[Game Thread] Borders

[Nasrith]

While the journey to the northern edge of the Dahreen would normally have taken less than a day from their current location, Isadseir's injury hindered the speed of the pair's travel greatly. It wasn't for another two days that the two elves reached the edge of the mountains, and they had used up almost all of the leftover rations doing it. Thankfully, Isadseir was healing quickly; searching for food, and surviving in the wild as a whole, is much easier with two bodies than it is with one.

* * * * *
30th Day of the Red Moon in the Year 627

Delondil descended a mild, wooded slope with little trouble. Behind him, Isadseir followed with a stunted lope, groaning quietly every couple of steps, but otherwise remaining silent. The two stopped as the Dahreen and the cover its trees had provided came to an abrupt end. Before them was a grassy, treeless reprieve from forest that stretched thrice the length of a shot from a longbow. On the opposite end of the area was another wall of trees. This forest and the Dahreen were separated by a thin, rarely used road.

Delondil was quick to spot a sight very out of the ordinary. While he had seen the road, if it could even be called that, from atop the mountains, he had never before witnessed a human patrol traveling along it as they did now. Six lightly armored humans made up the patrol, though two were injured and all six of them wore battle-dirtied armor. It was not at all straying of the realm of possibilities that the group had seen combat in the previous days. "Just stay back," Isadseir whispered, unsure of the hearing abilities of the creatures they now watched.

OOC Totally didn't see the thing about you taking ten. My bad.

[Aitrus]

Delondil followed his leader's orders and stayed hidden by the surrounding landscape. He wasn't sure of the human's eyesight or hearing, but he took no chances. With Isadseir injured and his aim none too accurate as of late, Delondil agreed that prudence and watchfullness was indeed the wiser course.

He had heard of humans, just like every elfling, but the stories were always about how they were stupid, unskilled, untrustworthy, greedy, lacked any ability to commune with the wider world, and in general were not to be trusted. To see a group of them traveling in the Darheen, obviously trained for battle and having tested their mettle recently, was indeed a surprise. This was a rare opportunity to learn about an unknown element. If he recalled his lessons, humans weren't regarded as enemies as such, but they weren't allies either.

Delondil did his best to listen to see if any scraps of conversation or noise from the band could be heard. Perhaps the stories about their seeming inability to move quietly were true. They certainly weren't trying to hide out there on the road. And even though he might not be able to understand their language, he would be able to tell a little about their mood and whether they were paying attention to their surroundings or on the topic at hand.

Dice Listen check:

1d20+7

(14)+7

Total = 21

He also watched them closely, tried to get ideas about their strengths and weaknesses, how they carried their weapons, who their leader was, who carried what weapons and other things that his leadership might want to know.

[Nasrith]

The human patrol made no more noise than the scraping of their armor, their lack of shared words adding to the perception that they were indeed a very worn group. Moments passed by with the sound of metal brushing against more metal being the only thing that Delondil heard. Then, a new, very sudden noise erupted from the group. Two of the men fell, an arrow protruding from each of their chests. The four that remained looked around frantically as they reached for their weapons. Another fell, this time sent to the ground by two arrows. The three other humans turned and dashed away from Delondil and Isadseir, though whether they were charging towards something or fleeing from something else wasn't immediately clear. Two more dropped fell as they ran, and the last was soon to follow.

Two figures framed by the forest behind them now stood across the way. The larger bodies and numbers of the human patrol had previously hidden the two from Delondil's sight, but now it was clearly visible as well as plainly obvious that they were not of the same ilk as the patrol. In tandem, the two figures replaced the weapons on their back and turned their surprisingly familiar gazes almost immediately on the the pair of elves at the edge of the Dahreen. Still moving almost as a single entity, the two figures walked past the slain humans and towards Delondil and Isadseir. To their immense surprise, the two figures appeared undoubtedly elven as they approached, drawing a strange look and a string of confused mutters from Isadseir.

OOC Ugh. That was really frustrating to write for some reason.

[Aitrus]

Delondil glanced from Isadseir to the approaching elves with slight confusion.

"What's the matter? Do you know these two?

[Nasrith]

"Know them," Isadseir repeated as he took a deep breath. "Del, they're elves. Elves. Our kind doesn't live out here, but here they are, walking towards us from the other side."

The red haired elf took a few more deep breaths, calming himself before the others came much closer. Moments flew by as Delondil realized just how extraordinary the situation was. One of the elves, now only a dozen strides away, raised an arm and called out, "Hail," in a steady, almost monotone voice. The two of them stopped a few, unthreatening feet away and confidently looked the pair of elves over, allowing them to do the same. The one who had called out was the taller of the two, though both were larger, and a bit thicker, than the average elf. The speaker had short brown hair and a small, strong face while the other's hair was black and hung down behind his shoulders. Both their eyes held an odd hint of purple that mixed with the more natural browns, greens, and blues of normal eyes.

The black haired one turned to address Isadseir, asking, "Humans," in the same monotone voice his companion had called out in while gesturing to the wound at Isadseir's waist. "No, bear," Isadseir quickly retorted, and added, "And regardless, it's nearly healed," for good measure.

The two elves shared a skeptic glance before the brown haired elf turned to Delondil. "You and your companion should accompany us back to our village. There he will have ample time and care to heal with little danger."

[Aitrus]

Deondil looked askance at Isadseir, then back to the elves.

"Perhaps, but it would seem that introductions are in order first. I am called Delondil. Who are you, and how is it you come to live out here? We have not heard that elves live this far out, yet here you stand."

Delondil's stance one of cautiousness. He didn't want to offend these possible allies, yet he did not wholly trust them either.

OOC You didn't make it clear before that they were on the very edge of their territory and that everything else outside of it was unexplored or unknown territory. I thought they were just on their way home and came across a break in the forest with an old trail running through it, nothing more. Is this road the one that runs down from the north, swinging to the East?

[Nasrith]

Isadseir offered Delondil a small smile, silently thanking him that the exhilaration he had felt at seeing others of his own species north of the Dahreen had not clouded his companion's vision as well. Interrupting the look, the original speaker stepped forward and began to introduced himself. "I am Silverseed, and my companion is called Moonember."

"And while most elves live south of the great mountains," he continued,"not all of us do."

The speaker promptly stepped back, coming to stand once again by his companion's side. Isadseir made a hmming noise as he cocked his head and ran his hand down his face. That appeared to be as much response as he was going to give to the last declaration though.

OOC I was actually worried that that would happen. Pretty much what happened after Del and Isa left the cabin was they moved south until they reached a relatively covered trail between two mountains. Then they made their way north in hopes of investigating the humanoids they had spotted the previous day. Now both the elves are just outside the Dahreen on the northern side, which is outside of elven lands.

[Aitrus]

As the other elves were introduced, Delondil and Moonember.

"Well met, Silverseed, and to you as well Moonember, however, you must forgive us if we seem skeptical. While we are indeed glad to find other elves that live beyond our ken, and thankful also of your offer of hospitality and healing, we cannot help but be wary."

As he spoke, Delondil spread his hands outward from his side a little, palms open and facing toward Silverseed, lowering his hands only after speaking.

"Why have you not before now made contact with our folk?"

[Nasrith]

"Your anxiety is understood," Silverseed proclaimed. "We have not made contact with your folk because, until we left, they were our folk as well. We believed there was more to the world than what we experienced, and we set out to find what we were missing. We are not spoken of. We do not exist to your folk."

The elf did not sound bitter. Instead, he spoke with the same bland, unwavering monotone as before, as if he had long ago come to accept his decision. "Now, will you walk with us?"

"Yes," Isadseir forcefully replied. "Yes, err… At least I will." He glanced at his companion hopefully. "Del?"

[Aitrus]

Delondil gazed at the ground thoughtfully, weighing the words in his mind and comparing them against his culture and upbringing.

Elves who had left the Darheen to explore the world would indeed not be spoken of because they had gone against custom. It made sense, then, that there would be elves living outside the borders, and yet the vast majority of the Darheen wouldn't know they existed.

His decision made, he nodded to himself and grinned at Isadseir, Silverseed and Moonember.

"Yes, I'll travel with. What better way to learn and experience the wider world than with those have been there before us? As we walk, perhaps you could answer some questions about some confusing events we've witnessed recently."

With these words, he bent down and began helping Isadseir to his feet, already looking forward to the coming time under the sun in new lands, new grasses and foods, new adventures and stories.

[Nasrith]

Isadseir's face lit up. "Let's go," he uttered enthusiastically.

Delondil and Isadseir fell in on either side of the two other elves, and they walked four wide across the clear land, over the fallen human bodies, and finally into the forest Silverseed and Moonember called home. The moment they stepped between these foreign trees, Delondil and Isadseir knew they were in a whole new world. The forest was thick, with very little light breaking through the canopy and tangles of mossy roots grabbing at the feet of whoever walked through. It was a completely new experience for the two elves who had grown up in the almost uniform forests of the elven land.

Silverseed and Moonember let the other two elves take in their unfamiliar surroundings before they responded to Del's earlier words. "Questions," Silverseed pondered. "We will do our best to shed what light we can on these events."

[Aitrus]

Taking in the surrounding forest, with it's strange but beautiful canopy, Delondil was realizing that his view and experience of the world had thus far been extremely limited. If such a wonder as this lay just beyond the borders of his homeland, what else was out there to see? His heart ached to find out.

Before that time, though, he needed to find out what was going on with the Gnolls, and if there was a possibility of humans encroaching on the Elven lands.

"Yesterday our group discovered what we think is a gnoll scouting party. Only 3 of them, but deep in our territory. Have they been more active in your area more than usual?"

Delondil paused, listening to the elves' answer and thinking about how to phrase the question concerning the two creatures he had seen that morning.

[Nasrith]

The four walked in silence for awhile, the two newcomers enjoying their surroundings and Moonember and Silverseed taking a quiet delight in their companions' awe.

"Two days ago," Isadseir was quick to correct Delondil before going back to admiring the surroundings. "We fought the gnolls two days ago."

Silverseed's mouth almost turned up into a smile. "We do not have gnolls here. Other threats, yes, but gnolls and most other humanoid creatures do not enter this forest. While it is beautiful to us elves, other races seem to find it disconcerting. Threatening even."

Moonember added quickly, "We understand your concern, but it is simply not something we have experience with."

[Aitrus]

Delondil nodded, giving a grateful look to Is for correcting him. It had been a whirlwind last few days to say the lest, and it was easy to lose track of time.

"We also recently saw a pair of...beings...in the forest. They were thin, light-skinned, and vanished into the trees quickly. They didn't look like elves to me, but then we didn't get all that good of a look at them. They seemed to be either frightened or cautious of us."

[Nasrith]

Moonember chuckled tossed a laughing glance his way. "That was most likely us. We have been skirting the edges of this forest and the human roads, tracking that patrol you saw us remove. And for reasons which we already have explained, we were cautious of you."