Hunting Human Game

[Miguel]

TS: Forth Cycle, Third Brightening of Kalendryas. Era XIV PF.

The Dolwoods, the perfect place to lay low for a while, and gather his strength. The many patterns ago when he had thought he slew his father, he had had the advantage of trust and surprise. Now, with the recent bounty hunters that Gruda had sent after him, he knew there would be no surprise in his next murderous attack on the noble. Gruda was scared, Miguel could smell the fear even out here in the Dolwoods, and it was a sweet scent.

The scent drove him, he would return to Alleria Prime one day and exact his revenge, and he would finnish the deed this time. No chance for mistakes, when he left, Gruda would be dead. But until then, Miguel's home was in the Dolwoods.

In his time spent in Terramarique, Miguel had learned one thing. Fear was a powerful tool. A tool that Miguel intended on exploiting as much as possible. That exploitation would start here, in the very woods that frightened the countryfolk of the Centripax Province.

The baijani had heard the tales of the necromancers that lived in these woods. They scared the countryfolk as much as the woods did. That was where Miguel would start. How would they look upon a man who destroyed the necromancers? The fools would probably proclaim him a hero... but that wouldn't last long.

Raising from his tent, Miguel looked through the trees and saw Castle White Dove. He had purposefully camped within view of that. It would have been an impossible task to find his camp if he had placed it willy-nilly. But the Castle was likely one of the easiest locations to find in this forsaken woods. Gathering up a few of his belongings he might need he pocketed a couple rabbit snares into his dull brown trousers, as well as flint and steel. With the knife he concealed in his boot, that was all Miguel thought to take before he strode off into the woods.

He was hunting necromancers this brightening. He didn't have a set direction to take, feth even if he did that would mean nothing in the Dolwoods. So he simply wondered. If the woods wished him to find the necromancers, he would find them, simple as that.

[Loudmouth]

The Dolwoods were no place for the feint or weary to travel. The forest was to be respected and not reckoned with. Seeming to know this, Miguel decided to engage the wilderness just as well. For a veteran of both bloodshed and the imperial prison island of Terramarique what could a little old forest do?

Sunlight was no easy thing to come by in the woods as the trees grew thick and blotted out much of the sunlight. The day itself was not particularly sunny. An overcast gave a grim feel to the entire day. Fitting indeed for the grim task this man had decided on today. Necromancers where what he was to hunt and these were not friendly lot. the question became, would this forest hold any for him or would it hold some other more horrible things that would perhaps make him wish all he had seen was necromancers.

As Miguel wandered further away from the camp, the seemingly endless amass of trees seemed to grow darker and denser. Odd noises of animals, unseen things and perhaps even the trees themselves filled the air around him. What would be this outlaws first act in this untamed wilderness in his hunting of a most dangerous game? Was it to be the correct one?

[Miguel]

Miguel's aimless wandering through the Dolwoods seemed progressless, but then again, one couldn't really expect a progressive trip through the Dolwoods. You went where it wanted you too, and Miguel understood and accepted that. Continueing along the path that led him gods knew where through the woods, he noticed the forest becoming darker around him, the trees more closely packed and blotting out more and more of the sunshine as he continued on his way.

The increasingly odd sounds in his surroundings piqued the baijani's curiousity. They did not scare him, more then ten long patterns in Terramarique had made fear non-existant within Miguel. No, he simply wondered what they were. After a time, the baijani's curiousity grew too large and he stopped, listening to the sounds of his surroundings. Picking out one that had grabbed his attention above the rest, he wondered off the path, listening for that peculiar sound and following it to the source.

[Loudmouth]

The sounds of the forest were many and zeroing in on any one would be a task in and of itself. Miguel might as well have been trying to find the needle in the haystack. But going in one direction would certainly eventually cause him to run into one of the sounds. That was just probability right there.

Most of the sounds had been of the natural variety. Rustling branched and leaves, the ocassional animal noise, nothing too out the ordinary. As Miguel continued however, one noise began to stand out. Yes, yes it was voices. Perhaps he was closing in on some Nercomancers? There was only one way to find out.

Further proof of some sort of sentient being was would provide itself as the noise of the voices were followed. In the distance there was a glow, a slight orangey yellow-ish glow. Fire. Looks like somebody was setting up camp in the distance. No, Miguel was not alone in these woods tonight.

[Miguel]

As Miguel ventured nearer the sounds, he realized pinpointing one was pretty much impossible, however, the new sound that echoed through the darkening woods would not be hard to find at all. It sounded like voices, voices intrigued the baijani convict. Approaching closer, he soon saw the faint glow of a fire in the distance.

Watching his steps in the undergrowth of the woods, Miguel made his best attempt to approach the fire silently, his ears straining to make out any words that were spoken. Closing in on the glow, Miguel pulled the small knife out of it's hiding spot in the small of his back. It wasn't a great weapon, feth it wasn't even a good weapon. The edge was chipped and dulling, but with a little pressure it could still severe the important arteries in the neck and produce a quick and silent kill.

Holding the knife against the inside of his forarm, he crept closer, intent on finding out what else was camping out here in the Dolwoods. His intent didn't stop at that though...

[Loudmouth]

Miguel was on a mission on this brightening and well, some (most?) would call it mad. Who in their right minds would look for trouble in a place like the dolwoods. Perhaps, however, Miguel wasn't of his right mind. The prison island of the empire can have severe effects on one's mind.

So who were these campers and fellow residents of the Dolwoods this evening? Miguel was on the fast track to finding out. He could make out the voices, they were male, male humans it sounded like.

As Miguel crept he could not help but make some racket. The floor of the forrest was astrewn with twigs and leaves and all things of the such. It was very difficult to sneak up on anyone in these woods unless one specialized in that sort of thing.

Sure enough just as he got within an earshot the voices stopped. He could make out the siluettes of two men in the distance arising to their feet rather quickly. Miguel had been heard. Luckily however, the men had to bearing as to where exactly th footstep where coming from. A shout arose from the camp. "Who goes there? Speak up now!"

[Miguel]

'Fething undergrowth,' Miguel thought viciously to himself as every step sounded like thunder... at least to him. He was hoping that whoever was camped out here was to preoccupied to notice the footsteps approaching from the trees, and as he got closer and closer, it seemed like that was the case...

But suddenly the voices stopped. Halting in his tracks, the baijani waited to see if it was simply a pause in the conversation or if they had actually heard him. The question called out into the woods answered that though, they knew he was out here. But things were no lost, yet.

Ignoring stealth, Miguel continued to hold his dagger hidden inside his forearm as he strode out of the woods and into the clearing where the travelers had camped. Before he said anything, he took a close look at the situation, maybe looking at the numbers and weapons that these men had. He may be close to out of his mind, but he wasn't about to take on more then he could chew. After he had sized everything up, he simply said, "Serale, might I share your fire for a time?"

[Aydyn Blair]

The camp was a modest one, the clearly large enough to hold a pair of tents pitched around a crackling campfire. Two men were standing in front of it, one holding a nocked bow, the arrow loose against the string and pointed at the ground, the other grasping a curved hunting knife in front of him. There were two others, but these were seated with weapons just in reach: knives at their belts and both with bows in their laps, their quivers beside them. They had the look of hunters about them, dressed in animal skins as they were.

The man standing with the knife in his hand took a step forward. He held himself tall and confident, his dark, beard-smattered face regarding him warily. He was a shade taller than Miguel, his shoulders thick and his body more weighted down with a layer of fat rather than muscle. "Didn't answer my question," he challenged. "Who are you and what're you doin' out here, huh? Not too many people bother with these woods."

His friend beside him raised his bow slightly, training the arrow towards Miguel's chest. They looked a little agitated and suspicious of the newcomer. Perhaps they had good reason for these were the Dolwoods and any number of dangers lurked here at any given moment. "Come on, out with it. Or my buddy here'll play target practice with your body."

[Miguel]

The men already irritated Miguel, he was annoyed that their weapons were still out and the bow was drawn on his. But he held his temper, watching as the fat man took a step forwards. Not the best idea, the man may be bigger, but Miguel was confident he could kill the man before he could react. The comment about his buddy playing target practice really got him though, it was then he decided that these men would die this darkening, as if the thought hadn't been in his mind before.

"Name's Miguel. I was chased in here by some fellows looking to have fun at a poor man's expense," he said. It wasn't too bad of a story, he looked like a homeless man, the type some enjoyed picking on. "Now you mind putting the bow down?"

[Aydyn Blair]

The man with the bow hesitated, looking at the big man who'd been talking as if waiting for some sort of direction. Miguel's story seemed plausible--he had the look for it--but this was still the Dolwoods. A man had to be on his guard if he wanted to survive. The big man grunted. "Chased, huh?" He looked Miguel over, weighing in the dirt and the filth. Looked like he'd been on his own for a while.

It was clear he still wasn't trusted--Who could blame them, being out in these woods?--but he told his buddy to lower the bow and gestured for Miguel to join them at the camp fire. They still kept their weapons in reach, bows at their sides, knives present. Nothing was removed. They had bagged a deer earlier that brightening and had carefully arranged the carcass over the blazing pit. A good meal.

"Have to be cautious out here. Place is full of evils. Like Aeterenia invaded it or somethin'. I'm Brawl. This here's Curo," he nodded to the man who had stood with him earlier. Curo was a lanky man and short with a head of messy brown hair that hung in greasy tangles down to his shoulders. "Walt's the one with half 'is ear missin'." A graying man of some older middling eras eyed Miguel silently from across the fire. "Jordy's his kid." Jordy looked no more than twenty and still carried the pimples of his youth, his hair a bright carrot red.

"Mind if we asked you where you've been comin' from? See, we've been lookin' for someone and were hopin' you might've seen somethin'..."

"A woman maybe? About five feet tall? Red hair? 'Bout Jordy's age here," this from Curo who gestured towards the carrot-top.

Curo's outburst earned him something of a glower from his comrades. They didn't trust Miguel. Not yet.

[Miguel]

Glad to see the man lower his bow, and the fat man put his knife aside, Miguel spoke up. "Aye, you do have to be cautious in these woods," he said, revealing his knife and sliding it into the sheath at his lower back.

Nodding to each of the men in turn as the introductions were made, Miguel heard the fat man asked where he was coming from. The truth wouldn't let them in on anything, well partial truth. "I've been wondering mainly, adventuring across the empire. Came from Kaldira last, was gonna stop in Acumin till the bastards chased me in here."

"A woman you say, can't say I've seen one since my run in with the locals, and they were all men," he answered Curo, and noted the glares and glowers the man got. "She a friend of yours?" He asked in return.

[Aydyn Blair]

Whether or not they accepted his story seemed to depend on the individual. The old man didn't seem to trust him at all. Neither did Brawl. But Curo and Jordy seemed all right enough with it. It seemed rational to the pair of them and Curo was clearly anxious about this woman he'd blurted out about.

"My wife she is," Curo went on despite some protests of a few others. "We're from a village up on the north-eastern border of the forest and she was out with the kids. Next we know they're running back sayin' their mother was grabbed by men in funny robes and dragged off through here. My poor Tammy's been havin' nightmares ever since."

Brawl looked awkwardly at the emotional man at his side. "Curo ain't handlin' it all too well," he muttered and reached carefully across the fire to cut some meat off the deer. It was looking well cooked. "Deer's about ready, if'n you wanna share some of it," he offered. The others all started cutting out portions of their own, mindful of the flames beneath the carcass.

"We were thinkin necromancers, you know? Who else could it be, ya think?" Brawl chewed on his deer, bits of meat juice in his beard. "So you swear you haven't seen anything, huh? Heard they had a stronghold in here somewhere. West of our village, south of Acumin. You sure you've seen nothin'?"

[Miguel]

When offered some of the dear, Miguel cut a small piece off, not wanting to take too much of their meal and thanked the men for it. Listening as he chewed slowly on the dear meat he began thinking. It was the necromancers he was after, did he offer to help these men, or stick with his original plan for them... decisions, decisions.

"I haven't seen anything, but I have heard the stories about these necromancers. Nasty bunch by the tale they are. But cowards if'n you ask me. Any man who uses magics instead of good steel, cowards." Taking another bite of his food, Miguel spoke up again. "Though you might be some of them," he admitted. "'Twas why I was sneaking around a bit. Releaved your good honest men though."

[Aydyn Blair]

Old Man Walt tugged at his son's sleeve as Miguel talked and the pair leaned in close together, Walt murmuring something quietly to the redhead that was muted by the crackling of the fire between them. He eyed up Miguel as he talked, crowsfeet around his eyes becoming more pronounced as he squinted. Jordy sat up straight after a moment, an odd look at the old man before nudging Brawl with his elbow. "Can we speak to you a moment?" Jordy asked.

Brawl hesitated then shrugged, rising up from his place at the fire. He, Walt and Jordy moved way into the dim covering of the trees, standing there and conversing, hands gesturing--mostly towards Miguel.

Curo didn't seem to notice. "You know, I'm always sayin' that, too. Thems who use arcana--just cowards! Too afraid to look a man in the eye and run uhm through. That's what I say. If I ever manage to track them down...better believe I'll be ringin their necks out! When I get my wife back I'm not takin' no prisoners, you hear?" Curo had taken out his hunting knife and was jabbing it into the crowd with a ferocity as he spoke. No, he was just about ready to kill him some necromancers.

Meanwhile, the others continued their mumbled argument on the edge of the camp. There was no mistaking it. They were all talking about Miguel.

[Miguel]

Watching from the corner of his eye as three of the men left the fire side to talk amongst themselves unheard by himself. He figured they were talking about him, likely they didn't trust him, but could Miguel blame them with their location being the middle of the Dolwoods?

Listening with only one ear to Curo's rant, agreeing with his own opinion, Miguel's mind was working hard. What if they decided he couldn't be trusted? Could he take all four on by himself? Perhaps if he had the advantage of surprise. He could certainly try though. He would have rathered waited until later when they were drowsy, or even better when some had fallen to sleep. Unfortunately, by the sounds of their argument, it looked like he was not going to be a welcomed guest for that long.

"Aye, fething cowards they all are," Miguel agreed vigorously with Curo. Then, as if on a sidenote he added, "Say, your friends don't much trust me, do they?"