Keeping close to Julius, the small fox did seem interested in a jumping competition with the simian lady. However when the figure in the distance starts to flee, instinctively Lyssa chases after it causing a small curse to utter from Ruika's lips. "Дафт девојка" As the larger cloaked figure moves after her companion, despite heeding Anapa's warning.
Anapa gets into a run after them. Growling in frustration. Silently praying
"Ra, do not set on us. Anubis, guide and protect our mortal souls..."
His weapon ready in case his caution is warrented
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Like a hound chasing a fox chasing a rabbit, Narkû joins the race after the figure, keeping an eye out for the impending ambush.
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Current Effects: Whetstone edge on falchion, scimitar and cold iron longsword, +1 damage on next successful hit;
Thurrios will follow, although not as fast as the others apparently!
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Julius cocks his head as everyone starts pursuing the figure in the distance. He glances at the halberd over his shoulder and sighs.
"Guess I get a crash course in how to carry you into battle, eh Demoniaxe?"
Swinging the weapon in front of his body and charging forward with it in both hands feels more natural, so Julius does this and begins to pursue the others. He glances back once in a quick sweep to make sure nothing behind them seems suspicious.
The party charges forward in pursuit of the enigmatic figure, descending the hill and ascending the next. The chase does not last long, however. When you reach the area where the man was wandering just moments before, you catch sight of him at the bottom of the hill. He stoops over the body of a dead beetle, its carapace split open. The man promptly snaps off one of its legs and takes a bite out of it. Only as you draw close does the man finally notice your group. He says nothing at first, watching you quietly as he chews on his meal. After swallowing he wipes his mouth off with his sleeve and stands.
The man is dressed in filthy, tattered robes that might have been lavish once. His similarly colored turban sits loosely on his head, partially unraveled. Locks of long, dark hair hang down over his face, complementing his unkempt dark beard. Numerous pieces of gear hang off his belt, most prominent being an ornate blade.
"These lands must be popular this time of the year," he says with amusement, his Taldane refined, with a thick Osirian accent.
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Julius allows the halberd's end to stab into the dirt while he pants and catches his breath. He looks at the man calmly eating beetle leg and raises an eyebrow.
"Ho there. You seem to be taking our pursuit of you rather well considering what usually must happen to those pursued in these parts."
Standing straight, Julius holds the halberd's shaft in one hand and brushes himself off with other. Slinging the weapon back up onto his shoulder with his left hand, he extends his right to the man.
"My name is Julius. Might you be Oxvard?"
"It is fortunate then that my pursuers are so well-mannered," the Osirian man says with a chuckle, "If you meant me any harm, I do believe I would already be dead."
Letting the beetle leg drop to the ground, he wipes off his hand before extending it to the arcanist, giving his hand a single firm shake.
"Not Oxvard, I am afraid. Though that is a rather strange-sounding name. You may call me Haidar."
Skidding to a stop causing twin tails in the dusty ground, the tall cowled figure leans down to Lyssa. The fox having seen the beetle carapace and turned up her nose at the 'victors trophy' for the race decides to jump on a nearby rock.
Ruika's heart still racing from both sudden exertion in the pounding heat and concern for her furry friend, berates her softly in her deep accent - though there's a tinge of relief to her voice. Once she's finished, she turns to see the newcomer for the first time properly. Quickly judging him to be no direct threat, especially given Julius' acceptance of the human, she moves over to Sarala with Lyssa abashedly in tow.
"He from B-team?" she queries.
"Greetings. May Ra shine on you this day"
After the greeting he looks the man over
"Excuse me for asking, but looking at your apparel, your weapon seems a bit out of place. May I ask where you aquired such a weapon? "
He shakes his head
"Appologies. My name is Anapa. I am a scion of Anubis. Pleased to meet you"
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Julius retrieves his hand after the vigorous shake. He tries not to look too disappointed.
"Ah, well, yes. Well met despite not being Oxvard, Haidar. I agree, Oxvard is a rather strange name. A group of Pathfinders came to Kelmarane had a run of bad luck some time back. We stumbled across one of them much as we have you. He advised his comrade Oxvard might still be alive."
Julius cocks his head and hooks his right thumb in his belt.
"I don't suppose you have run into B Team by chance? You did mention things being busy. Oh? What's a B Team?" Julius asks. "The mighty Thurrios the Forgiving will have to fill you in on their appearance. I've never met them."
More likely Julius just never bothered to remember if he had.
A look of disappointment is obvious on Narkû face, but you are not sure if it because someone or something killed the beetle before him or that there is not to be a fight after the chase.
He is about to say something to the stranger put pauses a moment as he stares at Julius.
With a shake of his head in disbelief, he turns his back to the group, pulling his falchion in the same movement.
"The hand wiggler has named his halberd. Wake up and prove yourself sword," he says to his falchion with a growl.
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Current Effects: Whetstone edge on falchion, scimitar and cold iron longsword, +1 damage on next successful hit;
Haidar looks to Anapa with a puzzled expression, but a smile then breaks out on his face. In contrast with his rather raggedy appearance, his teeth are impeccably white.
"Ah, so you revere the ancient gods? How quaint. It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Anapa," he says, bowing his head respectfully. At the paladin's mention of his weapon he flinches visibly, his smile vanishing for a moment before returning in all its splendor. "Oh, this? Its name is En-Nebi - I received it as a gift oh so long ago. It is one of the few precious things I have left in this world. Have you any news from Osirion? It has been years since I last stepped foot in my homeland."
The Osirian then turns to Julius, pondering his words. "Kelmarane, you say? I have taken great pains to avoid the place myself. I do hope you find your friend alive and well." He pauses again, frowning in confusion. "But ah, I did cross paths with another group just a day or two ago. Roughly the size of your own, if memory serves. They were not nearly as polite as the two of you."
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Sarala shakes her head in reply to Ruika's question, and steps forward to stand with Julius as he talks to Haidar. "You ran across another group like us? What kind of trouble did those rabble-rousers get up to? Why, that's just like them, classic B-team. Actually... can you tell us what they looked like so that we can confirm if it was actually classic B-team?"
"They were all quite strange," Haidar recalls, thinking back, "Ah, I remember now. There were four of them. One woman carried a sword nearly as tall as herself, another had pale blue skin. One of the men was a half-elf, and the other was a mangy-looking human who smelled rather foul.
"They were rather curious about the gnoll activity around here. I told them what I could, and sent them on their way."
"Indeed, those are the ones we seek. How long ago did you say, and just where?"
Haidar strokes his beard, deep in thought. "Hm. Just yesterday, I believe. My apologies, the days fly by fast out here.
"Only rarely do the gnolls tread these grounds. Perhaps they fear the predators, or perhaps they see no strategic value in them, though that might be giving them too much credit. Your friends and I parted ways soon after. Perhaps they are still around here somewhere."
It is apparent that Haidar is a very practiced speaker. He does not seem to be outright lying to you, but he is being rather vague. And every once in a while, he casts a casual glance to the east. His smile never falters, yet he seems to be... worried?
Haidar, what is it that concerns you? Are we expecting something from the east?
Taking a step back towards the shadows, Ruika looks towards the eastern horizon and back towards the town.
Whilst Lyssa moves forward to nudge the back of Sarala's legs.
"East?" Haidar flinches more visibly this time, and his smile does not return. He looks in that direction pensively.
"The closest thing I have to a home is in that direction. I do not like straying from it for very long. And I am always wary of... squatters taking up residence."
"There are far worse predators than gnolls out here, strange one," Haidar answers, looking at Sarala as though he just now noticed her, "Ones that are not so cowardly... or foolish, for that matter. Not the kind of house pests a hermit like me would want." He chuckles at his own joke, but stops abruptly.
"Alas, I am afraid that we must part ways. As you might imagine, it is worse out here at night."
"You got room for Narkû in 'home' for Narkû tonight? Narkû can drive out squatters if they there, if you have meal for Narkû."
the Osirian abruptly shouts, his expression turning manic. He eyes Narku frantically, suspiciously even, before turning that same gaze to the rest of your party. The moment passes however, and Haidar is soon cordial again, smiling apologetically.
"My apologies. There is a certain toll that a life of solitude exacts... I am afraid I am not one for company. But fear not! Just as I have safety in shelter, you have safety in numbers. I wish you the best of luck in your search for your friends."
Haidar gives your group a polite bow before turning away to start his journey eastward.
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Julius frowns. There was something...odd about this fellow.
But Julius just couldn't put his finger on what was wrong other than the obvious.
Completely unaffected by the sight of fellow humanoids after living in "solitude", very disturbed at the mention of someone visiting his home, and the man was eating bugs!
"Sarala...मैं इस आदमी पर भरोसा नहीं है। उन्होंने कहा कि अभी किसी भी परेशानी के बिना gnoll नियंत्रित क्षेत्र के बाहरी इलाके में यहाँ रह रही है? और आप वह Narkû यात्रा करने के लिए आने के बारे में कैसे मिल गया परेशान देखा था? मैं और अधिक लग रहा है, हम देख रहे हैं की तुलना में यहाँ पर जा रहा है।," the arcanist whispers softly to his friend.
"Calm down friend. We will not impose on your privacy. But stay safe. Even if nothing has yet happened, this new incursion may cause trouble for you in the near future" he gives him a comforting smile
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After Haidar walks away and out of hearing, Narkû says in a hushed tone, "Narkû does not trust him. Narkû thinks he knows about 'B-Team', and Narkû should 'Infiltrationing' his home."
"If you decide on that, I will not participate unless we have evidence. I did say I will not intrude. And I will stick to that. Unless you can prove to me he is in the wrong, I can not intrude on his homestead" he says firmly
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Narkû shrugs his shoulders in an obvious 'what-ever' attitude.
"You should learn not to say words that limit your options, Anapa."
"Narkû ready to keep searching. Which way Narkû go?" Narkû says as he scans the horizon.
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"Oh shucks, you've bound us to something while I was thinking about how Julius's language skills are coming along?" says Sarala to Anapa, putting her hands on her hips. "I want to spy on the guy because as both Narkû and Julius have mentioned, there's something pretty off about him. He seemed to be hiding something from us, so I'd be inclined to trust Narkû's razor-sharp intuition."
"You are not bound. I do not intend to force you to do as I said. Just know I am bound by my word. If you do find something that proves that he is being dishonost, I will be more than happy to help"
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Let us off and go see about them ourselves," suggests Thurrios.
When Haidar reaches the peak of the next hill over, he turns around to wave at you before continuing onward, disappearing from view.
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Ruika and her furry friend will follow the others, a trifle uncertain of stalking the man back to his dwelling and slightly unsettled by the fact it's getting dark and she's miles from her home.
Narkû raises his hands.
Ruika inclines her head in sardonic assent, however Lyssa bounces up and down - nearly doing a back-flip to agree with Sarala's query.
"The dark has never been a problem for my sight" he acknowledges
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After a few moments of deliberating, the party decides to follow after Haidar. The Osirian man has a considerable lead, but this proves advantageous, as the direction he is heading in is already abundantly clear. True to the hermit's word, the sky soon goes dark as the sun sets, but the group's best trackers are thankfully equipped to see under such conditions. Nearly an hour passes in relative silence, only the eerie sounds of winds blowing across the badlands filling your ears.
As you reach the peak of a particularly tall hill, Haidar's apparent destination becomes clear. Down the hill, not even a hundred yards ahead is a sprawling ruin. Its walls loom twenty feet high, though even from this distance you can tell that they are barely holding together. Much like the monastery the rest of your caravan resides in, this structure is a victim the ages. Haidar himself is nowhere to be seen.
"I wonder what that old structure is. Anyone familiar with such things?"
Narkû scratches his head for a few seconds while he thinks about Thurrios' question.
"Hmmm, well ruins can have monsters, and monsters can have treasure, and monsters kill 'B-Teams', 'cuz they are not as good as 'A-Teams'."
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"Yeah, I think I'm on the same page as you, Narkû. Julius, I bet you know all kinds of stuff about these dusty old ruins. Except wait, you have useless human eyeballs. I'll describe it to you, and maybe you can say something insightful?" says Sarala, putting her fingers around her eyes again in a goggles imitation.
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Julius sighs as he looks around at the shadows of the night. Sarala's offer just reminded him off the physiological advantages all the other races always seemed to possess over humans. He often pondered how humans had become so dominant despite such evolutionary disadvantages. Without magic, where would humans have ended up? Such a fascinating philosophical topic, but not one Julius was able to indulge at the moment.
He listens to his friend whisper her description and tries hard to find anything he might know that resembles it. Her rather unique method of speaking was definitely not as useful as say another scholar's would be, but he was fairly used to it by now. Maybe she would say just the right thing this time.
Ruika looks concerned towards the sprawling ruin; "So you say we sneak down there, investigate - with Anapa look after heavier louder items here."
"Could work." she concludes.
"This may be another religious ruin, they are known to be hidden in the area. We should be weary of undead like the ruined temple in Kalmarane."