Cash Hunter, who just so happened to be the son of a hunter and a farmer. The boy just also happened to be one of the people that were handpicked a few days ago to fight the Great Evil that plagued the land. What a bunch of bull. Personally, he saw no honor in it at all. He believed the king was just sending people to their deaths, to lessen the number of people to feed. He would not be part of the first group to "defend their kingdom" but the ones that have went, ninety percent of the time they never came back.
However, his parents did not share his opinion. They believed sending a bunch of people to fight someone unknown was the right thing. Hence, why Cash was packing his bag and getting ready to go to the damn thing. He strapped a couple daggers underneath his clothes and took his hunting bow and arrows before leaving the little house they lived in and hopefully, the little house he would return to.
With his small knapsack, a quiver of arrows and a bow hung on his back, he trekked towards the market center where the recruits would be meeting. The place was buzzing with people, undoubtedly to bid the "brave" tributes farewells and good lucks. Cash quickly made his way through the throng and soon enough he was at the front.
Post by Elizabeth Edison on Feb 27, 2016 10:26:58 GMT -6
Optimistic though the butcher's daughter was, Elizabeth Edison could not knock off the sense of doom that dogged her steps to the meeting point. Her whole body had been fitted with the best hide her father could afford and the mutt that followed happily by her side was a companion she needed to calm her nerves as she announced herself, right after a younger looking brunette with a bow and arrow.
She pulled the mutt over to an empty sitting spot and gave him his food, looking around at the number of people of all gender and race. Wait, was that the prince? What was he doing here? Elizabeth's eyes widened at the sight before turning away.
She didn't know why she let her mother talk her into this. She wasn't exactly equipped with the proper training and she knew she wouldn't be able to go through war with her pluck and courage alone.
Smiling at the young man with the bow and arrow, Elizabeth went back to feeding her mutt, awaiting for the roll call to finish.
Post by Timothy Carter on Feb 27, 2016 11:04:45 GMT -6
Kingdoms were for those who had somewhere to call home. For people like Timothy Carter, who held allegiances to no one and considered themselves to be above such things as 'honour' and 'duty', the prospect of having to defend one was both alien and insulting. It was better than a noose though and when the sheriff offered you a chance to save your neck by going to war against the forces of evil, you took him up on it. It was a choice between certain death and only potential death and the young rogue certainly wasn't about to sneer at his reprieve.
From a distance, he contemplated the group he was supposed to be joining. His heart sank somewhat. You didn't tangle with The Great Evil, or at least if you did, you didn't expect to escape with your life. It had been common knowledge amongst the thieves and bandits he had grown up with that wherever the darkness was, you avoided. Marching towards it went contrary to everything he had been taught and considered to be sane. Apparently though, the inhabitants of this kingdom - or more likely their leaders - thought they knew better.
There was quite the crowd here and too many guards for him to simply disappear. He'd have to wait. Letting out a frustrated sigh, the rogue fastened his cloak and counted the small throwing knives he had been allowed to keep. They could perhaps grant him some time but there was no way he'd be able to kill more than a few men with them. If indeed it was men that they were supposed to be fighting... Growing impatient of waiting and with no interest in the cheering crowd, Timothy made his way over to a cart that had apparently been left there for the time being by its owner. He allowed his attention to drift, briefly settling on a young woman feeding her dog and another stranger armed with bows and arrows.
They may very well be dead in a few days... He found himself thinking. The thief had no intentions of joining them. After all, once they were out of this place and in open grounds, what was to prevent him from 'getting lost'?
Post by Levi Alexander Wolfe on Feb 29, 2016 8:02:18 GMT -6
The hooded figure meandered through the ever growing crowd. He kept his face low, trying his best to avoid eye contact with any of the royal guards. He kept his composure as he scanned the people. He felt himself blink a couple of times before discreetly switching his makeshift eye patch to the other eye. He didn’t know why but seeing out of his right eye was easier than the left. He didn’t know if this would work but he had to try. All he did know was that he wanted to fight.
What gave his father the right to send everyone else’s children to battle yet not his own? The fact that Levi had even made it this far without being caught was more than pure luck. This had been a long thought out plan ever since the King had announced the outrageous need to fight. There were more than a handful of reasons why he disagreed with his father, but this had been the icing on the cake. Perhaps it was one of the reasons why Levi had been kept in the shadows, out of the public eye, and his brother was the face of the future kingdom. There was no purpose for sticking around here, if he could do some good before leaving, well, he’d do it.
Levi stopped when he got a glimpse of his brother. What was he doing here? The eye patch may fool the guards, but not his brother. He turned around slowly, and spotted a girl with a dog. He walked behind her and waited silently as they began assigning everyone. He heard the fake name he had given them and quickly brushed over his group. The girl was with them. He kept quiet as someone spoke. He needed to blend. For now. Until the fight.
Post by Cash Hunter on Feb 29, 2016 8:14:08 GMT -6
For whatever reason that made him announced himself like that was anyone's guess. Cash Hunter. His name did not carry much. After all, he was just a young man who was unfortunate enough to live in this time. The name did not catch any obvious attention up at the front, but the royal guard in charge heard him. Barely acknowledging the boy, the guard then continued calling and crossing names off his list.
Cash stayed where he stood among the other tributes at the front. He caught sight of a blonde, partly because she had came just after him but mainly because she was the first person he saw that had an animal companion with her. It was interesting. To be honest, he thought that it was smart of her. Since they would be in the forest, the mutt could be their source of food if or when they ran out of other options. Now he wished they would be grouped together. He nodded and gave Elizabeth a small smile. That's right, feed that mutt of yours.
Out of the corner of his eye, he also noticed a boy. All by himself, the boy did not give a very welcoming feeling. Supposed that was why he was sitting all alone on a cart. He seemed like he saw all of this was pointless, like Cash thought as well, but he could be wrong. For all he knew, the boy might be hiding his excitement under that cloak of his.
After a while, the royal guards and whoppeedo the prince divided and assigned everyone to their respective groups. Some with ease, but some by force. Once with his team, Cash was delighted to be with Elizabeth and a little skeptical with the other boy. Moreover, another human sacrifice man joined them. A man with an eye patch that Cash found completely and utterly ridiculous. Who was he, a pirate? The royal guard then barked his orders, their mission and purpose and all the recycled shit that had been used before.
Post by Elizabeth Edison on Feb 29, 2016 20:17:35 GMT -6
Once the orders were called out and the groups were assigned, she got up and scratched her mutt's neck. "Come on, Tay. Let's go on an adventure." She whispered, her heart beating hard and fast as she moved closer towards the three people she was assigned with.
Introductions were rarely necessary so Elizabeth didn't bother with it. She reached out her hand to the first person who would take it. "I figure we need to at least know each other's strengths? I'm an excellent swordsman and I can climb fast." There was no use being modest when it came to quests.
Post by Timothy Carter on Mar 1, 2016 1:47:39 GMT -6
The words of the royal guard held little interest for the young thief. The only people who would be interested or motivated by such a speech were those who were both willing to fight - even if they were frightened - and were also too brainless to be able to see that their promises of greatness were nothing more than empty words. He gave it a few days tops before half this number either lay dead or returned battered and broken from the battle having fled. If it were up to him, he wouldn't be standing here right now but unfortunately, he had been given very little choice by the sheriff and he didn't want to share the fate of some of his more unlucky partners in crime.
When the fact that they would be paired up with others was mentioned however, his head pricked up, hoping that he'd either misheard of misunderstood. His fears were confirmed as he saw most of the others around him gradually making their way towards each other and forming little groups. Naturally, his eyes quickly sought out those who he was supposed to be making his way with. There were three of them, the guy with the arrows from before, the girl with the mutt and a guy who only needed a hook and a peg leg to become a pirate true and proper.
This development didn't suit Timothy at all. He had counted on them all leaving as a single large group and a somewhat disorganized mass to be able to simply slip away unnoticed. Now, with three supposed 'teammates' they were sure to spot him making a break for it. Whether they would be able to stop him was another matter but he would rather not be 'caught' by an arrow. Letting out a sigh, he got up from the cart, he would just have to make his escape when things got a little rough and chaotic - which they would - and his supposed allies had better things to do than keeping an eye on him.
For now though, he would play it cool, put on an act. He doubted these three knew who he was or how he had escaped the hangman's noose and wanted to keep it that way. Trickery and deceit were better arms to a crook anyhow than a couple of throwing knives. He joined the little group with a smile, the likes of which usually concealed his true intent from all those who saw it. "Now we avoid being killed." He answered the hunter's question.
It was a little more difficult to respond to the girl's question. She might claim to be good with a sword and a brilliant climber - for the time being, he would have to take her word for that - but his skills might require a little bit of window dressing. He couldn't exactly say "I'm a thief known for sneaking in, stealing gold and occasionally slitting the odd guard's throat" that probably wouldn't go down well and most certainly wouldn't inspire confidence. His mind worked fast, thinking up a cover story. "I used to travel as a performer, I'm pretty good with a knife." He declared, picking one of his knives out from it's holster and making it dance in-between his fingers for show.
His eyes fell up the dog. He liked animals and wasn't too displeased to be travelling with one. After all, they had far keener senses than any human he knew and might very well come in useful when it came to warning them about potential dangers. "I like dogs. What's his name?" He asked her, genuinely curious but also intent on keeping up his 'friendly and harmless' persona.
Post by Levi Alexander Wolfe on Mar 1, 2016 7:50:52 GMT -6
Levi kept his mouth shut as groups slowly began to form. Aside from the girl with a dog there was two men that joined their group. One with arrows and the other seemed kind of mysterious. It didn’t matter much to him. All he cared about was getting to the main battle. That’s what he wanted. There was no point in getting to know any of his group members as it was only a matter of time before they each fell to their demise.
The girl was off to the right start. Getting to know everyone’s skill would help down the line. If they could work together and use everyone’s strengths to become a well-oiled fighting machine, well that would benefit all of them. The girl could climb and was good with a sword. Not too bad. The boy was good with a knife. He could only assume that the last of them would be could with his bow considering that was what he had on him.
Levi could care less about the dog’s name. Less attachment that way. He cleared his throat before speaking, “I’m pretty strong and can handle a knife.” He was also good as hand to hand combat. The copious amounts of time that he and his brother fought could attribute to that. The eye patch was beginning to get uncomfortable. He was starting to wonder how long he could last with it on.
Post by Cash Hunter on Mar 1, 2016 10:08:10 GMT -6
The nineteen year old boy chuckled at the reply he received. And how do you propose we do that, exactly? He only voiced his question in mind, not particularly sure if he should be sarcastic with the other boy whom he had not thoroughly made up his mind about.
When the girl spoke, he took her outstretched hand since nobody seemed to do so. He was not sure if telling straight out your qualities was a good idea because the opponent could use it to their advantage. But then again, all four of them were on the same boat to fight whatever or whoever The Great Evil was so death was pretty much inevitable. Might as well have it all out then.
Cash did not even have to mention what he was good at and he was sure the others would already know. He had a bow and he was not stupid to bring it if he was incapable of handling it. He only tilted his head back at the bow and arrows to acknowledge his skill. In their small group of four, everyone one of them was good with a weapon. But he also noted how no one seemed to mention the other parts of survival. Like as simple as building a fire or something.
"So does anyone actually have an inkling about what we're up against? The only thing I'm certain of is that to avoid being killed is easier said than done."
Post by Elizabeth Edison on Mar 1, 2016 21:02:27 GMT -6
The hooded figure made Elizabeth snort in amusement. She couldn't help it. There was no way they could avoid dying. They were on a glorified suicide mission. And she knew everyone in their little group was aware of it.
His little knife trick wasn't entirely impressive but as long as he knew what he was doing, she wasn't going to judge. They were all in one group but it was obviously an every man for himself situation. She may be idealistic and always hope for the best but it wasn't like they were going to traipse through the forest hand in hand and come out victorious.
The one with the eye patch, the one she thought was the prince, didn't offer any more insight. Now that they were up close, he looked less like the royal Elizabeth knew so she kept quiet about it.
When the hooded figure asked about her dog, however, she perked up and smiled widely, urging him to move forward. "His name's Tay. It was a nickname from a friend of mine. He's pretty friendly. You can pet him if you want." She bent down a little to scratch behind Tay's ear.
Her head turned to the Archer and shrugged. "Nobody's actually come out of this alive, have they? So there hasn't really been anybody who could tell us anything about it. I say as long as it's not a dragon, I'm good." She shrugged.
Post by Timothy Carter on Mar 2, 2016 2:35:25 GMT -6
Timothy's eyes covered each of the three of his companions. The jury was officially still out but he got the feeling that sneaking away might not be as easy as he had initially hoped. Neither of the two men inspired him with much confidence, not from an ability point of view, he could believe that they were both accomplished hunters or fighters but they wouldn't have been his first choice when it came to teammates, they might not have been bandits but he certainly didn't feel the urge to become buddies with them. The girl was okay though, at least for the time being. She snorted at his comment. Although, whether that was genuinely because she found it amusing or simply that she considered him foolish, he couldn't say.
He took up the girl's offer to give Tay a pet. Approaching the canine slowly to avoid potentially startling him and being bitten. He seemed to be a rather friendly creature, hopefully he would still prove to be useful. With any luck, this optimistic and rather carefree persona of his would work. He had no intention of getting himself killed in battle, no matter how 'heroically'. Self-sacrifice was for fools as far as he was concerned. If anyone wanted proof, all they had to do was look at those who'd died previously on this quest and then try to remember their names...
"The Great Evil?" Timothy questioned raising an eyebrow. There were rumours and scared whisperings. He'd spent much of his life on the road, travelling around either escaping the law or searching for a new target. Never though had they strayed anywhere near to where the darkness had made its home. All those who ventured there either died or simply never returned. If that wasn't a good enough reason to stay away, he didn't know what was. "There are a lot of stories, none of them good for us and since no one's ever come back, the only way we're going to find out is by heading out there ourselves." Who knew, maybe once they were out there these three would see sense and decide to give up this foolish quest, leaving him to make a break for freedom.
Post by Levi Alexander Wolfe on Mar 2, 2016 14:23:49 GMT -6
Levi remained quiet, taking in his new acquaintances and death partners. No one seemed to know much about what they would be up against. And rightfully so. Nobody had ever returned, but Levi knew better than to think it was because they all were killed.
During his time in the castle Levi had ‘by accident’ of course stumbled upon meetings with his father and a group of people who let’s just say were less than moral and were definitely not a part of this kingdom. It was always the same routine, every couple of months or so on the night when there was a full moon the King would convene with a group of four men (two of which looked more like tall brute bodyguards than anyone of actual importance, and the other two had a very subservient feel about them) there was also a woman, but the only reason why that would be known was simple do the sound of her voice. By the looks of it she could easily be confused for a man. The thing that seemed to be interesting about the whole matter was the simple fact that his father seemed to be the one debted to them, but why, Levi had never figured out.
All he knew was that he would rather die than to be subjected to whatever horror awaited them.
The girl and one of the guys were focused on the dog. He didn’t care about that. He wanted answers, and as the boy had said, the only way to find out is to go there themselves. Levi was on the fence about sharing some of his knowledge, but he knew to do so he’d risk who he really was, and he was not ready to face that quite yet.
“I think there’s more than just an army awaiting us.” He said softly, not wanting the others outside of his group to hear.
A small smile flitted across the nineteen year old boy's face as he watched the girl and the hooded boy gave their attention to the dog. He found it funny how they could be carrying out such a mundane conversation -- not that the talk of The Great Evil was not beginning to be mundane as well -- when not long later they would have to venture out into the unknown terrains to "defend their great kingdom" and somehow come out of it with their lives. They were just a group of four strangers, just like the other groups formed that day and the many other groups that have went before but never returned. Were the odds even in their favor? What set them different from the rest that have failed and might will fail? Well, maybe they were more optimistic than Cash Hunter was.
As expected, none of them really knew what they will be up against -- did anyone really? Except for the guy with the eye patch, who gave a more specific thought but one that Cash had never heard before. The villagers he knew loved to speculate about the evil that plagued their land. Nobody really knew it for certain, so there were a variety of stories and myths. None that were actually reliable since no one really had the chance to live and tell the tale. It's a wizard, a dragon, pale skin creatures and bla bla bla. It was just empty words.
Cash heaved a big sigh. He did not like not knowing exactly what he was getting himself into. But before he voiced his opinions, he kept his mouth shut when a guard came by. They were then lead out of the market place. The people threw flower petals at the tributes and cried out their wishes, to which the boy only rolled his eyes. They were only marching into their deaths after all.
Once in the woods, everyone went to their respective divisions and "defend the kingdom". "It's stupid how we have to put our lives at risk while the king sits in his throne safely," he muttered out loud when it was only the four -- five, counting the mutt -- of them alone.
Post by Elizabeth Edison on Mar 8, 2016 13:16:23 GMT -6
Tay, a regular attention hog, wagged his tail when he was shown affection by the hooded figure - now Robin Hood in her mind. He let him pet him as much as he liked, even rubbing his head against Robin Hood's leg.
The Pirate, the one with the eyepatch now affectionately named in her mind, came up with a line that had Elizabeth grimacing. She more or less ignored that, even though the Archer seemed to have taken to it.
As they walked off, Elizabeth made Tay stay close to her, even though he wanted to be at the front of the group. The Archer's words made Elizabeth shrug. "At least while we go out, our families are safe under his protection. Less people to feed, more food on the table." It was a very fallible logic to go by but Elizabeth wasn't exactly bred for her smarts.
"But hey, who knows, we might actually live to tell the tale."
Post by Timothy Carter on Mar 8, 2016 14:14:07 GMT -6
Timothy decided that rather liked the dog. Animals were nice, they were trustworthy... You could rely on them, unlike humans. His owner seemed alright too... It wasn't in his nature to put his trust in anybody other than himself. The old saying no honour amongst thieves had its truths; his regular crowd were hardly the most reliable and friendly group of crooks he'd ever known. He wasn't perfect either, maybe that was why he wasn't exactly shedding tears at their loss. These guys weren't crooks - well, actually the verdict was still out on Cyclops - but he was going to assume that the other two were just regular subjects of the king.
The thought of having to face more than an army was a daunting one for the young rogue who whilst he had been in a few scrapes and fights wasn't exactly battleground material. It struck him that the guy with the eyepatch might know a little more than he was letting on. If he had been particularly interested in how this all turned out, he might have asked for more information. That task could fall to the archer or the girl if they felt like it, as far as he was concerned, the sooner he could ditch them, the better. Well, the dog was king of endearing...
It struck him as somewhat amusing and ironic that nobody here seemed overly keen on the monarchy. At least he wasn't alone in that respect; authority and rules were one thing that he couldn't abide; hence his near escape from the noose. "Well that's the good thing about monarchy." He declared with a broad smile. "You don't have to vote for em'." It occurred to him that his companions might have a family, an alien concept to him but it would mean that if/when they died they would leave at least something of a hole in their families lives... Something he didn't have to worry about. "So! Where to first?" He wasn't going to lead this thing and was more than happy to follow someone else until he could slip away.