<div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">Heya all! I wanted to apologize for rushing to the keep a bit quickly and forcing everyone to respond to events that had already passed. I want to go back and add a few little details Vendra would have said during the interactions. There was reason for the rush! I wanted to get to the keep so we could welcome a new member to the table. Everyone welcome Allie! Glad to have you in the game sweetie &lt;3 Hope you enjoy yourself and have fun interacting with the party.</div></div></div><br/><br/>~~<span style="font-style: italic"> Before reaching the keep </span>~~<br/><br/>~<span style="font-weight: bold"> Kahmori </span>~<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Kitts wrote:</cite> 'You'd be surprized at what humans make you do. You should be happy It's me who's care you are under, rather than someone who'd mistreat you. I, at least, will treat you with some measure of respect. I just ask you treat those I travel with the same way." </div></blockquote><br/><br/>Vendra could only blink idly at Kahmori’s comment. While she did witness a few slaves in Vanadiel they were more for experiments of the beneficial nature. Teaching anthro’s to harness the human sides of arcane and divine magic. She couldn’t recall any case of them being mistreated or forced into sexual acts, then again she rarely observed what would go on behind closed curtains and doors. Still, for the moment he was her master and being digested alive still didn't have a pleasing ring to it. Vendra thought it best to agree with him for the moment “I apologize, I’ll do my best to not let my emotions get the best of me in the future”<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Kitts wrote:</cite> "...You know, a bath sounds really good right now. Wish we had more time..." almost dejectedly, Kahmori turns to follow the party again, nudging Vendra with his tails "Whatcha think? I mean, I'm sure it doesn't quite compare...but not bad for a bunch of tribal-types, eh?"</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Normally Vendra would have kept her eyes upon the floor, she however couldn’t take her eyes off the marvel that was before her eyes. The city was breathtakingly beautiful. Even a running stream through the middle of it. The cities within Vanadiel while beautiful, clearly showed signs that decades harsh weather had taken their toll as it slowly chipped away the masonry. Lakehaven was pristine and recently built, she could only stare in awe. “This city is beautiful. It’s rare to see such a sight. This truly is the gem of Southmourne”<br/><br/>~<span style="font-weight: bold"> Xali </span>~<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Xali wrote:</cite> "And as for you, my dear... well, there are, understandably, few things I might say to improve your opinion of me, or the anthro tribes as a whole”</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Vendra appears in thought as she gathers a collective response, feeling slightly guilty...or rather fearful that spite might come out of her previous sentence from the devious leopardess. “I don’t hate just to blindly hate. I don’t wish for this war and I don’t want either side to experience the pains that follow war. I don’t wish to see families anthro or human torn apart just so one king or ruler can sate their lusts of battle and glory” Clearly Vendra had little love for Caleb and his blood lust of battle. “The quicker this war is resolved the sooner Vanadiel will become the lively and beautiful place it was before” A soft half smile appeared on her lips, an obvious forced one but at least she was attempting.<br/><br/>“Umm…I‘m…” Vendra lifted a hand to the side of her neck and rubbed it idly as she attempted to muster the courage to apologize. “Sorry for snapping at you. It’s a difficult shift to go from healing wounded in a temple to being thrown out here to be slain...only to become a slave in a two day period, it‘s not becoming for a priestess to show needless anger. I have a feeling I might be with you guys for sometime, I should make more of an attempt to be friendly to make that time enjoyable as possible” This time the smile on her lips was genuine. “Friends?” Vendra said as she extended her hand out to Xali.<br/><br/>~<span style="font-weight: bold"> Alexei </span>~<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>NocturneWolf wrote:</cite> “I have read about human cities,” he spoke in an almost musing tone. “I would imagine it to be much like this, people flowing and working together in a way that allows us to live and thrive amazingly. I believe we learned to live like this from your people, to go beyond our species to exist together peacefully. There is a lot to appreciate about human culture… It’s a pity we are in a war. Otherwise, we’d be more inclined to see the things about us we share instead of the things that terrify us.”</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Vendra eyed Alexei nervously as he approached, the wolf had stayed quiet mostly of the trip. In her mind those not speaking were too busy plotting acts of mischievous nature to engage in conversation. There was something in the tone of his voice that caught her off guard. He seemed almost to take pity on her situation and take it upon himself to be polite and even compliment her species. A smile appeared on her lips, followed by a soft giggle. “I wish I could this city was born of human culture. This marvel is far more then anything I’ve seen within human territory. War is a truly a pity, I hope this one doesn’t last long. I’ve known a few anthro’s within my time…only in Vanadiel mind you, but I came to enjoy all of their company. The culture within Southmourne has some amazing legends and stories. Our cultures have so much to offer one another. Hopefully when this needless war expires we can go back to being neighbors and allies once again”<br/><br/>~~<span style="font-style: italic"> After reaching the keep! </span>~~<br/><br/>~ [p] Party [/b] ~<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>NocturneWolf wrote:</cite> “The pleasure is all mine, general. It is an honor to be allowed to meet one of your stature.”</div></blockquote><br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Kitts wrote:</cite> "Helix? Nice to meetcha."</div></blockquote><br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Xali wrote:</cite> "It is our pleasure to be here, General." </div></blockquote><br/><br/>The large snow tiger could only feel humbled by such warm greetings. “You are too kind. You’ll quickly find that I am not one for formal military procedures. Please call me Helix. General sounds too formal for my taste” Helix chuckled softly. “Ah, I’ve known Drir since I was a cub. You can’t help but love the guy. He’d be the greatest soldier in all of Southmourne if he chose, however he simply enjoys the open road too much. I respect the guy and his judgments. Please sit down” Helix nodded to the four chairs in front of his desk. Vendra hurried over and took a seat. The caravan trip had been incredibly uncomfortable and walking around while making sure a blanket covered you fully wasn't an easy task.<br/><br/>Helix sat back down before bringing a hand up to his chin and stroking his fur upon it “As you already know I commissioned Drir to recruit a few folks for me. Unfortunately the situation that called in such an event is a dire one. The war with Caleb is taking the attention of most of our stationed forces. We believe there is another faction that is seeking to benefit from the distraction and setting up small bases in which they can strike from within our lands. Three weeks ago a scout of mine was deployed to scan along the northwestern border where Caleb’s forces had been massing. Before she could even reach the outer edges however she was attacked by what she described as a ghoul. I can’t tell you how troublesome this is for our forces. A single necromancer could easily make an army over night”<br/><br/>Helix stands up and shifts through the maps on his desk before finding one that portrayed the local area. “While we have no certainty, our intelligence believes that the ghoul originated from here” Grabbing and dabbing the feather in ink Helix marked a spot on the map a few inches from the city “An old crypt for the dwarven nobles of Giran. The corpses are long since decayed and useless to a necromancer, however the crypt itself is underground and easily fortifiable. It’s the perfect location for the undead to set up a base and attack the surrounding lands from. This is just two days northwest of Lakehaven. I don’t think I need to explain how difficult it would be for us to halt both undead and Caleb's advances into our lands”<br/><br/>Sitting back down a smile curves on his lips “This is why you were recruited. I need a select few that can perform a number of tasks that our normal military soldiers can’t handle. A small group isn’t going to take the notice of Caleb's forces that a large legion of my soldiers would. I need recruits that go by instinct instead of protocol. Recruits that use the animalistic ways that made us the foes to dread that we are today” A grin upon his lips as he looked the four over “And I believe Drir found the right people for the job. You’ll be joining up with the scout that originally came across the ghoul” Helix turns and looks to a dark corner behind one of his dressers. “She’s pretty devious in nature. Though her stealth abilities needs a little work. Brady, come meet your new companions” Helix chuckled.