[h3][center]Ethan[/center][/h3]

A thirty minute walk might not seem that far when you had the leisure of walking thirty minutes, but suddenly that length grew exponentially bigger when you’re being chased by a pair of man eating murder birds. Being in the forest didn’t help Ethan very much either; not only did he have to struggle with getting back onto the dirt path leading out of the forest, but unlike him the bloodhawks had very little trouble navigating between the trees and brush to chase him. After all, this sort of thing was their entire livelihood; not being able to chase prey through the forest would mean their deaths. And unfortunately, it may spell Ethan’s death as well.

For then minutes he ran as fast as he could. He had a bit of a head start but the blood hawks easily managed to catch up with him. Yet despite being able to catch him even as he dashed away, they didn’t go after him immediately, flying off into the air. Perhaps they decided to find easier prey? No, no they did not. Because they stayed nearby, menacing him and even doing flybys around him. And why? Because most people underestimate the brutal cunning of these beasts. They think they’re animals who cannot act beyond their instincts. Rarely do they consider how complex instincts can be.

Shortly after ten minutes of running exhaustion would set in for Ethan. Nonstop full tilt running was not something he was physical prepared for even in his old life. Not even animals can do that, and the Bloodhawks knew this. And their cruel, sick cunning, they were casually threatening Ethan so that he would be exhausted and thus easier to kill. He won’t be able to put up nearly as good of a fight when he was tired, and so far away from help as well. Ethan would feel his bones crack and his blood struggling to provide him the energy to keep going; even his adrenaline was quickly dwindling. 

It was about time for the hawks to feed. One flew ahead while the other kept chasing Ethan. When they were in position they both dove towards him. Same thing as they always did; go straight for the eyes and neck, rip and tear. Quick and easy.

Then an arrow impaled one.

Off in the distance standing underneath a tree was a lone girl wearing red armed with a longbow. The birds had spent so much time menacing Ethan they didn’t notice her. The surviving Bloodhawk backed off for a moment to analyze the situation while the lone ranger called out to the young man. 

[@Searat]

[hr]

[h3][center]Shem’et[/center][/h3]

Bookie was still in his books when the young tabaxi woman arrived. He was sipping some tea when she came up to him asking about the iron shipment and offering her services. He set both his book and his teacup down as he sighed sadly. [b]”Unfortunately it’s out of my hands right now. The mayor is going to hold a counsel tonight about the mines and until then, the mines aren’t open today. We still have plenty of iron to smelt into ingots for your master and to trade, I’m just worried about how long the mines might be shut down. With any luck, I could convince the mayor to just seal off part of the mines so the men can go back to work tomorrow. But until then…”[/b] Then Bookie stopped himself and thought about something. He thought long and hard, even opening up one of his personal little booklets to check on something.

[b]”You know… There may be something else we could do. The Black Mines isn’t the only place we could gather iron from. Up the mountains is a cedar forest. I’ve heard that it’s rich in iron sand, but because of the Black Mines no one has ever really bothered to look into it. I haven’t either. But perhaps if you could head to the cedar forest and find enough samples of iron sand at different locations before the meeting tonight, perhaps I could convince the mayor of expanding the mining operations up the mountain. This way we’ll still continue to produce iron even if we have to close the mines.”[/b]

Bookie took out a small map of the local area around the Frontier Town. It was crudely made considering that much of the Frontier was still being explored, but Bookie knew enough to at least be able to give Shem’et directions. He pointed towards the two small islands that represent the Frontier Town, then dragged his finger along a specific route leading up to appeared to be a small lake or pond. [b]”If you follow this path, you should come across a lot of dry creek and river beds from when water used to flow down the mountains. These should have some traces of iron sand, possibly a rich deposit! Bring me at least say…”[/b] Bookie reached into his pockets and took out a small pouch big enough to fill an apple. [b]”Say, five bags of iron sand, preferably from different locations along the mountain. That should be enough to show the mayor that it’d be a worthwhile endeavor to set up mining operations there while the Black Mines are still being looked into.”[/b]

[@ihinka]

[hr]

[h3][center]Livia | Katherine[/center][/h3]

[color=fff200]”The Frontier has been known to hide many secrets and discoveries people find fascinating. But what I think is even more impressive is how those very things often come to us.”[/color] Maeda says with a smile, yet her eyes weren’t directly focused on Livia. No, instead it seemed to drift a little bit more towards the entrance, where suddenly another made an appearance: Katherine. While Maeda was a strange sight to behold for obvious reasons, even the arachne was curious about this strange newcomer who appeared to initially have celestial heritage, which was a rare enough thing to find in this world. But her thing blade spadetail also spoke of fiendish ancestry. A duality of heavenly and hellish matrimony was almost… Deliciously storybook.

Seeing that she had some new guests Maeda extended her hands outwards so that the two could see and follow her. [color=fff200]”I see that I have guests today! Why don’t we speak in my office? Much roomier. We can discuss whatever business or introductions there.”[/color] As Maeda walked pass Katherine she bowed her head a little. [color=fff200]”Greetings, my name is Maeda, I’m a school teacher here. If you’ve business with me, please, meet me at my office! If your need privacy, I’d have to ask you to wait outside as I speak to this fine young lady here. She found me first after all.”[/color]

[@Rune_Alchemist][@Pyromania99]

[hr]

[h3][center]Antaeus[/center][/h3]

Antaeus’ investigation of the tracks were unfortunately sparse. Even as he carefully observed the tracks, all he could tell was that there were multiple animals doing [i]something[/i] here before they went their separate ways. Whatever happened here involved a lot of movement, as none of the tracks were clear and solid; it was as if they had dragged their feet across the ground for some reason or another. Perhaps it was the White Stag and a few other doe rutting. Would be the right time for that. Perhaps the Stag had fought off some predators or rivals. Certainly seems violent enough. But alas, mere speculation. Nothing else Antaeus could gleam from this.

It has been roughly twenty minutes since he had first cast his Pass Without Trace spell. He spent most of that time stealthy moving through the forest, ensuring that no predators spots him, but drastically cutting into his time limit since he was also slowly following the White Stag’s trail. And while he hasn’t lost the trail per say, he would need to quickly figure out which way the Stag went from here. Not to mention he was now out in the open; even with his spell hiding his tracks with no cover Antaeus was almost literally a sitting duck. He should make his decisions quickly: a hero shouldn’t hesitate.

[@Zeroth]

[hr]

[h3][center]Kael[/center][/h3]

[color=ed1c24]”Haha! Enthusiasm! I like it. First go put those books back where you got them. After that, meet me at the garrison so I can see what you’re capable of, physically speaking. Depending on how well you handle things from there we’ll either do some fitness and conditioning, just to hone your strength, and then maybe we’ll get right into drills and practices!”[/color] The dwarf says energetically. She would go off towards the garrison to prepare to Kael’s training as he would go to put the books away. But while he does so, he would notice a presence that was…. Watchful. 

Standing near the altar resting for a moment was perhaps the biggest dwarf Kael would have ever seen; one would think a dwarf would be a squat and burly figure, and this dwarf was certainly burly, but he was also nearly seven feet tall. He was like a dwarf but enchanted with an enlarge person spell. His skin was dark like coal, and his hair was equally charred though carefully braided and tied up, practical since he was obviously a smith of some sort. He said nothing to Kael but watching him, but before the young man could approach one of the priests arrived and whispered something into his ear. The large dwarf then left to go back to his business.

[@Guy0fV4lor]