Life Stone

[tangletail]

When he heard Suzumi mention the bandit, the cat frowned and looked back behind himself. “Well... from a thief's perspective. If it took us this long to hop town, you might as well take your time,” he sighed. His tone wasn't sarcastic either. He clearly remembered hearing other foot steps before Korius killed the one. And to top it all off they left the body in the open obviously searched for anything valuable.

 
He dropped his voice a bit to near a mumble, but it was still audible. “We probably got an ambush or a tail. Either way we aren't in the clear right now.”

 
He then turned to face Korius and frowned. His ears were swivled and laid back to show his distaste. His brows even dropped till they were halfway covering his eyes. A natural reaction from a thief. But rather than complaining about the unfairness, or saying anything about how the merchant deserved it, he figured it'd be best to try and speak the leader's language. But what came to be surprising to the feline is that the Barbarian, is being the baby sitter of a thief.

 
“And how exactly am I supposed to get better at what my skills are... when they aren't completely reliable in fighting, and can only be practiced when we are,” he then gestured behind himself towards the town, “In town. Or in a place loaded to hell and back with more traps and security measures than your typical residential camp. I also don't plan on having my hands dipped in hot tar, or being executed for thievery mind you. ” He dropped his thumb and gazed ahead of himself in a searching manner.

 
“Besides... I don't like the thought of being executed publicly, or having my hands dipped in black tar this early. It's not something people take lightly. If you -really- want me to give it back, I'll have to break into his home and plant it.”

[Vosur Aekira]

Karina caught up to Korius then looked back to the others. "There we go!" she spoke, a bit on the excited-side due to the run. It took her a little bit to calm herself down before she would look to Sage. "Looks like we ran into a Cleric who wants to be on the move as well, or better yet, she ran into us. " the vixen spoke as she looked to Korius, Kiana, then Leo for approval of their new team-mate. "A healer would be useful for our group, given our track-record, wouldn't you agree?" Due to the adrenaline still going through her system due to the run, she didn't realize she was nearing in giving the pleading 'puppy-eyes' expression to them.

[Suzumibachii]

Suzumi slowed down as she caught up with the rest of the group quickly slipping into the middle of the group in an attempt to stay as covered as she could be, she still needed to attune the gems and until she did she was the weakest link. She didnt quite like that feeling, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths she started to focus a little more, slipping her hands into ehr pockets and taking hold of the gems, a pale purple glow spilling from the fabric.  Suzumi focused some more drowning out the sound of conversations until she could fully attune the new crystals, pulsing raw arcane energy into the two crystals as subtly as she possibly could well aware that the gems were not of the highest quality available.

[Solntse]

Sage looked at the large wolf-kin, her eyes wide in awe as he spoke. So this was their leader, and obviously a good one she thought, as the fox-kin she had met earlier started to introduce her. Meeting the wolf's gaze she quickly spoke "I'm Sage, " she began "A cleric form the village you just passed through. I was hoping you might have room for another traveler with your group?" She ended more as a question than a statement, her eyes pleading. For some reason she felt that by joining this group she would finally be able to achieve what she was meant to, and a rejection would be nothing less than a death sentence for her, yet she knew not to get her hopes up too high.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Korius turned his gaze a little more to the cleric, "You don't look like a follower of Serenity. What kind of cleric are you? I have yet to hear of any healer that isn't under Serenity." In fact, it was almost never heard of. Throughout known history, only a very small handful of clerics were healers that were followers of the other gods, 9 in total. Aside from those, all clerics that followed the other gods have been debuffers, buffers and on rare occasions, holy magic users. He then looked back over to Leo, "If you have to, then do it. But I'm not going to have an uncivilized thief in my company. Stay with that set of mind, and you'll never reach the next level of skill. My first party, when I was a lad, had a thief who became a fairly renowned assassin. We don't want to hold onto money as we go along. It's unnecessary attention pointed to us." He then waited for Sage's answer as they continued to walk.

[tangletail]

Leo raised a brow when Korius spoke to him once more. Choosing to ignore Kariana for a moment, he then added in his counter statement to the conversation between the two. A row rose as his head snapped into a tilt to show his disbelief. “Uncivilized Thief? So what are you saying, that I am just as bad as the brigand you slaughtered, but the Assassin is fine?” He began with a near offended tone. His jaws opened as if he was about to add on. But he paused for a moment figuring he’d just as well tie his tongue for now. He tossed his hands up in the air, signaling he was done with the argument, and turned to continue walking down the path, pulling ahead slightly to go ahead and scout out the area ahead of them.


Before he pulled to far ahead of the group, he’d stop and turn around to ask a question. “Now… you said we are returning…  where exactly are we going?” He wasn’t sure if he was the only one who had caught Korius mentioning that they were coming back, but he knew the group leader’s context needed to be checked periodically. Especially when the feline began to notice his behavioral changes from when he first met him.


With an answer or not, the feline would pull ahead. Even if the leader attempted to bestow his ‘infinite’ wisdom from experience. It was something that he’d rather not hear right now. Once he was out further ahead, he’d pull off of the road and let his footsteps become  much lighter than before. A few moments later, he’d let himself glide quietly through the bushes with his stance lowering till the shrubs were just above eye level. He wasn’t too willing to risk being seen, not even by his own party. Especially after the previous events.

[Solntse]

"I follow Piro." Sage admitted looking down at her hooves, as small puffs of dust erupted from under them with each step. Looking back up at the wolf-kin still hopeful " I was taught some of the very basics of healing, mostly just theory really, but I'm sure I could learn more" She said meeting the wolf's eyes with a firm, determined glint to her eyes. "If not that, I'm sure I could be of some other use."

[Vosur Aekira]

Karina watched the ongoing conversations, trying to calm herself down now that it seemed that Korius was already considering the cleric to join the team. She realized she was trying to use the "cute" behavior for getting her to join the team, putting her own palm to her own forehead with a bit of a sigh. "Oi, let's hope that there's a water-source around here somewhere. I've embarrassed myself long enough to heat up my face for a while."  she grumbles to herself as she starts to walk a little ahead of Korius, only Leo in front of herself while she was keeping her eyes peeled for anything of use or to be wary of.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Kiana pretty much tuned out when Leo started to respond to Korius. She didn't want to listen to any bickering between the members of the group at that moment, especially about the concept of thievery and morals and whatnot. There wasn't much more to do besides keep walking for the time being. She watched Leo walk ahead of the group, turn and say something, then pull further ahead before walking off the path. She also saw Karina walk ahead too, though not nearly as far as Leo had. Kiana looked at their surroundings as she walked, not really hearing anything but her own thoughts at present.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Korius was interested now as he heard Sage's little story. No one has ever bothered teaching healing mantras and magic to anyone who didn't follow Serenity, and even more so, there are no concrete theories or even scriptures that have been confirmed that could teach healing to other followers. It's only been hearsay for hundreds of years that only those who have the one magical spark and blood that is perfectly attuned to their god or goddess that would receive the whispers and tutelage of healing. "Interesting. Well, I look forward to what you can do." When they finally caught up to Leo, they broke the treeline, at the top of a cliff, and looked out into a large, open prairie with sparse trees here and there and several small mountains, towns, villages and even castles in the distance. As much as they could see, everything was a very far distance away. Korius took in a deep breath and sighed, but quickly reached out as Suzumi did not stop walking, busy tuning her body's magical energies with her new gems, and tipped right over the cliff. The wolf grabbed hold of her arm and lifted her back up, putting her down next to him, "Be careful, you. You don't want your legacy to be the idiot that fell off a cliff for not paying attention." Suzumi caught her breath and nodded.

Korius looked around, "There's supposed to be a station near here that can take us to the bottom safely. There's a wind and an earth mage that runs a gondola for a small fee. Leo or Karina, go find find out where they are. They are twins, so you can't mistake them." He waited for them to move before following. Suzumi followed as well, but with her attention on attuning to her gems again, tripped on the first root at her feet, and fell on her face. "Kiana, can you make sure this mage doesn't kill herself? I want to see how well this cleric does, but not so soon."

[tangletail]

Leo was actually surprised when he reached the edge of the woods. The thicket giving through to an overwhelming view to the lower landscape. Surprisingly peaceful when compared to week long hell featured with dragons, cockatrice, and a group of other adventurers. He slowly approached the cliff side, and sat down at the edge. His feet dangled idly as his eyes darted from castle to castle. Each town and the like he found had been evaluated for it's age and wealth. He had always dream of sneaking through a palace corridor when he was younger. Always thought of the excitement of feeling over the walls and paintings for any secret corridors that would leave to a treasure horde. But it wasn't the gold, or the riches he wanted. Just the challenge and sport of the heist.

 
“Psh...” Leo hissed to himself after remembering what Korius said. The statement was down right idiotic to the feline. “Thieves have no honor. Sure, we're rogues. But I never known an assassin to be any better.” He looked down to his side to scoop up a stone and looked down to it. “But of course a killer can only see justice in what a killer does I suppose,” he said just as his ears caught the rustling of the bushes behind him. He turned his head to look over his shoulder just as everyone else came into view. His mind was wondering so badly, that he hadn't even noticed Suzumi taking a step over the ledge.

 
"There's supposed to be a station near here that can take us to the bottom safely. There's a wind and an earth mage that runs a gondola for a small fee. Leo or Karina, go find find out where they are. They are twins, so you can't mistake them."

 
Leo blinked to the command, and looked back down to the ground below. Rather than standing up immediately, his eyes were scanning over the open roads that were close the cliff facade for any building or post designed to receive such a contraption. Once he found one that was close, his eyes would follow it's cable up to it's destination, eventually turning to the side. Afterword, he'd lift himself up to his feet and move away from the cliff side. “Well I guess we can check over here...” Leo sighed as he shoved off.

 
Once they were a good distance away, Leo's mind began to wonder. And eventually, he turned and looked to Karina, “You trust me, right?”

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Slowly, Kiana's ears started picking up on the sounds around her until she was fully tuned into the "here and now" again. When they exited the treeline and found themselves on a cliff, she stopped at the edge with the rest of the group. Her arms quickly jerked when she saw that Suzumi didn't stop but they relaxed to her sides when Korius caught Suzumi and pulled her back. She listened to Korius' command for Leo or Karina then watched Leo search without moving from his spot seated on the edge of the cliff. Once he & Karina walked off and Korius & Suzumi followed, Kiana started moving as well only to stop abruptly when Suzumi tripped on a root and fell. Kiana looked at Korius, sort of chuckling at what he said then nodding. Grabbing Suzumi under her arms, she pulled her up & backwards so she was on her knees then lifted her to help her to her feet. Kiana resigned herself to walking beside Suzumi, though slightly behind so she could keep an eye on her and either grab her or warn her if something were to happen while she was distracted. She didn't want to treat Suzumi like a child though, so she didn't really hover, just kept her at the corner of her vision.

[Suzumibachii]

Suzumi was completely unaware of her surroundings while she channeled her energies in and around the gems and vice-versa.
She didnt even percieve things properly in this state, motion being one of the few things she could make out. She didnt notice the cliff untill she had taken a step off of it, the sudden jerk and feeling of something grabbing her collar pulled her back into focus her eyes going wide as she watched herself hanging off of the edge for a moment before being pulled back upwards by Korius. "S..Sorry, I should have probably mentioned that when I am doing this I loose most of my perception...Thanks..."


Taking a few moments to listen to Korius giving the others their orders she looked at Kiana for a moment "I just need a few moments longer, then you wont have to worry about me." She frowned a little at how weak she was without her abilities. Gripping the gems and focusing a little more this time to speed up the process only to trip over a root and go tumbling down rather comedically, very narrowly escaping landing flat on her face. Feeling Kiana help her up once more she thanked her and continued to focus but walking a little slower than before.

Kiana would notice from the corner of her vision that the wind around Suzumi would start to twist and spin kicking up small pieces of dirt and tiny sparks and embers spinning with the wind. Pulling her hands from her pockets and bringing the gems with them she quickly slide them into the gloves the sockets tightly gripping the stones as they pulsed and glowed a little. "Attunement completed. Crystalline resonance is good."

[Vosur Aekira]

Karina gave a nod in reply to Korius's instruction, going with Leo to look for the gondola. "Don't let his words get to you. At times there are necessities in killing, but only when your own life or someone you care for is in danger. So far I trust you, yet some of your methods are not to my liking. You still get things done despite them, which is why I trust you." she spoke to him as she was seeing the gondola, then she squinted a bit to see both posts for it. "Okay, a bit odd, but I see it... but not the people. If this is their livelihood, they wouldn't just abandon it, would they?" she thought out-loud as she was following Leo's lead to find out more about what was going on.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Korius followed along until they made it to the gondola. There, they all saw that it was much larger than they originally expected, even for Korius. The height of the carriage itself was 4 meters high, 20 meters across and 10 meters wide. It had a canopy another 6 meters above the top of the carriage. This gondola was big enough to carry half of a caravan. Right next to the gondola stood two identical komodo dragons conversing with each other. Sage was hesitant as they got closer, recognizing their faces and flipped her hood over her head. Korius noticed, but didn't say anything. As they approached, the two looked over at the party and a low voice came, "You lot looking to go down to the Plains?" The old wolf stood forward in front of the party, "Yes, my party seeks passage. How much?" The one dressed in green answered as the one in yellow assessed the party with his eyes, "4 pieces per person, anything with wheels comes at 50 coppers per kilo." Korius opened his other satchel and pulled out the needed coins, but stopped as he heard a yelling of an abnormally high-pitched voice, "SAGE!? What are you doing with these people!?" The young cleric turned her face as she slunk more into her hood. "Kallow! It's Sage! She's trying to leave with this party!" The one in green quickly came over, his face more stern than it was before, "You know your father won't let you leave the town. Why are you trying to sneak off again?" He then looked up at Korius, "This one must stay here. Otherwise, not only will we not allow you pass, but we will fight you if necessary. This one is arranged to marry in two days, and she has been trying to run away for the last several months. Her father is the town's mayor, and she's betrothed to my brother, Mallow." Korius looked at the one dressed in yellow, eyebrow raised, though it's not visible through his hair, "We have no problem with that. I don't wish to make enemies with any authorities anywhere. Tell him we're sorry, and take this with you, too. See that the gem store owner that sold a flawed topaz and ruby this morning gets it. Tell him the extra is an apology." He tossed the lizard the satchel that Leo had given him earlier. The green-clad mage caught the pouch and tossed it to his brother, "Take it and your fiancee back to town. There's barely any wind today, I'll manage on my own."
Korius took one coin out of his stack and tossed the rest of the coins over, "It's 5 passengers, then." Mallow came over, took Sage's hand and walked her back into the forest while Kallow stretched out a hand to invite the party into the gondola. The wolf didn't like leaving that cleric behind, but he has never had any conflicts with any authority figures, and he wasn't about to start. It was a pity, though, as he was really hoping to see what this cleric had, and if she could potentially become one of history's very few Prophecy Healers.