Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » The Pyromancer's War

Hotaru's head dips to the side, and she purrs slightly. It was extremely hard to seem serious while Leith scratched her ears. Swatting his hand away, Hotaru smiles, while attempting to sound serious. "Stop that," she says, flicking her tail.

Leith snicked and reached both hands out, gently ruffling her soft fur before he pulled back,"I couldn't help it. I adore cats."he chuckled, letting go of the reins. Leith's shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh,"I wonder if anything is going to attack us."he grinned.

Hotaru rolls her eyes. "You're just as eager as your horse," She comments, smiling playfully.

Rougart didn't seem all that amused by the thought that wolf would be related to Hotaru."The cat girl and her dog. It's almost poetic." He snarled in a sarcastic manner. The Orc's eyes didn't meet hers."Speak your childish imagination elsewhere. I'll have none of it."

The longer he rode with these younglings, he couldn't help but find them odd. Overly playful, they were to Rougart. As an Orc used to military discipline, he couldn't be blamed for that. But it made him feel old too. His comfort lied in the fact he had the most experience when it came to combat situations. Who knows, he could become a mentor of some sort, learning them a soldier's discipline. Something useful.

"I'm unfamilliar with in these lands. How long will the trek take exactly? And do you have any idea what we are going to face? Surely this pyromancer had help of some sort." This question was asked to Thalia. He suspected she was there during the attack and wrote the notice in the first place.

Hotaru snarls, and shifts her weight, preparing to launch herself at the Orc. How dare he?! She thinks. Jason was her brother. And he had absolutely no right to insult her. Hotaru snarls, her ears flattening to her head. He muscles coiled to spring.

Though she had been ignoring the shenanigans of the younger ones up to now, at the sound of a snarl, Thalia spun her steed around with a snarl of her own. Barda pinned his ears back, annoyed that they had to stop, and Velan very nearly fell off. "That's enough!" The Paladin ordered. "There will be no fighting amongst ourselves on this journey, because if we cannot cooperate, we won't even have a chance at success!" She scolded.

"This pyromancer is no ordinary magic user, though he may appear to be in most eyes." She had made that very mistake, and it had cost the lives of so many friends, comrades, and innocents. She'd be damned it she let anyone make that mistake again. "He commands the fire element with vicious ferocity, as well as many Infernal creatures from whose plane of existence he draws power…reports claim that there may even be a few fire elementals in his army.

"This man does not bother chasing off minor annoyances," The woman hissed. She never should have accepted these green volunteers. They were going to get themselves killed out here if they couldn't even travel together for ten minutes without starting a fight. "If he decides you are a threat, he will not hesitate to show you the full brunt of his power."

"As for the distance between here and our destination..." Thalia settled back in her saddle somewhat and turned Barda back down the path, her body language making it very clear that the subject was to move on. "If we travel fast, and baring any unforeseen mishaps, we should arrive within seven days." The Paladin continued. "Perhaps nine, if we encounter danger along the way."

"…our plan, however, is to get as close as possible to the pyromancer himself before he and his generals realize what we're doing." Velan spoke up quietly. "Try to take him by surprise and all that…"

With a herculean effort, Hotaru swallows her pride. She settles back into the saddle, an angry blush on her cheeks. The cats ears lay flat, both in anger and in sadness. She stares off into the surrounding trees, searching for her brother. She soon finds him, and looks into his eyes. Jason stares back. Finally, she shifts her eyes else where, preferring to stare into the distance, thinking about no one, and nothing.

Rougart didn't even know Hotaru was about to pounce on him until Thalia started scolding. When he turned around, he looked visibly surprised, nearly reaching for his axe on his back. Luckily it didn't come to that.

"Woman, I am not your enemy!" The Orc cried out angrily to Hotaru before putting some distance in between themselves. He had no idea why the girl would be protective over the wolf. Rougart had no idea he was dealing with a werewolf. He'd have kept his mouth shut if he knew.

Thalia was right. If they'd quarrel, this journey was doomed. Instead he listened to what the paladin had to say, and what she told was not great."A pyromancer and a conjurer. I dislike the sound of that. Magic is unpredictable." He spoke, not minding if someone heard.

The plan of taking this mage by surprise was one Rougart liked."A cunning strategy." He proclaimed."We'll need to be quiet. Most likely this man has some sort of link to these creatures. Some knowledge on the city itself could be helpful too. You don't carry a map of it, per chance?"

Leith's attention was caught as he heard about a stealth mission. The Rogue had dealt with many spell casters, ones that could cast from an array of elements and even some that focused on a single element for devastating attacks. He watched Thalia as she spoke and nodded in agreement about a whether she had a map,"Yes, that would definitly give us an advantage."he smiled, running a hand through his hair,"If you do not I can do my best to scout the area. It is my strength."he offered Thalia.

Dmitri watched the exchange of greetings with worry and gave Hotaru a gentle nuzzle then squeezed her gently and sighed, "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

Hotaru clinches her jaw, sitting rigged upon the horses back. "I'm fine," She mumbles. The tone in her voice makes it clear that she is lying. anger was burning through her veins,but she listened to the paladin. She wouldn't let her emotions endanger the lives of others.

Dmitri sighed and stroked her arms comfortingly. He was as wary as Thalia was about all this. Despite being young, he was experienced beyond his years and the armor he wore was enough to prove it, as was his rather adept or expert skill in each weapon he had on him.
"You can tell me anything," Dmitri whispered in Hotaru's ear then gently removed the helmet from her head and tilted her chin so that he could see her face and he looked down at her with a sincere smile.

The Paladin let out a small laugh as they rode on into the forest, where where the thick trees dimmed the weak sunlight even further. "I appreciate your initiative, Leith," She chuckled. "But we do have a map. Not a very current one - it's a decade old, at least - but our destination is an old city. It has stood unchanged since long before my grandfather, and I doubt it could have changed too drastically without the news getting out."

Hotaru blushes, ignoring the burning in her lungs as she inhales the ever falling ash. Slowly, her scowl softens, and she sighs. "Okay Dmitri...," She smiles half heartedly, shifting her eyes to look up at him before looking away. "Thank you"

He smiled and set the helmet back on her head then rested his chin on her shoulder again, "About how far is our first stop from here again?" he asked Thalia.

"If we ride fast, we'll reach the outpost by sundown," The Paladin replied. "The Black Forest isn't exactly a friendly place to camp, and the trading outposts are the only safe places to stop for the night."

The Rogue nodded in agreement,"Yes, I would rather not risk a night in such a place. Unless everyone is bored with simply riding."he chuckled softly before he returned to theserious matter,"Let's head to the outpost quickly."he grabbed the reins of his horse.

Dmitri whipped his reins and his mare started ahead at a slow gallop, ready to speed up if need be.
"You comfortable?" he asked Hotaru.

The Orc looked around."Then we best speed up then lest we get stuck here." Rougart suggested as he sped his Dire Boar. He remained quiet during the rest of the ride.

Hotaru smiles. "I'm fine. I'll let you know if that changes."