RedPandaGamer

Townsfolk of Lorenstad - A Fantasy Village RP

@Kumbaris [@Serat] @Forsythe @Ozzy Cross

Shina watched as her companions were tied up and they were led through the forest. All the while feeling angry, helpless and generally annoyed with their situation. How could they have come so far just to be caught by this group of elves. Lapoo flew around her head, worried squeaks escaped her, but at least they hadn't tried to catch her...or worse. Lapoo sat on her shoulder. 'It's OK little buddy, we won't be here long...I hope'

The dense forest they had walked through had started to thin out, as they walked the could see the start of a clearing. Shina gasped as she saw so many faces surrounding what looked like a makeshift arena! And within it - stood a very tired Thaddeus and the man she knew must be Nemnon. It looked like they had already started their sparring, Thaddeus had wounds on his arms and blood on his face.

'Thaddeus!' Shina cried out. She also realised that his son must have seen his father in the ring.

Lost World: Antarctica

Interested ! I'm not great with science terminology, does that matter? Would love to be a nerdy scientist (similar in character to Milo in Disney's Atlantis ;))

Townsfolk of Lorenstad - A Fantasy Village RP

@Ozzy Cross @Forsythe @Kumbaris @Searat

Shina watched in awe as Rudolph set fire to branches one by one. It always amazed her the extent of magic powers that certain races had, and how certain individuals were more powerful than others. What was magic? Where had it come from? These were questions she knew she'd never find the answers too, like the very air she breathed, it just existed. When Rudolph had finished his magic, he turned to the group and said that Thaddeus was very likely to be North East of where they were; but more importantly, that he was fighting? Someone called Nemnon. Why did that name stir something inside her, had she met him before, maybe he was someone Guan had mentioned in the past. Either way, this news made her feel uneasy.

What were they to do, if they went backwards and start looking for Thaddeus, who knows what they would run into. The meeting with the elves had already wasted time, as well as put them all at risk. And they hadn't even got halfway through the forest yet! Not only that, they had Thomas with them now, a young boy with almost no experience of the world, let alone fighting.

Shina turned to Rudolph.... 'What do you suggest we do wizard? We can't know what Thaddeus is dealing with right now, and after our run-in with the elves, we might not even get that far.... Her voice trailed off as Lapoo flew into her peripheral vision, flapping up and down and squeaking alot. But there were no enemies nearby. That was when she saw out of the corner of her eye, young Thomas had disappeared. Then from nowhere an elvish voice called from above and there was Thomas, held at knife point!

The group all looked stunned as the elf spoke to them; telling them that Thaddeus was going to fight this Nemnon and they all had to watch. Why them!? Why couldn't they have just got through without issue?! Shina felt her blood boil and her ears went back, mouth in a snarl...

'Don't you DARE HURT HIM!' Shina yelled, but felt unsure of the elf's intentions. The Elf shot her a glance, the dragon as well, and his knife got ever closer to Thomas' throat.

'"You will follow me now, to the battle grounds, once your friend falls to Nemnon your safety has been assured, you will watch."

With that, the group of elves had somehow caught up with them again and once more, they were trapped.

Shina felt a sting of tears in her eyes. She could almost feel Guan's spirit fading from her mind. But Thaddeus was her friend, and Thomas was just a boy.

The group followed the elves.

Townsfolk of Lorenstad - A Fantasy Village RP

@Forsythe @Kumbaris @Searat @Ozzy Cross

Shina couldn't help but feel fear rise in her as she saw the dragon lady turn into her 'true' form. How could someone not feel dwarfed and vulnerable when a human form becomes so many times bigger, fiercer, deadlier?! However, she couldn't argue with the results as she watched the same fear on the faces of the elves that had surrounded them - no more as they had been separated by a literal fire wall.

'Well, can't argue with that huh Lapoo? ' The little squirrel shaking behind her, tail firmly tucked under itself.

She watched as the group started to follow the dragon and Shina promptly followed. She looked back at the still stunned looks of her would-be captors - the one that had spoken to her had now shifted her gaze to the group - in particular to look directly at Shina. She had seen that look before. The look of a predator watching its prey escape. It wasn't a look she appreciated, but she held off making a witty comment.

Shina ran a little quicker to catch up to the front, where the dragon lady led the way. Catching her breath she said 'We...I owe you my thanks dragon. Without your intervention, we would have been dragged off by the elves, and we just don't have that time. You have my gratitude....and my thanks'

The princess was right too, we did need to track Thaddeus, before they progressed too far without him. Shina wished she could track, but her teachings had only ever helped her in battle. And whatever that light show was earlier, it hadn't come back.

The wizard seemed to have an idea though - she was so glad he had come with them!

'So wizard, what do you need us to do to help with a tracking spell?' Shina was conscious she didn't want to take too much of a detour finding Thaddeus, ever minute they spent dawdling was more time Guan could be in mortal danger.

Townsfolk of Lorenstad - A Fantasy Village RP

@Ozzy Cross @Kumbaris @Forsythe @Searat

Shina cursed under her breath - this was not what she wanted to happen. As it was, the encounter with the vines had slowed them down considerably and she was getting more and more anxious of the fate of her friend.

The wizard started doing what he did best, speaking very verbosely to the angry looking sets of eyes looking down at them. It was clear he was buying the group time but she couldn't see how they would get out of this.

As the wizard spoke, Shina, the princess, the dragon lady and young Thomas turned and started to walk further into the forest. Of course, they were quickly stopped by one of the elves. A woman, who was clad only in nature's leaves and with a face covered by a mask made from tree bark pointed to them. She shouted something, which didn't sound very friendly and proceeded to jump to the ground, a long spear pointed right at them.

You trespass here! You come with us! She snarled.

'Damn it, we don't have time for this' Shina thought. Lapoo kept close to her side, while the elves eyed it, as though it seemed strange for an animal to be close to a human.

'What do we do wizard? I would love nothing more than to fight my way through them, but I fear we are outnumbered.'

With that, she saw in the corner of her eye, more and more of them started to descend from the trees to surround them. It definitely wouldn't end well to fight. Follow them they would have to do...

Townsfolk of Lorenstad - A Fantasy Village RP

@Forsythe @Kumbaris @Searat @Ozzy Cross

Shina almost felt as though she were a ghost, watching this different version of her below - slicing through vine after vine, like some crazy person! She didn't feel herself at all, but all she could remember was Guan's face, clear as day. Her soul was on fire, her ears and tail seemed to glow with a soft ember and her senses were keener than they had ever been.

As she cut through the vines, she saw that the wizard had lifted the spell they all had, so there was no hope of going through this forest without a fight now. She had also realised that Thaddeus' boy had somehow appeared, how very like his father, "Thomas, what are you doing here?!?!" She helped with the others until they had all been freed. It looked like the dragon had everything covered, it would have been good if she could turn and set this whole awful forest aflame!

Suddenly, she thought she could hear a muffled scream...the princess was almost completely covered in vines!! Lapoo had already made its way over and was started to try (not very successfully) to bite through... "Thank you my friend, i've got it from here" Shina sliced through until she could see the princesses face, looking so frightened.. "I'm so sorry Princess, you should never have got caught up in all this" Finally she got her free and it looked like they were all untangled.

They all gathered around and Shina grabbed Thomas by the arm "Thomas! What are you doing here, does your father know?! She felt that Thaddeus would never have let his son join, especially with the danger of the elves. As she thought this, she suddenly felt many eyes watching them. Lapoo confirmed her fears when it let out a squeak and hid behind her.

The canopy above them shifted as elves surrounded them, most aiming bows at them. Things were about to get complicated.

"You, come with us!!" One of the elves shouted in broken English.

Yep, thought Shina, thing's are definitely going to get complicated.

Townsfolk of Lorenstad - A Fantasy Village RP

@Ozzy Cross @Searat @Kumbaris @Forsythe

Shina turned to see a stranger appear from nowhere 'Wait...is that...Thomas?! Thaddeus' boy??!' Shina blinked hard as she could feel the vines tightening around her. What on earth was the boy thinking?! This was no place for him and she watched helplessly as he too got caught by the same vines that had by now, tangled the whole group.

She saw Lapoo fly around her, squeaking with fear, not being super helpful. Then as she felt her mind start to spin, she heard something, or was it someone? It was familiar but all at once strange and frightening. She could feel her heartbeat pulse quicker and quicker, her very soul felt like it was aflame, as though someone had thrown a fresh piece of wood on a fireplace. As she opened her eyes again, the world looked completely different. She saw her friends as, well as other beings! But what came to her was the dragon lady, Shina saw her as a dragon again! But not in its real scale this time, almost as though she could see the aura of the human (or in this case elf form) and within it, a small version of the very real dragon she was. She turned to Rudolph, again a faint outline of the wizard but within, a glowing blue magical being existed.

Shina shook her head again, this must be a hallucination, caused by a lack of air. But as she looked down, she saw the same with her, the outline of the elf form but within, a fiery flame red panda burned!

Her heart quickened...and kept quickening...and then.....she saw Guan. Or was it?

'Guan?...Is that you?....ple..ase...he..l..p...us' As she was losing consciousness again. Guan walked up to her and whispered...'You don't need me Shina, you know what to do.' And just like that, he disappeared.

Lapoo started squeaking louder and louder, becoming more primal. Suddenly, Shina felt a surge of power course though her and yelled 'ESTELIAR!!!!!' Her eyes burned red and she doubled round, grabbing her dagger from her satchel and sliced through the vine holding the wizard. The vine slithered back, giving her time to jump down and run towards the others. As quick as lighting, she started to cut through the vines, one after the other.

Townsfolk of Lorenstad - A Fantasy Village RP

@Searat @Ozzy Cross @Kumbaris @Forsythe

As the group slowly made their way through the forest, Shina felt less and less comfortable. A shiver continued to go through her whole body and the smell of trees gave way to an unusual musty smell. Suddenly, another root appeared from nowhere; but Shina had been watching the ground so saw this appear in front of her.

She went to side step it and before she knew it, another root had grabbed her other foot and tied itself around her. She was lifted high into the air with such force, the wind was knocked out of her. 'HELP! Someone chop this piece of fire wood off me!!' Shina tried to reach for her dagger but it had fallen out of her satchel and lay on the ground. 'Lapoo! Get my knife buddy, you can do it' But Lapoo had no time before another vine had grabbed its tail.

Vines started to appear all around the group...

Townsfolk of Lorenstad - A Fantasy Village RP

@Searat @Kumbaris @Forsythe @Ozzy Cross

Shina felt odd in this new 'body', she instinctively flicked her tail behind her but looked down to see nothing there, just an ordinary elf bottom. 'I miss my tail already' Shina sighed. But she looked the part and that was all that mattered in this instance.

She smiled to herself as she saw the dragon change, she didn't look nearly as menacing now, though she didn't doubt she would be just as aggressive! 'You look great, dragon' Shina knew she wouldn't believe her but now wasn't the time to worry about looks.

'OK everyone, thanks to the wizard, we are all set to enter the forest. It's been some time since Thaddeus went in and I haven't heard anything so we should be safe to go.' Shina hoped it was quiet because Thaddeus was just getting through the firest and not because he had already been dispatched.

They began to make their way through. Instantly Shina felt a different atmosphere here; a cold, ominous feeling. The forest was indeed beautiful, the trees towered above them as if to cover the skies themselves. It smelt damp and moss covered most of the ground. Not a bird could be heard, nor any deer or creature to be seen. As they walked through, she had the distinct feeling that someone or something was watching them. Lapoo stuck to her shoulders like glue. 'It's ok friend, you can stay on my shoulder. Nothing will happen to...' Shina suddenly tripped on a root, though she would have sworn there was nothing there. 'Ow!! Horse dung, who the hell put this here!!?' Shina picked herself up and dusted the damp leaves off her.

'Be careful everyone!' Shina tried to hide her embarrassment.

Townsfolk of Lorenstad - A Fantasy Village RP

@Kumbaris @Forsythe @Ozzy Cross @Searat

Shina smiled back at Thaddeus, he sure knew what to say to make people feel better, but there was something about the look in his eyes that still gave her cause for concern. 'Too late to back out now Shina' she thought to herself; her soft ears bristled as she felt the magic's aura around the group.

She trusted the wizard, but she could feel herself starting to turn and she just prayed that this would work and that they wouldn't be stuck in this state forever!

She looked down and saw her tail start to fade away 'hmmm that's a new one.' Lapoo, startled by the transformation flew into the nearest tree. Shina hoped that her little friend would recognise her spirit when she was changed. She felt her body getting thinner, and taller and her hair started to flow long around her shoulders.

When she felt the magic become still, she walked over to her horse Renn, who jumped at her new form. 'Shhh shh it's OK Renn, it's me.' She grabbed a glass bottle from her satchel to take a look at herself but it was blurry, the only thing she couldn't see was her ears, which made her feel weird.

Turning to the group she watched as one by one, they started to change. Thaddeus had run into the woods and Shina hoped his transformation had occurred before he got in there. Walking to the wizard she patted his shoulder in approval 'So wizard, I guess it worked then. Well done. Do I make a good elf?'