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Section
1
Templarhawk
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A tracker stopped momentarily in the forest, he gingerly knelt down to one knee and examined the tracks before him. There were several deep imprints in the forest floor, he noted the broken branches around the print.
"Are you done, yet" cried a warrior behind him, as she stepped on the print.
"I would be, if you just didn't step on the trail...." grumbled the ranger as he straightened up.
"My grandma can this twice as fast without the grumbling!"
"If you think you can do better, then by all means. The Princess can lead us to failure, then!"
"Enough! Both of you, Shut up!" shouted the wizard. "Mai, got back to playing vanguard. Alain, see if you can pick up the trail again."
The wizard sighed heavily. "I can't believe, I got stuck with the both of you again!"
....
....
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Section
2
Talym28
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The afternoon sun was sinking fast, as it usually did around this time of year. The days were shorter and the nights were longer. Mai sighed in exasperation as she fiddled with her long braided ponytail. Moving ahead of her two companions, she walked quietly yet briskly, her trained, warrior eyes scanning the surrounding area for any potential threats.
“Why are we doing this again?” she asked the wizard, Pilan.
Pilan wiped the sweat from his brow. The scorching heat combined with the suffocating humidity was becoming far too much for his middle-aged body to handle. “The afugam is the rarest type of dragon known to mankind. Flightless yes, but extraordinarily powerful. Legend has it that the source of the afugam’s power is in its blood. But no one has ever been able to get close enough to get a hold of its blood, or if they have, they most likely did not survive the carnage.”
Alain and Mai traded uncertain glances. When they were summoned upon by the king, neither could not turn down the honor nor recognition of being called for a very important, though highly secret, task. But very little details were disclosed to them about the nature of their mission. All they knew was that they were the hunters and this afugam was the hunted.
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Section
3
Templarhawk
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A distant roar rattled the surrounding forests, startling birds from their perched nestings into the sky. It had been hours since the three travelers had picked up the trail...And Mai was still grumbling something about her grandmother..
"Did you hear that, Pilan?" asked the ranger as they trekked through the tall grassed meadow.
"Of coarse, he did! He isn't that old...you know." grumbled Mai, as she hacked her way through the grass. Her sword strokes had parted the grass mismatchedly as they first came into the plain.
"Quiet, you fools." murmured the wizard. "Alain, what do you suggest?"
"In a few hours, it'll be dusk. It'll head for one of the water, even a beast needs to find food." Replied the ranger after soem thought. "So, that where we're headed then..."
He put two fingers into his mouth and blew hard, a loud whistle flew over the landscape.
"I suggest we take a break, Pilan." said Alain. "We'll need all the rest we can get before tackling the dragon...I'll go scout ahead."
He dropped his racksack by Mai, before heading west in search of the Afugam's screeches. Overhead, a silver hawk soared around in circles before landing on his master's arm. The ranger whispered something into the young hawk, before sending it back into its element. Watching it as it flew into the distance, he noticed a distinct eerie silence that seemed to drape onto the field. Someone or something was stalking them, but all he knew was that they weren't alone in the plain. Alain circled around the field, noting the shadows cast by the nearby trees.
"Better tell Pilan...we've got trouble." The ranger thought to himself.
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Section
4
Pen@Sword
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The ranger slowly walked back to camp, while trying to arrouse the least amount of suspicion to his stalkers...He knelt down twice in the long dewed grass and note the positions of the stalkers...
While he could exactly pinpoint the number of of soldiers, he knew that there would be trouble
"And one ranger, a warrior, and a old wizard might not be able to hold them off for long...." He thought to himself as he continued the walk back to the others.
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Section
5
Talym28
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Alain found Mai and Pilan sitting near a small clearing by the river. The wizard scratched his scruffy dark hair as he read through a small scroll, while Mai sat by the water’s edge, inspecting her arrows.
As Alain approached, Pilan stood up and eagerly asked, “Well? Were you able to track where the afugam is headed?”
“We may have a bigger problem than that right now…”
“Why? What’s wrong?” Mai asked as she joined the two.
“We’re being followed…” Alain quietly answered. He glanced around suspiciously, thankful for the drowning sound of a waterfall in the nearby distance. “There are about nine soldiers on our tail. It’s going to make our search a little harder with these bastards trailing us.”
“So what do you propose we do?” the wizard asked, his expression growing apprehensive.
“Wait,” Mai interrupted. “Did you say soldiers? I thought you said only a select few of the King’s court knew about this mission.”
But before Pilan could even begin to consider an explanation, the threesome heard the light shuffling of leaves in a nearby bush. Slightly startled by the noise, Alain turned to his companions with earnest in his voice.
“We’ll figure that out later. Right now, I think it would be best if we split up. Maybe try to lose whoever’s following us.”
“But how are we going to find each other? This forest is confusing enough as it is!” Mai argued.
The ranger simply pointed skyward to a silver hawk circling above them. “Pilan, you come with me. I’m pretty sure Mai can take care of herself, am I right?” He smirked teasingly as Mai rolled her eyes. “Just keep an eye out for Tala. Once we’re ready to meet up, she’ll show you the way. Just be careful and keep an eye out for any danger.”
And with that, Alain, Pilan and Mai went their separate ways.
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Section
6
Templarhawk
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Section
7
Templarhawk
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"Do you think she's okay?" whispered the ranger concernly to the wizard as they made their way further and further into the dense forest. They passed over dead trees and under heavy foliage, as they hoped to lose their friends along the way.
"Now isn't the time for this, Alain. We have more pressing matters," said Pilan in his deep voice. "Are they behind us?"
Ty knelt down as to look for a trail, and stole a quick glance around them. He counted six shadows moving along the underbrush with them. The air was tense, even with the low humility this time of year. "Yes, they're spread around us. Probably an ambush is coming up within the next few minutes." pondered the ranger out loud. He stepped up towards an oak tree and relieved himself while strategizing what to do next.
"Pilan, what if..." started Alain before getting interrupted by the elementalist.
"I know where you're going with this. But we don't know who the target is...It could be risky either way. If we stand here for too long, they'll know. It's best for us to continue along and make them think that they have all the cards." said Pilan, taking the lead with his staff.
"Alright. We head northeast, there's going to be another tall-grass plain but this one has more cover and taller grass. We'll reverse the tables on them there." Alain summed up, as he grabbed his quiver from the tree and hoisted it around his thigh.
The wizard nodded in agreement.
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