- basic plot -

A Knight is escorting an Elf falsely accused of a murder she did not commit back to the Elves for a trial, on behalf of the King. On their travels however they succumb to the magic of a dangerous mind-rotting fog, one that rarely ventures this close to their path, that forces them to head towards the mountains high ground and fresh air before their minds are lost forever. But these mountains have not been touched by Human, or Elf for over a century. No traveler brave enough to venture close to this region has ever made it out to tell the tale. What other dangers will they find there, and will they ever make it out alive?



My Character -

Tanner - Male - Appears 24 - Knight of the Kings Army

closest pic i could find -

My Character

Eusme - Female - Appears 22 - Elf on the Run

It was a cold and bitter morning, not that the knight and his prisoner would have noticed in the mysterious fog. Their minds were lost, their feet were swollen, and their path was gone. The blinding fog had consumed their fragile minds and they were truly lost. Just dragging one sore foot in front of the other was like a perilous climb to the top of the highest mountain peak, and they were, undoubtedly, mere days from perishing to exhaustion and hunger.

Sir Tanner was a knight of the Kings guard, entrusted with the task of safely escorting Eusme the Elf back to her village to be put on trial for murder, but unfortunately they had succumb to a mind-rotting fog storm. It was extremely rare at this time of year, and even more so on the path Tanner had chosen.

The fog had done it's best to take the travelling souls, as it had done with many before them, and it almost had. As closed as their minds were, Tanner's subconscious couldn't help but compare the exhausting pain to that of a mountainous trek. Somehow he had found a new path; towards the silent peaks of the North.

The cold had from the fog and seeped into her very bones as she was pulled along only by the will of her captor. Her feet dragged along the ground, bringing up soft little clouds of dirt as she went. There was something about this place that made her want to just lay down and sleep, but even as the idea brought her comfort it brought a powerful sense of dread at the same time.

She had been captured rather easily, she thought. The man only had to track her down and literally just grab her. She was no warrior and she was definitely not a murderer, but the knight had not listened to a single word she'd said. Humans never did use their brains for much other than mating and killing. It wasn't like he was the smartest man in the word, from what she'd seen, but he was at least good at fighting...for a human.

As the moved up the mountain trail, she glanced around as he mind fought to focus. This place didn't look familiar and the sense of dread took over her mind. The knight was the only thing keeping her going, since he literally had to pull her along behind him. She was bound by the hands, so it wasn't like she could go anywhere.

Clenching his frosted glove around the ropes he had the Elf bound by, Tanner's mind slowly began to take in his surroundings as they began heading up the silent peaks; suspiciously named for the assumption that nobody had travelled across them (and survived) for a very, very long time.

He could finally see the frozen landscape, so bright he had to squint and cover his forehead with his right arm, left free to fight if he had to. He could hear the crunch of the freshly laid snow under his heavy boots, as he tried to avoid tripping on fallen tree branches and rocks, most likely the result of a devastating avalanche.

It was then that he realised where they were, and just how hungry he was, the fog had taken over their mind so much he didn't even think to use their remaining food supply. He reached in to his satchel and found that the bread had frozen solid, as had the meat he had cut from an injured deer he killed the day they ran in to the fog. He sighed and took out his water skin and slammed it against one of the rocks on the ground so he could break the frozen water in to smaller pieces. He put a piece in his mouth and gave the Elf one too. It would do until they could melt the rest.

"We are lucky to be alive, Elf, but we are not out of the woods yet, so to speak. We need to find shelter so i can make a fire and cook this meat. Then tomorrow we get the hell off these mountains." He said, turning to face his prisoner, before looking around for anything close enough to be called shelter.

As her mind began to clear she whimpered softly when the sensation of just how chilly it was took hold. Then her stomach seemed to work as well and stabbed her in hunger pains. She gasped and almost fell over. She stumbled a little bit, but the knight seemed to be versed on keeping prisoners on their feet.

Her vision wasn't clear, the landscape being too bright to see anything. She guessed that he had an easier time of it, considering he had worse eyesight than she. She frowned, a miserable and tired frown. When he put the ice in her mouth she wanted to spit it out at him, clearly the chill had not yet reached her mouth and she was glaring at him. She did not spit it out though, but for only one reason. She knew that she needed water.

As he spoke of shelter and fires, she sighed heavily, but did not bother to look. The glares on the snow were still much to bright for her and her eyes had not adjusted. She watched him though as he looked for shelter and she was pulled along. With the snow shining brightly in her sight, he seemed to be wreathed in a holy light and she couldn't help the small, almost peaceful smile that formed on her face.

The knights eyes slowly began adjusting as they continued their search for a safe place to eat and rest. He had no idea how long they had been travelling in the fog, although his growing hunger pains told him it had been long enough. As he scanned the horizon he saw a small opening between two mountain peaks which angled downwards, hidden from his view. He decided to lead Eusme, hoping that it would provide them with a temporary cover from the bitter cold, and any mountain dwelling carnivores likely to be as hungry as they were.

On turning the corner he was pleasantly surprised that his initial thoughts were correct. Right there, behind a small hill, several boulders seemed to hang over the edge, closing a small gap between the rise of a hill on the other side, providing protection from the snow and cold winds from above. Tanner assumed they had most likely rolled down the mountain after a collapse, or avalanche. He had also heard rumours of volcanic activity in their history, so it was possible for boulders this size to end up this far down. Either way, he was pleased they had. It was the perfect location to rest and stay out of the open. He was in no hurry to find out the reason why nobody ever made it out alive.

"This will do..." Tanner said, looking around for a place to tie the Elf down so he could make the fire. Luckily he still had some dry wood chippings and tinder with his belongings that would help start the fire. He tied the rope around a large rock that was wedged at the back of the sheltered space and connected it to the Elves feet. He then began collecting fallen branches just outside the shelter, chipping off the bark to get rid of any moisture.

He used two small rocks to create a spark to ignite the tinder and slowly the fire began to grow, and he could begin cooking the meat and bread. The fire heated up their shelter quickly, and soon he could feel his toes again. He sat quietly beside Eusme once the meat was ready, and gave her a generous portion. The fog had been punishing enough on both of them, so he did not press the Elf about her crime. He was exhausted, and the cooked meat made him more so.

"When you have eaten, i suggest you try to get some sleep while the fire is burning, it won't last, and our blankets are not designed for these conditions." He unpacked two blankets once he had finished eating and wrapped one around himself, laying the other over the Elves shoulder while she finished.

"What i would give for my own quarters right now...." The knight muttered silently to himself, his eyes growing heavy from the sleepless nights before.

Eusme was hardly even aware of where they were going as the biting cold made it almost impossible for her to move. The next thing she knew she was in a darker place and she blinked quickly as her eyes adjusted again to the dimmer light. The wind was not so bad in here and she could relax a little bit.

When she could catch a steady breath, the knight was back to tying her up. She frowned at him, resisting her urge to spit at him. Great, not her feet were bound. Where the hell was she going to go? Obviously she didn't have any means of surviving in those woods and the bitter cold would see her dead just as quickly.

She moved as close to the fire as she could, being held back by the ropes. When she was handed the meat, she ate it ravenously. She felt as though it was the only food she could remember tasting, not that it stayed in her mouth long enough to taste much. She flinched when he gave her the blanket, but slowly pulled it around herself and watched him as he settled down.

"I don't trust you." She said softly, her voice clearly suspicious of the human. There wasn't much she could do to resist sleep though. The heat of the fire relaxed her bones and warmed her enough for her to slip into a nice slumber.

"I don't expect you to trust me Elf, but trust this, if i was planning to kill you, i would have done it already. I am simply escorting you to get Justice. He was my friend, and a good man. And i want to know why he deserved a fate such as that. Now sleep."

Tanner spoke angrily. He did not want to be here any more than she, but his bitterness over the murder was clearly heard in his exhausted self. He hadn't witnessed the murder personally, but the rumours had been clear. A young Elf with bright blonde hair and clothing more golden than the midday sunlight. She didn't look like your usual assassin, or a person with vengeance in her soul, but the victims death could not be ignored, and there were no other suspected assailants. Elves had been known to be very good at concealing their identities, so Tanner had to be suspicious of Eusme. She could be anybody. Perhaps her easy capture was actually part of a bigger plan, he could not be too careful. But he was certain of one thing, she could not have planned for the fog. That was fate at its most unkind.

As he fell in to a slumber deeper than a dying man unable to wake, he dreamed of his friend, when they were young and playing together with a round ball made from straw, shooting between two horse shoes in the grass fields by the village, where horses and sheep grazed happily.

A few hours later Tanner suddenly sat up in his blanket, feeling the chill from the dying fire. The embers crackled as the last pieces of wood sizzled away in to nothing. It was not the cold of the late afternoon that woke him however, he had heard something behind him. Like the sound of a wagon being pushed down the rails of a copper mine. It screeched loudly as if he had been stood directly beside the rails. But all he saw was rock, and the side of the mountain.

He looked over at his prisoner, who seemed to still be sleeping. He checked her ropes and found they were still tied comfortably. He hardly expected her to try and escape but he had to be careful, and there was more to fear in this terrain that an Elf.

"So what was it...?" Tanner thought to himself, standing and looking around the shelter using the afternoon sun as a light. He examined the rock-face he had been resting his head against at the back of the shelter and removed his gloves, running his cold, dry hands over the jagged walls. In doing so he felt something smooth, like a carving etched in to the rock. He looked closer and found more surrounding it. There were carvings surrounding the back wall in a circle, like the runes of an ancient language not taught anymore. He could not read them, but he knew he had seen them before in the castle library.
"Who has done this? And When?" He thought, trying to remember who used to use such a language. He had seen it in an open book on one of the wooden tables, but did not stay to look at the creators. Then he thought back to the noise he thought he heard. Like the sound of metal scratching against metal. Tanner started to feel uncomfortable, and unsheathed his dagger, listening carefully in case the sound returned....

She dreamed about what he'd said in response to her declaration of her lack of trust in him. The only reason she'd even fallen asleep in his presence was that they were both worn to the bone and it wasn't like she could even help it as she'd fallen into a deep slumber. As the fire started to die, she was pulled from her deep sleep and shivered in her sleep. She pulled the almost coarse blanket around herself in the attempt to keep the warmth she'd obtained. As it quickly faded she opened her eyes and groaned softly.

The utterance of the pained sound was not of her choosing. If it had been up to her, she wouldn't have shown any weakness and just go along with him. The thought entered her mind as she sat up, rather uncomfortable and awkwardly with the way she was bound, that she shouldn't even be cooperating. She should be coming up with a way to escape his custody. She hadn't killed anyone! All the evidence pointed to her and other had told them an exact description of herself. She didn't see how this would end any other way than with her death.

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and heard movement near the wall to her right. She glanced around and didn't see the knight, only then realizing the movement must have been him looking around. "What are you doing?" With death hanging over her head, what was the point of being complacent.

"I was woken...then i found these strange runes in the rock." Tanner answered, forgetting his previous bitter attitude towards her. His unsettled mood was slowly beginning to make him realise they would have to help each other get off the mountains, even if it was possible Eusme would be hung for her crime, innocent or not.

"It would seem we were not the first to make camp here. Do you recognise them at all?" Tanner asked, hoping the Elf would at least try to cooperate. He decided not to mention the noise he had previously heard. He did not plan to stay long enough to find out.

The fact that he didn't sound like he wanted her to hang there and now surprised her. She blinked at his shadowy figure, then frowned slightly. "I cannot see what it is you are referring to. It is too dark in here." She said in a defeated tone. "I may have good eyesight, but its not that good."

He seemed to be interested enough to forget what she was accused of and actually ask for her help. That surprised her more than anything and it made her start to reconsider this man. She knew humans were terrible creatures who threw themselves through life without any restraint and cause misery everywhere they went. She knew no different, so why tolerate them? But he was trying to get her help, it was just odd.

"If i can see it then you are sure as hell able to see you're just refusing to look properly. How about trying to help us get out of this hellhole instead of complaining. I'd rather be rotting in a cell than on these mountains another day, there's probably a reason nobody comes here, do you wanna find out why that is?" Tanner said, clearly aggravated. And just to make things worse, as he spoke the sound of the metal scratching against metal returned, louder than before, then again, and a few seconds after that again still. He was certain now. There was something inside the walls of the mountain, and it was moving. Who was operating the rails? He thought, and why was there ancient runes covering the walls.

"What the hell is doing that?" He shouted, putting his head against the rock trying to hear better, with one hand still holding his sword. And just then it hit him, he remembered the title of the book he'd seen the runes in. "War with the Orcs..."

"That explains it. No survivors, No bodies, nothing. There are Orcs on these mountains. We need to move, NOW!" Tanner shouted, panicked but ready to fight, even if it was bound to end in failure. He was a good fighter, but there was no match between him and the legendary Orcs that killed off the Dwarves centuries ago, and he hardly expected the Elf to protect him.

He could be mistaken, of course, but he wasn't hanging around to find out, as he began packing everything away as fast as he could, removing the Elves ropes from around the wedged rock and wrapping them around one of her arms and one of his, so she could still use her hands without escaping and he could still use his sword, which he was gripping tightly by his sword arm.

The young elf couldn't help but making a scoffing noise when he asked if she wanted to know why nobody came here. "Well, seeing as I'm going to die soon, I don't see how it makes any difference." She frowned at him and didn't look away. There was almost a sad hopelessness in her eyes. She knew that there was no way they were going to let her live. They probably wouldn't even let her speak. People like that only wanted blood and they didn't seem to care who it was that bled.

She jumped almost out of her delicate skin when she heard that loud scraping noise. "Goodness!" She shrieked and moved a little, as if she wanted free from her bonds. When he spoke of Orcs, her heart caught in her throat, now wishing she'd been killed already. The stories of what the Orcs did to elves, not to mention the women, were bloodcurdling. She blinked at him when he fixed her bonds so she could move. She instantly was on her feet and they stung with pain as if she were stepping on needles.

She dared not speak now, but studied the cave they were in intensely and not liking what she was seeing. The runes he had seen were indeed old and not a good sign of them making it out alive. She looked at him and would go where he would. But, being a innocent prisoner, she was going to flee at the first sign of danger, ropes be damned.

(Sorry i haven't posted yet hun been a little bit busy, i should get one done soon!)

---------- Post added 10-15-2014 at 04:11 PM ----------

Once everything had been packed away the pair set off, as fast as their weary legs could take them, hearts pounding at the thought of being overcome by a hungry pack of beastly Orcs. Tanner scanned the snowy hills for signs of life and saw nothing, but he couldn't help but feel as if there were a thousand eyes staring down at him, devising an evil plan to capture, torture and cook them both in their rotten cauldrons filled with bones. Orcs would make perfect sense to exist on these lands, but Tanner wished with every ounce of his being that it were not true.
'Anything but Orcs..." He though to himself as they headed back down the mountains.
"I'd rather run back in to that fog than be caught by Orcs." He said, surveying the landscape for dry land but failing to see any.

He looked down at the frozen ground and saw several small footprints embedded in the snow, leading towards a similar shelter than the one they had rested in before.
"too small to be Orc prints. Too small to be human. What now?" Tanner said, suddenly feeling as vulnerable as he had as a teenage boy, ripped from the comfort of his quarters to fight a war.

Eusme fled with him, having little choice in the matter. Her bonds cut into her skin from the urgency, but she didn't bleed. She knew she could get frost bite or a skin disease from exposed wounds in such bitter cold. The fear overrode her sensible thinking though and she said nothing, not wanting to distract him. Her eyes scanned the snow, now that the glare wasn't as bad as yesterday. She didn't see anything but more snow.

As he stopped to look at something on the ground, she gasped. The footprint was so strangely familiar! She didn't know how, but she knew whatever they would meet, they wouldn't be ready for it. "I-I think we should find another path.." She suggested quietly, almost as though she knew he wouldn't listen to her anyway. Her eyes darted around as she looked more intensely for signs of strange creatures.

"I wish i knew this terrain. I've travelled the world and suffered worse fates, but i do not know these mountains. I do wish we had a tracker, but we have to make do." Tanner said, forgetting he was her captor for a moment. Given the situation it would be better to work together and get to safer, warmer terrain than suffer a fate with Orcs, if that is what they were facing.

"At least these prints do not belong to Orcs. But i do not wish to follow them either." Tanner said, leading Eusme the opposite direction. They headed down the mountain lost and cold, spotting a worn path between two small hills.

"perhaps that is a path out of here, lets go."

The elf sighed as he actually took her advice to some extent. As they decended she stopped shivering so violently and couldn't help but frown deeply when she saw where he was leading them. "That's...forbidden land." She whispered more to herself, knowing he wouldn't really believe the elvish superstitions. Unlike human superstitions, elven ones were based in magic and dangerous creatures or past battles, cursed lands. This place was the latter and she had no desire to enter it.

It had been hundreds upon hundreds of years since anyone had been this way but the legends told of awful wars and terrible deeds done in these cursed paths among the mountains. Proving the legends true or false was far from her mind, she would rather not tempt fate. But, she had no choice in the matter and knew he wouldn't listen to her objections. She looked up at the bleak sky and wished for some sort of miracle.