Boundless.

As he walked along the path that would lead to the village wherein his newest client, its elder whose name is Hornoks, would be waiting for him to begin his task of escorting the child Ferren to wherever it is he needed to be, Cero caught sight of a group of people coming his way, one of them walking with his back faced front unlike the others around him. Like the rest that he'd pass by before, he bore no reaction to their upcoming presence, but as he got closer, he spotted the boy that walked amongst them, whose expression is unpleasant in the least, tinged with fear and a hue of doubt and anxiety. This, coupled with the fact that the boy's features were an exact match to those Hornoks had described of Ferren, the child he's tasked to protect, Cero eventually found himself stopped in his tracks, standing in the line of path of the youth that walks in reverse as he and the group slowly closed in distance.

He placed his two hands on the hilts of his swords, indifferent over the thought that his assignment may have started at an earlier time than he would have expected it to, as he sized up the group that he believed held Ferren captive, questions arising over who the boy is, and why he would need protecting.
"..."

Geralt had yet to say anything, he really did not feel a need unless directly asked. If Ferren asked to be exact, that was his only job here. He did hope he would stop cowering though, one should never, even if scared. He reassesed his earlier opionions however. This Rilke was the cocky one, though maybe he really was as good as he voice showed. H this when he spotted a figure in the distance, and he went on alert when he saw him go to his swords.

Who is this... he thought to himself. Maybe this assignment would be larger than he thought if a fight was to occur already. If anything, he hoped Clare would take care of it if need be.

Ferren was lost in his own thoughts while walking, sometimes looking around to view the scenery he had only glimpsed at faintly before. His eyes caught the newcomer, however, at just about the same time the others did, and when the man put his hands on his weapons, Ferren immediately stumbled back and tripped, then promptly landed on his rear, eyes agape with fear. Was someone already going to kill him? They hadn't even made it to the first town, and his life was already going to end? Thoughts like this raced through his head. He cursed himself for not running away earlier.

Night turns around and stops, looking down at Fherren then up at the man in the road with his hands on his weapons. Then back to Fherren who he guessed got scared, he kneeled down next to Fherren and holds out his hand to help him back up.

"You do know that the five of us aren't here for show, right? No need to be afraid I am sure this Rilk guy can make quick work of this little hindrance, right Rilk?"

Night looked expectantly at Rilk, after hearing all his talk about how good he was he wanted to see if he lived up to his words.

"Though I don't think this man is an actual enemy, unless he is blind he probably would have attacked by now."

Rilk stepped in front of the prone Ferren, his bow already drawn and strung with an arrow that was now pointed as this stranger; a potential threat to his client. He was tempted to put an arrow through this man's head right then and there, but the words of his master, Maia, rang out in his head. "Never act too hastily, Rilk! Make sure you know everything about you current situation before you do anything that could blow up in your face."
With that in mind, Rilk held the string tightly, and met the gaze of this stranger. "Who are you?" Rilk asked, ready to release the string at the slightest provocation.

« Last edited by imaloony8.0 on Mar 28th 2012 »

Clare also readied as the newcomer approached. She moved her hand to the hilt of her longsword, ready to protect the boy if the need arose. Her perfect vision still could not pick out the man, who was still rather far away, although within the range of that ranger's bow, she noted. What was his name? She thought, Rilk, oh yes. Another thought promptly popped into her head. The boy! She turned quickly and bent down to Ferren. She put an arm around his waist and lifted him up, righting him and placing him down on unsteady feet. "Stay calm, Ferren," she said reassuringly, "We will not allow harm to come to you."

"...!" Cero noted how two of them had came to Ferren's side when the boy fell on his rear. He doubted a group of captors would treat their prisoner in such a manner, should it even be a child. He's thought at first that he may be the only one to have taken up such a simple request, but now it ran through his mind that it might be possible that others have accepted it as well.
Though his expression did not change, Cero's hands left the hilts, instead he opted to walk towards the group at an reassuringly slow pace. He has his pike of steel readied to slide out at any moment it was needed to, in case the red-haired youth, whose question and gaze he's currently ignoring, fired his arrow. Though because the pike was well hidden from sight, it wouldn't raise any alarm amongst the members of the group, and that's how he wanted it.

"You are... Ferren?" he asked, stopping as he got closer to the group, close enough that the boy could hear him. With strands of his messy white hair falling over his left eye, only his right is visible, only half-opened. And due to his lack of fervor, it would make his gaze unnerving to some, though Cero would be the last to become aware of such a thing.

Tayus sat atop a branch on a nearby tree and looked down at the commotion and grinned. It was becoming clearer by the moment that this newcomer was a particularly sluggish mercenary who had only now just shown up. As the group size began to swell he wondered whether or not this many was a help or a hindrance; sometimes it was safer to travel in smaller groups, especially in bigger cities. A large group would only invite more trouble, but given that Ferren himself was at this point a hindrance, perhaps the extra help would not go astray.
As Tayus continued to watch the white-haired stranger approach, he suddenly spoke, trying to confirm whether or not he was dealing with Ferren. "Oh gee, quite the talker aren't you," Tayus said absent-mindedly, "You'll get along great with that guy," he said, pointing at Geralt and noting the ratio of mute group members was increasing.

Ferren was basically dead weight when Clare picked him up off his bottom, and he still simply gawked at Cero as he approached, trying not to fall back down again. When the stranger drew near and asked if his name was Ferren, he gulped and gave the man a shaky nod.

"Y-Yeah, but... who are you?" It wasn't really a new-found bravery that let Ferren talk to the man, it was that he was so terrified that he wanted to make sure the man wasn't going to axe him through the face or send a blade into his spine.

Night got back to his feet and stood in front of Fherren, close enough to easily step directly infront and block any attack but not enough to block him from sight. He watched the newcomer doubting him as an enemy even more than before, though he could be acting so he could get closer but Night doubted this. He glances back at Fherren but noticing how Tayus was missing he turned and looked among the trees. He spotted him and frowned, unlike Geralt who obviously would be at an advantage hidden away; Tayus seemed to be more cowering than anything else. Then again he didn't know much about him yet so he assumed he had another reason.

"We gotta work on your speaking skills...."

"...I am Cero. I will be escorting you to your destination, wherever it may be. These people... I assume they have also been employed by your elder, Hornoks." said the white-haired man, inspecting each and every one of the group's members other than himself, totalling to six in all, Ferren included. Tayus' remark fell on deaf ears, literally to a point, as Cero has habit of blocking out sound he has no interest in hearing. Such a thing helps when he takes quick naps. However, his eye darted to catch Tayus' figure in the tree overhead, though he showed no signs of acknowledging the spiky-haired youth. "If you are already on your way, then let us proceed. Lead the way." he said, moving out of the way and closer to the group, knowing he'd done and said enough for the time being, having already affirmed his role.

"Cero... could still be an assassin as it would be key to know that information. I got my eye on your."

Night smiled friendly but it didn't reach his eyes, which were very cold and calculating. He was thinking about Cero and weighing out if he was an enemy or not, he was still quite wary of him but for the most part he let down his guard. He assumed that if he was an assassin he would strike at night or when everyone's guards were down.

"Well no need to be afraid Fherren, lead the way!"

"How many did Hornoks hire?" Clare muttered. She eyed up the newcomer curiously, trying to place him. She examined his white hair, which hung over his eyes, and his lean build. She decided he would be fast, tricky, a fierce competitor in battle. She assumed, of course, why else would Hornoks have hired him for this? Clearly the boy is important. "I am Clare," she said, strongly, deciding that it was best to know these people.

Ferren gathered himself as best as he could, and hoped he could trust this newcomer, Cero. He swallowed his fear once more and began trudging forward, and for the next mile or two, everything was as calm as could be. Birds tweeting, a soft breeze rustling the long, wild grass that lined the dirt path, and the warmth of the noon sun shining down upon them.

The silence, however, was broken by a scream. Off the path a ways, a girl of about 16 years sat crying, her clothes torn and tattered and specked with what seemed to be blood. Ferren's eyes widened, and he let out the strongest sentence he had let out all day: "She's in trouble!"

When working the field, one had to take care of everyone. If someone fell down due to dehydration or fatigue, everyone tried to help out. That same instinct, no matter how scared he became, was bolted into Ferren. Disregarding his brigade of bodyguards, he ran towards the girl and got down on a knee to check her out. Her dark blue eyes peered from behind her long red hair and her cry somehow immediately changed to a smile.

"Oh my, thank you, strong sir," she said to Ferren, her voice oozing with flattery. "I don't know if I could make it to town by myself... after all, I was attacked by a bear."

"A bear? I'm surprised you made it--" Ferren tried to continue conversation, but the girl cleared her throat. "Attacked. By. A. Bear!" She seemed to be repeating herself for some reason, and that reason soon showed itself.

Out of the tall grass, two small gremlin-like creatures with azure skin emerged and threw a net around Ferren, who was immediately returned to his petrified state.

"Last ingredient for my eternal youth brew: someone who is full of youth!" It seemed the whole thing was a facade, and in retrospect, the witch's acting wasn't too good-- but her face was cute and full of allure, and that was all she needed to trap her pray. Ferren, meanwhile, was in the process of being dragged away by the witch and two gremlins, something a petrified boy of thirteen years wasn't quite talented at handling.

"H-Help me!" He screamed.

A pitch black shield sailed through the air, and effectively cut off one of the Gremlins's hands, as Geralt sprinted silently and quick pace and kicked the same one in the face and into the ground, retrieving his shield has he did so. With one Gremlin at least temporarily disabled, the net was able to come loose. He shook the blood off in one smooth motion and stared at the witch and the other Gremlin, his soft eyes instilling a different type of uneasiness.((If any else knows Gin from Bleach, it's sorta like that, except with open eyes.))

He pointed the tip of the shield at her and reached for Ferren, not caring if the other Gremlin was still holding on to it's half of the net or not. The convoy was large enough he wasn't worried. He was strong enough to handle this. He glanced and Ferren.


"Up, please." the voice was raspy and soft, and it didn't' seem like he was going to say anything else.

« Last edited by Craizen on Apr 3rd 2012 »

Rilk had lowered his bow reluctantly when Cero offered his help, but it was fortunate his bow was out when it was, because now that Ferren was in actual danger, he needn't waste time drawing the bow or readying an arrow. Rilk drew his bow and let an arrow fly directly at the remaining gremlin's left eye.
Rilk didn't even need to watch the arrow to know it would hit, so he drew another arrow and strung it, this time aiming at the witch and holding his fire, daring her to try something.
"I suppose you would need an eternal youth potion, because you must be going senile if you think you can catch a ranger off guard," Rilk said smugly.

Night relaxed slightly and looked at the witch curiously. He walked over to Fherren, since Rilk had conviently disabled the other Gremlin, and helped Gerald take it off. He looked up at the Gremlins doubting they could do much.

"Well I wil applaud you for running to her, reckless but nice. Why don't we head back over to where you left us."

Night points to where the others were standing and waits for Fherren to head over with him. He kept one hand on his katana's hilt at all times, ready just in case something happened.

"Over there you can make your decision on how to proceed now, in safety."

The wounded gremlin disappeared into a plume of dark smoke, and the other scattered away and hid behind the young witch, who was not expecting these people to be packing so much heat.

"You've officially made my black list! One day I'm going to rule this world, and I'll be sure you all end up as slugs and toads! Rupa the Witch, remember that name!" With a simple flick of her hand, Rupa the Witch disappeared in a similar tuft of dark smoke, leaving no trace she was there, save for the broken net.

Ferren was on the ground on hands and knees, almost hyperventilating. Was it really that easy to be on the brink of death? And to add to that, they were now on a witch's black list, which probably wasn't too healthy, seeing as she had the power to concoct an immortality potion. What kind of world had he been missing out on, anyway?

He shakily got to his feet, and began trudging once more toward the group, his morale taking a huge hit. How could a boy of thirteen be expected to handle situations like that? All he could do was ask for help, and his silence was a show of how useless he felt as they returned to pace along the dirt path.

// EDIT: She was gone quick, but don't expect any other battles besides Rupa's to be like that. Right now she likes to be a pest and then run away when the going gets tough. //

« Last edited by dark_wolf_33 on Apr 3rd 2012 »

He glanced over to Tayus after seeing the witch just disappear, he was curious about the teleporting but after seeing the state Fherren was in decided curiosity could wait. He followed closely after him with a frown on his face. He was unsure how to calm him down or give him a positive feeling. Making others feel good about themsleves wasn't exactly something in his skill set.

"Alright Fherren your the leader here, not us. You were chosen for a reason and all you need to do is have hope in yourself. There is nothing wrong with being scared, everyone even gets scared."

Night sighs unsure if he did a good job or not. He guessed some of the others in the group could have a go at it, maybe they would be better at it. He gave Fherren a pat on the head and walked past him and sat down in the middle of the group where he began examining his weapon.

Rilk relaxed his bowstring, returning his arrow to its sheath and his bow over his shoulder. "Huh. I expected a little more from her, I'll be honest. Oh well, if she's not entirely talk then I guess we'll get to see how serious of a threat that was." Only after saying this did Rilk finally realize the state that Ferren was in. "What's wrong, Ferren?" Rilk asked curiously. "You're unharmed and we've removed that minor obstacle. Everything is going according to plan."