The Black Throne

[Wolfsong]

Hikiera was somewhat expectant of an attack of some sort. She was surprised at his energy though, and there was no way she'd dodge this. So, she did the best thing under the circumstances.
She dove into him, ramming her knife hilt into his stomach, knocking the air from him. Still, that didn't answer the problem of his weight...
Swinging around his crashing form she landed directly on his back, striking him on the back of the head a couple times for good measure. Quickly pulling off a belt, she began to tie his hands behind his back, working quickly while he was stunned.

[Diamond Dragon]

Darn it! Almost... Gale's arrow had just missed its mark, but it was enough for the beast to roar from the pain, and stumbled around in a rage. Then suddenly the elf from earlier jumped out and killed the creature, moving faster than Gale had ever seen an elf move. ...An orc potion maybe? Probably stole it from the one that was foolish enough to venture down there.

When she heard an unfamiliar voice behind her, Gale whipped around, her hand going to the only knife she brought with her, hidden under her cloak. It was an orc, but he wasn't poised to attack. He was just sitting on a rock close to her, his heavy looking firestone axe hanging at his belt. Gale looked at him, puzzled as she processed what he said. "Impressed? You, an orc, impressed with me? Well, that's a first!" He seemed to think she was a regular elf...she should probably keep it that way, at least for now.

[Cheetah]

It was only thanks to the potion that Sendre wasn't knocked unconscious from the elf's attack. Still, the blows to his skull left him momentarily dazed. His vision went black. It took him a moment to realize what was going on. By the time he could see clearly and he could think straight again, it was too late. He was pinned under the weight of the elf, with his hands securely tied behind his back and his knives out of reach. Despite his high energy, Sendre could do nothing but struggle in vain.
He growled deeply.
While he was afraid for his life, he was also angry that a lone elf had gotten the best of him.

[Oddood198]

Durek chuckled, a low rumbling sound deep in his throat. "Child, Orc or no, I just witnessed you shoot one of those savage beasts with no fear of retaliation. And what's more, it was a good shot, you nearly slew it with that arrow alone. Anyone would be impressed." He looked past the cloaked Elf to where the other one had slain the beast and was now tying up a young Orc.
Durek thought for a moment, trying to sort out the situation. A Orc and an Elf teaming up to fight the beast, and then turning on each other as soon as the mutual threat was done with. And this small Elf, she seemed to be a child, judging by her size. She wasn't nearly tall enough to be a full-grown Elf, so what was a child doing out here?
"Is she a friend of yours?" Durek asked the small Elf, nodding past her to the other one.

[Diamond Dragon]

Keeping half an eye on the orc, Gale glanced back down at what was going on at the bottom. Turned out the smaller orc was still alive after all, and was fighting with the elf. Probably enraged at having his potion taken? She still had no idea that the two had actually worked together for a few minutes. She watched as the elf got the better of the orc and tied him up. Wow. That orc was a goner...

She looked back at the orc in front of her when he asked if the elf was a friend of hers. Gale almost burst out laughing. "Far from it! She tried to shoot me earlier!"

[Oddood198]

Durek chuckled for a moment, then sighed deeply. "Yes, quite a bit of that going around, these days." He said. He looked at the child Elf again, her own kin had tried to kill her? He couldn't help but wonder why that was. Perhaps she was an exile, like him? But what could such a young Elf have done to be exiled and hunted by her own people?
"Do you have any family, girl?" Durek asked, letting his curiosity get the better of him, "Even for an Elf, you seem rather young to be out here, with your own people trying to kill you. Not to mention, you are neither shooting at nor running away from me, an Orc, which I find rather curious."

[Diamond Dragon]

Gale's white lips puckered in some confusion. She was actually holding a conversation with someone other than herself. A decent one, without any fighting or chasing going on. It was strange...though Gale kind of liked it. It reminded her of when she talked with her mother. Still, she wasn't quite sure of the orc's intentions. He could be distracting her while more orcs surrounded them. However, she couldn't hear anything...nor could she really bring herself to believe an orc would speak to her in such a...
friendly way. Yet that was what was happening.

"I used to have family...not anymore though." she answered, shrugging as if it didn't bother her. "And why should I even be doing that when your not even attacking me? That's something I find weird. Though you probably have something just as bad in mind." Even if if he did, Gale's curiosity was stronger than her caution. "Why are you even talking to me like this anyway? I thought you guys hated elves to thier very core." Maybe because he thought she was younger than she really was?

[Wolfsong]

Hikiera just chuckled when the orc growled.
"Go right ahead, it won't do any good," she taunted. She drew her knife again, pressing it against the back of his throat. "Now," she purred pleasantly. "The antidote. And don't go thinking you can lie your way out of this. I have a whole clan with me, and they know how to deal vengeance slowly."

[Cheetah]

The rumbling growl in Sendre's chest grew stronger as the elf laughed at him. What was he supposed to do now? He could think of a few ways to stall her, but he only had one day to get himself free of this crazy elf. Well, for now anyway...
"Stupid elf..." Sendre muttered angrily. Something about the feel of the blade on the back of his neck helped calm him a bit. "We orcs aren't in the habit of giving our potions to other races and then trying to save them. I don't have any of the ingredients with me. And honestly, they're pretty hard to come by."
Sendre groaned at his own lie. It was so obviously just meant to stall for time. And since there weren't any ingredients they were more than just hard to come by. He wouldn't have been surprised if she called his bluff and killed him right then and there. At least that would save him the trouble thinking a way out of this mess.

[Oddood198]

Durek watched the young Elf for a moment, then let out a deep sigh. "Most Orcs do. I did, too, once." He said, "But I've grown past such things. Why should a land be painted in blood because of what our ancestors did? I see no sense in it, anymore. Sadly, few share my sentiment here, and the war rages on regardless." He stopped himself before continuing, smiling ruefully, "But, I'm babbling. Perhaps these thoughts of peace between the races seem alien to you, or perhaps not. But it is not right for me to spill out my beliefs onto a child."
Here, Durek stood up with a grunt, lifting his firestone axe out of his belt. "Well, now that I've said all that, it doesn't seem right to let those two down there kill each other." He pointed to the Elf and the Orc, seemingly holding a conversation with one another. "I'm going to see if I can prevent any more unnecessary bloodshed. Wish me luck." With that, he walked past the young Elf and began sliding down the hill, making not effort to hide himself as he approached the arguing pair.

[Diamond Dragon]

The corners of Gale's mouth twitched. She had never in her whole life heard anyone say that, besides her own mother. She said it in a less eloquent way, but it at its core her belief and the orc's were the same. Yet it was so strange to hear someone else who believed it besides herself. Gale almost laughed again when the orc mentioned about her being a child again. He just had no idea, and she still had no intention of telling him yet.

But she did get interested when he mentioned trying to separate the two down below them. She glanced down at them again. Personally she was surprised that the small orc was still alive. He must have or know something that the elf wanted. By the time she looked back at the larger orc, he was already sliding down the hill towards the duo. Gale watched him for a moment, then quickly retrieved the sword and her staff from the crevice in the rocks. After putting her bow back into her quiver, stuck the sword in her belt, and grabbed her staff, she also went sliding down the hill. Frankly, she was very curious as to see how this would turn out.

[Wolfsong]

"Really?" Hikiera drawled. "Then why was there poison in there anyway? You couldn't use it yourself then. You'd naturally have one on you." Grinning evilly, she leaned forward, bending down till her mouth was directly beside his ear. "I know you're lying, you despicable piece of filth. The potion I drank was perfectly safe. You're fun to play with though. Too bad...you don't have any longer." She raised her knife, when loose rock began falling down on her.
Glancing up, she saw an orc and the half-blood sliding down toward her. The orc had his axe out and ready, while the half-elf had apparently put her weapons away, save the staff. Perhaps she was just here to see what the pickings would be.
Bad decision.
As the orc slid the last few feet, Hikiera crouched low on the orc she was already standing on, tilting her head slightly. Her hand carrying the knife rose suggestively, as high as he held his axe. "Another piece of earthen dung," she said slowly. "And why, pray, are you here? Is this-" She nudged Sendre. "One of yours? You should teach them better manners, filth."
The situation was one-sided, for her. True, she had one of the orcs under her heel, but if she couldn't properly kill him before the new one reached her...and the half-blood had a bow. She would need to play this cautiously if she wanted to come out alive, and on top.

[Oddood198]

"No, not one of mine." Durek said, watching the Elf closely as he got to steady footing on solid ground. "But I've seen enough blood to last em a lifetime, I'd like to prevent more. And I think you could agree enough has been spilt today." He gestured toward the sounds of fighting he had heard earlier, guessing that she would likely be one of the Elves involved in the skirmish.
"Now, how about this." Durek continued. He placed his axe back in it's sheath loop and held his hands up in front of him, showing that he wasn't armed. "You let the boy go, we all go our separate ways, and nobody dies. You won't benefit from killing him, anyways. There's no harm in letting him go. We'll all be better off that way."

[Wolfsong]

"Enough?" she repeated curiously. "You're a funny little orc, aren't you."
"And...why would you even care? He's not one of yours. Sure he's kin, but he's not one of yours."
She was puzzled. This was...odd. Very, very odd.

[Cheetah]

From where he lay on the ground, Sendre couldn't get a very good look at the two newcomers. All he could tell was that one was an orc, while the other appeared to be a young elf.
It was painfully obvious that his life hung by a thread, so Sendre decided it would be best to not say anything. But the presence of another orc gave him no comfort. He wasn't aware of anyone else in this area outside his own scouting party. So, who was this guy? Sendre had to agree with the elf. An orc traveling with an elven child, and not killing another elf on sight simply to save an orc he didn't know was highly suspicious.

[Diamond Dragon]

Gale only listened quietly to this conversation for now. She knew full well the elf wanted really bad to kill both orcs plus herself, but with two of the three free and with weapons, she obviously wasn't going to be able to do it. Despite what the elf thought, stealing wasn't on Gale's mind right now. It was more interesting to just watch and see what would happen.

[Oddood198]

"True, he's no more one of mine than you are." Durek said, nodding briefly to the young Orc, still being held down. "But if I only cared for my own people, then I would care for no one. That's no life to lead, is it?" Slowly, Durek lowered his arms, but didn't reach for his axe or anything else. "I'm simply tired of seeing people die for no good reason. And as far as I can see, you have no good reason to kill the boy." Durek paused, letting his words sink in. He honestly wasn't sure how much of an effect his persuasion was having on the Elf, but he had to try all he could nonetheless.
"What do you say, Elf?" He asked, "Kill the boy in cold blood, or let him live out of mercy. The choice, and consequences, are yours."

[Wolfsong]

The orc was crazy. That was the only real possibility.
Yet...a part of her was curious. He was a funny orc, to be trying to convince her to spare one not his own, and without show of weapons. It was display she'd never seen before, and a small part of her was curious.
The other, the hunter, was suspicious, and also weighing the odds against her. If she went ahead and killed this orc, she doubted the mad one nor the half-blood would let it go. She'd probably find herself on the losing side of a skirmish. So really...the hunter decided to play along. She would wait for her opportunity. A hunter was patient, the kill would come if she bided her time wisely.
She made a bit of a show of sheathing her knife, then stepped off the orc. She gave the mad orc a lazy smile.

[Oddood198]

When the Elf stepped back, Durek let out a deep, pent-up breath. "Thank you. Really, thank you." He said. This Elf had just displayed understanding and mercy, two important factors that were sadly hard to find these days. Perhaps all hope is not lost for these people. Durek thought, suppressing a grin, Maybe, just maybe, things can work out easier than I feared.
"Now, I'll stay over here, and you can just help the boy up and send him over--" Durek began, but was interrupted by a sound like thunder, coming closer quickly. "That couldn't be.." He breathed, "Get the boy up, and start running." He said, his voice quickly rising. He spun and shoved the small Elf beside him to turn her around, "Don't just stand there, RUN!!" He yelled again over his shoulder, scrambling up the hill.
Durek had hardly taken two steps when, from the opposite end of the dip in the ground, the savages that had been chasing him burst out with fearsome screams, brandishing crude weapons. They were dark-skinned, the size of an Orc and with body markings like an Elf, most of them had unnaturally pointed teeth and were garbed only in rough loincloths. They carried weapons made of stone, bone, and whatever else they could get their hands on. They shouted like madmen, which was really quite appropriate, as they saw their prey, now surrounded by others, and charged to them, raising their crude weapons overhead.

[Wolfsong]

HiKiera whirled at the thundering sound, and grimaced at what she saw. Instantly she turned and, after a loud shriek back of defiance, began fleeing the mad and blood-hungry mob.
She suddenly drew her knife, lunging down at the bound orc. Severing the ropes that held him, she jerked him to his feet. "Get running you fool!" she snapped. "If I don't get the kill I'm not letting the have it!" Snarling, she leapt up the rock face of the cliff, her superb agility leaping into play. Securing for herself a firm handhold, she unslung her bow, then vaulted over the side, onto firm ground. As she came upright, she had an arrow cocked and ready, already shooting at at one of the strange savages coming up at Durek. She quickly set another, determined to guard her only allies against this new danger. After all, why shed elfin blood over another's skirmish? She'd just find a way to warn the others to flee..
Quickly, she cupped her hands to her mouth, mimicking the sound of a predator, the signal for danger. The angry, hungry sound echoed in the enclosed walls of the cliffs, building the sound enough she was fairly certain they'd hear. She shot another arrow, her eyes taking on the half-mad light they found during a killing.

[Cheetah]

The elf yanked Sendre to his feet and shouted something at him. He didn't hear what it was. He wasn't listening to her.
The sudden turn of events was overwhelming. It had been surprising enough that the elf had decided not to kill him for some reason. But while he was pondering that they were suddenly ambushed by savages. His suspicion about the other orc was instantly forgotten. Sendre snatched up his knives and instinctively followed after his rescuer. He could at least pretend for the time being that he wasn't alone.
The elf made it up the steep hill first and was covering their escape with arrows.
This was all far too abnormal. For now, Sendre decided he would stick close to the capable looking orc.

[ClaecElric4God]

OOC: Well, guys, I'm here. I know, I'm late. I had an incident with a golem and a pair of quilting gloves.


Name: Kiani Chipfinder (this is what happens when you tell an online dwarf name generator that your name is Beverly Noseworthy)
Race: Dwarf
Gender: Female
Age: 83
Appearance: Kiani is short (obviously) and built about like any other dwarf. She likes to think she's more thin and built like an elf, but she really isn't. She's dwarfish. She has a long, intricately braided beard to go with her equally long, equally braided dark brown hair. However, despite the common misconception about dwarves, her hair isn't thick and scraggly. It's smooth and shiny, and she takes excellent care of it; probably far better than she should be wasting her time on. She has sharp features and a gaze that cuts right into you when she looks at you. Beauty isn't a word that describes her, but she's not hideous, either. Perhaps somewhere between average and homely. She doesn't look overly wise, but she knows more than she lets on. Because dwarf and longevity, to anyone who didn't know her, she could be in her thirties. Of course, everyone who does know her thinks she's senile. Whether that is true or not has yet to be determined.
Equipment: She wears light but sturdy armor, dull and lackluster from wear. She's never without her sword, which is sharp and shiny and perhaps a bit too long for someone of her stature. When she knows she'll have occasion for it, she carries a buckler as well, but usually she goes without. She handles an axe well, but she considers it to be more of a man's weapon, and perfers not to use one.
Kiani also has a potato she keeps in a pouch slung over her shoulder. Though whether it's a piece of equipment or a companion is debatable. And why does she randomly have a potato in this barren wasteland, you ask? ....It's an enchanted potato, okay? Deal with it.
History: Kiani was married at the tender young age of 48, to a dwarf a good 20 years older than her. No one understood why the two got married, since in reality that's really old for anyone to get married, dwarf or no. But they told everyone it was true love, so apparently it was okay. Most of Kiani's life has been mining and fighting, without much variation or anything unusual. However, she was never hardened by the wars, and has always kept an open mind to the other races. She believes that somewhere in history, there has to be an answer to all the hatred. And she can't stand to see Kargeth such a barren wasteland. She isn't quiet about her mindset, either, but everyone ignores her, because she's crazy. However, lately she's taken to wandering off in....soul-searching or something, and her people are beginning to question her loyalty. She can tell that soon she may well be confronted about her habits, or driven out entirely. However, recently widowed, she feels little attachment to anything anymore.

Other: Unbeknownst to Kiani, her mining group has just been ambushed and wiped out by a certain unnamed group of elves while she was busy wandering around the hills. Tragic, really.



BIC: Kiani looked up when she heard the noise. Ah, those creatures again...From the sound of it, they weren't far away, but neither had they discovered her. So she simply remained seated where she was. But then...she was absolutely certain she heard a voice yelling something urgently. Kiani cocked her head, waiting. Then she heard another sound. In spite of how much it sounded like a predator, Kiani was familiar with this area and knew that such a predator didn't exist for miles, and her years of battle experience told her it must be an Elf signal. Raising herself up quickly, Kiani drew her sword, suddenly regretting having left the mining camp. What could possibly be going on. The savages, a voice she didn't recognize, and then an Elf signal. What on earth was going on over there?
Cresting a hill, Kiani found herself face to face with an Orc, with whom she also almost collided. Jumping back, Kiani pointed her sword at the Orc, ready to throw out an accusatory inquiry as to what he was doing there. But then her eyes took in the situation, with the mob of mad creatures closing in, and a few strangers from the other races also caught in the situation. Kiani didn't say a word, but turned and started the other way.
"Hurry!" She yelled, motioning for the strangers to get their legs moving if they valued their lives. Kiani didn't wait for a reply or to see if anyone made it out alive. If they couldn't survive on their own, there wasn't much a lone dwarf was going to be able to do for them either.

[Diamond Dragon]

It all was happening so fast, Gale wasn't quite sure what was happening. But from the spine tingling yells of savages, and the yells to run, she knew they were in a dangerous situation. She swiftly ran after everyone, glancing back over her shoulder. Savages... She actually had never seen any before. In a way she was horribly fascinated by how they looked. But of course she couldn't get too distracted. Otherwise she'd be a goner. Turning back she sped up, scrambling up the hill with the others. For some reason there was a dwarf at the top, but Gale didn't dwell too much on that at the moment. It was too dangerous right now.

[Oddood198]

Durek crested the hill, only to find himself face-to-face with a rather startled Dwarf. The bearded she-Dwarf leapt back and pointed her sword at Durek, but realized the danger of the situation a second later and turned tail, yelling back for them to hurry.
Durek reached back and grabbed the Elf child's hand, pulling her up the ridge, and a few seconds later he did the same for the Orc. The other Elf had climbed the rocks and started shooting at the savages. She would be overrun soon, but there wasn't much Durek could do about that.
As he watched the Elf, one of the savages climbed to the top of the small hill and raised his club to swing down at Durek. But Durek was faster; in a breath he pulled his axe out of his belt loop and swung it into the savage's neck. The feral man dropped his club as the life drained out of him, and Durek kicked his lifeless body back down at the others. Wasting no time, Durek turned and started running after the others. They couldn't beat the savages in a fight; their only hope was to run and escape.

[Wolfsong]

The savages were almost upon them. They were already nipping at the orc's heels. Very soon, they were all going to be overrun, and killed.
Hikiera dropped to the ground as a savage leapt up, kicking at his heels. Before he hit the dirt she performed a swift uppercut to his jaw, sending him falling over the cliff and taking the person behind him with him.
"We can't last like this," she panted. "I need....my clan."
She stood and turned to flee, then glanced back at the struggling group. They'd crested the hill and were almost joined with her again, but the savages left no room for hope. If they faced them alone...they would die.
Why should she care? They weren't elves. She didn't care about others, even her own kin, if they weren't of her clan. She just avoided them, everyone. Her clan was enough for her.
Still, she felt hesitant to leave them. Her arm twitched slightly, then she came to a decision. The peaceable orc intrigued her. Perhaps if she played his game, she could get something out of him. Satisfying herself with this thought, she shouted to them, "Come here! Follow me if you want to live! Into the rocks!" and she started running, leading them into the mountain, if they would follow.

[ClaecElric4God]

OOC: I feel like a heel and a horrible person, but I think most of you know my situation. I'm dropping out of this, and in this particular RP, I don't think my character has done enough to be important. So just pretend she's not there or something. Unless you want me to make a post that makes sense for her to suddenly disappear out of the blue, Odd. Let me know.
Thanks for (hopefully) understanding, guys. Hope you have a blast doing this.

[ClaecElric4God]

Double-posting because this has been dead for 11 days and if I just edited the last one I'm not sure you guys would see it. Where is everybody? Wake up, guys!

Anyways, scratch what I said up there ^. I'm gonna finish this out, so you guys...get your act together or something. Wake up and smell the barren wasteland. Otherwise I'm gonna sic the savages on your character and chuckle creepily as you all get eaten.

[Diamond Dragon]

Ooc: Uh-oh, I think she means it! Come on guys!! I was waiting mostly for Oddood to post before I wrote up something. xD;;

Also, welcome back to the RP Claec! *hugs* I hope this won't interfere with anything else in your life!

[Oddood198]

OOC: Huh... Hey guys, sorry it's been so long. Stuff happened, then more stuff, and things got crazy on this end of the screen. Lots of stuff happening, so much family, I don't even...

Anyways! Yeah, this has been sleeping (not dead, Onee-chan) for long enough. Time to wake the beast, as it were. And welcome back, Onee-chan, good to have you again.


Durek led the small Elf and the young Orc after the Elf, seeing no other choice but to follow. The savages pursued, hot on their tails, screaming and shaking weapons in anticipation of their kills. It was harsh climbing; the rocks were jagged and sharp, and Durek got several small cuts just from brushing against them, but there was no alternative.

The chase continued on for what seemed like an eternity, but was really only an hour or so. The small group of mixed blood running the avoid their certain doom. They seemed to be working together well enough, at least, they had all survived to this point, and that was good. But they wouldn't be able to keep going much longer.
Durek's breath was coming in small, ragged gasps, and his limbs were burning and sagging. Nowhere to hide, no way to fight, and soon, no way to run. The savages had quieted their shouting, at last, but they didn't otherwise seem very fatigued.
No good, we can't go any more... Durek thought. Just then, a faint sound reached his ears, and he focused on it as best he could. It sounded like some kind of howling shriek, distant at first, but growing louder. It was right on top of them before Durek realized what it was and called a warning to the others, "Get down!!"
Durek dropped flat on the ground, and just as the last of their group did, a giant, howling beast leapt up a hill in front of them and began barreling down. It was huge and dark, covered in fur with teeth and claws like swords. It looked like the beast from earlier, except much larger. An angry mother. Durek realized.
The feline-like terror ran past Durek's group, not seeing them as they lay still but instead charging toward the group of savages that were now halted and looking on, stunned. Durek didn't see the monster hit the savages, but he heard the terrible sound of the two sides meeting, and then, as loud as he dared, he gave another command to the others. "Get up, we're going. Quietly." And so, with his limbs aching in protest, Durek pushed himself back onto his feet and held his axe still so it wouldn't make any noise, and kept running, as quietly as he could. He didn't look back on the savages and the beast, didn't want to, but he could tell from the sounds of the conflict -terrified screaming, mad howling, flesh ripping- that they would keep each other busy for a while.

[Cheetah]

It all happened so quickly, Sendre found it difficult to keep up with events. But after running for an hour it hit Sendre that he should try to slip off before they were all caught by the savages. No doubt their pursuers would follow the larger group. Sendre had taken a stamina potion and managed to keep up with the larger orc. When the monster attacked, Sendre took a quick look around. The orc ordered them forward, but... why should Sendre follow him any longer? He had no idea where the orc was taking them, and he certainly wasn't prepared to stay with this ragtag group of mixed races. This was the best chance he'd had yet to disappear and return back to his company. He didn't wish to test his luck here any longer. He hesitated for a moment, watching the orc disappear into the darkness and then turned to leave, putting savages, monsters and temporary allies all behind him. He couldn't help but glance back. His curiosity tempting him to chase after the others, if only to see what was wrong with that crazy orc. But his duty persuaded him otherwise. It was time to go home.