PBEM-G6

The Adventures of Final Fantasy PBEM Group 6

Chapter Two

Another day of travel brought the small party out into the open plains. There was little to see in any direction, but it seemed that on their present course they would soon encounter some sort of object sitting out in the middle of nowhere. As it began to get dark, Burke suddenly sat down. He was very quiet for a long time. Finally, "I guess we should stop here. We didn't make the road, so I guess we can save that for tomorrow. I think ahead of us is a guard tower. Might not be manned." He threw himself to his feet, looking at the assembled group. "We can worry about that later. There's a chance we could be attacked by night, so we'll need watches more than before. We're open to being spotted by... well, anyone. But there are creatures out here, we call 'em weeds. Nasty little vined creatures, carrion eaters. But they'll choke you to death in your sleep." He smiles a little as he went on, "We tried to introduce some critters to combat them, but it hasn't really worked. So people don't sleep on the ground out here, or if they do, someone watches them all night. Really nothing to worry about, just best to be on guard." Setting watches as perviously, the party prepared for sleep.

In the night, the sounds of laughter and music carried through the cool air to everyone's ears. Kupita, Isianu, and Trent awoke to find Kyle already standing, watching something happening very far away. To the south, the glow of a fire could barely be seen and it seemed that there were white objects lit by the glow. It also seemed that Burke was nowhere to be found.

^^Where's Burke? What's going on?^^ Kupita whispered sleepily. The others just looked at her. "Oh, sorry. I guess I have a hard time waking up and speaking other languages. I said, 'Where's Burke' and 'What's going on?' Can anyone tell what is going on over there? I guess Burke probably went to investigate. Did he wake you before he left Kyle? If not I'm afraid we must assume foul play. What does everyone think? If you need me to I could fly over there and see what is going on. If I stay high enough they may not see me coming. Where's H.P.? Did Burke take him with him?" She says all this in a hushed tone, thinking that if they could hear the commotion that the commotion might be able to hear them.

HP snorted in his sleep. Kyle turned towards Kupita. "I was already awake. He got up and hushed me and went over there." He pointed towards the distant camp.

For several tense seconds, Isianu stares at the distant fire with a harsh gaze and an angry growl. "[What's that lout doing over there while we are sleeping here on the cold ground?]" Taking a few steps forward to listen to the distant sounds of merryment and puts a paw on Kupita's head. "No, I don't think that would be a good idea. If anybody should go, I think it should be Kyle, he would blend in more readily than the rest of us. He could go in there, find out what's going on and come back to tell us what Burke is doing. Then we can plan our next course of action." She then looks over at the mentioned dark knight. "Does it sound like a sensible plan?"

To Isianu's eyes it appeared that the young knight actually paled. He froze for a moment, then spoke up. "No, I think... Kupita's plan... no, I think we should just wait it out... we don't want... to be separated if Burke's weeds come to get us..."

"Maybe Kyle's right. Although I'd be safe in the air, we'd best stick together, because the more of us that are here the better we are off. I suggest that we wait here the rest of the night, maybe even part of the day tomarrow, and see if Burke returns, after that we can come up with an additional plan as to what to do."

The sorceress watched the two dark knight's reaction to her suggestion and since the fates seemed to be against her. Nodding politely to them, Isianu said, "Well if you are against it, we will just have to continue on like we have been doing thus far. I conside the point and I shall take next watch." Sitting back down, she prepared herself for her on watch by wraping herself a bit in her blanket to keep out the chill of the night. "Well I'll watch out for those plant things, but who will take the next watch?"

Kupita shrugged. "I'll take it." I really want to go see what is going on. But if I wait until my watch, then the weeds might get the party. What to do, what to do...

Trent rubbed his eyes with the back of his paws for several seconds to ward off the remainder of his sleepiness. Peering blearily through his eyelids Trent finally spoke. "I don't trust Burke. Why would he leave without telling anyone why? I think we should wait, but we should move somewhere else. Not far, but away from this spot. Something isn't right about all of this." [And I don't intend to wait here to become a fur rug for some human.] Trent added to himself.

"Trent is right. The point of staying here was for all of us to stay together. If we all move then make camp elswhere then we'd still be all together. We could move Somewhere that we could see both their came and this location, that way if we see Burke returning and evrything looks alright then we can meet him, but if things aren't right then we'll stay hidden. It IS suspicious that he'd disappear like that, Do you suppose that he was bewitched in some way? Is that why don't trust him Trent you think he was possessed by something creepy?" Kupita's Eyes widened in alarm.

"Let's just say I don't trust many people." [Not after what happened anyway.] Trent looked around before continuing. "Besides, what reason would he have for leaving? If he was just spying it out why didn't he tell Kyle?" Trent shook his head. "Even if he does have good intentions I think it is a good idea to move. What do you two say?" Trent asked, glancing towards Isianu and Kyle.

Distracted, Kyle tilted his head at Trent's question... "Huh... Oh yeah, I say we leave him behind. We don't need some stupid captain telling us what to do."

Isianu sighed as the others were deciding where they would rest for the night while staring at the distant campfire. "Yes we should move, no we should not leave Burke behind. He's rather brutish and a deserter but he is not the worst person in the world. I don't think he has intention to directly hurt us, but the temptation merriment was too much for him to resist. He'll probably be back come morning, hung over or such." She then stands and picks her beddings and such back up and looks at the others. "Once he comes back and is not eaten by those plant monsters, we'll set him straight. [If he tries something like this again I'll make sure that he will be unable to have a good time EVER again...]"

Kupita, Isianu, Trent, and Kyle grabbed their belongings and moved their makeshift camp, keeping their original location and the other camp's fire just within sight. Isianu took a watch, but the others found it difficult to sleep with the uncertainty of their situation and the constant sounds of merrymaking from unseen people.

After about an hour the revelry died down. Shortly thereafter, a lone figure wandered into the vicinity of the camp. It ranged around, not seeing the group although Isianu could clearly see it.

Looking out over the horizon, the sorceress saw the figure stumble about in the dark, a slight smile creeped across her face. "Well," she said to her comerades resting around her, hoping to rouse those interested, "Looks like our wayward companion has returned." Getting to her feet she says, "Well I think the prudent thing to do would be to welcome him back," then takes off towards the lone figure. Coming up within earshot, Isianu claps her paws together and smiles at the man. "Well welcome back Burke! Did you have a good time?"

Burke stared at Isianu, puzzled and not quite liking anything in her tone or words. "What?" Realization dawns and he half-smiles. "You think that was me? Or I was in on that?" He points to the firelight in the distance. "For your information, that is an Aldersgate war party. I went to get information. When your life is at stake... well, uh, would you be interested in what I found out, or not?"

Spreading her arms out in a welcoming fashion, Isianu just stated, "Well then master spy, please impart your wisdom that you have so recently plucked from the vicious warrior's tongues?" Her smile gets a little wider, but not in an overtly pleased way and her sharp teeth are clearly evident.

They are just like people. Crazy people. Burke just sat there, somewhat uncomfortably. He finally spoke, quietly. "I don't relish the idea of getting caught, but they won't kill me outright." He looked around. "So, uh, did we move?"

Trent glanced at the others then nodded. "Well then. If we are all in accord, then we should decide where to move to." Trent stooped and gathered his few possessions. After hearing her speak Trent's thoughts again drifted to Isianu. [She is a big mystery. I know who she is, but, I can't figure out why she is here. She obviously wants to leave Goranther like me, but why?]

"Yes, we did, we thought it would be best to get a little further away from the soldier's patrol for our safety. The others are over there," she said pointing at the new campsite, but before Burke could go anywhere, Isianu stepped right up in front of him.

Quickly she grabbed his collar and her demeanor darkened drastically as her muzzle moved right in front of his face. With a savage growl she started to berate the knight, "What in the name of the Blessed Pack where you doing!? You know you could have jeopardized not only your life, but also all of us along with you? What's even more disgraceful is that you didn't tell anybody WHAT you were doing! Burke, you know I had to talk the others out of just picking up and leaving you behind? Now with the lame excuse you gave me, I'm having second thoughts about waiting for you..." She lowered her head a bit until they were staring eye to eye, lifted a bit on Burke's collar, and growled again. "Now, I am willing to forgive this moment of weakness, but next time, I will hold you accountable. We stick together, we tell each other everything we're planning to do, and we don't go off to selfishly serve our hedonistic wiles. If anything like this happens again, I swear, rianeis vilatne uiana bisllach rhuni..." After threatening him, not even realizing that she had slipped into her native tongue, she turned around rather hastily and walked back towards camp. After that she continued to keep watch, occasionally giving a harsh glance at Burke.

Burke didn't move and his expression didn't change. He watched Isianu walk away. The muscle under his right eye twitched as he sat down on the ground. He began to mutter to himself when something caught his eye and he jumped up.

At the camp, Isianu heard something in the darkness. It sounded like an animal, maybe a bird chirping. Peering into the dark, she could make out a small shape some distance away. It seemed to be a mishapen, twitching lump.

Trent was having difficulty sleeping. He tossed and turned for a while before forsaking sleep altogether. Unable to do anything Trent lay back and let his mind wander. Inevitably his thoughts went back to several days before, when his city was burning, and he was searching it for survivors. That had been a very depressing day, to say the least. Trent recalled being more sad than angry then. Now though... Trent felt tears form in his eyes. Tears of sadness, yes. But also tears of rage and frustration. Trent closed his eyelids and let the tears trickle down his face, wetting his silver fur. After some time Trent thought about Isianu. Getting up, Trent wiped the remaining tears from his face and was going to find Isianu and confront her. I can't take much more of this. I'm going to find everything out now. However, Trent saw that Burke had finally arrived and both Isianu and him were approaching the camp. "[Damn! Why must he arrive now of all times?]" Cursing helplessly in lupine Trent eventually got a hold of himself and sat back down.

On the way back Isianu saw that Trent was already up and looking rather... anxious for some reason. A little curious, she just dismissed it as nervousness about being out in the open. Coming back she smiled, joyful instead of threatening like she had done before. "Hello Trent, couldn't sleep, eh. I can understand that, but all is well, our lost member is back and we shall be on our way in the morning." Something off to the side caught Isianu's attention, and her head turned to face some shadow off in the distance. She was about to ask Burke if this was one of the plant-monsters he was talking about, but by the reaction that it was. Slowly turning back to Trent and drawing her scythe she said, "I think it would be wise to wake the others and be ready for trouble..."

Pushing his troubles to the back of his mind at the urgency of Isianu's voice, Trent nodded and grabbed his spear. Heading over to Kyle first, Trent nudged him to get him to wake.

"It's only one of them," sighed Kyle. "Why even bother? You'll just attract more."

Burke, on the other hand, has already hacked something on the ground several times.

Trent shrugged. "Better safe than sorry. I felt I should warn you. Besides, where there is one there are probably more. If you want, go back to sleep." With that Trent went over to Kupita and started to wake her as well.

Nodding at her fellow Lupine's statement, Isianu said "Yes, you can never be too careful." Turninig and gesturing with her free paw at the sleeping moogle she commented, "Go ahead and wake up Kupita. I'll go see what's wrong with Burke." Turning around Isianu ran back to where her companion was freaking out, trying to see what he was exactly hacking at.

Everyone had awakened. Wandering at the edge of Kupita and Isianu's vision was a strange mass, and it seemed to be chirping piteously. Investigating Burke's strange behavior, Isianu saw that he had just chopped some sort of mass into several pieces and was poking them with his sword.

"I didn't know they were that ugly..." he said quietly. "The drawings never really did them justice."

What are those things? Are those the weed monsters? They sound a bit like birds. "I want a better look. Hey Burke! Can those things jump or can I fly over there and get an aerial view? I could drop a flaming stick on them." Then she looked over and H.P. had started wandering over towards the noise. ^^H.P.! You get back here! Those things are trouble and you'll be sure to set it off.^^

H.P. squinted at the thing that he was closest to. Then he Warked in alarm and ran back to where Kupita was standing.

Getting his spear ready Trent crouched defensively with the others. Trent gazed at the area surrounding himself and his comrades, trying to pinpoint which directions they were coming from.

Looking at the mass of vines and vegetable matter and back at Burke. "Well I guess now we know what those are now," Isianu said, "Now all we have to do is stay alive." Turning back to the others she yelled, "Stay together and look out for each other's back. You don't know how many of these things are, or where they come from!" She then turned back to the knight and motioned for him to get in the huddle with the others. All of the venom in her mood now gone, and was generally concerned for the injured knight, urging him to move. Once everybody was awake and ready to take on what ever was coming to get them, Isianu put her scythe away and turned to face the shambling mass advancing on them. She was totally concentrated at the thing in front of them and waited until it was a bit closer, then she bowed her head, put her paws in circular fashion, and began to chant. "Nora aisoth Cerubi, ria zuna uiana uliliac besine pretish nagesh. Feurti riisah nuiemiansh publati huoci demptiau widlo dem uiana varli blirie! [Deepest pits of Hell, I summon your eternal flame to manifest in this world. Give my enemies a taste of what's in store for them in your bottomless furnace!]" 7-22 missing post

Kupita stared at the creature. What is its intent? Does it really want to harm us? Maybe it just wants to talk. Burke did kill one, but was it an unprovoked attack? Isn't anyone going to do anything? Does Isianu think that throwing a fit will make it go away? I'm going to find out.

"Hey you! Weed! What do you want?" She flies forward and stands in front of the group so that she is closer to the thing.

All the shouting was not helping to keep the five accidental companions hidden. Burke crouched over Isianu, clearly torn between helping her and dealing with the threat. Kupita flew ahead of the group, her little wings beating furiously.

"Is she dead?" asked Kyle, standing over Isianu's prone form.

The creature made no response to the moogle's shouts, other than to continue chirping and moaning as it aimlessly wandered in the dark. Hmmmm, it isn't aggressive. "Hey, I think it wants us to follow it!" Kupita starts following the creature. "What is it? What's wrong?" She asked the thing. "Are you upset because Burke killed your brother? Maybe he'll grow back, he is, er, was a weed you know."

Stunned beyond belief Trent started trembling violently. Trent forgot about everyone else and started talking rapidly. "How could I have missed it? How could she? But this can't be! It just doesn't make any sense! Is she responsible?" Recalling their eyes Trent only grew more frightened. "The eyes are exactly the same! Exactly the same!" Trent felt the blood rush up to his eyes as he witnessed yet again the ravaging of his city. Except this time every time he saw one of the Warlocks he saw Isianu instead. Still in the haze of his nightmarish perceptions, Trent lunged at Isianu with a primal scream.

On the ground Isianu writhed in agony without, she was fuming within, What is this? Why did this happen, my powers have never backfired upon me like this? Are those filthy plants to blame? Before she could go further into that matter the pain inside of her blossomed again, and she screamed. Her eyes then open with hatred at the shadowy form advancing towards them and a savage growl escaped her lips. Something to her side attracts her attention, looking over she finds Trent rushing at her with a berserk glint in his eye. So it comes to this it, he for certain know who I am and is trying to wreak bloody vengeance. Well peon, you are more than welcome to try… Before she could react the pain flared up and she roared in pain and anger for all to know her anguish.

For several tense moments the sorceress waited for the powerful Lupine body to ram into her and begin tearing her apart, but never really seemed to come about. In the Garden

Kupita wandered out towards the weed-creature when Trent suddenly turned on Isianu. "Uh, what are..." began Burke, seeing the dazed, murderous look in Trent's eyes. He managed to interpose himself between the two lupines as Trent screamed and lunged for her. "Gah!" he exclaimed, managing to deflect the attack onto himself as they both rolled to the ground. "Kyle," panted the soldier, trying unsuccessfully to wrestle the wolf. "Don't just sit there, you idiot!"

Kupita had reached the creature, following it on its winding path, when she realized that her companions were lying in a heap. Kyle stood over the desperate struggle, not sure what to do. He turned and ran in the direction of the bonfire. "Kyle!!" shouted Burke... "Moogle!! Get this thing off me!"

Stop said a voice only Trent could hear. Suddenly, he realized he was wrestling not with a warlock but with some human.

Unable to recognize his surroundings Trent thought he was struggling with Isianu until he heard a strange voice say 'Stop'. Trent suddenly realized he was fighting a human, and not Isianu. Trent got up and took a few steps back, breathing heavily. Shortly the red in his eyes receeded and he was back in reality. Overwhelmed with it all Trent fell to the ground heavily and asked softly, "[What's going on?]" in the lupine language. "[What's that voice?]" Still somewhat unaware of the others Trent rubbed his face with his paws then stared at the ground in front of him.

Kupita was the only one who could see the advancing soldiers. They came quickly, swarming Trent and subduing him through sheer numbers. There were seven of them, but she could see more clambering after in the darkness. In the darkness, one tripped and fell on his face.

The first stood over Burke, looking at him intently. "Uh, Hey, this is a human. He's still alive. Uh, get a medic!"

"These're... uh, wolves. What about these wolfins?" asked the next, looking at the unconscious lupines skeptically.

"I dunno... uh, let's interrogate them. Yeah, that sounds right." He nodded to himself. The soldier looked surprised... "Hey, you hear that? Sounds like weeds. Tug, you go check it out. And you guys take these wolves back and tie 'em up real tight."

The chosen soldier groaned but started slowly wandering towards the sounds. The first soldier leaned down over Burke.

Kupita didn't know what to do. She knew that the soldiers were trouble, but she couldn't very well take them on by herself, and there was no where to hide. "Hey, Weed" She whispered to the weed, "play along." She ran around and tried to crouched down behind the weed. As it moved she crawled along on the ground behind him. Then she spoke loudly to the soldiers, "Hellllllooooooo! I am the King of the Weeds! This is my domain and those people are my prisoners. Retreat now, and I will not harm you."

Some of the soldiers were already hauling Isianu and Trent away. The first one was attempting to help Burke to his feet when he heard the voice. The fat soldier, Tug, was close enough to see the weed as it spoke. He gasped. "Uh, Jab, th,this weed is talkin' to me. I,I,I think it's the King of Weeds..." He peered at it, "and I think it ate a moogle! It's got one of those deedly-bobbers and everything... Jab it's coming to kill me! Help!" Tug recoiled in terror and ran from the King of the Weeds. He ran panting past Burke and Jab, ignoring everything except the fire in the distance.

Jab nervously looked out into the darkness. Burke managed to stand, wincing from pain. "C'mon, let's get out of here. I heard voices out there, and something spooked Tug," said Jab to Burke. "It sounded like it said it was..." "It's nothing," interrupted Burke. "I'm sure it won't FOLLOW us. No weed would FOLLOW US to your camp..."

Ah ha! I need to remember to thank Burke for that idea. Yes, I'll follow them and free them later. "Thanks, Mr. Weed. See you later." Kupita follows from a safe distance. Kupita's Quest

Trent awoke with a start, sensing danger. He was tied hand and foot. There was nothing he could do but struggle to find a more comfortable position. Besides the pain in his head from being clubbed, he was in good condition. The events of the night remained clear and he was disturbed by his loss of control. He would have to put off thoughts about the vision he had seen to figure out how he could deal with his current situation. He managed to roll to his back, allowing him the freedom to look around himself. He was in some sort of room, it seemed like a tent. Nearby was Isianu, unconscious on the ground. Craning his head farther, he could see a form propped up on something, a soldier. He heard a faint snore.

Isianu awoke with a start, her limbs numb and unresponsive. As feeling came back, she realized she was tied. She too could hear snores and the sounds of movement from behind her.

When Trent awoke he did not immediately notice his bindings. It was only when he went to get up did he realize what the odd pressure around his paws and feet was. Trent was pissed. Not only did he lose control of himself but he also managed to get himself captured and beat as well. Cursing softly in Lupine Trent managed to roll on his back, whereupon he saw Isianu. Trent groaned louder than he meant to and looked around further. He noticed the slumbering guard somewhat optimistically, although he had no idea how to take advantage of the situation. Not wanting to wake Isianu yet, Trent sighed softly and tried to relax some.

When Isianu woke up with a slight sigh she tried to get her bearings, but found that she couldn't move. "[expletive deleted] him, just astral projection, I should have seen it as soon as I was teleported there...]" Saying that he head thunked down on the board she was tied to. Someone to the left of her said something, and she quietly repeated it. "[And your furless mother?]" turning towards the voice Isianu said in a conversational tone, "Well it looks like they got you too Trent. So what do you want to do now? Taunt the guard, struggle fruitlessly to loosen our bonds, sing some good old Goranthor songs?" Isianu then sighed, even her little try at humor and went on to think some horrible, nasty revenge she could wreak on those animals that did this to her.

Chuckling at Isianu's unexpected humor Trent turned his body so he could see her. "[What put you in so good of a mood? At present I was thinking of rolling over to him and biting his ankles. I don't really want them to think I speak their language so I'm only speaking Lupine. You probably should do the same. It might give us an advantage.]" Pausing a moment Trent struggled to get into a better position. "[It happened quite fast really. After you collapsed and I had my little fit the soldiers came and overwhelmed us. I don't know what happened after that as I lost conciousness. Care to enlighten me as to what happened to you back there? I know magic isn't supposed to act like that.]"

"[Of course,]" she said with an odd tone in his voice, "[Well I wouldn't say that it was all that pleasant, I don't know exactly what happened. All I do know is that my father drained me of my magical power and then astrally projected me back home.]" Sighing she tried to twist around, seeing if there was enough give to get her muzzle over one of the bonds holding her. Unfortunately she was still weak after that odd episode and she whined a bit in frustration at their situation. "[Personally I think we might have to think of another plan of action, my whole body is asleep. Perhaps we should wait a bit until we hear from Kupita, Burke, or Kyle. Just bide our time until we know what we're dealing with...]" Once she was finished Isianu turned her head away from Trent and whispered, "[Damn Bernuka...]"

"[Ah, I see...]" Trent turned his gaze on the slumbering guard once again and seemed lost in thought. Making a decision Trent turned back to Isianu. "[I'm sorry about this, but if I'm going to trust you I need to ask you: why are you here? Why did you leave Goranther?]" Trent quickly rushed on, afraid that if he didn't tell it now he might not find the courage. Trent drew a deap breath. "[I'll tell you why I'm here. My home Falkonis was destroyed by Bernuka's army, by his warlocks. Everyone was killed, except me. I ask myself, why me? Why was I away when it happened? Why did I survive? Why not Gasder? He would have been the better choice. Not me.]" He sighed and lowered the intensity of his voice. "[The only reason I'm alive, my whole purpose, is to kill Bernuka. That's why I have to know what your reason, what your purpose is before I can trust you.]"

Isianu sighed at his question, this was a sensitive question for her, for the longest time she had feared that he would find out. But there was little way of avoiding it this time, plus Trent was well restrained at the moment so there wouldn't be any immediate reproductions. "[I promised I wouldn't tell anybody this until I was strong enough, but I know you're an intelligent Lupine and will figure it out soon enough. I will tell you but you must promise me that you won't get mad.]" Staying quite for a few minutes, the formulated the best way to convey what she had to say. "[You know how my I said my father bought my mind back to Goranthor? You must realize that even though we might embrace magic more readily than some other cultures, highly skilled mages of that caliber are rare. I am guessing you can only think of one Lupine that you know could have that kind of power, and you would be right.]"

Cringing a bit at revealing this vital information about her, she decided to pool her dignity and continue. "[My full name is Isianu Veenous,]" she said proudly, "[Lupine sorceress in the black arts and mistress of mythical beasts. Princess of Goranthor and heir to the kingdoms of the Lupines. I have left my father's court to be rid of his evil influence and become my own person. I just wish to grow strong enough to stand up to my father, wrest control of Goranthor from him, and try to make up for his twisted rule.]" Turning her head towards Trent she said in a dead pan, and uncaring tone of voice, "[If you don't believe me, I don't blame you. Even if you do not believe that my goal is the same as your goal, go ahead and try to break free of your bonds. Just know that I am totally defenseless and you will gain nothing from my unhonorable death.]" With this last remark said, she turns her head towards the ceiling and just stares at it, waiting for a reply.

Not knowing what to say Trent just lay completly at a loss. He had expected as much but had no real way to prove it besides asking her. Now that he finally did ask, Trent was confused on what to do, and a little angry. Predictably Trent once again witnessed his cities destruction, but surprisingly this saved him. Taking a few deep breaths to steady himself, Trent slowly responded to Isianu. "[I admit that if I heard this before, I would have likely tried to kill you. Yet now... I realize that while Bernuka is your father, regardless of what he has done to me, you have done nothing to me, and anything I might have tried to do to you would have been pointless as my anger is with Bernuka. I see the faces of the warlocks that destroyed my village, yet your is not among them.]" Taking another breath, Tretn continued. "[For my part, I apologize for what happened before.]"

Taking a rather relieved breath at Trent's response, Isianu turned back to the other Lupine, a slight smile on her face. "[I am glad you understand that while I am of Bernuka's blood, I am not of his mind. I do not exactly know the specific details of my father's invasion of your city. He is a rather cautious man, even in his own quarters. The only thing I recall about his Falkonis campaign is that you were a 'stubborn people who don't know when they're beaten.' I know it might sound mocking compared to what you have seen, but that is all I heard.]" For a while Isianu just lay there, remembering all of the horrible things that happened to her for the good of the Veenous family. All of the pain, the horrible stories she heard from her own father's mouth and the contradictory lessons she learned from her studies. Eventually she started to tear up and her nose started to run a bit, but she could not show weakness; not in this situation, or ever. Calling over all of the willpower she could muster, she said, "[I just didn't want to be like those other mages who served my father. I want to be my own sorceress, and not have to answer to anybody...]"

The snoring soldier snorted and woke. He looked apprehensively at the prisoners. "Ah, they're growling!" he whined. "Shaddup!" said someone standing unseen outside, next to the tent flap. The soldier watched the lupines unhappily, his shaky hand on his sword hilt.

Trent turned to Isianu. "[I think we should stop talking now.]" Trent eyed the nervous guard. "[He looks like he might snap any second. No need to get ourselves killed earlier then we need to be.]" Trent finished with a snort.

The sun was on the rise. The camp was bustling with activity as the soldiers prepared to move out. One of the sentries gave a shout; there was a force of men on horseback approaching. The news spread rapidly through the camp... General Niehl had arrived!

Even Trent and Isianu could hear the name Niehl being bandied about. "Good wolf-people," moaned the soldier, "that's good, just be nice good wolf-people... uh, guys, don't I get a shift change?" 7-31 missing post

Isianu's head looks up slightly at the apparent leader of this rabble with a critical gaze. She had seen pompous generals but his almost casual attitude surprised her somewhat. She tried her best not to show it and watched as the panicky guard left she looked at Niehl and decided it might be best to drop their ignorance charade. "We are not dogs," Isianu said in a bit of a haughty tone, "We have no master. If you are talking about our ruler, then we would have to inform you we are not on a mission from him. Some of our people put no stock in the military and go off on their own, like your people I am sure. The fact is that we can't be part of a military unit. A typical Lupine scouting party consists of three to five members. Almost all of our unit formations are based on a pack structure, we try to avoid being in larger groups if we can help it."

Taking a glance at Trent to gauge how he would react to her negotiation, she turned back to Niehl and continued her little triad. "We are just a pair of Lupines trekking the world, nothing more." Isianu took a slight breath and decided that a little more justification was in order. " The fact that we are out so far from the beaten path if we have nothing to hide, is a bit obvious from the way we've been treated so far. If people saw us they would think we're uncivilized monsters and stone us, or tear our throats out, or what ever your people do to races you don't like. We were just exercising some caution to keep our fur on our backs and off of some peasant's floor." The sorceress put her head back against the table and gathered strength for her next reply, and to lift her sore neck again. Despite her relaxed position, her ears were perked up and eager to process the human's next remark.

A little confused at the man's attitude, Trent let Isianu speak first. Gauging the man Trent quickly surmised that there was more to him than meets the eye. After she finished Trent whispered in Lupine quickly to her from the side of his mouth. "[This general is no fool. He obviously knows something about our people.]"

Niehl listened impassively as Isianu spoke, but frowned at Trent's remark. "If you think I don't understand you, you are mistaken." Expressionless again, he casually continued. "So, you would have me believe that you are rogues? You left seeking your freedom. Human stumbles across your camp and you maul him. It's a plausible story." He went silent for a moment, then went on. "I will know the truth soon enough." He smiled coldly at them. "No matter, your presence is fortuitous." He stopped, listening to the commotion outside and the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Mauled?" Isianu questioned, "[Mauled? I didn't maul anybody, Trent?]" She looked back at Niehl and said, "If you're talking about Burke he was like that when I found him. I don't know how he broke his arm, probably falling out of a tree or something, I didn't take it upon myself to ask. Other than that small instance, I have no idea what you're talking about!" At his last comment, Isianu's eyebrow lifted a bit in intrest. What ever he had in mind, she had an odd feeling that she wouldn't like it. When he stopped Isianu could hear what was going on, there seemed to be some commotion going on. The sorceress sighed and prayed that it wasn't an early morning raid on the camp.

A touch of interest reached the general's eyes. Hearing greetings exchanged outside, he suddenly threw his helmet on the ground. As a soldier pulled back the tent flap, Niehl spoke in barely suppressed rage, "We'll just see who conquers whom, demons!" The soldier blanched, reluctantly entering. The general turned to the new arrival, flushed. "I... I didn't hear you coming. Please don't tell the men... it would only get them excited." He paused, breathing deeply. The soldier stood at attention, waiting. "Is there something that needs my attention?" said the general, smoothly.

"Sir, there is a chocobo in the camp, sir. He got into the mess tent, sir, and...uh, well, made a mess of it." Gulping, the man went on. "When Tug came out of here and saw it, he went right for the bird, sir, and it pecked him. Real hard! He's screamin' and bleedin' all over the place..." He paused, allowing the sound of wailing to be heard somewhere in the distance. "We figure someone ought to wake Marcus... but everyone's afraid to... we already woke him once for--"

"Yes, yes, leave it to me, come on now," cut in Niehl. "Superstitious cretins..." he muttered under his breath as he followed. "Oh yes," he said, standing just outside the tent, "those two will be traveling with me. Prepare them immediately." Two soldiers entered, advancing cautiously towards the tied lupines.

"[I certainly did not maul anybody. No humans at least.]" Trent said quickly when the general was conversing with the soldier. "[I must say that our present situation is getting worse and worse. This general seems to realize that we are not simple brutes.]" As the soldier approached them Trent suppressed a groan. o0 Not again...0o

When the guard came in Isianu looked oddly at Niehl and then at Trent at this odd behavior. "[What can the over all purpose of this charade is,]" she sighed, which might appear to be a seething growl to the untrained ear. "[It might just get us killed when we're left alone...]" The news that a BLACK chochobo was rampaging through camp caught her attention. It looked like Kupita was still lose and trying something to get them free. The she-werewolf's face gradually became a picture of calm and serenity. At Niehl's little comment she let out a slight, "[I agree, competent underlings are so difficult to find...]" Isianu's gaze stayed on the general until the last, then she focused on the two new humans in the tent her cool, calculating look. As they came close and hesitated she cocked her head to the side and gave a slight smile. "Don't worry boys," she said as cheerfully as she could, "If getting us ready for travel means untying us from these uncomfortable tables, I'm all for it." She then shrugs a bit and her tone turns a little more unfortunate, "But... if you hurt us in any way, you'll understand if we... struggle a bit." She then gives a cheerful smile at the two.

Dragged out into the first morning light, Trent and Isianu could see little at first. Shouts of dismay and warking reached their ears. As their eyes adjusted, they could see soldiers gathering around a tent across the camp from them.

Niehl strode towards them. "You don't need to worry about their comfort. Just throw them over their horses. It's really only a short way." The two lupines were each laid across the back of a horse. The horses were clearly not pleased at their cargo. "Hurry now. We just have enough time to make it." Awkwardly situated on skittish animals, the two lupines could see only the ground and the horses flanking them as they were led out of the camp.

"I'm so pleased to have such honored guests in my company," said Niehl coolly, his horse falling into step somewhere behind the prisoners.

Unable to do anything except look at the ground, Trent muttered under his breath in a steady growl. "[You won't be pleased for long.]" Trent could only wonder at where they were headed. Not having been in the outside world he had no good concept of the geography of the region. Closing his eyes Trent whispered a prayer to Falkonis, confident that he would somehow escape this situation.

The ride on horseback did little to improve the lupine's physical conditions. With no way of resisting, they were forced to simply wait. The ride was difficult and many times hands steadied them just before they slipped from their mounts. Finally, the pace slowed somewhat.

"It seems we've made excellent time," said Niehl. "I'm sure you werewolves will be happy to hear that. You won't need to dangle over those saddles anymore." Trent and Isianu were pulled to the ground. They were at the edge of another forest adjoining the plain. There was little of interest in any direction, just the wide expanse of nothing with the exception of the small grove to their left. From out of the trees came shabbily dressed men with bandanas. Behind them, a wagon emerged from the trees, being driven by a similarly dressed individual. Some of the men drew swords or knives and advanced on Niehl and his few soldiers. The group was definitely outnumbered.

"Call off your dogs, Skale!" exclaimed Niehl, seeing that the men were going to attack. They would-be attackers stopped, looking from the general and back to the wagon driver. The wagon slowly advanced until the driver was close enough to see the general clearly.

"Wasn't expectin' you, General," said the man in a low, husky voice. The men from the forest shifted uneasily, not sure of what to do. "Lay off! The General here is... a client. Put your blades away, you lowlifes." The man laughed at his remark and the other men joined in. Niehl walked up to the man called Skale and they conversed briefly while the forest bandits continued to laugh. Skale motioned to his men and said, "Load those creatures on the wagon, and that man over there." He pointed behind the lupines. His orders were hurriedly, even excitedly, carried out. The wolves found themselves seated in the back of an uncovered wagon with dozens of pelts and a few of the forest men. The other man mentioned was already sitting in the wagon, head down, not moving or speaking. It was Burke.

"Sorry to delay the operation, Skale," said General Niehl. "It looks to be worth it, wouldn't you agree?" The wagon driver looked at the wolves and gave a nod. He whipped the horses pulling the wagon. Men were gathering horses from just inside the forest. As far as the lupines could tell, it looked like fifteen or so bandits not including the three on the wagon, with five soldiers from the camp and the General himself.

"You could at least loosen their restraints," muttered Burke to no one in particular. "They're not going anywhere."

Narrowing his eyes at the sight of the fur pelts, Trent growled menacingly at the men surrounding him. Trent turned his head to Isianu slightly and spoke softly. ["Figure out anyway to get out of this? If I'm not mistaken, our little moogle friend and her chocobo were back there at the camp. Perhaps she was organizing a rescue?"] Trent had to keep himself from laughing at that thought. With all these men around it would be close to impossible to get out of here.

The wagon riders were silent as the miles slipped away. It seemed less and less likely that some miraculous rescue was forthcoming. The ropes around the lupines wrists were especially tight, leaving painful burns. Once Burke made a move to do something but the thieves in the wagon all reacted at once, drawing weapons. Nothing happened for an eternity.

Bored and not so fearful of the quiet wolves after a time, one of the bandits finally dared speak. "Hey, what are we doin' again?" he asked the one across from him.

"You know very well what we're doin'."

"No, I mean when we get there."

Looking at the Lupines and Burke, "Yeah, well, ok. We're gonna put on these wolf skins and ride around scaring a bunch of people. Scare 'em good."

"Why?"

Rolling his eyes, "Because we're getting paid lots of money by this Niehl guy, that's why..."

"That doesn't make any sense. Why'd he want us to do that?"

"Because he's rich, and rich people are stupid. They don't have to live by their wits, so they lose them. They're just stupid. They like to do this kind of thing. It amuses them."

The first speaker nodded, satisfied. He was silent for a moment. "And what about... these... um, critters. Nobody told me anything about wolf people..."

"They're... uh..." thinking hard, his facial muscles twitching. Triumphantly, "Guests! Important guests, he said. The King and Queen of Wolves! Must be. They're here to see us ride, important like this Baron guy."

"Uh, then why are they tied up? And what about that guy? We're supposed to watch him too. And if they're the King and Queen, aren't they going to be mad that we skinned their subjects? Right?"

"DO...I...?" began the second bandit, his mouth trying to work but nothing coming out. He shut it and glared at his questioner. "Shut Up."

Night was drawing near.