The Dead Will Hunt

The Darkling jumped to his feet and spun his gladius around his hand so the blade was facing the ground he then supported his weight into the blade which sliced through the sprinters rotted head and brain like butter he pulled it and looked at Hadrian he knew the undead would be to much.

As Hadrian stood at the ready a zombie missing a foot was stumbling towards him he was no were near close enough to inflict any damage but the darkling wasn't going to take any chances. He produced his black eleven dagger and threw it at a slight angle, it connected with the zombies head and poked out his left eye socket Draylas sprinted over and pulled the dagger from its head holding it and the gladius out ready for a battle he looked at Hadrian.

"A hunter never leaves another hunter." He said as he glanced at the rest of the group.

"Donr worry we'll make it to Greyshore, covered in zombie bllod tired and hungry but we'll make it." He spoke as he grinned making his joke.

Draylas went back to serious afterall this was a. Fight and he hoped and prayed that the only thing on the other side of that hill was grass.

Hearing the undead, fear welled up inside her belly. Oceana looked around, she had no real weapons in which to fight, but seeing Popurum picking up rocks gave her an idea.

"Run!" she told Asar and Popurum.

She grabbed a rock in each hand and placed them beside her. Working quickly she stayed low and tied on end of her whip around a small tree, she pulled it taught and remaining low, she crouched behind a clump of swamp grass.

As two undead went through her trap she pulled hard tripping them. Oceana lifted the heavy rocks up and bashed the first undead as hard as she could with both fists of rock. Bones in it's face crunched and caved in. She battered and beat it until one of the rocks met with brain. She left it in there.

The other undead clawed and grabbed her leg. Biting air and nearly flesh until she brought the rock down hard on it's teeth, shattering all it came in contact with. She hammered down on the zombies' face putting it's nose through it's brain.

She untied her whip and cracked it in the air....breathing heavily she crouched into a fighting stance. It was only at that moment she realized no undead were near her, she allowed herself a glance back at the two zombies she had battled....

Nasty! She struck out and wrapped her whip around the legs of a zombie right in front of Hadrian, pulling it's feet out from under it and delivering it to him as if to say here, this one's yours finish it....

Draylas heard the crack of the whip and new Oceana was staying, he was breathing heavy the undead were closing in around him and he was running out of ideas.

He thrusted with is dagger is sliced the head off a zombie as it fell to the ground he stomped on it crushing the head as brain matter exploded around his boot. He grabbed his gladius with both hands and swung it behind and over his head.

CRUNCH!

His blade was stuck in the top part of a zombie's head another zombie infront of him reached out and Draylas used the blade as support and ran up along the zombies chest he flipped back off the zombie pulling his blade from the other zombie behind him as he landed behind it.

He swung the blade down at a angle and sliced the top half of the zombies head off.

He jumped in the air and spun in a backflip 360 like motion his blade slicing along the bodys and throats off a few undead not killing them but putting some distance the ones he didn't cut he kicked backwards.

And then it hit him he was underneath a tree a long branch extended out over him he looked in Oceana's direction.

"OCEANA THE TREE!" he shouted as she soon knew what he meant.

She cracked the whip back and flung it forward it wrapped around the tree branch the zombie's claws were inches from Drayla's armor when he reached his hand out Oceana came swinging by with her hand extended he, he grabbed on and she pulled them from the group of undead.

He reached for his dagger and took it out, he looked at Oceana then to the dagger and then to her whip. The dagger was crafted for just his hands which where larger then Oceanas so using it would be awkward for her.

"Thats it!" Draylas said as he reached down and grabbed hold of a zombie's arm he stomped on the shoulder snapping it off he then grabbed the forearm and snapped that he used the dagger to cut through the flesh. He then wrapped the fingers off the undead around the dagger and handed the zombie arm with dagger attached to it, to Oceana.

"Dont lose that blade," he said as he sprung off the tree grabbing the branch that the whip was attached to. He ran to the end and took out his elven bow and a strong light elven arrows he knocked one and aimed below.

A Sprinter lept through the air reaching out towards the Darkling he pulled back quickly released the arrow it entered between the eye's of the sprinter and out the back of its head sticking in to the ground below.

Draylas pulled up the whip and pulled on it, he took a few moments to untie it from the branch and tossed it down to Oceana he went back to shooting zombies with his bow.

Nearly all his arrows hit there heads but the ones that didnt hit either the zombies bodies or legs which would hinder there movement for the second shot, but he wasnt sure how long the arrows would last, and there were alot of the shufflers down below.

Petra's hooks swung through the air, making a faint whistling noise. They connected with a zombies head, tearing through it. He looked at them in shock, stunned that it actually worked that well. With another swing, he hooks a zombie's feet and slams it on his face, crushing its head with his boot.

He looks approvingly at the hooks he once saw as a curse. This might not be so bad after all, he tought to himself, wrapping the cables around his fist and slamming a zombie through the face. "Hell yes!"

He launches a hook into zombies gut, breaking its spine as he pulled his hook out. "How many are there?!"

Asar drew her mace slapping a zombie in the face tearing the rotten flesh revealing bits of its skull, not killing it, but thrusting it backward.

The weapon was far to big for her. While ideal for a human man of large proportions. Asar swung her mace crashing it into a stiff's head. The mace stuck.
The zombie was dead, but her mace certainly didn't think so. Asar propped her leg on his stomach and pulled as hard as she could. her weapon came free, launching her backwards.

At first Draylas figured the group would handle agains the amounts of undead he watched the way the others fought and he wasn't sure but he figured they weren't as skilled as he hoped and of course he didn't want to take any chances, the undead kept coming he wondered how many there were and how they all were able to follow the group without being detected earlier.

Were the undead getting smarter learning to stalk and hunt? It seems very possible.

Draylas pulled his bow string back arrow knocked his eyes met a zombies and the zombie stared back as if it knew the darkling was looking at him, he realeased the arrow and it whized by the zombies head, the stiff turned to the side dodging the arrow!

"No it can't be you can't do that!" He shouted angry the second arrow was dead on killing the undead.

There were to many Draylas knew he could outrun them and hide his ranger/hunter skills woiuld help him do so.

"I would highly recomnend you all go to Greyshore I will soon follow but we will all die here if ww stay!" He yelled his bow running out of arrows he placed it on his back and produced his black elven gladius.

He twirled it in his hand and jumped from the tree branch pulling the blade over his head with both hands bringing it downward with great speed and force, it connected with a stiffs head sliding through into the sternum, he kicked the zombie away from his blade as he dropped to the ground avoding a zombie arm.

He swung the blade chopping off the zomnies legs he swung his feet up and hopped to them. He swung his gladius downward upon the zombies head slicing through skull and brain alike.

Another zombie charged him and he thew the gladius into its head he kicked backwar pushing a second zombie back, the darkling ran as fast as he could and grabbed ahold of the gladius that was stuck in the zombies head he then jumped ripping it from his head swinging it one handed still in the air slicing a zombies arm off as he landed that same zombie reached for him with his other arm draylas then ducked under it and thrusted his gladius forwar the tip entering the upper jaw and exting the top of the head.

"Well friends what are decision" he said still fighting moving and ducking and weaving making sure not to get caught in a large group.

Hadrian fought as fierce as he could. He may not have had training but he was brutal in his style.

He attacked a zombie by kicking it's knee out from under it, breaking it backwards, then he took his dagger and drove it into the top of the stiffs head as deep as he could as the zombie started to fall back the boy took off, running up the zombie and launching into the next one knees first into it's chest, dropping it to the ground. The boy-hunter took his sabre and chopped at the zombie head with furious quickness until there wasn't anything left but two bloody mutilated halves.

Hadrian got up and and ran after the next two zombies on his left. He ducked the swing of the first one, rolling right past it and threw both feet into the feet of the second dropping him forward into the first zombie as he started to roll out.

He didn't plan to get coat caught in the broken tibula of the second zombie stopping his roll as he was still half under the stiff.

"CRAP!" Shouted Hadrian as he started to wiggle out from under the undead. The two hadn't gotten up yet, but the stiffs still out there were shambling towards him rather faster than he care for them to.

"CRAP TWICE" he roared as he saw a sprinter leaping from the back of the group of undead, working his way to the front. Where Hadrian lay.

Petra swung down from a tree branch, trying to grab Hadrian, missing horribly.

He swung back by again, knocking the sprinter on its back, but still missing his target. "DAMMIT!"

He finally launched his other hook, grabbing Hadrian's shirt and pulled him just out of reach of the sprinter. Somewhat satisfied, Petra landed near the edge of the treeline, unsuspecting that something lurked behind him. He heard movement, but he couldn't dodge in time, he felt teeth sink deep in his shoulder.

He yelled in frustration and pain, everyone and every zombie looking at him.

The next sound anyone heard was a squeal, as Chomp flew from Petra's shoulder and hit the sprinter in the face, his weight smashing the decrepit skull.

"I swear if I catch rabies..." he muttered.

Saving throw against rabies

The member 'Aldion' has done the following action : Dices roll

'd20' :

Result : 4

Petra didn't get rabies but what he did get was a feeling of rest and euphoria.

SHA-BOOM!!!!

The cannonball hit his spine and snapped it in half sending face first into the mud.

Petra couldn't feel his legs.

"FIRE ANOTHER ONE!" a voice yelled.

Just outside of the swamp in a grassy field a group of seven men, all human, stood next to a cannon.

SHA-BOOM!!!!

The cannonball shot through the air taking out a group of twelve undead.

SHA-BOOM!!!!

Another shot, and another large group of undead blown in several directions.

Two of the humans rushed forward. All of the humans had odd tiger stripes tattooed on their left forearms.

One of the humans carried a large war hammer and swung smacking a zombie in the skull, ending it's existence.

The other human carried two pistols and fired both.

BLAM BALM!

And the final zombie fell.

Petra was unconscious.

The other five men rushed toward the group. One armed with two hand cross-bows aimed them directly at Asar.

THUNK! THUNK!

She fell to the ground, two crossbow bolts sticking out of her chest.

The one with the war hammer spun and smacked Oceana in the face with the handle knocking her to the ground and bloodying her nose. As she got to her knees one of the humans kicked her in the chin knocking her out cold.

Another one of the humans grabbed Popurum's fist before he could throw a rock and used Popurum's own fist to hit the halfling in the face, putting him to sleep.

Dryalas rushed the humans. One swung a longsword catching the darkling across the face slicing a deep cut across his right cheek, over the bridge of his nose and followed across his left cheek.

The darkling fell, knocked out cold.

Hadrian scrambled to his feet.

WAM!

One of the humans kicked Hadrian in the ribs, dropping him. Hadrian knew instantly that several of his ribs were broken.

He stumbled backwards and one punched him in the face. Teeth and blood flew from his mouth.

He stumbled forwards and one punched him in the face. Hadrian heard a ringing noise and blood poured out of his ear.

He stumbled to the side and one punched him in the face. Hadrian felt his orbital bone, the part of the skull that surrounds the eye socket, crush under the blow.

He stumbled to the other side and one punched him in the jaw sending his lower mandible crooked on his face.

Hadrian fell to the ground not moving.

The only things left standing was the group of seven human men.

"Well done Bravo Tigers," the man with the warhammer said proudly, "gather these sleeping beauties up. They'll sell for a ton on the market-place."

Draylas was a darkling a very good fighter his mission was that of eternal so they darklings from the. Hurdlek mountains made sure to train him well, often casting him out for weeks a time namked with a dagger and a old loaf of bread. The wound on his face would heal in time leaving a scar.

He felt tension a slight pain he opened his eyes faintly he was being drug his body resting in a cart laying on his stomach his finger tips dragging along the ground.

Leather strips bound his hands and feet the ones along his wrists were securly fasten and would needed to be cut the ones on his ankles were poorly done, but undoing them would mean detection. He was trained to be cold, heartless and calm in any situation always ready for the fight....and he was.

His hands gently combed the ground he mainly felt mud and small stones the something wriggled its way into his hands, it was a small sharp stick he tucked it between his wrists using the ground as leverage to do so and folded his hands together conceling the make shift weapon.

Ironicly the Bravo Tigers forgot about Draylas's black mountain lion companion Sasha.

She was tagging along a ways behind undetectable by the group.

Meanwhile Draylas lightly opened his eyes the rest of the group was in possesion of the men as was Draylas he was afriad they wouldn't wake up in a fight, he could here the men talking about prices and locations Draylas spotted a pack mule with his weapons on it surly in reach. But then again he had to take in effect of the skill of the men and the fact that he would have to prop his blade and saw through his restraints which would take time.

He thought of a plan.

The man with the war hammer was leadint the pack, the one who subded Draylas was at the back of the cart at angle between the darkling and his gear.

"If I through myself up I could squat down and jump from the cart stabing out his eyes, Sasha would also come into play, of course they could be taking us to greyshore I could wait to attack untill then...no no it needs to happen now." He thought multiple scenarios and multiple out comes results, varials everything, his plan should work he hoped.


He squeezed rhe base of the pointy stick with his wrists and slightly leaned his weight carying him off the cart, the man who knocked draylas out approched him to place hom in the back of the cart. When he got close enough Draylas would stab out his eyes Sasha would the cause enough of a distraction to untie his anke restraints he would then pull off the Glafius from the pack mule and saw through his restraints.

He was then unsure of what to do hopefully wake the others and fight the men if he made it that far.

Only a few more feet now and the human would be blinded....Draylas waited.

The man walked toward Dryalas and stopped about five feet from him.

"Get up!" he barked at the darkling kicking dirt and mud into Dryalas' face and mouth, causing the darkling to cough.

While the darkling coughed up the dirt and mud (and what he realized was also some of the left behind remnants of where the pack mule had walked) the big man walked over and grabbed him by the leather strap around his wrists. He then saw the sharpened stick.

"You little son of a--"

"OOF!" was the only noise the darkling made when the human yanked the stick from him and punched him hard in the gut.

Two of the other Bravo Tigers walked over.

"Fucker was plotting!" the first one said.

The two new ones grabbed Dryalas's arms and the first one proceed to beat on the darkling, hitting him over and over and over in the stomach.

"GHWAAAG!!!"

Dryalas puked up a large amount of blood.

Far too much. He knew an organ had burst inside of his body.

"GOT BLOOD ON MY BOOTS!" the big man yelled.

THWAM!

He punched Dryalas in the chest hard knocking him to the ground. Dryalas began coughing up dark deep crimson.

The big man had deflated and collapsed on of the darkling's lungs.

"BASTARD!" the big man yelled stomping on the darklings head hard.

The last thing the darkling remembered was the pool of warm wet sticky blood under his head on the ground and the leader with the warhammer storming forward.

"ENOUGH! We can't sell 'em in Greyshore if they're dead you idiot!"

Dryalas slipped into blackness.

I wasn't scared when I was captured by the civil agents those many years ago. Quite the contrary. I wasn't aware of their intentions when they found me. It wasn't until later when they put me in the ring with Erron. That was when I felt fear. It wasn't Erron that made me afraid, though he is a man to fear.. It was the notion that man had let themselves regress inot lesser men. The Civil Agents showed just how high man can climb and how far below where they started that fall took them.


Lets hope others have not fallen so far down.




an excerpt from the journal of Turk'en Ra'hell
<--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->



Hadrian stood in darkness. Nothing was around him. Nothing at all. Only nothingness.

"Well this is boring. I hope I'm not dead. That would suck."




***"Your not dead Hadrian, but you will be if you don't listen."***

Hadrian was confused. He couldnt's see the ground beneath his feet, but now he was hearing voices.


***You have the chance to be a great warrior of Nerin Toth."***


***"Don't ever give up!***


The darkness crept up and enveloped Hadrian who was fighting the process.




The darkness won.

Draylas was taught to feel no pain to embrace it.

"In great pain you are your strongest my son," the words were like a blanket comforting and echoing through out Draylas's mind.

He was unaware of the situation it was as if he was awake with. Out being awake. He could hear is slow steady breathing he felt the sharp pokes of his colapsed lung everytime he inhaled and even worse when he exhaled.

He felt the aching sensation in his stomach were his liver head been ruptered his wounds would need to be mended as soon as possible.

His eyes faintly opened muffled voices were heard but no light only darkness.

He faded in and out before returning back to reality, he felt something else sasha's life form drawing nearer, they would have to escape before the folk of greyshore learned they were being sold if they found that out and then escaped they would be up against a entire city.

The Darkling spoke softly to himself in his native tongue.

"Come my pet, you must not be afraid....kill them," hi eyes snapped open he gathered a mouth full of blood.

The man that hut him so badly earlier looked at him and walked over to slap him back in his place.

Draylas spit the blood in the main eyes distracting him Sasha lept from her hiding place startling the other men, she was fast and strong.

And if the men's cart was being pulled by horses they would be startled and take off giving the group a well needed gap between the group.

Draylas stayed put working at his ankle restraints eventually on doing them on of the men stood facing Sasha, when he did so Draylas reached over taking his long sword slicing his wrist restraints with it. He twirled the blade ready fight and help the other group as needed.

KA-BLAM!!!

Dryalas fell to his knees. His hand and weapon lay on the ground eight feet in front of him. His wrist was nothing more than a bloody stump.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" one of the Bravo Tigers yelled and walked up hitting the darkling in the face with the butt of a rifle.

Dryalas last vision was of the man aiming the weapon at the darkling's cat.

*************************************************************

"Six-teen, Six-teen, do I hear Seven-teen? Seven-teen? Seven-teen? Seven-teen? SOLD! For two gallons of fresh water and three chickens to the man in the blue hat!"

Oceana slowly opened her eyes. A crowd of people stood nearby and she realized she was in a market place. A variety of people were bartering goods and services and an auction was taking place.

She saw the man in the blue hat walk away from the crowd leading a a second man in chains. The second man was clearly into old age and wore nothing but a dirty, stained, loin cloth. His wrists and ankles bled and were scabbed over and infected from the steel manacles around his wrists.

She glanced around and soon noticed she was in a cage. Not a large one either. It was too short to stand, and she noticed her own wrists and ankles were manacled as well.

Glancing around she saw the others in cages as well, also manacled.

"Don't bother trying to escape," came the voice.

Glancing the other direction she saw a small boy, no older than twelve summers, naked and in a cage. Also manacled. His face was beaten and bruised and one of his eyes was a dull purple and green color, bruised and swollen shut. His wrists and ankles bled and one of his feet was beginning to turn a sickly black color.

"The people here in Greyshore aren't all bad. Sometimes mercenaries like the Bravo Tigers' group find people outside of the city and capture them. Then we end up getting sold here in the auction square. Not everyone that buys us are bad people. Usually they just want workers. People to clean their homes or tend to their livestock," the small boy said.

"Most want that at least," he finished very softly and looking down trying to not make eye contact.

Seeing the boys wounds Oceana thought of her own.

They had been healed! She glanced at her companions again. All of them still were asleep but their wounds were healed as well.

"The Naturalists do that sometimes. sometimes they use their nature magic to heal us before we get sold. It all depends on if the mercenary group that captures you, is willing to pay for healing. The Naturalists don't care for money, but do understand that this is the way things are now. So they take payment to try to at least discourage all of this. It doesn't really discourage anything at all, but I've heard they use the payments they receive to help different rangers and druids purchase payment into cities for supplies," the boy informed her.

Oceana saw the auctioneer sell off a cow.

"Don't worry though, I'm sure whoever buys you will be a good owner. I hope so at least. Not like Mister Cloud. Mister Cloud is a bad bad man. He isn't very nice. Not to me anyways," the boy said softly again trying to avoid eye contact with Oceana.

A large man stormed over to the boys cage and unlocked it.

"Get up!" he barked, grabbing a fistful of the boys dirty brown hair and dragging him out of the cage.

"OW! OWWW! YOU'RE HURTING ME!" the boy cried.

"SHUT UP!" the man yelled punching the boy in the face knocking him to the ground.

The man then lifted the boy up and over his shoulder and began walking toward the auctioneer's stage.

"Don't worry....they aren't all bad people. Just some of them," the boy said being carried away.

Oceana then noticed the others starting to wake. None of them had just witnessed what she had.

Name: Erynn Black
Age: 25
Sex: F
Race: Elven
Class: Warmage
Hair: Thigh length Black
Eyes: Light violet with dark rings
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 112

Description: Wears the sides of her hair pulled loosely back in a clip. A long black cloak covers her long black skirt and amethyst front laced halter top. Slits run up the sides of her skirt to her hips and she wears suede boots.

Weapons and Gear: She carries a great sword, pair of sais stashed in the waist band of her lower back and a dagger hidden in her right boot. She has a pack containing the general necessities for travel, spell book and spell component pouches around her waist.

**************************************************************

Erynn Black stepped through the gates of Greyshore and walked down the main street of the city with the hood of her black cloak pulled far over her face and the sides pulled around her as she moved through the press of people with the grace that was so well known of the elves.

She noticed a crowd of people and made her way up to see what all was going on. There she saw cages holding people like animals. The corner of her mouth curled up in a crooked grin as thoughts of purchasing a slave crossed her mind briefly but she thought better of it as she didn't wish to bring attention to her presence.

Erynn moved and around the back of the crowd never taking her eyes off the auction, studying each of the prisoners. She leaned up against the wagon and watched...

Popurum just sat there in his cage, his tiny legs sticking out the bars.

Popurum would have been fine. He survived a sky ship crashing. He survived a giant horde of undead that killed Mr. Bill and Captain Animals. Popurum survived decades in Port Skell, alone on the streets. He could survive as a slave...

Tears welled up in his eyes, but Popurum would not cry. He was too strong for that... The salty water trickled down his cheeks. They were cool and clean. They slightly tickled as they slid down to his chin. The tear left a streak of cleaner skin, compared to the rest of the swamp-dwelling riverfolk.

Popurum stretched his arms out over the cage. He stared at the ground away from him.

"If I had my Knight's Lance, I'd never have been captured! Wish I was magical. I'd be like... POW!"

Suddenly, a small blast of flame erupted from his hands onto the ground, slightly scorching it.

Popurum looked in amazement. His jaw drooped low, a bar almost in his open mouth.

"Did you see that?!" he said excitedly.

"You better be nice to me, now!" he said to the crowd. "I can set you on FIRE! WHOOSH!"

Draylas looked around he was not afraid he was almost a little excited this was something new in his daily life of adventure fighting and traveling.

Draylas Redoran's six pack showed with every breath he felt proud of his appearnce his muscles were toned and scared in some places. His white hair hung in his face it was perfectley straigh it stood out against his purple skin.

He looked down at the guard.

"Bet you feel high and mighty hitting me like thatm your lucky, when I get out of here I'm going to kill you that's a promise," he spoke with a devlish grin toying with the guard.

His eyes met the Erynn's she was beautiful, he smiled at her, watched her observe he smiled again and went back to messing with the guard, he was hoping his mind games worked.

The boy's words stabbed right into her heart. Fear mounted inside and a small gasp escaped her lips....

She shook it off quickly. 'I just battled undead...why should I be afraid of the living.'

Oceana knew they would come for her soon. She tried to comb through her hair with her fingers. If she would be sold, it had better be to someone who could "afford" her. She thought of some of the finer things in life....warm food, a comfortable bed.

No lock could contain her long...

She was ready. She could do this, and if the boy was right, maybe being a slave.....

There went her bravery.....s l a v e........

'oh god!'

Asar groggily sat up, her manacles dug into her flesh uncomfortably. She bit her lip as she positioned herself to look directly at Petra. She wore blisters into her ankles, but she didn't care.

Her eyes were emotionless. She stared at the sleeping human with hateful eyes.

"You threw my opossum. You lost my opossum. You probably killed my opossum."


She moved her bound hands in search of her dagger.

It wasn't there.

Of course it wasn't there! They are being held captive! Why would they leave their weapons?


The Riverfolk spoke once again to the unconscious Petra "Lucky. If we hadn't gotten captured......" She trailed off, now paying ore attention to the auction.

The small boy who had been speaking with Oceana was taken to the stage. Someone spit on him and the crowd laughed.

"An' what have we here!?" the auctioneer spoke in loud boisterous tones, "nothing but a small smidgen of a boy! Opening bid starts at one goat!"

"I'll give ya half a goat, and only the half that gets shat back out of an ogre's arse!" one of the bidders yelled.

The crowd erupted into laughter.

The boy looked down at his feet.

Popurum shot a small fireball into the ground and then shouted his words at the crowd. Everyone turned to stare at the small halfling.

"It's a Tothian mage it is!" a skinny man with a bad comb-over said in a startled manner.

"RELEASE HIM!" the auctioneer yelled.

The man with the warhammer from the Bravo Tigers ran to the stage.

"That's my property! Ya won't be releasin' anyone!" he shouted.

"He's property of the Tothian Mage Guild! You want to make money off of the Riverfolk, then you talk to them! GUARDS! Release the halfling!" the auctioneer shouted.

Guards did as they were told and before he knew it, Popurum was pulled out of the cage, un-manacled, and the guards even went as far as to brush some dust off of him.

"Our apologies sire," one of the guards said.

The entire crowd parted for Popurum to go on his way.

Dryalas sat in his cage verbally accosting a nearby guard. The guard turned toward him and laughed.

"HA! You think cause yer friend got let out yer goin' somewhere. Sorry darkling, people 'round here got a *special* use for yer type."

During all of this Petra began to awaken. He wasn't sure what had happened. His back was sore and bruised but was still healed none the less.

The boy on the stage glanced around hoping to find on opportunity to escape. He glanced at Oceana and then toward his cage where he had looked before to avert his gaze from her.

Then he did it again.

And again.

Looking back and forth between her, and the bottom of his cage.

"GAHHH!!!!" Petra screamed trying to leap up in the cage that wasn't tall enough for him to even stand in.

CLANG!

He hit his head on top of the cage, and Chomp scurried out from underneath of him, past Asar, and up and onto the top of Oceana's cage.

A tall figure walked behind Erynn. He had a thick cloak around him, with the hood over his whole face. He faced downwards so that it was difficult for people to see him.

He stood next to the elf watching the events. What he saw did not appease to him. Slavery was just one more obstacle in this world. It was cruel and inhumane. Not that he was much of a human…

“Window shopping, or waiting to buy?” he asked the elf, rhetorically. He then left the woman, and wandered from the back of the crowd. He started to head to the bar when the crowd parted into an alley. The cloaked figure found that he was on the edge of it.

A small red haired man was walking through the crowd very excited. He was a Tothian Mage!... Whatever that was...

Popurum walked down the alley of people waving at them, much like a boy in a parade. Popurum turned and looked at the others as he walked. He wanted to get Asar and Petra out. Maybe Oceana too, but Daylas could stay. Popurum just had to figure out how...

Popurum reached the end of the crowd of people. At the opening out to the rest of the city, the cloaked figure reached a gentle arm out to stop the riverfolk. Popurum looked up at the strange man... Should he be afraid or act like a celebrity?

"Can I help you?" asked Popurum bubbly.

The figure looked back at the auction. A low hiss came out from the cowl.

"Your friends... we should see about helping them, I suppose?" he asked in a low raspy voice. Popurum beamed at the stranger.

"I'd love your help! But we don't need to rescue the darkling. He's annoying!" Popurum said in a loud whisper. Then Popurum noticed something odd about the man he stood next to.

"You must have a really small tail to fit under that cloak," he said to the stranger. The figure gave a raspy chuckle at the riverfolk.

I may have lost my tail, but at least I managed to get rid of that smell, Onni silently thought to himself...

**************************************************************

She watched the boy that was taken to the auction stage, he was trying to tell her something, or rather show her something...

Suddenly, a flash of grey fur startled her, "uuhhhh, Ch-ch-chomp right?!...Oh god....be nice boy...." Oceana whispered to the opossum.

Then it occured to her.... gathering the slack of her chains into one hand, so as to quiet the noise, and not scare the critter, she picked up a small pebble and threw it to where the boy was looking,in the cage where he had been sitting.

".....go boy, go over there.." she continued.

She tossed another, again landing inside the cage and looked back at the opossum.

Oceana was desperate.

Hopefully the creature understood....

"quickly, little friend, go, go on now!"

Erynn caught the darkling's gaze and raised her head slightly staring back at him with her violet eyes for a brief moment before a low voice spoke to her asking if she was watching or waiting. Before she could say anything, not that she was planning on it, the man walked away and moved through the press of people and stopped the riverfolk who had been released.

There was much commotion within the crowd and on the stage alike but Erynn managed to keep an eye on it all. She raised an eyebrow when a ball of fluff seemed to pop up out of no where, her eyes darted to the auctioneer and then to the cloaked man and the riverfolk.

She heaved a heavy and shook her head slightly, This isn't looking very good, she mumbled to herself.

Draylas looked at the guard his mind games didn't work it didn't matter he would still kill him wheather years or days from now Draylas would kill that guard, sure Draylas understood the fact that he was doing his job to unfairly beat him while he was in a cage and manicaled showed only one thing the guard was weak, Draylas thought back to the ways of his people cast out the weak.

His Green eyes scanned the crowd once more and they met Erynn's violet eyes he felt himself drawn to her she was beautiful but surley it had to be something more then that, the events of pourums freeing unfolded around him and he still kept his gaze on Erynn.