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 Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 10:57 pm
The captain sighed and reclined back on his resting cot. "Hmm... Well it was on the way to his fiancé's kingdom in the meadow pass. I don't even recall seeing a body... I just remembered we had been attacked and afte we were badly beaten, alls we had was Joseph's ring. " the captain announced. The healer walked back into the room with some fresh bandages. " Are you heading to the meadow, Garrat? I wouldn't if I were you. Strange occurances have been happening around that area, let alone the somber knews of Joseph..."
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Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 11:40 pm
"The princes are determined to retrieve their brother's body. I might as well go help them," Garrat said, though he could understand the captain's concern. "However, I do have some questions. Did you hear anything related to death? Like a scream or something of the sort?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 2:27 am
The captain pondered a moment and while the healer changed his bandages, he began to recall the moment. " yes... Quite a bit of screaming...Er-.. Most of it was my own, however. I never actually saw Joseph get hurt or heard much from him. But after we were battered, we woke up to find Joseph's bloodied ring!" He remembered.
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Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 11:10 am
Well, the information didn't help much, but it was a start. "I suppose I'll find more information at the meadow. Thank you, Captain," Garrat said before leaving to rejoin Nathaniel. Seeing the prince at the courtyard, the knight hurried over to him. "We should search around the meadow. That was where the captain last saw your brother."
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Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 12:34 pm
Nathan smiled upon Garrat's return and pulled him up to sit behind him. "Alright." He nodded and gestured for his horse to move. Midway Pass was where the men were headed. A wild and generally peaceful meadowy area, but a lot of uncharted areas. But it has been known to be an area with many "surprises". The meadows especially, since the canopy of the trees virtually block out the sun. Not saying that it's left in total darkness, but there's enough shade to hide a witch or two.
And with that, Nathan called to the men and his horse trotted off, leading the way. "Garrat, what are we looking for exactly?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 7:35 pm
"A trail of blood, for starters," Garrat answered. Egen if Joseph's body had been moved around, there surely must be blood soaking the ground where he passed. It was only logical to begin by looking for the trail. "We should check around the meadow to be sure we aren't missing anything."
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Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 8:35 pm
With a nod and a small smile, the troupe was off and Nathan commanded his horse forward and up through the pass. It'd take them awhile but they'd get there.
A few hours did eventually pass and the group of five knights arrived under the tranquil canopy of Midway Pass's meadow. The sun broke through and little rays of sunlight sparkled the green grass below but all the while the area was still shadowy. Nathaniel pulled the reins and guided his horse ahead into the meadow and then dismounted, surprisingly. The other knights looked at him confused, one even questioned as to what he was doing. Nathan glanced up at Garrat and gave a small grin.
"We'll start here. Garrat will be in charge of keeping track on where you have an haven't looked. I'll check in the brush up ahead.." he announced.
After positioning the men and telling them where they should start looking, he looked to Garrat smiled. "If I need you, I'll call for you, okay? And you do the same?" he asked as he was all ready to walk off. The other soldiers probably wouldn't notice, but Nathan was nervous. He had never been out passed the Kingdom's gates with out his family before and not only that, but they were looking for , most likely, a dead body. A rather sort of queasy situation if he thought about it too much.
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Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 11:23 pm
Surprised that Nathaniel would think to do part of the search alone, Garrat dismounted as well. "I do not recommend searching for Joseph on your own. We still don't know what exactly happened or what the creature was that attacked. What if it hurts you before you can call for help?" He didn't want to risk losing Nathaniel if the creature that allegedly killed Joseph might be nearby right now.
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Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 9:18 am
Garrat was concerned for his safety again. Nathan couldn't help but giggle. It always made his heart warm when Garrat would go out if his way to protect him. Convinced, he nodded and sighed," Alright, then." Giving in to his the knight's worries. " you worry too much, hehe~" he laughed.
Pressing forward on foot, the brush gave little clues as to what happened or of Joseph's whereabouts. Nor any scent or sight of a struggle or a corpse. "I know we're looking for anything pertaining to Joseph, but I can't help to admit that I'm... Happy out here. I mean, this meadow is beautiful! ... I've never been out here before.. Have you?" He asked quietly, as talking too loudly would seem to disturb the sensual flora and fauna around them.
While waiting for Garrat's response, Nathaniel came across a small cavern made by the bushes and trees. Without a single word, foolish curiosity took over as he squeezed through and wanted to see just what was on the other side.
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Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 10:54 am
It wasn't the time to enjoy the outdoors, but Garrat didn't call Nathaniel out on it. He looked so happy that it was impossible to reprimand him. "I've only seen this place once or twice," the knight responded when the prince asked if he had been out to the meadow previously.
Upon reaching the cavern, he became wary. "Be careful," Garrat warned in whisper. He put a hand near his sword in case he needed to fight.
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Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 1:29 pm
On the other side of cavern, the air seemed so cold and the prince could even see his own breath. Walking forward he noticed the sun was even more blocked but by the thick canopy above. It covered over a frozen lake that was surrounded by old fallen trees and logs.
In the middle of the lake there was a lump. It was too dark to see it clearly, so in order to get a better look, Nathan took a deep breath and started forward, walking carefully over the frozen lake. "That might be Joseph over there, I'll get a better look. You're taller than I am, so you might fall through " he told, walking forward.
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Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 3:53 pm
Garrat was quick to protest. "I'm not letting you risk falling through yourself. Besides, we don't know who or what is there. What if it isn't Joseph?" The knight didn't know what other options they had, though. Nathaniel was likely the lightest of the search party and least likely to break the ice. The real risk was in the identity of the lump. It could easily be either Joseph or his killer. Garrat didn't want to take the chance that Nathaniel might encounter the latter.
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Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 5:31 pm
Nathaniel kept going, "I'll be alright, I'll come back and I won't get too close unless it is Jospeh. Don't worry, It'll be fine.. " he grinned and full aware of the dangers of what could happen if he fell through the ice, especially for the fact that Nathan couldn't swim. But still, he kept going.
The ice made some noises but nothing serious and Nathan was already pretty close to the figure in the middle of the lake. He called back to Garrat," It's not Joseph... " he said, "It looks like a wolf!" he observed at the thing with fur. "It looks hurt.." he added but then suddenly froze as it moved.
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Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:44 pm
"Get back here, Nathaniel! Quickly!" Garrat urged, not wanting to wake up the wolf but also wanting Nathaniel to hear him. He would have gone onto the ice as well if not for the worry that it would crack. He warily watched the wolf, hoping it wouldn't be able to chase Nathaniel if it did wake.
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Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 10:32 pm
Nathan froze in place as the wolf very slowly got up and gave a low growl, about to run away. Nathan was about to do the same when he panicked and the ice cracked beneath him. The wolf standing up made the ice crack even more and finally gave out beneath the prince. He screamed as he fell in, the ice water that engulfed choked him of his breath and his whole body felt like lead as he struggled to pull himself up!
He yelled underwater as his body started sinking like a rock. But to his surprise as the cold water sapped the warmth from him, something gripped his collar and he was being pulled up.
The wolf had returned and started pulling the boy out of the water, finally getting out a quivering boy that was struggling to stay awake and breath. The wolf yanked and tugged Nathan's collar back to Garrat, as if already knowing that Garrat was there to help. Once Nathan was safe with Garrat then the wolf turned around and quickly limped away.
Nathaniel was coughing and left shivering on the cold shore, dripping wet. "... w-w-well... at least... i-i-i-its..a .. a nice wolf..." he coughed.
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