Thinslayer

Condemned

I've rarely had to write this much this consistently. Generally, if I'm about to run into any RP rules like controlling other's characters, I'll stop at the point where their input is required, which results in a very short post. Normally I'd be fine with that, but when you've written up such long, beautiful story posts, I feel it would be shameful to write much less, so avoiding power-playing will be a bit more problematic for me.

Additionally, my concept of the story at the moment does not lend itself to substantial content. I'm not very good at describing environments, so to bulk up a post, I would normally delve into a character's thoughts. But Erudessa's thoughts aren't very complicated right now - she just gave orders and is hanging back to watch the outcome. There's not much going on in the way of observation or analysis. She's not a particularly competent fighter compared to her soldiers; in fact, she'd probably lose a melee confrontation with any one Imperial soldier. Getting down and dirty would be most unwise. So I don't have a lot to write about right now.

What I'm trying to say is, please don't be mad. I'm still learning as an RPer. This RP is a brand new challenge that I haven't yet developed competency in.

Condemned

@Thinslayer
With all due respect you can't take control of Lanik like that.

@BellBottomBlues

I'm sorry, wasn't meaning to. I was trying to approximate Lanik's physical capabilities, but I should have asked you first. I'll rewrite it.

Part of the problem is that I have difficulty writing around unknown physical parameters. Extensive use of predictive verbiage (e.g. "his momentum would change considerably) is about all I know. Do you have any suggestions for how to tackle such issues?

Condemned

Erudessa leaped up a tree trunk to an outcropping branch to get a better view. The rough bark nipped at her palms on the way up, but she ignored it until she was safely perched. A few scratches marred her hands, nothing serious. She brushed away a few leaves scraping at her hood and watched her plan unfold.

Yanduin and Bethdul followed the Rangers from tree to tree. So far so good. The Rangers seemed to be headed for the wall at first blush, but their direction was a bit skewed. If they followed the known path in this region, it would take them within shouting distance of the wall before turning away, followed by a sharp reversal toward the Gap.

The Gap! If they knew where they were going, I'd say they were headed for the one place our wall couldn't connect. But there's no way they know about that...is there? She dropped to the earth and trailed them, darting from cover to cover in silence. The further they went, the less doubt she had in her mind of their destination.

Erudessa motioned for Frandur and Henindal to approach her. They scrambled over and nodded. "Yes milady?" Frandur whispered.
"They're headed for the Gap. Frandur, teleport over, warn the company there, and start gathering scrap metal and wood. Take Henindal with you."
"Yes milady," they replied, then promptly vanished. Erudessa raised her arm to her lips and whispered into the bracelet, "Yanduin, Bethdul, engage."

On command, the two elves leaped to the earth and unleashed a barrage of crossbow fire at the Rangers. As soon as everyone was appropriately distracted, Erudessa bolted for the most concealed path she could find toward the Gap. She skidded to a halt, however, when a horrifying thought crossed her mind.

I lost one.

She counted the enemy Rangers present. One, two, three, four, five...I'm missing not one, but two! If she couldn't track down the two missing Rangers, only heaven could know whether an ambush was in order. She almost called off the attack when she recalled seeing one of the Rangers drop off a cliff. Had one gone back to help the other? Panicking, Erudessa turned and raced back to the cliff where she last saw them. Sure enough, scratching noises reached her ears as she drew closer to the cliffside.

Eru swallowed hard, paused to regain her breath, and peered over the edge.

One of the soldiers was gravely wounded.
The other soldier carried him.

She drew back and laid against a rock, gripping her chest to calm her emotions. It wasn't just relief washing over her, but pity too. Ignore this feeling, girl. You can't go helping the enemy. And you don't have time! Every second you dawdle risks Yanduin's and Bethdul's lives! Yet, those old healer instincts kept tugging at her. Dead people she could deal with, and living people she could handle, but the wounded...they tugged at her heartstrings.

Remember your training. Let them go.

Who Shall Win Her Heart?

@Thinslayer

Kimoto tried to force a smile in a sense. "Well, I would much rather be studying in my family's library than taking a long trip to the city," he said as he looked the man over. It was odd that an elf would want to marry a human princess. He would be better suited with an elf because of the difference in life expectancy and culture. He was not one to judge, but he could imagine that the choice would have to be a different reason in mind for them to want to meet. "I have never met the current King before," he said knowing a new king had taken over recently. "Did your family hear anything about the change in power?" he asked, trying to get a read on his family's information.

@DeadlyPhoenix

Arandur widened his eyes and touched his chest in mock surprise. "Me? I'm only an elf from the borderlands. I was hoping you could tell me about the change in power." He laughed aloud and added, "I jest. The current king is ill and unable to effectively rule. His next of kin, his brother, is ruling in his stead for the time being. Ideally, the king's daughter would marry a man who would be named the successor. But I doubt the brother will give up power so readily, so it's in his best interest to hinder the princess's marriage. That makes the suitor's position here tenuous, and possibly bloody. I suggest you leave your horse at the gate as a gift for the princess and let the professionals handle things, eh?" He elbowed Kimoto and winked at him.

Condemned

Light peeked in through the forest canopy as the Imperial platoon marched. Captain Marcus Fastidius kept his eyes on the path in case there was another decayed hunting trap. It didn't help him much, because his foot found another elf-made pothole and tripped him over. "Bunch of cowardly, spineless, mutton-headed, lily-livered..." he cursed. The soldiers were in as much of a joyless mood as their Captain, mainly because sourness was contagious, but also because they would all go toppling like dominoes if they failed to avoid those the Captain discovered.

Marcus stopped short at a log in the path. He threw up his arms and kicked it. "Great, just great! Just what I needed for this god-cursed day! Men, move this overgrown stick and-" His instructions were interrupted by a rumbling sound. Suddenly, logs rolled down the slopes on either side of the path. They slammed into hapless soldiers and crushed them or knocked them out. One of the logs dissolved into sawdust, getting in their eyes and every oriface. "It's a trap! Retr- cough -retreat! It's a trap!"

The soldiers crawled out of the kill zone as best they could. With broken limbs and shattered morale, they could not move quickly enough to escape the finale. First they smelled smoke. Then all the atmospheric sawdust combusted. Soldiers screamed in agony as their eyes, mouths, ears, and throats tore apart in the resulting flames.

Only one soldier made it through unscathed. He scrambled out from the kill zone and ran headlong into a towering figure. The man looked up to find himself staring into a squad of five elves, face to face with a strange silver-haired elf woman. He started to back away, but the elf girl reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Remember."

That was all she said before she let him run back down the road.

Condemned

@BellBottomBlues
I'm not sure where to go from here. I need a hook to write from. Perhaps Eru should lead an ambush against Imperial troops, and we could get things moving if Lanik were nearby to hear an escaped soldier report on it. Your thoughts?

Condemned

My questions about Lanik's wife were answered. So it seems Eru will have some competition from the wife! Will the woman be a warrior amazon like most women, or a stay-at-home mom?

Who Shall Win Her Heart?

@DeadlyPhoenix
"You are also here to see the princess?" said a voice. Arandur looked at him sidelong. The human was an adult, but he didn't bear bear many of the marks or scars of advanced age, putting him in the mid-twenties. His remarkable ability to point out the obvious suggested he wouldn't be much competition for the princess's hand. Arandur stifled a chuckle when he remembered never to underestimate the little humans. Perhaps he could indulge the fellow.

"Snap, I was trying to be subtle about it. Yes, yes I am here to see the princess. I'm glad your horse and I have that in common. What about you, though? You smell like the rooster crowed a mite too early. Rough morning?"

Who Shall Win Her Heart?

@Thinslayer waiting for you

@imacamoprincess

Okay. :)

Condemned

Conversation posts may be a bit short. :3
The last one was so short mainly because I rewrote it. I initially had a couple solid paragraphs down, written little by little during the workday, but when I sat down to finish it tonight, I realized that all the commanding officers sounded the same. They should each now have their own 'voice.' Magdalee is more emotional and easygoing, while Promagnus is more intellectual and erudite.

I've been brooding on how to bring Lanik and Eru together. I was thinking that their relationship could start out a reciprocal one - Erudessa saves his life on the battlefield, and then when she's enslaved, he saves hers through buying her.