The Avalanche (Private)

[Rissterus]

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Rissterus | Oswin | Elyiravëra

Continued from "The Inn"

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Rissterus, Elyiravëra, and Oswin have been riding towards the BrokenPeak mountains all morning. Rissterus allowed them to pause briefly to eat, but that was all. They were moving again within 15 minutes. Noon has passed, and they still ride at Rissterus' relentless pace. They have now reached the foot of the mountains. The temperature is already decreasing as they gain altitude, and the path is becoming harder and harder for the horses to use. Rissterus' only consolation was that their pursuers were probably also mounted.

[Elyiravëra]

Elyiravëra whispered words of encouragement to her mare as she tried to climb the increasingly difficult terrain. She looked back up at Rissterus ahead of her, brushing a wisp of hair from her face. "Rissterus, how much longer are we going to ride?" she asked, switching from elvish to the tongue of man. She was getting tired, as was her horse. She knew the Sorcerers were still behind them, but she wanted to give her horse a rest. "Rissterus," she called again in order to get an immediate response from the "good" Sorcerer.

[Rissterus]

Rissterus turned his head and looked back at the Elf, momentarily stopping. He looked back at the mountain ahead of them, evaluating how much further it was till they reached closest stopping place. He turned back to Elyira.
"We may stop briefly at that rock formation up ahead."
While he was turned, he looked at Oswin to see how he was doing.
Perhaps it would be better if he didn't take up the rear. He looked back to the path ahead of them and had his horse resume walking. No, he decided, I would not have Elyira in the back. He turned his head slightly and looked at her through the corner of his eye. It's because of me she's into this mess. I have to lead, and I won't have her in the back, that means Oswin must stay in the rear. He'll just have to keep up.
He turned back to the front and urged his horse to move faster.

[Oswin]

Oswin was finding it extremely hard to keep up. The mountainous terrain made it very difficult for him to guide his horse up the slope, and he was a very poor horseman to start with. More often than not, he would start lagging behind. It was only through Elyira's assistance was he able to keep up. The Elf bard would pause and speak to Oswin's horse in Elvish. Oswin was fluent in Elvish - he had to be in order to live in Adenwar. He smiled to himself at her requests and praise to his steed. Personally, Oswin didn't think the horse deserved it. He was unruly and very hard to deal with. Yet flattery had done its work, as it so often does, and Oswin was managing to keep up.

"Rissterus, how much longer are we going to ride?" Elyira asked. It took the Sorcerer several moments to respond. ... "We may stop briefly at that rock formation up ahead." He answered.

Oswin met Rissterus' gaze as it fell on him. He didn't blink or allow himself to look tired. He didn't want Rissterus to think he was an old weak man. It wasn't till Rissterus turned around and began riding again did Oswin sigh in relief. They would soon reach said rock formation and they could rest. Oswin's legs were stiff and sore from riding so long. The fact that he never actively rode horses before now only made it worse.

Oswin's eyes watched the rock formation get closer and closer. They would soon be able to rest....

[Rissterus]

Nothing else happened of interest. They reached the rocks safely, and began to take a rest. Rissterus first looked back to see if there was any sign of their pursuers. There wasn't any sign of them, but he could still feel their magical presence. He turned and looked ahead, trying to determine the best path to take into the mountains. He turned to his two followers.
"Ten minutes. Do not wander off." Rissterus would've allowed only five, but he knew that they needed a break. He hastily tied the reins of his stallion to a branch from a fallen dead tree, collected his staff, and began heading up towards the mountain on foot. There was another hill top a little ways ahead. If he could see what lay beyond that, he would be satisfied.

[Elyiravëra]

"We may stop briefly at that rock formation up ahead."

Elyiravëra looked up ahead to see the area he was referring to. It didn't seem to far ahead. She looked back at Oswin to see if he needed any more assistance. He seemed to be alright, so she began to follow Rissterus once again.

Before long, they reached the rocks, and Rissterus dismounted, followed by Elyira, then Oswin (with Elyiravëra's help). Rissterus looked back at them.

"Ten minutes. Do not wander off." And then he started to leave. Elyira put her hands behind her back and held them up, stretching her back. She looked over at Oswin who was starting to get something off of his saddle. Elyira went to join him, pulling out the waterskin from her own saddle. After taking a drink, she looked over to see if she could see Rissterus. He was disappearing just over the hill.

She went over to Rissterus' horse and untied it from the log. "Don't wander off, alright?" she said, patting it on the neck. It neighed and began to step away from the log, happy to be free of it. Elyiravëra sat down next to Oswin. "What do you think of this?" she asked, glad to have a chance to talk to the Priest.

[Oswin]

Oswin slowly unhooked his right foot from its stirrup and tried to swing his leg over the saddle. He winced as his stiff muscles started to pain him. Elyira thankfully came over and helped him dismount.

"Ten minutes. Do not wander off," Rissterus said, turning.

"And where do you think you're going!" Oswin called after him. The Sorcerer ignored him and made his way up to the top of yonder hill.
"Plagues and famines," Oswin muttered, using the words as a curse. He went over to his saddle and started to try unhook his pack from it. Elyira came over and got something from her own saddle. At length, Oswin managed to free his pack from the stubborn animal that kept shying away from him, and he went over, sitting on the log where Rissterus' horse was tied.

Elyira came over and untied the horse. "Don't wander off, alright?"
Oswin took a bite of a loaf of bread and commented, "Your good with horses."

She smiled and sat down next to him. Her smiled faded, and she asked, "What do you think of this?" referring to the situation.

Oswin finished chewing, then swallowed the bread down. After a pause, he said, "I don't like it. Not one bit. I think Rissterus has really gone too far. That inn we stayed at last night is gone because of him. And he's not telling us the whole story, either." At the last sentence, he lifted his bread a little higher in the air, and when he finished speaking, he took a bite.

[Elyiravëra]

Elyiravëra looked over at the hill Rissterus had gone to as she listened to Oswin's hurried speech.
"No," she said, turning her head. "I don't like it either." She looked over at the horses, not entirely willing to meet Oswin's gaze. "Part of me wants to leave and try to get back home."
She looked over to see Oswin munching once more on his bread. She forced a laugh. "But, to tell the truth, I actually feel safer with Rissterus."

[Oswin]

"Feel safer with a user of the dark arts, do you?" he muttered, his mouth still full. He finished his bread and looked around behind the log. A long, straight branch caught his eye that had broken off from the fallen tree. He reached over and picked it up, beginning to examine it.
It looked like it would make a good replacement for the walking stick he dropped. He reached inside his robe and pulled out the dagger hidden inside. He began to cut the twigs and bark off the sturdy oak stick.
"Well, you better get ready to go. That Sorcerer will be back soon, and he'll make us get a move-on."

[Elyiravëra]

After Oswin got his stick, Elyiravëra got up and went back to her mare. After stroking its neck, she went to the saddle and removed the bow and quiver that Rissterus had given her. She carefully detached the unstrung bow from the quiver and tried to string it. At first it was too hard for her to bend the bow far enough, but she managed to get it on her third try. Then she pulled the quiver over her head so it was slung across her back. She reached back and tried drawing an arrow from the quiver.

She examined the arrow and nodded in approval. She may be a Bard, but all Elves knew how to tell a good arrow when they saw one. She reached back up and slipped the arrow back into the quiver.

"Well, you better get ready to go. That Sorcerer will be back soon, and he'll make us get a move-on," Oswin stated. Elyiravëra nodded, testing the bowstring first. It seemed like a fine bow. She unstrung it and began to put it back on her saddle.

[Oswin]

Oswin stood up, putting his knife back in his robes. He took hold of his staff and swung it in the air, testing it. It needed alot of work, but it had the makings of a great replacement for the quarterstaff he had lost in the River Ûstov. Oswin went over to his own horse and began to tie the stick to the saddle.

[Rissterus]

Rissterus appeared back in the camp, having successfully laid out their path of travel for the rest of the day. The others had not noticed him coming back down the hill, and he startled them when he spoke.
"Good, you're ready to go. Hopefully we will not stop again till dusk."
He stepped over and took the reins from his horse. He blinked in masked confusion as he remembered how he had tied it to the log; now it was free. Rissterus looked over at Elyira, thinking it must've been her. He noticed she was putting her bow back on her saddle.
"Wait," he called, stepping towards the Elf. "You may be needing that. Keep it strung and keep it on your back."
He turned back to his own horse and mounted.

[Elyiravëra]

Elyiravëra was startled by Rissterus when he suddenly appeared. She hadn't seen him approach, and she guessed Oswin didn't either.
"Good, you're ready to go. Hopefully we will not stop again till dusk."
Elyiravëra almost winced. It wasn't that she didn't like riding, but riding for so long was going to get painful.

She put one foot in the stirrup and was about to pull herself onto her mare when Rissterus stopped her.
"Wait. You may be needing that," he said, indicating her bow. "Keep it strung and keep it on your back." And with that, he turned away, back to his own horse. Elyiravëra watched him for a moment, then took her foot out of the stirrup and took her bow off the saddle. After she strung it, she placed it over her shoulder and mounted.

"Well, lead on," she said rather irritably.

[Rissterus]

Rissterus turned to look back at Oswin and Elyira to see if they were ready, then tapped his heels against the horse's sides. The horse obediently started forwards. Rissterus led them over the easiest paths for the horses, and before long, they had reached the top of the hill he had gone to. Rissterus halted and waited for his companions to come up beside him.

"As you can see," he said, "We're gaining in elevation. From here on it's almost always going to be uphill." He looked over at Oswin and Elyira. "It's going to get colder, so if you have warmer cloaks, you may want to put them on."

Rissterus led them down the other side of the hill, and when they reached the bottom, it was flat for a bit, then began to rise again. From here on, like Rissterus had said, it would be uphill only.

[Oswin]

Grumbling, Oswin kicked his horse forwards and followed Rissterus down.
"Warmer cloaks," Oswin muttered to himself. "I don't happen to have a warmer cloak." He looked up and then called ahead to Rissterus, loud enough so he could hear, "You know, if we went the overseas route we could reach Tan Quan thrice as fast!"