The woods are lovely, dark and deep (Open)

[HG]

The quiet young woman watched her Leader for commands. They were waiting for Jarshan and Martred to come. She had never seen clothes like the ones some of these people were wearing. The styles were odd and the way they spoke made them sound foreign. She knew quite quickly that they were not from here. Kyrah watched closely as she moved away from Eriol. As instructed she began to fan out. They made no noise as they walked, something they all trained for although being the youngest Ky was apt to make the most mistakes. Her Gold Firelizard sat calmly on her shoulder.

Patience was a virtue, she supposed as she stood watching the camp. The people inside completely unaware of them. The Gold sent images in her mind that were scrambled. Firelizards? She had the Gold relay one image to Kaiden. If they had firelizards then they had come from a beach. She deduced quickly and began to wonder if they had come here from the sea and if so where had they been before that? So many questions that needed an answer. Once they had them in custody they would be able to interrogate them.

Where were Jarshan and Martred? Her patience was wearing thin. They may have run into better armed members of the group or something. The others always had the more exciting missions, in her opinion. Not that Eriol really wanted her opinion. She took her bow slowly off of her back and took an arrow in hand. Preparing for the worst was better than waiting around for it to happen.

---

He nodded, “Yes, we must go for water. I think whatever is making that racket may be distracting the creature. We may have a chance to get to the water.” Nevarre was not at all pleased to hear the noise coming their way. The clanging pots and utensils were making an awful racket that quite frankly hurt his hears. Now of course the idea of having the noise as a cover was completely blown away. Trying hard not to be upset he took in a deep breath. Oh Faranth, the healer had come with his nephew and Essa. Well Essa was amiable enough but the Healer seemed to feel he had some authority over Nevarre which obviously would rub the Holder the wrong way. “What are you doing?” He asked as they approached.

In case they did not know, Nevarre and Koldyn were quite capable of taking care of themselves. He wanted to fling the words down their throats. “Fine. And who may I ask did you leave in charge of the camp?” He shook his head and sighed. There was no point in being upset. Nothing would change the fact that no one with any sort of an authoritative side was at that camp now. They would be helpless to make any decisions and if the beast came he could not think of anyone there strong enough to fight it off.

He ran a hand through his slick hair, sweating all day had made it greasy to the touch, which made him more than a little disgusted at the feel of it. Looking over at Koldyn he said, “We better get water and head back to camp as quickly as possible.” Nevarre felt he could still find the stream, thinking back, he knew he could. The young man turned in the direction he was going to start off in. Better they all went in a group, he supposed. Next time they would grab some water before setting up camp.

[firethorne]

It pleased the trader to discover that Essa seemed as glad to have her buddy back as Phaerie was, for she returned the greeting happily. However, the holder seemed far less eager than Phae, which was proven quickly by her next words. Smiling crookedly, the girl shook her head, leaning close to her buddy and saying, "It is freaky, but I'm sort of enjoying it." She divulged, a small little blush coming to her cheeks. The holder would probably think her daft for it. "I mean, it's really quite an adventure, isn't it?" To be fair, Phaerie had lived her whole life outdoors as a trader, and wandered the entirety of the Northern Continent from one end to the other more than once. This wasn't really all that out of the ordinary for her, except that Phae had never heard such an animal before.

When they quickly found the two holder boys, Phaerie barely suppressed a smug grin, a little too pleased by Koldyn's apparent failure. That brat had been a thorn in her side ever since he had been forced to drag her along on this quest, despite the trader's best efforts to mend their relationship and start over. He was a spoiled aristocrat, and to be honest, Phae thought this was possibly the best thing for him. It would knock the Igen down a few pegs, which was desperately needed. Nodding, Phaerie quickly spoke up after her buddy did. "Essa is right, we need to get the water." She chimed in, quirking a brow when she received a smoldering glare from Koldyn. Ugh, honestly, that guy had one huge stuck up his arse, that was for sure.

~~~~~

Koldyn grinned slightly at the other holder as Nevarre spoke, quirking a brow before his eyes darted to the side for a moment, glancing in the direction the awful noise was emanating from. "If that doesn't scare the sharding creature away I don't know what would. Even I want to disembowel whatever is creating that commotion." Of course, he was joking really, but today had just put him a bad mood, and all of his usual court finesse was gone, leaving only raw nerves and one nasty attitude. Turning slightly to follow his friend and get some sharding water already, the Igen completely froze as the noise grew even louder, and then, finally, the little group came into view. An uncharacteristically dark look crossed Kol's face as he faced the others, fighting his temper down. What in the name of the first egg did they think they were doing!? Even Nev had to take a deep breath before speaking, and he was better at controlling himself than the Igen holder.

His fist clenching tightly around the hilt of his sword, Koldyn bit back the rather acerbic reply that sprang to his lips, eyes narrowing at Rolgar. By Faranth, of COURSE they were alright, couldn't they see that? Ok, yes, it had been established that he and Nevarre were holder's sons, spoiled, entitled, and far too full of themselves, but they weren't wherry-headed deadglows! They could handle themselves just fine, and they didn't need to be rescued, thank you. Quirking a brow at Cemar as the smith wandered around and swatted at the undergrowth pointlessly, Kol finally sucked in a breath through his nose and cooled off. "Yes, we're fine." He bit off after Nevarre, saving an especially dark look for that deadglow little trader girl. Koldyn could have throttled every person there, save for Essa. She had always been nice to him, but the other three...

Turning his attention back to the other holder, Kol nodded, turning to follow Nevarre and get the water so they could return to the camp. "Sounds good, Nev. Seems like the creature has been scared off, anyway." That was true enough, since the thunderous growling had not been heard since the arrival of the 'rescue team.' Readjusting the sword in his hand, Koldyn glanced back to make sure the rest of the group was following, mostly just to make sure they weren't going to argue. What a sharding day!

~~~~~

Moving soundlessly through the undergrowth, Eriol finally settled down as he reached the correct position, eyeing the group that had separated from the rest of the camp. It seemed as if they had been searching for these two boys, and their conversation took a decidedly interesting turn. One brow lifted as Kaiden relayed some images he received from Eve, and the captain tensed his muscles, preparing to give the signal. As his bronze received the confirmations from the other three flits that all the Shields were in position, Eriol sent a countdown in reply. Martred and Jarshan were to hold the ones at the campsite, while he and Kyrah would take the ones in the jungle into custody and rendezvous back with them at the clearing. Placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, Eriol drew the weapon slowly, the blade making no sound since the scabbard was lined with fur.

Kaiden sat up straight on his shoulder, tense as he relayed the message to the others. They would act in five...four...three...two...

And one! With that, in one fluid motion, Eriol rose and stepped forward, raising his sword smoothly and holding the point right in the face of what appeared to be their leader. "Halt." He commanded, voice full of authority and calm. His partner had moved as he did, perfect as always, while his bronze reported that Jarshan and Martred were quickly taking action as well. Blue eyes intense, the captain held his sword steadily, gazing coolly at the boy before him. "You will all drop your weapons and raise your hands in the air. You have trespassed on our lands, and you are now in the custody of the Dragon Shield. You could try to resist, but I do suggest against it." Voice never wavering, Eriol tensed his muscles, prepared to fight should they refuse to obey.

To be honest, the captain wanted to question them all right then and there, but he knew that now was not the time to hesitate. The Shields needed to catch them all by surprise, and quickly round them up while they were still reeling. They could question the captives after they had them back at the weyr. Eriol had Kaiden prompt the other firelizards, informing the other team that they would soon be returning with this group, and then they could herd them all back to Refuge and question them....thoroughly.

[kaemi]

An adventure. Yeah. Essa shook her head in short amusement, quirking a small smile up at her buddy. "Adventures are great," she told Phaerie. "Wandering around in the woods, following a creature that makes enough noise to scare a dragon out of its shell... well, that's not my idea of an adventure. But I'll still take it." Shrugging, she continued walking, cracking the bushes loudly. She quite liked that her buddy was more eager than herself about the woods. Even if it was scary, she appreciated the fact that Phae wasn't one of the girls shrinking away and freaking out about every shadow. She liked a great deal of people, but girls who squealed in fright weren't at the top of her list.

At Nevarre's question, Essabellona rolled her eyes with humor. She liked her leaders, despite the general animosity against them among the other members of the expedition. "I left it in the hands of two of the boys... the know to watch the food and to make sure not to let anything trample our things," she told him cheerily. Query chirped his agreement from her shoulder as he settled himself, wrapping his tail around her neck loosely. Her smile widened at Koldyn's words- that meant that the creature wouldn't end up devouring anyone whom she happened to like, which tended to be a good thing.

Not soon after, however, she was horribly startled by a man stepping out of the woods right in front of them, calling them to 'halt'. The rest of his words were, quite frankly, ridiculous. He was treating them like they were dangerous or something, when in fact the 'weapons' as he dubbed them just so happened to be random sticks acquired from the forest floor. Trespassing? They were in the middle of nowhere! Still, she did as requested. The stick fell from her hand, and she raised her hands in the air, looking at Phaerie to make sure that the other girl did the same. "We weren't trying to invade, or anything of the sort," she attempted to reassure those who had jumped out of the woods. Maybe she should let Koldyn and Nevarre take care of it, but... that didn't cross her mind just yet.

"I'm not sure what the Dragon Shield is, but we don't mean to be a threat of any sort." Who were these people? Query, eyes whirling in hesitant questioning, crooned gently at the firelizards he knew were out there. Any other time, he would have took flight and joined his fellows, but his humanpet was beginning to distress and he refused to leave her alone.

[magic]

Quintre had no idea what was going on. He had been told to stay and watch camp. Something he didn't want to do, he was more than a watchdog. He looked around, the camp was a mes, everyone seemed to want to leave so fast. He saw Lyunne was left behind as well and he frowned, looking at her.

“I thought you would be with the rest of them?” her asked her.

“Dont be stupid, that sharding idiot Nevarre wont let me do anything.” She sulked, kicking the dirt with her shoe, “I wanted to go =, but he said I had to stay her. He really annoys me.” She pouted, glaring at him.

“Yeah, I don't think you are the only one who gets fed up with him.” The Holder boy replied, looking at the fire and picking up a few more twigs to boost the flames. He swung the pot across and added some more water, he needed some klah, infact he was desperate for a mug of the steaming liquid.

“You know, I sometimes think this was a very bad idea” Lynne said to him, breaking a piece of dried meat and offering it to her little green flit who was perched on her shoulder watching what was going on quietly. She took the offering and ate it delicately, her little front paws holding the meat. Emarald chirped her thanks and began to clean her claws, she was a very fussy flitter.

Quintre watched the little green with open envy. He wanted one, he wanted a flitter. Why did she have it and not him? He frowned, “I like your flitter” he said to Lyunne and she smiled, “yeah, she's cute isn't she. You can stroke her if you like.” She said, lifting the flitter into her hands.

The lad grinned, and reached forward, rubbing the little head knobs as he had seen others do. She is lovely” he said, a note of regret in his voice.

“I'm sure you'll get one, there has to be other clutches around. Maybe we can see if we can find some” she said, enjoying a chance to get to know Quin, he had always seemed so quiet, and very much in the other boys shadow. “You know you shouldnt let them bully you” she told him bluntly.

“I know, but they are older, and higher ranked, so I have to do what they say” Quin said quietly, feeling aware of his position. “What do you think they are up too?” he asked her, looking a round.

“I don't know, but I don't care, its peaceful here without them.” She told him, stroking Emarald gently. A noise suddenly startled the green and she squawked, looking around slowly, her eyes suddenly whirling red. Lyunne looked around and Quin stepped in front of the girl, that a=got him an arched eyebrow, which he couldn't see.

Suddenly a huge man stepped into the camp. His clothes were weird, and sitting on his shoulder was a flitter. But this one was Golden, “I think you two had best be still” he said, glancing around to see if his partner had followed him out.
“I...erm..who are you?” Quin asked, but the man just starred at him, a slight smirk on his lips. Lyunne approached him, “who are you?” she asked him, repeating Quin's question, but placing herself in front of him.

“I could ask you the same. And what you are doing trespassing here?” He asked, his eyes hard, the Golden Flitter looked menacing as she sat there. She was a lot bigger the little green who was now hiding in Lyunne's hair.

“I'm Lyunne, he's Quintre” she said, not introducing any of the others that were still at camp. They could introduce themselves if they wanted.

The man didn't reply, he looked at her, a half smile on his lips. Then he spoke, “I am Martred, member of the Dragonshield. You will put down your weapons and sit on the ground.” he ordered, looking at all those in the camp. “Now” he barked, and Quin frowned at him, and then sat down. Lyunne rolled her eyes, but she too followed the order of this strange man. “Everyone, I would suggest we do as he says and wait for the rest to come back to camp.” She said, sitting near Quin, but watching the strange man infront of her.

[HG]

He had to admit, the other Holder had a better grasp of the situation than anyone else here. What a bunch of dimglows! They left the camp site to that incompetent Quintre, the always scowling harper Jerezen and a bunch of whiny girls! He glared out into the forest reminding himself they were not better at survival than he was. They would all be making mistakes. If only he knew his mistake was that he was taking another step forward into the sharp side of a sword.

There was no complaint at least that they should finish what they started. Everyone being in agreement, for once, almost made him want to laugh. If he did though they would think he'd gone round the bend. In this place it would not be so hard to believe. Not with the heat, the bugs, the strange creatures and strange voices coming out of nowhere! Wait, that was just in his head, wasn't it?

As he nearly walked into something very sharp and shiny he stood simply dumbfounded trying to find the words. “What the...” Drop his weapon! Like Fall he was going to drop his weapon. The only thing he had to defend himself. Nevarre looked over for support from Koldyn but doubted that this man could take on both of them and the others. What he didn't know was another person was aiming for Koldyn's head with her arrow. “How do we know you won't just kill us? I'd rather have some assurance before I set my weapon aside.” His little green chirped and nuzzled his neck. Now now, silly thing this was not the time to get all sweet and emotional!

Nevarre, doing his best to remain calm, let his gaze fall levelly on the man that was holding the sword. He had a rather large Bronze flit on his shoulder and seemed to be a leader of some kind. Good, at least someone would be able to understand diplomacy. Maybe they would not need to go looking much further for the dragonriders. They were likely gone if these people were living in the forest.

~~~~~~~~

The trust one had to have in a partner was incredible. Even Ky knew that it took turns to perfect. Although she and Eriol had not been a pair that long, Jarshan and Martred worked like a well oiled machine. However much she knew the young woman knew there was more to learn. As though she were not already picked on enough for being so young in the Shield, she was also one of the few women. She was not known to be incredibly level headed either. So it was that she got partnered with the leader of the Dragon Shield. Someone who was depending on her more than anyone other than her firelizard, Eve.

While she was still very much a learner she knew her place. When Eriol wanted her to do something, she obeyed. Kyrah followed every command instantly, doing her best to prove her salt. She walked as if she were a ghost. No one saw her or heard her until she was right on top of them. With an arrow aimed for the other boy with the weapon she stood. “Brave words for someone so lightly armed. We can and will disarm you if you refuse to come quietly. Although your friend here won't live long enough to see you complete drawing your sword.” Kyrah looked upon the small group as if seeing them for the first time.

The two young men in front were well dressed, despite the dirt and grime and tears from traversing the jungle. She would guess they were Lords but then who would send a Lord to the South. The others could be crafters or minor holders...she did not know for sure. What she did know was that she could not trust them. They were most certainly foreign to the area and were a potential threat to the dragonriders. Eve sat poised on her shoulder not letting any part of herself move so that Ky's stance was a steady one.Eriol may be upset at her for her outburst but as a young and careless member of the Shield she had been chewed out on more than one occasion. What kind of person would she be if she did not annoy Eriol as best she could?

[Dragon]

Anaryn had found a nice place to lay down, once they had decided to stop for the evening. she'd know better next time a young man tried to sweet talk her into his bed, or any bed for that matter. And being in such a dense vegetation didn't help her 'condition' at all. She felt like she was slowly cooking herself, and her unborn child. She'd tried to keep herself as cooled off as possible, but she was getting warm all over again.

She'd been sleeping lightly when she heard the announcement that two of them would go and get water. She couldn't wait! She was very thirsty. She picked up her waterskin and drank the last of it. And, shard it all, she was hungry now. She hoped the stew, or soup, would be ready real soon. She felt another cramp in her stomach. "Oh, ouch!" She whimpered a bit as the cramp progressed and then eased. "Shards and shells." She raised herself to a sitting position and sat there for a minute.

At the sound of a strange noise, she got to her feet and stepped out from under the low branch of one of the trees in the camp they had made. She stood there for a moment, regaining her libido. She blinked her eyes and looked around. What was going on here? Was a wild animal about to attack them? She hoped the latter wouldn't happen. She gasped in surprise when a man came into the camp. She didn't recognize him. At his words, she thought about sitting down but she couldn't. "I beg your pardon if I don't sit down."

Her hands flew to her stomach as she felt the baby move, and quite a bit. And then she gasped, again, when the baby kicked her. "Stop that!" She said, looking at her stomach.

[firethorne]

To be perfectly honest, Koldyn was at the end of his patience. Not that the Igen holder was exactly the epitome of serenity, but he had generally considered himself to be a pretty easy-going guy back home. However, this jungle, and these…people seemed to push just the right buttons at just the right times to rub him in all the wrong ways. Quickly reminding himself that it was pointless to sit and inwardly seethe over such things, and that in the middle of a strange jungle was not the time to be contemplating a massive homicide, Kol let out a breath. Nevarre was glaring, and the holder knew he was boiling on the inside, just as much as the Igen, but he was mastering himself perfectly. Koldyn needed to do the same.

As he made to follow his friend, the boy froze as the tall, rather imposing figure stepped out of the bushes, shoving his sword under Nevarre’s nose. As angry and pumped on adrenaline as Koldyn already was from the feline and then the ‘rescue party’, the first thing he felt was fury. How dare these people just start pointing weapons at their faces and demand they follow their orders? Who did they think they were? And just what made that big oaf think he could stick his sword in Nev’s face like some common peasant!? About to step forward and help his friend, Kol suddenly stilled as he caught movement from his peripheral vision. There was a wild-looking girl pointing an arrow right at his head. An arrow…at his sharding head. Oh Faranth, what else could go wrong?

When the woman spoke, Koldyn barely held back a bark of laughter. “I can’t really think of too many people who would care if I did die, lady.” He said softly, but then turned his head towards the tall man, the one who was obviously the leader between the two. His father’s lessons came out then, and though he did not drop his weapon, Kol allowed it to hang limply from his hand. “We aren’t here to start a fight. We are on a diplomatic mission of the greatest importance and should be treated as such, not as prisoners of war. It was not our intention to insult anyone, but obviously we have. A peaceful solution can be reached, here.” Calm, stay calm, stay calm, he chanted in his head, mastering the myriad of emotions that coursed through him. Koldyn only hoped they could get out of this alive.

~~~~
A brow quirking in response to the girl who spoke first, Eriol was sure to keep his eyes leveled on the apparent leader as he replied. It would not do for the young man to try something rash while the captain’s concentration was on the girl. “Perhaps you did not intend to, my lady, but you did. You have my word that we will not hurt you, however, as long as you do not resist.” Actually, he would do his best to refrain from harming them even if they did so, but it was best to leave that part up to their imaginations. No sense in sounding soft right off the bat. No emotion even registered on the Shield’s face as the holder began to speak, and Eriol waited calmly until the young man was done. “If we wanted to kill you, we would have done so easily from a distance.”

Pausing as his partner, his ever-brash and hot-headed partner, spoke, the captain felt irritation and affection at her outburst. Leave it to his spitfire of a protégé to say something like that. Eriol barely smiled, but it was quickly gone. “You should value your life more highly, lad.” The tall man said, then continued, “Do not underestimate the Shields. We will use force if we must, but we do not wish to hurt you. Your campsite has already been subdued, and I suggest you set your weapons down and make your way back to your friends. If this truly is a diplomatic mission as you say, then everything will be resolved peacefully.” His words were accented by a low hiss from his firelizard, who sat still and tense upon his shoulder. Whirling eyes travelling over the group, Kaiden ignored their own flits for the most part, for he knew their humanpets had angered His. If Eriol did not like these twolegs, then the bronze was no friend of their flitters.

As he waited for their reactions, Eriol mulled over the responses he received. A diplomatic mission? What exactly did these people think they would find here? The most obvious of answers was, of course, the dragonriders, but did the holders really think they would just accept strangers on their lands? The captain was losing patience, quickly, and if they resisted again, he would have Kaiden call Eve, and he and Kyrah would make them obey.

[HG]

Kyrah was smiling at them. They were so scared and nervous, their faces gave their fear away. Eriol would have them under control in no time. Then it would be herding them back to the camp. The fact that they were here on a diplomatic mission did surprise her though and she listened carefully to what the holder said. Perhaps they would need to take them to the Weyrleaders after all. Eve chirped to the smaller firelizards in welcome as their owners agreed to acquiesce.

Knowing that there was no point in arguing with whatever Eriol had in mind, Kyrah waited for orders. Maybe escorting them would be informational. The more they knew about them the better. For the most part they seemed a talkative group. It would be easier than stealing a bubbly pie from a kitchen drudge. “I suppose you are some kind of Lord Holder where you come from.” She asked with an obvious tone of dislike. Holders thought they could come down here and control the South. Easily prone to anger, the young woman made herself take deep breaths. Now would not be the time to shoot the boy in the head.

When she was given the signal she began to lead the group back to the campsite. Jarshan and Martred should have everything under control. It would only be a matter of time before these people were at the mercy of the new Weyrleader, D'seus.

---

Hearing the young woman before seeing her he drew in a breath. She looked completely wrong! Women were not supposed to wield weapons. At least up north they knew their place in society. It was obvious that the Southern folk had become lax with rules of etiquette. As much as he wanted to snap a reply back at the girl he held his tongue. There was nothing to be done, Nevarre sighed and lowered his weapon. Koldyn was right of course. Diplomacy was what was needed here.

Nevarre watched the other man's reactions for any hint that he would attack them. It seemed the hardened figure before them was a man of his word. When Koldyn was finished he nodded that was what they needed to hear. The group of expeditioners were peaceful. The only reason they had drawn weapons was in self defense against some creature. “It is our wish to be taken to whomever is in charge here in the South.” The red haired girl was now smiling. While he was not sure what they were intending to do, he got the feeling his wish would be granted. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, they would soon find out.

---
After reaching the encampement, the Expeditioners led and prodded by four members of the Dragon Shield began the four day journey to the Weyr.... Link to new post: expeditionpern.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=thebowl&action=display&thread=226&page=1

[Marnark]

The two incompetent twerps weren't even grateful that the lot of them had been concerned enough and saw fit to come rescue them. Instead getting all insulted over it. What a pair of ... urgh! Should have left them to the forest after all. But that was not the Healer's way. So it was with silence Rolgar tolerated the tongue lashings. It was no wonder the fathers of these two had chosen these to to toss to the waves like so much rubbish. No wonder they weren't wanted. The holders, unlike the crafters, were chosen as the most expendable. Not the most skilled for their age.

Nutcases the both of them.

But then the most unexpected happened. Not a beast, but a man! A rather ... well armed man. Who looked like he knew his stuff. At the demand for weapons to be dropped, Rolgar did the wise thing: he dropped his stick, tossing it into a nearby fern. Shortly afterward Cemar did the same thing. The both of them, while stout, tall lads, neither one had a lick of combat training. Cemar was the closest they had to that, being a Smith. He could wield a hammer to good effect, as well as had some minimal skill with the knives he could make.

Cemar reluctantly dropped the brushknife he'd been carrying. It was a good tool and he hated to lose it. But for right now, it would be perceived as a weapon. Even now, though, the two idiot Holder lads were openly defying the orders given them. Rolgar just dearly hoped that the two didn't get them all killed with their audacity and brash mouths.

---

At the campside, Jarshan rolled off of her branch, swinging downward. One foot hooked over the branch, the other clamped tightly to it as she hung from it upside down, bow fully drawn and loaded with a broad tipped arrow. The back of her string hand rested against her cheek, holding the string taught, ready to release. "I'd do what he says. Sit down."

Later, she would have to have a talk with Martred about his actions. But now was not a time to try and get her partner back where he belonged. It would only show discord and a possible weakness to the enemy. Nevermind they were a bunch of kids who looked ready to piss themselves.

Through Torc, Jarshan let Eriol know that the campsite was secured. No one was moving without getting their foot nailed to the forest floor by a yardlong arrow.