RPG Keepers of the Seventeen Seals [PG::LV]

[Aiyanna]

[COLOR=DarkOrchid]Well, I've been kicked by Katana to post the new chapter...so, despite my deadness, and the lethargy of my mind, I'll give it my best. Ya'll need to post more or something...
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[FONT=Palatino Linotype][COLOR=Navy][I] The girl looked up from the book, a smile on her face. Really, this book did seem to be something good. She had sat down sometime while she was reading, and now had the book open across her knees. She turned the page, still smiling, revealing the next chapter, labled II.


"The Keepers, after having nabbed something to eat, determined that it was time to start looking for the fabled seals of power that each of them were destined to find. They set off to the north-east, covering alot of ground, considering each of them was accustomed to travel. When they finally stopped, the sun was setting, and they had arrived at a clearing in a thick forest...
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Ciarra shifted her shoulders stiffly, and sat down against the base of a large conferious tree. "Man, that was some walk..." she said, and took a drink from the canteen tied to her belt. Her glaive was leaning up against the tree next to her.

All around the clearing, the other seven Keepers were sitting down, or cooling down, relaxing after their hike. She had been surprised by how much ground they had covered, and throughout most if it, there hadn't been much said.

Ciarra stiffened for a second when she heard a rustling to her left, but the sound materialized into Kain, who sat down lightly at the tree right next to hers. She didn't know what to say, so instead said nothing, just watched the light filtering down through the tree branches fade, and then disappear. Someone, she hadn't paid attention to who, had started a fire, and Merrick, Tarren, Cade, Reeve, Alena, And Zihark-who hasn't said much the whole time- were sitting around it in silence. Apparently, Ciarra wasn't the only one who didn't know what to say...

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OOC: Sorry for the lameness...I'm dead...but maybe this'll pick up the story a bit, since they're finally on the move...I dunno. [/COLOR]

[Random]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Marrick sat with most of the group around the fire. Beside him, to his right, was Reeve. He glanced over at her, and, as with everyone else, she sat gazing into the fire.

"Some treck, hey?" he asked.

Reeve hardly noticed he had said something. She seemed lost in thought. "Oh, sorry, Marrick. Just thinking about...things."

"That's okay. Everyone seemes lost in thought right about now," he said, still looking at the fire. "So, when are we all going to find our Seals, you think?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest," she replied.

"It could be anywhere, anytime, and any one of us could find theirs first." The voice came from Zihark. He didn't even look up from his book when he spoke. "Personally, if this was a book, I think the one dubbed the "leader" would find the first Seal. But, as it turnes out, we don't really have a leader, now, do we?"

"Then that means that any one of us could find the first one, right?" came Reeve's statement.

"Well, then, if I had to bet on one to get the first, I'd have to pick...me!" Marrick said. These words produced some raised eyebrows from the others. "Well, I [I]am[/I] an ex-theif, so one would guess that I would find the first one."

"That may be true, but that doesn't mean that any Seal you find, whether it be the first or not, will be yours, now, does it?" came Cade's reply.

"To be honest," said Reeve, "we don't know all that much about the Seals, anyways. Who knows if only the person that's supposed to have the particular Seal will find it, and noone else. Or maybe anyone can find any of the Seals, but only the person who the Seal "belongs" to will be able to activate it."

[I]She does have a point, but I'm going to find the first Seal. It doesn't matter if I have to find my own Seals, or if I can find any Seal of the others', I just want to find the first one.[/I]

"Well, then. I propose a challenge," said Marrick.

"And that would be..." said Tarren, showing interest in the conversation finally.

"The challenge is to find the first Seal. Doesn't matter who's seal it is."

"And what would be the reward?" came Reeve's question, humor and intrigue showing on her face.

"The honor of finding the first seal, of course!" was Marrick's reply.

Thus, the race for the first Seal was on...[/COLOR][/SIZE]

*****

Well, guys...sorry for the "if this was a book" line, but I couldn't help it! TOO perfect. So, don't count the campfire conversation over...still things to talk about. In regards to who finds the first Seal, I think we should leave that up to Katana and Ayianna. And, as always, any beefs, lemme know and I'll change accordingly.

[Disenchanted]

OOC: sorry for the shortness i just had to post this :) if u want me to make it longer no probs.

IC:Reeve Shrugged at Marricks comments, whoever is to find the first seal more luck to them. She was growing tired and increasinly aggitated.

It had been a long day and eveyone was tired. Reeve took put her pan flute.

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]"If any has any objections to this, let me know" [/COLOR]She moved a little out of the circle and got her self comfortable. She begain to play a sad haunting meldody on her instrument. Marrick looked over towards her and then at the flames. Reeve played with her eyes closed. In her mind she saw her grandfathers face smiling at her. It was so long ago that he taught her this melody. He used to play it to her father, she missed them both.

Opening her eyes she looked at the flames and then around at the other keepers.
They were proving to be quite interesting company.

Reeve continued to play her haunting song to her fellow keepers...

[Darth Vectis]

[COLOR=DarkGreen][SIZE=1]Kain listened to the gentle sound of Reeve's haunting song, it was rather soothing and was very gentle on the ears. He was enjoying it greatly, he leaned his head against the tree and closed his eyes. The second he did he saw the very people he had killed, and his eyes snapped back open. He looked around a bit shaken, his eyes went back to the fire.
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'Murder in selfdefence is still murder. How do the seasoned warriors live life like that? Seeing their victims faces every time the close their eyes or dream. It's enough to drive a man insane.'[/I][/COLOR] Kain thought to himself as his eyes remained on the fire, seeing the sparks and crackles of the wood burning. The silence, save for the pan flute that was fading away, was the worse time for him. The silence let his mind go wild, bringing back his old memories.

The debt collecting days. The days of properly intimidating people into handing over their life savings, the ten minute "interrogations" that cracked people minds.They sometimes only needed to last a few minutes for the persons mind to break under the pressuer. And each time he always had that little bit of satisfaction of his job done well. But the sever ashamed feeling of using his methods on the poor soul.
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'My life was a shamble. They destroyed my innocents, showed me all the hell's of life. Showed me that we were the ones that inflicted hell upon the innocent. Just to make a bit of money from corrupt noble men and knights. I'm glad I left, now I can be with people that are human. That actually care about others.'[/I][/COLOR] Kain lifted his gaze from the fire and spotted Ciarra was looking at him, she turned away as he looked at her. His gaze then slowly looked the others over.

Zihark was still deep in his book, the others sat in silence like he did. The pan flute slowly coming back to his ears. The song soothing his wild memories once more, he leaned his head back once more. Not closing his eyes this time, but staring up past the leaves and branches, up into the dark sky. The starts glintting in the night. Kain was starting to relax once more. [/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Takamor`e]

[COLOR=Green]OOC: I have been Informed from Ariyanna, that anyone can find their seal anytime, but just not everyone at once. Oh, and sorry for the shortness, but I couldn't think of anything else to post XD.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=DarkRed]Tarren Leaned against a tall Oak tree, the pan flute playing soft, sad melodies through his head, and all the while he observed everyone through the night time?s moon light. Everyone was drifting paying no attention to others. Some were just fiddling around with pieces of wood or with their fingers, or cleaning their weapons, Zihark was still intent in his book, and Kain looked like he was distantly troubled, but calm. All in all, they were a rough bunch, but they some how seemed to fit. Ciara was to his right, leaning against a tree, eyes shut, humming, but had a sense of tension, ready to be alert. And that left Reeve playing the pan flute, enjoying her tunes to express herself, slowly and chilly.

I wonder if we should keep a watch, Tarren wondered, even though his sleep was very light and he awoke with not but a crack of a leaf. That fire will draw wondering eyes. It was coming dark into night, Tarren couldn?t tell but he thought a few were asleep, If not just dozing. He thought about sleep himself, sweet, sweet sleep. He swayed back and forth across the line of the dream world, and reality, and starting tipping toward the eternal darkness, when he heard a twig snap far off behind him to his right.
Tarren bolted up right, his eyes shot open, He saw a few others ready, whether from the sound or from him jerking up. Even Zihark had his head out of the book. Tarren noticed the White Hawk was no longer with them, and Ciara turned toward him.

"What was that?? she whispered.
?I think someone is watching us.? Tarren Replied. Cade had her weapon drawn, as did a few others. Another crack came, but this time from the opposite side, and then two more, at separate corners still.
?I think we?re about to have a busy night.? Tarren said. He picked up a four burning sticks from the fire, and threw them toward the sounds, and?..[/COLOR]

[Random]

[SIZE=1]OOC: I'm assuming that the Shai?r?luinra have no set shape, and I'm assuming that we can make them look like just about anything, from Gollum-like creatures to behemoth ogres...I'm just assuming. I'm using things that look like the monsters found in the LotR movies. If you need me to change that, lemme know what you'd like better! ~_^

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IC:

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Marrick had felt Jade fly from his shoulder sometime during Reeve's music playing. He wasn't too worried at the time, but with the crunching sounds from all around him and the others, he began to understand why she had flown off.

At the sound of the first intruder, just out of the ring of light shed by the fire, he and all of the others had snapped out of their various thoughts. Most had drawn their weapons at the sound of the second intruder, and by the time the other two had made their sounds, all the Keepers had gotten up, drawn weapons, and made ready for battle.

Tarren and Ciara had joined the other six Keepers by the fire, and Tarren was reaching for burning branches.

"I think we're about to have a busy night," he said just before throwing the wood.

"I [i]know[/i] we're going to have a busy night," said Alena as she watched the burning wood fly.

Four burning pieces of timber landed on the ground. Four sections of forest shone with firy light. Many figures were exposed. Eight voices gasped.

Marrick, along with the others, stood in shock at the sight before them. Never before had he ever seen anything like the creatures now exposed. They seemed to cower at the light the burning wood. There was at least a dozen of them, probably more, each in groups of three, four, or five. They varied in size, but each was as grotesk as the next. Each was extreamly pale, and their skin looked to be almost hanging off their bodies. There were what seemed to be boils and warts, cuts and scars all over their bodies, and the clothing they donned, if you could call it clothing, was mearly loin-cloths.

Some looked human enough. You could even tell whether a few were male or female. Others, on the other hand, were totally indistinguishable. Some looked like ogers, others like badly mis-shaped humans. Still others looked like children, although with long, lanky arms and legs.

The eight keepers, as well as the dozen or so creatures, were snapped out of their shock by a loud cry from Jade, who had decided to dive-bomb one of the smaller groups. Marrick took this as his que to attack the enemy, and rushed to engage the group Jade was madly attacking.

"Aahhhhhh!" came Marrick's cry as he ran. Before he reached his foe, he heard a soft whizz nearby, and a second later saw one of the human-like creatures fall with an arrow sticking into her forhead. [i]Must be Reeve,[/i] was all he had time to think before he reached the group.

The two claws of his gauntlet reached out to slice one of the child-creatures, which fell easily. As he turned to fight the third of the group, he heard the various Keepers' weapons clanking agains the simple and crude weapons of their adversaries, as well as their war cries.

The last foe in the group, which Jade was battling heroicly, made Marrick stop for a moment. [i]This thing is [b]huge[/b]![/i] He saw another arrow hit it, but it missed it's mark, what with the flayling of the arms to ward off Jade's persistant attacks.

Marrick decided to take the opportunity and strike. But the beast had other plans than to be killed. It lashed out with it's massive hands, knocking Marrick to the ground. It then grabbed him, pinning his arms to his body and rendering his weapons useless.

"Shit," he muttered. He had enough time to survey the situation before anyone noticed he had been caught. The Keepers had split up, Jade flew to a Keeper, Marrick couldn't tell who, to alert him or her of Marrick's impending doom, and the forrest had caught fire. [i]Quite the predicament we've got here[/i] "Hey, guys...a little help here?"[/COLOR]

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OOC: Just trying to stir things up a little...remember, the forest is on fire! KEY POINT! Anyways, sorry for any spelling mistakes...*eyes droop from sleepyness*[/SIZE]

[Aiyanna]

[COLOR=DarkOrchid]
OOC: So, Ikkillion is having computer troubles, so he/she (can't remember which...) won't be posting for awhile. Just thought I'd tell you. And really it doesn't matter who finds their seal first. Two people could even find em. Or something. Just make it interesting, not like "Hey...what's this rock, with these funky carvings, doing out in the middle of the road that we happen to be traveling on in search of our Seals?" or "Oww, something just fell on my head. Oh, it's my Seal!" That would just be...lame.

IC:
Ciarra was just as ready as the rest of them to take on the oncoming slaught of Shai'r'Luinr. Her glaive spun in her hands, the blade end shining bright off the light cast from the fire now engulfing the forest around the Keepers.

"Dude...these things are endless!" She said, and glanced around quickly between felling one of the creatures and another. The other seven Keepers were to each their own demon-thing, various weapons and means of fighting being deployed. Well, not seven Keepers were fighting. The white bird, Jade, was trying to get her attention, just as another creature came on. She barely held it back, both hands spread apart on the staff. Another quick look around showed that Merrick was pinned.

Gritting her teeth, Ciarra shoved the thing away from her and swung her Glaive around, stabbing through the beast and then quickly pulling the blade back out of it before it could fall and trap her weapon. She turned, and flicked out four of her hidden daggers, throwing them across the distance between her and the thing that had hold of Merrick.

A satisfying grunt came as the first dagger hit it's target, and as the next three proceeded it, the thing let go of her fellow Keeper, let out a shrill, unnatural cry, and fall to the side. She grinned, and trotted over, drawing out each dagger with a [I]squealching[/I] sound, wiping them off on the grass, and then slipping them back into their hiding spots. Once finished with that, it was back off into battle. There still seemed to be dozens of the creatures attacking the group, despite all the dead already.

"It's gonna be a long night..." Ciarra muttered through clenched teeth as she beheaded another [I]thing[/I]

OOC: Yeah, so it's a bit choppy. I'm not in a writing mood, but I figured I'd post to try to get this moving. C'mon peoples..post! ::gives everyone a bit of a prod::[/COLOR]

[Disenchanted]

OOC: I just realised after all this time i made your banner Aiyanna, i thought it looked familar lol!

IC:
Reeve dodged the attacks from the strange creatues left and right. She tryed to keep out of close quater combat as much as she could but this time no alternative was provided. Using her arrows as daggers Reeve stabed creatures in vital areas to take them down as quickly as possible.

looking over to her left she saw the other keepers battling the creatures with their own style, as she looked around Reeve caught the smell of smoke. that could mean only one thing...Fire. Leaping over some bushes Reeve sprinted and jumped ontop of a family of rocks jutting out of the earth. At least this position gave her a high ground. She took aim with her bow and shot at the creatures hiting most in the head causing them to drop to the ground.

Reeve could now see the flames of the fire she smelt before, a sadness inside her grew. Fire harmed the forests and she had a deep connection to nature. Focusing on the battle a group of 4 creatures encircled her on her rock. Reeve pulled two arrows from her quiver and shot at one of the things, hitting her mark the creature fell. Undeterred the other 3 kept closing in.
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"lets get this fight going shall we?"[/COLOR] slinging her bow Reeve unclasped her elegant circular necklace. Grasping the end of the chain she swung it above her head and kept it swinging in a circular motion, the chain was unusually long it was very decieving. Swinging it in a circular motion the metal shone with red reflecting the forest that was now ablaze. Jumping downwards off her rock Reeve swung the decieving chain whip in a elegant and elaborate slashing fashion cutting through one of the advancing creatures near by.

She kept swinging her razor sharp secondary weapon at the creatures, they fell only to be replaced by more. Looking around Reeve noticed that the fire had become farily advanced and it was begining to cut off thier escape route.

[Katana]

[size=1][color=royalblue]There's now an Underground thread for Keepers...it's in the Arena Underground. X3 And yeah.

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The flames were licking their way around the forest. As Cade slashed and hacked at the Shai'r, a thought corssed her mind. And after three seconds, she decided to voice that thought.

"DAMN YOU TARREN AND CHUCKING FIRE INTO THE WOODS!"

Her cry went unnoticed...or unreplied, depending on whether Tarren was willing to risk his pride or not. It was probably option B. He rubbed off on Cade as a man of virtue and righteousness...in other words, a person that made her sick to her stomach in perfection. She groaned as three more Shai'r stumbled their way towards her.

"Three - two - one -!" Cade reached into her pocket in a flash, drawing out the tri-blade. With that in her left hand and the sword in her right, she proceeded to slash away at varying ranges before chucking the knife into a male-looking Shai'r.

The fire was spreading, encasing the Keepers and the Shai'r in a ring of their campsite and dense forest. The creatures were coming from outside of the fire. Those that moved slowly ended up burning until disappearing in a haze of black. After a while, the Shai'r numbers were diminishing until a number of around fifteen or so were left.

"Go for it!" Reeve hollared as the Keepers, surging with determination, leapt in for the kill. In recklessness, some were injured, but they kept on going. The night was almost over.

Cade, blood spurting from her left arm, slashed another Shai'r acorss the throat, causing the beast to split and implode into dust. Whirling around, she recalled bumping into Kain, fighting back-to-back with Marrick, getting hit in the shoulder by Alena, and almost killing Tarren by mis-interpreting him as a Shai'r. All in all, the fight was panning out into part amusement for the youngest Keeper.

With a final whirl of his scythe, Zihark took down the final creature. After a moment's pause, he reached into a pocket on his vest, drawing out the book he had been reading earlier. "That was fun," he uttered, barely audible above the crackling flames.

"You suck," Cade groaned, looking around at the fire. The ring, she noticed, wasn't exactly that binding afterall...the path of fire started to straighten out. With intrigue, Cade followed this path until coming upon a riverbank.
"A river..." she murmured, dipping her blade into the water. The area around the sword started to bleed in dark red and black, drifting downstream. It was the blood and haze of the Shai'r being cleansed away.

She sighed. Finally, after a solid hour of battle, the fight was over. The moving water brought a sense of peace to her while the flames crackled in the background. The voices of her fellow Keepers whispered into her ears as they pondered how to put out the fire. The phrase of "Stupid Tarren" and "Dammit Tarren, why did you have to go and chuck firewood into the forest?" was repeated a few times, causing Cade to smile.

Cade dunked the sword in further, her hand engulfed in the water as the Shai'r blood was cleansed off. She inhaled deeply, her face close to the water in an attempt to breath in cleaner air as opposed to smoke.

A fleshy arm, exposed in places to the bone, suddenly shot up from the water, latching onto Cade's wrist. With a single strong tug, it had pulled her into the water

"SHIT - !"[/color][/size]