Mandele

[Kangleton]

Hano, Karthus, Lauan, and Cade set out from the cavern late that night, under the concealment of a heavy downpour of rain. Having been stabbed and nearly drowned, Karthus was in the most unpleasent of states when the group finally encountered something on the road, heading to a small town called Old Hills.

"Terk, you oaf! We're lost!"

Hearing voices in the distance, the group slowly approached a rather odd pair. There was a robed halfling with spectacles commanding a surprisingly large half-orc who was apparently named Terk. Karthus had no intention of having the pair panic at the mention of demons, though not always does a conversation go as planned when surrounded by a self-reightous Paladin wearing a barrel in place of armor, a develop-mentally delayed purchased slave of Thay, a Helmite who really doesn't seem fond of other Helmites, and the approaching Sehron; a sarcastic elf who does not always pick the right time nor place.

"We're off to find a demon. He's our friend. We want to play!" Lauan said without any form of awareness as to the consequences of her words.

Rubbing his temples, Karthus grew in irritation until realizing that good fortune had crossed their path, as the pair had already actually witnessed the demon. Just as the halfling was about to tell his story, however, a branch snapped in the woods behind them all, resulting in the little man to bark another order at the orc-blood, signaling him to investigate the noise. As always, things went from bad to worse.

"Aaaaargh!"

As everyone turned to face the woods simultaneously, the sound of the screaming orc grew more and more distant, as though he were moving further away. Without hesitation, the group dashed towards the woods, barely able to see a thing. Karthus began conjuring light after light, flinging the brilliant spheres towards the tree-top branches in an attempt to light the path he ran while Yashia searched the ground for any trace of the missing orc. Left behind was far more than a trace - it was a gruesome sight.

Small chunks of the orc's flesh layed upon the ground while a trail of his blood was smeared across the grass and fallen leaves, leading to the West. Arrows punctured the trees near the area the orc must have fallen, blood flowing from the tips as though to suggest the soared right through him. Karthus and Yashia stood back to back, ensuring that one always looked in the direction opposite to other in order to avoid being blindsided and recieving the same fate as the fallen. Lauan, Cade, and Sehron too were somewhere in the area, though Karthus had been paying little attention to anything that was not an immediate threat to his life. At a time like this, though, everything felt as though it was a threat to life - Karthus was nervous.

Twigs and branches continued to snap from every direction it seemed, lending to the fear and confusion of the assembled and unsuspecting party. Readying his blade in one hand, and a sphere of intense flame in the other, Karthus relied on the lights he had previously conjured to see his surroundings, entering a battle stance. Ready to strike at the nearest disturbance, Karthus was thrown off his feet by his own lack of balance after being startled by a creature stumbling out of the bushes - it was Terk.

"W- woodsman. Hhhelp mmeee..."

Falling to his knees, the ravaged orc bled profusely, several bite wounds and arrow holes puncturing his flesh as his insides dripped slowly out onto the ground beneath his dying body.

[Kaeldorn]

"Karthus! Heal him!" Yashia shouted as she did her best to support the hulking half-orc to remain standing and conscious. But it was too late. She trembled slightly as she was looked into the eyes by Terk, who had drawn his final breath. The heavy body of the half-orc slipped out of the grasp of her arms and fell to his knees, only to hit the forest soil in front of her feet lifelessly with a thud. He was gone, for good.

They were then rejoined by the halfling who had mastered over the half-orc before his demise. "What happened here?!" he asked in panic.

Unsure of what exactly had just happened, Lauan replied in ignorance. "Woodsman made Terk sleepy."

"Woodsman? Who... him?" the halfling man frowned at Karthus, pointing at him.

Yashia shook her head. "No. Whoever it was that attacked poor Terk had to have been equipped with a bow. Look." She said as she motioned in the direction of a nearby tree with a bloodied arrow still stuck in it's bark.

As they were further trying to determine what had been the cause of the half-orc meeting his end, a sound of panting could be heard closing in on the group from a distance. Yashia directed everyone to lay low and not to make a sound. Lauan, not getting the message, needed a tug on her cloak before being convinced not to endanger herself for the sake of sating her curiosity.

All remained quiet for several seconds, until a growl was heard and something hit the ground. "Oomph!" sounded a voice that the ranger woman knew better than any other. Yashia's eyes widened when she saw an elf lying on the forest floor, and she blinked several times to make sure her eyes didn't deceive her. "Sehron?"

Happy to see him, Lauan sprinted towards Sehron to give him a hug. The wolf that had attacked Sehron was startled by the number of humanoids suddenly in front of it and decided to make a run for it, with Cade following close behind. "Cade! Get back here! We do not wish to be separated!" Yashia shouted after the favored soul, who launched one more spell at his target before rejoining his companions, knowing that the woman was right.

The elven rogue, Sehron, fell victim to the former slave girl's powerful embrace. He had had a fair share, but never really managed to get used to them. Yashia walked up to the two but kept a short distance, unwilling to interrupt their pleasant reunion. "Why are you here?" Lauan asked.

Sehron smiled slightly. "Just wandering about the forest. I heard something and decided to see what was going on."

The girl whispered something, while smiling back at the elf. Yashia tilted her head to the side a bit to ensure that Sehron could see her face. "I hope you didn't run into more trouble than you bargained for." she said, smirking.

The elf merely chuckled in response. Lauan looked around nervously. "It's scary here, and we're looking for demons. Soooo... we should go."

Everyone appeared to be in agreement, though Sehron was struck with surprise. "Wait.. did you just say demons? What in the hells?"

Yashia shook her head. "We will explain on the way. That is, if you are unwilling to abandon us so soon."

"Ouch" the elf said. Jesting, Yashia asked him where it hurt and Sehron simply grinned. It must have been a running joke of sorts between the two which none of the others present knew about, most likely.

The party of adventurers travelled deeper into the woods, and as all had been explained, Karthus brought up his concerns with the wolf they had seen earlier. It had been a most unnatural appearance, and he thought it to be possessed by demons in one way or another. Yashia dismissed his theory, being pretty sure of herself that the wolf must have belonged to the very ranger who had shot and killed the Terk previously.

Karthus kept thinking out loud. "But if there is a ranger out here attacking helpless travellers, it might be worth looking into. He himself might also be touched by the demon, but I am only guessing without reason."

Both Cade and Yashia expressed that they actually agreed that it was a possibility, when suddenly Sehron, who had been scouting ahead, let out a scream. Alerted, the rest of the group sought out the place where his call for help came from. They found him grabbing his leg, clearly in pain. Yashia knelt down beside him and quickly used the contents of one of her kits to purify his blood from poisoning, after which she focused and gently laid her hands on the bleeding puncture wound to heal and close it. The elf smiled and was, as usual, grateful for having Yashia around.

As soon as they all prepared to press on, a crack of a branch could be heard close by. And a growl sounded from the opposite direction. They were surrounded...

[Cade]

Running faster than before, Cade gave chase to a wolf. This wolf, larger than normal he thought was providing quite the chase. He stopped abruptly throwing is hand back in a swinging fashion as holy light flashed and crackled above his head. Leaning his whole weight into the throw, Cade loosed a spear made of holy searing energy straight at the wolf.

Now bleeding, the wolf stammered off into the distance and Cade returned to the party. The conversation had turned to pressing on, leaving that dreadful wood.

Karthus piped up "If there is a ranger attacking helpless travelers here, which might be something worth looking into. It is an odd thing, that - he might also be touched by the demon. However, I am only guessing without reason” To which Yashia replied:

"Not entirely without reason Karthus. It's not at all unlikely."

Cade losing interest in the conversation walked over away from the party. He could still here the incessant ramblings of Lauan… “Special” he said to himself quietly. The rain still poured down, which Cade thought was a very good thing. He liked the rain… it washes away sin…

Cade took out his holy symbol. Holding it in hand, he looked hard at it. The rain running down his face in little streaks fell upon the wooden symbol staining the wood a darker brown. Disgusted, Cade tossed the holy symbol into the mud, the weight of the wood burying it a little on one side. He sniffed sharply and turned away. Hano seemed not to notice the act, even though Cade was waiting for disapproval.

Just as the first small battle ended, another started. Sehron had been captured by vines and now lay bleeding and poisoned. The paladin, healing the wound, of course quickly corrected this. Moving on a bit the group found themselves in a grove of tall trees. Sounds came from either side of the party. Surrounded, each readied for battle.

"Ah... the hour comes...."


Cade says coldly drawing his Bastard Sword swiftly. Cade not paying a bit of attention on what was being said only laughed when a tag-a-long Halfling was shot through the leg. Even more quickly the same wolf Cade had injured earier pounced on Karthus taking him to the ground.
Cade, at the ready, charged at the wolf driving his blade deep into the flesh of the hapless creature. The wolf died quickly.

The woodsman, now come to be called Mandele had captured the idiot girl Lauan and pressed a knife to her throat. Cade, angered and enraged charged at the woodsman with dark energy developing in his open palm. The ranger moved fast though and Cade never connected.

Longer and longer, they negotiated the release of poor Lauan to no avail.



"This has gone far enough!"

Shouted Cade as he raised his hand to deliver a mighty blast. White-hot searing light beamed forth hitting the man squarely. To Cades dismay, the man took the blast and still cut the girls throat. A voice cut through the battle,

“Cade... no!”

After a time, the woodsman trained his bow on Cade. Feeling the futility of the battle, Cade returned his sword. The ranger stopped long enough to whisper something to Karthus and then proceeded to stand in front of Cade hand extended. Cade, being a nice gentleman took the hand in fellowship only to receive a blow to his wrist with a very sharp dagger! Without another moment's hesitation, Karthus directed his left palm outwards towards Mandele, attempting to set him ablaze with the powerful energy concentrated in his hand. The ranger however, put up his own hand and a white light stops it.

Now healed, Cade saw the ranger trying to escape into the woods. Cade redrew his Bastard Sword and charged, stopping just inches from his target.

After a few very tense moments of silence, Cade asked

“Why?”

and died.

[Kangleton]

"Watch over them, Karthus..."

The whisper rung in his ears even still, resonating deep within his troubled mind. Mandele had said those final words before walking away from Karthus as he approached Cade, driving the dagger through the fallen Helmite's wrist. With a scream from the wounded man and a flash of lightning in the skies, Mandele turned back to Karthus quickly enough to see and intercept the blast of fire that approached him. The corrupt ranger, with a flick of his wrist, repelled the Druid's offensive elemental energies, speaking plainly.

"Remember what I said."

Karthus stood in shock, feeling helpless as Mandele retrieved the corpse of his mangled wolf before walking off into the forest. It took all of Karthus' will power to take his eyes of of his calmly departing, hated foe; but he knew that Cade would bleed his life into nothingness if not tended to. Approaching the Helmite with a shaken expression and frusterated disposition, Karthus grabbed the wrist of the fallen man, pulsing traces of healing magic through his veins.

"Cade, no!"

The moment that the idiot Helmite had regained his physical abilities, he reached for his bastard sword in an insant, pressing the charge on the retreating Mandele. Karthus' warning fell upon def ears, as Cade continued to raise his sword to strike. The Druid could hear Cade's whispered words upon the wind, though what he said could not be made out; all that was certain was that it was of on use - Mandele plunged a dagger deep into the stomach of Cade, removing it only to strike next at his heart, and then his throat with a flourish.

"Watch over them, Karthus. Watch over them."

Mandele slipped into the shadow of the night, not seen again.

[Kangleton]

Thousands of half-developed thoughts surged through Karthus' mind, most of which were relevant to guilt, despair, and rage. As the Druid collapsed to his knees in anguish, though, Cade's lifeless body began to glow from within, light erupting from his wounds until the divine magic sealed them as though a dagger had not so much as scraped his skin.

"Watch over them." Mandeles voice repeated, sounding as though it was all around him, despite the ranger not being in sight.

Karthus, hearing the voice, remained on his knees as he burried his face within his palms, screaming into them with his muffled voice barely detectable over the sound of the rain that continued to fall. This was his fault. This was his warning. Mandele ended the life of Cade due to a conflict that needed not to have been started, and returned the life to it as a warning; a warning that, if not heeded, would result in the next corpse to fall being not so lucky as the first, having it's soul carried into the life beyond rather than returned to its mortal shell.

How could Karthus watch over those that would die due to his actions? He couldn't, and Mandele would only continue to forcefully impose consequences to such failures. Karthus needed to leave.

Walking deeper into the woods, he was pursued by Yashia, Sehron, and Cade, though disregarded all that they said, allowing his steps to carry him further and further away without pause.

[Gamling]

The ranger had slipped behind Lauan unseen, she was oblivious to his presence behind her. She was in midsentance when the touch of cold metal touched her neck, and she stiffened and said no more. She proceeded to calm herself as Cade began to charge him. Yashia,Sehron,and Karthus tried to negotiate with him, but Cade's charge left him in a heap on the ground.

Cade then through a spear at the ranger, which caught it and threw it to the side. He still had Lauan in his grasp and laid eyes upon his wolf which laid dead on the ground. " M-My dog!" he shouted. " What did you do to my dog?!" He grew angry as Yashia and Sehron pleaded to let Lauan go. Cade, in his frenzy, said that this had gone to far, and whipped a flare at the ranger causing him to lose his grip......

After the knife had cut Lauans throat, she gasped, taking a few steps foward unsure of what just happened. She looked around at everyone wide eyed before colapsing to her knees. The ignorant girl then began to sleep, slip away into unconciousness, wondering why this has happened to her. Why was this man being so mean? She thought. I didn't do anything to him, I only wanted to play with my friends....

She awoke with Karthus looming over her, running his fingers across her throat with a heal spell. Lauan was not the same for several moments, curled into a ball, not regarding any thing else. She wanderecinto the forest to pick flowers and to think of WHY this man had cut her throat.