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Post by Cayreth on Aug 6, 2007 12:24:24 GMT -5
The world was dichromatic. The gray shades of stone and people were only occasionally interrupted by the green of the trees growing inside Stormwind. Oh, how he wanted to stuff his face into the grassy area under those trees... to pluck away at the lushious leaves and blades of grass, to chew and swallow until he could eat no more. But the rope kept pulling him.
It was the first time Teere found himself in the sheep form. He felt as if his soul was exposed, new emotions and instincts pouring over it, drowning him in the sea of desires he never knew before. A small grain of consciousness was all that was left of his former self, a tiny piece of identity that was desperately trying to climb out of this well of foreign desires, only to continually slip and fall back to the bottom.
Olvyn tried to think, to get a firm grasp of his former rationality that seemed to be just barely out of his reach. He kept failing. Surfacing memories were the only thoughts he could produce.
Velice's words resounded: "I mean... you could turn back into a human but still grow wool... or have hooved feet... or only be able to bahh... or run around in circles all day!"
Teere's soul froze in horror. What if he will never be able to leave this nightmare, his mind bound to wander on the edge of insanity.... forever?
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Teere felt another wave of water crash over him, sending him sliding across the deck. He could barely hear the captain yelling out orders, the fragments of speech that the wind allowed to slip through. The crew was somewhere behind a thick wall of rain but he didn't know or care where. Olvyn somehow managed to catch the starboard lifeline before getting washed away. Clinging to it for his life, Teere was cursing himself for ever agreeing to come along for the voyage. His dream to spend his life at seas, the dream of a seventeen-year-old, was gone, replaced by a glimmering hope of making it back to land and vows to remain there. All rational thoughts that the storm will ever end were drowning in the pounding rain and flying away with the whistling wind.
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Teere's mind was wrapped in eternity. Time stood still.
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Post by Xelas Stormfeather on Aug 10, 2007 21:11:49 GMT -5
Diggsby had made good time across the wide bay and up the coast toward Westfall. However, despite being a strong swimmer, she was tired. The coast was still a jagged dark line across the horizon. She tried to keep it to her right as she edged her way inland. Ahead, she thought she saw the faint flicker of the lighthouse beacon that signaled the southernmost shore of Westfall. Her spirits lifted. She had maybe just a half hour or an hour more of this, and she could put to shore. Out to sea, however, dark clouds had piled up, and were driving inland. Unaware, Diggs only realized the danger when the otherwise calm waters became more and more choppy. The breezes picked up, and before Diggs could make any progress to the shore, the squall line swept in, complete with gale force winds and driving rain. Time and time again, Diggs was picked up by a ten-foot swell, only to be slammed into the valley below it. Each time she was buried and tumbled beneath the water, it took longer and longer to find the surface. Gulps of air became mixed with gulps of sea-water.
I'm going to drown, thought Diggsby, miserably. Shoulda took my chances with the Bloodsails.
Soon, the exhausted first mate of The Moonlit no longer fought her way to the surface. The waves, however, did not tire of their game, and continued to throw her limp body between them.
Diggs was too far gone to care.
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Post by Xelas Stormfeather on Aug 10, 2007 21:12:22 GMT -5
The sun beat down mercilessly. The tide had gone back out, leaving the ragged remains of The Moonlit's first mate beached at the high tide mark and then some. The body hadn't shown obvious signs of life for hours, but the buzzards circling overhead knew it wasn't over yet. They waited, riding the high thermals effortlessly. Then, much to their disappointment, the body jolted in the sand. The violent stutters of life caused Diggsby's limbs to thrash -- first in small twitches, then spasms that wracked her entire frame, driving her onto hands and knees. Her sides heaved in an effort to expel the seawater that was no longer there. When the dry heaves finally quieted, Diggs rolled onto her back, eyes closed as the baleful glare of the sun continued to beat down on her. Instantly, she regretted the movement. Her back was scalded a deep red and covered in blisters. She was going to have to get off the beach and go inland to find fresh water, or at least some shade.
It took all her effort to roll back over and stand up. She had broad patches all over where the waves had scoured her down the beach, stripping away skin and leaving ugly raw wounds that oozed and wept. Every movement was a new symphony of pain. Her knives were gone, too. Absently, she patted the space between her breasts where the small pouch of gold was still tucked into the bandages that had survived the storm. That was some tiny comfort. She glanced down the beach in either direction, looking for something that might tell her where she was. Nothing looked familiar. Then she assessed the terrain inland. The sand quickly gave way to rocky and hard-packed earth that sloped steeply upward. Then it appeared to level out. She spotted a few groves of trees and some rock outcroppings. Rock was good. It often meant pools of rainwater. Diggs gathered up her strength and began picking her way up the steep hillside, grabbing handfuls of the dry tan-colored grasses that grew in the sand and on the hillside alike. It was slow, but she eventually hauled herself up to where she could better survey the inland terrain. As the glimpses from the beach promised, there was a large bare rock and several boulders. Diggs staggered toward them. They couldn't have been more than a few hundred yards away, but the bedraggled first mate was fighting to stay on her feet.
When Diggs reached the rocks, she found several pockets of rainwater as she had hoped. They were hot, having been in the sun since the storm cleared, but Diggs lay down and began gulping the water, heedless of the temperature. It was a mistake. Her body, dangerously dehydrated, was not prepared for so much water so fast. Within moments, Diggs was turned away, retching violently. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Drink slowly. Little gulps. Diggs nodded to her own inner wisdom. She tried again, this time only taking a mouthful and letting it slowly trickle down her raw throat. She clamped a hand over her mouth, forcing her stomach to be still. When it quieted, she got another mouthful. Then another. Finally, she was able to drink her fill and crawl under the shade of a nearby boulder to rest.
It was full dark when she awoke. She hadn't intended to sleep so long, but she was obviously in worse shape than she realized. Diggs' stomach twisted with normal and familiar pangs of hunger. Bugger. That was something else she needed to worry about. Diggs realized she needed to move out and find food, or better yet, civilization. But not just yet. She climbed back up to where the now-cool puddles of rainwater were and drank deeply. Then, she tried to wash as much of the sand off as she could. The abrasions had started to scab-over, but they still hurt when anything touched them, as did her burned skin. Diggs carefully removed the bandage around her chest, hefting the small pouch of gold thoughtfully. She fished into the leather and pulled out a few coppers and silver for herself. The rest she wedged into a crevice down at the base of the boulders and covered with small rocks. No telling what she'd run into out there, but she was pretty certain that a half-dead, unarmed woman with a bag of gold would be irresistable for all the wrong reasons. The moon was full and high overhead. She was able to see surprisingly well. Figuring that traveling by night would be at least a little less painful than traveling during the day, Diggs set off to the north.
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Post by Cayreth on Aug 28, 2007 11:42:58 GMT -5
Elexius “Two-Blade” Swiftshadow smirked contentedly to himself, as if in a dreamy stupor induced by the affirmations so timely dispensed by his accidental acquaintance on his way from Stormwind City to perform his sentry duties at the small town of Goldshire.
In the eyes of his fellow guardsmen, Elexius was what they came to agree upon and termed a “professional anomaly”.
It was his self-righteous defiance during his attachment term as a rookie sentry at the Stockade that earned him this appellation, with which was bestowed much tact and diplomatic civility, and an equal proportion of subtle mockery. It was said that as the uprising brewing from within the Defias-infested labyrinth suddenly threatened to overwhelm the rust-encrusted iron gates hanging precariously on warped hinges, many of his comrades, fresh from the training grounds with a nascent fear-impounded fortitude, collected their gleaming and newly forged shields from the weapon racks and drew their blades in defence at the frontier just before the descending stairway to Defias hell. Swiftshadow, however, nonchalantly swaggered, apparently in disagreement with the whole frantic ruckus caused by the sonorous clanging of cumbersome “feed-plates” as he called them, and grabbed from a rack the scimitar of one of the senior guards despite already possessing a broadsword of his own. He continued his stroll to where his counterparts had congregated like a cowering shell of iron, and assumed a defensive stance while forming a cross with his two blades.
“Offence in defence, good sirs”, he quipped with a clean smile as those present were stunned into silence with his audacity even as the iron grilles before them were on the brink of collapse, owing to the felonious vermin hacking the bars with their smuggled knives.
The rest, they say, or would have intrigued listeners believe, is history. Apparently, as soon as the rickety metal barrier crumpled into a heap of twisted iron under the stampede of filthy Defias boots, Elexius Swiftshadow leapt from his position into the horde of bloodthirsty savages. And as his colleagues struggled to subdue the rebellion with the gentle and apprehensive smiting of their shields, behind which they sought wary protection, the deviant emerged from the mishmash completely unharmed, twelve crimson bandanas in hand.
Today, however, he ditched his blades for the more conventional and accepted arms which constituted a kite shield bearing the coat of arms of Stormwind, and a battle-bitten sword, in a clear but unsuccessful attempt at making restitution for his ‘misdemeanour’ at the Stockade.
“’Ere comes th’cocky lad! No carryin’ yer knives today, eh? Hahah!”
Elexius scoffed at the blatant display of contempt by one of the senior guards as he walked pass. He had willed himself never to take the venom that spewed forth from these old vipers’ mouth too seriously.
After that brief but unpleasant encounter, his thoughts returned to the young and bashful lady he had just chanced upon, easing his furrowed brows. Velice.
Even his closest companions knew that Elexius alwayshad his way with women. Some swooned over his broad but inviting shoulders, others admired his coal-black mane which though shaven to fine bristles at the back, had its fringe partly obscure his left eye, adding a tinge of mystery to his otherwise confident persona. Perhaps Goldshire could tarry a little. Elexius seemed to have more important issues at hand.
In all briskness, the Stormwind guard climbed on a beaten path the humble prelude that was the hill which rose up to end at the majestic gates of Stormwind. She couldn’t have gone past the Valley of Heroes, no. The slender legs on which supported her petite frame could not have carried her that far in such a short time. Though the lady’s robes hid almost every aspect of her physique from wandering eyes, Elexius thought his imagination did her justice.
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Post by Cayreth on Aug 28, 2007 11:43:15 GMT -5
As the ardent, love-drawn lad arrived at the gates, his sight met the figure of his acquaintance strolling midway into the Valley. She seemed to be tugging at something that trailed behind, for her right hand appeared to be drawn back by some unseen force. The searing beams of the sun offered no aid either, since they almost blinded Elexius as he brought into focus the lady he knew as Velice. Not bothering with undue speculations, he quickened his pace.
Elexius drew nearer to the girl in distance, and beheld what thoroughly puzzled him beyond his sense. A what? A sheep? She was taking a sheep for a walk? What manner of pleasure might one derive from such a seemingly inane recreation? Walking a sheep!
There was no sheep before…, Elexius ruminated after, his gaze still fixated on the uncanny ‘duo’. Then not being able to draw any logical conclusion, he pardoned this act of oddity with an allowance of doubt.
“I might have known your name, lady, but do tell me, when shall we have a meal together? It would put my mind to rest if you could offer me some surety of a meeting.”
Elexius Swiftshadow flashed his best smile, and all doubt seemed to have been negated by this act of basic affection, since he was more concerned with the response he would elicit from Velice than the business the sheep had in Stormwind.
Velice turned to meet her supposed ‘object of affection and desire’, herself being the supposedly wistful damsel. She gaped, and one might think she was horrified.
The sheep, held by the leash, seemed to have noticed its master’s abrupt cessation of motion, and growing increasingly restless it began darting around, as if it were one freshly transfigured from another entity by some act of arcanistry.
Still, Swiftshadow’s smile refused to waver.
“Perhaps she is enthralled by my dashing smile?”
And he smiled all the wider.
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Post by Cayreth on Aug 28, 2007 11:43:32 GMT -5
Velice tugged on the rope gently, yet forcibly, trying to catch the Captains attention. If only he would follow her instead of wandering around aimlessly! She flashed a smile to a few watchers, and quickly explained, "Stupid sheep! Ate all the tomatoes in my garden." She waggled a pointed finger at the sheep "Off to market with him!" The watchers nodded, and pretended that they weren't staring at the girl, but all the while continued to peek out the corners of their eyes, curious as to what she was up to.
Suddenly, the rope yanked in her hand. "Ackk!" She said as her feet raced to catch up, and her arms flailed, trying to regain balance.Then, the two stopped suddenly, as the sheep greedily chomped away at the green grass it obviously yearned for. "Captain!" She scolded, putting a hand on her hip, "We don't have time for this! The spell could wear off at any moment! Come on!" She yanked on the rope again, but the sheep held it's ground, and the slender girl looked rather pitiful against the sheep's weak strength. Humming quietly she bounced nervously on the tips of her toes. "Captain....I'm going to count to three..."
A passing couples eyes fell onto Velice and the stubborn sheep. Staring as they walked past, Velice noted another girl covering her mouth in laughter at Velice's lack of strength. Her cheeks blazed into a reddened embarrassment as she realized just how much attention the two were making of them selfs. "Hahaha! Look! She calls the sheep 'Captain'. How Odd!" Stated a little boy to his mother before he was protectively pushed forward in effort by the mother to shun the peasant girl.
She tugged on the rope again, pulling her body weight into it, and the sheep, deciding to be prankful, let loose it's muscles sending the girl onto her back. "Oof! Wast that REALLY necessary?!" She asked the sheep, pulling on the cord sharply. "Come on, now! We haven't got all day!" She began to walk, expecting the sheep to follow.
It was then that something she never expected to happen, happened.
A velvety smooth voice stopped her in her tracks. Turning around, she was faced with the broad shoulders and handsome body of the guard she had met previously. The poor girl nearly leaped back in horror. Surely, he knew! He must have! Why else would HE follow HER to Stormwind when he was clearly headed to goldshire?! Questions swam around her head and she was on the verge of panic. What should she do? What could she do? "Stay. Calm." she thought to herself, bringing the man back to focus.
"A...Meal, sir?" she coughed, clearly surprised. " I, um, Well, er, Yes! I would love to dine with you...Sir! But, you see, I'm kinda busy here taking this sheep into town." She laughed nervously. "Otherwise I wont be dining anywhere, If you get what I mean...A girl has got to make a living! Heh. So, uhm, yeah, Maybe next time??" She smiled quickly, clearly anxious and worried all at the same time.
The man said nothing, but flashed a dazzling smile.
"Uhm." She looked to the sheep. Something was odd about it....She peered closer. She could have been imagining things, but to her, the sheep was growing a second nose. A human nose.
She snapped her attention back to the guard, trying to see if he noticed the change or not. She couldn't let him see....
"A meal!? Of course! I AM hungry, I mean, I don't think I've eaten all day, and um.... What are you doing right now?? I-I mean..." she paused, and looked at him, regaining her acting abilities and smoothing adding, "Why wait? To the pig and whistle!" She declared, and set foot to begin walking.
"Well, come on, then!" She said. Velice peeked back down at the captain. The nose was defiantly there. Oh boy. Oh boy. Oh boyohboyohboy.
Trying to keep the Guards attention away from her now slightly deformed sheep, she asked him several questions as they walked to the tavern. The questions ranged from his name to details of his job, to if he liked rain. The stimulating conversation seemingly worked, and Velice smiled to herself as the three of them walked into the bar room.
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Post by Cayreth on Aug 28, 2007 11:43:50 GMT -5
"Stolen?!", Teere cupped his nose and tugged it from side to side. It didn't feel right. The bone was sore and the skin felt too tight. Olvyn fingered the little cavity right above the tip, and, finally giving up, let go of his nose and reached for the pipe.
He was in the safety of the wine cellar at Pig & Whistle still shaking from what was probably the most horrifying experience of his life. Stephen Ryback was standing halfway up the stairway constantly shifting his attention between Teere and something in the kitchen. The cook hasn't changed much. His locks of hair were showing more shades of gray each year but Stephen still maintained his boyish enthusiasm and the amazing ability of being able to attend to a myriad of things simultaneously, always being keenly aware of what was going on around him. The wine cellar itself was kept tidy and the unsuspecting eye would never catch the multitude of secret compartments Ryback used to store the loot that Teere would smuggle in. Ashjre was sitting on a barrel nearby polishing a makeshift grenade and listening in on the conversation. Olvyn was not liking what he was hearing in the slightest.
"How in the bloody Outland can they be stolen?! Tis' makes no sense", Teere finished packing the tobacco and started working on lighting the pipe. "You think I'm making this up? Go out and look for yourself..... and, please, don't light that. I got a kitchen upstairs and I don't want to be serving boar ribs soaked in your tobacco smoke."
Teere shrugged and extinguished the flame.
"Excuse me...", uttered Stephen and rushed off to attend to something in the kitchen.
Teere sighed and began cleaning his never-lit pipe. The thought of caressing his taste buds with tobacco had to be shoved to the back of his mind for later consideration. It's been more than half an hour since his sheep experience but he could still feel the taste of grass in his mouth. Ryback had mentioned that he was more than a little surprised to see a peasant girl barge into the tavern, head straight for the kitchen and start negotiating the price of the sheep. It was only after learning the sheep's name that Ryback had "purchased" the animal that, according to all Stormwind regulations, was supposed to be delivered through the back door and with its throat already slit. Teere smiled slightly as he thought fondly of Velice who went through all this trouble and was now sitting somewhere upstairs forced to dodge the flirtatious remarks of a Stormwind guard.
"How are you doing, Ash?" "I'm alright, cap'n. Is it true what Stephen was saying?". Ashjre's voice was filled with concern.
Teere sighed again. Is it true? Who has the nerve and the ability to make such accusations?
"I don't know, girl. I don't know....."
What Teere did know was that proving his innocence will be mightily difficult.
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