Vangelis had watched with mild concern but mostly amusement as Nike and Timaeus had fallen down the rocky slope, landing in a smooshed pile in the leaves at the bottom. Frowning when it was clear Nike was injured, he however said nothing when the two slighter of the group decided to head forwards into the cave in search of the animal they were hunting. When Timaeus called up that he and Lazaros should stay back, Vangelis didn't react aside from issuing a simple command.
"You see signs of the bear in there and you come back for us before approaching it." He told them.
He wasn't about to go back to Midas with the dead son of a baron because Timaeus had been too determined to be gallant and had ended up mauled by an angry bear. It wasn't exactly the best impression for a Colchian General and Crown Prince to make.
Some might have thought his choice to continue with the mission upon discovering only three volunteers was a foolish one. Timaeus especially was young. But Vangelis was a Colchian, they were Colchians. And a Colchian proved their mettle beyond all doubt regardless of age or experience. It would be a dishonour against all who had arrived to take on the hunt for Vangelis to have decided them to be an unfit force to stand beside.
It was a few minutes after Timaeus and Nike has decided to venture into the hollow in the mountain that Lazaros - impatient as ever - decided to make his way down, informing the prince that he would be sure to find a safer route. A smart move, given that they didn't need two military commanders with only one working arm.
Upon reaching the ground, Lazaros headed directly into the cave and Vangelis rolled his shoulders and rubbed one of his eyes.
"How many men does it take to investigate bear scat." He mumbled to himself as he watched the breeze and waited for his men to reappear.
Sniffing, Vangelis noticed the smell of smoke and fire coming from the North and frowned in surprise, turning to look towards the source of the smell, but it was gone almost as fast as it arrived.
He then turned his attention to the forest, his eyes narrowing as he scanned between the trees, looking for anything that moved in the wrong direction to the wind or moved in a way that was more animal than nature. He saw nothing.
A few moments later and he heard voices from the cave and the noise of running footsteps. Still high on the upper ledge, Vangelis looked down to watch, glaring when he heard a call for help from himself and the Commander who had just run inside the cave to administer just that.
It was as he saw all three of them approaching the opening to the cave and backing out into the sunlight that angry hissing became apparent. Vangelis noted how all three of the men looked down towards the ground, two with swords and one with a torch as they tried to beat away at hundreds of snakes.
Looking and assessing quickly, Vangelis hurried forwards - not down the side of the outcropping, but up.
Running along the path that would have sent them upwards rather than down, Vangelis scrambled and climbed quickly, his long legs carrying him over the rocks and his big hands supporting his weight as he worked his way to the edge. Now, he stood directly above the caves entrance, on top of the hill that the cave drilled into.
Taking the halberd from his back and swinging it widely in his hands so that he held the weapon high above his head, handle pointed up and massive blade pointed towards the ground, Vangelis glanced to check that his three men were now outside of the cave before throwing the upper half of his body forwards and smashing the halberd into the rocks below his feet.
With half the rockface held together by the roots of the trees around him, the addition of a heavy piece of iron slamming into the wood and stone, then removed and the assault repeated quickly had the roots loosening their hold and the rocks slipping free.
The keening of rock on metal echoed throughout the forest, as Vangelis continued to attack the rock, once, twice more, until the entire top lip of the cave entrance broke free in giant chunks.
Hopping a step backwards so he was no long positioned on the falling rubble, Vangelis watched from above as the rocks and boulders fell ten foot or more down into the entrance of the cave crushing the first wave of serpents and sending the others slithering back from the sudden change in light and the rumbling of the earth as rock met ground.
The few dozen snakes that were still left, snapping at the boots of his three fellow soldiers, Vangelis was too far away to deal with, but he snapped an order at Timaeus nonetheless.
"Drop the torch!"
Beneath the three men was the pile of leaves Nike and Timaeus had dropped into when they had fallen down the side path. A simple drop of the light and a hasty retreat would have the entire ground before the cave entrance burning in seconds.
Oh, Nike knew as well, or perhaps even better then Timaeus about that deuced military spirit on leaving no man alone. She's done the same many times for her own brothers in arms, foolish as it may sound. Perhaps due to her gender, Nike tended to be a little more careful, but she can't say the same for many of her comrades who did it because 'no man should be left standing alone', a common military practice misused by many. To the commander, she instead thought of it as 'no man should die', and if her leaving would ensure the other's survival, she would leave.
And now was one of those times. The woman had wanted Timaeus to run and get the other two brawny ones of their group in order to at least cull some damage, and get them out of this slithery situation. The snake bite to her leg had made her stumble backwards a few steps, and the younger captain esalated it by pushing her more, almost making her stumble had she not caught herself by the wall. The woman whipped back, her eyes wide with attention. The bite at her leg throbbed, droplets of blood seeping out, but they had bigger issus now.
And just like him, she wasn't about to leave.
Her eyes watched, her mind somewhat slow to process the flames causing the coldblooded reptiles to retreat. The next thing she knew, Nike was hurtling along the cavernous passageway, running as fast as Timaeus dragged her back to the entrance. There, even despite the cold weather, a light sheen of sweat had started to shimmer over her brows and neck as she too pivoted to brandish her longsword at the cavern's entrance, breathe coming ragged and heavy.
The new voice calling out made Nike turn over her shoulder, the sudden movement making her vision swim a little. Chalking it up to the shock and rude fear of the snakes, a little part of her filled with gratitude that the Gods had some form of mercy when the bulky form of Lazaros made itself known. Okay? No, they were most definitely not okay. Not when more of the slithery bastards were crawling after them, apparently quite angry that their home was disturbed, despite the cold weather. Mentally cursing, Nike jumped forward, her stance wobbling a little as she brandished her weapon at the hissing reptiles, just before a loud keen of rock on metal distracted her, and she looked up just in time to see rocks and boulders falling like rain towards the entrance of the cave, effectively blocking the rest of the serpents from coming out.
The command was simple enough, and Nike quickly knocked the torch out of Timaeus's hands almost as the last word left Vangelis's lips, grabbing the now vacated hand in a funny turn of events. "Lazaros, let's go!" she yelled, as the leaves crackled, catching fire quickly. Trusting Lazaros to follow as he would, the commander turned and ran, in a way one would never know she had been bitten or even had an injured shoulder. With her long sword held in the arm of her bad shoulder, it was the stronger one that hauled Timaeus upwards along the path as the fire spread along the grounds they had just been standing upon.
Timaeus did not like snakes anymore. Whirring around wildly from serpent to serpent, the sixteen-year-old tried to keep the reptiles away from Nike as well as he could. That was his main priority at the moment as he didn't know the commander's condition, but there were so many things working against him making this task near impossible. First, there was the sheer number of snakes for him to fight off. There had to be dozens, hundreds of them and he was only one boy standing up to them. Those were impossible odds. Timaeus was no greek hero, he was a boy. He was a greenling. One of these snakes would eventually hit their target of his calf and then what on earth they could do? It was a futile fight if they ever saw one.
Yet, Timaeus kept trying.
Using both the sword in his dominant hand and the torch in the other one, Timaeus kept trying to drive them back with the fire while hacking at the ones who got too close for his liking. It was a delicate dance as Tim did his best to keep up with the onslaught. Considering that in those few short minutes that seemed to drag on forever as he waited for Vangelis and Lazaros to respond, neither of them got bit so clearly, Tim was doing something right.
Still, he was incredibly relieved when Lazaros appeared, although it was a bit too casual given the high stake circumstances. "Laz!" Tim managed to choke out along with the rest of his message in between swings of his longsword. "Snakes!... Nike!... Bit!... AUGHH!.... Help!... Us!..." Every pause saw the amount of halfed snakes grow around Timaeus as he stood protectively near Nike who was already doubly injured from her shoulder and the bite. After getting the message, Lazaros joined in on the fight as the men did everything in their power to keep them back. With Laz being the larger and more well-rested, as Tim was still heaving from his dash to the cave entrance and they all knew that Nike was not doing so well either, he quickly took on the role as chief snake killer, which Timaeus was more than happy to hand over.
But where was Vangelis?
The loud echo of steel on stone answered that as Timaeus glanced up at the General. He was standing over top of the cave entrance and Tim could basically sum up what the prince was doing. He kept going at the snakes while he kept safely away from the edge of the cave. After several more deafening strikes, Timaeus heard the rocks beginning to give way and he lept back just in case.
His ears rang so loudly from the sound of the Halberd striking the stone that he barely heard Vangelis's command to drop the torch. His grip was already loosening on it when Nike repaid what had happened seemingly ages ago on the icey path and knocked it out of his hand for him. Giving him no time to react, she latched onto his now empty hand and pulled him along, up the path away from the fire that was now quickly catching where they had stood only a moment ago. He fumbled to re-sheath his sword as Nike dragged him up to safety. He finally broke free of her grasp as he scrambled up away from the heat that was now softening the surface hoar. At least now there was no chance that any of them would slide down again.
Once the group was at a safe point, Timaeus collapsed to a sitting position on the ground, finally allowing himself a bit of rest after the insanity of the last few minutes. His chest heaved as he hungrily gasped for the air he needed from when he had first pulled Nike out of the cave. His eyes flickered back to the cave entrance now hidden behind the wall of flame. It was no higher than his waist, but it was higher than the snakes and that's all that mattered. "Serves them right" he muttered under his breath. If Timaeus never had to see another snake of any sort ever again, he'd be a happy man.
Once he caught his breath, he turned his attention back to the others. "Nike," He said, glancing at the commander who had suffered the most in the last few moments, "Your leg..." His quiet words were less of a commentary on the state of it, but more of an open-ended question. The young boy glanced up at Lazaros, eager for somebody else to take control of this situation given how brilliantly Tim's idea had just worked out.
The situation that Lazaros seemed to be quite dire as he looked around and went quickly to Nike's side. What had happened to him? He almost seemed to be acting as if..... Malaka! He had so many questions but seemed to come in right at the moment where he just needed to be out of the way. A loud clang of metal to a hard surface rang around them. Lazaros looked up to see Vang slice his sword hard against the rocks being secured by vines. The whole process seemed to take longer than it really did as he watched. He held up his large shield and positioned it in front of them to block both the rubble and the coming onslaught of snakes.
His head quickly moved to watch as Nike knocked the torch out of Timaeus's hands and it fell and bounced into the leaves, catching the dry crumpled leaves on fire. Next hear heard his voice, telling him to go. He was so confused on what was even going on. He had almost felt as though he was watching this from somewhere else, watching the whole scene play out. It took him just a second to realize that the second commander had grabbed a hold of the young Timaeus and were now making their way away from the snake nest, towards Vangelis. Lazaros quickly made his way after them, still unsure what had even happened.
Once they were away from the flames, Lazaros looked at Nike. He knew something was wrong but it was hard to tell with the armor in which the commander was wearing. But he could have sworn he saw him limping. His questions were soon answered as Timaeus spoke out about her leg. Your leg? What is wrong with your leg Nike?" His voice more stern now. This was not a time to lie and act as if he wasn't' injured. This was important. "I saw you limping NIke. Don't lie to me, to Vangelis." The commander put a hand on the hilt of his sword, just something he used to rest his hand.
As the group try to decide whether the snake that bit Nike's leg was poisonous as well as simply wounding, all eyes turn to Nike to see if she collapses or simply finds her leg to be painful over deadly.
Everyone has two options...
1. Wait and watch to see if the particular snake that bit Nike was a poisonous one.
2. Find some way of extracting the venom in the hopes of saving her life before the poison can take hold and spread.
The blond commanders hand his ran through his long locks, clearly not thrilled with the situation that the four of them now found themselves. So far, the mission they had set out on had not delivered much in the ways of good news. The bear they were searching for seemed to be evading them. They might not even be on the right trail to find the monster. Frustrations were brimming in every one of them but there was another emotion that lingered in the air just now. Worry.
Standing there over Nike, he was unsure if what looked to be a snake bit on his calf was from a venomous snake or not. If it was one thing that Lazaros hated, it was standing feeling absolutely helpless. The feeling of not being in control in a situation was making him feel like he was going to go crazy. But no, he must keep his composure. He knew that he was not the one that needed to be acting in such a manner. Looking down at Nike, he then kneels down beside the leg that had been bitten. Lazaros looked up at his fellow commander and gave the look of 'do you trust me?' He paused for a moment and then began to gently lift the the fabric above his boot and up to his knee. It was hard to miss the punture holes that were red and angry.
In all his years, he had seen maybe one or two snake bites in his time. Both were that of non venomous snakes so not much had to be done. However, he was unsure about this one. Nike had walked some time on the leg with his boot and pant irritating it more so it had caused the wound to get quite inflamed. Lazaros had heard rumors of ways to remove the venomous fluid but was not expecting much as it had been some time now and if the snake was venomous, the young commander would have his fate sealed. But he had to try.
With that in mind, the blond commander acted. He wasn't sure this was going to work but it was something. He wasn't a doctor by any means. Grabbing at his tunic he cut off a fairly good piece of it and looked at Nike with apologetic eyes. "I am sorry, for this will probably hurt." He began to wrap his leg with the fabric, making sure to not make it too tight. Lazaros worked quickly and was soon done.
He wasn't sure what else could be done. He knew they needed to get the commander to a doctor but they were fairly far away from anything or anyone else. He then turned to Vangelis. "Did you have an idea of where we should go now?"
Dice Roll: The snake to bite Nike of Acaris was not poisonous. She will suffer from fatigue, minor blood loss and physical pain but will otherwise make a full recovery after approximately a week.
The crown prince stood to one side as the group made their way up from the cave's entrance up the side of the rock face and back towards the stop. They were, frustratingly almost where they had started except for the fact that they were now injured, slightly singed and Vangelis had blunted his halberd.
A quick and assessing eye lingered over each of the men, attempting to check that they were all in one piece. They snapped to Nike when Lazaros commented on her being hurt. As per usual the woman clothed as man simply waved a hand, silently indicating to her General that whatever injury had been sustained was one that required neither attention nor concern.
Vangelis knew Nike better than that and didn't believe it for a second. His expression turned darker when Lazaros insisted on pushing to treat the soldier and pulled up the leg of her pants. Two dark punctures could be seen in her skin where she had clearly suffered a serpent bite.
Vangelis turned said dark expression on Nike - catching her eye as if to chastise her for her earlier lie. A snake bite was not nothing...
As Lazaros tended to Nike's leg - surprisingly gently for man to man medical treatment (Vangelis made a mental note to ensure that Lazaros wasn't suspicious of the Commander's secret) Vangelis spoke aloud regarding the limited information he had of snake bites in that particular region.
"If it's poisonous the bleeding won't stop." He told the pair of them as Lazaros bound the leg. A small seeping of crimson flourished in the material as he initially tied it in place and then the four of them sat and waited, their eyes trained on Nike's leg.
When the dark bloom stretched no further and didn't expand into the threads of the make-shift bandage all four of them knew the wound to have stopped bleeding and that it was an incredibly low likelihood for the creature that administered the bite to be poisonous.
It seemed as if the group collectively let out an exhale of relief.
His own relief short-lived however, Vangelis noticed how Nike was favouring one side and he quickly stepped forward.
Three quick strides and a fast crouch and Vangelis was down beside Nike and already had his hands on the woman's shoulder as if he had every right to touch and assess her health.
"Dislocated." He muttered to himself as he felt at the joint through her shirt. With a sudden and far too quick movement that sent a snapping pop into the air, Vangelis shoved the joint back into place before Nike could tense at the possibility that he was even thinking of doing so. Standing back up without any apparently concern or consideration of the pain he had just caused in pushing the shoulder back into its socket, Vangelis simply stated - "Your welcome." - and then turned to answer Lazaros' question.
"Well, if there was bear scat down there, I would say with confidence that we just found its home and the reason it's not hibernating right now. I wouldn't want a bed full of snakes either."
Vangelis looked out over the terrain... The woods were darkening, with spots of white and crispy icy dotted around. The flames down below them were starting to die out, the dry top layer of foliage giving way to the damp underbelly of the undergrowth and refusing to offer dry fuel. The fire consumed itself within minutes more.
"So, we should keep moving further into the woods for now. Try and catch something to indicate the creature’s new whereabouts..."
And with that, the General set off, his stride and demeanour an obvious indicator that he expected to be followed...
Like Timaeus, Nike too fell panting on the ground once they had reached a safe distance. But her short of breathe was a lot less to do with exertion and adrenaline, but alot more with the throb in her useless shoulder, having flung around quite a bit while they were sprinting for their lives. Having fallen to her bottom on the damp soil of the mountainous terrain, the Commander instinctively turned over to check on the heaving younger military male, managing a small, amused snicker when he hissed venemously at, ironically, the snakes now trapped within the blocked cave.
But they seemed intent to concentrate on her it seems.
As if they had practiced it, both Timaeus and Lazaros seemed to turn their attention to her calf where the snake's teeth had punctured into her skin. She wracked her mind to remember the types of snakes that had been present - but with the rush of getting away and the shock of their discovery, the Commander's memory was hazy at best.
Always one to brush away issues when they had bigger matters at hand to solve however, Nike waved Lazaros's question away, only to have her nonchalant wave shot down when her friend completely called her bluff, just as Vangelis arrived. Nike could lie to anyone... but she had never been able to lie to her general.
So instead, the female merely averted her gaze from where she could feel Vangelis's boring stare, her protests falling on deaf ears as Lazaros pushed her pants up, revealing the bleeding puncture wounds. With one injured shoulder, she could do little but allow the ministrations as Lazaros worked on them, wincing when he tightened the bandage around the bleeding wound. "It's no matter Laz. Thank you for - ow - , coming to get us out of that nightmare." she replied in a low tone to the other blond Commander, flashing him a small, thankful smile even as he worked on her leg.
Poison hadn't even been her biggest concern until her general brought it up. Up till then, she had yet to meet Vangelis's gaze, but as they all settled to watch, a sense of trepidation made Nike's palms sweat as the silence seemed unnerving whilst eyes were trained on her calf. Only when the blood seemed to cease with Lazaros's tight bandage, did Nike's shoulders droop ever so slightly in relief -
Until Vangelis stepped forward.
Oh, she recognized that look he wore. She warily followed her gaze on him, flinching when he ran his fingers over her joint through the shirt. After years of shying away from anyone's touch within the cavalry, Vangelis was perhaps, the only one she'd feel most at ease with, considering the proximity at which they spent together. But even then, it felt foreign as he muttered the issue - and the next thing you know, Nike had to bite back a curse, almost drawing blood on her lip when the fool of a general she called her friend shoved the joint back without warning. The pain burned her limbs as they were pushed back, and as he stepped away, while Nike could feel hat she probably could use the arm again, it was simultaneously also sore and likely numbed for the next few days until the inflammation would subside.
Throwing a glare at Vangelis with his flippant statement of a welcome to a thank you she never gave, Nike growled under her breathe, drawing her legs closer to herself as she slowly kneaded her throbbing shoulder, but kept a listening ear to the general's instructions. "Then where would the bear have gone? Should we look for a different cave then?" she murmured, an uncertain look tossed in Timaeus's direction. At this rate, Nike would be happy to never see another snake for the rest of her life. "Did the man mention where he had seen the beast, in particular? Perhaps we should expand our search perimeter starting from that point."
The whiff of burning that Vangelis of Kotas noticed earlier returns on the wind from the North. The sound of animals scurrying and the site of four deer in quick succession running through the underbrush can be seen further down the hilly woodland. It is mid-afternoon and darkness will fall in roughly four hours.
Do you -
1. Investigate the smell of the smoke. 2. Move further through the woodland to inspect what has spooked the animals. 3. Take an alternative option or path in order to investigate where the disturbed bear may now be hiding.
Trudging along behind Vangelis as they started through the woods, her worry spiked as the sky began to darken, the scent of burning wood still heavy in the air as they went further down the trail behind Vangelis's form sillouhetted against the darkening sky. Her shoulder's throbbing had subsided somewhat, although Nike would not trust herself in a one on one combat with someone just yet. As such, her sword was held in her non-dominant hand, which also meant the Commander was not at her best when it came to defending herself.
Eyes still alert as they trudged, Nike paused when a gust of wind blew again, bringing with it the scent of more burning wood... which would have intrigued the Commander more, had the brus suddenly not shift. Alert for any changes, Nike paused, wincing as she held up a hand to halt any other behind her, blinking in surprise when four deer started scurrying in a manner that obviously displayed that they were on the run from something.
On the run? Well, when one considered their objective of the hunt for today.
"Vangelis." she called out to bring the general's attention to the scurrying animals, motioning her head in the direction they had came from. Surely it would be of importance to note what were they running away from? Chances were, the bear could be the one scaring them out of where they had been peacefully grazing, and with the sky darkening, Nike was eager to procure their quarry and return back to the town victorious.
So turning on her heels, she started down the way where the spooked deer had came from, eyes cautious as she trudged forward and letting the rest fall behind her.
The group move down through the thicket and woodland, away from the cave and further into the forest. The terrain is rocky and hard to navigate in places, but the group stays together in order to avoid any more slips and falls.
Moving against the tide - both in the direction opposite to the deer and to the wind, the group picks up the fact that it could have been a scent - drawn closer on the breeze - that had the deer scurrying.
As if in answer to this idea, the group come across a deer carcass. Decimated by clearly a larger animal and with claw marks all over the remaining hide and ground around it, the animal looks more attacked for the sake of it than in the need for food...
The young boy was absolutely racked with guilt as the group watched Nike’s wound with bated breath. He blamed himself for the injuries the commander had sustained; after all, it had been his fault they had fallen down the hillside and he was the one to push for exploring the cave. If anything happened to the older man, it would most certainly be the young lord’s fault. If the wound proved to be venomous or gods forbid, fatal, Timaeus doubted if he would ever forgive himself for dragging his comrade into such a terrible situation.
Either way, this would serve as a valuable lesson for the boy. Don’t rush in head first. Who knows who you could hurt in the process?
However, he didn’t breathe a word of the blame he was putting onto himself nor did he give any other purposeful sign of such thoughts whirring around his mind. The teen couldn’t shake the feeling that he still had something to prove to the others and Timaeus was afraid his fear for Nike’s condition may be seen as a weakness. Especially in the eyes of Vangelis, a man who he had heard wasn’t afraid of anything. He needed to show that even though he was younger and less experienced than the others, that didn’t mean he was of less use. Timaeus needed to appear just as stoic and unyielding as the rest of them.
Yet, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the scarlet bloodstain soaking through the bandage nor could he stop himself from biting his lip in worry. He didn’t even realize he was doing it either. Not until a metallic taste and strange warm liquid trickled across his tongue. The young lord may not say anything out loud, but he was still a boy. He could not hide everything thought behind a stony mask.
That was an art he had yet to master.
When the bleeding stopped, Timaeus visibly relaxed as he breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Nike was going to be fine, the wound wasn’t poisoned. The boy almost had the nerve to crack a small joke, but Vangelis stepped forward, killing it before it was even born. As the prince examined the other injury, the boy shrunk back, eager to not get in the way. He watched intently though as the older man crouched down and in one swift motion, corrected the problem.
Timaeus let out an audible gasp as his eyes flickered between the general and the commander. “You just… You didn’t…” He quietly stammered out as he tried to rationalize what had just happened. Vangelis didn’t even warn him. He just forced the joint back into place, as if it was nothing. Instinctively, Timaeus reached up to his own shoulder, rubbing it slightly as if it was him who had felt the pain and not Nike.
Though, the commander didn’t even cry out against the agony he must have been in. Instantly, Timaeus’s respect for him increased tenfold. There was no way the baron’s son would have been able to do that.
He didn’t have much time to dwell on the situation as the group collectively decided to move on. Timaeus scrambled up to his feet and nearly missed the group of deer running away in the distance. It wasn’t anything too spectacular, but it was peculiar enough to be worth investigating on Nike’s insistence. He trusted the man enough to lead them in the right direction. “Just as long as it’s not another cave,” He said with a small grin when the commander turned to the captain, looking for his opinion on the matter. Yeah, Tim had enough of those, thank you very much.
Since Timaeus was not eager to repeat what had happened earlier, he didn’t rush ahead of the group again. Instead, he followed shortly behind Nike, leaving Lazaros to take up the rear as they descended down the rocky terrain. The wind was bitterly cold and continued to nip at their faces as they moved against it. He didn’t know how the others were fairing, but the breeze did nothing to help Timaeus conceal the chill he felt from his damp clothes from his tumble earlier. Within no time at all, the baron’s boy was shaking slightly and his teeth chattered as his body fought against the cold. He was smart enough though to keep his mouth shut and not say a damn word about the chill. Complaining would do nothing, but annoy the others.
So, Tim’s mind wandered as a way to keep himself from focusing on the cold. He thought of his home in Eubocris, his dreams of seeing the world, future battles he would win; really anything, but what was happening at that moment as he absent-mindedly put one foot in front of the other. His thought was called back every now and then as some sort of distant smell was carried on the wind back to them. “Probably what spooked them in the first place,” Tim muttered as a particularly strong scent of rotting meat invaded their nostrils, making it impossible for the boy to get lost in his thoughts.
He figured that it would soon disappear as all the other scents carried on the wind, but when the ground leveled out again it was still there. If anything it was now stronger and Timaeus could tell that there was something off about it. However, he didn’t know how wrong it was until the group came across the source of it, stopping the whole group in their tracks.
It was the carcass of a deer.
Crouching down to look at the dead animal, Timaeus pulled his chiton over his nose to spare himself from the stench of the rotting beast. His eyes glanced over the grisly scene, unsure of what he was seeing. Of course, he understood what it was; a fallen deer, a mangled hide, claw marks everywhere... This was clearly the work of one of the forest’s many predators. It was simple, barely worthy of the hunting party’s attention and yet there was something off about the whole scene and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what it was.
“It didn’t eat it.” He quietly muttered, more to himself more than anything else. After all, it was plainly obvious that for what was so clearly a kill by a predator out in these woods, there was too much meat still left on the carcass for it to be just that. But what kind of animal would kill, just to kill? It was monstrous, it was unnatural. There had to be something else going on here.
That seemed to be the only thing Timaeus knew for certain.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the other men reach out to examine the deer. He may not be a hunter, but even he knew that was a terrible idea. “Don’t touch it!” He warned, his eyes narrowing as he watched them back up slightly, probably confused by the young boy’s words. “Whatever killed it… there’s a reason it didn’t eat it too. There might be something wrong with it.” He deadpanned as he peered over the animal searching for any sort of signal of it being sick or otherwise ill=fated before it had been murdered. Although his words didn’t directly say it, there was the unspoken implication that the group had already suffered enough injuries with Nike’s snake bite and dislocated shoulder. They didn’t need anyone else catching some terrible disease too.
So, as the group kept a safe distance, Timaeus voiced the one opinion that seemed to be on all their minds, “What the hell happened here?”
The deer carcass was... well, Nike couldn't say it was unexpected, but then again it was also not something she had expected to see. She had seen plenty of death and destruction on the battlefield, yet many years later, Nike still was not the most comfortable at the sight of a dismemebered body, human or not. In the adrenaline and desperate need to survive on the battlefield, Nike would grit her teeth and dow hat was needed... but when she had a choice, the woman would back down. And so, this was where her feet slowed, allowing the other three to draw forward of her. Hanging back, the woman instead examined the area surrounding the carcass.
Large claw marks meant the scuffle was done by... what Nike can imagine was a creature on two feet, or at least that was what she could surmise watching the patterns on the ground. They matched the ones she saw on the hide, when the commander lifted her gaze to check.
Hearing Timaues's warning to not touch it, Nike frowned at his reasoning, and then back down to the ground to track the claw marks, attempting to see if she could find a direct and through path as to where the creature headed to next. Sure, they had no way of determining if the creature who had maimed the deer was actually the bear they sought for in this quest of theirs... but it was one clue to follow rather then none.
"But if there was something wrong... why would it kill the deer in the first place?" Nike mused from where she stood a step behind the rest, the way she spoke and stood clear that her mind was churning for ideas.
With Vangelis being who he was, when he walked over to Nike after the bleeding had stopped and noticed that he too had another problem. Lazaros watched as the prince felt over the body of the other commander and then spat out one word...dislocated. It didn't take a genius to know what that meant. Lazaros knew there was something else was wrong with the other man just by how he was walking and presenting himself, he would have be be blind to not see that. However, after the word was spoken, the prince jerked the joint back into place. The popping sound made Lazaros's stomach lurch for a moment. There were many things the man could tolerate but the sounds of body parts popping or making noises they were not suppose to naturally make was one those things that made his skin crawl.
The prince nonchalantly turned then to Laz and spoke about the bear. Was there even bear scat down there? He wasn't down there himself so he could not speak on such matters. But Vangelis had a point. He too would not want to live among the slithering bed of snakes. "Neither would I." He more so said that to himself but did say loud enough for the prince to possibly think it was to him.
Lazaros's gaze then followed Vangelis's as he looked out over the terrain. There was a lot of land to cover and they didn't really have much of a lead to go on except a cave that the bear may or may not have been living in at one time. But one thing was certain, he wasn't there now. It seemed as the prince was thinking the same thing as the spoke that they should keep moving. Indeed, this was the only thing they could really do at this moment.
As they moved on, the scent of fire now wafted through the air. The entire party seemed to have tensed slightly as the smell. To made matters even more strange, a small herd of deer ran passed. Lazaros's gaze followed them for a moment and then trailed back towards the direction in which they ran from. What could have spooked them? Was it the fire? Or maybe they were being hunted. But than that begged the question of who was hunting them.
Niked called for Vangelis and pointed. It was the same direction in which he noticed that they were running from. So far, this was their only lead so it seemed like they were going to start there. His footfalls were light as he walked along with the group. He was careful were he stepped as to not have a situation like they did earlier.
As the group walked on, the smell of what seemed to be dead flesh grew heavy in the air. It wasn't until they walked upon a dead carcass of a deer that the scent got so bad that Laz had to cover his nose for a moment. What was even more off about the situation was that the deer didn't seem to be eaten in any way. It was clearly attacked and killed by something rather large judging by the marks in the hide, however, it seemed to have just been left there to rot. And rot it sure did.
The youngest of the group, Tim, seemed certain that something was wrong with it, as he yelled out not to touch it. Lazaros heard the words and then unsheathed his large sword and reach out with it. He poked the carcass, pointing to certain things like the claw marks. There didn't really seem to be much wrong with the deer on the outside but because of the smell, Lazaros was careful not to puncture the hide. Remains that had been sitting out for some time, even if the weather was cooler, would be rather foul smelling on the inside with all the remains.
Lazaros looked up at Nike and Vangelis, searching for some sign that they might have an idea of what was going on. However, judging by the reactions so far, it looked like this was a bear and one that seemed to also hunt for sport. Just the thought of this sent chills down the Vlahakis man's spine. Could a bear really have the mental capacity to do such a thing?
When the young Valaoritis boy stumbled over his words at what Vangelis had done to secure Nike's shoulder back into place, the crown prince offered no apology or mercy in his choice. He could read the boy's confusion and startled mindset the way he read a book and he didn't need the kid uncertain on this adventure.
"You warn someone and they tense." Vangelis simply offered. "It then hurts more."
With only that as the justification for his actions, Vangelis then moved with the small group, keeping Nike in the corner of his eye as she got back to her feet and secured her balance.
As the group made their way down further into the woodlands, Vangelis kept his ears open and his nose to the wind, curious about the burning smell from before. He didn't notice it strongly anymore, however, and so it was not of consequence. What was of consequence was the deer carcass they found.
Not eaten, just decimated, Vangelis frowned, his nose wrinkling.
"Either the deer's diseased or the bear is." He commented to answer the questions in his follower's looks. "A predator can kill when threatened but a bear would have to be diseased in some way to consider a single doe a threat."
He looked out over the woodlands and between the trees, his eyes narrowing to inspect each movement that seemed against the tide of the winds. He heard nothing, but the hairs on the back of his neck pricked as the sound of snapping twigs and moving branches could be heard a little to the east.
Vangelis moved slowly so as not to startle whatever was hiding within the dense foliage, as he removed his bow from his shoulder and nooked an arrow into place in its string.
A creature, animal or human approached through the woodland, the foliage too dense to make out a shape. The leaves move and branches quiver as it draws closer and the sound of a deep rumble - perhaps a growl - drifts through the air.
As the group gathered around the rotting carcass, Timaeus was glad to see that the others listened to him when he said not to touch the rotting carcass. There was clearly something wrong here and as confusing as this situation was, they still needed to hold onto the one thing that could possibly make sense here. The only logical solution was that there was something wrong with either the deer or as Vangelis put it, the creature that killed it.
“If it was the bear and there’s something wrong with it,” Timaeus muttered mostly to himself as he thought out loud, “Then that would explain everything.” Although, realizing that there may be something wrong with the bear itself brought a bit of clarity and relief to the youngest of the group; they couldn’t ignore how this revelation made everything far more serious. If Vangelis was right, then that means that this bear would not play by the rules the group would expect it to. Nor could they leave the woods without killing it either for the safety of the rest of the forest and stop whatever was wrong with it from spreading.
As if this whole mess hadn’t already been bad enough.
Almost on cue, a rustling from the nearby brush drew their attention away from the deer. Vangelis was the first to react, drawing his bow and ordering the other men to do the same. Wordlessly, Tim obeyed the order as he swung his own weapon off of his back and silently reached for an arrow.
Carefully, as not to make any noise, the young boy also drew back his bow. Holding the arrow taunt, his eyes didn’t leave the rustling brush as he waited for the General’s signal to release. Standing off to the side and slightly behind the group, Timaeus could see the other two preparing in their own ways for whatever was making the noise just beyond their line of sight. For a moment, Tim regretted not reaching for his sword instead since he felt far more confident with it than he did with a bow, but that would have been stupidly foolish. This was not going to be a close combat fight, that much was made clear by Vangelis choosing his bow for his primary weapon as well. Selecting anything other than a ranged weapon was just asking to be shot by the others and another injured man was the last thing they needed at this moment.
Even though he knew that this was the most logical thing to do, he still was not confident in his choice. Or well... More accurately, he was not confident in his own archery skills. It had always been the Valaoritis boy’s weak point as more emphasis had been put upon his swordsmanship and cavalry skills. Timaeus still knew what he was doing though. There was no way he could have gotten to the rank of Captain without it, but still, there was just a slight twinge of doubt in the back of his mind that wasn’t there when he felt the familiar weight of his sword in his hand.
This wasn’t helped by everything else occurring around them. Timaeus was still shivering slightly from his damp clothes and the smell of the nearby carcass made his eyes water, blurring his vision. As the seconds ticked on, Timaeus could feel a slight ache form his arms as they protested holding the tension needed for the shot. His forearms trembled slightly, unseen to the others, but painfully obvious to Tim.
Don’t you dare. He silently warned the twitching muscles, but it did nothing to stop it. In fact, this only made it worse and if any of the others were watching the boy instead of the bush, they may have seen a visible shake in his muscle and his face contorted in a mixture of frustration and worry as beads of sweat dotted his chilled face. Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare. He continued to repeat in his mind in between silent prayers for Vang to give the signal and relieve him of needing to hold the position, but it didn’t come. Even from his position, Timaeus could see the Prince’s eyes locked on the bush, carefully tracking the movements of whatever this threat was. He would not tell the others to let their arrows fly until he was sure one of the four of them could secure a kill shot. “Come on…{/i]” Timaeus quietly muttered to himself, eyes now stuck on the prince as he silently willed him to give the signal.
Unbeknownst to him, high up in the trees above the group, a small winter bird landed on a supple branch that appeared stable thanks to the heavy coating of snow. Even though the bird was light, the added weight was just barely enough to shake it and loosen the burden it held. Large chunks of snow came hurtling down, down, down before landing on top of Timaeus, who had been too focused on Vangelis and the brush to even notice the surprise snowfall.
Not until it was too late of course.
Landing directly on his head, Timaeus gave out a small gasp of shock as he tried to process it all. For a moment, he lost his concentration as he tried to shake it away from him… but one moment was all it took for his arms to try and drop their own heavy burden. Without him realizing what was happening until it was too late, Timaeus’s fingers slipped from the taut string.
The arrow flew forward.
With a quiet whoosh it sailed past the group and into the brush, staying on course for where the Baron’s son had been aiming until he had been startled into letting go. In a split second, the loose arrow had gone from being in his grasp to heading for whatever was moving towards them.
As the arrow is loosed into the thicket of foliage a call from some kind of animal is heard. It's a roar, of some kind. Angry, pained... but certainly not wounded beyond reckoning. Nor is it a cry of fright.
Immediately following, the crashing of brush and thicket can be heard as limbs are destroyed and bushes broken passed as something hurtles through the trees. Not away from the group in fear but towards them in rage filled retribution...
The group stood with anticipation as they waited for the animal - human, creature, whatever it was - to reveal itself through the branches of the coniferous forest in which they stood. With all the needles still attached the trees and the snowy patches settled upon each limb, it was near impossible to see through to the creator of such disturbances. The fact that the ground was frozen ceased any squelching muddle or crunching grass - the path it took clearly already soldered to the ground.
It was as Vangelis moved to take a cautious step forward, towards the noise, his eyes still narrowed and his head tilted as he was careful to analyse its approach without alerting it to their presence... that an arrow shot right by him and into the brush.
An inexperienced commander might have looked around, chastised or yelled or reprimanded in that moment of anger that their position had been given away. A man who had been war or was experienced in hunting, however, knew that now was not the time and Vangelis kept his focus trained on the forestry ahead, as if the arrow had been planned.
It hadn't, though. And the sharp roar from within the trees told them that it hadn't killed anything either.
Vangelis waited a moment as the group shifted awkwardly and it was then that a crashing could be heard as the animal Timaeus' arrow has clearly struck and angered - but not silenced - came careening through the thicket.
Within a few moments, the bush closest to them was destroyed and a Vangelis's eyes widened as their attacker leapt towards them.
"It's not a bear!" He called out, unnecessarily, fired his arrow, catching the beast in the shoulder and then hooking his bow to his centre and rolling out of the way as two hundred pounds worth of mountain lion charged into their group.