Prelude - Caine

[Talyn]

Caine frowns slightly under his hood while he considers the buildings. He thinks for a few minutes as he stands in the shadows of a tree and observes the buildings.

He decides to approach the houses openly, he carries his staff in his hand, testing the ground ahead of him with it as he walks. He knows anyone who survives this long usually has a way of warning if the dead approach or at least slowing them down. So he is on the lookout for traps or alarms of some kind.

He heads for the house with the smoke trail first, figuring that is the most likely to have someone in it.

[Ismaels-Legacy]

About 10 yards from the homes, your staff sinks into a pile of leaves. Upon further inspection you find a slight trench dug in a circle around the building area. The trench is about 8 feet wide and maybe a foot deep. Some places have small wooden spikes, but those tend to be the areas closer to low-hanging tree limbs. It's not much of a defense against living creatures, but it serves as a good way to hobble the slow shuffling undead.

You still have yet to see any signs of life from above.

[Talyn]

Caine stops and considers the trap for a moment. He shrugs and carefully walks down into and out the other side. Once there, he looks to the houses and decides to call out to the house.

"Hello!" he says raising his voice a bit, not too much though. "Is anyone around?" He keeps as alert as possible, anyone who lives here may not be friendly. On the other hand, they most likely have not heard of the bounties on his head.

[Ismaels-Legacy]

You notice a dirty cloth move aside in one window and a small face peers out. She darts back inside when she realizes that you've noticed her. For quite some minutes there is no reply. You are about to give up your pursuit when you hear, "Do you have any water?"

[Talyn]

Caine shakes his head. "No, but there is a stream not far from here." he says. "If you wanted, I could show you it."

He is finding the situation a little odd, there is more than one house yet there is only one person here. He looks around the settlement, checking for any signs of activity. It doesn't feel right that there is only one person here.

[Ismaels-Legacy]

A small wooden door, no more than 3 feet high, opens outward and a waterskin is tossed down to where you stand. "Fill this up and we'll talk!" The door is quickly pulled shut by a rope that extends into the house.

[Talyn]

Caine raises his eyebrow at the water skin. "Alright then..." he comments quietly. He picks up the water skin and does a quick magical examination for traps before tucking it into his belt. Caution has kept him alive so far, he sees no reason to stop.

He carefully heads back to the stream to fill up the water skin as he was asked. Still on the lookout for any undead or bandits as he works his way there.

[Ismaels-Legacy]

You wander cautiously to the stream and fill the wineskin from the quickest moving part, making sure not to get many particles in it. You get a drink yourself and idly look around the woods. It seems rather quiet and there's not really any worn paths to or from the houses. At least not in this direction. After your respite, you go back t the houses and receive the answer of "Throw the skin up!"

You do so and wait patiently as a hand reaches out from the door, grabs the skin, and darts back inside. After a few short minutes you hear a further inquiry, "Where's the rest of you?"

[Talyn]

Caine frowns and looks up at the house. "What do you mean?" he says spreading his arms and looking around. "I am here before you and I am the only one here."

He grips his staff a bit tighter, starting to wonder if perhaps things are not as simple as they appear. He is a bit worried about the woman, especially since he hasn't seen her yet.

[Ismaels-Legacy]

"That's just silly!" comes the reply. "No one survives alone in the woods! Not with the dead walking around!" As you gaze up at the house, you see the speaker's head pop over the edge to stare down at you. "Where are you from Mister?" The head belongs to a little girl, no more than 10 years old. She appears to be alone.

[Talyn]

Caine frowns beneath his hood as he considers how to answer the girl. "From the Archmage's keep." he says after a small, but noticeable delay. "I am traveling to the next hold... it hasn't been an easy journey." he admits. "But my magic has seen me through it so far."

He looks up at her and gives her a small smile. "If you tell me your name, I will tell you mine." he offers. "There is no reason for us to distrust each other."

[Ismaels-Legacy]

"Yes there is!" She says matter-of-factly. "You may have been bitten!" She has a puzzled look on her face that says she's not used to dealing with someone so out of touch with the daily realities of living with zombies. "You can stay down there tonight. If you live, we'll talk in the morning."

It's about this time that you realize that the sun is starting to set and the forest is getting very, VERY dark.

[Talyn]

Caine frowns. "You know, thats not very nice." he says to the girl. "I would much prefer to stay in the house, its been a awhile since I have slept in relative safety."

He looks around and focuses for a moment on his staff. The crystal embedded in the top of the staff lights up and emits blue light, bright enough for him to see in the immediate area. "I assure you I have not been bitten, and I did do you the favor of filling your water flask." he reminds her. "If you give me shelter for the night, I will do it again in the morning."

[Ismaels-Legacy]

Your answer comes in the form of the girl disappearing and slamming the door. Apparently the realities of this harsh lifestyle outweigh simple human compassion. At least you can spend the night in relative safety within the earthwork trenches that surround the homes...


[OOC: There will be a brief pause while I catch the others up.]

[Talyn]

Caine is very much confused by the amount of coldness he is getting from the girl, he knew the world outside the keep was harsh... but he did her a favor, did he not?"

He frowns and goes back to the trenches and readies himself for another restless night. He focuses to turn down the brightness on his staff, so as not to give his position away.

He settles down and gets as comfortable as possible, wondering what dreams the night will bring him.