LORE: The Reluctant Damsel and the Dysfunctional Hero

Post by **Emora Deen** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 11:19 pm

Talon forze worriedly, hoping the ruffians would keep there word and not harm his sister... He hated putting her at risk like this, but he had to think about what might happen to Vlad.

"Dragon? What dragon?" Tenele asked, her voice worried for a moment.

Tenele went completely still at the feel of a pointed cold edge against her back. She glanced at Vlad, unable to read his expression and tell what his grin meant... "Alright... Alright... no need to poke me with your sword there..." she said cautously.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 11:59 pm

Vlad watched the situation closely, attempting to grasp what was going on. He was expecting some kind of attempt to fool him, but as he scanned the surface of Tenele's thoughts, he found genuine alarm. Scanning one of the thugs, he found his thought sequence too excited to be intelligible, but it was enough to tell him they were really heading for a dragon's lair. He snapped back into his own head as the magic use dizzied him for an instant.

"Take her, we're going," Anti said, and Tenele was lifted over Dises's shoulder and carted rapidly out the door, the men running down the street.

Vlad turned a dark grin on Talon. "Just what the hell was that?" he questioned mockingly. He looked to Nickole and Kaze, appearing calm in his unstable way. "I leave the room for ten minutes, and the maiden girl gets carted off as dragon food," he sneered.

Nickole · Post by **Nickole** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 2:24 pm

Nickole perked up as Vlad's apparent interest in rescuing Tenele was beginning, but definantly not in full-bloom.

"I'm just a nightlight, remember?" she shot at him, hoping to annoy him into leaving so that he'd go after Tenele. "What was I supposed to do?"

Post by **Emora Deen** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 3:16 pm

Talon stood there, looking a bit shell shocked. Maybe sending his sister with those men was a bad idea... He should have known, since they were theives... and murderers, but he figured that would make it all the more easier to let Vlad kill them in the end...

He just hoped that they would keep there word and not harm her, of Vlad wouldn't be the only one killing people.

"It happened quick. They were arguing about a dragon's lair... and then something about a maiden... The next thing I know they grabbed her," Talon said, seemingly dazed. "We have to get her back."

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 3:30 pm

Kaze and Kami shot into whatever acting skills they had.

"Should we go after them?" Kaze vuleentered.

"How is that even a questioned?" Kami said with fake distaste and anxiousness. "We should go now!"

Nickole · Post by **Nickole** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 3:50 pm

Ylia looked on with amazement. She just didn't know what to think about these acting skills. Were they worried or were they acting?

Poor Tenele, she thought.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 5:04 pm

Vlad scratched his head in mock indecision. "Well, if you all insist on going, I suppose I'll tag along. After all, I have to be a gentleman to break the 'curse' you all think I have. Isn't that right, Leader?" he smirked at Talon, interpreting the situation all too well as a set-up, but still thrown slightly by the real concern on Talon's face. He wasn't going to waste any more magical effort on mind-reading, though. Though slim, there was a chance he'd need it later.

"I'll even behave and ride a horse," he said lightly, walking out the door and leaving it ajar behind him as he strolled toward the stables.

The five men had quickly reached their horses and Tenele was handed up to Anti as they mounted immediately and took off for the Dragon's lair, whooping triumphantly at their impending wealth as they stormed out the city gates and on toward the mountain.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 5:09 pm

It took all of Tenele's will power not to kill one of them. She didn't like being treated like a object, tossed to and fro with no care at all. It was for Vlad's sake she was doing this any way, but the idea of being alone with a pack of thugs she didn't know made her greatly uneasy. However, the fools were kind enough to leave her with her sword...

"Okay, guys... you can lay off the acting..."

Talon walked out the door. He didn't think they had time to get to Shinobu and Kyosuke... and to the cave so Vlad could catch them in the act of using Tenele as a sacrafise for an imagenary Dragon...

He was unsure then of what to do... They could be back soon... it wasn't that far away... They would go on with out Kyosuke and Shinobu and come back for them later.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 2:51 pm

"Yes, yes, deary. We'll be there soon enough," Anti crowed with a chuckle as they galloped up a mountainous trail with Tenele slung over the horn like a sadddlebag.

"Hey, you'll hurt her," grouched Nism.

"Hoh? Is Nis' getting protective of our maiden sacrifice?" teased Mentaria, laughing.

"Shut up and let her sit," he shot back.

Anti laughed heartily at this, and helped Tenele up to sit ahead of him in the saddle.

Inside the stables, Vlad calmly threw back the latches on three stalls, letting the horses trot out into the road where the others where. He came to his own horse and smiled at its flattened ears. "Let's be friends," he smirked at it as he led it outside and mounted it bareback. The animal shifted uncomfortably at the return of its unwelcome master, but was rather pleased at being free of its saddle, and its ears came forward slightly, waiting for Vlad to do something spooky.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:49 pm

Tenele was thankful for the sitting position, since the way she had been before made the air leave her lungs quite quickly as they galloped along.

Tenele had a feeling that the Nism guy would be a suitable freind on this venture... she hoped.

Talon looked to the others as he went outside. "We're going along, but only to make sure everything goes as plan... we cannot interfer with him when he goes to save her. He has to do it himself," he told them just to make sure they understood.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 10:06 am

Kaze thought about that for a moment, trying to figure out how'd they not "fight" without Vlad catching on. She hummed for a moment then turned to Kami who sighed and went outside behind a tree. Kaze followed him and said her command and Kami poofed back into a horse with his new clothes lying neatly folded on the ground. Kaze stuffed his clothes away in her pack and saddled him up. She mounted him and steered him towards Talon.

"Ready." she said.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 11:54 am

Vlad took up alongside Talon as they began following the gang's trail at a gallop. He shook his head imperceptibly as a haze of dizziness encroached on him, reminding him again of his hunger. He threw it off and kept riding, though his horse sensed that something was off with its instincts and twitched its ears back at him curiously.

Meanwhile, the gang had reached the cave. The mouth was an enormous stone hole in the face of the mountain, descending steeply inward.

"It's too steep to ride in. Let's dismount," said Anti, and the men climbed down. Anti took out a rope and tied Tenele's hands behind her back. "Sorry milady, it's gotta be realistic, after all," he teased, and they proceeded on foot with the horses. The entryway's walls were smooth and blackened, as if scorched by the heat of a brilliant fire until it melted into glass. At length the tunnel split two ways; they chose the left and kept going. Many smaller tunnels branched out from the central hall into a maze that wove through the mountain, but they kept to the tunnel the dragon would have been able to move through, searching for the beast's treasure pile.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 8:09 pm

Talon glanced over Vlad for a moment. He was trying to think of some pointers on what not to do to encrease his illness until he was cured. It seemed that he could have stopped the men from taking Tenele, but for some reason he didn't.

"Maybe it would be best if you didn't use any fancy vampire powers you might have," Talon said. "Until your cured that is... Anything that is too strong could make you seriously weak or kill you... " Not to mention it would make his self sacrifice more in the end...

* * *

Tenele grumbled at the treatment. 'I'm doing this for Vlad,' she told herself as he tied her hands behind her back and explained that they had to play along. At least there wasn't some special sacraficial dress that you had to wear to one of these things... Because she was fine in her brown pants and white blouse.

Tenele followed along with them, looking at the black walls and dearly hopping that there was no dragon here to scortch them as it had done the walls.

Tenele was surprised that they were smart enough to follow the larger tunnel and she could only hope that Talon could have that sense as well...

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 12:21 am

"If I want your coddling, I'll ask for it, oh wise and trusted guide," Vlad smirked fiercely as their horses galloped up the steep mountain trail. Soon the open mouth of the dragon's cavern came into view, and Vlad's horse spooked from side to side nervously as they approached it.

"On foot from here," he judged, dismounting and leaving the horse to its own devices. The animal visibly considered running off, then with an effort turned and resigned itself to trotting nervously about at the edge of the treeline, as far from the mouth of the cave as possible.

The robbers had been wandering down a long, straight passage, and presently followed it around a sharp turn - or so it would have been for the creature that once lived there - to find themselves facing a huge open cavern. The cavern hardly seemed interesting, but beyond it, another passageway seemed lit by a warm, rustic golden glow.

"There!" Anti said eagerly, and they led the horses onward toward the gold. The passage across the immense room was more like a narrow stone bridge, barely room enough for three to walk abreast. Other twisting rock formations webbed out from the main bridge toward the walls of the cavern, which were dotted with small tunnel openings that led to who-knows-where. The stone formations formed deadly, twisting balance-beams across the enormous cavern, and on all sides of them, there was a sheer drop toward a bed of stalagmites so far beneath them they were hardly visible.

"How was the dragon able to cross this?" Tablish murmured as they struggled to get the horses to walk on the narrow main bridge.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 12:32 am

Talon looked at Vlad, he should have expected that Vlad wouldn't take his advice... but maybe he wasn't supposed to. Maybe this was how ot was supposed to be... Talon led the way, as usual, looking at all the tunnels. He glanced at them... and trying to figure out a way to make sure Vlad was the one who saved Tenele, decided maybe the group should split up...

He knew that the bigger cavern was the one leading towards the theives...

"We should split up... I'll take this way," Talon said, pointing to a small cave branching off the larger one. "Nickole, will you take that way? Kami and Kaze I guess can go this way..." He pointed in two different directions. "And Ylia can go this way..."

* * *

Tenele listened to the comment and smirked. "I don't know, maybe it flew?" she said sarcasticly, glancing over the edge of the bridge at the pit of blackness bellow. She hoped this rescue mission didn't require a fake dive to her death bellow...

Her hands struggled with the ropes behind her back, irritated at the fact they were tied.

"Look, couldn't you untie me?" she asked with fake innocence. "I mean if I fall I have no hands to grab on to the edges..." Right about that moment she stumbled on a rock and hit her knees painfully hard. "See?" she groaned.