The outside edge of Estolad was usually quiet at this hour of the night.

Usually.

"Tha'moonlight's a beacon,
She'sh a-callin' me now,
And m'passion's a-peakin'..."

A low, growly, painfully off key voice rung out, coupled with staggering steps through the light foliage. Rask, better known as Sidewinder, was at the bottle again, and this time the Inn was left far behind. A bottle of cheap liqour was held to his lips, his head thrown back, akin to an animal howling, but instead pouring the brew in his mouth, onto his chin and down his bare chest.

Lowering the bottle he blinked blurry eyes and peered into the woods, leaning so far forward he slipped off balance. For a moment, everything stood still except for Rask, plunging forward, blissfully unaware of his plight. Coming to and panicing, he dropped the bottle and clutched a tree branch reflexively, hugging it close, eyes wide with fear and suprise. "Wha'jush happened?"

Green eyes surveyed the surrounding forest accusingly, as if daring someone to speak up. "That'sh better..." He said pushing off the tree and wobbling over to the bottle, to scoop it up protectively. "And thish ish mine," he added, scowling at a nearby fern. "Getcher own." He took another pull off the bottle, and peered back into the woods again. It looked safe, but appearances could be decieving.

Unfortunately, not only can drunks sing, but they're also capable of fending off impossible odds.

"So'I star'along t'dusty trail,
Dunno-a where I go,
'n'odds're there'll be sleet'n'hail,
'n'a chilly wind'll blow.."

Arachne slinked through the lovely woods on the edge of Estolad as she always did at this time of night these days , expecting all to be quiet as per usual, though of late there had been hunting groups looking for something with "peerin' drooly' red eyes."
...She thought that to be a very poor description of her eyes indeed.Though, she hadn't heard many...Those who lived long enough to see her eyes rarely stayed long enough to chat. Except Mathias, of course, but that was in the past, far far in the past, that's what.
She didn't need to be concentrating on the past tonight, that was for sure. The past just depressed her anyway.

Hell, all those murders she'd committed were in the past too, weren't they? After all that had been before she'd learned to control her venom, right? Right? So it wasn't really her fault that she was a murderess, was it? She didn't know anything else but what her "family" taught her and even that was substandard at best...So why did she always feel guilty for what she'd done in the past?? Why couldn't she let it go like a normal perso----

There's my problem right there.NORMAL. What on EARTH do I know about normal?! I'm a human spider for God's sake!

She headed faster through her little path then stopped short when she heard...singing? Well, if it WAS singing, it was very very drunk singing that was for sure. VERY drunk indeed, and a song she'd never heard before in her life, but that reminded her of her "uncle" 's singing when HE was drunk. When her "uncle" was drunk, he'd hit her over and over again and refuse to stop until she changed her eyes...He'd said it was like smashing a spider, nothing horrible....

She approached the source of the singing and laughed softly for the first time in a long time at the sight of the man telling a fern of all things to keep away from his liquor. She stepped out of cover, slinking over to the side and behind him...so far so good...Annnnd lost her footing, veering straight into him and knocking him flat on his face. Lucky!

Mary put the storybook away on the top shelf as her husband leaned over and kissed their daughter on her forehead. He pulled the covers over her up to her chin and watched as his wife locked the windows shut. "Goodnight my little angel" she whispered as she watched her turn over in her dreams. "I wonder when she would stay up for the whole thing." Mary asked. Her husband shook his head as he blew out the candle. "She finishes it in her dreams." he said and they silently shut the door and went to bed. All was quiet for moments on end untill one soft blue eye opened. The small girl listened intently...Nothing. She wisked the covers off of herself and jumped up and quietly took off her nightgown and threw on her clothes. She picked up her shoes and threw them on the bed along with some other things... and quickly stuffed them into her backpack. She moved over to her bed and pressed her ear to the door. Still no movement. She threw her backpack over her shoulders and ran a brush through her white hair. It reached to her shoulders but she was not concerned with putting it up. She grabbed her leather armor and put it on and stuck her dagger in its place on her belt and took her staff and unlocked the window.

The night air was cold as she set her staff outside and climbed out the window. She sat on the ground and slipped her feet into the shoes and reached in and shut the windows slightly so she could get back in before her parents found out she had left. She moved quickly and ducked under windows and slinked off into the night. The moon was bright so she did not have to worry about tripping over something and giving herself away. She felt the familar feeling and turned as she heard something over the blacksmith shop. She moved across the street, her shoes made slapping sounds which echoed in the still of the night. Her white hair bounced on her back as she ran following the sound, she knew somewhere nearby was an adventure waiting to happen.

She finally found what she was looking for. A man was singing some song and she snuck around the trees and bushes to get a closer look. She crept as silently as she could and moved towards him. She smelled the liquor in the air and on the man as he glugged it. Suddenly he dropped it, after a while he managed to pick it up and snatched it away from a fern. She moved silently about to say something when a strange spider human crashed into him. She gasped and ran to them, "Are you all okay?" she asked looking at them.

Rallika had come to Estolad to see if any of his friends were around. Since his last visit to Lomedor everything was quiet. Whenever he was with company, excitement brewed. But now he found himself to be quite bored. None of his friends or acquaintances were around, so he decided to go to the inn to rent a room. Unfortunately all of the room were full and a huge drunken fuelled fight raged. He quickly left the inn before he accidently got involved. He always hated liquor. It seems to only cause trouble. You may be enjoying a good drink with your friends but soon after you'll be clumsy, making an idiot of yourself and throwing up. He prefered to stay away from the stuff.

As Rallika left the village he wandered into the nearby woods to see if he could find a place suitable to set up camp for the night. Just as he did he heard some off key singing. He sighed at the thought of the appearance of the person. "Drunks. They're of no good to anyone. Only cause trouble, like alcohol." He heard a rustling nearby, where the singing came from. "Oh god, that drunk is going to get killed by bandits! Well, better go save the sorry idiot." He sighed again and packed up as quickly as possible. He set off toward the singing and the rustling.

He finally caught up with the drunk to see some shadows near him. Both of them looked human. Rallika decided to get the drunk to snap out of it. At least they're not bandits. Rallika was about to make his move when one of them fell down. Then the second one moved to see if the both of them were okay. Rallika let out a relieved sigh and stepped out of his cover. "Excuse me for one moment." Rallika walked over to the drunk and quickly snatched his liquor. He replaced it with one of his water flasks. Rallika took a quick look at the bottle. "Empty." He dropped the bottle. "Listen, what were you thinking? Don't you know alcohol kills you? You better hope that hangover isn't as bad as the nausea!" Rallika smelled something weird then realised it smelt like garbage and it was coming from the drunk. He quickly covered his nose. "What, did you sleep in the trash last night?" He shook his head and turned to the other two. "If you're here to get this drunk to snap out of it, don't worry. I've got it handled. And you are?"

Rask hit the ground with a thump, not quite pinned under another body. One he didn't register as being a living being. All he remembered was the tree he had taken advantage of and clung to to keep his balance. He had interrupted the tree's peace and quiet, and clung to it without permission. This meant only one thing...

The tree was out for revenge!

"Ah! Treesh attackin'! Run!"

Rask squirmed forward on his stomach, bottle clutched in one hand, headress further askew and eyes wide with fear. He'd never been attacked by a tree before. This was quite something else, something quite terrifying. But he wasn't about to go down without a fight. Rolling onto his back, Sidewinder raised the bottle high in the air. "Y'mother was an oak!" He cried, by way of a battle cry.

The bottle came down, stopping only inches from the mess of waist length black hair of the young woman sprawled ontop of him. He blinked once, then twice and took another pull from the bottle. This is better than a killer tree methinks, methinks.

"Well 'ello there gorgeous. Ushually I'd take y'out t'dinner first bu-"

His sharp ears picked up another sound in the clearing, a young voice calling out to the tumbled pair. Rask folded his arm, pulling the bottle close, leering at the figure until it became clear. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized it was just a child.

"'Lo pup, shouldn't y'be curl'd up'n t'burrow a'this hour?" And with a sudden flash of memory, he looks back at the young woman again. "Looksh like w'hafta put off t'date there gorgeous," he added in an almost whisper.

And shock of shocks, another person brust from the woods. "There'sh a'party here t'night or shomethi-HEY THATSH M'LIQUOR!" Rask growled, pushed himself onto his feet, and looked at the new bottle in his hand. He poured a little out. Clear. His hopes raised slightly, and he brought it to his nose and sniffed. Water!? He held it at arm's length, as though it had a foul smell.

"I'think he meant t'give thish'un t'you there pup." He held the bottle out to the child, swaying on his feet. "M'namesh Shidewinder, but I think t'portant queshtion ish, who d'y'shink y're?" His green eyes narrow accusingly, and he wrinkled his nose in distaste, swaying on his feet.

Rallika sighed, growing a bit fustrated. The drunk was being an absolute idiot as usual, like all drunks. "Are you always this drunk Sidewinder? And drink that water. It'll make you feel better, clear up your vision and keep the vomit down that will come up tomorrow." Rallika faced the other ladies. "Sorry for being rude, I'm Rallika. Do you know this drunk? He seems like he's trying to supress something." He looked back at the drunk. "Doesn't he know when you ask someone out you're supposed to not be drunk?" What is this guy thinking? Does he always get drunk here? God, I'm getting ticked off, this drunk thinks I'm a tree. He really needs to lie down. "Come on Sidewinder, let me take you back to camp. You can come too if you want, ladies." Then he remembered he packed up. "Damn. Eh, this looks like a good spot anyway. Sidewinder you just keep clinging to that tree and I'll get camp set up." I hope Sidewinder doesn't wreck anything in a drunken rampage.

It took a while but camp was set up. "Sidewinder, why don't you lie down? Just don't roll into the campfire. I'll be getting us some food. I'll be back in a minute." I hope Sidewinder doesn't hit on the ladies back at camp. I'd hate to see a fight start here. After a few minutes Rallika came back with food. "Good news! I found a nice pond nearby. Sidewinder, maybe you would like to wash your face and chest while we're here? You wouldn't want to insult the ladies here now would you?"

Tanya looked down at the two with her head cocked, her staff rested against the tree while she tried to decipher what the man was saying. Suddenly a man came from the bushes behind her. She moved out of the way and felt a small pain in her chest, she winced a little but it quickly passed. She sighed that the attack was not that bad this time. "Excuse me for one moment."he said and she moved towards the tree and waited. "'Lo pup, shouldn't y'be curl'd up'n t'burrow a'this hour?" the man asked. She was about to answer when he talked to the woman. "Looksh like w'hafta put off t'date there gorgeous," he said as the man who came took his bottle. She smelled the strong scent of liquor.

The man handed him something, "Listen, what were you thinking? Don't you know alcohol kills you? You better hope that hangover isn't as bad as the nausea! If you're here to get this drunk to snap out of it, don't worry. I've got it handled. And you are?" he said. The man sniffed the water and handed it over to Tanya. "I'think he meant t'give thish'un t'you there pup. M'namesh Shidewinder, but I think t'portant queshtion ish, who d'y'shink y're?" he said putting it into her hand. She held it unsure of what to do. "Are you always this drunk Sidewinder? And drink that water. It'll make you feel better, clear up your vision and keep the vomit down that will come up tomorrow. Sorry for being rude, I'm Rallika. Do you know this drunk? He seems like he's trying to supress something."

Tanya shook her head still holding the water in her hand, "No I do not." she said then perked back up into her usual mood and gave her smile. "Tanya's the name, Adventure is my game! Nice to meet you all." she said giving a small pose then gave a small chuckle at herself. "Damn. Eh, this looks like a good spot anyway. Sidewinder you just keep clinging to that tree and I'll get camp set up." Rallika said. Tanya ran over as he set it up. "Here I'll help too!" she said as they worked together and camp was set up soon. "Sidewinder, why don't you lie down? Just don't roll into the campfire. I'll be getting us some food. I'll be back in a minute." he said and soon he left and Tanya got a good fire going. She sat by it and gave a slight shiver and a mental scolding for forgetting her coat then thought of something and began to dig through her backpack. "Good news! I found a nice pond nearby. Sidewinder, maybe you would like to wash your face and chest while we're here? You wouldn't want to insult the ladies here now would you?" Tanya cocked her head. She was not used to being refered to as an adult woman already, most said she still had her head in the clouds and had yet to put both feet on the ground and grow up properly like a lady. To them she just shrugged and spun laughing, probably proving them true. "I would not worry about me sir, I dont insult easily" she said giving a smile then went back to digging through her things, "So what brings you all here? I mean besides Sidewinder there?" she asked without looking up. She finally found what she was looking for and pulled out a white shawl and threw it around her shoulders and then streched out her hands and fell backwards hitting the ground and looked up at the stars as they came out one by one. Suddenly a streak went across the sky. "SHOOTING STAR! Quick everyone make a wish!" she said and made one quickly as it disappeared.

[[Okay, Rallika, You see my sig? Yes you see my sig. Do you see the second link that says "Full Appearance?" Click that and tell me if she has eight legs. <_<]]

Arachne sighed as she fell knowing full well that this would end up being very awkward indeed. ....Did he just call her gorgeous? What on earth...Oh, he was very very drunk and he smelled horribly of the liquor he was drinking to boot! Annnd then came the well meaning girl to ask them if they were alright and last but not least came the high and mighty man lecturing whoever she'd landed on...Oh yes Sidewinder, what he was about drinking so much. She stayed out of the way as much as possible as the high and mighty man set up a camp and kept her mouth shut further as she watched the others begin to interact rather uneasily around the campfire.

She was used to keeping her mouth shut about things, especially in social situations such as this, if it even qualified as a social situation.. That she very much doubted. However, it was still a situation involving people, people she didn't know, and that made it social.

Her glowing eyes searched each face she was surrounded by, trying to sense each's motive behind their actions. Each one's motive seemed to be pure for the moment, but only Heaven knew when one might fly off the handle. She'd learned THAT from Mathias too...It seemed that she'd learned alot of things that way, through experience. She was quite grateful that she'd not been addressed yet. No one seemed to notice her but this...Sidewinder, who gave her sideways glances from time to time.This didn't bother her all that much. It was rather nice to be noticed and thought of as being attractive, even if it was by a drunk with beer eyes. For an instant Arachne wondered what Mathias would think, but that thought cooled quickly and was shoved out of her mind.

He isn't coming back, no matter what I do or say or think. I've got to get out of here anyways, it isn't like I'm tied to be here. I don't know why I'm in this place here and now or why I would ever be here to begin with! What the hell am I doing?!I should be off hunting not staying here with these....people....I won't speak derisively of them, calling them Humans. They are Human, mostly. That doesn't make them any better or worse than me. It just means they're different, that's all, and so am I, isn't everyone?

This train of thought lightened Arachne's mood a little, and she tilted back the hood of her cloak to show ALL of her black hair not just the few strands of it that Sidewinder had picked up on earlier. The front pieces of her hair were red for some reason, she'd never quite figured out why. Maybe to make the impression of the fangs of a spider, she didn't know. Either way her hair shone like silk as always, she prided herself on that.

Arachne tore her mind away from the past and how she looked and decided to pay attention to the conversation and keep her mouth shut some more. If nothing else, she might get some information out of this...

Contrary to the expected, Rask was a rather happy and peaceful drunk. Most of Rallik's orders and reprimands dripped off him like water, though he didn't miss the chance to make his wish. "I'wish t'Shtarlin'd leave each t'ther'own nestsh," he murmured quietly enough for the 'pup' to hear, shooting Rallik's turned back an unimpressed look. "I'm not alwaysh drinkin' y'know," he added, by way of an excuse, "I'm jusht shelebratin'a go'find." A slightly dazed, and equally crooked, smile perched itself on his lips, as he thought about the map tucked safely back in his room of the Inn.

"I'm gon'b'rich." He piped up, as an after thought, still smiling as he sat down close to the fire and looked up at a sky void of more shooting stars. Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but the stars seemed to be a ways off of how Rask remembered them from home in the desert. He felt gooseflesh raise on his arms: The night's here were unusually cold for the desert dweller, and the warmth of the fire wasn't nearly enough. He shivered and pulled a bit closer, hit by a wave of drunken nostalgia.

Straightening his askew headdress, he felt his stomach growl, curled onto his side in a very dog-like way, and peered into the fire. Memories of his youth danced in the flames: Racing across the dunes after desert hares (what he called 'Stew with feet') in the warm evenings, and lounging next to an oasis during the day, devouring sweet ripe fruits and splashing after fish. As much as he had loved that life, it was the lure of the city-folk that now consumed the Gaurim-touched young man: The wonders of wealth and luxury.

Having grown up without any trappings of it, he was fascinated, but misunderstood most of it. He never knew the so-called 'limit' of one's capacity to drink, and constantly found himself in socially awkward situations, regardless of any drinking he may or may not have done, and had considerable trouble with names, finding it easier to call each person by an animal they reminded him of (in the current case, for example, Rallik struck him as an uppity Starling, Tanya only a mere Pup, and red-eyed woman, a rather striking Nightingale). However the security and luxury that wealth offered, and the chance to make a mark on the world, were too strong of a calling for him to ignore.

And thus his love of adventure grew, and his love for riches, only to cumulate recently with his discovery of a map. Where he found it, and from whom he acquired it was unknown to him: All he could remember was waking after another night of alcohol indulgence to find it clenched in the hand that wasn't gripping the empty tankard and his coin pouch considerably lighter. Sidewinder understood very little of it, but understood two things: The place marked on it was a place full of great wealth.

And it was dangerous.

The second thought made him shiver again, and he pulled the knee-length tail of his headdress, and his waist length hair over his exposed torso. "'Tish'cold," he stated plainly, glaring out at the woods with an expression that read 'and y'better d'som'tin 'bout it'. Wrinkling his nose, he picked up where the child left off. "Yeah, wha'bringsh-a Nightin'ale, a Pup and a Shtarlin' t'this neck'o t'woodsh all a'once when t'moon's'high?"

These four people were not the only ones in the forest around Estolad that night. Infact there was another being not to far away from their "Camp Site" He had heard the sounds of the drunk mans singing and went to investigate on it. Yes, and it had went better than the figure had thought. Instead of one person, he now had four people before him. This making his mind wonder for a moment about all the items and gold these people had. Yes the figure watching them was a Thief, but not just a normal Atani thief.

His clothes were almost pure black, with small red parts of different shades dotted in serveral places upon them. The mans hair was also a deep black, but the thing that would stand out most was his eyes. They were a deep red and glowed somewhat in the night. He had one blade hanging from each side of his waist, on the right side was a basic Katana while on the left side lay one of the three brother blades of Arda. It was the one Raku had made, the Dark Blade.

He was known only by one name in Arda, that name was Enlil. If this was his real name, well nobody knew. He stayed hidden within the darkness of the forest looking onto the others with a small smirk, he was not evil but Enlil would do whatever seemed in his own benefit, or that of the people he cared for. Enlil then silently jumped up to a branch of one of the trees around the camp, perching upon the said branch the young man began to study the movements of each camp member. The two women were the hardest to read, well the older of the two really.

Yeah, the young woman was seen as someone looking for alot of Adventures, while the two men, well the drunk had said he was cold, and didnt appear to be much of a threat and the other male, well, he certainly had an air of lawfullness around him that almost made Enlil sick. The only thing was, at first site other than his eyes Enlil would appear human when deep within him lay his true form. Enlil was a half demon but had not needed to show his demonic form in so long, maybe tonight would change that fact for the young halfling.

It was now time for him to enter this camp, and start his disequilibrium. The halfing pushed himself off of the branch he was perched upon and landed gracefully on the ground below, he was just a few feet away from the camp and stood up straight still will a very small smirk spread across his lips.

Resting his hands upon the hilts of his blades Enlil entered their small "Camp" His eyes first looking down onto the drunk, then the young girl, before missing out Rallika completely and looking towards the older woman. Their was something strange about her, but Enlil could not place his finger on what exactly. Before he said anything to the four people Enlil thought to himself, "Ochiyo. I will be back soon, and with luck I will be bringing along some gifts!" The halfling then closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them once more and saying, "Good evening all. Its strange to see a single person in these woods at night, So what are a group of four doing out here may I ask?" After he had finished talking, Enlil slowly wrapped his left hand tightly around the hilt of his Dark Blade. After all, he was not sure if he would get attacked or not.

Even if he was not able to obtain anything to take back to the others, atleast tonight would be somewhat fun for Enlil. The night was just getting started and the halfling was going to try his best to play off the emotions of these new people. Yes, fun indead.

Tanya thought she heard something nearby, she sat up and listened. She turned just in time to see a man jump down and land a few feet behind her. She watched as they made eye contact for a moment and then he went and looked at everyone else. She saw a smirk play on his lips as he walked towards them, "Good evening all. Its strange to see a single person in these woods at night, So what are a group of four doing out here may I ask?" he had said. She stood up and suddenly became light headed from the familar weakness that came with sudden movements although it quickly passed.

She put her hands behind her neck and rested them over a hand shaped birthmark, an area where hair never grew. She smiled and gave a greeting nod to the man. "Plesant evening to you sir! Care to join us?" she had asked innocently, she noticed the tightning of his hand around the dark blade. "I am not sure about the others but I am here to do some late night exploring and adventuring. Who knows what you might find late at night?" she said. She was not sure about this man but she was near home. Most of the people Estolad knew her, more for her illness than anything. She was always pitied but smiled upon for her attitude towards life.

Rallika heard a rustling in the trees around the camp and saw something move. "Be on your guard, we're being watched." Just as Rallika finished what he had to say a halfling jumped down behind Tanya with a Dark Blade. "Good evening all. Its strange to see a single person in these woods at night, So what are a group of four doing out here may I ask?" "Plesant evening to you sir! Care to join us?" The stranger tightened his grip on his weapon. There was something about it that was freaking Rallika out. "I am not sure about the others but I am here to do some late night exploring and adventuring. Who knows what you might find late at night?" "Tanya, you can't always be trusting." He got up and walked right up to the stranger, positioning himslf between the stranger and Tanya. "State your name and business. I don't want anything bad to happen to these people." He sighed and turned his head to Sidewinder. I can't believe I'm asking him this, what with his drunken state, but he's the only one that seems conpetent to. "Sidewinder, take the ladies to Estolad and make sure they stay safe. Screw up and they, and you, may end up dead. I'll come back, don't you worry about me. If I'm back with this guy then he's trustworthy. If not, he's not. Got it?" He returned his undivided attention to the stranger. "Answer truthfully or my axe and blades will be the end of this conversation." I hope I made the right choice trusting Sidewinder. You never know what a drunk will do next. May the Gods protect them.

Sidewinder though drunk, cold and not exactly fond of the stuffy human ordering him around, was benevolent, and rather clever in his own right. Anyone who dropped into a clearing wearing two blades, with his hands on them none the less, was not to be trusted. Rask growled a bit and uncoiled himself up to standing again, the drunked wobble slowly becoming less.

He didn't trust the man's pretty speech and took a step next to the Pup, resting a hand on her shoulder. His eyes flicked off to check on the young woman as well: She had been oddly silent, and it worried the Ranger. Was she in on the plot too? His eyes narrowed briefly, his brow knitting in concentration. If that was the case, he'd need to look after the child on the way back to the tavern, but the young woman would've likely attacked while he was alone if she had intended to. He shook his head to clear out a bit of the drunken haze, but to no avail. He took a wobbly step back from the fire and called out to Rallika.

"A'right Shtarlin', I'll lead 'em back t'the Inn. Y'deal wish the Leapin'shpider." He tugged on the Pup's shoulder softly. "C'mon Pup. You too Night'ngale. Le's'go." His eyes were still on the newcomer, sizing him up best he could.

{{OOC: Sorry about the poor post, haven't been sleeping well as of late.}}