The name of this area translates directly to "the changing woods", and it is well named. Even the most experienced woodsmen can get lost in these woods, as the forest warps time and space within its borders. The Golgatha Arena is in the heart of these woods, taking advantage of the nature of the forest to avoid raids by the King's Guard.

The general look of the Unordnung Sylvani is black and bleak. Many travelers who have gotten lost in here have given up all hope after only a day within the oppressive atmosphere of the woods.

Sounds pretty cool. Be a very interesting place for those who have a crappy sense of direction.

The merry band of characters arrived bouncing along in their Pfielmann coach through a forest lane.

((Well, there'd only be Blade, Daryx, Lorne, and a fourth in the carriage. TwinDeath wants it to be Brooke, haha.))

Dolor lead the team forward, being experienced in past adventures with Lorne.

((It is, knowing his adeptness at seaking out comfort and suchlike. Which leaves Cluarch on the roof...))

The Pfielmann was proving as comfortable as I had hoped. I glanced up at the roof. "Feeling all right up there?" calls I.

Muffled swear words echoed down, not helped, I think, by the last rainstorm we had passed through.

Xaul was actually quite comfortable. compared to the Arena, a little water was nothing, and he had needed a shower anyways. Taking his bearings, he sat up with a jerk, coming completly awake. Stopping the horses, he hung his head over the side, locating Lorne. Xaul was not a leader, and he knew it. For this trip, he had decided to have Lorne or Cluarch act as the leader. Xaul had considered Brooke-Stanley, but the man rubbed him the wrong way for an unknown reason. Xaul had come to trust his instincts, as they had kept him alive more times than he could count.

"We've got a problem. There's a guard post up ahead, meant to stop anyone not meant to be at the Arena. How do we want to play this?"

Lorne extended his head out the window to look at Xaul. "I'm a noble of Kaleo, really. A trip with friends would suffice for entrance, would it not?"

"Yes, but it's a bit of a ragtag group of 'friends'. You're right, though. I'm the only one who might be identified. Gimme a sec here."

Xaul pulled his head back up, and began to alter his appearance. After a few minutes of makeup and one disgustingly frilly wig (which just happened to sit low enough to cover his pointed ears), Xaul looked like a rather shabbily dressed servant. Satisfied with his handiwork, Xaul looked at Cluarch, Drys, and the monk, who were also on top of the carriage.

"Congratulations! You three are now Highly-Paid Guards. Look stupid and meanacing." Xaul turned back to the horses, and the carriage trundled on.

"Bloody hell," Cluarch muttered to himself. He had gone down rather far in the world since being called up into the conscripts. He sighed to himself, and started to drink copiously from his hip flask. This was what most guards seemed to do, if their portraylals in contemporary fiction were anything to go by.

I smiled inwardly. The pompous, blue blooded, war mongering, overly decent bastard was getting some of his own medicine, whilst bluff old Brookey sat in one of the world's more pleasant types of carriage.

Lorne merely chuckled to himself as he sat next to Blade comfortably. "Keep us updated of what happens." He called back out.

"Like hell I am, goldilocks." gritted Drys. He leapt from the carriage roof and into the bushes and trees beside the path. He immediately disappeared from view. A few moments of silence later, and the ranger's voice called down to them from the canopy of a nearby tree. "I'll cover you from up here when something goes wrong." he said, because knowing Xaul, it's never a question of 'if'. The only question was 'when, and how badly', he muttered to himself.

Xaul shrugged as drys vanished into the trees. The elf always had, and always would, do what he thought was best.

When the carriage pulled up to the guard post, an overweight guard jammed his sweaty face through the window. "Lemme see yer papers," he spewed in a welter of bad breath and phlegm. Behind him Xaul could see three more guards, who seemed very annoyed at the interuption to their card game. one of them stood and walked over to the Pfielmann, muttering to the first.

"We need to search their cart, too. Hightened security, remember?"

Cluarch concluded that he had a lot to learn if he was to carry off this disguise convincingly. He thought that his conscripts had kept better order in the retreat from Nothgrad!

"Hullo," says I, cheerily looking out of the carriage window. "The name's Stanley. Paget Brooke-Stanley." Most people had a habit of going slightly weak at the knees at the thought of meeting a real war hero, even one who was trying not to ** himself at the sight of weaponry and truly awful senses of style.

"And I am Lorne Hasinbauk of Kaleo." Lorne added, opening the window further to show his face. Considering the hero-status of both fellows, he figured it'd help expedite their process of entrance.

"I don't care who yez are, or where yez came from," spewed the guard. "Show me entrance papers, and open yer luggage."

Xaul had prepared for this eventuality, and took a few seconds to alter the forged papers to accommodate the group. He hopped off the carriage, landing neatly in front of the guard. "Pardon me, sir," Xaul said to Lorne, putting on a very convincing posh accent, "but I believe that you asked me to carry these." He handed the papers to the guard, who gave them a cursory glance and handed them back.

"Alright, but we'll need to search the carriage," said the guard, spitting again and narrowly missing Xaul's foot. At this Xaul twitched slightly, a warning sign to those who knew him. He turned and looked to Lorne, Blade and Brooke-Stanley, waiting for their 'orders' as any proper servant would.

"Alright. Go back to the team, Xaldin." Lorne replied, firstly to the guard then to Xaul, using a fake name [coincidently one of an old friend] in case his might be recognized here. He waved his hand at Xaul before opening the door to the guard.

"Just myself, Brooke-Stanley here, my wife and child and myself here, sir." He added to the guard.

Drys observed the proceedings from the woods, his cloak cast around him and obscuring him from view. He stood half behind a tree with three arrows nocked and trained on the guards, prepared in case they were discovered. He doubted that the thuggish men would be able to notice that the papers were fake, but he couldn't take the chance. He shifted slightly to keep all three guards in view as they began to search the Pfeilmann.

The monk did as he was told and quietly sat on the top of the wagon. The forest didn't bother him, he'd seen worse, but the guard's slurred speach and spitting were quiet a nusance. The monk took a deep breath to calm his rising irratation.

I inwardly winced when they opened my trunk and began sorting through my collection of Newspapers for Gentlemen, but they didn't appear to find anything wrong with them (although one fellow made his excuses and dissapeared into the guard house's latrine for a few minutes.) "Here are the papers, good sir," says I to the other fellow, thrusting them at him in a grand gesture. "Do try and return them. We're only simple travellers, y'know. And the odd royal thrown in." I laughed ingratiatingly.

Pud wandered along the forest path, headed no place in particular. She hummed a little diddy to herself.

"There she was just walking down the street -- Singing do a diddy diddy dumb diddy do -- Snapping her fingers and shuffling her feet -- Singing do a diddy diddy dumb diddy do..."

Suddenly she stopped and looked up. There was a young man with a bow and arrow...

She beamed. "Hi there!" And bounced over to stand beside him. "What-chu doin', Mister?"

((sorry! I've been waiting for the right time for Pud to be able to jump in and cause some trouble ;) thanks for approving her Evil Minion Number 2 and Keira Kentai!))

The guards finished searching the luggage, and began roughly shoving everything back into the suitcases. the head guard went back to the window, and nodded to Lorne.

"Yer all set, except for the toll. That'll be twenty gold pieces," grinned the guard, noting the shocked expressions at such a high sum, "Per person. that comes to, lemme see... hmmm... well..." it was obvious that math was not the guard's strong suit. "160 gold pieces. And then there's the road tax, the food tax, the extra fees for non-humans..."

the guard kept listing the obviously made up taxes and fees, and Xaul prepared a concussion grenade, grinding his teeth at the guard's audacity.

(Goddamnit, and the trouble she'll cause spotting my CAMOUFLAGED character...Well, he'll certainly need that good-luck aura to keep hidden now...)

Drys' head snapped around, but he saw no one to produce the voice. A soft tug on his cloak prompted him to look down. He gazed at what appeared to be a half-naked blue child staring at him with liquid black eyes and a gigantic grin. Acting completely on instinct, he crouched down and slapped his hand over her mouth. In the same movement, he brought his cloak over both of them, trusting its enchantment to keep them from the eyes of the guards. With any luck, they'd be too preoccupied with attempting to extort Lorne and co. to notice anything else. He looked at the girl, who he now recognized as a water sprite, and hissed "Keep quiet and still, lest you want to kill us both." he removed his hand from her mouth.

Pud grinned up at him, blinking slowly.

"We playin' hide-and-seek! Who we's playin' with?" She looked around and strained her eyes, just seeing the carriage and the people gathered around it. Some were in uniform, but that made no difference to little Pud. "Them guys, huh? They founds each other already, though. So I guess you's won, Mister! You a elf? You got the ears for it. This cloak's nice, but cam'flage don't work on sprites. We can see through invis'bilty spells too. Fun, huh? But I can't be imvisble, and I'm not real good at hide-and-seek 'cause I gots what adults call 'a short attention-spam' so I gets inpatient and come outta hidin' too early. What'd you say your name's, Mister? I'm Pud. Just Pud. My daddy named me," she declared proudly, standing straighter, but she was still barely waist-high on the tall man.

((Pud never attended any type of schooling, so you're all lucky she can speak any English, lol -- and your Drys was just too easy, standing there all serious-and-prepared ;) Pud tends to cling to the most serious and responsible person around, and you just happen to be it :) I expect Pud to go after Xaul next (--I spelt that wrong...))

((No misspelling that i see. Looks like we're waiting on Rogue, AK, xFee, or awilla, so have patience...))

((no problem, I'm patient ;))

((I didn't think that Brookey could do much in this situation, but I'll think of something...))

It is a rare occasion that a Brooke Stanley is not somewhat excited by seeing topless women strolling about the place, but unlike some people I have never really been one for people below age ((and thank the good lord that he isn't, otherwise it's chokey for me...)), and especially before puberty. I happened to glance out of the carriage window and see someone talking to the patch where I knew our erstwhile leader was. So much for his camoflage, thinks I, before Dammee, were done for. I tried gesturing at the little girl- difficult to do discreetly, out of a coach window- but she then dissapeared suddenly.

I turned and smiled aimiably at the guards, as if I was often given to gesturing wildly at the thin air. I could just about hear comrade Tad up on the roof slapping his forehead and groaning quietly about the incident (although, as I later learned, he apparently stayed watchful and alert for the entire time, looking out for flying barnyard animals I suppose.)

((I was more thinking of the whole thing with the guard trying to extort the occupants of the carriage...))

((Do you want this to keep going or not?))

((Well, I would like to, but Rogue and AK are MIA. If they are on vacation, then no problem, we'll pick up later. If they just decided to quit, then... why? If you're out there, AK and Rogue, and quit for some reason, either post or PM me with the issue and it will be fixed. but Yes, awilla, I really really really want to keep this going))

Drys shut his eyes and took a calming breath to prevent him from turning and killing this irritating child. Nevertheless, he attempted to be friendly and keep up with the barrage of children's chatter. In a barely-audible whisper, he replied to her "Yes, I'm an elf. Well, half an elf, I suppose, but that's not the point. My name is Drys, little Pud." He shifted, moving around the clearing towards the blockade, keeping himself and Pud behind the cloak at all times. Drys knew he would be caught with his pants down, metaphorically speaking, if the guards noticed him now. He was fairly certain that the girl couldn't fight for herself, so it was up to him to keep her safe.

"Now, do you want to play a game, little Pud?" He asked. "I'll let you in on our hide-and-seek game. Those big men around the carriage are the bad guys. You don't want to be caught by them." He gestured to indicate the brigands still trying to get money out of Lorne. "I'm trying to get past them, because the safe place is on the other side of that barrier." Drys mimed circumventing the blockade to the road beyond. "Now, if you play too, you'll have to go as quietly as you can around the barrier and past the evil men. I'll follow you after a bit." He knew that this could end in disaster unless he could keep her occupied, and was suddenly struck by an idea.

Drys fished out a puzzle ring from a pouch and handed it to the girl. It was composed of nine interlocking rings of silver and gold, all jumbled together. "If you get bored, try this." he said, "If you figure it out, the rings will all line up and you can wear it." to show her, he solved it before her and slipped it onto his finger. Then he shook it, and it came apart again. "Now, run before they see you!"

Pud accepted the ring and studied it silently a few seconds.

"Wow," she muttered, and spun a few knots. "This be hard."

Then she took off sprinting for the gates.

Over her shoulder, she called, "This is so much fun! I bet I can run right past them without them even noticing-- Hmph!" She was cut off by the muscular arm suddenly enclosing around her wrist and bodily lifting her until her dainty feet no longer touched the ground.

She looked up into the face of the uniformed guard holding her.

"Dang," she spat. "'Twas never good at no games, Mister."

The guard quirked an eyebrow. "What type of games, Miss?"

She gestured vaguely over her shoulder. "Drys, half elf, in the forest," she said, "under a cam'flage cloak, he says the game's to get past you's here by the gate. But I ain't got no luck, Mister, I sure don't. I just ran into you. So I lost. I bet Drys'll win. He won the Hide-and-Seek game 'fore I gots here. Can you ket me go now? Yer hurtin' me arm."

The guard set the sprite child back on her feet but didn't release her wrist. "Twas my good luck, then, finding you," he said. Then, "Two of you, into the forest! There's a half elf spy in a camouflage cloak!"

I looked innocently away as the soldiers sped off into the forest, and pondered what to do. No one thinks saner under a crisis than a Brook-Stanley: it is our great tradition to bargain, toady, hot foot it away and, if we're in an enclosed space with no cash or bargaining power, kick the cause in the gentleman's area and see what happens next. Regrettably, running would give the game away. But the guards had already showed a certain adeptness at corruption, which I decided to use.

"Excuse me," says I to the captain. "May I have a word?" I rattled my gold pouch invitingly, and the fellow's eyes lit up.

The guard licked his lips, watching the Gold pouch. "Dat's lotsa money. I's sure we could work somefin' out, let those taxes alone, right? Name's Hnac, seeing how's we're looking to be the best of friends." His tongue darted across his lips again. "Lotsa money..." he trailed off, eyes darting to Brooke-Stanley. The fourth guard came to see what the leader was talking about, and was promptly handed Pud and told to "keep her occupied". It seemed that Hnac did not want to share.

The guard took Pud back in the shack and plunked her on the table. ((I release control of this guard to you, ESB. You seem to have good ideas.))

In the forest, the two guards moved quickly and silently. All appearances aside, they were skilled hunters and trackers, and Pud had left an obvious trail. Coming to the tree Drys was hiding in, they began to fan out, swords drawn and on full alert.

Lorne kept one arm under his cloak, on the hilt of his dagger, while he leaned toward Brooke-Stanley and the guard. "Do you honestly plan to allow such corruption?" He whispered to Brooke.

"If that girl lives, the first thing I'm going to do is kill her." Drys muttered darkly. Thankfully, he had been able to leap into the canopy before the two guardsmen came near. He shouldered his bow, which would be useless on foes so close. After drawing his matched blades, Drys sat and watched as the goons crept closer. The first passed him, then the second. They drew their swords, looking back and forth nervously, like mice that knew there was a hawk nearby.

Thus, like a hawk, Drys dropped silently from his tree branch and slam both hilts down onto the back of the latter goon's head. As the second fell, out cold, Drys was already lunging toward the first.

((sorry, I should have asked before controlling that guard before! but thanks!))

Pud let herself be dragged to the shack, babbling all the way.

"Been wanderin', lookin' for me father, ya know," she said. "Gone a couple months, I think. Maybe not. Not really sure how time works. Maybe it's only been a week, but it seems like a long time without my da. You know? Is your da still around? I bet you miss him. I miss my da. I--"

"Shut up, girl--Or whatever you are," spat the guard.

"Now that ain't very nice. Da always taught me to be nice. He says 'Sprites are kind, Pud' -- Pud, that's me. What's your name?"

He yanked on her wrist hard enough that she yelped. "I said shut up!" He closed the door behind him and shoved her into a chair. "Sit and be silent, Creature."

Pud's eyes teared up as she fell back in the chair and banged her head on the ground.

Promptly, she dissolved into a puddle of water.

The guard paid no attention to this, distracted as he was by something shiny he'd trodden on. He bent down and peered at it closely. His face lit up as he scooped it up.

"Well what do you know! It's my lucky day," he said, using his sleeve to buff the round object in his hand. "I just found me a lucky gold piece! Best not tell the guys..." He looked around, suddenly realizing his prisoner was no more.

I waved the irate Prince away imperiously. "Yes," says I to Cap'n McGoldlover, "it is. And I would be willing to give it to you." I waved it invitingly, and he leaned all the closer. Honestly, a nude elf maiden may have distracted him at that point, but it would be a pretty close run thing. I jerked the pouch away. "But only if you don't search that woodland."

The man nodded, and called the searchers back.

"There will not be a word about this, of course," I said in a matter of fact way, spilling a few coins into his hand. He nodded gleefully, utterly unknowing that they were, in fact, pyrite coins. Always useful.

((computer issues. will post ASAP))

The secong guard in the woods spun the second he heard Drys moving. Screaming an alarm, he sidestepped, slashing at Drys's back as the half-elf passed.

Back at the guard house, Hnac quickly pocketed the coins when he heard the guard in the woods calling. "Jernak," he called to the other guard. "Arm up an' getcher lazy rear out here!" Jernak came out of the guard house carrying a huge repeating crossbow, having given up on finding Pud.

"Watch them," snarled Hnac. "anybody moves before I'm back, shoot 'em." He reached inside the hut and pulled out a surprisingly high quality composite bow, which he easily strung before nocking an arrow and stepping into the woods to aid the other guard. Jerak planted his feet and took careful aim at the carriage.

Pud rematerialized and ran out the door after her guard.

"Hey, Mister Meanie!" And, yelling this, she threw a handful of mud at the guard's back. It missed the mark by a long shot, but hit the bow and knocked it out of his hands. "Take that, ya meanie! Pushin' little sprites likes me likes you's a big thug! I've seen bigger thugs than you, Mister!"

(edited ^.^)

As Hnac had gone into the guard house, Lorne took his chances and sneaked out of the carriage, now flanking the carriage and making his way through the edge of the woods toward Jernak ((he's on the opposite side of where Drys is.))

He had his spatha unsheathed in one hand and held two-throwing knives ready.

Cluarch quietly clambered off the coach, checked that he had his pistol ready and, holding it under his greatcoat, walked confidently towards the guard house. A fellow had to sometimes, he told himself.

He cocked the pistol, obscuring the sound by knocking on the door loudly.

((ESB, there's only four guards - two in the woods (three now) and Jernak. What is grabbing Pud?))

((Hnac of the un pronouncable name, I suspect.))

Drys turned his lunge into a fluid roll, and the guard's blade slapped harmlessly at the cloak trailing behind. He sprang from his roll and landed, blades readied. He spun to face his attacker, placing the man between himself and the other guard approaching with a bow. Drys spun his knives in a casual flourish and caught them in a reverse-grip. Standing his ground, and readied himself for the guard's strike.

(Edited, Sorry AK)

((Lorne's on the other side of the road, past the carriage from Drys.))

Lorne slowly approached a window of the guardhouse and peered through after Cluarch had knocked.

((AK and Awilla - the door to the guardhouse is open, and Jernak is sprawled right outside the door. Cluarch would need to step right over him to get to the door!))

((sorry, my friend was supposed to have made a character that we were going to collaborate on but she hasn't gotten around to it apparently. So if anyone feels like grabbing Pud from behind, I'd appreciate it, lol))

((Edited.))

Cluarch stared as the guard suddenly dropped his bow and a small, blue skinned young lass threw mud at him. He drew his pistol and ran at the guard, feeling that it would probably require more lethal force to stop a trained soldier than a small child with dirt.

1. Forums are not to be used to post stories.
2. All discussions, language and content, must be suitable for teens.
3. The owner/moderator(s) of this forum is solely responsible for content posted within this area.
4. All forum abuse must be reported to the moderator(s).

1. Forum admin/moderator
2. Fanatic (on site for more than 2 years)
3. Fan (on site for more than a year)
4. Regular (on site for more than 6 months)
5. Camper (on site for more than a month)
6. Apprentice (on site for more than a week)
7. Newbie (on site for less than a week)