Guardians of Night

It was a dark night, the many trees of the forest doing a good job of keeping even the last shimmer of light out of its depths. Between the crooked twigs and in the lightless treetops only the occassional owl was hiding.
But not even such a dim and dreary atmosphere was enough to keep everyone from traveling through the ghastly woods. A lone character silently walked between the trees. He wouldn't let the darkness stop him - couldn't let the darkness stop him. He would have to reach the next town quickly, as the traveler's supplies would run out soon. A tiny orb of an orange-ish light was drearily floating above the magician's palm, barely illuminating enough of the area to prevent him from tripping over one of the many tangled roots on the ground. Dry leaves crumbled as he walked, shattering into pieces just like his former existence had. One day the character had been a respected mage, revered for the proficiency of his craft he often displayed, and the next he was everyone's pariah as soon as they got note of his occupation. Humans always needed a scapegoat for each and every problem, and since it just so happened to have been a dark mage who opened the rift suddenly everyone began to hate him,the innocent traveler.

A sigh slipped past his lips before he continued his travels through the forest, cursing his life with each new step he took.

The night was a wonderful time of day, no loud people and the world was silent. Loki sighed happily, no better time then night. The assassin slowly sat up from her position on the thick branch, stretching out in a calm manner. The girl slowly got up and slid down the tree, taking care in not hitting any branches, once the girl reached land she gave the ground a quick kick. She enjoyed being high up, the ground never suited her, nor the day, but she can't really be picky.

Looking around at the forest, the forma took in the beauty of the darkness around her, her own dark clothes making it seem as if she was apart of the scenery. Deciding to start moving, Loki walked slowly toward where she knows the next town will be, her goal there is to stock up on basic needs and she if she could get a decent job. Her soft steps where barely heard as she walked along a worn path, it wasn't a normal path for travelers to take, but a natural formed path that some animals of the forest tend to move along.

Oh how she wished it could stay dark forever, the pesky light of the sun does nothing but irritate her eyes and pale skin. But that is why she wears her cloak, so the burning sun couldn't touch her skin, while it would do no true damage to her she rather not let light touch her.

"Must the night go away? Such a shame." She muttered to herself, deep voice masking the fact that she is a girl. She didn't speak again and simply continued on her short journey to the next town.

A lone figure stumbles his way through the darkness of night, guided only by the sparkle of stars and shimmering of a crescent moon. Despite the sun's absence, the Forma was kept warm by a soft summer breeze, urging him to push forward. The path before him was littered with twigs, leaves, and the like. From what the Forma could tell, the path was mostly undisturbed, but the darkness still kept him, well, in the dark. The only thing he could do at this point was to push forward and hope for the best.

The Forma in question, a young Asair, was on a journey to discover the Dark Gate and overturn its secrets. The first step in his action plan was to travel between towns to seek out news, rumors, or anything he could learn about the Dark Gate. As for why he would choose to do this at night, well, he didn't exactly ask for permission to leave his home. Telling others about his plans would inevitably delay his journey, so nighttime was a good oppurtunity to slip away from the crowd. Now, however, he was somewhat regretting his choice, as it meant having to stumble around in darkness until he came across the town he planned on visiting.

After almost performing a faceplant into the dirt, courtesy of an unseen tree stump, the Forma decided to change his approach. Although he hadn't wanted to attract too much attention to himself, he couldn't risk injuring himself due to a lack of light. Harnessing his magical powers, the Forma directed his eyes to the tip of his staff, which had started to glow faintly, but not enough to provide sufficient light. After a few seconds of intense concentration, the Forma was able to temporarily infuse the gem on his staff with the power of illumination. After giving off a fizzling sound, the gem lit up, revealing the Forma's surroundings and giving him a better view of his situation. Somewhat pleased with himself, the Forma once again turned forwards and continued to follow the faint path.

(Alright now the posting order is set, any new posts will, of course, result in that person being added to the end of the list. Here is the posting order: 1) CrimsonViper  2) Savato   3) Okashi    4) Umbreon28  )

While he mind wandered her fire had gradually died down, being nothing but hot embers by the time the high elf noticed. She cursed aloud in her native tongue, at the fire and at herself for letting her mind slip so badly away from her.

She ran her hands over the dark ground, searching for the two rocks she had. Once she found them she held a rock in each hand, quickly clicking them together. Sparks, but no fire. She tried again, same result. She growls from aggravation before she drops the rocks while standing to her feet. With quick steps she walks to her staff, snatching it up and pointing it to the fire pit "Just light up already!"

Focusing her magic fire soon emitted from the tip of her staff in a large burst, lighting up the small wood pit in a large, bonfire flame before she ended her magic drain. The fire dying down to a normal size once she did. She sighs as she sets her staff back down, knowing she let her temper slip her, and now she might have signaled anybody near that she was there.

She could handle them likely. After all..she was a mage. She sat herself by her new fire, groaning as she realized her second mistake all to late, her meat was burned now. She sighs as she retrieves a piece of her salted meats, placing the meat onto a wooden stick near the fire to cook as she knelt there, keeping her mind focused on her food this time.

The tiny orb of light barely was luminiscent enough to illuminate the wayfarer's path, darkness encompassing him and shrouding most of his vision. The small light may not have been all that effective at revealing tree roots and other things to trip over, but at least it enabled the traveler to discern the shapes of trees against the deep darkness of the rest of the forest.But then, all of a sudden, a blinding flash of light filled his field of vision, causing him to stumble around aimlessly, his eyes temporarily rendered useless by the sudden increase in luminosity.
But - there was this unmistakeable feeling the magus could not shake.

Magic.

That sudden flash of light was magic, no doubt about that.
But where did it originate from and why? If it had been supposed to disorient him so he could be robbed, then the assailants would have faced him already instead of waiting for its effects to wear off. So why did this happen?
Whatever the reason may have been, it required thorough investigation.
And indeed, after quite a bit of searching and stumbling around a faint glow emanated from between a few trees. A tiny encampment of one person it seemed, although it may very well have been a trap.
For now Argus decided to observe the situation from afar, the small light he had been holding vanishing into nothingness.

As the darkness provided by the towering trees clouded most traveler's vision, the forma had no issues maneuvering through the terrain. She slipped through the obstacles that left most night travelers fuming.

Loki may not of had night vision, but her eyes are used to the dark, allowing her to passively see the tree roots and small things that might make her stumble. But she only got this close to night vision when her eyes have not been exposed to light for minutes. So when the unexpected flash of light blinded her vision, she stumbled face first into a near by tree.

A short growl escaped from her lips as she peeled herself from the bark of the tree. She glanced around warily, Hand on her dagger, studying her surroundings to see if there was a ambush. After standing still for minutes on end, she finally started moving, slightly faster then before. She let out a low growl when she noted that she was having trouble seeing in the dark, she sighed and continued towards where she assumed the light came from, her eyes readjusting as she went. She stop short and sneaked up a tree a far distance away and used her keen eyes to watch for whatever made the light, magic maybe, from the safety of the shadows.

((Umbreon's Post has been skipped))

In the silence of a night, a noise could be heard somewhere far off in the distance. It started as something almost inperceptible, growing louder and louder, until one could easily define the sound as whistling. Soon, a loud, jaunty tune began to fill the woods. Also, a light emerged from the dark, a bright torch floating through the night. All along, the whistling continued, not caring who heard.

Reago did not often travel this late at night, but this was a special case. Twins. Two of them. It had been a long while since he had gotten this lucky. Add to that the fact that they both had ample assets, and this may very well turn out to be a very profitable venture.

Of course, they did live in another town. That was irksome. Still, no matter. A jaunt through the woods was good for him. Kept the body in shape and sorted out the mind. He was tempted to start singing, but he realized he could not remember the words to his song. So, he just whistled a little louder.

Then, a flash of light. The traveler jumped a bit, momentarily frightened, but quickly that fear changed to curiosity. As the traveler trudged towards the light, he noticed a figure sitting near the fire. A traveling companion perhaps.

He called out, his voice a charming drawl "Greeting stranger. Mighty fine fire you've got yourself there? Mind if a cold traveler warmed his bones with you? I have some food with me, if you'd fancy."

He smiled in the dark, his torch lighting his face with a soft, dancing glow.

Upon hearing the voice, her first impulse was to jump up and spin on her heel to face the stranger, edging towards her staff as she studied what she could see in the light of the torce he held. A man.. human it seemed to her. She wondered why he would be traveling so late at night, the thought making her uneasy.

She would pause a moment before speaking "If you must...I need to know your name though and what purpose you have for being out so late. It's not...often a person travels alone so late and cheerily" She looks to her staff again momentarily, pondering if She would need it or not"

A jolt of surprise shot through the mage's bones. Seemingly out of nowhere a voice rang, much louder than anything the magician had expected to hear in these woods.
Where could it have come from and why?
Who else would be here in the middle of the night, for which reason and why did they suddenly approach an unknown character without at least a drawn sword?
Maybe the other person was a magician as well.
No, that couldn't be the case. No true magician would display such staggering incompetence.
And if he required a place to rest, he could easily have lit a campfire for himself.
More observation would be required, especially since the individual at the campfire appeared to be getting uneasy - no surprise considering the recent events, but if they were uneasy, then they were likely to attack without thinking. So waiting would be in order...

Loki looked on as the man simply walked up to a unknown being and ask to stay, such idiotic actions can be the death of him. He obviously had some sort of motive for doing something so dangerous, but she honestly couldn't care at the moment, some damn bug was flying in her face. Not to mention it's buzzing is irritating to her sensitive ears.

The forma glared at the annoying pest and smacked it, not caring where it may of landed, she snorted silently and repositioned herself, now resting on the tree in a lax manner, a throwing knife hanging in her hand. She might as well get comfortable to watch what the suspected mage might do to the man, it could prove disastrous or entertaining. Ether was fine for her, she has been quite bored lately.

The Forma continued to follow the path, being unhindered for a few minutes before being interrupted. A few minutes later, however, he stopped in his tracks when he heard voices in the distance following a faint flash of light. Surprised that anybody was out at this time of night except him, the Forma fumbled his staff, the light emitting from its tip quickly fading out as the staff clattered to the ground. "Oh, great..." The Forma muttered to himself as he got onto his knees and felt around for the staff, the only form of defence available to him. It took him a few moments before he finally found it, but when he did, he picked it up and stood, unsure of what his plan of action would be. I can't be sure of whether they're bandits, travellers, or something else entirely. I can't really approach them, nor can I very we'll draw attention to myself by lighting up my staff again. Deciding to stay put, the Forma hid himself with the cover of a nearby tree and attempted to listen into the conversation.

Milvaania surveyed her surroundings carefully, using a self-made lantern to light up the way. She held a simple mix of Water and Torchbug Thorax mixed in together, holding the bottle up in the air and creating a volume of light "Hmm... This is interesting... the wildlife here isn't as subjugated as other places.." She muttered out loud to herself, kneeling down to inspect a drooping spiny plant, with a slight red tip. This was a good sign, as the poison was still potent while it looks dead. And the dead look was merely a facade to stop animals from eating it. The Night Elf smirked when remembering her first time encountering this plant, and touching the poisonous crimson tip first.

She held begun to take off a few petals, making sure to keep the root intact as it was essentialy useless. But as a voice echoed out of the forest, she slipped, cutting her finger on a small blade of red "Not again.." She cursed, quickly pulling out an antidote from her side and pouring a few drops onto the light cut, causing a sizzling sound as she was obviously in pain. She replaced the antidote to her side as she collected the parts of the plant she needed. The Night Elf looked up from where the voice came from, one hand on her dagger and another picking up the Torchbug Potion, she slowly tread towards the duo

((CHA Roll to Calm and Charm: 21))

It seemed he'd startled the young woman. Not his intent, to be sure.

"Of course, m'lady," he said, bowing low and with a florist of the hand, "my name is Reago. But m'freinds just call me Ree. As for my purpose to be out on this fine night..." He grinned.

"Well, let's just say I have a meeting with some associates which, if I play my cards right, may very well end in a happy union. And as for my cheer? Well, I think I just told you what I have to be cheery about."

Without ado, he sat himself down besides the woman, flashing a smile.

"And what about you? Such a fine young woman, out here all alone in the forest? You must either be quite brave, quite foolish, quite desperate, or a combonation of all three. Of course, I'm sure it's the former."