The Rail-Blazers of Karad'Gor

[Drakeyboy]

Zachary chuckled at the alertness that the marten had. Very unnecessary at this point. If she continued to show hostility towards him she was obviously not paying attention to thier surroundings, the whole group wouldn't actually from the looks of it. "Oh you're going to pick on me climbing up a tree out of all things? I didn't want to lay in the mud you know." He then sighed and started walking forward with his hands in his pockets.

He then glanced over to the man named Kaz and quickly looked him over noting his shotgun and pot belly. He chuckled while saying. "Women am i right?"

[Eden-H]

(Sweet Farore, I can only imagine how frustrating that was. D : )

"Bound to a lectern by a chain," he murmured. Although the lynx had long since spoken, he could not help repeating what she said under breath. Why would someone purposefully make it near impossible to remove a simple tome? Why hide it within a place of learning, yet keep it contained so far below their hallowed halls, in the ancient bowels of a ruin? The longer he considered it, the more frustrated he became; especially when she made mention of strange black discs and an unusual inability to recall what she had seen. Was there a pool of magic contained inside of that room, forcing anyone who entered to forget what they learned moments after leaving? Or was it just the pressure of time that led to her being unable to remember it clearly while under duress?

Processing this information and his own thoughts on the matter, it took him a moment to realize the marten had taken up the end of their group. While he had certainly been paying close attention to the exchange between her and the strange raccoon, his mind had begun to wander once the newcomer was safely within mauling distance. Something he was beginning to regret as he grew increasingly uncomfortable. Retracting his wing from above the lynx with an apologetic glance and quick bow, Nihlus fell out of step and in turn lined himself up to the left of Laina. Carefully maintaining several meters between them so as not to accidentally knock her to the marshy ground, he stalked forward while nearly resting on the rear outskirts of their party.

Getting back into a moderately comfortable rhythm, his eye turned completely black as he angled his head toward her. "Cartographer or no, he will present more danger to this party than necessary if he maintains such displays." He kept his voice low so only the marten and lynx may hear his words. "What action do you intend if this comes to pass?"

His question was not meant to be a veiled threat. It came from a place of curiosity, wondering what sort of leader the woman would present herself to be. Would she risk carrying on with the raccoon due to his importance, even if he continued to endanger them? Would she send him back, out of the plague lands? Or foolishly banish him to wander these dangerous plains, so that he may no longer be a present issue?

As he thought, he carefully maintained a vaguely neutral expression, the corners of his muzzle creasing into the ghost of a scowl. "I must also ask. Would you find a higher vantage point preferable?" He nodded to her relatively short stature, noting that she was barely able to peer over the shoulders of the lynx, let alone the portly coyote and rail-thin 'coon. "I am no mount. However, it may make it easier for you to maintain such a distance while keeping an eye on them and the horizon."

[KittKat chunky~]

(( Gosh, that sounds frickin' annoying Xavier  > < ))

As Laina dropped back beside them Kat returned her an uneasy smile, catching -if only for a moment- the hint of a frown curling the marten's lip. She fought the urge to furrow her brow likewise, struggling to figure out if Laina's frustration was solely aimed at their newcomer or something she had done. Kat sighed and returned to trudging alongside the group, barely even noticing when Nihlus extracted his wing from around her. People were so much more difficult than machines sometimes, though she pondered how surprisingly refreshing and easy it had been talking to the Natavathi.

Speaking of Nihlus Kat glanced over her shoulder as he stalked beside Laina, catching his low words of discontent. She couldn't help but agree, though she also felt such a conversation was not really meant for her, and so taking the opportunity she pushed her pace to catch up with Kaz and the raccoon up front.

With a moment to herself, halfway between the two paired members of their group, Kat allowed a frown to flit across her expression. She reached for the familiar weight of the long-handled hammer slung across her back as she walked, gloved fingers hesitating for a moment over the compound bow holstered at her hip. Maybe Laina thought she was lazy or inattentive... Maybe she was right, Nihlus' conversation had taken her attention almost entirely away from unfolding events. But even without a weapon in her hand she could have jammed the firing mechanism of the raccoon's pistol from afar, or shattered his bullets into smithereens mid-air even as he fired them! ...Could she though?... Kat frowned at the hammer she held in her paws, feeling her power ebb and flow through its finely-smithed head of Meteor Steel, gleaming pale in the twilight of the swamp. She was no battle-mage, but she knew at least in theory how to pull off such feats.

The young lynx huffed another deep sigh and finally caught up with Kaz, her boots sinking deep into the thick mud with each jogging step as she slowed to a normal walking pace again alongside him. Kat looked across from the portly coyote to the 'coon, taking her first proper look at the both of them. Her short thick tail flicked impatiently as she pretended not to hear his comment about women, though a frown furrowed her brow for a moment. Curiosity seemed to finally win over her as she spoke up. "Excuse me, I'm not sure I caught your name..." Her amber eyes glinted as she caught the racoon's attention and continued,  "You said you were hired as a cartographer for this expedition?"

[coolcoyote]

Kaz only smiles to the conversation around him, mostly becuse he immidietly tuned the conversation out when it became appearent that it was not going to be about him. As the cat and raccoon both slide up next to him.

"I just realized that I didn't catch yer name either. Let me introduce ya to the gang. The one with the wings is Niles, this here is...uh..."he peers the pudgy feline up and down. "Tinker! Yeah, that sounds about right. I havn't come up with a name for the others yet, but call me Kaz!" Kaz rubs his chin as he walks, "You said your job is to read the map? I will call you Bullseye then...on account of what will happen to you if you get us lost." The coyote playfully points his paw at the raccoon and pulls the trigger.

"I kid, I kid. Mostly. I'll call you Jinx instead." The yote makes no attempt to justify his odd name for the Raccoon only to keep walking with a smug expression and reply, "So where exactly are we headin first?" He asks loud enough for all to hear.

[Xavier Akafur]

Ayllaina's eyes remained averted from the natavathi even as he spoke, but the subtle movements of her tail and the slight tilt of her head indicated she was listening. She adjusted her grip on her rifle, carefully dropping the weapon over her shoulder to make it easier to carry. It did not seem as though they would be in immediate need of their weapons.


"I'm not the leader, or at least I wasn't told as much." She replied, her voice distant and quiet. "I'm hoping that won't be a problem, though. I doubt our employers would hire anyone that would cause problems... this trip would become suicidal."

There was a pause in the conversation, during which she had changed the angle of her walk to give her some sight between those walking in front of them. She was just beginning to start walking on her toes when Nihlus posed his second question, causing her to pause and look over at him. The Marten's eyes were startlingly wide when she did so, the man's question catching her entirely off-guard.


"I, well..." She stammered, looking away for a moment, and subconsciously taking a few steps away from everyone as well. She did not expect such an offer from the creature, his attitude thus far had bespoken a pride and an aloofness that had made her assume he would detest being sat upon like a horse. It was a moment before she spoke again.

"Probably." Was all she added, though she did correct her course so that she was walking with the group once more, not wanting to step into any quagmires. "Would that compromise your ability to fly if we need you to? Also with all the gear and guns I'm not going to be very light."

[Eden-H]

"This trip already had the makings of a suicide run based solely on where these tracks must be laid," he said. He then chuckled softly. "Leader or not, it would be best to have a plan of action rather than be caught by surprise. You did say your payment was based off the head." As soon as he mentioned this, the thought of decapitating one of the party members if they proved to be an issue entered his mind. The man funding this expedition had not been entirely clear on how intact they needed to remain.

Laughing under breath, his lips pulled into a tight smirk as he watched the marten and listened to her next response. The way she stumbled over her words as she spoke was both endearing and amusing, reminding him of his second eldest sister. When she had been coming into her own, pushing the boundaries and questioning everything with her sibling, she had started out similarly before turning into a force of nature. No one these days would dare to even think she had once been anything remotely close to meek when she was younger. "It would not inhibit my ability to fly if it were required, though I would need to leave my pack with one of these three." He nodded toward those who walked ahead. "That said, I am willing to put aside my distaste for being ridden to heighten the chances of this groups continued survival."

Turning away, his muzzle twisted and revealed rows of sharp teeth in one quick movement. "I may know nothing of those who constitute this party, but I will not put vanity before their protection."

[Drakeyboy]

Zachary chuckled at the coyote's seemingly random nickname. "I already have a nickname. Maybe I'll share it if you deserve it. Just call me Zachary or Zach. As for the cartographer question, yes. I also have many other skills for use on adventures like these." He then lifted his left arm and pulled up his sleeve exposing switchblade to his allies he brought his other hand to the fine piece of machinery and fiddled around with a few cogs. "And gear too."

[KittKat chunky~]

Kat wrinkled her nose and pulled her thick jacket self-consciously close around herself as she felt the coyote's eyes glancing her up and down. Her scowl quickly turned to a bemused smirk however as Kaz listed off his nicknames, the stout coyote's whole body practically shaking as he laughed along. Kat glanced across at the 'yote, pausing incredulously at his wide brimmed cowboy hat and white-furred gut, bare to the swamp air beneath his open vest. So far their merry band really was turning out to be a bunch of odd characters.

"My name is Katyusha by the way, or just Kat for short..."  She huffed when Kaz had finished. There was a slightly exasperated tinge to her voice, but after a moment Kat glanced his way again with a sheepish grin, lynx bobtail flicking in amusement as she muttered. "Though, judging by your nicknames, I suppose I should count myself lucky you didn't lengthen mine to Tinker-Bell or something. I'll have to repay the favour and come up with a suitable one for you..."

Still smirking, Kat glanced briefly over her shoulder at Nihlus and Laina. The pair had been talking in an undertone the whole time, away from the group. A slight frown returned to furrow her brow as she looked up briefly at Zachary's answer, watching as he flourished the hidden weapon from under a sleeve. Kat didn't find herself overly impressed with the switchblade. Being a metalmancer you tended to see a lot of fine machinery and mechanisms, and besides she had always thought such things to be the overly flashy weapon of choice amongst spoilt young nobles in the capital city.

She stared at the raccoon for a moment, noticing for the first time how surprisingly well dressed he was beneath that knee-length coat, and replied. "Well it's good to have you with us Zach."

Kat smiled at that, almost apologetically, but the frown that creased her brow grew deeper and she chewed her lip worriedly. The fact that their employer had hired two cartographers was not entirely beyond imagination. She had yet to see Zach's actual skill at the art of map-making, so far he had only mentioned reading them, and that old archaeologist had seemed barmy enough to make such a mistake... Or was it even a mistake? She sighed and tightened her grip on the meteor-steel hammer in her paws, this expedition was getting stranger by the minute.

[coolcoyote]

The coyote smiled as his team mates introduced themselves. This seemed like a good bunch, with a low chance of them stabbing the party in the back later on. Or at the very least not quite as high a chance as he had of doing the same...

"We'eell its fun chattin with ya all but we can shoot the bull later. Right now we have work to do." Adjusting his belt over his ample waist Kaz begins to trot forward. "Unless my ears decieve me I think I heard Niles thar graceously offer to scout the skies.  He can keep an eye out for dangers from afar, I'll scout ahead for dangers near by. You two keep close to the sharp shooting marten and try not to distract her too much her job. I'll let you figure out amongst yourselves what exactly your duties will be on this trip." Kaz rubs his chin as he walks, realizing he may have over stepped some kind of boundries, ordering them about like that. Old habbits died hard he guessed.

Didn't stop him from not appologizing for it.

"Ok, keep an ear open for my lovely voice. If there is danger ahead I'll give you a signal." The coyote nods once, then before saying exactly what that signal will be he steps off to the side and into the bushes. He simply vanishes from sight, as if the swamp swollowed him whole.

[Xavier Akafur]

Laina was in the middle of sizing up the four legged creature beside her to see if there was indeed anywhere she could sit on him safely. Her ears picked out the change in tone of the conversation up front and her eyes shifted that was in time to see Kaz split off and disappear into the foliage. Her expression quickly became puzzled and she slowed her walk, looking around. Wasn't he their lead scout? Maybe there was some danger up ahead he wished to examine without the group, because they sure as hell could not hope to walk through this swampy region without some sort of guidance.


She looked over at Nihlus briefly, then back towards the rest of the group. "Yeah I think I'll take you up on that...." She replied, though for ulterior reasons. The first of which being if Nihlus stepped into a bog he was large enough he could probably simply take a step backwards and be fine, where as the smaller marten would probably doom herself to be sucked into the muck. She did not have a lot of experience with Karad'Gor, but she had heard the stories. She imagined they all had.

Without waiting for a reply,  she swung her rifle around to her back and jumped up onto his foreleg, scampering up and onto his back quickly. She briefly stood up on his shoulders and looked towards where Kaz had run off to, only catching the faintest glance of something that was not the same green-brown color as the rest of the forest before it vanished. Even from her vantage point she couldn't see him. She was about to sit down when she spotted another splotch of color, but off to their left.

"Hang on..." She said, though not loudly, likely not enough to get the other's attention. She reached for her bag before remembering she hadn't brought any time of magnifier with her. "Shit." She muttered. She had not considered she might have a walking vantage point where a scope would actually come in handy.


"Guys! Something on our left about fifty meters ahead." She called up to the rest of the group, before sliding down to sit on the natavathi's back. She pulled her gun from her back and held it at the ready, pointing it down and to the side. "If I have to shoot from up here it's going to be very, very loud." She warned.

[Drakeyboy]

Zachary nodded and chuckled to Katyusha. "Thank you Katyusha. I'm sure this will be a pleasant andventure."  He then pulled his sleeve back over switchblade, satisfied with it's condition.

Then Kaz disappeared into the bush blurting out his plan as he did so. Zachary would have objected against the the plan stuttering out a. "Wa-wait a second?!" Much too late. he then sighed putting the palm of his hand to his eyes muttering quietly as he did so which Kat could hear. "Why do i always get paired up with someone who never decides to talk to the group as a whole... and actually plan things out..."

He would have spent more time wallowing in his past but then the sniper spoke about the danger ahead and he perked right up, now he can show what he can do... well some of it anyway. He looked around for a vantage point and found another tree to climb up. He veered slightly off course from his current walking to get to the base of the tree and activated hid grappling hook pulling out a little cable to toss it up the tree and latch it to a firm looking branch and making his mark. Giving a tug to make sure it was actually firm he nodded and activated the winch pulling himself up to the branch and climbing up onto it with much practice. Unhooking his grappling hook as he got there. once he got up he pulled out his binoculars teasing the marten as he did so. "Man a sniper without magnification we'd better call the bandits to us so you can get a shot." He then chuckled and looked to the camp with the binoculars over his eyes.

[KittKat chunky~]

A fleeting look of troubled surprise passed across Kat's normally calm expression when Kaz stumped off into the swamp, quickly disappearing amongst the twisting undergrowth. She chewed at her lip and a deep frown knotted her brows. It was only through her surprise at his sudden orders that she hadn't called after him. The old 'yote seemed capable enough... Though this was of little consolation as Kat glanced around at their bleak surroundings, the weak grey light of the swamp cast everything in murky shadow.

That was when she heard Laina's call. Kat turned on the spot to look back at the rest of their group, spotting the lithe marten after a second, not where she had expected her to be at ground height; but perched atop the cresting shoulders of the Natavathi. While this in itself was also a surprise she pushed the thought quickly out of the forefront of her mind, drawing her compound bow and notching an arrow in one swift motion.

"Which way is it moving, towards us?" Kat called back to Laina in a hushed tone, casting her gaze across the distance between them with a sudden sinking feeling. She cursed the fact the group had become so separated, their lookout calls and shouting back and forth was hardly what she would call stealthy... Kat let her aim slide slowly over the dense undergrowth either side of the winding path, bright gold eyes glinting in the half light, and readied her arrow with a slight creak from the taught bowstring and cam-pulley systems at each end of the bow arms. "Calm Kati... It's no different to being out hunting... No different at all." The lynx bit her lower lip hard, forcing each breath deep and slow as she muttered under her shaking breath.

[Eden-H]

Nihlus briefly trembled when the marten slid down to rest at the base of his neck, the sensation distinctly unpleasant as fabric scraped across skin and scales. He had half the mind to scold the little creature, but he was the one who had offered this assistance. It was not her fault if she was unaware, even if he still did not wish to admit it. Craning his head back towards her, he was about to mention a thought that occurred to him when she suddenly whispered about an encroaching threat.

Normally he would have tensed in preparation. Yet given the circumstances, he purposefully made sure his muscles remained relaxed and his head lowered out of Laina's view. It would do her no good if the group she was scoping was blocked by his massive head. Of course, this did not keep him from mentally scolding Zach when he called down to them from a new perch in yet another tree or the twice damned 'yote when he left shortly before this probable enemy was spotted. The new suspicions he was beginning to harbor would remain unvoiced.

"I am to assume your shot would be ruined if attempted during active flight?" His teeth flashed in the gray light of the bog.

[coolcoyote]

And where was Kaz in all of this mess, after causing so much confusion and ditching the party in their moment of need?

Doing his job and scouting ahead.


The pudgy yote moves quickly with experience through the swamp. His fur and clothing make him blend in with natural efficiency. To a point at least.

In retrospect he should have stopped to go over his instructions more clearly he realized. This is not his usual band of mery bandits but city people. People who may or may not he ready for the dangers ahead.

"Nah. They are smart people. They'll be fine." He says to himself as he presses deeper into the jungle...

[Xavier Akafur]

Laina frowned when she saw the new guy climb right back up into a tree, and had half a mind to just shoot him out of it when he mocked her. Some people just didn't comprehend that the weapon she was carrying would put a hole in them big enough to look through. She just made a face at him, and not a very pretty one, before ignoring him. She wasn't sure what good he would do in a tree, it's not like they could hide Nihlus in a shrub.

"I'm not sure but it seemed like it might be stationary. Hard to tell." She responded to Kat, before looking down at the back of the natavathi's head.

"Difficult, but not.... ruined per se." She responded, and looks at her perch to see how well she could keep a hold of him with her legs if she had to use both hands to steady Jerry. "Very difficult." She amended, realizing the true hazards of attempting such a feat. Not only would she have to hold on to a flying creature she'd never ridden with just her legs, but she would have to avoid clipping him with her shots as well... and who knows how steady she could keep a gun in midair. "My guess would be an effective range of about fifty yards at best, anything further and I can't guarantee I could even get a bead on it if we were moving around."


She stared hard at the foliage in that direction, moving her head from side to side slowly, but the color she saw did not re-appear. She let out a slow breathe and looked around briefly, her gaze soon returning towards the direction of the possible threat. "Okay, if we keep quiet we can try to-" She began in a low voice, but pulled her rifle up to her shoulder mid-sentence.

Nihlus wouldn't have any warning before the distinctive mechanical clicking of a gear sounded, followed by a thundering boom. The revolving chamber of the carbine flared to life with a flash of orange flames that licked out around edges of the metal, at almost the same instant the muzzle flashed, black smoke and fire blasting from the front end of the barrel. The round ripped off into the foliage, and there was a shrill shriek of pain. The sound was echoed out of the treeline, a cacophonous wailing that preceded the dark, hunched forms that emerged swiftly from the tree-line.

A couple gunshots sounded as well and Laina instinctively lowered herself against Nihlus's back, flashes coming out of the murky darkness. The creatures that emerged looked almost normal, except their rodent-like faces were twisted into horrible expressions of rage and bloodlust. The rat-men that filtered out of the trees were largely unarmed, or armed with primitive metal blades and hatchets held together with strips of old cloth. A few of them must have found firearms, but those remained hidden in the trees, as several of the group would hear the sound of bullets whizzing past their heads.


Jerry roared to life again, filling the air with more smoke and fire, the smell of gunpowder filling the air around Nihlus and herself. The heavy caliber round caught one of the charging rodents in the upper shoulder near the neck, spraying the ground with blood and fur as the creature tumbled to the ground.