Rough Times

[MrEdwardNigma]

The berry popped open in his mouth, spreading a thick sour ooze over his tongue. Gulp. Not too bad. Only slightly worse than prison gruel.

[Innis Cabal]

X took several handfuls of the berries, placing them in the empty bottle. If they were posioned he'd not have to worry about anything after this. If not, he had at least something to fill his stomach.

He then looked at the two paths, taking the one that lay straight ahead.

[MrEdwardNigma]

The forest got slightly darker along this path. Suddenly X heard something in the bushes to his far left. He froze. The bushes shook.

[Innis Cabal]

X stared at the bush, not moving...

"'ello?"

[MrEdwardNigma]

The bush shook again. No answer came except a low growl.

[Innis Cabal]

X took a step back, growling right back

[MrEdwardNigma]

The bushes parted and a grey wolf ran out, right up to the path and in front of X. He bared his teeth and growled. It was quite small for a wolf, but X had nothing to compare to.

[Innis Cabal]

X growed louder taking a step back from the animal, balling his fists togather and holding them in front of his chest

[MrEdwardNigma]

The creature growled back and leapt at X's throat.

[Innis Cabal]

X takes a swing at the beast, shouting loudly as he does so

[MrEdwardNigma]

X's punch landed on the creature's muzzle, right in his teeth, and managed to turn away his face so he couldn't tear X's throat out, but the creature still landed on him, and he fell backwards onto the path.

[Innis Cabal]

X attempts to roll on top of the creature as to pin it, striking it with his free hand continuing to shout

[MrEdwardNigma]

X rolled the creature over, and they both rolled off the road. He then swung his arm and tried to punch the creature, but it made a mad twist with it's head and bit X in the forearm, sinking it's teeth as deep in his flesh as he could (luckily, this wasn't extremely deep, due to the size of the wolf). The beast tightened it's grip, and wouldn't let go. It tried to growl, but was muffled by the meat in his mouth.

[Innis Cabal]

X shouted in pain, striking at the wolf with his other arm as it hung on his shoulder

"Get off!"

[MrEdwardNigma]

The punch tore the creature off his arm, taking bits of meat with it. It yelped.

[Innis Cabal]

X staggered back to the road backwards, keeping a watch on the wolf. When he reached the road, he placed the blanket and his goods on the road, tearing a few pieces off the blanket with his good hand and tying them around his shoulder. When he was done, he wrapped his goods back in the blanket.

[MrEdwardNigma]

As X opened the blanket he discovered the bottle had broken during the fight. The berries and glass shards were now sprawled out among his possessions.

Meanwhile, as he tied off his arm, the little wolf scrambled to it's feet and walked off into the woods.

[Innis Cabal]

X continued to stagger down the path

[MrEdwardNigma]

((Leaving the berries and glass shards behind, I assume?))

The forest got darker again. X was shaking. He didn't know it was from the blood loss or from the lack of food. Eventually the path joined up with another path. There was another signpost, one of the arrows this time pointing in the direction X came from, and the other to the path that made a sharp turn to the right. The other option was to the left, where the forest seemed to get thinner. X found himself hoping this forest would come to an end soon, as he had been walking for ages now.

[Innis Cabal]

((Ya))

The thinner forest looked promising. He was exhuasted. But he had to find some where out of this hellish place. Thieves, wild creatures and strange beast riding people...the outside world was looking less and less promising. Perhaps jail wasn't so bad. At least he got fed and had a place to sleep.

He continued to stagger onward to the thinning forest.

[MrEdwardNigma]

X continued walking, but he could feel his strength being sapped with every passing minute. He had cold sweat all over him. His legs were shaking and he was starting to see spots. He fell.

He got up again. He walked on but bumped into a wall. He groaned and wondered why he was trying to escape his cell. It was safe in there, and warm. His hand caressed the cold wall of his cell and he smiled as a chalk drawing appeared wherever his hand passed. He wiped along the wall faster and faster, grinning wider and wider. Squiggly lines, all over the place. On the floor, the walls and even the ceiling, and at the centre of it all a warrior holding a huge sword, the tip ending in a beam of light: the small prison room window. There was a flapping.
"No" X mumbled... "leave me alone"
He crawled back, hid beneath the brown blanket on his bed.
"Leave me alone!" he screamed as the slow flapping filled the room, resounding off the walls. There was a loud crash, finally interrupting the flapping. Light poured into the room, blinding X. All he could hear was the sound of rubble from the collapsed wall raining down. When finally his vision returned, he saw a huge red robin. And then he woke up.

X was in a bed, and it was terribly uncomfortable. He was wrapped in his own blanket, but he was lying on a hard wooden slab. The room he was in was small, smelly and shabby. None of the wooden walls were straight and most of them had holes in them, with moss near it showing where the water had seeped down. There was a table at the centre of the room, and on it two carved up carrots and a rusty knife. The ceiling in one corner of the room was completely missing and a firepit was set up in that corner, with a cauldron hanging from a stick jammed in the wall. Another corner of the room held a small tin tub, which reminded X of how he used to wash in his cell. This place was different in that it was draftier. Also, the door was open except for a raggedy, muddy curtain. X's things were on the earthen floor by the bed.

[Innis Cabal]

X makes a sound as he tries to struggle out of his blanket, resulting in him falling onto the floor, pain searing in his shoulder as he struck the ground hard, ilicting a sharp cry of pain, he tried to inch his way to the door, but his strength was all but used up

[MrEdwardNigma]

The curtain was pulled aside and an old man in rags entered. His hair was long and grey, and hung across his thin face in long streaks. The old man had blue eyes, a big nose and some sort of fungus on his lip.
"Oh, you're up" he said, and as he spoke X could see he only had a few teeth left.
"I found you at the edge of the forest. You were in pretty bad shape. My name is Gerhald, by the way, but everyone calls me Grut"
He extended a muddy hand towards his guest.

[Innis Cabal]

X looked at the hand, his body still trapped in the blankets

"Thing attacked me...sharp teeth...wher' am I?"

[MrEdwardNigma]

"You're in Swan's Pont. Right across the river from Crossham. This is my cabin. I'm Grut, a woodbutcher, though I work out on the farms when they need an extra hand"
Grut gave a tug at the blanket, freeing X.
"You looked like you were stuck there"

(("Razade"? ))

[Innis Cabal]

((Ooops. Had just posted in another game >.>. Ignore that! <.<))

X stands to his feet, wobblnig slightly.

"Oh...I dom' know where i'm goin...but I hav'ta go..."

X wobbles for the door

[MrEdwardNigma]

X stumbled out of the curtain and collapsed again outside. He was feeling very weak, and he'd just realised he forgot all his stuff except his pants and belt inside.

X was on a patch of mud right outside the hut now. There was a chopping block with an axe stuck in it and some logs were piled up next to the house. The path coming from the forest to the right led right past the hut and downhill to what appeared to be a small village by a river. Before that the path split up, one end heading to the right past a huge field of wheat.

The old man stepped outside.
"You really don't look so good. Maybe you should rest some more? I'll make you some food"

[Innis Cabal]

X tried to drag out of the mud

"No..."

Dispire his words...word, his stomach grumbled louder.

Sadly, X was out of energy.

[MrEdwardNigma]

The old man shook his head and took hold of the boy by the shoulders, dragging him in slowly. He groaned as he did so. This was clearly quite the strain for him. He eventually managed to drag X onto the bed again. He clumsily tossed the blanket onto him again and then walked over to the table. Grut scooped up the slices of carrot and dropped them in the cauldron. He then began blowing on the mild fire that was burning.

[Innis Cabal]

X turned to his side, keeping his back to the wall, staring at the man.

"Wat's that mean?"

X points to his belongings, trying to indicate the envelope feebly.