Blood red stone

[Daggertail]

(closed, starts in a tavern in Radasanth but moves to the red forest)

Bah, this is no good. How can there be no one worthy of helping me find hunt for treasure. It wasn't something I could do alone, for it was in the red forest. Yeah, the world famous woods that is permanently and filled to the brim with plants and animals that would like nothing better than to snack on you.

My drink had long lost it's fizz. It seemed like a nice try to get in the mood as to drink elfin champaign, though the elves had a different unpronounceable name for it. Still I had nursed the damn thing with an occasional sip until I damned well had some one.

The Tavern wasn't the loudest, I had tried those first and came up with nothing. Okay, I was kicked out for ruining the tables with my tail as I absently fidgeted away. This place was quiet, the barkeep was doing his best to stay awake and the drunks snoozing away. The good news was that I didn't have to search through many people and I wasn't distracted if someone of interest made a grand entrance.

I heard the door open and my ears perked up at the sound of heavy leather boots on the old wood. Leather armor creaked and cracked in between the snoring and my tapping fingers.

"I want a Dwafin gutblaster." The man ordered a tough drink. I know it was a tough drink because one time on a dare I drank a swig to find out it lived up to its name. My eyes perked from the bored daze to see that this man was as tough as his desired drink. Short hair with spikes, a scar running down a side of his face where either luck or his fortitude kept the eye from falling out or going blind.

"Hey!" I called out and moved next to the man. "I was wondering if you could help me?"

"h.mmm..." The man was in the middle of a swig as he eyed me for a second and then swallowed before making a grin. "Well if you need rescuing from the horrid grasps of sexual frustration, I'm your hero."

My tail curled around the chair leg like a viper acting like a python. "Sorry, but I need no rescuing from any kind of metaphor. I'm a treasure hunter and am need of a partner and you look quite tough. I spit the prize with you 80/20." I smiled.

He frowned for a bit then smiled. "No deal. Now if you go upstairs and spread yourself for me then we can bargain."

My head flushed a bit with embarrassment before the blood went boiling hot with anger. "Go stick your thing in an angry sea monster." Glared at him and even found my hands on a wand of lightning, ready to teach him a lesson.

"Oh ho, the lady has a bit of a bite, not much wit though." The man laughed and finished his ale and placed a coin on the counter. "Sorry bar keep, I better find some different place to hunt girls. I at least want some clever refusals if I'm going to get refused. And this girls small enough that a fisherman has to throw her back."

I growled as the man walked off and I sighed.

The bar keep shot me an evil look. "Miss, grow up. I don't want you chasing my customers away because they think you're the best they'll hook if they prowl my joint."

Damn, why can't men ever get it that there's better things to do than sex and that they probably were never even worth the effort of the insult. Well I was going to give this place ten mor minutes.

[Elijah_Morendale]

Mod notes: Elijah P.O.V. and talking bits in white, Nadia in red.

It was getting dark out. I've grown accustomed to getting back to my room at the inn before the sun set over the buildings of Radasanth--there was too much danger, especially for me, after the lights went out. I had done well in hiding in plain sight. I still owed what's-his-name three thousand gold deep poker debt. For whatever it was worth, he hadn't found me yet, since I made sure that I switched up inn residencies every few days, and as far as I could tell, there were no bounties on my head yet... Yet being the key word there.

It had been a little over a month since I suffered that rather embarrassing defeat at the hands of that one demon chick and her amazing tail in the Citadel. Thinking about it still makes my throat twinge in phantom pain; having a bone spike rammed through your jugular isn't an experience anyone would soon forget. Yeah, sure, those monks did a fine job of patching me up, but the emotional scars of bleeding all over a dusty, cluttered battlefield would remain forever. Also, I kind of wished that they would've fixed something else that was wrong with me.

Nadia must've caught wind of my thoughts, because she was drilling a hole through my skull with her deep blue eyes. My imaginary friend's usual toothy grin was nowheres to be seen; her attractive features were instead forced into a scowl that made her look like a gargoyle.

I locked my hands behind my head as we continued our hurried stroll down the cobblestoned road. "Smile, dammit. You look horrendous like that."

"Elijah..." Oh great, she used my first name. I shook my head as she continued to scold me. "You need me and you know it. That's what happens when you have a bad childhood, bounced around from apathetic family member to apathetic family member. You don't develop the proper people skills and you go through life without fully trusting anyone, mainly out of fear that they'll dump you as soon as they possibly can."

As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. My heart sank as I recalled the events of my childhood back in good old Salvar. After I had left those lands to become an adventurer, I had created a sort of imaginary friend/split personality to cope with the solitude. What scared me the most was how quickly I had accepted Nadia as part of me. Was I that desperate for companionship? I guess I was. And now, to my irritation, she was here to stay unless I saw a shrink or something.

I could feel her arm drape around my neck. Just to drive the point home, she whispered in my ear. "That's right, you ain't ever getting rid of me." She let out a small giggle that sent a chill down my spine.

My footsteps echoed through the barren streets as I rounded a corner. Like I said, normally I would be safe and sound in an inn somewheres downtown by now, but my stomach had been screaming at me all night to feed it. I had a little bit more gold than I remembered, so I decided on a halfway decent tavern for tonight's feeding session.

One particular tavern caught my eye. Due to the darkness, I couldn't make out the name burned into the sign that was hanging over the door, but all the familiar sights, sounds, and unfortunately, smells were present. I lightly hopped up the stone steps and wrapped my fingers around the iron knob, slowly pushing the oak door open with a creak. A rush of stale air hit me, causing my eyes to shut for a second. I despised the scent of old tobacco and alcohol, but... Dammit, was I hungry!

The place was quiet, which relieved me somewhat. But the lack of patrons made it easier for me to spot a certain redhead. Nadia was quick to point her out as well. "Hey, we know that chick..." As if the crazy hair and black dress code--barely there leather--weren't hints enough, my eyes locked onto a bombshell.

This young girl had a tail. A tail that was tipped a bone spike. Yep, that was Tyria.

I silently mouthed some four letter words as I quickly snuck over to a corner table, praying that the loud door hadn't announced my arrival to the demon girl.

[Daggertail]

The door creaked again, revealing the next patron to enter and take part in drinking or trying to figure out what he would do. There was something special about this man. Yeah it was mister crazy, Elijah. He was the man I beaten at the citadel to get the map that I had and was searching for a partner to help me solve its puzzle.

But he probably would never work. I mean I beaten him in one on one combat and managed the fatal strike as well as being crazy enough to talk to himself or some invisible being. It would be too unpredictable and not worth it.

But then again he was better than that horny dog that came in earlier. He wasn't useless as I wasn't able to kill him easily, and it was the fact that I had my dangerous tail free when he had me pinned that I won.

So he would be of some use and I could always use him as a decoy or as bait. My mouth made a smile as I had found my partner. It was time to take what I could get and just hope it would work. No, it would work and since I knew I could beat him: I knew I could handle a mutiny by him.

Heck it'd probably do him some good to come with me.

I smiled and walked to kid with a swaying of hips and tail. "Hey, I didn't think I'd see you here. You gave me quite a fight though in the end you were a tad too slow." Maybe it wasn't the best thing to say so I cut out the small talk. "Still you fought well and are better than any of the pricks I ran into today so it seems that fate wants you to help me. I found this map to some ruins in the Red Forest of Raiaera and it's not a good place to go alone if you don't want to be plant food. So how about it? You will get a slice of the prize of coarse."

[Elijah_Morendale]

It was seriously time for me to work on my stealth skills. Tyria noticed me as soon as I walked in the door, despite my best efforts to hide in plain sight, willing myself invisible. Her svelte body rose from the bar stool, slowly approaching me.

Underneath my breath, I rapidly repeated to myself, "Go away, go away go away..." A cold sweat began to form on my forehead. Who knows what she was going to do.

The demon drew closer, swaying her hips in a manner that I would've considered seductive, had she not freakin' killed me before.

"Go away, go away, go away!" My harshly whispered pleas for solitude were ignored as she stopped, standing at the other end of the oak table I had chosen. She opened her mouth to speak, but I was too busy keeping track of where her tail was flicking about. One of my hands was hidden in my lap, concealing a freshly-crafted eight inch long spike of ice that was begging to be rammed through her chest--in self-defense, of course.

The redheaded demon dropped two words that caught the attention of both myself and Nadia: Map and prize. Those two in conjunction could only mean one thing; that there was a good chance that if I agreed to go with the demon on her little quest, I could snag a few good pieces of treasure.

I chanced a quick glance to my left, catching Nadia staring at me with one of her trademark ear to ear grins. "Spoils, chief! This could make you rich!" I nodded in agreement, trying to make the action as inconspicuous as possible. I bet Tyria still thinks I'm crazy--which I'm pretty sure I am already, or damn near close to it.

I mulled over the prospects of going on a real adventure until my train of thought hit a snag. How do I know I can trust this demon girl? I mean, yeah, I can see the map clenched in her hand and all, but... This bitch killed me in the Citadel, so how am I supposed to trust her to not kill me again for my part of whatever treasure she wanted my help hunting down?

I quickly slid the icicle up my sleeve as I stood up. "Sounds quite interesting, but can you give me a few minutes? Nature's calling." Without waiting for a response, I bolted from the table and through a door in the back marked "men". The horrible stench that is usually synonymous with public restrooms filled my nose. I gagged as Nadia sort of phased herself through the door.

My imaginary friend fell victim to the odor as well, pinching her nose shut and reeling back. "Oh, damn, son! It fucking reeks in here!" With her free hand she began to fan the air in front of her.

"No shit, it's a bathroom." I leaned up against the wall, shoving my hands in my denim jacket's pockets. I closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh. "So, what do you think about this?"

"Treasure."

I waited five seconds for her to add on to her statement. "Treasure. That's it?"

Nadia put a finger up to her chin, trying to appear thoughtful. "Yep."

"Come on, there's more to it than treasure! I mean, the name Red Forest... Seems sort of ominous, don't you think?"

"Treasure!"

I shook my head in dismissal. "That, and how can I--we, sorry--trust Tyria? She seems kind of sketchy to me, you know what I'm saying? She was just... too nice, too forward in asking me--us--to come along with her on this treasure hunt."

Nadia appeared a few inches in front of my face, screaming her imaginary lungs out. "DUDE! TREASURE! How many times do I have to say that to get it through your thick skull? Besides, if she crosses you, I'll just assume control over your body and beat the living fuck out of her." I winced at the idea of being scolded by a figment of my imagination; it was all I could do to not explode back at her and get kicked out of a tavern that has yet to feed me.

I conceded victory to my greedier, more psychopathic side. If I hadn't, then I'm sure she'd turn my dreams tonight into nightmares of the worst kind. I muttered a simple "whatever" as I left the bathroom, looking to see the demon girl standing where I left her just a minute ago. She was still flicking that tail of hers, something that still sent a chill down my spine. I made a show of checking my zipper as I strolled back to my table.

I nodded as I spoke to Tyria. "Okay, I'm in, I guess. So, about this map you got in your hand there and The Red Forest..."