<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;">And thus do we finish out our second day! Hope everyone is having plenty of fun. <img alt=":)" src="./images/smilies/smile.gif" title="Smile"/> With the new day (Assuming all things go well!) We'll have our two new players coming in very soon!<br/><br/>Welcome to Akiada and Kotoko, and I hope everyone continues to enjoy the story. Got some great stuff cooked up... &gt;:3 <br/><br/>Also, my apologies - I've somewhat dropped the ball on the 'cinematic sides'. Hopefully, I'll be able to get them up sometime within the next 10-20 years, at the rate I'm getting stuff done. XD</div></div></div><br/><br/>Rak gets to his feet just after Lilium, almost seeming to return Ureck's bemused little smirk. He knew all too well just how close to 'lucky' the poor collie had gotten. Then again, that version of lucky could have been a wild night of passion and lust...or, a one-way trip to his master's stomach. It always was hard to tell with those she lured away...<br/><br/>Following behind Lilium, the spunky fox crawls into her bedroll with her, and within a matter of  moments, is curled up comfortably at her side, sound asleep...<br/><br/>The conversation around the glowing coals of the slowly-dieing campfire slowly subsides, with the trio tucked away in their respective beds. Little more than the soft crackle of smoldering wood and the late-night buzz of insects disturbs them from a peaceful, and well deserved, slumber...<br/><br/><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;">HP<br/><br/>Sherani - +4 (Digested medium-sized prey), +4 (Digested medium-sized prey), +6 (rest). Current HP total - 61/72<br/>Nutrion Gained - Intimidating Rage (feat!)<br/><br/>Lilium - +4 (Digested medium-sized prey), +6 (rest). Current HP total - 36/36<br/>Nutrion Gained - +1 stomach AC<br/>Nutrion Gained - +1 belly escape DC<br/><br/>Ureck - +6 (rest). Current HP total - 50/50<br/><br/>Rak - +4 (Digested medium-sized prey), +5 (rest). Current HP total - 42/42<br/>Nutrion Gained - Weapon Focus - Baki (...Hah. XD)</div></div></div><br/><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"> Sometime that night... </span><br/><br/><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;"><span style="font-style: italic">~ They are asleep....all of them. No watch. Nothing.~</span> <br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~ I can see that. ~</span> Came the perfectly silent reply. It sounded so soft, little more than a whisper in her head. Ugh - she never had enjoyed this telepathic communication stuff. Still, it was the best way to communicate when you didn't want to be heard. Not that any of the sleeping individuals could have heard either of them, anyway. They were out like a doused fire.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"> ~ So, what do you think? Could always eat one of them, make a point. Think *HE* would be mad if we did that? ~</span> She cast a sideways glance at her coyote companion, carefully stepping over a sleeping collie, and crouching down next to the nearby tent.<br/><br/>He, as usual, took a few seconds to respond, like his mind was always elsewhere. Like he was always thinking about something a hundred miles from where they stood <span style="font-style: italic">~ Eat one? No. He'd be quite displeased. He's got a very personal stake in this bunch. Don't know why he's so interested in them, but he seems very insistant that they remain alive.~</span> He returns the look his female companion had cast him, his eyes narrowing in the rapidly fading light of the softly glowing coals from the hours-old fire. It was a look that brooked no argument, but the slender, mottled feline was hardly impressed.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~ Why doesn't he just let us help them, then? Or give them a wakeup call. Look at the collie...he'd be so delicious to eat. I bet he'd squirm so hard. I'd keep him all night...would be so fun! Or, even the shifter there. Plenty of muscle tone...a nice chest...Mmmm.....~</span> Unable to contain her excitement, the feline runs a slender, sandpapery tongue across her cute little lips. She was hungry. They were vulnerable. The two of them could have a FEAST, and their master would never know...<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~ He doesn't want us to get directly involved. They have to do this on their own. If not, they won't be prepared for what is to come. If they survive...well, they'll be stronger for it. If not? Perhaps the master himself will get involved. If he still lives. We are not to touch them, no matter how tempting. He trusts us. He saved us. I'll not betray that trust. Ever.~</span> The coyote stares down at the sleeping shifter - a tiger shifter, by the looks of it. Apparantly, a very happy one, too. Her stomach was still growling, processing her most recent meals. <br/><br/>The feline couldn't help but pout - really? They had such a perfect opportunity. It had been almost a week since her last living meal...damn it all, she was HUNGRY. For something that squirmed a little on the way down - rations were all well and good, but she wanted something with *SUBSTANCE*.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~ What about the kitsune? You could have that one, and her little fox. She has such a perfect little ass on her, don't you think? Just imagine. I could hold her down...you could slip off her robe, ease yourself into her nice, tight little pu-~</span><br/><br/>Rounding on the smug little feline so quickly he almost stepped on Sherani's sleeping body, the coyote pulled back his lips in a silent snarl <span style="font-style: italic">~ I told you. I'll never betray his trust. And neither will you. You owe him your life. I suggest you keep your promise to him. Stunning though she may be, it is HIS call what happens to them. You'll not eat them, not while I'm here.~</span><br/><br/>A bit taken back by his sudden burst of anger - and accompanying loyalties - she couldn't help but smirk. Loyal to the end. That was something she liked about him. No matter how much she teased and coaxed...he was going to help the master. As much as he could. They did owe him, after all.. <span style="font-style: italic">~ You're right. We do owe him. I won't touch them. I guess it's just...still weird for me, y'know. Still, if they keep doing this, we won't *HAVE* to eat them. They'll get eaten all on their own. That gnoll hunting party we passed a half-hour ago? I can hear them - they're less than a two hundred feet out. Six of them...and you know how gnolls hunt. They'd be food within an hour.~</span><br/><br/>The coyote seemed to sigh, his shoulders heaving silenly. It was true - apart, they'd fail. They were working as individuals - not as a group. Tonight should have been their last night on earth. Their lives should have ended in the bellies of four very satisfied gnolls...<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~Looks like we'll get a meal after all. You like gnoll? ~</span><br/><br/>The feline's mouth split into an enormous grin <span style="font-style: italic">~Indeed, I do. Now THAT is what I like to hear. Shall we? ~</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~ Yes. Yes we shall. Sleep well, all of you. The master wishes you luck. I hope you don't need it.~</span><br/><br/>Just as silently as they'd arrived, the duo was gone, leaving behind nothing more than a single, deliberately placed paw-print in the dirt...</div></div></div><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Morning seems to come all too quickly. Yet, with the rise of the sun came a new day, and all the life, scents, and sounds that accompanied it. The gentle chirp of various birds is broken only by the soft 'swwrrssssh' of wind as it trickled through the treetops of the sparsely-foliaged campground the party had chosen. As it turns out, it had been a very good spot - the entire night had gone by uneventfully. Not a single creak, squeak, or howl to disturb the surprisingly restful sleep that followed a full day of travel. With any luck, and barring no unforseen delays - the party would reach the Hevex camp by nightfall, if not slightly before.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"> Sherani </span><br/><br/><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;">Sherani, given her semi-frequent travels through these areas, knows of only a single 'real' danger. Gnolls. Whilst they are not very common out in the grasslands, the closer to the forest you got, the more plentiful they became. Most gnollish hunting parties were decently easy to spot, but more than a few unwary traveler had dissappear down the gullet of some of the more experienced.<br/><br/>Unlike typical gnolls, these gnolls were hardly 'evil'. They were very predatory, and once you'd been deemed as food, it was near impossible to change their minds - but, they didn't have the habit of capturing slaves, torture, and so forth that many of the southern gnolls were known for. These even seemed a bit more intelligent - though, for the most part, they were still below average intellect.<br/><br/>Beyond that, the plains and outer rims of the forest (save for wild animals and such), were about as safe as anywhere else. Roving bandits, mercenaries and such abounded, but to those who knew how to work and walk the land, they were easy to avoid.</div></div></div><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"> Ureck, and any who look at him...</span><br/><br/><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;">Ureck is awoken by a very, very strange tickling sensation, like someone dragging a feather across his chest. That tickling sensation persists...and, strangly enough, appears to be working it's way right upwards along his chest, towards his face and neck.<br/><br/>When Ureck's eyes do finally open, the sight was enough to make anyone's blood run cold. A red-and-black mottled scorpion was crawling on his chest, it's beady black eyes staring up at it's intended destination with an almost maleficant gleam. It's tiny pincers open and close sporadically as it inches it's way higher, seemingly in no rush at all. It was a scorpion everyone knew - an Emperor scorpion. Incredibly poisonous. Incredibly deadly.<br/><br/>(DC 17 knowledge:Nature check to discern the following - A quick glance at it's tail was enough to discern that this was actually not an Emperor scorpion - but a Monarch scorpion. They shared the same markings, but this particular species was harmless as a fly, unless you were two inches tall. It's tail is actually a whip-like appendage, rather than a stinger, used to knock unwitting bugs and tiny creatures senseless so it could eat. Whilst it would sting if struck, there was no poison to worry about. )</div></div></div>