forum Dystopian Fantasy RP aw yeah (Private)

Started May 02, 2018 by @Young-Dusty-the-Monarch-of-Dusteria group

tune

The hesitance of Tab had Tanrial on edge. She didn’t comment on it though as she and the others climbed into the boat, making sure not to rock or tip the vessel over, “How far is it to the crossing?”

"Across the marsh, up by the edge of the lake," Tab responded, nodding to the northwest. "There's an old trail on the high ground that goes through those trees over there."
The trees he spoke of were barely visible through the haze on the horizon. It would be a bit of a journey by boat, but not as bad as wading on foot over the treacherous wetlands. Tab pushed the boat away from the docks and set their course, using a long pole to try and propel them forward so that the wind would catch the boat's makeshift sail.
As they pulled away from the buidlings, there was a shout from behind them and the bandit children ran into view, all looking freshly cleaned. They lined up on the docks and waved to Tanrial, hopping up and down to make sure she noticed them.

Tanrial, of course, heard the commotion and turned around slightly to look at the gaggle of children. She waved back, then sent a small wave of water back towards them, the water erupting into butterflies that danced around them before dropping back into the river.

The kids cheered and tried to catch the butterflies as they fell, laughing and squealing happily. Bernon beamed and even Mike cracked a smile at the sight as they drifted out onto the open marsh.
Tab sighed with feeling. "I dunno what people see in those kids. They're so annoying."
"I thought they were cute," Bernon replied with dignity.
"Yeah, well, wait 'till they sneak ver when you're asleep and rob you blind, then set your coat on fire because they think it's funny. They might act sweet sometimes, but the whole bunch of them's a pack of demons underneath."

Tanrial chuckled quietly, nodding, "Children can definitely be a handful. Just be glad none of them have magic of some sort. Sure, they might do a few annoying things, but be grateful it couldn't be worse."

"Ugh," Tab grumbled. "If those kids could use magic, I'd leave."
"How long have you lived with this tribe, then?" Bernon inquired.
"Since I was seventeen. I used to live in a village near here, but a forest beast burned it all down. I joined the Lakes tribe because they accept anyone and pretty much let you do what you want, long as you don't make trouble for them."
Mike spoke next. "What do you think of your leader? I'm surprised a guy like him is able to command a group of bandits, frankly."
Tab shrugged. "Corin sure acts weird, yeah, but he's actually really smart. And dangerous, with a sword in his hand. He might be the weakest of the big five bandit leaders, but he watches out for us, and he hasn't gotten us all killed yet. That's good enough for me." He snorted under the mask. "Anything's better than being a helpless villager, surrounded by monsters and criminals. You wanna have a decent life, then banditry's the only option around here."

"You could always travel to one of the major cities," Tanrial offered, even though the chances of finding a better job or life there would be just as difficult, "There would be more opportunities there. Or you could find a way to cross the seas, see if you could find a better life in Europe or Australia?"

Tab stared at her. "You must be crazier than the chief. The only cities left are either miserable slums or military-controlled factory pits. And even if I made it past them to the coast, how am I supposed to get across the ocean? They don't make boats that tough, and I couldn't afford a trip anyway!"
"You could take a plane?" Bernon suggested.
"A plane!? The marsh gas is putting holes in your head! Those don't even exist anymore!"
Mike cut him off. "We saw a plane passing over, just a few days ago. Maybe you're right that none of us would be able to snag a ticket, but clearly somebody can. Enough to justify using all that tech and fuel to build the aircraft in the first place."
Tab paused in surprise. Apparently he couldn't find an answer to that, because he turned away. "Well, whatever. I'm not going anywhere, and if I do, I'm heading west, where I might actually have a chance at a good life. Isn't that why you guys are going that way?"

Tanrial sighed, knowing that there was going to be no getting through to Tab but luckily he changed the subject. The answer to that question, however, was more difficult to answer, “Ah well, it’s complicated. Partially yes, but also we have… errands we need to run that way.”

"Errands, huh? What are you, some kind of delivery service or something?"
"That's a good way to describe it," Bernon said lightly. "Mostly items of personal value, letters, books, stuff like that." He obviously didn't want to hint that they carried anything important, lest the bandit get a little too interested.
"I see." Tab was suitably bored by Bernon's answer and went back to maneuvering the boat through the shallow water. "Well…..I guess making deliveries is pretty easy when you're a magic-user. You probably don't have to worry about dangers on the road at all, do you?"

"Oh no, you still have to be careful," She replied, "Magic has its limitations, use too much and drain yourself in one go? It leaves you vulnerable. You have to pick and choose when and where you use your power. So you still have to be cautious."

"Oh. I guess…..that makes sense." By now they were drawing closer to the line of rotting trees, and Tab had to dig his pole deep into the water to steer them through a maze of reeds and sandbars. "Okay, so, when we get to dry land, you'll wanna follow the path straight up to the high ground, then make sure you don't lose it when it turns left. Eventually you'll get to a bridge over the river, and from there you're on your own. Oh, and watch out for forest beasts–we think at least one wanders through here during the summer."

"Okay, got it, thank you for taking us this far and send our thanks to Corin again, we do appreciate the help." They could handle the forest beast, not like they hadn't dealt with multiple on this trip.

"Yeah, well, just remember you owe us," Tab replied. When the boat couldn't go any farther without being beached, he stopped and gave them a nod. "Later, then. And by the way, if you can't make it to the bridge before dark, there's a beat-up old cabin at the top of the hill that's usually empty."

Usually. Implying that some of the time, something resided in the cabin. Hopefully they would make it before dark, if they were quick about it and didn't stop on the way, "Right. Thanks. See you when we see you." They climbed out of the boat and onto relatively dry land. The path was clear, clear enough that they wouldn't have trouble until Tab mentioned it veering off.

Mike set off without looking back, while Bernon paused to wave at Tab. Tab, for his part, copied Mike, and thus missed Bernon's attempt at a friendly farewell. Bernon sighed and hitched up his backpack.
"One grumpy dude is plenty for me," he muttered to Tanrial. "Tab seems like an okay person, but all the same, I'm glad he's not coming any farther with us."

"Same," Tanrial replied, sighing softly, "Sometimes dealing with Mike if challenge enough, having to put up with nearly a carbon copy would be an experience."

"You'll thank me for being a crab later," Mike called back dryly, having overheard them. "Somebody had to be the unforgivable killjoy that got us safely out of bandit territory and back on schedule before they decided to make us stay."
Bernon winced. "Sorry bro, we didn't mean to be rude. And you're right, it was a good thing we got out of there in once piece."
Mike kept walking. "The reason I moved us along was mainly because I didn't like the vibe of the place. More specifically, Corin claimed nobody was in their prison shack, but I definitely saw somebody moving around in there. I didn't want to find out what else they were hiding from us."

"Did you see Tab's hesitation to take us this way, too?" Tanrial frowned, "I don't know if I'm over thinking things but it seemed like he really didn't want to come out this way. Or maybe he'd just grumpy all the time and didn't want to take strangers there and back but.."

Bernon frowned. "I thought he was just being sullen, but….you guys make some good points. We should probably tread carefully for a while longer."
"In other words," Mike added, "we should proceed with the appropriate level of caution for a three-person group with minimal defenses and no knowledge of the terrain ahead. So far today, I feel like we've been acting way too casual about the risks of this trip, and we already got side-tracked twice. At this rate, I think we'll have to hunker down for the night in that cabin they mentioned. And I'd still like to properly scope it out while we still have a bit of daylight."

"Knock on wood that there isn't anyone or anything living in that cabin when he get there," She mumbled, "If there was I'd say we stay away from any other mysterious, short cut pathways from here on out."

"What if this whole thing is a trap?" Bernon worried. "I mean, Corin and Willow and those kids seemed like decent people, but what if they lied about the Gator Boys on the other bridge just to ambush us on this one?"
"Then we show them it won't be so easy to catch us," Mike replied simply. "We know now that we can handle worse." He slowed to climb up a particularly rocky part of the trail, then turned to help the others up. "That said, I don't think this is a trap. It doesn't make sense to bring us right into their camp, then let us go only to try and capture us again. Any dangers out here are probably gonna be from other things."

(yeah sorry, got caught up with school, my birthday and then a break up, sorry for not warning you)

Tanrial bit her lip, pausing for a moment in her tracks before she continued again. A frown now etched into her features as she spoke, "Humans are crazy, no offense. And in these weird-ass times, people have strange plans. Maybe they didn't want the children to hear or see if they were going to kill us. Directing us to a cabin in the middle of bat-shit nowhere would be an ideal place to you know, murder us."

(Ah that's okay, I understand. Happy birthday! And I'm sorry about your break up, hope you're taking good care of yourself)
"Whatever happens," Mike replied determinedly, "We'll handle it. If that is their plan, then we've already predicted it and it won't work on us. Now let's make tracks before the sun gets any lower."
The path took them in a relatively straight line into a set of rocky, heavily-forested hills. They followed the ridge of the largest hill for quite a while, only slowing down in places were the path had almost faded out. The wildlife in this area seemed abundant and peaceful, and there was no sign of human life anywhere. Mike kept a sharp eye out for any hints of forest beast activity, but for the moment there were none.
Finally, they reached the path's highest point and broke into a small clearing. In the middle sat an ancient but still sturdy log cabin with boarded-up windows and a musty woodpile nearby. It seemed deserted.
"We should do a sweep of the area," Mike said quietly. "Spread out, but stay in sight of each other, and check out the building. Make sure we really are alone here."