Signs of the Gods

[Freja]

The sun peaked through the clouds shining down in my face almost if to say get up lazy bones! Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes I stifled a yawn pushing myself to a sitting positon. Looking around I noticed that Floki was still snoring loudly and that Vince was no where to be found. First initial thought was that he fled after having put up with us for too long. A small frown claimed my soft pink lips, feelings of loneliness started to set in. Attempting to brush it off I stood up still having the blanket draped over me as I nudged Floki with my boot. Feral sounds came from the hunk of man as I kicked him this time to get him up. Shaking my head at him I looked around seeing if I could spot Vincent but he was no where in sight. Chewing on my lower lip I looked towards the sky letting the sun's rays kiss my face with it's warmth. "Floki wake up, Vincent is gone. I don't know where he went but looks of it he has been gone for a while now."

Floki sat up still mumbling incoherently about sleep and what not, a rustling in the bushes brought my attention back to where it needed to be. Grabbing my dagger from its place on the inside of my right thigh I took it out flinging it towards the direction of the noise. It hit the trunk of the tree as the figure came into view. "Oh Gods Vincent! I could have imbedded that in your head!" The built man held up a few fishes he must have caught in the fresh stream this morning. "I went to get some food before our long haul to the healer.." Shaking my head at him I walked over yanking the dagger out of the tree. Struggling to get it out of the tree it was buried deep in the thick wood. The foreign beauty came up behind me, his form towering over my own as he gave one strong pull before it dislodged from the tree. Turning around we were face to face, mere inches away from one another, I could feel his cool breath fan across my waiting lips. Quickly he handed me my dagger and stepped back, a small breath left my lips as I had just realized I had been holding it.

"Thanks.."

I placed the dagger back where it belonged, stroking the dying fire to bring it back to life so that we could cook the fish. I took twine from my boot and wrapped it around some sticks to make a roaster of some sort. After the fish were gutted and cleaned I cooked them, we ate quietly before breaking down camp and heading out. It took a bit to get going and to set a steady pace but after a while we were moving along. I was still sore and weak from the poison and loss of blood

Every now and than Floki would check on me calling back asking how I was holding up. I would always reply with some smart comment but as we trucked on the terrain grew rougher. My pace started to slow and the pain in my shoulder started to grow, not wanting to seem weak I pushed myself harder and harder. "I need a hot bath and a soft bed and maybe a warm body laying naked next to me to top it off." Glancing over at Vincent I chuckled softly at my own day dreaming but the giggling soon turned into a coughing fit.

[Cards of Fate]

The scholar had spent the rest of the day in almost dead silence. The woman kept making jokes and japes, but he could tell she wasn’t doing particularly well. They had left the mountains at morning and had hit flat land. In the distance Vincent could see the foreboding edge of the Red Forest, its massive trees towering in defiance to the horizon. Their leaves were a mottled mix of crimson and brown, the curse slowly fading and allowing nature to take its course.

The sun was overhead as they hit the edge of the foreboding forest, the leaves obscuring the sun. The scholar stretched for a moment and sighed. “Welcome to hell, this last mile will be the most dangerous yet.” The scholar turned to the two Vikings and chewed his lips. “Everything in this forest is built to kill, it’s where the wolves were born.” Vince gestured to the hounds. “They’ll be running around keeping the wildlife busy with the rest of their pack, but we still need to keep an eye out for vines, evil soul sucking flowers, and deadly butterflies…” The scholar began to stretch, limbering up for their upcoming ordeal.

“I’m thinking one of us should carry Freja, there’s no way she’s going to be able to make this trip unassisted.”

[Freja]

My lungs felt like they were on fire as I couldn't do anything but gasp for air only to choke on it. The violent movements from the coughing spell made my bum shoulder jar as a new pain erupted. "Son of a hag," I cried out gripping my shoulder only to have a slur of curse words come out in my native Nordic tongue. I straightened myself back up as Floki seemed to be grinning like a solider that had just entered a whore house after being on the battle fields for two years. "Freja, you have your mother's beauty but your father's temper dangerous mix that is." Scooping me up in his arms with out a second guess as if I was light as a feather. "What are you trying to butter me up for you big sack of meat?" Next thing I know I was being thrown, closing my eyes I waited for the impact of the ground. To my surprise the only thing I felt was another pair of strong arms catch me bridal style.

"Floki if you sold me for two barrels of ale again I am going to cut your fucking cock off!" His brown eyes sparked with mischief, "I am pretty sure I could sell you for more than two barrels here Freja!" Glaring back at him I turned my attention back to the male carrying me. His mouth twitched into a smile as he started walking without even saying a word to me.

Letting the tip of my tongue trace over my plush lips I let him carry me into a forest that seemed be dripping with the color red. "What the hell is this place.." It was a rhetorical question but my dear companion that carried me took it upon himself to break the silence he had been giving me since this journey had started this morning. "It's the Red Forest, I was telling Floki about it while you seemed to be coughing up your lung." Stick my tongue out at him as if I was a small child I laid my head on his shoulder welcoming the break.

We had walked for a while the only thing breaking the silence was the breathing of the giant oaf, Floki. "I am not weak.." Vincent simple nodded before I picked up a scent that didn't belong to our group. "Why do I smell cherry blossoms and vanilla?"

[Cards of Fate]

The scholar furrowed his brow for a moment as he sniffed the air. As far as he could tell there wasn’t a strange scent, that’s when the vine swooped down. The scholar tensed and ducked beneath the crimson, razor sharp tendril and let out a hiss.

“RUN.” Above a massive scarlet flower hung from several rotted branches, several vines slithering about. The scholar eyed several rotten spots along the graceful looking petals, it was dying with the lack of Pode’s curse to sustain its corruption. Several more tendrils shot out for Vince, who dodged them expertly. Without turning to look at the giant, Vince put the pedal to the metal and took off. In theory he could fight this creature, but his hands were occupied, and he wasn’t sure Floki could deal with a creature of such power. His feet dug into the crimson moss at his feet, driving him forward as his stride opened up. Each step flung Freja and him flying down the path at breakneck speed.

Vince was a human racecar, propelling them faster and faster, the trees melted into a blur as the wind whipped through his hair. He’s left Floki in his dust, but the hounds had swooped in to take care of the flower, and would help him arrive to the base, Vince had Freja to worry about. Finally, after a minute or so of dead sprinting, the scholar broke into a large clearing and sighed. The grass beneath his feet had turned a lush green, and the outer limits of the clearing had somewhat normal trees. Before him stood a mountain of emerald leaves, towering over the scholar. They shivered for a moment before bursting into the air, a verdant storm of razor sharp blades. In the center, a radiant orb glowed for a moment before it was concealed by a clump of green, the leaves condensed into a vaguely humanoid shape, flittering about wildly.

“Bertha!” The scholar called out. “We have a guest coming, he’ll be with the Dur’Taigen, let him in when he gets here.” The leaf golem let out a groan like creaking timbers and stepped aside revealing a large marble slab. The scholar approached it, Freja in hand, and simply tapped it with his foot.

The smooth, flawless, marble shimmered a bit before it began to rumble. Black lines formed, and soon the entire thing collapsed on itself, becoming a grand staircase descending into the earth. The scholar took a deep breath and descended into the darkness, praying that the first Ai’Brone would be able to help.

[Freja]

RUN.

The statement was short and sweet before Vincent took off like a bat out of hell. The weight of carrying me did not seem to slow him down as he pumped his legs faster and faster against the crimson ground. I tried to peer over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of what we were running at but it was no use. "Floki!!" I hollered but he didn't answer, fear started to set in tightening my chest. "I can't loose him he is the only family I have left.." My voice thick with tears, my head started lulling as my vision blurred. "I- I can't breathe Vincent.." The scholar seemed preoccupied with running away from whatever was posing a threat to us.

I tried to concentrate on anything but the tall red trees past in a blur making my stomach turn with an uneasiness. I closed my eyes clinging tightly to the muscular man, for the first time in many years I felt helpless. I snuggled closely into Vincent's chest but my breathing was still constricted. I was slowly starting to loose consciousness, feeling my body go limp until the blackness consumed me as a whole. My last coherent thought, please Odin let Floki survive and Vincent get us somewhere safe..

~
When Vincent finally looked down at the woman he carried he noted that she had passed out either do to the speed he was running or the toxin working its way further into her body. The scholar gently swiping away a piece of her blonde hair that had fallen into her face. She looked peaceful but he knew that wasn't the case with this little fire cracker.

[Cards of Fate]

The House of Cards was dimly lit as Vince approached the first floor. The silence was deafening, save for the pounding of blood in the scholar’s ears. He quickly turned on his heels and went down another set of stairs, hurrying quickly. He silently cursed the size of the massive underground base. He hastily scrambled down flight after flight of stairs, cursing the architect with each step. Finally he found himself on the third floor, turning to head down the eastern wing. Standing at the end of the long hallway was a statue of a man made out of dark granite. His eyes stared forward, unblinking as the scholar approached.

“Ai’brone…” The scholar exclaimed, picking up his pace. “I need your assistance.” The statue sat silently for a moment before his granite eyes blinked. A slight glowing coursed through his body as he took a step forward to meet the scholar.

“Afternoon Mr. Cain,” The monk boomed, his voice a deep baritone of grinding rocks. “Who is this young woman?” He asked.

“A stranger I met in the mountains, she’s been poisoned.” Vince replied extending his arms. The monk took the woman into his stone arms carefully, glancing over her.

“She’s ingested nightshade…” he cooed as he turned and walked away. “The poison is far along, but she is capable of being saved.” The monk kicked open a large set of double doors. “Leave it to me,” The scholar nodded and took off back towards the stairs.

“I’ll be back with possibly another patient!” Vince roared over his shoulder. Without a woman in his arms, the scholar flew up the stairs in a matter of seconds and was back out in the bright light of day. His feet propelled him forward as he shot back down the path to where he had left the other Viking.

“Please let him be safe…” the howling of wolves filled the air, guiding Vince to the battle. He grunted and ran faster, clearing the distance in a matter of minutes. When he arrived, he found the giant slouched against a tree, the flower torn from its perch and in the process of being devoured by the pack of hounds.

“Floki!” The scholar roared,

[Freja]

Floki had been left in the dust, watching the two flee from the large flower as the large man grabbed his battle axe. Spinning around in one swift agile motion that was shockingly fluid for a man his size, he swung chopping at the plant. A loud battle cry rang out as he swung blindly at the blasted plant. The hounds howled off into the distance before bursting out of the bushes charging at flower. Swinging its large vines it released thrones coming right at the over grown Viking. Dodging as best he could he found one deeply lodged into his shoulder, hissing as a siring pain erupted into his body. "Damn it!"

The hounds circled the over grown plant taking turns lunging and ripping chunks from it. Pulling the throne out of his shoulder he pushed the pain into the back of his mind before charging at. Pulling his axe back with both hands he swung with all of his might letting his sharp blade crash done on one of it's vines. Slicing the thick plant it fell to the side lifeless shriveling up, turning a murky brown color.

"Floki!"

Glancing back he heard the faint voice of Freja, he heart jumped with the hope that Vincent had gotten her away to safety. The distraction of Freja cost him dearly as one moment he was looking at the direction the two had left and than being thrown. His back met the trunk of a large tree, a sick snapping sound rang in his ears. Blood spilt out of his mouth as he coughed roughly, his head lulled up and down. Blacking out for sometime the next thing he knew was Vincent in his face. "Damn it Floki wake the hell up!!" Another mouthful of blood stained his now pale skin, "he- hey pretty boy.. late to the fight.." Vincent looked him over, the concern etched all over his face from the sickening green shade his skin was from the poison in the flowers throne to the broken spine and internal bleeding he couldn't see.

"Fre- Freja?"

"Fine, fine she is fine my healer is taking care of her." Floki's eyes were starting to roll into the back of his skull, "take care of her Vincent.. She will act tough after she finds out I am gone-" a coughing fit shook his body as he leaned to the side only for Vincent to carefully straighten him up right again. "Don- don't let her self destruct you hear me.." Vincent simply nodded at the man as he watched the light slowly drain from his eyes. Placing his hand over Floki's eyes he closed for the Viking allowing him to die in peace.

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

Congratulations!

Cards of Fate receives 1625 EXP and 145 GP!

Freja receives 1130 EXP and 155 GP!

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

All rewards have been added!