A New Dawn

[bluesparrowhawk]

"I don't think I can do anything right now. These guards are indeed pursuing a fugitive of Elven justice...and I think the only way we can get our pursuer off our backs is by capitulating, at least for now. Until I know better what's going on."
Doc sat down. If they still decided to make a runner, they could just pick her up and haul her along. If not, she might get good treatment considering she was a physician and she did not resist arrest.

[Victoria]

Victorirose looked at Kala when he asked if anyone could identify the mage the magic bubble was not affecting her ability to to read people's thoughts. In fact she could feel someone searching the minds of everyone in the group. What that person was looking for she was unsure. So before she searched the guards for the mage she concentrated on her companions..."Ah please do not freak out" Victorirose sent telepathically to everyone. She waited a bit then again focused on her friends "Its me Victorirose, I am able to read and speak to people with telepathy." She knew she was risking herself by sending to everyone risking their new friendship and risking herself being caught by the mage. She awaited the reply from someone so she knew what they wanted her to do if anything for that matter.

[Vyriello]

Tsevelanth spun, looking at all the gaurds, an arrow notched and ready. Then he looked at his new companions. Slowly, he let the arrow slip out of his fingers and land on the ground.
"This isn't you folk's fight. If I go with them, they will let you go."
Turning to the gaurds he held up his hands and said "I surrender. Take me, let them continue their journey to Elneth unhindered."

[justthisguy]

Geoffry had been sitting on his heels in apparrent ease, ready to spring into action if the opportunity arose.
He had recieved the message in his mind from Victrirose and was amazed at that sensation.
But When Tsevelanth said he would go with these other elves he had to speak out.
"Tell me why you want my companion to go with you and what crime is he charged with? Also just where are you taking him and how long will he be detained?"
I appolgize for the way we reacted when we came out of the tunnel but we sensed a trap and reacted accordingly as you would have in our place.
Can you allow Doc to be freed to tend to the wounds of your men and to that hulk of a Viking over there?" pointing to Doom who lay bleeding to death with several cuts and at least four arrows in his body.

[Vyriello]

"Your's is not a position to be asking questions! But if you promise to yield this fight and hand Tsevelanth over, we will allow you to go free. If not, we will fill you with arrows before you can blink," replied the captain, motioning for his archers to train their bows on the party.

[Victoria]

Victorirose sensed that the guards would keep their word if Tsevelanth would go with them. She felt as though there was no other choice because most of the group was imprissoned in magical bubbles unable to fight. She hersel would not be able to do anything execpt watch the elf go. But why was he so willing to go so easily.

[justthisguy]

Geoffry thought about it for all of two seconds. . . and sheathed his swords.
"I yield the fight to you. But please tell why you are so interested in Tsevelanth? I am curious."
He hope the others would also relent the fight and that Doc could help the wounded.
"And can please let Doc , the gnomish lady there, tend to the wounded?"

[magicmuffin]

Elsa sheathed her weapon and put her hands up in the traditional gesture of surrender.
"If Tsevelanth surrenders to you willingly, you'll get no more trouble from me" she said to the Captain.
She received Victorirose's message and also sensed another mind probing hers.
She promptly willed her mind to go blank except for an annoying tune that was popular about ten years ago...she repeated it endlessly.

[kluane]

Kala laughed frantically. He knew to have an armour that would save him against magic. He couldn't do anything for the rest of his friends but didn't even think of surrender.

<I was chickenhearted long enough; now it's time to show them what a real wolverine archer stands for!> he sends with telepathy back to Victorirose and let her tell the others.

He spoke the words to arouse his armour, the green aura floated around him and to the disbelieve of the guards he just went through the bubble. The arrows shooted from some guards bumped against the bubble. Then - in the blink of an eye - the green light was gone - and Kala with it.

One last laugh from Kala, who moved away as fast as possible

<That was right in time - besten this trick, you darn elven mage...> he thought.

Then he blocked every thought out for the elven mage couldn't read his mind and with that find his position.

He just went out of the danger zone and wanted to see what the Elves would do with his compagnons.

<It IS to fast that Tsevelanth surrendered, it IS not likely that anybody could know where they enter the village except Dolmine, it IS strange that Victorirose could get in his mind so easily, it IS absolutely for nothing to help wounded enemies, it IS not likely for Geoffrey to surrender so he must have a Plan B...>

There were many unsolved questions, and Kala wanted to see if he could solve them by watching.

[Victoria]

Victorirose sent Kala's message to everyone so that they would be aware of what Kala was about to do. Then there was a green glow from Kala's bubble and the little wolverine man was on the ground and took off. She tried to find out what he was doing but she could not get through to him. Then quickly she sent a message to Tsevelanth "Why are you so quick to go? We just met and I felt that you were not the type to give up. You didn't on me when I wandered into your camp." She awaited his reply. She sat down bubble and oddly enough it lowered to the ground.

[Vyriello]

Tsevelanth's customary smirk slowly spread on his face. Turning to his companions, he explained himself.
"I didn't think they'd have caught up to me so quickly. These guys may seem like pushovers, but believe me, if I don't go with them they'll just send better and better troops to get me. I took something important to them and they want it back. If I'm lucky, I can escape, but you guys are in too much danger if I'm with you. Good luck in Eleneth."
With that he shouldered his bow and approached the gaurds. They took his posessions and tied his hands behind his back. Then they led him off, pausing to warn the group not to follow or attack them, and not to try and free Tsevelanth.

[Hermione]

"But... Tsevelanth... Who... Oh." Dolmine finally shut up and watched them go, noting the direction and landmarks automatically. Well, perhaps they'd catch up later.
She turned to the guard who had remained behind with their wounded. "So... does this mean there isn't any plague, then?"

[kluane]

Kala looks for Tsevelanth and follows him at every move! What item had Tsevelanth stolen? Was it another wand? Or something else of use for Kala? Who did he have stolen it from? Who was this powerful guy???

< I will hold contact to that pretty women, so the whole group will know where Tsevelanth is and - if I'm right - will free him... But first I'll search his possessions - maybe I'll find what the Elves were looking for!>

There were no real answers for Kala's questions, as he doubted Tsevelanth saying the truth. There was more about it, 'cause why in God's name would Tsevelanth go back where he was hunted and really knew he got caught?

So he went near to the Elves who took the possessions of Tsevelanth and just awaited a time to search through them. Although there were plenty unanswered questions Kala was happy: He managed to get invisible in time, he showed no fear for the first time in life and thought about getting the second wand...

[frizzer]

Garrelous approached the remaining guard, he explained they had no knowledge of Tsevelanth's indecretions, or really what Kala was doing. Garrelous humbly offered to help the guard with the wounded back to the city ( this was a good wasy of getting in)

[Victoria]

Victorirose got Kala's message and told the lil wolverine to be careful because she still sensed something wrong. Victorirose sent to Tsevelanth "Good luck my handsome friend may we meet again another time and another place." As he walked off away from everyone with the guards the bubbles disappeared and Victorirose was able to stand up. She took a long stretch and again felt the strange feeling again. But looked around all she could see was the guards and her companions helping with the wounded. She decided to go and scope the area see noticed that Elsa and Dolimine were also wondering what was really going on so she went up to the girls "Do you gals wanna help with the wounded or check the area out for anything we can us on our way to Elenth." She really wanted to get away from the elves because they kept eying her. She did not have a clue who was making her feel strange but she wanted away from it.

[bluesparrowhawk]

Doc looked up from the guard she was inspecting. Elsa was quite thorough, the throat was neatly slit and the guard had already died.
"I meant it when I said I know who's after us."
She turned and inspected the guard with whom Garrelous was speaking, and offered to disinfect and stitch his wound.

[magicmuffin]

"So who is it?" asked Elsa with a slight edge of frustration to her voice.
She waited for Doc's response as she began scanning the area carefully.
Becoming comfortable with Victorirose's gift, she sent her a thought that she would probably not help with the wounded seeing as how she'd killed a few already. They'd probably think she was out to kill them too.
Mercenaries didn't usually stick around to patch up the wounded.
"Am I ever going to get a bath?" she contemplated silently as she took a gulp from her small silver flask.

[Hermione]

Dolmine glanced at VictoriaRose.
"I wouldn't be much help with the wounded. I'll look around." She stared distrustfully at the remaining guards. "If they'll let me."
Then she wandered off, sucking at the tip of her quill in thought. She did take care not to head in the same direction that Tsevelanth and Kala had disappeared in, and the other guards didn't seem disposed to object, so she made a quick survey of the village.
It matched the old reports for the most part, and she didn't see any signs of plague. One of the older trees marked on her old map had evidently died, and there were two saplings growing from the twenty-foot diameter trunk stub that was left. She noticed two stories added to several other inhabited trees, and made a mental note of the new dimensions of the trees.
Then she wandered into a blueberry patch and sat down to investigate the contents of the packet she'd picked up.
Unnwrapping it, she found a short note and an amulet. The note said: "You're up still. Wear this."
Putting on the amulet, Dolmine could not detect a single difference in anything. She sighed, tucked it out of sight, buried the note in the loose soil around her (it would compost nicely), and wandered back to the others.
"I didn't find anything odd," she told VictoriaRose, "except maybe that there's no plague here." She stuck to saying it aloud, as she wasn't sure how the other woman's talent worked.

[kluane]

After a while Kala all of sudden stopped following Tsevelanth and the Elves. He learned that there was no possibility to free him or search his belongings. The guards did look at him and his stuff every minute and Kala knew they would continue that.

They followed a trail which brought them supposedly back to the city of Elneth. But - knowing his invisibility was only for 24 hours - Kala didn't see any chance to watch where in Elneth they where heading to...

So he just chose to regroup with the rest as soon as it seemed possible.

The questions still remained! And now he began to think about them...

<

• Dolmine: Suspect as she was the one knowing where we come out and sending us that way
  
• Tsevelanth: Gave up too fast. Did get us at Elneth knowing that he was searched here
  
• Victorirose: Was it just coincidence she joined entering the first trap and now there was already the second put up? Not likely...
  
• SForce: Untrustable since the beginning. A real dark person.
  
• Geoffrey: Why did he give up so fast? Maybe he got a plan B, maybe he knows something he's hiding... A little too polite
  
• Garrelous: Seems trustworthy for the moment... What about that armour?
  
• Doc: Who looks for the wounds of enemies? But then - seems trustworthy too, just possessed helping.
  
• Elsa: I like this Druid. She gave me he wand back and teached me the words - she might be the one I trust the most...
  
• Doom: Is he still alive? It doesn't seem so, but then this big fellow was trustworthy too... Was he killed by a "friend"? He seemed invincible in combat!
  

>

The only one that seemed not doubtful at all was Elsa right now. Considering that, he just chose that she might be the solution for all this, memorizing some old tales he heard where always the unsuspected was the clue...

<I have to talk over this with Garrelous...>

[justthisguy]

walking about the recent battleground Geoffry found Doom's body, pin cushioned with arrows.
"Oh my great warrior and freind, you fought well. Look at all these about you took to escort you to Vahalla" <sigh>
Geoffry looked and saw at least 12 dead whose wounds were obviously created by Doom's massive sword.
Geoffry looked about and found a suitable location and began to build a pyre. There was plenty of wood logs and fire wood to use and he had it upto four foot tall in short order.
" I will use the arrows and bows of those you slew as the tinder for your pyre! And other weapons and riches are yours by forfiet!"
Geoffry worked with a goal, obsessed by the desire to send the viking giant to Vahalla in the appropriate manner. His eyes glowed with fervor and tears as he laid the small wood, swords and purses of the slain elves atop the wooden structure, then struggled as he began to move the slain hero.