Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Greed is a Binding Agent {1x1}

A young woman trecked quietly through the forest outside of Combe. It was much too late for anyone to be out, much less a lone women. However, the moonlight gleamed off the ax hanging on her hip, showing that she had a weapon, and was most likely able to defend herself easily. The reason for her being alone? She had very little money and could not afford a proper inn in town, and thus she took to the woods to find a place to rest.

Quail Ashwood was used to the outdoors. She felt at home in the woods, so it didn't bother her too much. In fact, she was almost happy to be able to sleep outside. And as she walked around Chetwood to search for a proper camp spot, she believed she was alone, and it would be the first time in her life she wasn't with her eight brothers (well, two biological brothers and six "adopted" brothers).

Chetwood wasn't exactly the kind of place one would expect to find any young ladies. Not in the morning or afternoon and especially not after sunset. But on this particular night, Lhooli found herself wandering aimlessly in the dark. Darting from shadow to shadow. Avoiding clearings as best she could. She was a wanted criminal and didn't want to be found. Initially, she had gone to Chetwood, the woods near Combe, to retrieve one of her many hidden lock-boxes which contained her so-called "earnings." Though once she had arrived, the Watch (the law enforcers in Bree-Land) had spotted her outside of Combe, so she fled into the woods and kept running until she was lost. Finally, without knowing what else she could do, Lhooli stopped dead in her tracks.
"This is ridiculous." she said quietly, plopping down against a tree. These woods had become a second home to her after her 3 years in Bree-Land, and knowing that she had gotten herself lost was a silent blow to her massive ego. She considered her desperate situation for a moment, and figured that if she stayed in the woods for a day or two more the Watch would have to move on, they had other criminals to catch and more important things to attend to than a mere thief like Lhooli. Yes, exactly. she thought to herself, sliding the straps of her bag off her shoulders. They'll find someone new to turn their attention to, and forget all about little ol' me. As she reached into her bag, Lhooli wrapped her slender fingers around the hilt of her dagger and brought it out, then tapped her forehead with the blade. She didn't really want to stay in Chetwood for at all, she hated the brigands, the smell, the dirt, the animals; she hated all of it and wanted to leave all of it behind for the long trip she was planning on.
"But I can't do that without my gold." she mumbled, holding the blade in her mouth as she tied her hair back. The gold she desperately wanted was in her lock-box near the Marshlands, but she didn't think she could make it to the Marshlands because the Watch may be there, and because she was lost. Grumbling and cursing under her breath, she hacked off her once flowing locks of dark, brown hair and threw away the ribbon she used to tie it. Letting out a heavy hearted sigh, Lhooli slipped her dagger back into her bag, and held her locks of hair tightly in her closed fist. She then stood up, hoisted her bag onto her back and continued in the direction she was going.
((I hope that's good.))

{It's perfect!!}

Quail huffed softly and pulled her cloak more closely over her shoulders. It was brisk in the woods, and she supposed a fire would have to be in order, soon, lest she freeze and catch cold. So she decided on a spot and set down her rucksack against a tree, her coin pouch tied to the strap of her bag. No one would be out this late, so she had no fears of it being taken.

She set off to start picking up sticks and breaking off small, low branches for firewood. As she wandered around near her campsite, her mind drifted to the day's events. Traveling from her home for the first time, seeing the countryside of Bree-land... There had been a bit of a ruckus in Combe when she arrived, something about the Watch looking for a girl. She had seen the wanted poster, and the girl looked naught but a child!...okay, so the wanted criminal actually appeared just a few years younger than Quail, but she still thought of that being a child, because Quail was mature and wise beyond her years and very set in her adult-like ways. (Or so she thought.)

As Quail returned to her campsite, she heard footsteps approaching. Whether the person was meaning to come near or not, her body tensed up and she immediately reached for her ax, pulling it out from its place hanging on her belt and holding it erect, its polished blade gleaming in the moonlight filtering through the trees.

"Who goes there?" she called in a stern tone, watching the shadowy figure a few yards away.