Diverging Roads

[Jerial]

Jerial passively watched the others, embarrassed to overhear their conversation, though he knew he couldn't help it. You could quite possibly correct them in their arrogance, a voice prompted. Jerial disagreed; it was not their fault that they were unaccustomed to the company of one such as he.

He decided to remain passive. The voices had become rampant, filling his head and creating too much chaos to chastise the others. I hate you.

[Fayane]

With no movement or even recognition from Jerial, Fay felt a sting in the back of her eyes as she fought back tears once again. Perhaps this was the hardest still on him. So she moved forward and gently kissed him before falling back on her heels, taking his hand and gently leading him, her hand tight only to convey comfort.

She passed Breda and Tanobi; pausing only a moment. "Come on then, we haven't got much time anymore..." With a sad smile she pulled a passive and glass-eyed Jerial behind her, now walking abreast of Saruna, who had gone quiet. Fay assumed it was her thinking, planning, but in actuality the poor woman didn't know what to think.

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She would show them the Paragon, she resolved, and they could make up their own mind, just as Ran had. Motherly concern for the boy rose but she pushed it to the back of her mind. Kori would not harm the boy, and perhaps Ran would be able to talk some sense into the man. She glanced over at Jerial and Fayane, still not quite sure what the young woman saw in the obviously disgruntled and estranged man. Ran would have made a much better partner, but such was the whims of an old woman. Further back was the strange Doctor and the new Dwarf, Breda. Furthest behind was the two that Fayane and Jerial had claimed were friends and allies... and yet she could not place their names. Manners would dictate she introduced herself to them, but they were quite a ways back and she truly did not wish to yell.

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They moved through the woods, mostly silent the most of the time. Breda and Tanobi having their own little chat, and Fay murmuring words of affection and consolation to attempt to break through to Jerial. It wasn't long, however, before she stopped the group, one hand in front of Saruna's chest and dropping Jerial's hand to raise her own, open hand in the air. She turned and held a finger to her lips, requesting silence, before turning and shifting her ears, going so far as to drop her hood to perk her ears to catch the noise she thought she heard.

[Tanobi Durant]

Tanobi gave a passive smile at Breda's curiosity and eagerness to learn the inner workings of a difficult profession. The tone of the traveling doctor became mirthful and boisterous as he rose his hands into the air as if issuing a proclamation, his pace slowing slightly as his stick no longer supported him.

"Then perhaps milady i shall take you as my apprentice and whisk you away upon an adventure where we mend the wounds of hero's and lords before we become the beloved idols of the villages our travels take us to as we cure them of the deadly plagues and horrible unending sickness which cause them despair!" Tanobi then punctuates his exaggerated speech with a hearty laugh before answering the questions at hand.
"Yes i am a traveling physician, i must confess myself that i can scarcely remember some of their names at all" Tanobi drew a hand to his chin in a gesture that implied fond memories before suddenly looking foreword and continuing "In fact i believe one of them didn't have a name at all!"

Tanobi's arms lowered as he resumed his normal pace his walking stick supporting his frame once again his gaze craned back to Breda as he resumed the conversation. "but my teachers were many and their perspectives diverse, should you wish to learn know that I cannot teach you everything, But!" he raises his free hand pointing upwards waving it slightly from side to side. "It is never to late to learn something" he attempts to say sagely his accent making his voice come off more of a flirt than intended.

As the group traveled it was not difficult for Tanobi to discern the need for silence from the obvious gestures of Fayane, however what struck him as odd was the subtle change to her ears he noticed as she lowered her head to the ground, noting that he would have to inquire about it at a later time. His stance changed to that of a cautious observer as his head slowly moved to look upon his surroundings carefully.

[Breda Dreaughan]

Fortunately, the physician was ready to talk. Breda let a relieved smile spread to her face as she listened, nodding in response. The man's friendly, humorous tone was warmly welcomed - as was the slower pace of walking. The dwarf could not tell if the man actually meant it when he said he might take her as an apprentice, but the idea caused a pleasant jolt in her chest. She was quite happy where she was in life - apart from the whole pregnancy issue and the apparently unavoidable civil rebellion - but the thought of fulfilling a lifelong dream was still exciting.

And then Fayane froze on her tracks. Breda stared at her perked ears, straining her own hearing trying to find what had caught her attention. Nothing but silence buzzed in her ears. A trickle of sweat ran down her spine. What is happening? Are we in trouble?

[Jerial]

Jerial went cold. He knew that Fayane had seen or heard something, and Jerial felt a disturbance in the magical aura in the forest. This is exactly what he did not need right now. Jerial's staff appeared in his hand, ready to become a sword at any moment. His thumb rubbed the coarse wood anxiously.

Jerial's eyes darted about the trees, watching the light wind rustle the leaves in the large trees.

Pay attention, elf.

[Fayane]

Nothing. Fayane frowned. She heard nothing, but then... that was the issue. There was a lack any activity. No birds, no wood-creatures. She looked at Jerial, knowing he'd protect the group if something went amiss. She held up a hand, and pressed an open palm to his chest. She stepped back, and kept her hand raised before pointing at the group, then made another "stop" gesture. Stay, she was trying to say. She turned her back before shifting halfway.

She stalked forward, sniffing the air, catching the scent of flesh and blood. It was familiar though, and that was what scared her. Clicking into her assassin mode, Fay now ghosted through the underbrush, sniffing the air, then the ground for hints. She followed the scent for not long before she found it - the body - the very, very familiar body. Fayane paled. It was Melgone the battlemage.

She didn't hear a heartbeat, yet there was no blood, only his ashen face showing any pains of agony. Fay bent and sniffed him, detecting no poison, Fay frowned. Had to have been magic... or natural causes though she doubted that very much.That left her with another issue. Did she tell the others? She frowned harder. Saruna would have to know, though Fay doubted she could handle the sight of the dead man. Jerial would need to know. Breda... Fay wanted to keep the pregnant dwarf as far out of this mess as possible. Tanobi... well she could use a professional opinion. Mind made up, Fay sighed and stood strait.

She was about to call out to Jerial when something clicked. A trap. Was this a trap? She remained calm and acted as though she were looking for someone while she was looking for any signs of a trap. But was it a magical trap? Fay gnawed her lip in thought. If it was, she was already dead and she knew it. She looked over to where she could see Jerial's hair and felt her heart hurt. She'd hurt him if she died. She looked back down at Melagone and scowled. Well... she sighed, at least if there was a magical trap, she could say goodbye.

"Jerial love, could you come here please? And be careful." She called out, keeping her voice calm, neutral, though she may have started crying.
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Kado and Ceron looked at each other when Fay wandered off and into the underbrush, but didn't follow or retort. They'd trust her. Then she called for Jerial and something felt off. "We'll stay here with the others." Kado told the elf, drawing his weapon, just to be safe.

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Saruna was old, yes, but certainly not stupid. She knew something was bothering Fayane as her voice broke through the unnatural silence in the wood, and she had to quash the motherly need to comfort the young woman. Instead she drew herself up and moved to sit on a nearby fallen tree, her aching bones moaning their approval. "We'll be just fine." She soothed in agreement, knowing that the stoney elf-man would leave anyways.

[Tanobi Durant]

It did not take a genius of any profession to realize the mood that quickly befell the group, it additionally did not take a professionally inclined individual to observe the tension that seemed to be heightening in the face of a few paranoid thoughts. Tanobi looked to his most recent acquaintance and observed her for a moment.

Breda was frozen with a nervous look upon her face that betrayed her thoughts of the current situation which drew emotion from the Aged physician in the form of a caring gesture. Tanobi moved a hand upon her shoulder his own ligaments slacking slightly. Knowing this would draw attention from her he quickly threw upon his face a knowing small that he hoped would be re-assuring and proceeded to walk foreword slowly, his fingers sliding gently off.

Following a fair distance behind Jerial- Tanobi took a leisurely pace almost making a trail in the soil until he could see Fay however when he caught sight of her he also saw the body, wrenched in a face of agony but without any signs of visible gore or a drop of blood implied that the man had been laying for far longer than would have taken him to arrive at the short distance he had traveled. Additionally Tanobi thought that it was clear that despite the pained expression upon the mans face that their was not a sound being uttered when the group had arrived on the scene, it was likely that the man whom tanobi could only assume the worst about- was likely dead long before any of them had arrived.

Tanobi also took note that Fay and Jerial appeared to be having a moment of intimacy and so he decided to remain a tactful distance away and observed his surroundings for any clues as to the identity of the attacker. 'The body wouldn't be getting up and walking away anytime soon' he thought to himself before recounting the past events, happenings and even his own strange manifestation of magic he kept hidden from the group. 'i hope' he continued, a wild unintended addition that did little to ease his now annoyed expression as he eyed the foliage of a particularly suspicious tree.

[Breda Dreaughan]

Breda stood helpless in the middle of the path, as first Fayane, then Jerial disappeared to the bushes. She threw a pleading look at Tanobi, but knew there was no way the physician would not go. She managed a nod and something she hoped at least vaguely resembled a smile, before the man turned and walked away.

The dwarf looked around. The two armed strangers were staying, which made her feel a little bit better. She had a brief internal debate over whether it would be too embarrassing if she couldn't get up on her own, but her vertebras eventually won, and she moved to sit next to Saruna.

I should be there, she thought, staring towards the direction the others had disappeared. I should be doing something useful. I am useless. I am a bloody burden. And I can't think of anything to say to the lady.

[Jerial]

Jerial could sense it. Magic drenched the air, wrapping him like a thick shroud. A small flash accompanied the summoning of the sword half of his weapon. Then, when he passed an invisible threshold about a yard from Fayane's feet, it dropped, like the eye of a great storm. If Jerial had had magical 'ears', they would have popped. As it stood, he was temporarily unable to control his magic, and a swath of flame whipped about him, thankfully ceasing before setting anything ablaze, though there were several singed leaves, and the grass beneath him was charred.

He knew what had caused this. He had seen it twice before, both times in Eyropa, when a caravan he and his namesake had been guarding had been assailed by a pack of raiders from northwest Tian Xia. Their shamanic spellcasters had been able to completely cut off the Astral Plane in certain areas, and though they were only able to sustain the magic for a fleeting minute, it took the place affected a great deal of time to reconnect and heal the wound to the Astral Plane. This is what he now felt again. He was cut off from all magic. He could faintly feel that this magic, or rather, anti-magic, held a different taint from his earlier experience.

Jerial cursed instinctively when he felt the loss of control, and again, louder, when he realized what had happened. He was so focused on his realization that he almost did not notice Fayane, who had turned and, after a moment of adrenaline-laced fear, she faced him, chest heaving. He went cold.

[Fayane]

He had come too close, she could almost feel it. "Stay back." She warned. "I do not know if the is a magical trap or not... I cannot feel it, and I would rather not lose you should you come too close. I was stupid and charged in here when I saw this man..." At this she gestured at Melagone. "He was a battlemage. One that had been assigned to assist me in Lady Saruna's case." She looked back up, the fur around her eyes and down her cheeks damp. In a moment of weakness she hugged her arms, her tail bristling.

"E-either way. I wanted to see if you can tell me... if this trap will harm or kill me should I step free of it." She gestured at Melagone. "He was quite powerful, and I know not what killed him-" She froze, ears twitching, before whipping her head in Tanobi's direction, staring at him dead on. He'd come... odd. "Stay back, sir, I would not see anyone else harmed should this be a dangerous trap." She said it flatly, knowing he could hear but trying to keep her voice low enough it would not carry to the others.
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Saruna smiled tiredly as the pregnant dwarf sat beside her, clenching her shawl in an attempt not to pat the girl's shoulder by means of motherly affection. Instead, she toed the line of being personal and risked a question.

"Might I ask how you and Fayane met?" Saruna smiled afterwards, concern and curiosity seen behind polite interest within her eyes.
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Kado and Cerion watched the shifter follow in after his woman. Kado heard him cursing, Cerion looked up when his partner tensed. "Something's wrong." He muttered, just low enough for the mage to hear. "Might wanna go check it out, I'll keep an eye on these two, get the feeling its a magic thing." Cerion nodded before silently ghosting through the woods towards where he could hear Fayane. He stopped further back than Jerial and sent out his magical consciousness, trying to sense anything amiss. Nothing. He cautiously strode forward, stopping when the anti-magic trap ensnared him, grunting as his own control left him. Fayane, of course, noticed.

"Why did you come as well..." She growled. "Are you all determined to die should this trap be-" "It's not dangerous if no one means us any harm." Cerion interrupted, aggravated at the shifters melodramatics. "IF it were a magical trap of that sort, you'd have already been dead." He ignored the other teachings that suggested a slow-release trap, but they needed to move on. He gave Jerial a pointed look, suggesting he not tell her any differently. And so he took a step back, turned, and began to walk away, sighing as his control began to resumed, the feeling of pins and needles pricking his skin.
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Fayane watched the other mage left, dumbfounded and blushing before she turned to her mate, ashamed. "I was scared." She admitted, stepping closer to him, carefully in case there was anything the mage hadn't sensed. "I'm sorry..." She stood close enough to him he could hold her, if he wished, but didn't touch him in fear he was angry. "Tanobi, should you be comfortable, would you check the body?" Fayane inquired, her voice tight.

[Tanobi Durant]

At the mention of a trap Tanobi instinctively looked at the ground for some form of pitfall or primitive latch or rope trap,finding none after his brief examination he speaks- voice unconvinced of danger and desiring to diffuse the situation.

"And i do not desire to carry you back to town with fresh injuries madame Fay, however it would appear that if their was a trap this-" Tanobi pokes lightly upon the body's covered foot "unfortunate soul fell into it long before we had arrived"

Cerion as it turns out diffused the situation far better than Tanobi was able as after his brief observation Fay had warmed up to the idea that their was no trap meant for the group. After being asked for his expertise upon the prone form of the battlemage Tanobi slowly shambled forward hands grasping his traveling sticks shaft as he descended into a sitting position and looked over the body. Tearing off a small piece of homemade gauze from his pack the Physician quickly set about his inspection.

The first act of the Doctor was to check for a pulse, finding none upon the wrist or throat it was clear that life had long since left the man before they had arrived the question was how?
Tanobi's hands maneuvered swiftly to the tongue of the victim lifting it slightly checking underneath for foreign substances, finding none he swabs the top lightly for any uncommon color to emerge from the discolored organ that had since stopped working camouflaged by the decay of the deceased. The search turns up inconclusive and the wet rag of torn gauze is discarded haphazardly as Tanobi takes up the pose of a thinker his hand upon his chin and his brow furrowed.

Left without a visible entry for poison in the mouth it was clear that to check for known poison he had two remaining methodologies, one was to intrusively autopsy the liver the other being checking for stab wounds hidden beneath clothing. Opting for the latter Tanobi removed the gloves and robe from the man and checked extensively for several minutes with a critical eye before concluding that the man was relatively clean, save of course the Victims undergarments long since soiled by the release of death. With no options left Tanobi knew that to check for a colorless poison's handiwork that an autopsy was required, without a word of warning to the others He reaches for his Scalpel and draws a small line in the torso diagonally from the lower left abdominal muscles to the upper right pectoral.

The outside world was truly gone to Tanobi for those moments when he made the first incision along the tracer line after preparing small twigs to act as pins to hold the errant flesh at bay as he inspected the visible handiwork of the dieing body. Tanobi's frown grew as he tore past the rigamortis infused muscle tissue and made his way to his prize pinning loose flopping patches of the body away from Tanobi's line of sight and observed the state of the organs.
Nothing, their was nothing to describe how this man was dead from his known teachings upon colorless poisons. The liver when split open only served to remind him of his younger days when he would dicect those body's' of criminals Tanobi had requested for his studies in that they oozed the same foul substance synonymous with death.

The Heart The aged doctor would come to learn- was his only clue to this mans fate. There were no palpitations or clogging of an artificial or even natural nature. Making an incision into the hearts blood ventricles Tanobi waded through the un-coagulated black icor that used to be the lifeblood of this man, it was here that Tanobi's hands finally stayed themselves. The blood inside his heart held a dark contrast to the liquid of the muscle protecting the hearts lining and blood vessels. It was black and burnt- indicating severe heat had somehow infiltrated the mans very heart ventricles This told a grim revelation for the physician as he now knows only after delving deep into the corpse of the man.

Magic; it had been magic all along that had killed the man who could only continue to look in frozen agony at the sky he would never awake to see again, killed by one who would use a weapon few could wield against another. A powerful but bespectacled fight played out within Tanobi's mind picturing the mans possible final moments as he clenched his chest in agony as his hearts burning and hardening blood killed him from within. Tanobi slowly withdrew his hands from the un-beating heart of the battle mage and came to bring them still covered in blood and ichor to his lap his palms facing his brow. seemingly uncaring of thought anymore Tanobi palmed and groped for his stick without looking at it.grasping it finally upon the seventh attempt he rose to his feet and stood stock straight. Turning to his companions he finally speaks.

"It is my professional opinion that this man is dead, slain of malice brought by magic targeting his heart to destroy him from within i find no other explanation plausible to explain this mans demise, the Murderer is a mage and- a good one."
Tanobi turns to face Fay and Jerial with a solemn look as he begins to walk back to the group clumsily wiping his hands upon a piece of the mages robe.

[Breda Dreaughan]

They were gone for a long time. Breda stared after the others, expecting a scream or running figures, but the woods were quiet. As Saruna spoke, she tore her eyes away from the tree line and gave the woman a faint smile.

"Fay fell in my smithy some months ago," she said, absent-mindedly stroking her rotund midsection. "Through the window. Into a barrel full of soot." She smiled to herself, shaking her head to the memory. "She was in the shape of a fox, of course. I didn't realize she was a shifter until she revealed herself to me. Left quite a mess behind as well, almost got a hiding for it from master Vondan the next day."

She glanced up at Saruna, her face now solemn. "It got a little less amusing after that. After we left the smithy together, we got involved in a street fight. She was a guard, so she sort of had to. Also, it was an old friend of mine." She touched her upper arm unconsciously, feeling the scar under the sleeve. "I was hurt, so once the fight was sorted out, she turned into a kind of half-fox and carried me home." The dwarf smiled shortly. "A weird night. Although there have been weirder ones after that."

She turned to stare towards the woods again. "They've been gone for ages," she said quietly. "Have you known them for long? Fay and her… partner?"

[Jerial]

Jerial cursed again, this time in contempt. The doctor had come bumbling in to offer no more help than to state the obvious. Jerial knew that the body was in its state because of magic; he knew so well of its death by the trail it left behind that he could recreate it near perfectly, had he been able to conjure any in this hellhole of a clearing.

What would you expect from a human?

The voice warmed Jerial. Lately, he had noticed that the malice of the prominent voice had become more of a help and less of a hindrance, and he was thankful for it. Furthermore, he agreed with it that the human was doing nothing to assist them. He was glad also that the other elf mage was with him in the dead zone.

Faintly, he could hear talking from behind him whenever the cripple shut his mouth. Realizing then that he still held his sword, Jerial had it in mind to exchange it for the staff incarnation, but found that he could not. Loosing a frustrated growl, he promptly exited the area, in the direction he had come, though it was not imperative that he leave in that direction.

When he felt his power return, his growing headache started to fade, and the familiar feel of his staff replaced the leather-wrapped sword hilt.

[Fayane]

He hadn't so much as acknowledged her... pain shot through her chest and she looked down, struggling not to cry further, when she simply surrendered into the Fayane her father had created. Draw a breath, ice and calm, in. Breath out the emotions, the stupidity and lack of logic. Now was not the time to be a silly maiden wringing her useless hands. Her head snapped up, her eyes like ice once again, as she resumed her human form and followed Jerial, her mind blocking the idea that he was her mate. He was a man, a companion, relationships were only a weakness to be exploited. She brushed by him and walked into the center of the group.

"I apologize for having worried you. I got carried away in something." She turned to Saruna, her eyes void of emotion. "Melagone is dead. Tanobi has already given his opinion on the matter, and the man was killed by a spell. I thought you'd derive at least a minor amount of pleasure knowing the monster was dead."

Saruna paled and shook. Already she was trying to absorb the fact that the young woman before her was a shape-shifter - a fox apparently, never mind the fact that Melagone was dead. She hadn't even known Fay long... and her eyes... they were cold again. Saruna nodded her head in thanks, unable to speak past the bile that had risen in her throat.

Fay turned to the group, her voice cold. "Unless any of you need a rest, we leave now. The faster we get to Marn, the better." She still had no fucking clue as to WHY they had to go to Marn, but she trusted Saruna to lead them there.

[Tanobi Durant]

Tanobi had discarded the rag he had used to cleanse his hands of the bile that had accumulated within the cadaver he had just examined. However his hands still had specks of drying blood upon it he had hoped were not noticeable as he shambled quickly to the sitting pair of Breda and Saruna. Offering his hands to them so that they might rise easier with his aid he begins to tread along the path once more an annoyed look upon his face and alot of unanswered questions touching upon his mind.