Partners in Vengeance (closed for jc199123)

[RedDeeDee]

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It was simple enough to find the spot where the raiders had entered the forest of her people. Even though the trail was a week old, a child of her people could have followed it, and Lantneth was hardly a child.

The elves that inhabited the broad expanse of forest she lived in had their own king, as all peoples did, but for the most part, each tribe and clan ruled themselves. The elven king was there to deal with other kings, or to rally the people in times of war, and such things. But he did have his court, and his own warriors, and the beautiful red headed elf maiden named Lantneth served him honorably in that court, with her woodcraft and bow.

Merchants and artisans of other races would come to the edge of the forest and ply their wares and services peaceably. A few were given leave to enter the forest itself and, while there, fell under the protection of the Elven King. One such group of merchants had been attacked by a group of marauders. From the tale that Lantneth had heard, it seemed more bad luck than anything else, with the merchants and the marauders stumbling on each other at the edge of the forest, and the merchants having the worst luck for the encounter. Still, the merchants had been under the protection of the King, and so Lantneth had been dispatched to settle the problem.

As she examined the area where the marauders had entered the woods, she spotted another human approaching the area. Deciding it might be best to see if this approaching human had any connections to the marauders, Lantneth scaled a nearby tree and hid among its leafy limbs, watching and waiting.

 

[jc199123]

Ragnar could see someone or something scurry up a tree but decided not to pay what ever it was any attention. He had one true mission now and that was to kill the person or persons who had killed everyone in the mercenary band he had belonged to. He continued to the forest where he had tracked a group that could have been the killers and what ever was in the tree decide to attack he had his sword to protect himself with.

Ragnar had joined a mercenary band called the Red Dragons and they were one of the most feared mercenaries through out the kingdoms. About a month ago the band had made camp in what they thought was a remote part of the woods a couple miles away from the battlefield that was to be their pay day. During that night the leader of the Red Dragons had appointed a new recruits to be on night watch and they fell asleep. During the night an unknown group or person came in durin the night and slit the throats of all the men but Ragnar. The man that had entered his tent had made a lot of noise before entering. After a short battle and the assassin ran off into the dense woods. Ragnar took chase but after awhile he gave up and looked around the camp to see if there was anyone left but only found dead bodies. He left the camp in search of the man he had seen but every lead came to a dead end but he had heard from someone that the man that attacked him was a part of a group that like to hide in a wooded area that was ruled by clans.

He pulled up a light weight cloth he tied around his neck in case there was poisonous gas leaking in the wood and entered the woods. He kept his mind on what was in the tree because it could be a scout for the group he was looking for.

 

[RedDeeDee]

Lantneth had to give the human credit, as she watched from above. He maintained at least some awareness of his surroundings. Of course, she hadn't been exactly stealthy when she ascended into the limbs, but that normally wouldn't have made any difference. Most humans she encountered were barely aware of the trees around them.

Lantneth quickly remedied the problem, coaxing a small band of squirrels to make some noise to one side of the human, diverting his attention there, while she moved silently to his other side. A small smile lit her face as she saw the human keep a wary eye on the "false trail" she had set while she silently followed on the other side, unseen and undetected. But this was her forest after all and, even among her own people, she was considered a master at this skill.

The human male did seem to possess some rudimentary tracking skills, she decided, as he followed the path the marauders had taken. And whatever connection he had to the marauders, she deduced he wasn't one of their numbers. She contemplated using the human as a stalking horse, but decided against that course. Odds were that the marauders were no longer in her forest, and she might actually need the human's assistance if she had to follow the marauders into the lands beyond her people's realm.

With that thought in mind, she raced silently a head, a silent shadow in the thick green foliage of the forest. There was a clearing along that path which she quickly descended into. She pulled a small flag from the pouch on her belt and tied it to the limb. The flag was a smaller version that the merchants used, that signaled the wish to peacefully trade or negotiate.

 

[jc199123]

Ragnar could hear more noises coming from the tree above and he wondered who or what was watch him as well as what is the amount of the things watching him. He slowly reached down for a throwing knife he had in it's sheath on his belt. He soon realized that it was just a animal in the trees probably startled to throw him off of who ever was in the trees above him. He wondered what the person above him would have done if he had actually thrown his knife and possibly killed the animal they use to distract him if that was what happend.

He continued throught he forest feeling like he was still being watched by someone or something. He didn't really know if the group he was after were even in this forest anymore. He kept walking not really listening to the voice in the back of his head that told him to back out of the forest and wait until night so that who ever was watching would be blind or gone.

As the figure finally came down from he trees he unsheathed his sword from the modified sheath. Because of the size of the sword. The sword needed a modified sheath that only cover the tip of the sword and a a steel hook that clipped onto one side. He barely held the four foot sword in one hand. When he seen the makeshift banner the figure held in it's hand he was a bit taken back because it was the banner of the local trade merchants.

He slowly proceeded to the figure not knowing if it was a trap or not and when he got close enough to see it was a woman an elven woman he at least knew who's land he had walked into but he didn't know what she wanted with him. When he got close enough for the woman to hear him he shouted out "I'm sorry if I am trespassing on your kings land but a band of assassins may be hiding in here so I intend to kill them all." He drove the sword into the ground to signal he didn't mean her any harm but was ready to fight if need be.