The towering canopy of the Hunter’s Wood covered Callum from stories above. Truly this place was magical, if only for it’s beauty. Trees of all types made up the leafy canopy, which on occasion sent sparkling rays of sunlight down upon the mulched earth. Everywhere the Lawgiver looked he could see only green and gold patched along the well-worn path through the great wood.

Nearly a quarter up every tree healthy green moss grew, the same held true for every fallen tree. Mostly all of them were covered in a soft blanket of lush green moss. From time to time shimmering golden and green motes of natures purest power would shimmer and dance like a feather on a breeze.

After having been warned of the dangers the Hunter’s Wood possessed Callum took every personal precaution he could. He knew he was being watched. He has seen them several times. Spiders with bodies of thick moss and hardwood legs, nearly the size of a large dog, were all around him but they had made no attempt to make their presence known or attack.

The scars on the Exalts face tingled from anticipation… what did they want he wondered.

High above young Rysha, Lawgiver of the Dawn, crouched hidden within the cover of the green. She saw nothing, had seen nothing. The possibility of danger hung thick in the air…

Callum picked his way through the underbrush, examining the foliage for the last few ingredients he needed. Though he looked for all intents fairly oblivious his eyes were watchful. He had already spied the forest spirits at few times before, Must have been what I felt earlier, he thought. These spirits were somehow different, he couldn't put his finger on it yet but he hoped that they would leave him well enough alone.

To be safe though he took a mental inventory of his things, he would need to know what he could give up if he needed to present a sacrifice, usually the forest spirits wanted handcrafted things, things that did not grow naturally in the forest would also work in a pinch. If it came down to it he could leave his bow and some of the maize that he carried, with luck those would appease the spirits while he was here.

He shook his head as if to clear it. Something about this forest felt strange. As he continued to track Eilein into the forest, he kept his eyes open and scanned around him, I just need some tangleweed root, some spotted brown mushrooms, and a few phosphor seeds.

The forest seemed to watch his every move. Even his young, spirited 'protector' who sailed high above him in the trees scaling the vines and dashing on thick limbs could feel a palpable aura of power residing within the boundaries of the great forest.

Not far ahead Callum located the spotted brown mushrooms he was looking for. As he knelt to pluck them...

"Mortals have no place here any longer..."
"No place here any longer..."
"Any longer..."

The hushed voices came upon thier ears like the rustling of leaves through the branches. Form everywhere it spoke, echoing itself (or repeating?) like a ghostly presence.

Perched upon a thick branch of a mighty tree Rysha noticed the moss wiggle slightly, then move. Eight legs unfurled from beneath a green lump and quickly she surmised that it must be some sort of spider as it's eight amber eyes of shimmering sap came into her focus. It was silently scurrying down the trunk and using its natural camouflage, it's fangs were bared and a gluey ichor dripped from each.

Not a chance. Cold, burning fury flared in Rysha's eyes as the bizarre arachnid skittered off the tree and across a fallen log, its venomous attention clearly fixated on her inattentive companion. Callum had saved her life in more ways than one, and she'd be damned before she allowed some cowardly forest creature to harm him. Three quick running steps carried her off the tip of the thick branch, Morning's Edge flashing into her hand from Elsewhere in a flicker of golden light, and an impossibly graceful twist in mid-air brought her legs around to push off the thick trunk the spider had crawled down; Rysha dropped from the air with the swift, predatory grace of a stooping hawk, and the long golden edge of her daiklaive slashed through the spider and shattered the log beneath in an explosive shower of wooden fragments. Her feet and left hand hit the ground, twisted, and a deft half-roll brought her up on her feet in the same swift backhanded strike that tore back through her dazed opponent.

No one touches me or mine. A flicker of essence called her hammer from its sheath across her back into a curving arc that slapped the hilt into her left palm with familiar, reassuring weight.

Callum spies a cluster of spotted brown mushrooms, Excellent, he thinks as he goes to one knee beside the cluster. He carefully cuts the mushrooms just below where the stem breaks the surface of the ground and gives a happy smile. The stem of the mushroom is just as usefull in herbology and it will leave him with the caps to use later ... for dinner.

As he harvests the mushrooms he continues to scan around the area, wary of the forest spirits who seem intent on driving him off. Something wasn't quite right about that, usually the forest spirits weren't hostile. No matter, they've kept their distance thus far ...

Callum didn't get to finish his thought. Above him there was a whoosh as though something large passing through the air. Then a sudden crashing impact behind him followed by a rustling through the undergrowth. Startled by not unnerved Callum slowly turned to look behind him as he dropped the bag and moved his hand closer to the axe at his belt.

OOC: Cross matched Wits+Awareness to remain calm <?> = 7 dice, 2 successes

As he turned he saw Rysha, crouched after coming out of a roll. Thick ichor, so green it was nearly black dripped from the end of her solar blade, and her hammer was held high as though ready to strike another blow before she even stood. Callum gaped, luckily the facial wrap prevented Rysha from seeing his slight blush as he realized that she had been following him all this time and he was none the wiser.

Swift as the wind through the leaves the Wood Spirits leapt from their hiding places among the shrubs and mossy logs. Callum squinted his eyes and looked to his left, his keen senses honed in on sounds far to faint for mortal ears to hear.

As three leapt at his exposed back he could only grin as he swiftly shifted his weight and swayed sending all three of them lurching clumsily forward into his field of view. They cursed in an unknown tongue as they scuttled their way back to their feet regaining their balance.

Rysha rolled away as one sprung from a downed log and a second sent an echoing 'clang' through the forest canopy resulting from an artful parry leaving it kissing the flat of a golden Daiklave.

The third Wood Spirit that posed a threat to Rysha was several yards (about 5y) up in the tree she just sprang from to come to Callum's aid. Its amber sap eyes squinted and the spider actually showed a bit of irritation in its expression, something that would have been impossible for a normal critter. "Hold still you little brat!" it yelled, it's voice sounding like a gale among the leaves.

Its bulbous body swelled up and in an instant a spray of thin strands of wind and barbed leaves manifested and screamed towards Rysha in a torrential cone.

Callum swallowed hard, these were definately not the kind of forest spirits he was familiar with. Six of them had all but encircled he an Rysha and with limited space it would be difficult at best to avoid injury. With a thought he called his bow to his hand and drew back the string, nocking an arrow. The oricalchum hummed in his hands, vibrated with restrained power as he sighted down the arrow toward the creature spewing ... whatever it was at Rysha.

Release.

The arrow whistled through the air toward its target but Callum hardly noticed, another arrow was already drawn and he turned and sighted the spider Rysha had deflected away from her. It was lying on its back, legs grasping at the air as it attempted to turn over and rejoin the battle. Goodbye, forest spirit, may you find peace ... And he released the arrow ...



Is that all correct?

[Stunt Dodge, Tick 3]

"Sorry to inconvenience you, you great bloated bug!" Rysha sneered into the oncoming torrent of brambles and let the rebound from her parry carry the daiklaive in a quarter spin, burying the first six inches in the trunk of the tree behind her and pushing off the hilt in a leveraged backflip that spun her up and out of the way of the brunt of the attack, the hungry brambles clawing at the backs of her leathers and catching at strands of her hair; the force of the jump tore the daiklaive free of the tree in a shower of sap and shattered wood, and she landed in a half-crouch with fire in her eyes. "Care to get what I gave your friend?"

[End of Tick 6]

As Rysha landed from her artful dodge one of the Wood spirits leapt at her and quickly found its momentum (and pride) shattered by the incoming flight of Callum's arrow. With a whistle and a 'thunck' it found itself pinned to a nearby tree. It whined as best it could before whipping away into shimmering motes of essence.

"You have all the grace of a knock kneed leper!" The spider high up in the tree barked back at Rysha as the young girl did her best to hide the pain of the Suspires lacerations. "Just you tr- erk!" It sentence was cut short by the whistle of an arrow forcing its way down its throat.

Essence permeated the air as the spiders all began to call forth their innate charms and the Lawgivers found themselves sorting through their own libraries as the battle continued its pace.


"ENOUGH!" Boomed a voice so titanic that the ground shook and the nearby trunks of the trees vibrated. One after the other a loud quake settled to the firmament, it took only a few to realize they were footsteps. From out of thin air a massive, nine-foot tall humanoid spirit took shape. His frame was massive and power radiated from him. His hands creaked and popped as sinew and cartilage were made solid once more and he clenched his fists.

He squinted and focused on the tree Rysha had so carelessly shattered and abused mercilessly with her showing off. The great spirits face contorted in rage, with a bark covered digit he pointed at the poor splintered tree and once again his voice boomed over all else in the great wood.

"Who is resposible for this?" In unison every Wood Spider with available legs immediately pointed them at the young Solar with the enormous golden blade.

Rysha took in the great spirit with a slow, measuring glance; she had seen a handful of gods before in the wilds of the East or the streets of Nexus, traveling from one arena to another, but never one so vast or so obviously commanding. A flare of pride demanded she put him in his place, but she muzzled it with a deliberate effort. There are times when we have enough enemies in the world. She extended her blade slowly, then offered him a carefully respectful salute without for a moment lowering her guard. "I fear I am, spirit; my companion and I were set upon unexpectedly by these spirits, and in defending myself I struck the tree with my blade. Will you accept my apologies for an injury I did not intend?" Or need I cut you down as surely as I would the tree if it threatened us? She kept the last merely a thought, but there was no mistaking the way she held her guard unflinching before him.

Callum looked up at the great spirit and immediately slung his bow and offered a deep respectful bow. Picking up on the spirits own words he addressed the being. "Father Oak, allow me to explain fully. A nearby village has been foretold that selkys from these woods will destroy their crops and, as a result, their village will go through a harsh winter with little food. I have come here to gather the ingredients I needed to make a pungent liquid which will repel the selkys and allow the village to harvest their crops safely." Here Callum indicates the bag and the mushrooms he had been harvesting.

"I was unaware of the prescence of my freind or the other forest spirits. While I was harvesting these mushrooms one of the spirits sought to harm me and drove my companion into action.

"She was merely concerned for my safety, I have, by any estimation, suffered enough without need to be attacked in suprise. Allow us to complete the gathering of my ingredients and we will leave the forest and harm it no more." Callum contemplates saying more and finally decides that he has said enough for now.

"Were she your friend she'd have no reason to make her presence unknown to you." Father Oak shot back at Callum. Just as quickly his gaze set upon Rysha once more. "In defending yourself, you struck the tree with your blade? Tell me mortal... in what way had this poor tree attempt to harm your person? Far as I can tell you were to busy showing off to give one mote as to the harm you might cause to the world around you, and as a result," Father Oak looked at the splintered trunk of the tree and his face shaped into irritation. "This tree will die."

He slammed his fist into his opposite palm and ground it in. "I'll tell you what I think. You are nothing but a bandit. You hid yourself away biding your time until the woodsman was defenseless where you would then rob him. Startled from the appearance of my children you lost your footing and fell from your perch. Discovered, you quickly slain one of my poor brethren to establish that you were indeed here to help when in reality you are a vile, cold hearted, destroyer of nature. I admire the woodsman’s forgiving nature, attempting to protect a complete stranger, but the laws of nature are absolute: you must die."

The mighty nature spirit's eyes squinted into resolution as his massive weight shifted and prepared to crush Rysha's head like a ripe melon.

"S'cuse me... pardon me... Big Daddy Wood," A man's voice spoke up from the branches of a tree. There lay a man carving into an apple with a small knife as carefree as one could be. "You really need to lighten up." The man hopped from his perch and landed as silently as a feather upon fresh snow. He was a wiry muscled man with his black hair worn long, about to the center of his back, and in the occasional break in the forests canopy gleamed with a purplish tint. He was dressed in loose fitting pants, like those found in most Arabian cultures and his soft riding boots were unusually trail worn. A well-tailored vest announced that he was very fond of his own physique. Around his necl jingled a black jade medallion and upon it was depicted Daana’d, the Elemental Dragon of Water. “What’re you putting in your soil these days? Sheesh. I mean c’mon, how could you hurt her? I mean, look at her. Damaging such a lovely specimen like this must be against nature’s law somewhere.”

The man walked around about as nonchalantly as one could with a raging Elder spirit on the loose if they were “A” completely insane or “B” were pretty confident they could diffuse the situation. “Wow, scope the rack on her.” He popped a shard of apple in his mouth and chewed as he showed enough gall to nudge Father Oak’s leg with his elbow in an attempt to get his attention. “Now there’s a balcony I could recite the Immaculate Tenants from, eh?” He continued to chew with a smile as wide as Creation upon his face all the while looking Rysha dead in the eyes.

“Very well,” Father Oak spoke again, looking as if throttling this newcomer was by far a more entertaining prospect anyway. “So the woodsman vouches for you girl, but that does not remove your crime against my forest. He mentioned selkys infestation, you have three days to remove them from my forest of I shall flay the skin from your still living body.” Without leaving any option to dispute him Father Oak simply vanished into wisps of motes and faded from view.

Why… why couldn’t anything be as simple for the circle as they planned it? They started to wonder as the crunching of an apple echoed in their ears coming from the man, who through all of this seemed completely unsurprised that the feces had hit the essence oscillator.

Callum shoots Rysha a withering stare, "Not that I don't appreciate your intervention but why did you follow me? And if you insisted on coming why didn't you at least tell me?"

Sheering off another slice of his apple and chewed it with his grin never leaving his face the dark haired man looked on as Callum began interrogating Rysha, even offering a stern look in her direction as if wondering himself why she didn't at least tell him... even though he had no idea what Callum was talking about.

He paused briefly to wipe some apple juice from his chin.

Rysha arched an eyebrow at him, sheathing her hammer across her back in a smooth motion but keeping her daiklaive ready to hand; helpful or not, she wasn't precisely inclined to trust mysterious strangers. "Stalking skills must be practiced or lost, Callum, isn't that what you like to say? Besides, you would have moped about me going with you when you didn't need it for days, and I figured to save myself the hassle." Besides which, it was fun. She half-turned and fixed the new arrival with a measuring, wary glance. "And might we have your name, helpful stranger, or does no one in this part of the world introduce themselves any longer?"

The stranger sliced another portion of the apple he was nursing, holding the piece between his thumb and the blade as he raised it to his mouth and began chewing. His piercing purple eyes accented an expression that was nothing short of charming. "Ah, yes. Introductions. I am," he hesitated for just a moment, his eyes glancing at Rysha's drawn golden blade. "Peleps Ahroun." (Ah-rune) As he offered a slight bow his violet eyes never left Rysha's own. His black jade medallion, the one depicting the Elemental Dragon of Water jingled slightly as he stood up straight.

With a slow, deliberate motion Rysha flicked the daiklaive into Elsewhere with a graceful spin of her wrist and flicker of essence, offering him a formal Eastern salute with empty hands as her own violet gaze examined his with the restless tension of a long-hunted predator. "I am Rysha, Peleps Ahroun, and I greet you in peace. I have no bread to break with you, but perhaps some water will ease your thirst?" She gestured slightly to the flagon at her hip without touching it, hands still open at her sides.

"Might wanna watch that." Peleps Ahroun pointed to the location of the now absent daiklave. "Most around here are devout followers of the Immaculate Faith, so just touching one of those is blasphemy." His uncaring tone towards the fact that Rysha was in possession of such an artifact was obvious to both Solars.

His dexterous hands sliced another portion of the apple off for himself. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm fasting today, I'm judging a hot oil wrestling exhibition later this evening in a Lartyn fest hall. I wanna get good and drunk tonight." His smile was about as wide as his face would permit. Once more his violet eyes maneuvered across the curves of the young female Exalt. "It's good money, you should give it a try some time." He winked and smiled again.

He leaned against a nearby tree, tossing the remains of his apple off into the woods to become fertilizer. He polished the knife he used with a small piece of cloth, cleaning the juice from it. "Don't go to hard on ol' Father Oak. He's a good guy, just under a lot of stress lately with the selkys problem an’ all. There used to not be so many until that bitch Cynis Labara came around. He's had his hands full trying to keep this land beautiful, you'd be a wreck too."

Callum had the distinctly unfamiliar experience of watching Rysha's dark cheeks flare with hot blood, and the girl produced a sound that might have been indignant protest or an agreement if it hadn't stumbled over itself into silence on the way. She did, after a moment, manage to find enough of her voice to acknowledge his last comment. "We'll see if we can't help him. With the selkys, I mean. Since we were going to anyway. If possible." She trailed off, looking everywhere except at Ahroun, and for a moment looked every bit as young as she was.

Callum scowls at Rysha, Moped? Hardly ..., he thinks as he listens to the newcomer flirt, or try anyways, with Rysha. Finally he swallows his pride and gets over it. Moving forward he offers a half-bow to the newcomer his fists held out before him knuckles together.

"Pardon our rough manners, I am Callum and this is Rysha. What has brought you deep into the forest today? Or is this your home?" As Callum spoke he bent and retrieved the bag and the remaining mushrooms, harvesting them carefully. When he was finished he placed the apple core into the void left by the mushrooms. "While I cannot keep that tree alive I can actively plant a replacement," he says to no one in particular.

"Well, I'd planned on hashing a few things out with Ol' Grump Trunk but you guys managed to piss him off but good." He glanced at a bare wrist. "In... record... time... too?"

Pelep's Ahroun watched Callum turn his back and began picking mushrooms, then saunter off to reclaim the apple core and plant it while mumbling to himself. All right after he had asked questions of the Prince of the Earth who was doing his best to answer them.

"Ooookay..." He cocked an eyebrow and looked at Rysha. "Yer dad is seriously crazy. No offense."

"He's not my father, so none taken." Finally recovering her verbal balance somewhat, Rysha managed a smile. "I take it your buisiness is going to have to wait for another day when his mood is better. Since you're now idle, perhaps you'd like to direct us as to where to find the selkys in question?"

Callum stood up from his completed task, he looks Pelep up and down, "Just because a person is working on another task does not mean that they are not listening. No I am not crazy, and though I was a father, my children were not even half as old as Rysha."

He pauses, as much for effect as to collect his thoughts. "Please if you can help us to locate the selkys we would be most grateful. And you can tell us about your self as we go."

"Oh, I can't wander too far off," said the dark haired flirt. "I left my warbird parked a few glades back and really shouldn't leave it for very long. The last time I wandered a spooky forest I can back and found the local fauna attempting to mate with it. Not a pretty sight, I still wake up in cold sweats."

The Prince of the Earth had caught the remark about 'was' a father, but it wasn’t his place to butt into the lives of strangers, especially Solars. "The selkys aren't to difficult to find. Their hive is on the northeast end of the woods. In fact that's what I was here to discuss with Father Oak,” He shrugged. "Ah well."

"If the two of you are going, be careful. It's almost suicide. Luckily they're a hive mind, kill the queen and the rest will be lost and die away in a few weeks." Peleps Ahroun began walking off, back in the direction of the tree he'd been perched when a few moments before. "Which might be a problem since... well, you'll see when you get there. Hey, best of luck to ya guys, I'd go but I don't wanna steal all the glory, you know how it is, right? Sides' I'ma lover not a fighter." Although he didn't notice it, his Solar friends did, Peleps Ahroun's perfect Imperial accent slipped a bit into Threshold slang. And if you're ever near Lartyn my little sunflower, look me up. With a charming smile and flirtatious wink Peleps Ahroun sauntered back through the woods leaving the Lawgivers to do battle with the selkys on their own.

Rysha stared after him for a moment in a mixture of disbelief, indignation and something that anyone but her would have recognized as interest, then turned to Callum and crossed her arms across her chest. "Send Eilein back for the others. It looks like we've got work to do and regicide to commit, hmmm?"

"That won't be necessary," came a familiar voice.

Mei comes into view, with the others just a step behind.

"Sorry if we seem late. Your fight ended before we could get here, and I though it would be best if we waited for your...savior...to move on before we joined you."

"That said, I see no reason not to go on to the selkys since we're all here anyway."

Callum turns and looks at Mei, "Late? Early is more like it, but then Hu was probably trailing us the entire time. You all probably left to follow once you found Rysha missing as well I would gather."

He shakes his head, his expression half amused and half resigned. "Well, let me just recover my arrows and we can be on our way."

"Early, late, we arrived precisely when we meant to. Who was that Jackanapes by the way? I had to stay further away since I'm about as quiet as a behometh crashing through the wood and didn't want to draw extra attention to us. I'm not sure if the others heard him talking, but who was he and what does he want here?"

Akryruh surveyed the site of the recent battle. "I thought you only needed herbs and fungi Callum, I had no idea you needed a whole tree, just how big is this batch of gunk going to be?" He was looking at Rysha as he asked the last, the smile on his face made it clear he didn't expect Callum to answer his jibe.

Callum shakes his head and mutter something inaudible under his breath as he plucks the arrow from the ground. He then begins to scale the tree to gather the other arrow from where it has stuck into the wood.

"I just meant we didn't arrive in time to help with the wood spirits," Mei says. "But you managed them quite well, I think."

She wanders over to the tree and inspects the forest floor for arrows, eager to be on their way.