Re: The Wanderer.

[Yeorl Oakenleaf]

"Aye, I believe we should find the local Shaman or Holy man. If there is a Great Bear here he will have sensed its magical presense. If no results turn up there we can go ask the local woodsman and hunters." Yeorl advised as he smiled, the gregariousness of the town was an instant pick-me up to Yeorl who at first thought their chances of finding the Bear were hopeless, but if places such as this could exist.. Well who knew?
A young Woman of about 21 approached the two weary travellers her body completely covered in green glowing snaking tattoos, but it did nothing to mask her incredible beauty and remarkable Emerald eyes.
"You spoke to the Lady did you not?-" The Woman said and closed her eyes seeming to focus hard.
"She sent you to seek Narlu? Narlu?" The Woman questioned curious about her own conclusion.

[Caleb Ilano]

"Yes, that's very- perceptive of you." Caleb responded. "Yes, we were sent by 'The Lady'"He then bowed, and introduced himself.
"I am Caleb Ilano, and he is Yeorl Oakenleaf. May we have your name?" He was being formal, but wanted to speed things up a bit.
We need to know of Narlu, and I hope she can help.

[Yeorl Oakenleaf]

A large young man of about 6'4 came up behind the girl and steadied her for her eyes were glazing over and she was tipsy, he was of massive build and had a ferocious green skin the likes of which neither of the two Heroes had ever seen before.
"Her name is lost to us, but she is not perceptive nor does she know anything of the bear you search. She was touched by Gaia as an infant and unfortunately unlike the other sisters of the order she could not handle the gift and went insane. She read your past just as she can read your future." The Orc explained as he gently held her ballance.
"My name is Uru Hutdai, I came here a long time ago from the Derniad with my parents and I work here as the local head Hunter, I can tell you've never seen an Orc before." Uru laughed at the strange glances that he was getting from the two.
"And I may be able to help you find this bear."

[Caleb Ilano]

"Well." Caleb started with a surprised tone in his voice.
"That help would be much appreciated." He turned to Yeorl and asked:
"I haven't met an Orc before, how about you?" Caleb turned back to Uru Hutdai.
"What do you know?"

[Yeorl Oakenleaf]

"Well to be honest, I know more then I'd like to. These people may look happy but they're false looks of joy and mirth. The Bear is near here, most likely why the Lady chose to speak with you here." Explained the Burly Orc with a stern look on his face as he gave the pedestrians a glance of concern.
"He used to guard these grounds and the woods around here, but now we think he may have gone insane. What could drive such a powerful spirit to insanity? I do not know, but he kills all the animals and destroys everything in his path.
It is a miracle he forgot about our small settlement.
I wish to accompany you in finding this bear.." The Orc said as he steadied the beautiful young Woman in his arms, he gave her a sad look.
"He seems to be the only sane man here.. It must be horrible." Thought Yeorl.
"You see as soon as the Great Spirit Narlu started acting up.. So did, my Wives gift. Yes, she is my wife.. I just want her back. Take me with you and I guarantee we will find Narlu. But from there on in it is up to you to figure out what to do." Instructed Uru as he gently sent the Woman on her way to ramble on with other strangers.
Now the looks that Yeorl and Caleb had at first mistaken for joy were clearly just contorted insanity, it is as if the collective mind set of the town were linked to the security and safety of the land.
Yeorl just hoped they could stop this.
"Lets' go then mate." Yeorl said hoping to be out of this sad place as soon as possible.

[Caleb Ilano]

The trio set off; looking.
What would a bear think like? Caleb thought to himself.
What would a magical bear think like?

They made camp at a small innocent looking cave, Caleb brought out a map and lay it on the ground, marking where they were now.
"Oakenleaf, Hutdai, what is or plan?"

[Yeorl Oakenleaf]

Yeorl grunted and shrugged his shoulders expressing of how little use he would be.

"Aye, I may be a master tracker. But I have not the first idea of how one would find such a noble creature an actualy spirit of the wild. He'd have to want to be found. In my opinion."Said Yeorl as he took quick glances around the cave in hope of finding some evidence of recent over sized bear. None were found.
"Well I'd say split up normally, but we're not one hundred percent sure what it is we're dealing with here. All we can do is hope something turns up soo-" A large roar of rage and pain broke out throughout the forrest almost as loud as if someone had begun cutting it down. With machines far beyond their time.

[Caleb Ilano]

"What in the name of Meirn?!" Caleb shouted as he heard the noises.
He rushed outside to see what had made the noise so violent.

He saw a large gathering of animals and beasts, roaring at a group of violent men, they looked daedric. "Is this the start of a war or are these men just idiots!" He rushed up to the clearing, seeing the daedric men destroying the lands. They were chanting something, "We must have the bear!"

[Yeorl Oakenleaf]

Yeorl grabbed for his axe, knowing that combat would ensue at some point. Enraged that these outlanders would dare act menacingly towards a herald of the wilds. Ferocious as a bear himself, Yeorl began to charge towards the demons mindlessly, his thoughts were blank but his heart was a flame.
"Wait!" Cried the Orc, hoping to halt Yeorl in his path, but Yeorl was lost to his more primal side after all he was a creature of nature and instincts were always there clawing at the door - this time it was too much and he'd decided to let them in.
"RAHHHRGH!!!!" Roared Yeorl as he flung himself into their rank, the confused demons turned their back upon the phantom bear that now revealed itself to the party.
"Who the-" Questioned the Demons captain as his head was swiped clean off of his shoulders.

That ferocity.. It awoke the spirit.. He's channeling too much energy I don't think killing these interlopers will be enough. Thought the Orc morosely. "Quick we must stop this madness!"

[Caleb Ilano]

Caleb slowly approached the battlefield, he looked around him, seeing large, vicious animals being torn through by larger, more vicious demons. At the top of the food chain was Yeorl.

Caleb looked around the actual field, a lot of it set ablaze and the sky turning a hostile purple. One of the demons took a swing at him.
"Your blood be sacrifice!" It yelled. Caleb dived out of the way of its axe, and took the oppurtunity to clasp his own sword with both hands. He channeled into it light magic, hoping to banish the thing with a single lunge.
He lanced through the demon's chest like butter, a bright light shone for a moment and the thing disintegrated before him.

He backed his way to Yeorl and took swipes at other enemies, managing to help lower their numbers. "What would they want with the bear!?" Caleb shouted over the conflict, met only by more growls of frenzy and some fire being launched at him. He lunged again, turning the swarm into but a group of enemies.

He took the time he had during a standoff to notice the many many corpses and remains of the pitilessly discarded natural life. Bears, wolves, even a group of travellers it seems got caught up in the mix and were all but one dead. The last man was on the ground, dieing, probably.

[Yeorl Oakenleaf]

Yeorl still maddened and in a frenzy continued to run after all those who fled into the forest. Until a gentle hand rested on his shoulder, flinging himself around to face what he thought would be another enemy he was met by the worried gazes of his friends instead.
"Enough." Uru put gently removing his hand from the giants shoulder, "The bear is here."
For the first time Yeorl took in the scene, it was absolute carnage, bodies were torn everywhere varied ridiculously. Who were all these people? Thought Yeorl, when suddenly he saw in the middle the shape of a great bear. He somehow knew that the bear was invisible to the eyes of the others. But the presence was so strong they knew it was there anyways.
She was a massive bear with a coat whiter than snow, untarnished by any of the blood or dirt with paws the size of tree's and a maw bigger than a man. Her eyes were a blazing inferno of insanity; but, you could tell there was enough insight left to take control. It seems Yeorl was not the only one maddened by the harsh acts against nature.
"Narlu. We have searched for you, finding you was a lot easier than I thought it would be - but I suppose you wished us to find you here." Uru began facing the absolute wrong direction. Of course the behemoth was invisible to the naked eye.

Marching grimly and with purpose Yeorl walked up slowly to the face of the bear, she gazed down at him with knowing eyes - discarding all the previous hatred and rage.
"What wounded your spirit wild one?" Yeorl questioned saddened by the knowledge of one so primal and magnificent as this being lost to the world.
"The Father is coming back." A voice as mighty as a mountain but as smooth as a breeze responded in the ears of the party.

[Caleb Ilano]

"The father? You mean, THE father!?" Caleb panicked, the only "father" that deserved such a scene of brutality would be the actual Dread Father himself. He did not want to speak the words, he looked around the scene for the bear that spoke the words, meaning to ask something.
"What could this mean for us? Would we become another isle of sorrow and evil and death!?" He tried immediately thinking of a way to defeat such a force, but nothing could come to mind save for gathering every god and every mortal to fight an infinite force.

[Yeorl Oakenleaf]

"It isn't a force that can be defeated, merely prevented." Narlu whispered to all of them. For one brief moment she was visible to all and in that brief moment she locked eyes with Uru.
"Thank you.." He mouthed as he collapsed to his knees, tears of joy streaming from his eyes. "Thank you Wild one." He spoke gently deep with gratitude as the spirit disappeared forever. Curiously Yeorl pondered what this meant, but knew deep down inside that Narlu had released Uru's wife's mind.. Or at least he hoped she had.
"We must escort Uru back to town I suppose.. And after that, well.. Only Gaia can say. Whether or not we failed here today - I'm afraid is completely beyond me."

[Caleb Ilano]

"Yes, I suppose we should." Caleb agreed. The three took their wary leave of the fields and began the short trek back to the town. Caleb did not know what to say along the way and so did not speak. He worried much about the bear, and what their specific goal had entailed.
Obviously they had met the bear and recieved dire news that would shape history, but it still wandered mystically. He also thought of how to tell all this to the Mother of the Wilds, as he was not sure if she already knew of the events that took place.
"Yeorl, what do we do now?"

[Yeorl Oakenleaf]

Appearing before the three was the green lady herself, coming out of a mist that smelled faintly of pine and all the sweetest nectars of the Earth. Hitting the ground upon one knee the still joyful Uru bowed, Yeorls heart leaped as he saw the smile upon the orcs face. It gladdened him to see one so happy; it'd been awhile.
While his friend braced himself for what news would come, Yeorl and his companion joined Uru upon the ground.
The three felt the weight of her eyes upon them, it was a blissful feeling - somehow a power surged through her aura that had not been present before; which made him wonder what that bear had meant to the mortal realm. Of course he knew it was not his place to ask and if she so chose she would tell them.
"Arise children, it is I who is humbled and honoured by you." Gaia gently put as a smile spread across her face, like all the flowers of spring blooming. Slowly yet awkwardly rising to his feet Yeorl stepped forward and choked back the lump that rose in his throat, no matter how many times he gazed upon her he would never be able to contain all of her beauty. She was the most magnificent creature he'd ever seen and that any would ever.
"Mother, I am glad that we have performed what ever task it was necessary with.. Success." Yeorl replied, straining the last word with a hint of doubt.
"But, I'm not sure I exactly understand what it is that ye' wished us to do. Or better yet, what we did for ye." He added voicing the confusion of the trio.
"Ah, I see, it must've been confusing for you since the task seemed so easy and unfolded so quickly. You may believe that it was only chance to have found the great bear - due to the hearts of the wicked. It was not so. She chose for you to find her, even I cannot say why and to be honest I was not entirely sure her tired mind would allow her to be found." Gaia frowned with a tint of pain on her face as she spoke of the bears insanity, seeing her in any form of pain no matter how slight instantly inflicted it upon those of all three heroes.
Looking up upon Gaia, Uru laughed a hearty laugh one so childlike and genuine that it contagiously spread to Gaia. "What is it my child?" She asked grinning.
"I'm sorry Mother, but I have absolutely no idea what any of you are talking about." Uru continued to laugh at his bluntness it was clear that his place in the dialogue was lost to him and he felt an intrusion.

[Caleb Ilano]

"So what are we supposed to do now Earth Mother?" Caleb modestly asked, exhausted by the last battle both physically and mentally. He leaned on his sword stuck in the ground, and curled up in the cloak of the green knight. He looked to Uru, seeing the orc's well handled confusion in his face.

"I have a more urgent request for Yeorl, I must admit. You and Uru may depart as you wish, but take these, all of you. A token of rememberance in your part in this struggle." From her palm seemed to sprout a few bulbs of light, she picked them and they spun strings and became necklaces. "Carry these with you and you will always have my blessing of life, you will need all the help you can get in the future." She added, focusing mainly upon Yeorl.

Caleb graciously took the necklace, he stepped back to where the foresty village was, meeting Yeorl's eyes, wishing him all the best. Gaia gave a parting wave to the two as she turned to Yeorl, delivering a request to her most devout follower.

[Yeorl Oakenleaf]

Uru gazed back on Yeorl, his new friend, the giant of a man was speaking quietly with Gaia. He had to admit he'd never seen one so happy as Yeorl was at that moment. Uru looked to Caleb, and he simply nodded, letting Caleb know that he'd lead them back to the village.

As the two entered through the gates of the village, he could instantly sense that something was amiss.
"Something is wrong about this." Uru said quietly, afraid of what could be the cause of this disturbance. When rounding a corner between the buildings was an angry mob. The mob was made up of members of the village, people he'd known and grew up with. He recognised Peter Darbing the owner of the general store, he'd caught Peter and his family a pheasant for his birthday. He saw Molly Foster, he had given her advice about men when she had come into her womanhood and was shy about wanting to court the boy across the street. They were all chanting something, weapons in hand.
"Kill the interlopers!" The Mob cried in a singular voice, one that was not only full of hate but madness.
Worst of all at the front of the mob was a sight that broke his heart, the one thing he fought for and wanted. His entire world. His wife. She was leading them in their crazed march towards Caleb and himself.
"I thought maybe if we saved the spirit.. It'd reverse the insanity.. But it seems, worse than before.."

"Uru, you and your friends will pay for what you've done to us!" Cried his Wife furious. What was she talking about, what have we done but try to save them?
"You lead those beasts back to the village and they killed our loved ones, now we will have our vengeance!"
For the first time he noticed at the end of the cobbled street the corpses of villagers and demons alike.
Uru wanted to explain and rationalise but the words didn't come out, he just stood there facing the one he loved and those he had laughed and shared with. He was frozen in shock.

[Caleb Ilano]

Caleb stood, thinking, panicking, sorrowful. He grabbed the orc's arm. "We must go, there's nothing left for you here." Caleb rushed them out of the village. They made their way out of the forest on a different edge then either knew, finding a tunnel through a mountain.

Caleb wanted to return home, somehow, but knew that Uru was not ready to find normal life again. The madness was not something either could just shrug off, and if Gaia were to contact them again it would be better to be near eachother. Where in the Deep are we? Caleb wondered, not breaking the silence. The tunnel led on for a while, and the sounds of the mob and anger were drowned by the hollow echoes of the tunnel.
They progressed for an hour or two. Coming out on another end in a small clearing on a cliffside that overlooked a city. A rather poor, seaside, red district city, it seemed. "We should find an inn, or something, I suppose.." Caleb offered, confidence and energy drained, he had money on him, probably. Surely they could find some peace, and think for a while.

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