Into the Woods {Elthas, Closed}

[Nevin]

Nevin nodded at Aphrael, who twisted her head at him. It had only been a few nights since she had stabilized from the forming of their bond, and this was the first time that Nevin felt comfortable taking her outside for more than a few minutes at a time. Which meant that it was now time for him to solve a rather alarming situation that had come up in the last two days.

Nevin was running out of gathered herbal ingredients for the various medicines he made. Normally he would have had enough for another two weeks at least - but the Goblin attack had forced him to eat through his stocks faster than he had anticipated as he made the antidotes and medicines for the guards and for the trio that had gone to confront them. So now, he needed to go out for a few days into the woods, to gather new stock.

He would have gone sooner if Aphrael hadn't shown up, rather thoroughly distracting him from his original goal. The corvid had been... not weak per se, but not up to handling an expedition right away. So they had stayed at the shop, Nevin doing his best to sell from dwindling supplies. Thankfully people had been quite understanding, as most had heard about the attack and the fact that Nevin had been supplying the medical facility with the antidotes to the strange poison the Goblins had been using.

But now the bird was up to it, so Nevin had hung a sign on his door proclaiming he'd be out for a few days, packed his bag and his weapon, and headed out into the forest. His initial destination was the clearing where he and Elthas had first met - there were quite a few herbs that had been growing near that place that he could use.

[Elthas]

Meanwhile...

Elthas considered the traps that him and some other Trappers from Stonevale set aside.

The traps were positioned in such a way to capture small to medium sized game. The tavern required a large supply of meats/other materials to keep their kitchens stocked with adequate wares. Elthas volunteered to hunt with the local hunters from time to time and that day was one of those days. Elthas only had a small numbers of packages to run that day for Llukrath, and then he was free for the rest of the day. A friend had spotted Nevin, one of the local Alchemists, heading into Ruild. Elthas took the information at hand and considered what to do.

If he gets lost again, that would be a big issue for me...for the town in general. He does get lost fairly often. Elthas considered that quirk of his friend. And he DID consider Nevin a good friend. Hopefully he does not wonder off too far. Elthas gathered the traps that were full with game. Small rabbits, and other creatures of that nature. Elthas mercy killed the captured game and placed the intact traps, attaching it to his belt. There were three traps all together. Elthas wiped sweat off his brow.

It was a rather hot day in Stonevale that day.

Elthas wore a simplistic outfit that day, typically clad in black. He kept his fedora handy. His fedora was tilted at a slight angle. He moved quickly gathering the traps he needed to gather to return The Tavern...after he'd located Nevin and kept the lad company. With the traps gathered, Elthas considered his next move. Tracking was a skill he was still developing, but was part of wilderness survival. He knelt down and placed his hand into the fresh earth. He smelled the dirt for a moment, trying to ascertain a specific set of information.

He'd regretted not having trained the arcane arts of his people. However, the world had need of his finely crafted daggers. Elthas would help change the pages of history once more as was the nature of his people. Elthas was currently placed in the portion of Ruild where he and Nevin first met. Several herbs were popular in that area. And was a constantly harvested place. Elthas looked up and decided to walk towards where a camp was established for the residents of Stonevale. Stonevale lived in virtual harmony with the wilderness of Scara Brae...and so Elthas began to make his way forward.

[Nevin]

Nevin was currently.... Napping. The sun was high, the day was warm, his bird companion was thrilling soft flute tones in her own sleep as she perched on a tree branch over him, and Nevin had his back pressed up against a tree on the edge of a clearing, hood pulled down over his face as he snored softly. Aphrael was aware enough that if something tried to sneak up on her or her bond-partner she would notice them in time to wake up fully and warn Nevin, so the two had decided to doze in the shade.

Sitting beside Nevin was his travel pack, about half-filled with herbs. He needed to gather more, and possibly some animal parts if he could find any, but as this trip wasn't meant for gathering animals or blood Nevin had only brought his staff with him. So far the alchemist had focused primarily on gathering plants for the antidotes that had been depleted helping those injured by the Goblins, so he still needed to collect regular healing herbs and plant life.

But for now, he rested.

[Elthas]

Up ahead of the small campfire location there lurked a sleeping figure. A familiar bird hovered nearby. Elthas put down his traps nearby to the smoldering campfire logs. Elthas considered the situation at hand, it was still afternoon. But he had the necessary flint and tools to create the camp fire once more. The Stonevale citizenry had several camps in the area primarily used by hunters to stay safe. Elthas stretched for a moment or two, he'd been working for several hours up until that point.

Once he placed his stuff on the ground, he walked towards Nevin. Nevin was sleeping at the moment...Elthas figured he'd been busy doing Alchemy related stuff. As Elthas considered the situation at hand, the brilliant bird looked down towards Elthas from her position on a tree. The Forest Elf nodded with respect towards the bird. He had never seen it before but assumed it was friendly as it was not attacking or anything of that nature. Elthas then pointed towards the campfire. "It will provide warmth for tonight." Elthas told the bird, and Nevin, in an offhanded sort of way. But he accepted the boy was still asleep and didn't want to wake him up. Elthas had gathered a sufficient amount of supplies for food. He walked back towards the campfire and removed his hat at that point.

Placing it on his own backpack.

At that point, Elthas gathered his tools in a very systemic sort of way.

Elthas worked quickly, but also quite carefully. The campfire logs were set up in a fire pit. The Stonevale citizenry respected nature. Elthas lit up the carefully placed logs and a fire soon blazed that was quite similar to a bonfire. Smoke from the top points of the controlled blaze swirled upward through the air. Elthas sat down for a moment to just enjoy the warmth of the fire. At that point he decided he would cook for himself and Nevin. Elthas readied the cooking tools all around the fire and began to skin the animals, gutting them, and everything else needed to prepare meat.

Elthas had daggers he used as tools but not the combat knives his Father had given him. Those would only be used to protect his loved ones. To honour the old alliances between Men and Elves. Elthas worked quickly to prepare the meats for consumption. The smell of good meats, and food soon filled the air. Elthas also prepared some tea from the various tea leaves he'd gotten earlier in Stonevale. He prepared a mug for himself and for Nevin. The meats, Elthas liked dark and particularly well done.

Fresh off the cooking fire, they would taste incredible and juicy.

Elthas sat down on the ground and began to sing as he cooked.

[Nevin]

Aphrael cracked open one burgundy eye as she heard footsteps approaching through the trees. Her master had asked her to keep an eye out for any dangers, and she was taking her task as seriously as she could while dozing. The figure approaching was dressed all in black and wore a fedora, and he didn't seem to be interested in her human at all. Still, she kept one eye on him as he set his stuff down, and then began stretching for a moment or two. When he turned and began walking towards Nevin, she grew mildly alarmed and called out.

Soft, warning flutes woke Nevin from his nap. He cracked one eye open and looked around for the figure that Aphrael was concerned about, tensing slightly until he realized that Elthas had once again stumbled across him. If he didn't know by now that the Elf had no aptitude for magic, he would have thought that Elthas had placed a tracking spell of some kind on him. Still, he grunted and sent reassurances through the bind to the bird, until she settled back down, content to watch for now.

Nevin himself wandered off while Elthas was busy. He didn't feel a particular need to stay there at the moment, and Aphrael was distracted by the Elf's preparatory work. So he had scooped up his bag and slipped into the woods while Elthas was working on the fire and resumed gathering herbs, picking a variety of plants as he moved about the woods near the clearing. The alchemist did have to squeeze flat a few plants and mushrooms, squishing them flat as he went to save space in his bag - it wouldn't do to not actually have enough to rebuild his wares after all. He could smell, in the distance, cooking meat, so he also grabbed a few plants that would serve as spices for the meal as he made his way back once more.

The Elf didn't seem to have noticed his departure, wrapped up in his food making, and Nevin set the seasoning plants down next to him before sitting back down by his tree.

[Elthas]

Elthas watched the cooking meats for a long moment as that occurred.

The situation called for utter concentration. He was preparing meats for his friend and the newly spotted bird. It was an interesting bird with red and black feathers, and an intelligent gaze about it's eyes. Elthas had no way of knowing the gender of the bird since he lacked magical arts that many of the other Adventurers of Althanas had. Elthas didn't mind. He had his own skills that he was quite proud of, further, he had the daggers his Father constructed for him.

Elthas prepared the food and thought carefully about the situation at hand. It had been a hectic past few weeks, the goblin attacks still fresh on his mind. He'd been somewhat injured during that battle but not fatally. He'd risen to the task at hand and helped protect the sleeping town of Stonevale. Elthas thought back to that battle. The Goblins used poisoned etched equipment, and Nevin's store had become a prime place of interest during the assault. That time, there had been five Goblins.

Elthas suspected more would come someday, Elthas needed to be ready for it. His eyes narrowed as he sat down in front of the cooking fire. He still sang the entire time. His mind wandered to this and that place, thinking about different times. Different places. Time flowed different for his people as they were present across the events of history. Elthas continued to sing calmly as he thought about the situation at hand. The Goblin attack was likely the start of something bigger. It's been some years since the last organized assault hasn't it? Elthas shook his head. His head hurt as he tried to think about the situation at hand.

Elthas had to wonder...Why now...?

As he cooked though he considered what else of his own supplies he could add to the meal he was preparing. Spices would be good...but he didn't want to leave the supplies by themselves. So he would make due with what he had. He turned towards Nevin and smiled when he saw the lad was missing for a bit...probably gathering more stuff, Elthas assumed that. We're here to work so let's get this all going correct. I'll gather more traps when dinner is ready. Elthas knew, you could not hunt on an empty stomach.

[Nevin]

Nevin nodded his head towards the small piles of plants sitting next to Elthas, then tilted his head towards Aphrael, who trilled pleased little flute notes at him and dropped down onto his shoulder, making the alchemist twist slightly as he adjusted to the addition of her weight. He pulled himself to his face and walked over to sit across the fire from the Elf, watching his erstwhile companion as he continued to cook the food. "So, I'd ask what led you out here and to me today - I'd probably be heading back soon if we'd not met up." It was a little strange to see Elthas here - the man had been busy doing oddjobs after the Goblin attack had thrown the village into chaos. Maybe that was actually why he was out here? He had had traps with animals in them hanging from his belt when he showed up.

Elthas seemed to have something on his mind though - even though he'd been singing when Nevin returned, his eyes had been distant, focused on the fire, seeing something else inside of it. He almost hadn't seemed to notice Nevin's return, though for all the alchemist knew the Elf was actually keenly aware of him. Aphrael piped flute notes into his ear, and the redhead turned his head to look at her with one eye, raising an eyebrow before looking back to Elthas and shrugging the shoulder that the overly large corvid wasn't perched on. "My friend here reminds me I haven't introduced you two. This is Aphrael, who has decided I am her bondmate. Aphrael, this is Elthas, the first person I met here in Stonevale." And really the first person that Nevin had talked to for more than two minutes outside of his work or the smithy.

"Hmm. In any case, if we're out here at night, I should probably see if there are any herbs or animals that only show up at night that I could use for some alchemy. Hm." Nevin drummed his fingers against his leg as he thought about it. He didn't know what animals dwelt in the forest at night, and he hadn't exactly packed for combat - but he always had his knife with him, and he did have glass vials along too. Maybe there would be a point where he could slip away from Elthas' watchful eye and harvest some blood?

[Elthas]

Despite his friend being there...something troubled The Elf.

He kept staring at the fire for a long moment.

Thinking about the day of The Goblin attack. Elthas rose to help protect his friends and the town...he'd done the right thing. But something didn't sit well with him. He wore a frown on his handsome face since the day of the attack. There was something troubling him...something he kept hidden away from everyone. There was something else guiding The Goblin attack. There had to have been...they were not acting alone. Elthas knew that things happened for a reason...good people died all the time. But they had risen together to prevent a tragedy from occurring.

And yet there was that hidden something there.

Elthas turned to look towards Nevin and Aphrael. "Sorry if I seem distant. Something is troubling me." From what Elthas knew of Goblin folk, they did oft raid the settlements of Humes in small bands and things of that nature. But the fact that no Overlord was present...bothered Elthas a lot.

Normally, The Goblin folks rally under some sort of a central leadership. Was this the start of something bigger?

Elthas wish he knew more.

"We didn't learn anything." Elthas said out loud. "In the mad rush to defeat them all, we didn't gather any information about future attacks." Elthas partially blamed himself, but he knew that Goblins would not just readily give up any of that sort of information. Another thought bothered him as well. I need to be able to protect Stonevale... He thought about Nan, about the folks living in Stonevale, and he thought about Sketch and Ezra. Often. He'd made friends very quickly that day and that sort of bond never faded away easily.

Elthas was looking at Nevin at that point. "I don't mean to trouble you with such concerns, old friend." Elthas was a deep thinker, and he was afraid he'd missed a vital clue someplace. As he considered the situation, he looked at the food and then he looked back towards Nevin. "Dinner's about ready. I'm sure we can talk better on a full stomach." Elthas tried his best to flash one of his Stonevale famous smiles. But it didn't look correct because of the troubles on his mind. "Did you find many herbs to restock for your shop?" Elthas asked.

[Nevin]

Nevin tilted his head to one side as he considered what the Elf said. It was true that in the rush to deal with the Goblins, the rescue group had rather handily dealt with them. And the fiends had seemed to be a wandering raiding group, as they hadn't even had a camp anywhere nearby that he remembered. But truth be told, there was something about the attack that had been bothering the Alchemist as well, so he waved off the attempt at redirecting the conversation, instead leaning forward and staring into the fire himself.

"On the one hand, it could have just been prompted by the Mountain Goblin. He could have been an outcast from his Tribe, and when he came here he ended up gathering up some other outcasts and began attacking wildly. They do tend to be more feral and antagonistic than the ones around here." He took a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he frowned. "On the other hand. A Mountain Goblin shouldn't have been able to get out here on its own, even as an outcast. That may just have been a raiding party, and we didn't even see the actual band. The missing Overlord? Might be somewhere else entirely. We... May need to look for them. And I don't trust the village guards to do that." He folded his arms over his chest and sighed, leaning back as Aphrael trilled worriedly at him. The alchemist reached up and stroked the corvid's head, one finger running between her eyes as he did so.

"We know they aren't in the forest - your people would have definitely noticed a Tribe if there was one moving around in the woods. But there are the hills near the mines - no one's been back there in years from what I've heard." Nevin reached out and snagged some of the meat from the fire, tearing off a strip and feeding it to Aphrael before eating some himself. "What do you think my friend? Up to going exploring?"

[Elthas]

Elthas thought about what Nevin was saying.

He admired the boy's ability to keep his head in the right place. And was glad that they were friends. He rubbed his chin calmly and considered what Nevin said. "Yes. We will search the hills for clues. Maybe they will provide something to the mystery. But I also have to try to accept that this really could have been just a raiding party." Nevin's words made a lot of sense. It was worth it to go searching the hils and trying to see how that strong one had gotten so close to the mines. Elthas would be the first to admit that he knew dreadfully little about The Goblin folks.

There was no way of knowing until they searched...and search they would.

But later on in the morning, or the next day. For now, the three friends would eat. Elthas took a few strips of the meet with his eating utensils. He offered Nevin and Aphrael a place as well as some eating fork and knife for Nevin. Elthas primarily, did not like to eat with his bare hands.

It was a cultural thing for his people.

As he ate he thought about a few matters. He started to sing for his friend, and the present bird. Likely a familiar of some sort. Elthas ate calmly and took a pull of the fresh well water he'd grabbed before he'd left town. He handed Nevin a water skin as well. "Always got to be prepared." Elthas tried to consider how long he'd been away from home. The Forest Elves had a settlement in the forests near Stonevale, but home was in Ruild. Concordia Forest. Though truth be told, his people considered the entire forest of Corone, Scara Brae included, to be Ruild. Elthas was certain The Great Tree of his people would approve.

He missed home, The Great Tree of his people. He was certain his family would understand that Stonevale needed him. Needed his strength. "I'm also thinking about my family." Elthas had taken time to write parcel back home periodically. He also kept in frequent contact with them. He would be home someday soon. For the time being, he liked it in Stonevale. He'd made a number of allies, and friends that would accompany him as long as they lived. He fought and bled alongside them. "You never did tell me before, Nevin. Do you have family someplace worried about you, or waiting for you?" Elthas found himself quite curious about Nevin. He trusted the boy, but he also knew very little about him. Fate had thrust them together, and that was the important thing in Elthas's mind...