The mountains of Litchford hills kept the small band of travelers on their toes. The endless walls of rock, and tufts of thick green moss on stones, banked by pine trees tall enough to touch the sky. Aurelia discovered how much one bite had changed her. For instance, her endurance dramatically increased. They had traveled most of the day without stopping, except for food.
They made camp about a day's journey from the Cherish Empire. Redford and Mshindi went off to find some supper. Zinjo looked over at Aurelia and pointed at her swords, "It is time to get familiar with your blade?" The firelight attractively illuminated his fur, Aurelia pulled the scroll from her rucksack. Zinjo shook his head, "You are not there yet,"
Aurelia shot him a dirty look, "I'll be the judge of that," She stared at the scar where Zinjo bit her.
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Things can change in a few short months. Nobody knows that better than Aurelia and her companions. The mix-matched a group of royalty and vagabonds trudged across the mountains of Litchford Hills, in search of the evil creature known as Kivuli. Their search brought them to the doorstep of the Cherish Empire, the most powerful nation on the continent. They crossed the border into Cherish without much difficulty. Redford, a brigand and former guard to royalty, grew more and more paranoid the further into Cherish they went. His eyes darted left to right, and he jumped at every person who saw him. "Redford, don't worry," Aurelia hissed, "These people don't know you from a hole in the ground. If you keep acting like a crazy person, you'll bring the guards down on us." She tried to keep a modicum of kindness to ease the frazzled brigands' nerves. Zinjo took a stance next to the
Dense, thick, and impossible to move through, adequately described the forests of the Cherish empire. The trails themselves were narrow things and made Aurelia wonder how people got around without the aid of roads or horses. Her enhanced hearing kept track of the various noises associated with the forest. Zinjo strode next to her and offered to do some wedding planning to help while away the hours, "I'd like to be dressed in my suit," He declared with dignified words. "Red and black are hardly wedding colors, Zinjo, black and white are more acceptable," Aurelia gave him a playful shove. Should we have it at the castle?" "No," Zinjo shook his head, "We will be spending all of our time in the castle after the wedding is over. I think it would be better to hold it in the town. The people would love it," he argued. The idea was inspired, but the extra securi
The forest grew more twisted as Aurelia traveled deeper into the forest. Trees went from upright to gnarled and sickly. The pleasant smell of the pine needles shifted to rotten eggs and decay. Creepiness aside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She kept her nose on Zinjo's scent, she didn't care much for Mshindi's. The werehyena smelled like sour berries and something she hadn't encountered before. Her ears caught the stillness of the area. Not a bird sang, and she swore the bugs crawled quieter here Thick cocoons hung in the treetops. Aurelia figured it was from caterpillars, a plague of them ran through Shadowfen one year. The streets were filled with disgusting things, and they left a horrid stink in their wake. Again unusual but not too far out of the wheelhouse of believable. The mystery lay in the music. Each of the men heard music before they crashed through the green foliage and saplings in search
The plan was simple. Redford would approach the waterfall first and see if anyone appeared. His ears would be stuffed with moss to ensure the proper protection against the siren call of whatever they were hunting. Aurelia felt the butterflies in her stomach and every sense sharpened to a razor's edge. Redford stepped on a slime-covered rock and shouted, "Is there anyone home?" his voice bounced off the rock wall and into the forest. He waited five minutes and then shrugged, "Well I suppose I was wrong." He turned to leave when a woman emerged from the waterfall. Long silky black hair trailed behind the athletic body, a colorful robe adorned the body. She moved with seductive grace. Aurelia could see her mouth moving, but no noise came out. Aurelia thanked the goddess Redford had enough sense to stuff his ears with moss. She sniffed the air and it reeked of something
The sound of the waterfall echoed through the cave. Aurelia brought fresh water for the men who had fallen under the strange spider creature's spell. Mshindi spent much of his time near a small hole, as he emptied his stomach down it. Zinjo proved to be the paralytic venom of Hinata. Since Aurelia found him she refused to let the lion mango. His yellow eyes stared at her with unparalleled affection, and his arms kept her close to his hard body. Her hands felt his strong abdominal muscles expand and contract. The sensation excited her lady parts to no end, but now wasn't the time to explore how much more excited she could get. Redford searched the place and found some bottles of poison. Each was labeled with strange symbols, "I'll assume each of these has a different purpose. Rather a clever creature, augmenting her poison for different uses. I know a merchant who can probably translate them for u
After their little adventure in the woods, the band of travelers decided to walk the road, where there were no waterfalls or dense trees. Aurelia held the Parasol blade with pride as she marched down the cobblestone road. Her first victory over a superior foe had her on cloud nine, and why shouldn't she be? She earned the right to wield it by conquering its master. The bright colors and wooden handle were nothing more than simple deception for the sharpened steel within. "It suits you, dark princess," Nothing equaled the pride and admiration in Zinjo's voice, "Have you decided what to do with your previous weapons?" "Do you need one?" "No, I prefer my partisan. Its history will guide me." Aurelia looked over at the Hyena-like Mshindi, "You said the Hyenas use a similar weapon." "Yes, I think Mshindi would treasure such a gift," Zinjo's entire
As it turned out Mashek had the Dawnstar Inn held in his thrall. The serving wenches made him seductive offers. The owner didn't dare deny him a request, and the locals seemed to regard the thief as some sort of hero. The Barkeep pointed to Mashek, "Another round in the house in the name of our daring friend." The bar differed from others because the The entire scene perplexed the Princess because back in Shadowfen, Mashek barely ranked above a cutpurse. The gap-tooth burglar raised a flagon, "To the next adventure." Zinjo and Aurelia exchanged puzzled Glances, "It seems our sticky friend made good somehow," Zinjo said in a quiet tone. "Shall we see what our friend has been up to?" Slender hands gripped the parasol blade with determination, "I agree," Aurelia gracefully walked toward the slender thief. The crowd part
The estate of Lord Bathory was plain as the nose on anyone's face. Nothing stood out, his guards wore plain surcoats without the Lord's coat of arms on them. The practice field in the front yard turned out to be the only area the lord kept neat, otherwise, the weeds and offensive fauna ruled the area. "Does not believe in keeping a tidy estate?" Aurelia lopped off a willow bush with her blade. Mashek shook his head and chuckled, "Wait until you see the inside, you'll think differently about the man. I thought the same when I first approached this modest household." He gestured to the area around him, "You'll notice the lack of guards on patrol." "Why does he not have men stationed near his home?" Zinjo stopped to examine a bizarre-looking flower, "What kind of plant is this one?" Mashek kicked his hand out of the way, in a panic, "Don't touch it, the blooms s