need his rest. He unfolded his pack and noticed that his mother had done well…as usual. There was a small tent, a warm blanket, and plenty of food to last him weeks. He sighed, knowing that his skills in the school were barely outmatched by anyone; of course he had been shy about it. They didn’t pick him because he was named after someone famous. He had talent, no doubt, and if the worst of all things happened, he was sure it would take a dragon to put his lights out. He propped up the tent using his walking stick and laid out the blanket over the floor. Instead of laying down to rest as a normal person might, he decided to try one of his techniques: Meditation. It was a elfin art he knew, by concentrating the mind he could rest himself in half the time it took a normal being. However if he could not concentrate his mind it would fail, and he would end up losing more hours of sleep- but he had to try, seeing that he had done it before in the safety of his own home. Folding his arms he concentrated and waited for his mind to calm…

As the sun lowered into the edge of the world once more, a group of shadows begin to form. They whispered to each other and nodded and sblack personed as the sight of a lone tent near the main path to the elf capital. It would be easy picking a lone traveler… and by the looks of his tracks he was a young elf, an easy target. They crept silently along the path eying the tent with greedy eyes, their brownish skin blended into the night sky as they raised their slings. They were goblins they were, intelligent and yet somewhat tricky at the same time. They were often pawns… or just were wandering about hoping there was something to gain for them. The rocks hurled from the slings and it smacked the tent and the walking stick that held it up. It fell over the young elf inside and the goblins quickly rushed to see what they could gain from the heap of the tent. They lifted the canvas and started to rummage through the items they found in the bag.

“What is it what is it?” one of the goblins asked, his young face eager. “Quiet down Ump… this… this is…” the larger of the goblins began to step back. “Impossible…” a third one said, for the tent was empty, and so was the bag they had found. “You guys are really a bunch of cowards!” Aramil shouted as he suddenly appeared from behind a tree. He seemed unarmed but the goblins quickly turned to see the furious young elf appear. “I am Aramil Nurlleaf, the most powerful elf in all of Silyan and beyond!” he claimed raising his fist to the darkened sky and the eager goblin, known as Ump began to shake in his tiny boots. “Ump, quit your shaking, this here elf is just a kid, even if he was chosen for some ‘awesome’ school.” The first goblin said quietly and Aramil was taken aback. “How did you know-?” he asked and the two older goblins chuckled raising their weapons which resembled spear like instruments. “It is obvious. Every year eager young elves just like you go prancing about thinking they can scare off the goblin raiders. Well I know better than that!” the goblin spat and Aramil grew a bit worried, but then he remembered his training- oh at last he would be able to prove himself. How desperate it would be for him to beat these goblins to a pulp. Still… something wasn’t right about their appearance. Besides the eager one, they were will spoke unlike more goblins. They had quite dangerous weapons, they almost felt like assassins. Aramil then went back to chance. He eyed the biggest goblin first, then the smartest one. He had to get his walking stick, in order to fight. He raised his hands carefully pointing his fingers at the eager goblin- that would be his target; he would have to test the morale of these warriors before him. They edged closer there weapons getting closer to him, he took a step back. He then reached deep into his mind, to apply his training in magic. The most common source of this was through the absorption of manna through an element, or he could just try and summon the spell by usage of runes or incantation… he opened his mind and stared directly at Ump- then he raised his hand and began to mouth the words, then he said them out loud. “Bal-jar--man-tosido-garma!” he bellowed and a flash of bright, unshakable light appeared and the goblins covered their eyes groaning- it was quite a clever move, knowing that he was currently unarmed, and that goblins generally did not prefer the light of day, or any light for that matter- they were cave dwellers, unless they were born and bred in the sun. Aramil dove passed them and grabbed his walking stick. He took this time to grab his bag, and instead of ending the goblin raiders, he would leave them their, stunned for a time.

Chapter two
The grand elf city

After the quick encounter with the goblins, Aramil Nurlleaf found himself in midst of a dense forest. He wasn’t really well rested, and he had eaten only once since he had left the attack. The summoning of the flare magic made him weak and bitter almost. He tried to forget about the comforts of home- knowing that about this time he would be taking Cara to school again. He spat, like what grown up cutthroats did, and the stalked off into the forest again. He often thought of the goblins- and this made him think of how foolish he was to let them get close to him. However, he had left it at that, and hoped that would not bother him again- after all he hadn’t choked in the middle of a battle- however small and pathetic it seemed. He had won! Won it all, and used his skills accordingly, or had he? He felt he was still the same kid he was when he left Nurlleaf and he smiled. He was named after the greatest elf king of Silyan- and the best hidden elf village ever! He weaved in an out of the trees when finally he found himself face to face with one of the most magnificent things he had ever seen. Before him stood the grand light grey stone walls, and the thick twisted vines that covered them. The grand north gate was facing him and he smiled broadly as he saw the guards on top of the battlements move back and forth eying the forest carefully. He took a step forward and walked through the open gates. He was greeted nonchalantly by the two guards stationed at the gate and he gave them a customary bow. As he stepped through the village he found that he had no gold on him- or any currency at all. He did have a special notice slip of paper that told him where to go. He was to go to the Elf-Lillian academy, and from there he would be escorted to the docks and then to Karkalem. After wandering the streets for sometime, Aramil found his way to the academy. It was full of eager students and he was herded towards a reception desk where he would fill out his forms. Aramil had felt that he had just arrived in the capital and already things were being rushed. The air about him was very exciting, and yet he felt he was going to go around the world, and yet not get the time to see it all.

“Sir, state your name please, we need your registration form!” a young elf lady called from the desk and Aramil approached carefully. “My name is Aramil Nurlleaf, chosen to attend the academy in Karkalem.” He said handing the woman his papers and she stamped it and told him to go to the docks in one hour- there was time still to search the city for interesting things to see. The young elf quickly raced from the school- he was just as eager as he had left. He walked briskly down the streets looking at all of the interesting things he had always heard about, but never got to see or touch. There was the grand palace in the western quarter, where Queen Ara and the royal family was, most likely filling out papers and discussing world affairs. He then saw the great elfish library where there were more books than he had ever seen. Rows and rows of lore and fantasy tales he had grown up with, some were foreign to him. After his quick bout around the city he decided to get to the docks early, hoping that they would have enough space on the boats for him to sleep. As he got closer he noticed that a small crowd had already showed up and there was a tough looking man wielding a fierce pike guarding the entrance to the docks. Aramil waiting, and finally everyone who was going showed up- it wasn’t as many as he had thought there would be…

“Listen up all of you. First of all congratulations on being accepted in the recruiting of the Karkalem Academy; It is a rare honor to go to this school so make the elf nation proud!” he shouted and many of the elves cheered, they were young, just like Aramil was. Then the rough looking elf gestured towards the boat in front of them. “This will be our transport, the Lilacs… it’s a grand vessel, one the queen herself rode in a long time ago…” the elf trailed off as if he had remembered the voyage himself. “Last of all, if you have a problem, then talk to me, Captain Savrix!” he let his name fall over the young elves, some of the murmured amongst themselves, but Aramil just stared. He had heard of Captain Emmel Savrix, and his noble deeds and heroic ventures into the wild. Then a low whistle was blown and everyone moved towards the boat and Aramil was herded on board. The young elf gave Elf-Lillian once last look before he was stationed in his own cabin. It was a noisy aboard the ship, loud and cluttered for the most part, and it slowly moved off, although in the privacy of his own room, Aramil thought about the dangers ahead of him. There were more captains on board than just Emmel Savrix, but none of them held the same reputation.

[Ryan Aramil Savredox]

Aramil got onto the boat and marveled at the beauty of the sea. A mix of feelings came over him. He missed his home, but at the same time he could barely hold in his excitement. "A tad excited their, old Nurlleaf?" a familiar voice rang out. It was captain Emmel Savrix, and Aramil could only beam at him. "Yes sir! I've never see the ocean before..." he said quietly and the captain chuckled softly. "Eh, your growing up... I have a feeling you'll end up being a great hero someday..." these words... like many more he would hear, would forever change Aramil's life. Of course, this boat ride would be one of many.

The ship sailed quietly along the path towards Artine, and the academy at Karkalem, which was renown for its prestigious and worldly recruiting program. People from as south as Sirenvous would attend the north continent school and only the best could make it there... out of thousands and thousands of those who applied, nearly all of them were rejected... there was three sections of the school: Divine and Arcane magics, the art of stealth and combat, and finally, the ranged and body academy, for monks and rangers alike... each brought in about two hundred students into each sect, and then gave them classes in an orderly fashion. You were tested the first day, and depending on your tier is where you would be placed. There were five levels to the school, first years were almost always extremely young, but very talented... and after that- there was the second, third, fourth, and fifth... once you passed the fifth level, you had a final test to see if you were worthy of graduating, and then gaining a profession. It was very well constructed by the geniuses of Artine... some of which had been missing for years now, due to suspicious activity. Aramil slept well enough on the boat as any of the first timers... it swayed back and forth, and he didn't care to much for seafood either... but as the days passed he finally got used to the horrible sensation known as sea sickness and as one of the other captains noted, that he might make a good sailor if he put his mind to it. It was on the forth night that the boat landed in the Salmon harbor, on the south western side of Artine. Emmel Savrix lead the students off of the boat and took them down to the city inn, which was reserved for them weeks in advanced. "Listen up young lings... this is Salmon harbor... its a quiet town that is used to travelers... I have decided to be your guide on the way to the academy, seeing that this is your first time venturing out into the world, I suggest you take my advice..." he then lead them into a small inn, and they found that it was well prepared for them. The students, well disciplined quietly marched into their pre-selected chambers. Aramil had to share his room with another one of the students going to Karkalem. They were silent for a while, the other was about the same age as Aramil, he wore leather armor and had a bow strapped across his back, which he unslung and leaned against his bed. "You look tired..." he commented silently looking at Aramil with sharp, but non-piercing eyes. The druid nodded, "I have never been on a boat before, I didn't get much sleep on the way here..." he said rolling into his bed. "Hm, are you from the inland?" the elf asked and Aramil nodded, "Nurlleaf." he added and the other nodded. "I've heard some about it...my Name is Tharivol... but you can call me Thar if you so chose." Aramil smiled slightly, he was an odd boy- but he seemed strangely mature- but then again, almost everyone who was going to Karkalem was mature... maybe it was because he wasn't nervous at all... so calm. "My name is Aramil... pleased to meet you." he said courteously, and Tharivol smiled and rolled over and fell asleep.

The next morning came quickly, for the tired students savored the fresh, non moving beds and when they awoke, Emmel Savrix was already up and about arranging for their long journey north west to Karkalem. When Aramil awoke, Tharivol was already up and putting his armor back on- Aramil had thought it strange that he was wearing armor in the safety of their numbers, but then again, the druid didn't use very much armor himself. They didn't say anything, but they quietly left their room together and met outside with Emmel.

"Alright, we are going to divide up into teams of 4- don't stray from the path... and follow your instincts, this is all apart of your training." Tharivol and Aramil decided that they would stick together- and then two other people came over to them. "Lets get acquainted..." Tharivol said quietly, the others seemed to agree that Tharivol was the best to lead the group, being the most calm and uplifting. One of the two who came over was a human, and not an elf. Nobody was certain, not even Emmel who or where he had come from, but he was with the four of them now. The other one was another elf, who appeared to be training for some form of magic.

"I'm Eberk..." The human said quietly, not really wanting to be open, much like Tharivol. "And I am Asdra, at your service!" The cleric said cheerfully and the ranger elf nodded, "Very good... then lets go to Karkalem..." and they did head out, as one of the first groups to go towards the academy, Emmel watched them leave- he had taken an interest in Aramil.. and now his companion Tharivol, who seemed to be born a leader... "Hm, such promising students..." he said and then began to trek on his own.

As the group moved- many things became obvious. Eberk did not particularity like any of them, especially Asdra who was very in the mood of sharing his experience with Aramil who listened intently. Tharivol took the lead following the path and then he paused for a moment, just behind him was Eberk- who stopped as well- his black hair and keen eyes were quite interesting for a human, and he studied the ground with Tharivol.

"Orcs... lots of them..." he said quietly with an approving nod from the elf. "I've heard that their city is just north of here... perhaps they are on a raid..." Tharivol stated quietly, and the human seemed to acknowledge him at that point as some what of a greater being than the other two. Aramil then came up with Asdra trailing. "What is it Tharivol?" he asked looking off into the distance. "Orcs..." he replied, pointed down the path. "They are waiting..." he finished and this made them freeze in their tracks. It was strange, orcs were bigger- Aramil had heard of the strength of half orcs, but a full grown warrior orc was no joke. "Come... lets go..." Eberk said after a while, moving forward, "I've got your back." Tharivol said shadowing the other quietly. Aramil turned to Asdra then, and motioned him to follow down the path. The human, assumed to be a close combat expert, crept forward into the path where the grass grew nearly six feet high. The human paused, he felt uneasy suddenly, an uncanny feeling that something was about to strike out at him at any moment, his reflexes tenses up and then Tharivol saw it first, a blur between blades of grass.

"To your left!" he shouted brining out his bow and quickly notching an Arrow into it. The orc was on top Eberk in seconds, raising a brutal looking hand axe and screaming out in gurgling orc speech. Before the axe could commit any harm to the human, an arrow pierced the orc's arm, then another struck him in the face- and Eberk took this oppratunity to plunge a hidden dagger into the brute's chest, causing it to fall limp on top of his body. As the human struggled free two more orcs appeared behind Tharivol- but the archer quickly evaded their attacks, his senses about him were much keener than that of the human. His arms were outstretched behind his back as he ducked down, avoiding the blade sweeping over his head, as he notched an arrow into the bow without looking, and shot the arrow in the creatures neck.

Aramil and Asdra, who were standing behind the two orcs, quickly went into action- Asdra was carrying a morning star- and slammed t he heavy ball into the head of the second orc as Aramil tripped it with his quarter staff. "Run!" Eberk yelled now free from the creature. "There are too many of them!" five more orcs came running out on both sides, and the human was trapped with the ranger elf. Out of nowhere two men came to their aid. One of them was Emmel Savrix, and the other was an unknown elf. The orcs quickly disappeared as Emmel shot down the first three he saw with his long bow, and the unknown elf hacked into the others with his short sword.

"Gr... orcs are always trying to get revenge on the people who took away their 'homeland'" Emmel said turning to Tharivol who was slightly scratched up but mostly unharmed. "We miscalculated the situation..." he said plainly and Emmel nodded. "We'll scout ahead some more... keep up the good work..." and the captain disappeared with the silent elf. Aramil and Asdra quickly ran over to their companions, and Asdra examined them. "I can heal these-" he said, whipping up some magic about him. "Heal!" he cried out, and Tharivol and Eberk were both healed to some extent. This little incident really turned the humans thought about the cleric, but his overall attitude did not change. They continued to walk in till nightfall when it turned night time, they had to set up camp on the side of the road.

The next day was very similar to the last, and they continued to move in till they reached a city in the middle of the forest known as Elf Haven- where a group of elves set up trade sanctions with the humans of Artine. The found a resting place, and noticed a few other groups who were chatting over things they have found. Aramil and Asdra had really gotten to know each other- and the silent Eberk and the calm Tharivol had sort of split off from them, but they remained true still, and often conversed late at night about what their dreams and goals were. This was sort of puzzling to Aramil. What would he do with himself after he had finished school and offically became on of the druids? Would he become a mercenary... a local hero like Emmel suggested he might be? He didn't know, but the next day they traveled quickly to reach the academy, and finally they made into the front gates. It would be a while before they would finish their training...

(Next part! school trials and graduation!)

Upon arrival at the academy, the four of them were divided into the three sects. Aramil and Asdra, were sent to the Divine and Arcane study sect, Eberk to the stealth and combat, and Tharivol went off to the ranged sect. Each would be tested there to determine their rank. For the eager human, this was a chance to try and prove himself before the school. He had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and now here he was- taking the test to get in. He stood before the examiners, who raised an eyebrow or two as he stepped into the stage where the combat test was to be taken. He was to fight, or survive to some extent against a highly trained official. Eberk studied the man very intently as the match began. He wielded a long sword, which meant that he was most likely trained in a longer ranger combat- of course it was a wide assumption, one he could not take. He pulled a strange looking dagger then- it was Eberk's prized weapon: The Katar, or punch dagger. His opponent looked at the blade with some curiosity, it was a very rare and valuable sword. "Can he even use that thing?" one of the proctors asked a fellow examiners and he shrugged, "Lets find out."

Eberk knew that he was in trouble because his opponent was an elf, and even though the battle had been technically going on for quite some time, he knew that his personality was being tested above all. He would have assume that he was worse than he really was- it was the only way he could think of how to feint out his opponent. He rushed forward just as his opponent would suspect he would- and the longsword came down with the speed that Eberk had predicted, he tripped and thrust his blade forward, of course, the master blade's man brought down his sword upon Eberk, which was what the human thought he would do- and he turned his trip into a forward dodge, spining in mid roll, and cutting up- of course the agile elf evaded this attack, but was taken aback at the speed in which the katar moved in Eberk's hand. The same trick would not work twice, and Eberk knew that. So did the elf sword master so it seemed for he kept his stance the same as before. The human came forward again, he knew the reach of the blade now. He came quickly again, appearing to be stabbing at the elf, but he twisted it to block the incoming attack, which only succeeded in sending him down. But he was very agile himself, Eberk would easily get down onto threes, and still keep his blade steady in his hand.

"Enough games, lets see what your really made of..." the elf said coming forward swiftly slashing his blade down on top of Eberk. The human jumped incredibly high above the blade, swiping it at the elf's face who dodged it to the side and slashed up to catch the human in midair, but Eberk dodged the attack by doing a flip in midair and landing quickly stabbing forward, and the elf had no choice but to leap back. Then the tip of the elf's sword cut Eberk's shoulder. It was just a tiny cut, but Eberk couldn't help but feel that he had failed; then he was reminded of the nature of this test- he was supposed to keep his cool. He knew his objective was not to defeat his opponent, but to merely try his best at minimum cost. I'll have to fake my rage... it might give me an advantage... he thought suddenly gritting his teeth and rushing forward with a yell. He fiented his first attack and rolled to fit in another, but the elf was quick and was able to avoid the attacks. He adjusted to Eberk's trick quickly, and they were once more fencing, and after about five more minutes went by. Then the proctors ended the battle, and the elf gave a curt bow and walked away without another word. "Come over here, and let us inform you of how you did." the proctor said and Eberk came over, prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best.

"You were very calculating, your mind moves just as fast as you do...and you ability with that exotic weapon is quite interesting I'll admit, I was very impressed with how skillfully you use that thing..." the first examiner remarked looking over his status sheet. "Hm, although we can't be sure of what you were thinking, but you were trying to psych out our opponent, however- he is more than used to students trying to fake him out. You did a very good job only taking one scratch..." another said and the other just nodded, having nothing else to say. "Now all we need is proper documentation of your age..." the first one said and Eberk pulled out a scroll that had his name on it. "Hm... so your name is Eberk Lathing... and your fourteen?" the first one said and he nodded. "My parents died when I was too young to remember them, and my foster parents died shortly after I turned four... after that I've been apart of one or another orphanages... and I just adopted the last name of Lathing." he said quietly. The proctors nodded and handed him a sheet that told him that he had made it into grade '3'. He was pleased, even though it really was just an average score, but he was glad that he didn't do worse. A half and half reaction as he made his way to the front desk of the combat school.

[Ryan Aramil Savredox]

Mercenaries at last!

Sun filtered through the dark gray clouds that hung over Artine as group of determined travelers moved through the flat open plains. Battered and worn the group decided to stop for a moment to take a breather and plan their next course of action. Sitting around in a circle they lit a fire eventually decided to make camp for the night, for in it would be far too taxing to continue their trek further this day. Unpacking tents and sleeping gear the tiny company of three prepared for another restless night. There were all skilled in many ways, yet all different. They were ‘mercenaries’ as Asdra had called them, a group of people bonded together to help out others for gold and experience… the cleric sat bitterly wrapped up in his tent, despite what he had called them he was the most outspoken member of the party yet. Eberk made sure that was certain, for some reason the human assassin disliked Asdra and often disregarded his ideas openly making it harder for the group to get anywhere in the first place. The third member was the silent yet eager Aramil- who had taken up druidism as his profession after much deliberation he discovered the usefulness of Mother Nature and the secrets she possessed for him. The two elves and human were not nestled in a middle of the northern plain face trying to figure out the best route to the dark tower in which they were instructed to go to find an evil wizard who was supposedly living there. The king of Artine made a royal decree that all wizards of dark nature, or former dark nature were to be eliminated for the safety of trade with the other nation nearby. Having little troops to spare the wealthy king hired tiny mercenary groups to do his minor tasks for him, in return for a petty sum of course. The group had gotten pretty far in the first couple of days in till they reached the northern plain where the wind whipped dirt in their faces and made it hard to travel. It didn’t help that each night was getting colder and colder the more north they proceeded. Once they crossed the river Rill they would be in the great expansion- which was basically another immense plain full of goblin raiding parties and orcish shaman. The company spoke little that night, and waited in till morning when the wind had slightly subsided. Eberk was the first awake and was already scanning the desolate landscape, and when the others awoke they quickly ate breakfast while discussing their course of action.

“According to that merchant we might the other day there are two logical paths into the great expansion-through the murky swamps that surround the Rill River… or traverse through the hills of Carine Tolgar to the west and loop around.” Eberk said and Aramil and Asdra nodded, two options helped them narrow it down. “I suggest we take the quickest path.” Eberk said quickly, “The swamp might be hard to traverse-.” Aramil said knowing that if Asdra spoke it might send them into a quarrel. “The Carine Tolgar is infested with Orcs and tribal goblins… it might prove more difficult than the swamps…” the assassin said contemplating their situation. “That is true, but it’s in the middle of the spring, the swamp will be much larger and fresh… nearly impassable without a boat, which we lack.” Aramil stated liking the idea of hard safe ground to offer better shelter, and protection from the wind. “I agree with Aramil, we need the battle experience after all…” Asdra stated wrapped up in his cleric robes, staff in his hand and hat on his head. “Very well, we shall travel into the Carine Tolgar…” Eberk said standing up and drawing out his Katar expertly. They quickly set out as the sun began to rise over the hills they were about to trek through. The swift assassin took the lead, the party lacked a warrior who could take broad hits, but the assassin was much more able than the magic abilities of the cleric or druid. They eased over the plains and onto the foothills of Carine Tolgar. They walked in silence, still new to each others company. They each had graduated from the academy of magic and combat in Karlin, the capital of Artine. After a time they all replied to the same inquiry made by the king himself, eager to test their new abilities, they banded together to complete the quest as a team. Aramil was a druid that hailed from the Sylvan lands to the west, a representative of his clan and the elven people. He had been chosen out of a hundred students to go to the academy and excelled to where he sat now, on the brink of a new day- ready to test his skills but still new to real life combat. Eberk on the other hand came from nowhere- he was an orphan who appeared on the doorsteps of Karlin and showed off his talents with the punching dagger, a rare tool used by the assassins that are spread all across Godern. Asdra had come from a far away elven nation and practiced the art of the cleric under his deity Corvus.

As they moved through the windy hills they quickly noticed that the desolate hills were becoming more and livelier. Green grass replaced the dull brown weeds of the Northern Plains. They could hear tiny animals scurrying in and out of crevices and as night approached they stopped for camp, enjoying the now windless cove in which they rested. They decided it was safe enough to light a fire- but they kept a watch just in case something unfriendly came about. Eberk decided to sleep first- for the early hours were the hardest to keep track of and the slightly arrogant assassin wanted to take the hardest job for himself. Asdra took the first watch, knowing that elves only needed four hours of rest wouldn’t really make much of a difference to Eberk who cared less how much easier the elves could keep watch. The cleric looked at the bedroll where the assassin was curled up and a look of slight dissatisfaction crossed his face. He didn’t hate his arrogant companion- Asdra folded his arms as the wind rippled all around them. The fire light slowly dimmed and the night air grew colder and colder. He could easy have cast a spell around him, but he needed to conserve his energy for future battles to come. The elven cleric stared out at the stars curiously.

“Oh heavenly Corvus… may your light protect us…” he muttered when a noise caught his attention. The cleric moved quickly to put out the fire, his ears picking up the sound of armored figures moving through a rocky terrain. IT was coming from the northwest; a small number of them were heading right here. A group of goblin thieves could be moving about at this hour so Asdra decided to wake up his companions in the hopes that they would be able to get away from whatever it was that was approaching them. Aramil was awake instantly; the druid staring at the direction of the noise curiously, without making a noise he moved to awake Eberk and the assassin awoke in the same manner but was not able to hear the noise the elves could. Carefully the mercenaries moved around the rocky indent they were hiding in and found that a band of five or so goblins were moving towards their cove bearing fierce spears and heavy armor- they were no thieves, they were soldiers, protecting their borders from outsiders. The goblin nation of Carine Tolgar was much different than the orcish citadels further west. They preferred the small hills over the looming mountains and cliffs the orcs colonized.


“It’s most likely a scouting party…” Eberk muttered his Katar was held firmly in his hand and his grey eyes scanned the dark night. The goblins were getting closer and the company moved up onto a miniature bluff, scaling over the gray soil and laying down low and out of sight. As the goblin army went passed unknowing of the three adventurers hiding just out of sight. As the goblins passed the three slowly rose looking around carefully. "Lets get moving to another location..." Eberk uttered queitly, and the others nodded, as the sneaked down into a valley, and then crested another hill to find a giant fire pit roaring in the center with goblins dances around it ritualistically. "The ritual to the god of the wild!" Asdra breathed, the knowledgeable cleric knew that the goblins were praising their wild god for a good spring growth- it was a thing with goblins, during the full moon. "We can't kill them during such a ceremony..." Aramil interjected pointing towards a rocking side path, and looked even more sinister than the chanting goblins. "True...we'll take the rugged pass, follow me!" the assassin said leading the group once down down the rugged path, which would lead them to the highest point of Carine Tolgar. As they moved, something emerged onto the path in front of them. It looked like a hyena, but standing up on all fours snarling at them viciously. It held a roughly built axe and a buckler was strapped securely across its arm. Before any of the three could move, two more appeared behind them. "We have to fight our way through!" Eberk called out, and Aramil drew forth his quarter staff and Asdra his own staff.

The quick assassin rushed forward, with quick, precise, and skillfully landed attacks made at the first gnoll, (for that is what they were) and he pierced the creature in the shoulder with his Katar. He was faster than the beast, who barely had time to slice at the human with his axe. Asdra and Aramil were busy with the Gnoll(s) behind them. Aramil took the combat form and rushed the first of the two gnolls with his staff, bringing it down hard upon the creatures head, but it merely dazed it as it came forward with a short sword, nearly jabbing the elf in the chest.

"Inflict light wounds!" Asdra shouted striking the second gnoll dead on, and the creature whimpered as various scars and cuts appeared on its furry body. "Quit yea messi arou!" the leader gnoll called out, even though Eberk had him on his toes as it was. Then three more gnoll appeared from the shadows of the pass. This appears to be the end of our young heroes!