The Garden of... Eden? (Apollo, Echo, Eldar, & Kevv)

What a nice way to ruin such a beutifull forest: getting attacked by flying twigs with an anger issue. But, at least it was numb, probably due to some poison, which meant that Zuberi grabbing his affected hand and pulling him along didn't hurt as much as it should have. They must be the first obstacle. He thought, eyeing the fastly shrinking cloud of the pests carefully as his legs pedaled to keep up with Zuberi. Which means that things will only get worse from here on. As the trees rushed closer, he finally realized the danger they had justgotten into. The mines were at least mapped out, and in the desert he had wandered through were at least clearly dangerous. Here, he wouldn't know what was safe and what would kill him. But at least they had Freki, the gardener, who should be able to tell them what they could eat, at least.

As Zuberi finally slowed to a stop at the forest's edge, Veces was able to pull his hand out of her's so that he could inspect his hand further. Like a bee's sting, it seemed that it's stinger-things were pulled off of it's body, probably leaving the creature to die. He stared at it a moment, thinking he should feel worried that the affected area was beggining to swell, when Zuberi grabbed his hand and inspected it as well. He looked at Freki blankly, wondering if he really could do something, when he spotted multiple pairs of red, gleaming eyes, causing his own to widen in shock. He didn't know they were in here too! Ripping his hand out of Zuberi's grasp, he held his scythe in both hands and ran between the two towards the creatures, hearing a familiar cackle as the beast prepared to strike. Not this time. He thought to himself, then swung his blade at the beast, cutting it diagonally from it's waist to it's armpit, realeasing a torrent of thick, purple blood. wasting no time, he automatically took an offensive stance that clearly showed off the upcoming uppercut to the other four imps. The four stood there dumbly, in shock that their leader had just been carved up. But, they had a directive, and the punishment for not fulfilling it would be much worse than anything the scythe wielding man could do. So, a little nervously, they one by one jumped at Veces, hands out in an attempt to slash him open. Vces simply raised his blade, and the first was cut in two. Continuing with the motion, he spun completely around and made the same attack, cutting down the second. The third, trying to outsmart him (with a brain with the same thought capacity of a goldfish), attempted to simply dash at him and attack his legs, wich earned a downward slash that made him into symmetrical halves. The last, seeing he wasn't going to win, thought for a moment. If he couldn't stop him here, maybe he could lead them to their deaths somewhere down the road. It flashed a cocky smile and turned tail, running off into the forest until it was lost in nature.

And now, with that over, Veces could release his grip on his scythe and crumple onto the floor in a giant heap, clutching his hand and muttering some rhyming, but no less crude, curses. He didnt even have to look at his hand to realize it had just gotten a lot worse, thanks to the little dance he had with the imps. He didn't even notice the bodie's dissapear, just like they did outside of the wall, or that the blood was the only thing proving their existence. But, if he did look, he would see that his entire hand had turned a nasty shade of purple, the poison moving slowly but surely throuhg his hand. And if this was just the beginning, he would have a pretty tough time imagining what could be next.

Shaking, Freki tried to catch his breath. It had been a while since he’d had to sprint, or do any kinds of sports really. His hand also hurt where Zuberi had gripped it, with so much more force than he’d thought possible for a female. But then again, who was he to judge? Not everyone was such a weakling as he was, and he freely admitted to it. The only muscle he had was from working in the garden and that was by far not as much as people usually seemed to think. “Hm, I wouldn’t be too sure this is all we have to put up with. Remember how the wall only looked like a wall from afar? I think that was just a hint at what will be coming inside. We should really have considered this before venturing in.”

However, it was too late now and there was no time to think. Veces’ hand was swelling up at an alarming rate, yelling for treatment, and the worried looks on both the other’s faces told him enough. “Let’s get this thing out,” he said and without further warning, walked up to Veces, and pulled, leaving his hand in Zuberi’s grip. Stepping back, he wanted to say something else but then his eyes widened in horror.

The white reaper suddenly whipped out his scythe and moved towards him in an attempt that could only be described as wanting to kill Freki, though the young gardener could not understand why, all he had wanted to do was help. But then Veces was already past him and all Freki could distinguish was the sound of the scythe cutting through something and the splash of whatever liquid it was hitting his back. His face contorted in disgust but there was no time. He whipped around, trying to see what was happening to them now. “Wha.. ?!” Disgusting little devilish looking creatures were running at the white reaper but they did not even stand a chance against his skills. Within a few heartbeats, they were all cut up except for the last one, who seemed to think better of it and quickly disappeared into the dark depths of the forest it had come from.

Freki looked at Zuberi with the unspoken question plainly visible on his face. What was going on here? Then, he turned back to Veces, wanting to thank him for his efforts when he realised that their saviour was huddled up on the floor with his hand turning a nasty shade of purple. This was not good! The poison was spreading, not just infecting the place where he’d been stung initially. “I don’t have anything with me against poison,” Freki was rummaging through his bag frantically. Then his hands suddenly came across a leather band… Without further ado, he threw it to Zuberi: “Sling it around his arm, just above where the poison stops and keep it tight!” Not waiting to see whether the blue woman was doing what he said, he fell to his knees next to Veces, grabbing the latter’s hand. It was not something he liked doing and he could not even be certain of the implications or if it would even work at all, but he had to try to suck the poison out before it could spread any further. Closing his eyes to better concentrate, Freki’s lips found the hole where he’d ripped out the twig’s butt and began sucking. In regular intervals, he spit out whatever he could get out of the wound, working quickly and what he hoped to be somewhat professionally. Finally, he sat back with a sigh. Looking at Zuberi, he attempted to joke despite the seriousness of the situation. “I’m guessing this is what you meant by teamwork?” Truth was that he had no idea how they were going to survive this little adventure if they kept going at this rate. One thing was for certain, they were going to be pushed to their limits.

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Before Freki had the chance to inspect Veces's hand very thouroughly, movement caught Zuberi's eye. She glanced up, and met the gaze of an evil-looking little creating, which was eyeing them nastily. She went to grab her bow and was about to shoot when Veces tore away from her grip and went to work on the beasts, slaying them quickly and efficiently in a sort of graceful dance that one would not expect from the white reaper. Unfortunately, the last one of the imps seemed to have more sense than the rest, and, after grinning at the trio, took off into the underbrush. Zuberi attempted to shoot the nasty vermin, but her aim was not very effective in the dense underbrush, and all she managed to do was lose an arrow. Cursing, she angrily stuck her bow around her shoulder and turned to her companions.

"Just our luck. That little demon is probably going to go warn...." She was about to say that the imp was probably going to warn some other, nastier beast in the forest, until she saw the state of Veces. He was crumpled over in pain, the torture evident in his grey eyes. With a jolt, she noticed that his hood had fallen in the battle, and underneath the dark shadows of fabric he was actually a very normal-looking person. Then again, why shouldn't he be? She would have almost thought that he was handsome, except she was too worried about his hand to think properly. As Freki rapidly gave her instructions, she took the leather band and wrapped it tightly around the crook of Veces's elbow, where the poison seemed to have crept up to. She nervously watched as Freki then sucked out the poison, a disgusting procedure, but apparently effective. The swelling in Veces's arm was already starting to lessen, but his hand was still large and looked extremely sensetive. "I'm so sorry, Veces," she murmured, unwrapping the leather band and letting her hair fall across her face to hide her shame. "This is my fault. We never should have come in here. It will be the death of us all." She had entirely forgotten about her own wound, but it now throbbed slightly, not as badly as before, but definitely still a problem. She ignored the joking way that Freki tried to lighten the mood, instead standing and walking off a ways, staring pointlessly into the forest. "Where do we even go?" she asked, glaring angrily at the trees, as if they had given her personal insult. "I have never seen a map of the garden, and for all I know, there is no such thing in existence. The entire goal of this place is to kill us in any way possible." The more she spoke, the more negative her thoughts became, and a fierce anger grew in the pit of her stomach. Without thinking, she kicked at a tree, knocking off some bark that hung loosely at its side. The branches above swayed, and seemed to whisper something inaudible, but nothing else out of the ordinary occurred.

At least, nothing that they could see. The movement of them going into the forest, and then Zuberi's action, had caused a stir in the trees. Deeper into the woods, the lumubering giants came awake, uprooting their stable foundations and creating a wall between the clearing that they had arrived in, and the outside of the forest. When the trio tried to pass through, they would find it impossible to do.

Even as the trees went to work, Zuberi was already looking around again, for what, she knew not. A way out? Some secret map that would magically show them the way? Whatever it was, it gave her something to do. She walked around the trees randomly, her long, poweful legs knocking away anything that stood in her path. When she thought she had circled the area completely, she noticed something a little odd. She hadn't noticed, but the trees almost appeared to be growing in rows, and not just in random order. Her heart lifting, she hurried to a spot where the trees seemed to open slightly, and, to her amazement, saw that the ground was covered with fine soil and gravel that crept off into the woods beyond her sight. It was a path! Not much of one, but when she looked close enough, it was obvious that that was what it was. She came back to Veces and Freki, telling them of what she had found. "If we're going to die, it might as well be while fighting," she stated blandly, then turned and took the first step of the rest of the journey.

Now, you have to realize, Veces isn't some city-born kid who is out in the forest for fun. This guy has been beaten senseless, cut to ribbons, insert your source of pain here. But all of those had nothing on this poison. It felt like it was being burned, frozen, and boiled all at the same time, and it onlly got worse. But, just as it was becoming unbearable, it started to fade! He was able to pry his eyes open and stare at the spectacle happening: Zuberi had tied off the infected area in order to halt the flow of poison, and Freki was quickly and efficiantly sucking out the poison, and the poison was soon completely flushed from his hand, along with the blood necessary for it to work properly. But that wasn't a problem anymore, for as soon as Zuberi untied the cord, muttering her apologies as she did, the blood flowed in quite painfully, rushing to do it's work in repairing the damaged area. Groggily, Veces helped himself up, stareing at his swollen hand in dismay. Perfect. This'll take a while to heal properly. And right now, they didn't have a while! And, though he did not doubt Zuberi's skill with her bow, nor Freki's knowledge, with himself in this state they would have a better chance of surviving if they had to carry a load of rocks than if they had him holding them back! Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh, but without both hands he was unable to use his scythe for anything other than show, and waveing a glorified cane isn't exactly going to get the enemy to run in fear.

But he wasn't the real injured party anymore, so he had to stop thinking like that. Poor Zuberi was having a guilt attack all because of him, and he had to help her get through it. Though why he thought this, he couldn't quite figure out, but he did notice that Zuberi looked somewhat charming when she was upset. That must be it, most humans automatically wanted to help others in pain, it was just how the mind worked. So, with a stifled grunt, he sat up and nodded to Freki in appreciation, then turned his attention to Zuberi, who had just kicked a tree in anger.

"Ah, Zuberi, those things are not nice to say,
they ruin your mind in a terrible way.
When we chose to enter, we each knew
that with reward would come pain too.
So, do not fret, this all will pass,
but a damaged mind will uncureably last."

After this speech, and after Zuberi's excited return to the group, Veces stood to stare at the path she had mentioned. And, sure enough, nestled between the trees, there was a thin dirt path leading to who-knows-where. Hopefully, a true path, and not a dead end he thought, just now realizing his hood was down, and quickly moved to replace it. No matter, Zuberi had already begun the walk, so Veces somewhat clumsily followed after retrieving his scythe, which was once again the only thing of his that wasn't damaged or soiled in some way. And, after a long and arduous walk, during which his swollen hand and shrunken to almost normal, but still retained the sensitivity of an exposed banana, thhat they reached the second obstacle. As far as the eye could see, which wasn't far, considering it was a forest they were in, there was an impenetrable wall of trees, the roots intertwined and the soil beneath them fresh and moist as if it had just been dug up. There was also a startleing lack of wildlife, but for this Veces was actually grateful. The less unknown creatures, the better. He thought, the memory of those cursed killer twigs still fresh in his mind. But he had to focus on the here and now: there was a giant wall of trees, and they had no means to get through. And he dared not suggest that Zuberi teleport them through, seeing as that had failed epicly with the last wall they had come across. Perhaps... His eyes trailed to Freki, eyeing him curiously. Surely he would know what to do here, seeing as he was the most knowledgeable in these kinds of situations.

Freki wearily watched Zuberi pass around the clearing, kicking and stamping anything that dared cross her path. He felt very uncomfortable. He’d never knew how to act around an angered woman and generally tried to avoid any kind of conflict and she looked like she would be capable of hitting him too, should he get in the way, but that was not the real source of his discomfort. He felt somehow that with every step the blue woman took, she was getting them deeper into some kind of mess. The forest felt… off, wrong somehow. He understood Zuberi’s frustration, noticing some of it creeping inside of him as well, but he batted the emotion away like an importunate fly. Sighing, he let his body sink into itself, transforming into a miserable heap on the forest floor, trying to come up with a way out of their precarious situation, whilst blanking out the woman’s mutterings. It was a magical garden, what else could they expect?

It was then that he suddenly realized what was wrong: the trees! Yet, he couldn’t quite put his finger on what exactly it was, but the greenery certainly seemed to be oddly changing. However, that was impossible, right? Distracted by Veces’ sudden speech, Freki could only stare in amazement at the white reaper. For someone who could only speak in rhyme, he certainly had a way with words, and he was absolutely right as well. “He is right, you know? We knew what we were in for. Adventure rarely comes without a prize to pay. Don’t worry, nobody is holding you responsible for what has occurred so far.”

His eyes were again following Zuberi’s proceedings and it dawned on him that exactly this action might be what was making the trees react. They seemed to… move? But no.. that couldn’t be. When she got all excited about having found something, Freki finally got up off the forest ground as well and slowly stalked over to have a look. The trail looked safe enough but who could be sure in this environment? Was it him or had the light slowly faded into inexistence? Had they grown thicker? Or had they just ……
“Stop!” Freki yelled in sudden realisation as soon as Zuberi took the first step. “They will… “ and sure enough at just that moment, the trees – this time clearly visible for their eyes – moved to block out the tiny path.

“Whatever you do, just don’t anger them.” Realising that this was probably not a very helpful statement as such, he went on to explain: “Your actions provoked them. You severely injured one of their ranks by kicking of the branch, even though it may only have been a piece, and you hurt several others too. Trees are linked with the forest, the plants, every single natural being that is around them. Hurting them or their natural habitat will cause them to feel the pain too. And as far as I can tell from this particular place, they seem to be intent on vengeance for any kind of harm caused. So you better watch your step very closely. Do not step on roots, living plants, or anything remotely living. Try to stay on the path, the rocks, pebble, as much as possible.”

And then he did something relatively unusual for him, he took the lead. Stepping past Zuberi and Veces, he squished onto the path, which was now barely visible amidst the trees that had pushed forward, almost completely imprisoning them in the clearing. The young man took his time though. He very cautiously examined where he put his feet, here and there touching a tree, caressing a plant, muttering niceties under his breath. It was his way of communicating with the trees, trying as much as possible to convey the message that neither of them intended them any harm, despite the injuries they might have already caused. To outsiders, it might look oddly unsettling to watch him interact with plants as if they were human beings, but to Freki, it was the way it was supposed to be. Trees had feelings too and their action just now had showed them very clearly that this was the case, and he wanted to avoid enraging them further. The trees did not move an inch away from the path to make the journey any easier on them, but Freki had not expected it either, not really. A few times, he very nearly stepped onto roots or a plant that seemed to throw itself into his path in a suicidal manner, but he had been lucky every time – so far. Alas, the end of the path was not there yet, though the light began to grow brighter again and the trees seemed to naturally thin out slowly as they apparently approached some end of the forest. He couldn’t help but wonder though into which trap they might be wandering next.

As Freki finally approached the end of the path, he almost wanted to sigh in relief at the sight of a nearby water source, when suddenly the trees started lashing out at the companions. In an effort to duck under the branches, Freki tapped into the last of his strength and jumped out into the light, but misjudged his footing and thus landing straight on top of a beautiful bright red flower. The response was immediate. The trees were now rushing towards them so quickly, it was barely visible to the eye, so that they were forced to run the few last steps flat out without paying attention to where they were going. Angry whispers followed them, swooshing branches flew over their heads until they were finally out of the moving forest. Freki’s goodbye wave was a full-blown hit from a branch he could not avoid anymore, which sent him flying straight into the lake.

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'It's my fault again,' Zuberi thought miserably at their predicament. Not only had she convinced them to enter the garden, and then lead them to a forest filled with evil creatures, now she had angered the forest itself and put it against them! For a moment she wallowed in self-hatred, until Veces's words repeated themselved through her mind, and she let herself relax, at least slightly. There was something about the odd white-robed man that made her feel assured... Comfortable, even. He seemed to have an air of mystery about him, and yet he seemed as personable as anyone else she knew. She found herself wondering again how and why he had to speak in rhymes, and if she or Freki could figure out any way to help him. Perhaps the garden would be the answer...

Her musings were interrupted by the actions of Freki, who, to the shock of Zuberi, had taken the lead and instructed them not to touch, well, pretty much anything. She made careful movements through the tiny path as Freki had told them, and, being a natural huntress of the forest, hardly made a sound and touched nothing but earth and stone. She could be silent and graceful when she wanted to, though unlike, say, elves or dryads, she didn't see the point in doing so most of the time. Though she didn't appear it, she really was more human than earthly creature, and she felt no need to travel around the forest stalking people and generally making a nuisance with her predatoral expertise.

As they made their way along the trail, she watched Freki speak to the plants, consoling them and generally trying to please them and try to make up for her earlier behavior. If she had had the same sort of connection that he had with plants, she would probably be doing the same thing, but he seemed to be doing a fine job on his own. She didn't think it was odd; this forest seemed truly alive, as complex and intelligent as a human community. It made sense that if one was hurt, the others would be offended as well.

Finally, thankfully, light filtered in through the thick canopy of the trees, signalling that they had almost made it through. For some reason, though, as they got closer to getting out, the trees got more agressive. She grabbed and held on to both of the men's hands, just to make sure they wouldn't lose each other in the whipping branches and flailing twigs. But for some reason, Freki appeared to think it would be a good idea to jump his way out of the forest, and before she could say anything, he had landed on a beautiful little flower, sending the trees into overdrive. Zuberi hardly noticed the young gardener flying through the air and landing in the lake, due to all the whipping and lashing that was going on. She and Veces somehow made it out of the forest alive, although both were covered in angry red lines from the beating. Breathing in great gasps, Zuberi let go of the reaper's hand and bent over, taking deep breaths to recover. It took only a moment for her to realize that Freki was nowhere to be seen. "Freki?" she called, a little hesitantly, and then, when no one answered, called louder. "FREKI?" When there was again no answer, she grew greatly worried. "What on earth happened to him," she asked, half to herself. She felt herself start to panic, and just when she was about to turn and go back into the forest to see if he had somehow been captured, she heard a great splash coming from the water. She whirled around to see Freki's head bobbing on the surface of the lake. "Oh, thank goodness," she breathed. It looked as though he could swim, and he wasn't too far from the shore, so it seemed as if everything was going to turn out alright.

As she ran out to the shore to help him, another deeper, more sinister noise rose from the lake. The closest Zuberi could come to describing it would be an underwater roar, the kind that chills you to the bone and freezes your blood. She could only guess what sort of creature made that noise. "Freki, COME ON!" she screamed desperately. She walked out into the water until the surface was up to her hips, but even she was not brave enough to go further. He was still a couple dozed yards out when the surface started bubbling. Right before her eyes rose the most monsterous creature she had ever seen. At first all she could see were row after row of razor-sharp teeth, each the size of her torso, and then two huge, malicious red eyes glared hungrily at her and Freki as the entire head rose above the water. The head itself was as large as a cottage, and from what she could see, the rest of its long, serpentine body seemed to stretch into eternity. As it rose higher out of the water, it let out a monsterous shriek, and in desperation, Zuberi grabbed her bow. She didn't know what she could do with such a small weapon against so huge an enemy, but she had to do something, or Freki would be doomed. She started aiming towards the head, hoping to pierce it's eye, or maybe a soft spot along the throat.

"Veces!" she yelled back at the shore. She didn't waste time to see if he was helping, she just shouted,"Do something!"

Without a doubt, this was the strangest walk through the forest Veces had ever been on. First, and perhaps strangest, Freki was leading them. Freki. Lose an arm wrestle match with a butterfly Freki. Next, there was how they were walking. On most hikes, you would usually care less about the plants, they were just obstacles. But Veces wasn't really complaining: He had learned his lesson when he had first entered the forest. Last, Zuberi had taken both of their hands (luckily, she had grabbed Veces' good hand this time) in an attempt to keep the group together. A futile attempt, but an attempt nonetheless. For as soon as she had grabbed Freki's hand, he had seen it fit to jump at that moment, landing on a fragile, and probably extremely rare flower.

Well, the forest was having none of that. As Freki was learning to fly, the trees began whipping at Veces and Zuberi with perhaps the worst case of displaced anger Veces had ever seen. And throughout it all, Veces had to hold onto his scythe with a hand as strong as a newborn hamster. By what seemed like complete chance, Veces had made it out of the forest with his scythe, the price being a tattered robe and numerous red welts that would hurt for some time. Veces was just getting his breath back when Zuberi called him to action, calling his attention to the newest obstacle. Oh, perfect.

The Great Lake Knucker. A serpent so deadly, so dangerous, even the most accomplished dragonologists have mistaken it for a species of dragon. They require no toxins, no camouflage, no weapons other than their muscular bodies, their rows of razor sharp teeth, and their nasty, get-off-my-front-lawn attitudes. They have even been known to attack dragons larger than them for trespassing on their territory and winning. They have also been extinct for fifty years, hunted down so that lake and seaside towns and cities could live without as much fear. But apparently, this one hadn't received the letter yet because here it was, alive, well, and angry. 'Do something?' Veces had to keep himself from exploding in laughter: here was nothing to do! It wasn't like it had some exploitable weakness, some flaw in its design that he could attack....

Or was there? Veces scanned the beast's head, trying to remember, when... there it was, just like in the books! These serpents had two whisker-like protrusions, one between each eye and the mouth, that were so sensitive it could feel a leaf fall onto the surface of the water almost a mile away. And, just as they are sensitive to it's surroundings, they are sensitive to pain as well. All it would take was a clear shot. So, with this thought in mind, along with the well-being of his comrades, Veces took an offensive stance, on the spot, not stepping an inch closer to the lake. It would have taken both hands to do a physical attack, and right now Veces was lacking one crucial hand. But it wouldn't have to be physical, not when magical would work just as well. And, perhaps more importantly, without adding the risk of getting close to it's mouth. But even now, only seconds after taking his stance, Veces could already feel the energy building in his crystal scythe, the power of it making the clear blue crystal shine with bright light that, unfortunately, caught the creature's attention. Their eyes met, two great fighters sharing such strong glares that would stop the heart of even the burliest man. You could almost see the hunter's instinct coursing through them, the tension in the air as they both waited for the other to strike. And Veces was the first.

With a grunt, Veces swung his scythe upwards, the actual movement weak and clumsy but the power it made anything but that. A single, shining crescent of light shot forward, hurdling right towards the beast with such speed that it didn't have time to evade: The blade of energy cut through the serpent's left whisker, making i give off such an angry cry that it made Veces fall broken to the ground, the weakness supplemented by his sudden release of energy. All Veces could think of was what would he do now that the beast was hurt. His next attack would take more time, and it didn't seem like he was going to have much of that. All Veces could do was hope that Zuberi could get Freki out of the water by the time the serpent got back to it's senses, because after that no part of the lake would be safe.

With his mouth wide open, Freki was gasping for air as soon as his head pierced the now disturbed surface of the water. This had not been the most gentlest of splashes he’d ever taken in his life, and the water was freezing cold but luckily he wasn’t too far from the shore so he should be back out in no time. He turned back towards the edge, searching for his companions, witnessing a moment of shock as he didn’t immediately see them, but then a sigh of relief escaped his lips when he finally spotted the white-clad man and the blue woman, not visibly harmed from where he was. They should definitely take a moment to rest now, they all needed to regain their strength before they continued on this very awkward and quite exhausting journey. However, just as he was about to make his way towards the others, with slow strokes as that was all he could muster up anymore, he felt a shudder run through the water, immediately followed by a very menacing rumbling against his body. Oh no! This was not good. The rumbling he felt underwater was actually the angry of something very large. He saw Zuberi frantically trying to tell him to get out of there, even walking into the water a little to come to his aid but when she stopped, he was certain that something very nasty was behind him. An uneasy feeling was creeping up his spine and he sensed eyes boring into his back with a fierce notion of impending doom. Freki was scared out of his wits and did not really want to know what was emerging out of the water behind him, but he had to know. Knowing could not be worse than hovering in darkness about what was about to attack, right?

But he could not turn around. And neither could he move forward anymore! Panicing, Freki felt a surge of adrenalin pumping into his veins, yet even with the bit of added strength he could not manage to get the hell out of there. It was a terrifying thought that something that would even make the two on shore remain stunned was behind him, probably about to devour him whole. Zuberi had her bow drawn but she wasn’t shooting, which was worrying. Veces was standing a little behind her, still on dry land, unmoving and seemingly out of ideas. Freki shuddered, realising that if none of them knew how to handle this then it was bad. Very bad. He would have given so much this moment to be able to follow Zuberi’s shout and swim towards his companions, towards safety, but he simply couldn’t. The icy grip of panic would not loosen, but when he was forcing himself to even out his breath, instead of swallowing so much water, it finally began to dawn on him that his own terror was not the only thing holding him in place. That thought sent yet another wave of panic, but then there was a tiny glint of hope! Veces was taking up a stance and focusing on the monster for what seemed like an eternity to Freki.

The longer Veces and the monster were staring each other, the tighter its hold became over Freki. The young gardener felt as though he could not breathe anymore when the monster’s grip strengthened further. Even though there was no physical contact between them, the serpent’s presence was cutting off his airways and kept him paralysed in place. No matter how much he struggled, he could not move forward, and he was on the verge of hyperventilating, sending himself into unconsciousness. He was losing his focus and ever so slowly, everything around him became blurry. Veces and Zuberi were barely visible to him anymore, and the motions of the agitated water made him all the dizzier as his face slowly regained colour, though an unhealthy one. And then suddenly, his ears were filled with a piercing scream of pain and indescribable fury just as his lungs were pumping for air again so hard that it hurt, when the monster released its grip on him momentarily. Blinking, Freki was coming to, realising that this was his chance, and probably the only one he was ever going to get. With barely any strength left, he was swimming towards the shore, which seemed miles away, hoping he would make it. But even as he was sending his hopes towards heaven, his sight was darkening and there was nothing around him anymore except for the feel of strong arms pulling him out of the water, dragging him along.

Freki felt lightheaded as something pulled him back into consciousness after only a few heartbeats, and he immediately felt the danger they were still in. Rolling over to his side, he was coughing as the fresh air hit his lungs and the remainder of the water wanted to find its way out. “Sorry,” he whispered in a hoarse voice as he tried to stand up. When he finally dared to venture a look towards the lake, he took in a sharp breath at the sight of the monster, which sent him immediately into fits of coughing again. The serpent had already refocused on the three of them and Freki could already feel the touch of its fiery stare on every inch of his skin, making him shiver. “Run! Run! Before it gets a hold on you!” and without waiting for their responses, he followed Zuberi’s example, grabbing them both by whatever he could get his hands on and began to storm away, not paying attention to where, just away from that awful thing behind them.

Guest

Zuberi was not a coward. She had taken on wild boars twice her size, and come out with the beast dead on the ground. She had no fear of death, and would gladly give her life to save a friend. But now, faced with this giant, powerful beast thrashing only hundreds of feet away, she felt a stir of panic. If it had been anything else, she would have swam out and grabbed Freki herself, but for some reason, this creature just had her pinned to the spot. It's gaze penetrated into her very being, and gaze so intent and full of rage and hunger that she felt as though she were dying. Just as she thought she could take no more, the beast's gaze swept over to Veces, who was doing... Something with that incredible scythe. It was glowing, which she assumed had gotten the thing's attention, and Veces's stare seemed no less concentrated then the monster's. She wondered how it was possible for him to face off against such an incredible creature.

While the monster was distracted, Zuberi took the chance to slide out deeper into the water. Freki had finally began to paddle towards the shore, but he looked like he was about to collapse from exhaustion. It seemed like an eternity before she reached him, but she managed to grasp onto his arms and drag him back to shore, where he came to moments later. She checked to make sure he wasn't harmed, then turned her attention back to Veces. He had managed to hit the serpent in what she assumed was a very sensitive region, due to the fact that it was writhing more wildly than it had been before, and its cry was like that of a dying beast. But it was far from dead, and Veces seemed spent. He had collapsed to the ground, and now Zuberi ran over to him, making sure he was still alive. He was, but seemed too weak to continue on his own. With a burst of adreneline-produced strength, she wrapped her arms around his upper torso and threw him over her shoulder, all the while keeping an eye on the serpent to make sure it wasn't about to strike. Then Freki was grabbing her hand, urging her onwards, and she gladly followed, leaving the pained cries of the magnificent monster behind them.

They ran on away from the lake for as long as they could, but before long Zuberi felt too exhausted to continue. The added weight of Veces was slowing her down, and soon she stumbled over a root, landing hard on the rough grassy ground. She moaned, feeling a twinge of pain in her side from the earlier wound, and didn't move. She heard Freki come to a stop as well, so she struggled up to a half sitting position, seeing with relief that Veces was sitting up as well. It was a while before she could manage to speak. "Please, Freki..." she panted,"Don't make us get into the habit of saving you every five minutes." She was attempting to lighten the mood, but since they were all in such a bad state, it wasn't very effective. After a few more minutes of silence, and taking the time to recheck themselves for injury, Zuberi nodded to the west, where the sun was slowly sinking down from view.

"I think that we should stop here for the night," she commented, motioning to the land. It was grassy as far as the eye could see, except for one small, lone tree whose root she had triped over, and though it wasn't the softest grass she had ever felt, it was comfortable enough to rest on. Looking back, she saw the slight twinkle of water in the distance, as well as a dark line that indicated the edge of the forest. "At least we've made it this far alive," she said, taking her bow off and setting it on the ground. She had a small pack was around her waist, and she searched until she found some flint and a small hunting knife. She grabbed a few tufts of tough grass and leaves, making a pile before striking the flint with the knife and creating a small fire. It wasn't much, but it would have to do. Just as she completed her work, her stomach growled, and she touched her stomach painfully. "We haven't eaten in hours," she sighed, "and I there isn't any food to be seen., except for this odd tree. And I don't know if it's safe to eat..." She fell silent, staring into the flames as they consumed the grassy fuel.

So here they were, alone, lost, and without food or water. There was no way she was going to go back to the lake to see if there was anything there, and she had no idea if the boys had any ideas of their own. Their adventure was seeming more idiotic by the moment.

((Haha, I think this is a good reference pic for the creature, just for fun: http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=serpent#/d1cxc7p ))

Come on Freki, swim you little gardener you. Veces watched Freki float in the water, stunned like a deer standing in front of a vicious hunter, appearantly frozen by the creature. But, by some fit of strength that surprised Veces to no end, the man began paddling for shore with all he had, which was sadly not much. But he didn't have to make it all the way it seemed, because Zuberi met him in the water, and dragged him to the relative safety of the shore, letting Veces' mind rest for a few needed seconds. And, for these few seconds before Zuberi lifted him off the ground like a bag of produce, Veces was able to concentrate on on dangerous fact: There were no fish in the water. Now, normally, creatures that size don't work on solar power. So that must mean it had another source of food, but since these creatures feasted on a diet of fish and ships that could only mean... Veces went wide-eyed as Zuberi carried Freki and him away, the serpent and its dreaded lake getting smaller and smaller as they went. That means that there's more than one lake. And it can get to them. So they could enjoy victory, but not forever....

The escape was as calm and as undisturbed as Veces could have hoped: They met no opposition, fell to no traps, and it was relatively comfortable, other than the occasional jolt from the speed they were travelling at. But then, of course, nothing good can possibly last, because after a while Veces noticed that a rather large jolt and was then hurdling through the air, his instincts barely kicking in as he rolled as he fell instead of just landing. Groaning in pain, Veces sat up after a few moments, once again extremely surprised that his scythe was still with him. Odd, I don't remember holding on to it. He thought, rubbing his head slowly. Oh well. At least this means I won't have to go back. He stretched his arms out, clenching his fists as he did to check his injured hand, and found that he could now feel it, albeit only a small tingling. He gave a small, fake chuckle at Zuberi's comment, trying to make her feel like it worked, then reached for his scythe and used it to pull himself up. He scanned the immediate area, frowning at what he found: Surrounded by grassland on all sides , no wildlife (which he wouldn't hunt either way), and the only other visible food being fruit growing on a lone, low tree that Veces would never trust, no matter how tantalizingly delicious it's fruit looked. But they had to eat something to even have a chance at surviving the next day. And so, Veces had a choice: Either go back and try to cut off a piece of serpent, or risk eating the mystery fruit. Deciding that he would prefer to at least have an arm to use for tomorrow, Veces risked the fruit. So, ignoring any possible complaints, Veces walked to the nearest tree and held his scythe up, hoping that it was long enough to reach the lower fruit, which it was. Veces heard three small thumps as the fruit fell to the ground, and bent to pick on up for examination: It were the same basic shape and size as a good apple, but had a strange pink color instead of a deep red or a healthy green. Oh well. He thought. It can't be worse than what we've been through so far. So, closing his eyes, he took a good bite out of the apple, eyes going wide after the taste kicked in and the food kicked out.

"Agh, that taste, that's no treat!
What looks like fruit tastes more like meat!"

Raw meat, to be exact. But thankfully, it lacked the bacterium found in raw meat, and the poison expected to be in the juice. A small satisfaction, seeing as Veces wasn't fond of raw steaks. But, if they could find a way to eat them, they could at least fill their stomachs. So, once again, his eyes trailed to Freki, getting up from retching position, eyebrow raised in the unspoken question: Well? How's about it? Got any tips?

Freki’s legs became heavier and heavier with every step they took away from the lake, away from that horrible serpent thing but he couldn’t stop for fear it might in some miraculous way catch up with them and paralyse them. It had been one of the worst sensations Freki had ever had in his entire life and he was not keen on experiencing this again. As Zuberi lost her footing and stumbled, he crashed to the floor with her, all of them landing in a massive heap before they all rolled off in different directions to break – or not – their fall. The little gardener was glad when they finally reached a spot where they could just collapse and hopefully rest for a bit. This was all getting far too much for his heart to take and he was running out of muscle reserve, having already pulled out more than he had known he possessed. However, now his lungs were burning, bright spots were dancing in front of his eyes and could not think straight for a while. What had just happened? Had they all died and landed in some kind of twisted version of paradise? Or was this just a bad dream?

When he fully came to again, he noticed that they had not died but hell’s version of paradise was no less true than before. That was also when Zuberi’s words reached his ears, and he tried to pull a grimace, without much luck though. “I’ll do my best,” he replied, letting himself fall back on the grass after he’d checked that both of them were able to move all of their limbs. Without looking up, he agreed. “Yes, we all need some rest.” When he heard the blue female rummaged around with something, he slowly sat up again, observing her efforts to get a small fire going. It was not much of a fire but it was comforting in a way. Out here in this unknown place, they could at least fake the illusion of a peaceful evening around a campfire, just a few companions on an adventure, nothing as deathly as they’d just experienced, just… exploring really. But who was he kidding?

Following the white reaper’s attempts to eat the curious fruit he had discovered on a nearby tree, Freki still couldn’t be bothered to move. His stomach was now growling slightly as well, now that Zuberi had mentioned being hungry, but he was way past actually being hungry, and the serpent had quite ruined his appetite too. When Veces looked at him questioningly, Freki just stared back at him with a what-are-you-looking-at-me-for gaze, before he simply stated the obvious, to him at least: “If it tastes like meat, then let’s just try cooking it?” Motioning to Zuberi’s little flame, he added: “She already got the fire going, all we need to do is add some more and find a branch we can spike these things on. And of course hope that they’ll be edible….” The latter bit was surely the one they had to worry about most now, the manner of cooking would be solved but if these weren’t edible than they had nothing, and with all the adventures they’d already been through, if they kept going like this, they would be at the end of their strength reserves very quickly – well he already was but maybe the other two could go on a little longer. Freki himself could already barely feel his body anymore, the weight of the muscles and the effort he’d already put into the day was consuming him almost completely. All he wanted to do was sleep, sleep for hours without interruptions of weirdly animated trees and monsterous lake serpents or whatnot. But alas, he was pretty sure their peace was short-lived, he only hoped it would be long enough to recover a little bit and maybe sleep a few hours. They could all use it. Zuberi and Veces were both still in pain and some rest might work wonders.

He forced himself to get up onto his feet and joined Veces at the tree line, picking up a few useful branches here and there, before he then used them to spike up the fruit Veces had gotten from the trees. Walking back over to the fire, he held three sticks over the fire, trying to find a comfortable spot to sit in until the fruit was done. Though when it was done, he had no idea. Leaving them on for quite a while, he finally took one of the sticks and blowing on the fruit to cool it off a little, he finally dared taking a bite. He pulled a face, though it wasn’t all that bad, a weird mix between meat and fruit now that it was cooked. “It could be worse. Honestly, it’s not the best, but at least it’s something to eat, and seems like it's something we will be able to digest as well,” he commented as he handed a stick to each one of them. “And I suggest taking turns and keeping an eye out for anything that might happen tonight. I’ll take the first watch, alright? You two need to rest, you’re both wounded.”

Guest

Zuberi gratefully took the piece of meat-fruit, not caring what it tasted like; it was food, and if it wouldn't kill her, she would consume it. She was no stranger to odd foods and joyless meals; she'd had her share of fruitless nights, and was happy just to have something to calm her growling stomach. She took a bite, preparing for the taste, and was almost pleasantly surprised; it wasn't as bad as she had expected. Granted, it wasn't a feast, but it would do. She munched on the fruit in silence, contemplating their situation. They were alive, and that was something to be proud of. They had only suffered minor physical injuries, although poor Freki seemed about ready to faint from emotional exhaustion. None of them knew how much farther they would have to travel to get to... Wherever they were going, and they had no way of knowing if they were even going in the right direction. Overall, it seemed rather hopeless. However, she got a slight bit of confidence in the fact that they had made it this far nearly unscathed.

At Freki's offer, she nodded at him, managing a smile. "I am very weak, and I am afraid that if I tried to keep watch, I wouldn't be able to keep my eyes open. Thank you." By the looks of it, though, he wouldn't last long, and she made a mental note to only sleep for a few hours at the most before taking his place. After they said goodnight, Freki wandered off a little ways, still within sight, but enough room so that he would see any dangers before they got close to the camp.

Zuberi soon finished the meal and threw the stick into the flames, making it burn brighter for a moment before going back to its small form. She wished that it was bigger. During the day, she had been warm from the sunlight streaming down onto the land, as well as from her own body heat from running and scrambling around almost nonstop all day. Now, however, the sun had disappeared over the horizon, leaving only a few weak stars and a crescent moon in the sky. She had cooled off from the mad dash from the lake as well, and she could feel her body temperature rapidly falling. She shivered, searching through her pack; why hadn't she brought any extra clothes? All she could find was an old, ragged blanket that only covered half of her torso; shrugging, she cast it about her shoulders, then scooted closer to the flames, shivering. She had grown up learning to let her body be as unconstricted as possible, so as to move about the forest quietly and with ease. She didn't choose to wear such little clothing for other human eyes; she did it for her own good. Now, however, it seemed like that choice was not so great after all, seeing as she had been dumb enough not to pack anything for the night. She hadn't been expecting to sleep in such a hostile, cold place.

The meager flames cast red and orange light across her face as she gazed into the fire. She searched for answers in the crackling heat, but found none. She heard something shift, and, startled, glanced over to Veces. She was so consumed in her own thoughts, she had nearly forgotten that he was there. "How are you holding up?" she asked him, looking at his hand in concern. The swelling had been reduced dramatically, but it had now taken on an odd green tinge, which she hoped was only an unusual side affect that would soon go away. The light of the fire created a slight luminous effect on his hooded face, and she was able to see the red, angry marks that the trees had left on his cheeks and forehead. She self-consciously reached up to her own face, feeling the slightly raised marks that the vicious plants had inflicted. For some reason, she felt oddly exposed in this cold night scenario, sitting by a fire with a man she hardly knew. Usually she would have no problem with such an event, but she felt somehow... Connected to Veces, as if they had been fated to meet. Now that she thought about it, she felt the same about Freki as well. Perhaps it was the fact that they had already taken turns saving each others' lives, which, she was certain, would make anyone feel connected to another.

She brushed a dark strand of hair away from her cheek, then dropped her hands back to the fire and turned her gaze away. His grey-eyed stare was probing, disconcerting, and wiser than someone of his age should have. She vaguely wondered how old he was. He appeared no older than she, though she knew that looks could be deceiving. "You should get some rest," she told him, motioning to the ground. "I think I may stay awake for a few more minutes, to make sure Freki is alright by himself." Although to be honest, she wasn't sure how well she would be able to sleep in such a hazardous, unpredictable land. For all she knew, some flesh-eating butterfly could find them in the middle of the night and have a feast.

((Blahhhh, sorry for the bad reply. Uhm, Eldar, if this lasts longer than a few posts, perhaps we should just skip a couple of your turns, so you won't have to make a bunch of replies like "Freki is sitting and watching the land, blah blah." If that's okay with you. I'm not quite sure where this is going to go x3 ))

Veces was a little apprehensive about grabbing his apple: He already tried it once, and it wasn't exactly appetizing then. But the others seemed to like them well enough, so he knelt down near the fire and grabbed his fruit, taking a tentative bite at first and cringing. But when he actually tasted it, his eyes opened in muted surprise: It was actually quite good, tasting of a strange glazed meat. He ravenously ate most of the fruit in seconds, surprised at how hungry he was, and then slowed down, taking the excuse of wanting to enjoy the fruit to think for a few moments. We've no idea where we are, no way of finding out, and we all are hurt in some way. We don't have very good odds... But they couldn’t go back (not that he knew the way anyways), and quitting would damage all of their pride. But would pride be better, or life?

These thought were cut short by Freki's comments, and Veces had to agree with him: They were exhausted, and sleep could only help them. But he did have a few doubts about Freki being able to stay awake. Okay, maybe alot of doubts. But he wouldn't say so, so he just watched Freki walk off silently, then turned to watch Zuberi. She was huddling up in a poor excuse for a blanket and sitting as close to the fire as she could, obviously wanting Jack Frost to stop bothering her so much. Freki stared at her for a while, and then blinked as he tried to hear what she was saying. In reply, he shrugged, turning away to take the last bite out of his apple. No way he would let her stay awake, she needed to sleep just as much as he did, and it was showing.

So, in reply, he walked over to her, taking his cloak off as he did, then draped the cloth over Zuberi and sat, slightly shivering as a small breeze passed by him, reminding him how little he was dressed under his cloak. But he never really thought he would take his cloak off, so a white pair of shorts and a cloth wrapping on his chest would have to do for now. He absently plucked up a twig and stoked the flames, watching them dance at his provocation dully as he felt the warmth wash over him. It will do, I suppose. He thought moodily, still questioning his decision.

"You know as well as I
That on this night we cannot lie.
And though I should, I'm sad to say,
I may stay awake until the day."

He turned to look at Zuberi, the details on her face highlighted by the flames. It was odd, she actually looked quite beautiful, a trait he hadn't really noticed until now. When was the last time I thought that about a woman..... Off the top of his head, the number was a staggering zero. He realized that his face was no longer covered by the hood around Zuberi's shoulders and turned to the fire, casting a glance at Zuberi. He didn't like the face was set up; it was far too fair and unmarked for someone of his profession. But, too late now, his chance to change that was years passed.

Guest

Zuberi jolted in surprise as Veces draped the cloak about her shoulders. She was about to argue that she didn't need it, that he could use its warmth more than her, but realized that her words would be useless. If there was anything she had learned in the short time she had spent with Veces, it was that he didn't make hasty judgements, and his actions seemed clearly thought over before he made them. Instead, she gave a small smile in thanks, pulling the cloak further around herself to ward off the chill breeze. She hoped that he would be okay with just what he was wearing; maybe, she thought, he could use magic or something to ward off the cold. She stared into the horizon as he spoke, taking a minute before replying.

"If that is what you want, then I suppose that you can stay awake. However, I think the wisest decision would be to rest and trust that Freki will keep us safe, at least for a few hours. If it makes you feel better, perhaps you can take the next shift. Though I am worried about what may bother us in the night, I need to rest, if I am to continue helping us get past the dangers that are sure to come tomorrow." She looked back over at Veces, who was as close to the flames as possible. She felt a twinge of guilt at having taken his cloak with no more than a small nod of thanks. She battled internally, wondering what would be the best move to take. There was the risk of getting hypothermia from the crisp cold air and the fire would do little to protect him from the wind. She bit her lip, then, making a decision, settled a little closer to the now uncloaked reaper and draped half of the robe back over his shoulders. It was an almost uncomfortable closeness, but she didn't see any other choice. It was either that, or one of them would freeze to death. To make up for the silence, she grabbed a few more tufts of grass and threw them into the flames, watching in slight content as they flickered a little higher.

The silence continued on for a bit longer, but Zuberi couldn't really blame him for not talking a lot. After all, it must be extremely aggrevating to only be able to speak in rhymes all the time. She was not usually a talker herself, either, but she didn't exactly want to sit there in silence for the rest of the night. "What do you think we're going to find?" she mumbled absent-mindedly, poking a twig into the fire. "Will it be as great as everyone seems to think it will be, or are we only searching in vain for something that doesn't even exist?" Her eyes traveled back to his now uncovered face, which she found was not as deep or exotic as she had imagined. He actually looked quite normal, if not a little ragged from the journey so far. Growing up mostly alone, she had never really had the chance to make bonds with anyone, especially men. Friendship was a term that she never used lightly, but after only a day, she could honestly say that she had bonded with both Veces and Freki. Veces, though, had seemed vague and mysterious so far on their quest, and seeing him so exposed and bare seemed very unusual. He appeared to be handsome, she thought. Well, she didn't really know enough men to compare him to anyone, but his features were pleasing and he held a lot of dignity in his movements. Shaking away the thoughts, she turned away again and let her eyes drift shut. A sudden wave of exhaustion overwhelmed her, and she was soon on the edge of sleep.

(Blahhhh, sorry, it's short and fail x.x )

Veces nodded solemly as Zuberi spoke to him, thinking. She's right: I should sleep as well. But too much has happened... I need time to think. He looked at his hand, now normal sized but now a disturbing shade of green, then sighed. And I need to figure out what to do with this. He stared at it silently, not noticing Zuberi moving until she was already next to him, sharing the protection his cloak offered. Veces turned and opened his mouth in protest, then shook his head and faced the flames once more: It was the smartest thing to do, he knew, because now they both would feel warm. But then why did it feel so strange?

After another long silence, Zuberi spoke again, this time asking him what he thought of their quest. This actually mad him stop: What did he think about it? He sat there, gazing into the fire for the answer. After a longer silence, he finally spoke, the words coming out low and rumbling.

"My guess, I would say,
on the treasure that beyond us lay,
is that our reward is a wish, though in what form,
is a mystery, as they are not the norm.
And, as for it's existence you ask,
we wll never know until that time has passed."

After this little speech, Veces turned to Zuberi, searching for an answer. But when he saw her, he knew he wouldn't get one: She had fallen asleep, and come morning she would probably not remember a word he had said. So he simply wasted time, reflecting on what she had asked as he stared into the flames until he realized that hours had passed, and he stood to go and tell Freki as much. But, by the time Veces had set Zuberi up comfortably and he had grabbed his scythe, he had noticed that the faraway shape that was Freki was laying down! And, when Veces walked to where Freki was, he found him as such: Sleeping, with a calm face betraying his time in the forest. In fact, Freki looked so peacefull that instead of waking him, Veces wound up carrying the tiny man in his arms, marveling at how light he was. Now, this isn't odd. He thought to himself, as he lay Freki down near the fire. But then that thing with Zuberi.... why was it so? Veces walked to where Freki was, picking up the scythe he had lain down, then surveyed th horizon: Nothing that he could see was there. So, to pass the time, Veces began to practive with his blade, slicing at hundreds of enemies for practically the entire night.

And so, this is how their groups first day was spent, and come morning Veces was still cutting the air with his scythe, sweating like mad and thus grateful for the cool night air.

As Freki made his way away from his companion to keep the first watch, he felt heavy, not only from physical exhaustion but somehow the emotional burden of this whole adventure put a lot of pressure on him. So far it had not been the adventure he had been hoping for. Of course, it had been his own choice to go out into the world and leave behind everything he knew to learn a little something, to experience what it was like to be a traveler, explorer, adventurer, yet this.. He had very mixed feelings about it. Somehow it felt right, they were a good group even though they ended up being in much more trouble than probably was necessary, but on the other hand, he somehow felt oddly out of place. This was not him, he was not a hero of any sorts, barely could win an armwrestling match with a butterfly, but here he was. Smacked up in the middle of an adventure there was no other way out of than the way forward, alongside his two new companions.

He did not wander off too far, just about enough to give them privacy to get some sleep and for him to still be able to see if anything was going to happen, inside the range of the light of the fire. Freki was sincerely hoping they could spend a calm night without any sorts of interruptions, otherwise he was pretty sure he would not be able to move one more inch the next day. He had burned so much of his energy, even more than he ever thought he had, and he just couldn't go on like this. He knew he was a weakling, but he preferred admitting it rather than talking himself into believing he could be the hero when he was nothing like that. He let his eyes sway over his surroundings but couldn't really detect anything clearly in the near-darkness around the forest, not even a path that would hopefully lead them somewhere the next day. Absentmindedly, he began picking at the grass in front of him as he kept watch over their camp, from time to time shooting Zuberi and Veces a glance, smiling as he saw Veces drape his cloak across Zuberi's shoulders. There was so much more to this mysterious white reaper than he would have thought. Then again, he hadn't really thought much about his companions in any kind of way, there had been too much action to actually think most of the time. He only knew that he could trust both of them with his life, which was more than he could have said for most of his acquaintances so far in his life. Letting his gaze stray elsewhere again, Freki was again trying to distinguish shapes but in vain, he could barely recognize the trees, so he decided to lift them to the skies in hopes of a little clarification in his confused min.

As he kept watching the night sky with its few stars dotted here and there, crowns of trees swaying in the nightly breeze, he began to wonder what they were really doing here, and most of all, what would come out of this? Where they really going to find the source of all those myths and stories? Would they really find the tree? It would be so amazing to see such a plant up close, to touch it, grow familiar with it. It would be so very unique, Freki wasn't even sure he would dare touch it, should he ever have the opportunity to stand in front of it.
The more his thoughts kept winding around this, the more his body began to claim its rightful sleep and his eyes slowly began to close without him noticing it.
Neither did he notice when Veces finally walked up to him to find him peacefully sleeping on the ground and then carrying him over to the fire in a very kind gesture.

In the morning, he woke with a start and his heart was beating like crazy. Sitting up in a hurry, he had to steady his head with his hand as he looked around to release a sigh when he realised they were both still there and still in one piece. Zuberi was still sleeping and he did not want to wake her up, so he got onto his feet and walked the short distance over to the white reaper, wondering why he was exercising at this moment in time. Did he have limitless strength reserves? At this thought, Freki realised that he himself was feeling much better again, the several hours of sleep having done their deed.
"I'm so sorry I fell asleep," he apologised, "but thank you very much for carrying me to the fire." He was not sure whether it had been Veces or Zuberi, or both of them, but gratitude would in no way be misplaced. "How is your hand this morning?" he asked, holding out his own so Veces could show him. It should be almost healed now if he had gotten all the poison out, and Freki was indeed crossing his fingers for a few rainbow colours, which would then mean the hand was going to be fine.
"We should probably let her sleep some more before we move on," Freki commented as he returned his gaze towards the slowly dying fire and the still sleeping Zuberi. "Let's just gather some of the fruit to get some breakfast, and we should take a few extra to take with us. Just in case," Freki suggested, already moving away from the white reaper to do exactly that. He also gathered a few more small branches, some of which he shoved onto the fire to save the flames before they died completely, before he stuck the fruit onto the remaining branches to cook them over the fire like he had done the previous night.

Guest

((Alright, I think today we should get through the quicksand, toxic garden, and bottomless pits, at least, if not more. Here's the link to the map if you need it: http://silverdrako.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2za1nd ))

Zuberi was awakened by the sound of rustling grass and snapping twigs. Her mind was hazy and confused for a moment, before she remembered where she was and who she was with. Her eyes snapped open and she prepared to leap to her feet for action, but calmed down when she realized that the noise was only coming from Veces and Freki, who were already awake and preparing to leave. Grumbling to herself about sleeping in too late, she sat up, only to realize that Veces's cloak was draped over her body, and that was why she felt oddly warm. She clutched it against her chest as she stood; it was morning, and the sun was up, but it was still chilly, and she was reluctant to let it go. When Veces's gaze turned to her, though, she pulled it away from herself and offered it to him. "Thank you, for that," she said, a little haltingly. It was strange - from someone else, she would have looked at the gesture as simply one of friendship and concern for her well-being. However, when Veces had draped it around her, he had seemed... Almost protective, as if he didn't want anything to cause her discomfort or harm. The night had seemed much more pleasant and... she couldn't quite place why, but more comforting that she had expected. She rolled these thoughts around in her mind curiously as they prepared for the next leg of their journey.

She would have given anything to have a map of where they were going. As it was, they had to go forward blindly in hopes of finding what they were looking for. They had lost the trail in the mad dash they had made from the lake, and spent a good portion of the morning combing the plains for any sign of a dirt trail or path of some sort. Eventually, after building up the courage to retrace their steps and head closer back towards the lake, they had found it again, although it was little more than trampled grass, a few pebbles, and some dirt. Nevertheless, they were grateful for the find, and they continued east along it, wary of the water that sparkled not too far in the distance.

The flat, grassy landscape soon transformed into a more rugged, rocky slope, and they found themselves traveling slightly uphill surrounded by dry, sparse grass, dirt, sand, mud, and a few stunted, black, bare trees. It was not the most pleasant of places, but they met no dangers or enemies as they walked, and so they eventually became used to the bare landscape. Before long, most of the rocks had given way to dirt and mud, and they had to tread more carefully to make sure they didn't slip off the path into the disgusting surrounding areas.

"I am concerned that we haven't seen anything unusual or harmful yet today," Zuberi commented cautiously, breaking the tense, wary atmosphere. "Considering all that we had to go through yesterday, it seems odd that we haven't run into anything more than dirt and stones. Something just doesn't feel right." She cast a glance back at her companions; being the lightest and most careful on her feet, they had agreed to let her go first in case they ran into any troubles with the land, such as a marsh or bog. She would be the least likely to slip into such a predicament.

The morning led to afternoon as they continued raggedly on. Zuberi often glanced at Veces to make sure he was holding up; from what she had seen and heard, it sounded like had hadn't slept at all, and had spent most of the night exercising, which she found absurd and impressive at the same time. He seemed fine, and she wondered if his magical qualities somehow made him more energetic and more endurable than regular humans. Even after a long night's rest, her limbs were already heavy and sore from the day before. Freki seemed no better, but he tagged along bravely as the trio continued along.

Without warning, the land dropped suddenly in front of them, and it was only Zuberi's quick reflexes that stopped her from tumbling down the hill. It was strewn with ferns, sharp grasses and weeds, and the trail cut down it in a zigzag pattern, to keep the trail from being so steep. They warily made their way down, trying to catch a glimpse at what lay below; the ground was covered by a sea of wicked, black trees and shrubs, and it was impossible to tell what lay in wait. It took nearly a half an hour for them to reach the bottom, and by then, they were all covered in sweat and in need of a break.

They found what looked like a somewhat dry spot under the thick, black canopy, amid a few stones and logs that were perfect for resting on. In fact, it seemed a little too convenient that there was such a spot to rest. They ignored that fact and ate a portion of the fruit they had retrieved earlier, speaking quietly amongst themselves as they discussed what might lay ahead. It was because of this distraction that Zuberi didn't notice what lay just behind the log they had chosen to rest on.

Without warning, a thick, spiny vine whipped around her throat, giving her no time to react or grab her knife. It jerked her into the air and pulled her away from the group, traveling only a little ways before dropping her once more. However, she was in more danger now than she had been when the vine had been throttling her - it had deposited her in a large pool of quicksand, and she was soon up to her thighs in the thick, hungry liquid. And, as everything they had met so far had been, it was no ordinary quicksand - it seemed to react to every move she made, quickly tiring her out so that she could barely struggle, let alone try to get out on her own. The spiny vines above whipped about anxiously, as if waiting for the woman to perish in the bog.

If there was anything that Zuberi feared the most, it was being contained. She was used to being free and roaming about wherever she pleased, and had grown claustraphobic from her life living under the sky. It was therefore an understatement to say that being sucked into a pool of dirty liquid terrified her out of her wits. She was whimpering terribly, something that she never thought she would do in any situation. If her companions couldn't help her soon, she would be doomed to a horrible, asphixiating death. She was already now up to her waist in the quicksand, and things were looking bleak. "Veces!" she cried, struggling harder, only to be sucked in deeper.

As soon as Freki began making his way towards Veces, he made one final swing of his scythe then thumped the earth hard with the end of it's shaft. It wouldn't be polite to keep going, he believed, even though he hadn't complete that set of moves. He nodded to Freki as he thanked him, and held out his hand when he was asked to, checking it himself as Freki did. It was a pale, sickly green, and Veces didn't know what to make of it. But it seemed fine, he could move it and use it almost perfectly now, and it didn't hurt anymore other than a slight throbbing that Veces could easily ignore. He once again nodded as Freki spoke of Zuberi, although this nod was a bit jerkier. He then moved to the camp with Freki, no words in his mouth, but plenty questins in his mind.

Veces stood and watched Freki began preparing for thier departure, hs eyes trailing to Zuberi as she shuffled in her sleep, then rise, staring in surprise at his cloak then moved to him. Veces quickly turned his head away for a reason he didn't understand. Why couldn't he look at her? He held out his arm and accepted his cloak nervously, nodding to her thanks and leaning his scythe against the tree so he could put it back on. As he put his arms through the sleeves, though, he could feel that it was still warm, and he quickly put his hood over his head before anyone could notice his cheeks flush a pale pink. What just happened? He moved his hands over the opening of his cloak and his hands sparked blue for a moment, then the cloak sealed itself. As long as nobody noticed, it was fine.

And so, they began thier walk for the day, Veces constantly tensed in case of an attack. But, as minutes became hours, and nothing haped, Veces eyes, which were squinted in preperation, widened in shock: Could this really be? Could they hsve really gone a day without any trouble? Veces couldn't believe it, but even without danger his companions seemed to be tiring out rather quickly. Veces was the only one unaffected, because one advantage to being magic is that he could use magic to sooth his muscles when they hurt from fatigue. And though Veces wanted to extend this relief to his companions, the setback was that it made you overconfident in your abilities and pretty much knocks you out cold from weakness when the spell is lifted if you aren't prepared for it.

And so the day ended, and Veces was both nervous and grateful about the almost perfect camping spot. He sat and ate, speaking the least on thier plans, and was finally starting to calm down when a thick vine wrapped around Zuberi and carried her off. He sat in shock for a few moments, then quickly rose, clutching his scythe in his good hand, and raced after her, breaking through the trees and foliage until he came to a pit of quicksand, with Zuberi already waist-deep in the ground. So Veces thought hard, trying to remember what to do: Jumping in wasn't an option, so all he could do was pull her out with something. But what? He looked around, hoping for a fallen branch for he wouldn't pull anything off a tree, but then remembered He already had something! So he went to the rim of the pool of quicksand and, holding the blade edge of his scythe, held out the shaft as far as he could, which was just far enough for Zuberi to reach. Thank goodness.

Preparations and breakfast were quickly taken care of and none of them seemed rather intent on speaking. Freki felt a little uncomfortable in the somewhat tense atmosphere but he was at a loss at how to make anyone feel better about the whole situation. None of them knew what they were in for and it was scaring them out of their wits, though of course nobody said that out loud. They were even less happy when there finally was no other option than to walk back towards the lake, retracing their steps so they could at least find a semblance of a path they could continue on.

The landscape changes were quite amazing to observe, even though it was a somewhat depressing sight at times. Freki still enjoyed it, in a twisted kind of way, despite the fact that he was exhausted and not feeling very happy, yet this place was so curious to the eyes and so wonderfully weird and crazy that he, as a friend of nature, could simply not ignore the many visions that offered themselves to his eyes, fantastic and disgusting all the same. There was no need for any of them to voice the fact that they thought it curious too that so far nothing had happened, but Freki was just as glad about it.

Unkown to Freki, he was thinking along almost the same lines as Zuberi as he was watching his companions move on. She seemed to be as exhausted as he was, though none of them tried to let it show too much. Veces however seemed to be almost fresh and Freki envied him for that. The gardener was used to enduring strain on his muscles but it had never been anything in comparison to this. Even though it almost seemed unfair to Freki that one of them was totally unaffected by the strain, he was somewhat glad for it, because in case something happened, there was still one who had more strength left, which in this place certainly was a very good thing. Who knew what would come next, because even though it was quiet at the moment and he was beginning to hope they might survive the day without any nasty surprises, he did not wallow in the illusion of yesterday’s events being all that would come to pass.

When they finally rested or a while, the gardener began to feel a little better, though the place seemed to be too good to be true, and despite the fact that their discussion was not the most cheerful one. Neither of them said it out loud but they were all thinking the same and silently hoping there was a way out of this certain and impending doom. Just as Freki was about to open his mouth to say something to make their moods lighten up a little, a vine shot forward, wrapped itself around Zuberi’s neck and sent her flying. Jumping up, Veces and Freki saw what had just happened, scrambling forwards to get as close to her as possible without endangering themselves. Freki frantically tried to search for a way to get even closer to pull her out as she was slowly starting to sink deeper with her frenzied struggling. However, there was no path that would be safe enough to be treaded on and he would only make her sink faster if he tried to edge closer. She was already taking care of that herself…

The more he saw Zuberi struggling, the more Freki wanted to just hit her over the head with something to make her be still. Sitting on his knees on the dirty ground now, he tried to calm the blue woman who was slowly beginning to panic and whimpering like a poor young girl lost in the woods without any view for help. “You have to keep still, Zuberi. Every single movement will provoke the quicksand to pull you in deeper.” Taking a breath, he added in a calmer voice: “Stay calm, take a deep breath. Try to relax your muscles and do not move at all. It will be alright.” Looking up at the white reaper, about to say something to Veces, but just at that moment, he saw that Veces had an idea, which was brightly illuminating his face. Almost immediately, the latter stepped forward and held out his scythe to Zuberi. Freki immediately took up his soothing voice again: “Breathe. Stay calm and focus on Veces, he will pull you out. Slowly, sloooowly reach for the scythe. Try not to make any sudden movements. You will be just fine. Easy now.” Prefering not to stop talking just in case it was actually helping, Freki kept on talking to Zuberi all the while Veces was pulling her out of the quicksand. He did stand up as well however to stand at the ready in case the white reaper needed a hand in pulling. “I swear, this place is out to get us…,” Freki grumbled, visibly displeased and frustrated at the fact there was nothing to be done about it. He suddenly looked back at the vine that had first grabbed Zuberi and the impatient swaying of the vines was growing more and more agitated, the more Zuberi seemed to escape the quicksand’s grasp. Hastily, Freki looked around himself, trying to find something that might prove itself useful, though he had no clue what he was even searching for until his eyes caught sight of a rather longer branch trailing by the logs they had just sat on. Funny, how that is just lying there, waiting to be picked up… but he did not heed this thought any further, just picked up the branch and held it at the ready in case the vines wanted to grab her again, or one of them for that matter.

Guest

Zuberi continued her uncharacteristic whimper until Veces appeared by her side, looking around frantically. As soon as he was near she felt slightly better, though only slightly, because she was still sinking deeper and deeper in the quicksand, and it was now up to her ribcage. Then Freki, too, was there, and started talking soothingly to her, like a parent consoling an upset child. She focused on his face and his voice, and her struggling slowed, until she was almost completely still, with just a small tremble in her lip showing the panic that was still bottled up inside her. Then, Veces reached out his scythe, and she grabbed onto it like a drowning person grabbing on to a lifeline, which, actually, was a rather good comparison, considering within another few minutes she would be drowned in mud. She gripped onto it with all her strength, hoping that Veces's hand was working well enough now to have the strength to pull her out. Slowly, painfully slowly, she began to feel herself being raised from the pool, but it fought desperately, and the strain between the forces became so strong that she felt she might be pulled in half. When it seemed that she could take it no more, the quicksand finally lost, and she was flung out of the pool with a loud, sickening lurch, followed by a disgusting gurgle as the hole she had created in the pool filled back in. She came flying out, crashing into Veces and landing on top of him, dazed. For a moment she was unable to move, afraid that if she did, she might get stuck again, or accidently shove in one of her friends in panic. When she had finally calmed down enough to take stock of what was happening, she became acutely aware of Veces's breath on her hair, and the sound of his pounding heart beneath her own. She then began to scramble, until she was standing a short distance from him, next to Freki. The incredible little guy had taken control of his own situation, finding a makeshift weapon in a discarded branch, and was glaring at the vines shivering cruelly nearby. She placed a hand on his shoulder with more calmness than she felt. "We need to go. Those vines may come back at any minute, and we cannot risk staying here when we could so easily be thrown in again." Her voice quavered slightly as she spoke, and she cleared her throat, turning to Veces. "Thank you. Again," she murmured, casting her gaze down uncomfortably. It seemed they were all in each other's debt deeply, and they were sure to be put in the same situation over and over again until they all either died or found what they were looking for.

The trail picked up just around the pool of deadly liquid, and the trio carefully made their way around it, all ready to pummel the vines if they showed any sign of attacking. They luckily made it across without any further harm, and Zuberi allowed herself to relax, if only a little. Never did she want to go through that again. The feeling of being enclosed, not being able to move.... She couldn't bare it. Of all the traps and monsters they had encountered so far, this was by far the worst for her. Monsters she could handle, traps she could fool.... Being immobilized, that was an issue. If she couldn't move, she couldn't defend herself. She dearly hoped that there wasn't anything else in the garden so terrible.

The landscape quickly changed again, into an even more different terrain than before. The dirty, muddy, black ground gave way to lush, green grass, wildflowers, and trees. A few blue squirrel-looking creatures even scurried about, looking at the travelers curiously before dashing away again. Zuberi nearly shot them because she was afraid that they were dangerous, but when they ran away, she thought differently; it didn't seem worth it to waste her arrows on such small creatures; they wouldn't even be able to make a meal of them. They continued on through the grass and plants until they reached, oddly, a long, white picket fence. It stretched off in either direction, fencing off a large area of the beautiful land. Inside the fence lay the most beautiful place any of them could have imagined. It was green, so green, and bursting with all other colors of the rainbow in the shape of fruits, vegetables, and flowers so perfect and tempting that it was hard to comprehend that they were real. It was too stunning and tempting to just walk by, and besides, the path ran straight through it. Zuberi didn't really even give a second thought that it might be a trap, she was so amazed by the beauty of it. They made their way through the opening in the fence, and were thrown into a perfect world full of delicious-looking foods and stunning scenery. There was only a small alarm going off in the back of Zuberi's mind, and only by sheer willpower alone was she able to keep herself from eating anything. It was simply too good to be true.

She noticed with interest that it seemed all of the plants had opposites. There was a tree that held bright purple pears, and, right next to it, one that held fruit of the exact same shape and size, but yellow. Nearby, a patch of oddly blue strawberries mingled with a group of orange ones. She wondered why that was; simply a display, or was there something behind the color-coded foods? They walked through in silence, as if afraid to break the tranquility in this garden. They eventually found a clear spot of soft, grassy ground to sit on, and for a while they rested, though tense, in case something came and attacked them like before. After about a quarter of an hour, there was no sign of any danger, and they eventually eased into a conversation. "This looks like a decent place to spend the night," Zuberi commented, leaning back against a tree with neon green oranges. Only a few feet away she saw one containing dull red ones. Interesting. "There's plenty of food around, and it looks safe enough..." That was what worried her. The food looked so harmless that she wondered if it really could be. She plucked one of the oranges from the tree, looking at it uncertainly, then tossed it behind her back. It was immediately grabbed by a pink lemur-looking creature that hadn't been there before. Startled, the trio watched it as it ate the food. For a moment after it was eaten the creature stood completely still, then started convulsing oddly. "What....?" Zuberi muttered, but before she could say anything, the creature stopped flailing and began acting normal again. Another one of the creatures, this one a darker, more muted fuschia, appeared above, and the pink one chattered at it and leaped up. The ran around in what was obviously some sort of mating ritual, soon disappearing among the foilage. "Well, that was.... Weird," Zuberi finally commented, turning back to the group. "It ate the fruit without trouble, though...." Even though it had acted a little oddly at first, the creature had seemed perfectly fine after eating the food. "Maybe this place isn't bad at all."

((So, the color coding is:
Green food - poison; red food - antidote for that poison
Purple food - poison; yellow food - antidote for that poison
Blue food - poison; orange food - antidote for that poison

Of course, I'm open to other ideas ^^ I thought it would be easiest if we were all on the same page, though. Hope you understood the part with the lemurs.... xD ))

This... is... What was happening? And why was he breathing so hard? Seriously, bodily contact didn't mean anything, he ha simply pulled her out too hard and she fell on him because of it. But, for some reason, this was making him breath hard. After she scrambled off of him, he hastily stood and turned away, staring at his scythe until his face turned back into it's usual color. By the time he turned, Zuberi was standing by Freki and trying to change the subject by telling them what to do. He nodded, staring at Freki and his stick. Don't bring that near me. Veces thought. I don't trust plants anymore, even if they are dead. He turned to Zuberi and nodded hastily to her thanks, waving a casual hand that meant 'don't mention it', then turned and began to walk off.

As the land changed yet again, Veces stared accusingly at every beautiful thing that they passed, even going as far as to give the evil eye to a poppy flower, but nothing happened. He gripped his scythe tighly, jumping at every movement, but nothing happened. He coughed experimentally, and nothing happened. Could this be really happening? He asked himself, and nothing happened that would provide an answer. His grip slacked ever so slightly, but never once did he stop watching his surroundings. And when they reached the place where Zuberi said they should say, Veces scoured the area, noticing that Freki had wandered off somewhere along the line. Veces' head turned suddenly and he watched Zuberi as she plucked a fruit, just waiting for something to happen. But, as the fruit went along it's trip from woman to lemur to stomach, he found nothing happened. His eyes widened as he heard a sudden growl, and he searched, startled, until he found it's souce: He was getting hungry. And the fruit seemed harmless enough... He propped his scythe up against a tree, walked to the tree where Zuberi was, and tenderly plucked an orange. He peeled it, dropped the peel and, quickly glancing at Zuberi, took a small bite. And from this point on, he had no clue what he was doing.

This is great! The voices told Veces, and he ravenously ate the rest of the fruit,, his eyes and mind becoming more and more clouded as the flesh was eaten. He frowned when he noticed the fruit was all gone, and feverently looked around for more until his eyes rested on an amazingly beautiful woman. You want her. The voices told him, and Veces was only too happy to agree with them. He walked to the woman and grabbed her by the shoulder, grinning mischieviously. He gestured to a more secluded area with his head, his hood falling off with the movement. She would be his.

Freki’s body sacked together with a relieved sigh as Veces finally managed to pull Zuberi out but it took him quite another while before he decided to drop the branch he was holding, mainly because he noticed the white reaper’s doubtful look when he saw the piece of tree in his hand. He’s right, Freki thought, even this little thing could eventually turn against us. His thoughts thus along very similar lines as Veces’ without knowing it and he quickly rid himself of the stick. Nodding along to what Zuberi was saying, he was only too glad to be leaving this place, the next on the list of the places they had already escaped from because they had been too vicious.

The many changes in landscape they experienced inside this wondrous place were truly amazing, even though everything seemed to be deadly and intent on killing everything and everyone setting foot over those walls. It also made Freki wonder how many people had ever attempted this, if the walls had ever been revealed to many others before, because if it were known this garden was smacked up in the middle of that forest where they had come across the ominous wall, the rumour thereof would certainly have circulated. Maybe not to Freki’s ears but to those of his two companions surely and neither of them had known it was going to be there, despite having heard of the general, albeit mythical, existence of such a place.

When they suddenly reached a white picked fence, Freki halted in his step, wondering what this was about. Why was there a fence inside a garden that was already framed by a wall? What was the purpose of such a drawing of lines? However, the scenery that presented itself behind that fence was more stunning than anything they had encountered so far. If Freki had had the urge to inspect his surroundings a little more earlier on in their travels, it was nothing compared to the itching he felt inside now, desperately wanting to find out more about this place, about the wondrous plants, delicious looking fruit – for one he wanted to find out whether they could be eaten – and the funny wildlife that seemed to be scurrying about. The mixture of colour and the deliberate seeming display of contrasts and opposites all throughout this place was intriguing and wakened Freki’s gardener instinct more than anything else they had encountered so far. What was this place? With gleaming eyes, he stepped closer to a tree and inspected its trunk, the leaves and fruit that were adorning its branches, only to sigh in wonder at the sight that revealed itself. Freki barely noticed that Zuberi and Veces seemed to be as struck by the colour diversity in the plants as he was, seeing that he was unable to take his eyes off the greenery.

Once they reached a place that looked fine and most of all safe enough to rest for a while or even spend a few hours sleeping in, Freki could not still for long, itching to go exploring a little. He knew that neither of the other two would run far any time soon, all of them needed rest, only he could not settle down, not now. So with only a brief “I’ll go have a look around and will be back soon”, Freki left the other two wondering at the behaviour of a couple of lemurs, which briefly made Freki frown at the wild and quite instant mating ritual, though he did not pay any further attention to it, wandering off into the depth of the garden, staring at plants here and there, observing animals as he came across them, wondering at the endless seeming oddities he came across. He tried to remember most of it, regularly noticing different incidents which seemed in some odd way related to the fruit that was growing in massive quantities all through this little garden.

When Freki finally decided that he could dare to eat a fruit, he picked a blue one that seemed oddly shaped like a kind of apple. As he had not observed anything unusual happening from any animals eating those fruits, he thought it was safe enough. He had preferred the apple to have a bright red colour, seeming slightly more normal, but he was unsure whether that would have changed anything about its taste, which all in itself was wonderful. The meat of the fruit filled his mouth with a sweet and yet refreshing taste, making him feel more satisfied, refreshed and full of energy than he had felt in a long time. He felt as if he could rip out trees by their roots, and any thoughts of needing sleep had instantly evaporated from his mind. He only wanted to keep exploring, keep doing things that pleased him and made him happy. For a brief moment, he thought of his two companions, but quickly dismissed that thought again, not wanting to return to them as they would only be needing his help again soon enough and it was not something he was inclined to offer at this particular moment. He felt good, great actually, and he wanted to profit from this feeling a little before returning to the presence of the other two. Thus he kept on wandering through the exotic garden inside the white picked fence, exploring and enjoying himself.

~((Just fyi for future reference: The blue apple Freki ate is a fruit that, after initially making him feel great, almost all powerful and revitalised, will gradually enforce evil thoughts, disappointment, anger, dissatisfaction, which will in the end render him more susceptible to dark influences, such as Xavien’s demonic power.))~

Guest

Zuberi was slightly disturbed by the behavior of the lemurs. Though it seemed harmless enough, the little creatures had only begun acting up after the male ate the fruit.... How curious. She decided to let the event pass, and reached up to grasp one of the fruit herself, thinking that it was harmless, since the creature had seemed to eat it without trouble. There was a slight twinge in the back of her mind warning her that everything here was too perfect, too pristine to simply be a place of rest and nourishment. She had learned enough along their journey so far that she should have known better than to trust such a beautiful-looking place. However, the beauty of it all had seemed to cloud her mind, and she began to wonder if maybe they should simply stay here, and forget about the journey...

She shook her head. Silly thoughts. Of course they had to keep going. She reached up again to grasp a fruit, looking crisp and green as a ripe apple and seeming to almost glow with radiance, when she was interrupted by a strong hand grasping her shoulder. Startled, she whipped around and was going for her knife when she realized that it was only Veces. He had an odd look on his face, and she took in the fallen pieces of peeling laying on the ground behind him. She hoped that he was alright, and that the food hadn't harmed him. She was concerned as he motioned to a more private area, a thick tangle of vines that granted an entryway into a very dense canopy of trees, and, wondering if perhaps he had seen something of interest, nodded and headed in that direction. He had let his hood fall, and hadn't reached up to fix it.... Interesting. She felt her cheeks get warm as she entered the thick plants, and with a lurch realized that she was alone with Veces. Freki had left them soon after they left the garden... She hoped he was alright. It wasn't a great idea to get separated, and she mentally scolded herself for letting him escape them so easily.

When she was inside, she noticed that it was oddly dark. The branches above were so thick and tangled that they blocked out nearly all the sunlight, leaving the area cool and humid. The grass underneath was thick and lush, which was odd, considering the lack of sunlight. Everything in here was odd, not the least of which was Veces, who was still giving her that strange look. She blinked, confused, then asked,"Did you need to tell me something? We really should go look for Freki..." She shifted into one stray ray of sunlight that was allowed through the canopy, and the light flickered over her, reflecting the blue tone of her skin and enunciating her curves in the scant clothes that she wore.

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This place is perfect for what you want. The voices said, in a soothing voice. What... do I want? Veces asked the voices as he led the girl into the woods. Why, the girl of course. They answered him, an when he stopped and turned to look at her, her body outlined with a soft light. Just look at her: Beautiful, she looks like she as molded after a goddess. And just look at what she's wearing, she's asking for it. Squinted, frowning, then nodded. Y... your right. He thought. Of course we are, we know what's best. Veces grinned. Yes...

And so, without further preamble, Veces grpiied Zuberi by the shoulders and tugged her in, pressing his lips against hers roughly. One of his hands moved behind her head to hold her in lightly, while the other strayed down and gripped her waist. I do want this... Veces thought. At least, that's what the voices told him. And the voices were always, always right.

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Why is he looking at me like that? Zuberi thought, staring in concern at Veces. She didn't want to admit it, but his gaze was almost... Predatory. He had seemed a little off and nervous around her lately, she had noticed, but now, this was completely strange and alien. She shivered as he eyed her, obviously drinking in her form as she stood in the ray of sunlight. "Veces, what is wrong?" she asked, reaching out a hand to grasp his shoulder and shake some sense into him, but before she could do so, he suddenly grabbed her and pressed her mouth roughly against his, gripping her body it what was obviously a dominant hold. She let out a startled cry, trying to force herself away, but even though his hold was almost gentle, he was incredibly strong, and she couldn't break away. She pulled back her head, but he only followed her movements, and after a moment, her body shuddered. She couldn't help but realize that she was attracted to him; she had been for a while now. For a minute she returned the kiss, though tight-lipped, as he groped her body. After a while, though, she began to struggle again, hoping that he wasn't going to try to do what he felt like he was doing. Why the hell was he doing this?! Her mind whirled until she remembered.... The fruit. It must cause some sort of halucinations or feelings that weren't normal. "Veces, snap out of it!" she mumbled, but it was hard to say anything when his lips were pressed so firmly against hers. She attempted to pull away again and ended up catching her foot on a tree root, falling over, and pulling Veces with her.

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Zuberi's exclamation, coupled with the sudden fall, jarred Veces' mind and put him back in cotrol, his eyes gleaming with intelligence. Why was he doing this!? Surely he could control his desires better than... the fruit. Of course! Right after that strange lemur ate the fruit, it did a mating dance with another and dissapeared into the tree. The fruit must increase the victim's animalistic desires, or something of the like. He stared Zuberi straaight in the eyes, silently pleading for her to help him, thenn rolled off her, while he still had control. Oh please, let her find a cure fast, before I ruin her.

Then his world went black, and the fruit took back the reigns.

------

Zuberi knew she was in trouble as soon as she hit the ground. The fall knocked the wind out of her, and she struggled to regain her breath as she tried to force Veces off of her. She was surprised when his normal intelligence sparked for a moment in his eye, and she swore that she could see regret in his eyes. He truly has no control over his actions, she thought, and the revelation brought both relief and fear to her. Relief that he really was a good person, and that he didn't seem like he really wanted this. Fear because she knew that he was incredibly powerful and strong, and she had no chance against him if his animalistic nature took over. She struggled to sit up as he rolled off of her in his moment of normality, but knew as soon as he was off of her that the fruit was back in control. The hunger in his eyes returned, and she shivered at their intensity. "Veces, you have to listen to me," she pleaded, but even as she said it, she knew it would be no use. Sexual desire was the strongest emotion in men, she had learned, and if the fruit had increased his brain's demand for it, then no amount of pleading or screaming would change his mind. And in the very back of her mind, she felt a strange tingle that perhaps she wanted this as well.... He was handsome, and alluring, and seemed, overall, a very good man to have as a mate. But she was just not ready. There were so many complications when it came to knowing a man, not to mention she had known him for only a little over a day... Once again, she tried to stand, but found that she was too transfixed by his dominant position to move.

------

You got very lucky, Veces. Said the voices, harsher, more forcefully then they had ever been. But it won't happen again. With that, the voices blotted out all noise, so whatever concience Veces held onto could only watch from the backseat as the horror played out: Thanks to his dominant position, Veces' body had free riegn to do whatever it wanted. And that's what it did. One hand reached behind her neck, holding her close and pulling her head back at the same time, alowing it complete access to her neck, of which it took complete advantage of, biting roughly as his other hand snaked it's way down her side, following some invisible trail.

What there was of Veces could only watch in confusion: Why was it taking it's time? Could it be some sort of... punishment for breaking free from it's control? Were these voices really that petty? Wasn't there any way she could break away, some special ability that could get her away from him?....

-----

Oh God oh God oh God, thought Zuberi as Veces's hand gripped the back of her neck forcefully, forcing her head to tilt back, bearing her throat. Is he going to kill me? The thought was absurd; there was no reason for him to. She posed no threat, and he would gain nothing from it. No, his intentions were quite clear, and became even more so as he bit into her exposed flesh, causing her to gasp in a mixture of pain and shock. And, perhaps, even a little pleasure. Her long, slender neck was quite a sensitive part of the body, and as he groped his hand further down her body, she lost the will to fight. He was simply too powerful, even without using his magic, and she knew that she didn't stand a chance. Her struggling became more feeble as he became more engrossed in her body, and she was too much in shock and afraid that she forgot completely about her teleportation. Even if she did, she wouldn't dare try to attempt it in the garden; she had nearly died earlier, it wasn't worth it to try again. What could she possibly do? Her free hand shot out wildly, desperately trying to find something to defend herself with, but the ground of the garden was incredibly free of debris. Instead, she curled her hand into a fist and rammed it into his shoulder, trying to dislodge him. It was like hitting a brick wall, and she cursed out loud. This garden.... This must be why it was inside the walls. It, too, was another trap, and she was losing the battle against it.

------

Veces' body slacked it's jaw, releasing Zuberi from it's vicious love bite. And, in almost a romantic gesture, he blew softly on her neck, where it was slick and somewhat reddened by the bite. Then, suddenly, she attempted to fight back, punching his chest and recieving a splitting pain. Surely she was smarter than that? He pulled himself back up,
then kissed her again, letting the hand holding her head back slip out and grasp the hand she had struck him with, clutching so that it bordered on pain.

So she's trying to resist! The voices exclaimed, making what was left of Veces' concience cringe from the intense frequency. Well then, let's see if we can break her! The hand caressing her thigh trailed up, sneaking it's way to one of the places Veces had never been: a woman's chest. Of his own choice, oviously, he had some standards when he was in control. But now that he wasn't...

His hand tugged at the cloth around her chest, the body staring intently at Zuberi with dead eyes: What would be her next move? Veces wished there was a way he could talk to Zuberi, to convince her to try and escape his hold on her...

-----

Zuberi hissed in pain as Veces pinned her wrist forcefully against the ground, her fist still throbbing from where she had punched him. She could have hit him in a more painful area, such as the face or neck, but.... It was Veces. Even under this spell, she couldn't make herself hurt him. And now her hand was pinned, and her other arm was beneath Veces's crushing weight on top of her... She felt his hand on her thigh rise up to her chest, and she knew where he was going, and tried once more to struggle, but found that she could barely move at this point. His hand gripped the skimpy cloth that wrapped around her breasts, and she wished, for once, that she was more covered. It would only be a matter of pulling the fabric down to get what he wanted... She thought she could feel his other hand reaching down to rid her of her other piece of fabric, and it brought in her a new surge of adreneline. Was she so weak that she could not defend herself, even against one so strong? She had lived alone all these years, she had learned to protect herself better than this!

With a mangled cry, she pried herself away from Veces, somehow pushing his solid form off of her as she wriggled away. She heard a rip as she scrambled away, and knew that his grip on her clothing had been strong, and that he was surely still clutching the cloth that should be around her chest. She stumbled to a standing position, panting, and crossed her arms protectively over her chest, blushing madly even in the situation. "Veces, you have to stop!" she cried, surprised to find tears running down her cheeks. There had to be someway to help him, wasn't there? She blinked away the wetness from her eyes and stepped a careful distance away from him, waiting for his next move.

-----

Here, standing in the presence of such an amazing sight, Veces and the voices were finally agreeing on something. Woah The thought in unison, the reaper's eyes regaining their intelligence for a fraction of a second before the sight of those precious orbs sent his hormones crazy.Oh, what cruel irony was that? Could he only regain some fraction of his power when his thoughts and the fruit's demands were in sync? Good lot of help that was. But seeing Zuberi standing there, so vulnerable, so exposed, it made him go crazy from just the thought of it! And her tears were really adding to the effect... she was crying? His body, which had started to move foreward, hands out and groping, actually stopped cold from the realization. Zuberi was... crying? Was that possible? She was so defiant and strong, and seeing her like this made him realize how much he felt for her. And not because of how beautiful she was. He just couldn't stand seeing her like this, weak and afraid! He lashed out at his tormentor, trying to befuddle it, just for the instant that Zuberi would need to escape. But he just wasn't strong enough. Not on his own.

Veces' body, recovered from the suddenoutburst of emotion,, flashed a sly and perverted smirk, taking his time in getting closer, making it all too obvious what it was planning on doing. Once it was close enough, its eyes staring hungrily at Zuberi's near-exposed chest, Veces' body grabbed Zuberi's hands by her wrists, pulling her arms behind her back and holding them back with just one hand, allowing it full access to her rack. His other hand slipped down to her buttocks, pulling her up close and teasing at the little cloth she had left on, and he kissed the area right above her chest, grinning like a demon. Humans are much more fun to mess with than animals the voices explained to Veces, who would have been wide-eyed with shock and regret; because they show so much more emotions than animals. It's intoxicating.

-----

As Veces approached her, staring hungrily at her chest, Zuberi just gave in. She couldn't take the struggle anymore. She hardly fought as he gripped both of her wrists in his crushing grip and forced them behind her back, making her back arch and giving him full access to what he wanted. She shivered as his other hand trailed down to her lower end, teasing at the remaining cloth. "Veces," she said, hardly a murmur, and it was hard to tell if she was hoarse from the fight, or from the whirl of emotions running through her head. She grimaced and closed her eyes as his mouth trailed over her chest, first above her exposed bosom, then eventually seeking out what he had been after in the first place. She fought the ecstasy that was threatening to overpower her mind, wondering what to do as the hand fondling her hips starting pushing down the cloth around her waist.

A sudden thought occurred to her. Where was Freki!? She had seen him wander off as they entered the garden, but he couldn't be too far away, right?? As the tension around her waist lifted as the cloth fell, she twisted her head over her shoulder, letting out a strangled cry. "FREKI!" she screamed, and with the loud noise, the fog around her mind cleared. Use your powers, dammit! She should have thought of it earlier. She hesitated only briefly at the thought of the crushing force that had nearly killed her earlier when she tried to teleport into the walls, but she figured she would have to risk it, or be raped. Growling with sudden intensity, she lashed out with the only weapon she had left - her teeth. She bit into Veces's neck hard enough to draw blood, forcing his grip to slacken around her wrists and his head back. Using the momentary pain to her advantage, she concentrated on an area about twenty yards away, to the entrance where they had first come through. Forgetting her nudity, she focused on the area, and a moment later, she had vanished in a flash, only to reappear an instant later at where she had been concentrating. She crouched down behind a shrub and peered around it, watching Veces suspiciously. If she had been quick enough, he wouldn't have seen where she had ended up.

------

We have her right where we want her now The voices thought, making Veces' body grin as he teased the cloth off of Zuberi's trembling body. Of course, as all good tactitians knew, victory often clouded the thoughts of the victorious if they didn't stay aware. And, luckily for Zuberi and Veces, the fruit's only goal was pleasure, so now that that was achieved it couldn't sense the sudden tensing of Zuberi, or if it did it put it off as a tremble of pleasure, or the like. That is, until it heard her scream.

At first, it simply registered the yell as one of lust or despair, yelling out the name of her assailant in pleasure, but then the fruit came to the foggy realization that that wasn't this mans name. And before it could act, both the fruit's influence and Veces' intelligence were rendered useless from a sudden, piercing pain.

It was about two minutes until Veces came to, shaking his head groggily and rubbing his neck where Zuberi had bit him. He sat there like that for another few minutes, until he finally jumped from the sudden realization that he was sitting there, [i]and not that cursed fruit! Could the sudden change from pleasure to pain have cured him? He scratched his head, thinking about women and wine, and shook his head: No. The toxins were just weakened. His first instinct was to look around, to try and see if Zuberi was safe, but he forced himself to stare at the grass: He didn't know where she was, so neither did the fruit. He wouldn't look for her just so that the voices could take her again.

The more he kept observing the ominously rhythmical appearances of the fruit shapes and colours appearing at regular intervals within the fenced garden, the more Freki started to see a pattern behind this. The behaviour of the various animals – or at least he assumed most of those beings he saw dashing around were animals, what else could they really be? – gave him clues as to what the individual fruit might have for a consequence when being eaten. He was still feeling the aftermath of the blue apple he had eaten and was reveling in the energy he could feel flowing through his body. He took a sample of each fruit and sat down on a tree trunk somewhere and broke them all open, smelling them each in turn. He did not notice any difference in their smell however, wondering what it was that made them different apart from their shape and colour, because obviously they seemed to have different effects on the animals eating them. However, one thing was obvious, the various shapes meant that the fruit went together, no matter which colour they had. Shapes went with shapes and colours had effects, though which, he was still not entirely sure, though he could guess at least toward the sexual instincts one, which seemed to be the one that distinguished the most clearly from everything else. Without noticing, Freki picked up yet another blue apple as he got the impression that his energy might be fading, putting it off as hunger and lightly bit into it.

The gardener was so indulged in his work and his food that he did not even notice the time fly until suddenly his head flew up at the sound of a scream. Someone seemed to have screamed his name, which seemed odd to him at first, why would anyone shout for him in the middle of his peaceful nowhere when it hit him where exactly he was and who with. Maybe something bad had happened?! Without giving a second glance to the fruit he had been looking at and discarded the one he had recently bitten into, he picked up his feet and ran towards where the sound had come from, towards approximately where he had left the white reaper and the blue woman that were his companions. He did not have to run far when he stumbled onto the place where Zuberi had suggested they’d rest and looked around frantically, barely noticing the commenced and discarded fruit lying on the floor. Freki’s eyes widened in surprise and in something resembling shock when he suddenly caught sight of Zuberi huddled behind a bush, trying to keep herself covered up with her hands and everything else those could grab. He hurried over to her side, wondering what on earth had happened while he had been away, it could not have been that long that he had left the woman and Veces alone, and where was Veces for that matter?

“What happened?!” he exclaimed, hoping she was not going to tell him a horror story of how she had barely escaped the grasps of a vicious monster that now had Veces within its grasp. He had no idea how close to the truth he came with this thought however. After Zuberi briefly outlined what had happened, he simply nodded, the information he had gathered from his excursion already flicking through his mind until the image of the appropriate food popped up. It was just like with those lemurs Zuberi and Veces had observed themselves. Dark places to do dark deeds. He had not thought however the effect of the fruit would be this quick on humans, since the digestive system was a slightly different one. Having another look around, Freki finally saw and actually registered the fruit lying on the floor where Veces probably had dropped it earlier and Freki with a sure pace went over to a tree, plucking down a matching shape but with a contrasting colour. Veces was going to eat this, even if Freki had to force-feed him, before any more damage was done. It wasn’t long until Freki saw the white reaper huddled on the floor as well, frantically trying not to look up it seemed. It was not hard to see that Veces was struggling, though with what exactly the gardener could not know. It was a good thing he had eaten this blue fruit, at least now he felt comfortable enough to take on the reaper if it was necessary.

Crossing the short distance towards Veces, Freki gently called out to him. “Are you alright? What happened?” Even though he knew what had happened, he wanted to hear Veces tell his version, if only to see if he actually knew what he had been doing. It is a quite amazing feeling to feel this superior to someone, Freki thought, wondering if he should not eat another fruit or maybe pack a few, before they left this place, just to have something to nibble along the way. “Here, eat this,” Freki offered the fruit to Veces on the flat of his palm, ready however to grab the latter and force it down Veces’ throat if the reaper were unwilling. “It will make you feel better,” he added or good measure, though he was uncertain whether it would have the desired effect of making Veces take the fruit and eat it quickly, or not.

How long had he been sitting there? Minutes? Hours? To Veces, it felt like at east half a dozen of the former, having to ignore almost all of is training and instincts and continue to stare at the ground, all the while going through an internal struggle for the control of his very own body. Control kept shifting constantly, he would lose focus or the feeling in one limb or other, and he could hardly even think for all of the commotion. But how could you possibly hope to win against your very nature, especially when it has been augmented beyond normal? Surely Veces would have to train exclusivly under this master for years, willingly even, should he ever find the person who did it.

Veces heard a familiar voice during a particularly difficult battle over the control of the right side of his face and jumped slightly, a bead of sweat forming on his brow from the concentration. He heard snippets of words, and focused hard, tuning to look up at Freki: What he saw was a confident, powerful man, who looked as if he believed that he could take on any foe. What Freki would see would be an almost two-faced creature, one side of his face bright with intelligence and the other clouded by lust. Both eyes stared at him intently, deemed him an unsuitable prospect, and then he shook his head.

"Freki I... I'm so confused;
By a small fruit, I have been used.
My instincts took me in the end,
And in the process, I hurt a friend."
"And we'd do it all over again."

Veces' intelligent eye shot wide open, startled at the multiple voices that spoke from just one side of his mouth. what was this!? Were they unaffected by the curse!? He felt something being pressed into his hand, and stare at it curiously. Is this... fruit? It looked the same as the fruit he had eaten before, but he foggily remembered that the one that he ate was a different colour. Would this cure him!? He peeled the fruit hastily, but then stopped as the last of the peel fell away, eyes wide with shock. W-wait! We can help you to speak normal again! They offered, obviously desperate. Which he was about to buy, too, but then he remembered: Zuberi. He had hurt her, thanks to this fruit. And there was no way he would let that happen again. So he ate the juicy fruit in his hnd savagly, even though the hunger he had at the moment could not be satisfied with food. And with each swallow, with each bit of fruit flesh stowed safely in his gut, his mind cleared drastically, until he finally gained complete control, the voices going from uproarous complaint to spiteful whispers, then silence. Utter silence. The relief from the struggle was so great that Veces fell back, staring absently at nothing in particular.

He was free.

» The Basilisk's Eye .:{Echo x Apollo}:.
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» A Game of Cat and Mouse ((Echo/Aero))
» }-Aero {Head Hunt} Echo-{
» Tajy and Kevv [An interesting find]