He knew damn well...

[Sethric]

"He's dead, Sethric. You've killed him."

Sethric stared downward in shame. His thoughts trickled back ever so slowly, as the blood-high wore off. The poor sod just wouldn't let up. Bandits these days, the arrogant little creeps think they can take on the world.

"Well what now, oh mighty warrior? what the hell are you going to do now? bury it? leave it lie?"

He sighed, the ravaged heap before him looking shamefully appetising as it sat collecting flies. Anyone could be walking down the path, at any given time. Of course this particular road would have to be the most populated in the whole blasted forest. Just his luck.

"He should have backed down... I told him to back down... I told him what would happen..."

He had to hide it, or something. Hide it in a knothole, piece by piece maybe. Or bury it, yes, that'd do it. He'd have to bury it... bury the corpse, no more than a fragmented torso, dripping, seeping... little ruby streams coursing down the neck... it looked so... No! he dismissed the thought. He had to act quickly. Sethric propped the remains up, resting them upon a tree, it's head lolling back and forth like a limp doll. Placing a foot upon it's chest, he dislodged his knife with a grunt and a stumble.

"He knew... He knew damn well what would happen... I told him, I told him..."

A shovel, he needed a shovel or something. Even a large rock would do... but he was so tired, so bloody tired. Sethric could feel his arms going numb, by the gods he was hungry... so very hungry...

"The damage is done, could I truly do this poor man greater wrong by... by taking just a little more?"

He knelt over the body, fully prepared to drink his fill... until his concentration was broken by a sudden rustling of leaves. A rustling, a thump, the snapping of twigs.

"Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me..."

A great brute of a man stepped out of the trees, clad head to foot in rusted chain. He brandished a rather feeble looking bladed, pitted and scarred from neglect.

Yer coin or yer life, friend. Make yer ch...

The would-be robber stopped dead in his tracks, choking off his words with an abrupt gurgle. Sethric stepped away slightly, just enough to reveal his task and intentions. Behind him the lacerated body sat leaning against a stout treetrunk, weeping sweet lifeblood onto the cobblestone. Sethric merely stood and glared, arms folded over the bloodstains of his breastplate. The brigand looked as though he wanted to speak, but couldn't find the words.

"Something you want from me, mate?"

He turned and fled, sprinting down the road as fast as his chain-laden legs could carry him. Rattling all the way as he did so. Sethric couldn't help himself as he burst into a fit of laughter. It was short-lived but pleasant... a welcome escape from the task before him.

"Alright, alright... down to business..."

With another heavy sigh, Sethric heaved the corpse up upon his shoulders. He'd need to find a clearing... And he needed to find it fast, anyone could see him out in the open, and the last thing he needed was more company.

[Squ]

(Hi, I hope you don't mind me joining in but if you do, let me know and I'll remove my post so don't worry ^^. Although I don't know in which forest this story is taking place but since my last story ended near one, any forest will work for me.)


Making her way on a rough forest path, pushing branches of trees out of her way, Teefa kept looking for her travelling companion whom she got separated with during a scary encounter with a bear. Occasionally calling out his name, Teefa got no more a response than crows cawing from the treetops. Although she figured she was lost and probably walking in the wrong direction, she didn’t give up searching for her friend; after all, terrible injuries could’ve been inflicted upon him.

Just as she wanted to call out to her lost companion once more, the sound of footsteps and snapping twigs caught her attention. Being both cautious and worried, Teefa whispered her friend’s name. There seemed to be some pace in the footsteps as if this person was running. The moment Teefa walked around a tree, a big man bumped into her and both fell to the ground.

Slightly startled, Teefa stood up from the ground and wiped the dirt of her clothes. She noticed the big man lying in front of her, his face was pale and carried a frightened expression.

“I’m really sorry I got in the way. Are you okay?” Teefa extended her hand to help the man back on his feet. The man -who seemed overcome with fear- was shaking and shivering, his teeth gritted.

“M-m-monster! H- he killed that guy! He killed him!” The man screamed in terror before jumping off the ground and running deeper into the forest, leaving a perplexed Teefa behind who was now all alone again.

What was that about? Teefa wondered while recalling the man’s words. A brief gasp escaped her lips as she realized that the person, that the big man said was killed, could be her companion. “Oh my goodness” she whispered and quickly spun around while trying to remember where she saw the big guy coming from; once she as good as determined it, she hurried herself in that direction. No matter who it is, I hope I will be able to do something...

Heart throbbing in her throat, Teefa was aware that –should she find something- she might face something frightful; a monster? The big man’s probably saw a bear or other forest creature and was so shocked that he just blurted something out. No matter what it was, Teefa had to confirm who its victim was.

Suddenly –while passing another big tree- she stopped dead in her tracks as she stood face to face to a tall man, carrying the body of a dead man over his shoulder. While catching her breath, Teefa stood motionlessly, looking into the man’s eyes that were as green as hers before shifting her eyes to the bleeding corpse that was dangling lifelessly over his shoulder.

“Oh... um... hi.” Teefa started, astonished and unsure what to think of the situation “was he your friend?” She asked, pointing at the corpse with her finger from the hand she held close to her chest.

[Sethric]

(( No need to worry. I'm glad to see you replied, especially in the manner that you did. Plenty to work with. I appreciate that. ))

Ah, Hell...

Sethric stopped abruptly, his unexpected guest not five freet from him. Not knowing exactly how to explain the corpse on his back, or if it was even humanly possible to do so, he dropped it behind him with a loud thump. No sense trying to craft a lie... hell, she saw the bloody thing, there's no denying that one. Sethric sighed, yet again.

"Friend? I should say not... the litle bugger tried to rob me. He um... well he's unimportant now."

He sidestepped in the direction of the course, reflexively attempting to cover it up. Of course there was no hiding the fact that it was there, but at the very least he could conceal the extent of it's wounds. He'd gone rather feral on the poor fellow. Sethric extended a gaunt hand, fingers still slightly elongated, nails still vaguely blackened. He hadn't entirely recovered from the feeding.

"The name's Sethric... but I suppose you can call me Seth if you prefer."

He had to change the subject... she couldn't know about what went on here. It could've been accident, for all she knew... yes... no, no, wishful thinking. Anyone with half a brainstem could deduct that the man had been killed. Regardless, he had to keep talking, no time to let her ask questions.

"So, um... what brings you to this uh... lovely forest? I for one came for the fresh air... wondrous fresh air."

Fresh air and poorly-armed bandits to eat...

Yeah, yeah, brilliant small-talk... Idiot...

"I do so love... trees, trees and shrubs... and the like. Yes, good old nature, what a pleasant... um..."

Despite every attempt to maintain the facade of one calm and collected, Sethric was becoming fed up with it. He let out a heavy breath, ending in a vague snarl, as he often did.

"I um... I didn't get your name..."

[Squ]

“My name?”

Teefa looked at Sethric with a somewhat of a puzzled expression. She couldn’t make much out of what the man was muttering; his behavior seemed a little erratic and suspicious, nevertheless, she introduced herself properly. “My name is Teefa” she said, bowing politely “Teefa Kalestiya.”

A moment of silence added to the already awkward situation. Teefa slightly tilted and raised her head in order to get a better view of the corpse lying behind Sethric. Judging from the wounds, it seemed like a wild and vicious animal had its way him, poor guy. “He should be given a proper burial” Teefa suggested, not really knowing what else to say “it would be bad to just leave him there like that.”

Although she did feel a little uncomfortable in the presence of the weird stranger, Teefa wasn’t afraid. “If you want, I can help you find a place where he can be laid to rest” she offered with a friendly yet nervous smile, her staff held closely to her chest. By being cordial, she hoped she could establish some trust and lift the somewhat uneasy atmosphere that was hanging in the air.

“Is that okay?”

[Sethric]

Despite his disgust at the idea of traveling with a companion, Sethric decided it was best to do as the girl said. He had to make some kind of effort, if he ever hoped be convincing.

"Um... Yes... very well, Teefa. We'll find somewhere to bury it... er, 'him', rather."

Sethric gave an exaggerated smile, in honest hope it would negate his still unnatural appearance. Sadly... he hadn't accounted for his own bloody fangs.

"Er... let's be off..."

He clasped a hand over his mouth and swiftly about-faced.

Oh that was genius, Seth. Very smooth.

Sethric heaved the would-be robber back onto his shoulder, and began walking at a brisk pace. His skin tightened as the still-bleeding corpse flopped about his shoulder. Blood coursed over his back and chest in sanguine streams, cascading, dripping, wasted upon the cobblestone. His mouth watered... he was still so damn hungry, and growing weaker.

You know you can't just stop at a taste Sethric. Once you've fed, you need more, more and more until you're satisfied.

It was unhealthy to cease his feed so abruptly... maybe he could still get his fill, yes. He'd just need to bury the corpse, wait for the girl to leave, then dig the bastard back up and drink away. Yes, that's what he'd do. Until then, he needed to find a suitable clearing. He had to admit though, his efforts felt pointless. This was one of most densely-packed forests, and he past the last clearing he knew of hours ago. One thing was for certain, he sure as hell couldn't cary him all the way back to the fields. Of course, there was always the option of... no no, he couldn't.

Kill the girl Sethric, drink your fill. Who would find out? who would she run to? it'd be perfect.

No, he couldn't. Not now, not like this. She'd done him no wrong, it wouldn't be right... would it? No, certainly not, he'd just bury the damn body, and wait for her to leave. That's all, wait for her to leave. Razgar would never approve of murder, there are codes, ethics. One couldn't simply slay and suck-dry whomever they please. His only option was the corpse.

"I don't suppose you've any idea where we can bury him do you? I will admit, I... know of no clearings."

Oh don't you? no clearings? no ditches filled with dessicated corpses? no dead-patches filled with your victims, Sethric? Liar.

Lost in his thoughts, Sethric was all but unaware of how long they had been walking. Seconds, minutes, hours? it was a blurr. A blurr of hunger, frustration, and confusion. By the Gods, how he wished she would leave... she'd have to, have to before nightfall. He couldn't be seen by her, or anyone else, after day. He couldn't be seen...

[Squ]

“I’m sorry to say that I know little of this forest. “

Despite the weary look that dominated most of Sethric’s face, Teefa detected a hint of displeasure in his expression and she couldn’t shake the feeling that her presence was rather unwelcome. His behavior and attitude all indicated that he wasn’t really excited about her appearance at the scene, how can he be? He was carrying around a dead guy.

The pace of the stroll began to decrease as it didn’t seem that a clearing would be reached anytime soon. It rather discouraged the idea of burying the poor dead guy. Teefa glanced around but wasn’t able to tell what would be the best direction. As she turned to Sethric to see if he had any suggestions, she noticed he looked rather worn out; tired of walking, and probably tired of carrying a dead man around.

“Are you alright? You look a little tired. If you want, you can rest a little while I look around by myself.”

Beside the probability that clearing wasn’t anywhere near, Teefa knew full well that venturing further into the forest alone, she would only get herself lost again. Maybe for the best, she figured, especially when a portentous look in Sethric’s eyes seemed to indicate that it would be best for her to ‘get lost’. Yes, now would be a good opportunity to separate. Even though she really wanted to give the poor dead guy a proper burial, she figured that Sethric would complete the task after getting some rest. Even if Sethric wouldn’t do it, she had other worries on her mind; to find her own companion.

“I’ll look around while you regain some strength” Teefa said, unaware of the irony in her statement “I will try not to wander too far” she added, knowing that it wouldn’t make much difference –she wasn’t planning on coming back.

I’m sure he won’t mind to be left alone; I even think he wants to be left alone.

Turning away from Sethric, Teefa whispered a few more words of prayer for the dead man before making her way through the dense foliage of the forest, occasionally looking back at Sethric to acknowledge to him she was paying attention to her bearings; not that it mattered, they both knew.

About a quarter of an hour had passed and Sethric was well out of sight. Teefa took a moment to gaze at the forest canopy; the sky was hardly visible through all the leaves and it was kind of disheartening –still lost, still no sign of her companion and to make matters worse, Teefa was starting to feel hungry. At this rate—


Suddenly, a rustling of leaves snapped Teefa out of contemplation. Not knowing who or what to expect this time, she decided to hide in some bushed to see what was moving around in the woods. Maybe it’s Sethric or Xzia, she thought. Not taking any chances, she kept quiet and waited.

The sound of voices of men talking to each other came from nearby and it didn’t take long before four strong-looking and well armed men each accompanied with a menacing looking creature at their leash that looked like wolf-hound. As they passed near where Teefa was hiding, one of the creatures sniffed and growled ferociously, causing the company to halt.

“Ho! Easy now!” one of the men grunted, pulling the chain “I think they’ve picked up a scent, we must be getting close.”

“It looks like this is somewhere near where Bolgar said it would be.”

The four men peered around, their monstrous looking hounds sniffing around frenetically, pulling heavily on their chains. Teefa held her breath as the company almost stood next to her.

“Who or what do you think he saw? Did you see the terror in his eyes?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care, but once we find whatever it was he saw, it’s gonna have to deal with these puppies right here” one of the rougher looking man grinned as he patted one of the beast.

“Yeah, they’ll tear everything apart” another commented, resulting in laughter from the rest of the men. They then proceeded, led by the beast’s tireless pull on the chains, sniffing and grunting while making an occasional choking sound from pulling too hard. The sound of the voices faded and Teefa could finally let out a heavy sigh of relief before crawling out of the dense growth of shrubs.

Phew...

“Who were those men?” Teefa wondered “I hope they’re not after Sethric.” She stopped at the thought, what if they were? Most likely they were just after the creature that killed the guy that Sethric was carrying around, but what if they weren’t—

Should I go back to at least warn him? Or...

[Sethric]

She left.

She left.

By the Gods she left!

Sethric watched her walk off, waiting until the girl was far out of sight.

Yes! Finally, It all works out

As his former companion wandered off down the path, Sethric yet again propped the corpse against a nearby tree. There it sat, so inviting, so full to bursting with precious blood, as if calling to him. Sethric! Sethric! consume me... drink and drink some more... I'm yours, Sethric! He could wait no longer, Sethric fell to his knees and lunged for the corpse.

Ah! glory beyond glory! It's about damn time.

He sank his fangs to the gum, piercing the corpse's neck with wild abandon. It was with no small hint of delight that sethric discovered he had struck a major bloodvessel. The precious ruby sustenance poured forth in torrents, and Sethric sucked it all up greedily. The warmth, the satisfaction, he felt his body grow hot, his throat burning as the blood trickled ever downward. All at once, Sethric recalled why he had chosen to be what he is... it's always better when you need it.

More... I must have more...

Sethric drew upon it's neck with as much force as his lungs could muster, but it seemed as though it was gone. Not a drop seeped from it's neck, as though sucked empty.

NO! NO! I'm not finished! I NEED MORE!

Sethric's vision darkened, as the all-too familiar bloodlust took hold of him. With ebon claw and inhuman strength, he roared and parted the corpse's head from it's body. Bubbling up from the stump of it's neck, yet more blood cascaded down the ravaged torso. Sethric dove, sinking the entirety of his face into it. His mind fuddled with thirst, he began to tear away chunks of thick muscle, chewing and wringing every precious drop... the hunger only grew. Quite content to spend the rest of the day (and at least parts of the next) consuming his kill, Sethric settled in as best he could... until interrupted by yet more rustling leaves.

In the name of all that's pure... WHY NOW!?

His vision went dim, all the world turned ashen gray, as he peered into the forest. Four great beacons of red illuminated his sight. A group of bandits perhaps? maybe wild animals? to him it mattered not, as far as he was concerned it was a group of meals strolling his way. Acting quickly, Sethric heaved himself into the branches of a nearby tree, perched like a gargoyle. Then they arrived. First he heard the yelling, thick and boisterous. A peasant's accent, further emphasized by an evident lack of grammar. It had to be bandits... yes, the yelling and... something else. Breathing, heavy breathing, or panting perhaps... Animals of some kind, hounds, wolves, definitely canine... they had dogs. Bandits and dogs, Sethric was not the least concerned.

"So.. s'posing we fin' da bastard wot kill't Sten.. 'the hell we gonna do wif 'im?"

"We're gonna snuff him. You say Bolgar back there, and you know 'well as I do what it takes to get him all flustered like that. This is some serious sh...

The larger of the two bandits stopped mid-sentence, gaze falling upon the trunk of the tree and sanguine mess painting the forest floor.

"Ivan, Zeek, you'll wanna see this... bring the hounds."

Sethric peered through the branches, considering his next move... waiting and considering.

[Squ]

Oh, they stopped.

Teefa hid behind a rather large tree, peeking every so often to see what the men with the fearsome beast-hounds were doing. Even from a distance, the beasts look extremely terrifying; their black, rough-haired backs were as high as the men’s waistline. If these things would go into frenzy, it would seem impossible to hold them back, yet two out of the four men managed them in check, regardless of their restless pulls on the heavy chains.

Because the forest looked everywhere the same, Teefa was unable to tell if the men where near where she last saw Sethric. Regardless, there was some commotion and a combination of curiosity and worry pushed Teefa closer to the scene. Getting close enough to get a good view yet far enough to avoid detection, she focused her eyes and ears.

Two men were standing near a tree, one of them called out to the other two who were leading on the growling beasts. Narrowing her eyes, Teefa tried to get a glimpse of what they were looking at, but there was too much underbrush blocking the view. Judging from the commotion however, it seemed that the men were anxious about something.

I wonder what’s going on...

Carefully considering what to do next, Teefa figured the wisest thing to do would be to turn back and leave the scene. Sethric wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and by lingering the chances she would be found spying would only increase. Although she knew the men had nothing to do with her, she didn’t know their intentions either; the safest option was to avoid any interaction until she was able to get out of this forest. Yes, turning back now was a very good plan indeed.

Giving the scene a final glimpse, Teefa could see that the monstrous beasts had been set free and sniffing all around the area, one... two... three—

Where’s the fourth? Teefa wonderd, her eyes rapidly scanning the area, desperately trying to get a fix on the missing beast. Where is it? Where is it? I hope it's not anywhere near. She thought in panic and fear of being discovered began to overwhelm her. Although moving now would put her at risk, Teefa didn’t want to spend one more second hanging around and slowly began to move backward. Once she determined she was at a safer distance she finally turned around, only to have her worst fear become a reality; at couple of yards distance, one of the beasts had its black eyes fixed on her. It didn’t move but did heave its head; it let out a brief snort as its deadly stare was aimed at Teefa, considering whether to tear her apart or not.

Oh dear...

Eye to eye with the large, black wolf-hound, Teefa took slow controlled breaths. She knew that canines could easily detect fear and that running would be futile, especially with such a short distance between them. A slow step backward, then the next, then another... although she could feel her heart throbbing in her throat, Teefa figured that if she moved away very slowly, she might be able to escape. “N-nice doggy... that’s it, don’t mind me. I’m not here, okay? I’m not a threat, see?” she whispered while gently waving her hand down to appease the beast.

Although nerve-wrecking, her calm approach combined with her soothing words appeared to work. Only if she could create a little more distance, she could turn around and move away at a quicker pace. It was one more step that made her bump into something and before she could react, a quick pull on her hair forced her to her knees; a brief, painful squeak escaped her lips. Instinctively she moved her hands to her head, only to meet the rough hand of a man.

“Well, what’ve we got here?” the man’s voice sounded in an amused manner “got ourselves a little lass lost in the woods, now do we?” he grinned as his chubby hand pulled harder on Teefa’s hair, causing her head back and let out a few painful gasps.

“Oy fellas! Come, look ‘n see what I found!” he laughed after carrying Teefa to the rest of the men and throwing her to the ground. She landed on the ground with a soft thud, her hand breaking the fall in something sticky.

“Well, ‘aint she something cute? I think we got ourselves a really nice catch here, boys.”

Still feeling the painful sting of the pull on her hair, Teefa focused her eyes as she slid her hands over the wet surface of the ground. Looking closer she could see her hand was covered in a mix of mud and darkened blood. Eyes widening in terror, Teefa fearfully wondered whose it could be; it was only when her eyes landed on the bloody torso and severed head that she realized it was the dead man that Sethric was carrying around. The horrible sight of blood and guts decorating the ground was like a grim illusion, it just didn’t seem real, yet there it was. Teefa’s hands started shaking uncontrollably and tears began to gather in her eyes. It was like a nightmare turning worse and worse.

One of the men knelt next to her, pointing a knife. “I don’t suppose you know what happened here, now do you?”


Hope this part wasn't too long, but I had a rare inspirational moment ^^;

[Sethric]

((Too long? oh my, no, not at all. It was magnificent, to say the least.))

Perched atop his dendroidal hideaway, Sethric clearly witnessed the spectacle unfolding before him. They'd captured her, they'd found Teefa and they'd captured her. He shifted on his branch, mind fuddled and hazy with bloodthrist. He knew he needed to act.

Teefa... have Teefa. Why not she leave?.. save her. It saves the girl.

The great brutes had her completely surrounded and utterly defenseless. The fiends. A hand clutching her hair and a knife to her throat, Sethric felt a great stab of pity for her situation. If only for such horrid disrespect, they had to be dealt with. They'd have to be negotiated with in the only language they understood. Violence. They'd have to be slain, and he had the element of surprise. Sethric allowed himself a brief snicker, all-too eager for a scrap.

"Well boys? what're we gonna do wif 'dis one, eh? Rip and Rend 'aven't eaten today, s'pose they deserve a meal."

The bastards all shared a laugh. Now was his chance. In as silent a manner as he could, Sethric pulled from his belt a thick iron Longknife. He hadn't time for the sword, nor would he need it. All close-quarters combat, unarmed men, two beasthounds... yeah, just the knife. With a tremendous leap, he sprang from the tree, splintering the branch with a sharp crack.

It kills them... kills the things that hurt her

He landed on the first brute's shoulders, the thinnest of the group, he stood behind with a bow.. The archer turned his head upward sharply, equal parts shocked and confused. The angle was perfect, Sethric sank his knife into the fiend's neck, giving it a quick twist as he did so. He fell twitching to the forest floor, spraying a bandit to the left of him with a thick stream of blood. The bled-upon bandit turned swiftly to his downed ally, by the time his mind registered what was happening, Sethric had already leapt towards him.

It kills them... kils them for what they've done.

With surprising speed, the bandit pulled a short dagger from his belt, just in time to catch Sethric in the shoulder. He leapt back, almost unaware of the pain. Around him, the rest of the bandits had taken notice of the bloodshed, and released the hounds.

Gods immortal! Get it... KILL THAT THING!

The beasts came barrelling at Sethric in what seemed like a split-second, each taking latching on to one of his arms. They pulled him backwards at least four feet before Sethric was able to react. With a twist of his neck and a snap of his jaw, Sethric sank his teeth into one of the creature's necks. It yelped feebly and sank to the ground as Sethric pulled away a thick slab of muscle. With his free arm, he thrust his knife into the other beast's skull, silencing it instantly. He stood, but not firmly, he was bleeding from at least seven different punctures, and already growing weary.

What the hell is it? WHAT THE HELL IS IT?!

What Sethric could only assume was the bandit leader, pointed a finger as he yelled, a simple gesture for his lackies to attack. Sethric regained his gravity, and stared one of them dead on. His sunken red eyes connected with the bandit's, and he faltered. Before he could perceive the threat, a ghastly-white face was only inches from his own. Sethric sent him reeling with a harsh bash of his skull.

"Thinks it weak? No. Strong, it is STRONG!"

The remaining attacker, having weaved around behind him, clobbered him over the skull with what could only be an iron club. Sethric's face connected with the dirt, and for the briefest of moments, all went dark.

[Squ]

Still recovering from the initial shock, Teefa’s perception was but a blur. Clutching the branch of a tree for support, she struggled to recover her foothold. As she was almost upright, her foot slipped and in a quick reflex she corrected her stance; it was then that her foot landed on something squishy and upon lifting it up, Teefa noticed she had stepped on –what appeared to be- human remains. Letting out a brief utterance of disgust, she repositioned her foot while not losing her balance.

Cold and wet, Teefa allowed herself to rest against a tree. Although the brutes that handled her roughly seemed too preoccupied to pay attention to her, she didn’t have the courage to run and even if she did, one of those beasts would’ve given chase –no, she wasn’t in any condition to make a proper escape. While the men were fighting some kind of monster, Teefa tried to grasp the situation but it hardly seemed possible with the gruesome sight of dismembered bodies, raging monsters and cries of pain. How on earth did things turn out to be like this? Why was she even here? It all didn’t seem real anymore, and Teefa wished she would wake up in her bed at an inn somewhere.

A loud thump followed by a soft thud; it looked like of the men had subdued the being that was attacking them. With her head resting against the trunk of the tree, Teefa –appearing as if in a daze- turned her head to see what they had caught. Staring at the bulky mass lying on the ground, it didn’t take very long for Teefa to recognize the clothes it was wearing; it was Sethric.

It looked like things were getting more and more complicated. Teefa began to wonder if she would get of her current situation alive. It didn’t seem that the brutes had the best intentions with her and ironically the only person that appeared to be on her side was a relentless, murdering maniac –unfortunately he was down for the count.

“Oy! I got ‘im! Did’ya see wot ‘e did to Zeek?!” one of the lesser men bawled to his remaining comrades “The rotten bastard even di' a number on me precious darlins.”

The men gathered around the hump lying lifelessly on the ground, occasionally poking it to check if Sethric was still alive. “What’cha think Jayce, should we burn ‘im?” the lesser brute addressed what appeared to be the leader.

“No, it will not get away with its actions so easily. Let’s tie it to a tree and if it’s still alive we’ll have some fun with it. Although this thing killed Zeek, Rend and Ravager, we’ll let Rip and Rancor inflict some serious damage to exact some revenge. See how it’ll like that.”

The men nodded as their leader explained the details of his intentions. It didn’t sound very humane; they wanted to torture Sethric. What would they do to Teefa if they were finished with him? What further intentions did they have? The idea of being left at the mercy of these horrible men left Teefa shaking and shivering.

“Wot’e we gonna do wit’ the girl?” one of the men grunted, pointing his finger at Teefa. The way he asked sounded as bad as the answer:

“Tie her up too. Once we’re done with this freak, we’ll take her back to the camp and figure out what to with her there. I’m sure the rest of the men won’t mind some entertainment.” The men grinned at the idea proposed by their leader.

No, this cannot be... I don’t want to... I don’t want to be here—someone... someone please... help me.

After tying Sethric’s hands behind his back, they heaved him up against the trunk of an old, gnarled tree. One of the men had to stand very close to hold him up so that his comrade could tie him to the tree. As he was being moved, Sethric’s head lolled forward, landing on the man’s shoulder.

[Squ]

OOC: It has been a long time since I've done any creative writing; I felt I wasn't doing a good job and more importantly: I lacked the inspiration. I did like where this story was going but for some reason it died out (the creator of this topic must've given up) and I felt I was to blame. Since it has been such a long time, I decided to carry on with the story -and tie a fitting end to it- myself (I hope that this is okay). If there are people that wish to join, you are welcome.



One of the men, Ivan, slowly approached Teefa with widespread arms to make sure she wouldn’t be able to run off if she wanted to. As the ruffian was close enough, he grabbed Teefa and turned her around; pressing her against the tree so he could tie her hands. Although she didn’t resist, the bandit handled her in a needlessly rough manner.

Tied up again...

In Teefa’s mind, memories of being hunted down like a wild animal were vividly recalled. It all felt so familiar: being left at the mercy of men –none of which had the best intentions with her. This time however, the intentions could seriously harm her as these men were not after her to return her home. No, these men were after her because she was prey to their needs.

Xzia...

The name of her only companion, which she had lost in this dark, gloomy forest, echoed through her mind. In her daze, she imagined he would suddenly appear from the bushes and save her from her captors. No one came.

“Alright, that’ll do fer now” the ruffian snickered. He hauled Teefa over his shoulder and slapped his hand once against her bottom. A wave of humiliation ran through Teefa’s body and she felt like she wanted cry, yet she decided to hold her tears.

While Zeek was clumsily trying to tie Sethric to the tree, the leader of the group, Jayce, was inspecting the body of their slain archer and two wolf-hounds. He rubbed his hand over his chin “This freak is pretty strong if he managed to inflict these kinds of wounds.” His head half turned “Hey Zeek, make sure you double tie those knots, y’hear!”

“Aye, sure thing, but this ‘ere fella be heavy. I hardly can...”

Zeek’s words were cut off by a loud, dry scream that ended in a gurgle. Torrents of blood spew forth from his lips. It appeared that Sethric’s teeth were buried deep in the man’s throat.

“Oh for the love of...!”

With a loud splash, Teefa felt herself being dropped in a murky pool of water. Her captor grabbed a long knife that was attached to his boot and rushed to Zeek’s aid, leaving her lying in de mud. Although still in a daze, Teefa was able to discern what was going on: there was chaos, and everyone was distracted. Instincts started to kick in and NOW would be a good moment to try and escape... even if she failed, it would be better to die running than to live with abuse. Rolling to her side, Teefa managed to get on her feet and stumble away with her hands still tied to her back.

[Squ]

Back at the scene of the bandits, Ivan was able to pull Zeek away from Sethric’s carnage. The vampire’s eyes were closed but his teeth were buried deep in Zeek’s throat causing flesh and skin to be torn off when the body was pulled away. Landing on the ground with soft thud, both men fell and Ivan quickly tried to recover from under his comrade’s body. Zeek had already died from the severe blood loss.

Horrified, Ivan took a few steps back, eyeing the body and then the motionless vampire still tied to the tree and finally turned his head towards Jayce who had a calm frown on his face. “Oy, we ought to kill it! It got another one ‘o our men!” Ivan yelled, clearly upset.

Jayce took a deep breath before letting out a heavy sigh. “It’s tied to the tree right now. I say we start a fire around it and let the bastard burn. Gather some dry wood and put a torch in it, that’ll get things cooking.”

“Aye, that be a good idea!” Ivan nodded.

“By the way, where’s the girl?”

“Eh? Oy! The lil wench ran off! I be sending the dogs after ‘er!” Ivan snorted after seeing his ‘booty’ was gone.

“Don’t bother with her. If she ran off into the woods, she won’t make it out alive.” Jayce responded, obviously more concerned with the loss of some his men and two of his hounds.

“Curses, I was hoping fer some good ‘ol time with dat girl.” Ivan moaned in disappointment “ah well, I’ll be havin’ me fun burning this ‘ere son of a bitch.”

[Squ]

Trying to ignore the exhaustion and painful sting in the back of her throat from the heavy breathing, Teefa scuttled through the dark forest. As her hands were tied behind her back, she was unable to extend them to push away any tree branches. As a result, an occasional branch lashed at her face. It didn’t really matter as there were worse things to worry about. Teefa wanted to get out of the forest and away from its dangers as fast a possible.

It was nearly too dark to see and the silhouettes of the trees were hardly visible. There was only the sound of Teefa’s boots sloshing through the muddy surface. The temperature had dropped significantly and Teefa’s wet clothes only contributed to the icy chills that ran over her body. She knew that if she didn’t find a warm or at least dry place, she would succumb to hypothermia.

Occasionally slipping and sliding over the wet and uneven soil, Teefa prevented herself from falling by letting herself bump into a tree with her shoulders. Even though it hurt, it was much better than to land in a pool of mud. Just as she was regaining her balance after such an event, the tip of her boot got caught in the root of a tree that arched from the ground. Unable to break her fall, Teefa landed with a loud thud on her face and chest on a mossy patch of dirt. Even though the patch was soft, it still felt like a punch in the face.

Slowly rolling to her side, she recovered and sat up. Tears rolled over her cheeks, creating lines as they cleared some of the dirt on her face. “I’m sorry...” she whimpered “I’m sorry for everything I have done wrong in order to deserve this...”

Rising back to her feet, Teefa continued to stumble through the forest. To matters worse: there was a painful sensation in her ankle with every step she took.

[Squ]

Battered from the relentless cold wind, the young girl’s movements became slow. The constant shivering of her body was the only motivation for her to keep moving and find a warm place. The likelihood of finding such a place however was all but slim. Dim light from the moon barely shone through the forest’s canopy but was enough for Teefa to continue her escape. Everywhere she looked, there were trees and even though she must have been running for what felt like hours, it didn’t seem like the forest was going to let her get out anytime soon.

With her body completely worn-out, Teefa stopped to rest, leaning with her shoulder against a big tree; her eyes were half closed. As the exhaustion took over, she slumped down to her knees; too tired to stand any longer. Her eyelids became heavy and all that she wanted right now was to just close her eyes and fall asleep.

I’m going to die here, aren’t I? Cold and lonely in this deep, dark forest. Maybe I have deserved such a fate.

As Teefa finally closed her eyes, a last, small tear rolled down her face; the wet trail it left on her cheek felt cold and it was the final sensation that she was able to feel before all went dark.

[Squ]

“I’ve decided to run away; Far away.”
“Long have I dreaded a day as this, but seeing as how you suffer, I understand.”
“I... I’m really sorry; I don’t want to leave you, but my parents...”
“There is no need for you to explain. I know how things are.”
“You will always be my best friend. I will never forget you.”
“Nor will I forget you. Here take this--”
“Your necklace? But that’s...”
“Consider it a parting gift. It will protect you, and you will have something to remember me by.”
“Thank you, Foori. I will always cherish this.”
“It should be me to thank you, my child. May the light guide you on your journeys.”
“I guess this is goodbye then?”
“Farewell Kalestiya...”
“Farewell...”
“Can you hear me?”
“What?”
“Are you alright?”
“Of course, I—“
“Hey you!”

With a shock, Teefa awoke from her dream. Quickly gathering her thoughts she noticed a young man, clad in pelt, crouched right next to her; his hand was holding on to hers.

“Take it easy. I’m not going to hurt you” The man’s voice was calm and soothing “are you hurt?”

Confused and alarmed, Teefa quickly tried to rise to her feet but the painful sting in her ankle cause her to fall back against the tree she was leaning against. “My ankle...” she huffed.

“You’re ankle? Is it broken?”
“Maybe... I don’t know.” Teefa replied with a soft groan.
“Alright, I’ll carry you. My cabin is nearby; we can go and treat your ankle there.”

Although slightly distrustful of the young man, Teefa didn’t feel like being left behind in the forest again and perhaps this stranger, regardless of his intentions, would be able to help her out of it. With his strong arms he gently lifted her of the ground and began carrying her through the forest.

Daylight shone through the leaves of the high trees and Teefa wondered for how long she had been passed out. It was strange, her body did not feel cold at all and she could sense a warm glow over her chest.

“So, what are you doing out here in this forest?” the young man stared at the path in front of him as he asked the question “are you in some kind of trouble?” Not sure what to say or if it was wise to say anything, Teefa only shook her head briefly.

The man’s pace was slow but steady and with every step he took she could feel the beat of his steps reverberating through his arms; it was a calming sensation, like a child being rocked in a cradle. The young man glanced at her once, but kept quiet for the remainder of the trip. Teefa took a deep breath -- not in trouble? He probably knew she was -and still is- in trouble. He seemed familiar with the surroundings, so he probably knew very well what goes on around here.

Taking a moment to think about what happened during that cold night, her encounter with Sethric and the bandits... Sethric... Teefa whispered a short prayer for his safety, even though he was a savage beast that didn’t know better, he helped her; he was on her side.

“We’re here.”

Teefa turned her had and gazed at the small wooden cabin. It was built right next to a tree, consisting of sturdy trunks with a thatched roof. A single door and window was on the front side. Shifting her eyes to the young man their eyes met, causing her to look away again almost immediatly.

"Lets get you tended to, and then we'll have a nice talk."



I've decided to let this is the end of this chapter. I don't know what Sethric had originally planned, but I wanted to tie a nice ending to it with some sort of title statement. The next 'chapter' will be done in a new thread for another time.

I hope I have done a reasonable job.

[Tainted Bushido]

Overall: This quest held such promise at the beginning, I felt that Sethric walking out hurt more than helped. While it’s unavoidable for such things to happen, I always feel like I was given a glimpse at something that could have been awesome, and then the door is shut before I get to see that awesomeness.

Onto the judging!

STORY

Continuity ~ 2/10. While I had an idea of where these two characters were coming from, continuity requires more than just showing me how characters got to the beginning of the story. For truly high scores, continuity must be kept in the thread as well. A good example of continuity errors could be seen in my recent story Sacred Lie, where I forgot which arm my character had injured, and tried to make a point of using said injured arm. This is the sort of things that require you to go back to each others posts, even going through your own, to remember a detail that has been described.

Setting ~ 3/10. I felt Setting was largely ignored here. I got the feeling of a forest; however I also was confused by several things. The first was Squ you mention falling into a puddle of water, which was never described there. There was no mention of it having been a rainy day, nor of a river being around. Perhaps it was the blood, but then if that was true, why the mud later on? I felt there was no consistency in story description.

Pacing ~ 1/10. The problem with pacing, was it was so jarringly different that I just couldn’t get a feel for things. It seemed like a comedy of errors in that every time Sethric turned around, Squ was getting in more trouble. Compounding this was the jarring sense of time I get when Sethric is talking about it being afternoon, and suddenly it becomes night. There is little to no transition or even a frame of reference to the time of day until suddenly the moon’s peeking through the canopy. Perhaps each post is a time lapse, but it jarring to go from immediate response, to time lapse with no sense that it should be occurring.

CHARACTER

Dialogue ~ 2/10. Dialogue was rather off. One second Sethric is talking rather normally, and the next he’s turned into Gollum from Lord of the Rings. This change was rather suddenly, with little to no explanation. I literally had to assume that it was bloodlust, which is bad. A lot of the dialogue also seemed generic, especially from the bandits. They could have used a bit more fleshing out than, “I’m gunna rape yah yuck!” and “Lets kill him for getting Willy!”

Action ~ 3/10. The action seemed either way to easy, or way too forced. One example is Sethric attacking the bandits, one kill yeah, I could see that happening if you got the jump on them. Killing two men AND the dogs seemed a bit of a stretch, after maybe the second death you’d see more fighting, and by the third it’d be a unified and coordinated front. Even if its as simple as they all start ganging up on the poor half vampire, it would have been a lot harder to claim victims three and four.

Persona ~ 3/10. I got a sense of who people were, only vaguely. Squ was rather annoying unfortunately on this front. All I got was a scared little girl who knew NOTHING. That’s all well and good, but I looked at the profile, and saw some rather interesting things there, like she’s a noble. I could never have told you that reading the thread, I thought she was a peasant girl with no abilities. You would think that if this girl had left her family to go adventuring, she’d at least think of home more often. Maybe even think about how she missed the warm beds and the safety of daddy’s guards.

Sethric was another anomaly to me. I felt the man gave me nothing to go on other than he’s reclusive, and vampiric. While that’s all well and good, perhaps a bit more insight into who he is could make him a lot more interesting than say, watching him go bonkers for food. I felt like a few bits of him were shielding me from getting to see better parts of him. Maybe if Seth had stayed, we’d have gotten to see his more human aspects.

WRITING STYLE

Technique ~ 3/10. I saw little variety. The technique of the colored text, while interesting was rather annoying to read on the whole. I feel that dialogue should be written in the normal sense, rather than color coded to other people. Also, I’m on darkness, and color coding made the grey particularly light, I could read it, but it was rather hindering to do so. I would suggest using quotation marks in the future Sethric if you wish to pick up your vampire again.

Mechanics ~ 3/10. Missing letters, punctuation and even words hurt you Seth. Especially with the jarring jumps from Sethric the annoyed man, to Sethric the Bloodthirsty vampire. Squ was also guilty of missing words, wrong words, and misspelled words. In the future I would suggest a spell check program like the one present in Microsoft Word, or www.SpellCheck.net. Also, read your posts aloud, and see how they flow. Think about what’s needed, and add to it. The barebones writing gave me no character insight.

Clarity ~ 2/10. I had no sense in what was going on, had to reread posts and generally had no sense of direction in where the story was going. I’m sorry but this in turn hurt you in several areas. In the future, I would suggest figuring out a story and where you want it to go, and go with that story. Open ended stories suffer greatly from the vagueness and lack of clarity as to what’s happening, and because of that, they suffer at a basic level.

MISCELLANEOUS

Wild Card ~ 3/10. I would have given a higher wildcard, however Squ, when continuing the thread you preformed a particular big no-no. If you do not have permission, you cannot write actions for another character, even if they have not been present for awhile. Figure out other ways to write out the story, but having Sethric continue his assault and get tied to a tree was flagrant bunnying. I would have suggested skipping that, and while they’re “looking” at the body having Squ run off, same effect, with less implied death.

TOTAL ~ 25/100.

REWARDS!

Sethric gets 300 EXP and 75 Gold!

Squ gets 300 EXP and 75 Gold!

Any questions regarding what was said can be addressed to me via PM or AIM SethDahlios.

[Taskmienster]

Exp and GP added.