Succession: Heir to the Empire

Rein

"Is that you, Kegan?" Rein asked as she walked over to him. She frowned, looking around.

"I can understand why you're here, but why did Baruti bring me here? I'm not an Heir."

Caesar, Kaleb

"Thank the gods you're here. Yes, it's his doing. He sprang a challenge up on us. Apparently I'm suppose to be going to an observatory up in the mountains. It'll be a dangerous journey, but I've handled worse. At least I got you out here, it'll relieve some of the...boredom." Caesar said. He looked up over where he was suppose to go, and scowled again.

"Well, we may as well get going. It'll be a long trip getting there..."

"Road trip! Yay!" Kaleb cried enthusatically. Caesar groaned and massaged his temples, feeling a migrane come on. Why the hell did Baruti stick Kaleb with him? He was going to kill the Steward after this...

Maul

While the other Heirs were just waking up and discovering their plight, Maul was already going through the woods toward his destination. The Kaleesh was an early riser, and he had handled challenges like these before while in the Order of the Shadows. It would not be hard for him to make it up there.

C.C.

"Good, you're finally awake." C.C. commented, appearing beside Nebi.

Susanna

Susanna groaned along with Caesar as she heard Kaleb. Susanna had never spent much time with Kaleb, but from the little information she heard from Caesar, she wasn't going to enjoy having to spend time with the man. As Susanna crawled out of bed she winced as her feet hit the hard forest floor, the leaves under her feet making her feel very uncomfortable. "He didn't even leave us shoes. Sadist."
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Kegan

"Rein?" Kegan asked in confusion as he looked up and saw his girlfriend. The Heir rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he realized what was going on. "He did it to make it more difficult for me, no doubt. The other Heirs are here in the forest as well, as you know doubt have guessed by now. The fact is that some of the other Heirs are probably going to try and harm us, and there are going to be some traps laying about. Baruti probably wants me to abandon you to save myself...." Kegan explained as he looked up at Rein, a stern expression on his face.

"But he wont get the satisfaction of ruining my life, he's just going to see us coming up the mountain together." He added before giving Rein a consoling smile.
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Clara/Brighe

"So how long will it take them to get up here?" Clara complained as she looked down the mountain from the grand observatory.

"Well if the coordinates that Baruti gave are correct, then it should take about three days minimum. Sixty-two kilometers to the base of the mountain, and then the mountain itself is seven kilometers high with us at the top, quite a climb." Brighe answered as she looked out the window with Clara. The Elf would have never guessed that she would be spending her time with Clara of all people, but there seemed to be almost no one else here in the Observatory besides Baruti, and Brighe couldn't find Syrien.

"Great." Clara said sarcastically before turning around and walking away from Brighe.

Rein

"Well, that's good to hear. I don't think you'd like me as a ghost haunting you." Rein joked, trying to lighten the situation. She looked around, taking in the mountain up at the distance.

"Where to? Did Baruti say where we're suppose to be heading?"

Caesar

"Here." Caesar said, conjuring a pair of sturdy boots. Susanna may not be used to shoes like that, but they'd hold up better for the trek they were about to go on. "These should do."

"Ooh! Caesar! I think we should play games to pass the time while we travel! How's that sound? Ooh, or maybe we could tell stories! Like the one time Caesar became a prison--"

"Shut up Kaleb!" Casar immedately shouted. He certainly didn't want Susanna to hear that story. The Humage turned to her, quickly changing the subject.

"The first monster we encounter, we give it Kaleb as a sacrifice and offering of peace. Agreed?"

Maul

Maul continued his hike through the forest, when a piercing and monstrous shriek filled the air, shaking the trees around him. A flock of birds flew out of their disturbed nests and flew away.

Hm. Well, that could be a problem...

Kegan

"Up the mountain over there. Apparently there's an observatory waiting for us up there." Kegan said as he pointed towards the mountain. "There's a river about half a kilometer that way, at least it sounds like a river. I figure if we find it we can use it to walk upstream since it no doubt is originating from the mountain." Kegan said as he turned to point to the northwest to show where he thought the river was.

"If we walk the river we'll have an unlimited source of water, and we can't get lost. It's perfect, plus we can fish for food." He finished before clapping his hands together.
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Susanna

"Unless it's edible...agreed." Susanna replied in a whisper as she accepted the boots from Caesar and put them on. "Thanks." She said before kissing the Humage on the cheek.
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Rhys

"And you're sure?" Rhys asked as he looked down at the large map of the province.

"Yes Sir, they're only seventy kilo's away." The head Servant replied, a bit of panic in his voice.

"Well it is unlikely that he'll head for us, I doubt that he even knows that we're here." Rhys tried to stay optimistic as he looked away from the map, though he couldn't be sure.

"While that is true, Sir, there is still the possibility that he'll attack us."

"Well then make sure that Katie is safe and hidden, and we'll be fine, he's not going to come after us. He'll concentrate on winning the challenge, no doubt."

"And what will you do, Sir?"

"I'm going to go to that Grand Observatory, it's a one and a half day ride if I take the Stallion. I can inform Baruti of why I have left my post and what is going on, and then come back before any of the Heirs are even close to the mountain top." Rhys explained before rolling up the map and putting it in his bag. "Now go get Permythias ready so I can leave before Katie wakes up, I don't want to say goodbye. She would probably try and come with me like when I went to Blane three days ago."

"Yes, Sir."

Caesar

Caesar blushed a little. "You are most welcome, my dear. Well, we must be setting out now. Aside from the fact that we need to get up to that mountain, we still need to find breakfast."

Rein

"Sounds great! I wouldn't mind taking a bath there either. Sleeping on the forest floor sure hasn't made my skin cleaner." Rein commented. Her stomach then chose that moment to growl. The Humage blushed, rubbing it gently.

"Baruti wouldn't have been kind enough to leave us breakfast, would he? I doubt it, but it'd be nice..."

Kegan

Kegan chuckled as he heard Rein's stomach. "No, no the old geezer left us nothing but paper. But we have our wits, and magic, which will be a big help no doubt. Lets go fishing." Kegan said as he held his hand out to Rein so he could escort her.
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Susanna

"Then lets go...." Susanna replied before she nervously glanced at Kaleb, wondering what he would do.

Caesar, Kaleb

"Yea! I love road trips. This is gonna be fun! We're gonna have the best time ever!" Kaleb shouted energetically. Caesar frowned and wished, once again, that Kaleb did not have the affect of strangely negating magic. A silencing spell would be very helpful right now...

"Very well then. Follow me."

Caesar started to lead Susanna and Kaleb through the forest, making sure to keep an eye out for a possible source of food and searching for any dangerous predators. Kaleb had kept unsually silent for some time, but finally broke that blissful silence and asked,

"Caesar? Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No..."

"How about n--"

"WE ARE NOT ****** THERE YET, KALEB! NOW SHUT THE **** UP BEFORE I FEED YOU TO A PACK OF VICIOUS AND HUNGRY WOLVES!" Caesar burst out. The Humage had a little patience when dealing with the man-child, and he was not in the mood to deal with Kaleb's antics. Silence reigned a bit longer.

".....Are we there now?"

Rein

"Lead the way, my brave knight." Rein said, taking his hand, giggling a little. This was sure to be an interesting journey (or 'date', if one could call it that). Hopefully it would make them closer. Rein then blinked as something occured to her.

"You know, I do believe this will be our first date where Syrien wasn't stalking us or supervising it in some way. I mean, I haven't seen him yet, and I think he'd have revealed himself by now if he were here."

Susanna

Susanna sighed in exasperation. "Kaleb is there anything around here that would indicate to you that we're on the mountain when you can see it all the way over there? No? Then what makes you think we might be there?" Susanna asked, talking as though she were speaking with a very dumb child who she felt sorry for.
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Kegan

Kegan paused for a second, a smile he couldn't control popping on his face after Rein had spoken. "Why so it is. You know, it's also the first date we've ever had where were going to have to spend the night together...." Kegan replied as he began to walk with Rein towards the river.

"So many firsts."

almostinsane99 wrote:

(Oh, sorry romantic.)

((It's Fine.))

Epiphany laid asleep, until she heard rustling and felt wind on her face. She felt her hair tickle her face from the breeze, which urged her to wake up.

Once she woke up, she noticed the sky and got up with a start. [i]How the heck did I get here?" As she got herself ready to stand up, she noticed a bag, her sai, and a note. She picked it up and started reading. "Great. This feels like being kidnapped in your sleep." Epiphany thought aloud. "Might as well get going, and pray that I won't meet any Amazons who've known what I've done last week."

Epiphany picked up her pack and found the direction of the mountain, as it was high enuogh to see from a distance, and headed through the forest, picking an apple along the way.

Caesar, Kaleb

".....no....." Kaleb admitted. Caesar smiled as an idea popped into his head. He turned to the man-child and said,

"You know Kaleb, why don't you go get us some food? We'll wait right here for you."

"That sounds great! Ok!" Kaleb said. He went off into the opposite direction. Caesar gave a sigh of relief.

"Good, we've gotten rid of him for now. I couldn't stand his presence much longer." Caesar said.

Rein

"R-R-Right." Rein stuttered, fighting back a blush. She really hadn't thought of that yet, but it was true. They'd be sleeping together, alone, in the forest, with no Syrien around...

"Y-You better not get any ideas while we're out here." Rein added, still trying to contain her blush. And failing.

Kegan

"Of course not!" Kegan protested, his eyes drifting away from Rein as he tried to hide how nervous and embarrassed he was.

A few minutes of silent and awkward walking later, and Kegan and Rein arrived at the river, just like the Heir had expected. "Hmm...it's wider then I thought it would be." Kegan stated as he looked at the rushing river. "Of course that's not a bad thing, it means it'll probably be even easier to get fish then I thought."
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Susanna

Susanna bit her lip as she watched Kaleb walk away. To be honest the girl didn't particularly like Kaleb, he was loud, childish, and obnoxious. But the idea of ditching him in the middle of the woods seemed like a cruel one. As Susanna pondered the moral quandary she glanced towards the mountain, which seemed awfully far away....

"We should run, knowing Kaleb he'll be back here in five minutes." Susanna found herself saying.

Nebi jumped and drew his sword upon hearing someone's voice before relaxing when he saw C.C. He frowned, "What are we doing here? Let me guess, the old bastard decided to give us another challenge."

*

Baruti chuckled a little from his seat near the guests watching the Heir's progress. The Observatory was an ornate place with a huge telescope looking up into the heavens as well as a large scrying bowl the size of a small pool with comfortable velvet chairs seated around it. He flipped his hand and different scenes of the Heirs appeared as well as traps and other dangers waiting for them.

"This should be amusing," he announced, "There are, quite frankly, too many live Heirs. We need to cull their numbers so that only the worthy remain."

C.C.

"Correct, little one. Baruti actually learned how to be subtle for once, and decided to spring this up on you without warning. He wants to thin the numbers of Heirs, so he designed this survival training challenge so that only the strong and the quick witted could survive. I myself am here to watch over all the Heirs, and make sure that at least one of you makes it out alive. It wouldn't do for this challenge to work too well, after all." C.C. said with a half-smile.

"We'd better get going. The other Heirs have already started to make their way up. And before you ask, no, I cannot teleport you there instantly. Against the rules."

Rein

"Good! I'm starving! I don't like fish all that much, but I won't be...." Rein trailed off, her face turning bright red. She didn't speak for a few moments, too embarrassed for some reason. Finally she spoke.

"Um, Kegan? I, uh, kinda have to....go...." Rein mumbled, refusing to meet his eyes. By the gods, this was embarrassing!

Caesar, Kaleb

"Agreed. I....of course! I'm an idiot, Susanna. I am the most powerful Magi in the Gaborian Empire, Baruti and C.C. excluded. I have the capablility to take us to that observatory in the blink of an eye. Why didn't I think of that before?" Caesar asked rhetorically. He extended a hand forward and snapped his fingers. Nothing happened. Frowning, he snapped them again. Still, nothing. The Humage gave a frustrated growl and snapped them a few more times. Still, nothing.

"Damn that old man! He's put some sort of field around the mountain. I can do small magic, but nothing big, it seems. Looks like he thought of everything." Caesar grumbled. Kaleb then burst out of the forest.

"I'm back!"

"Oh, goody..." Caesar muttered darkly.

Kegan

"Hmm? Oh! Oh yeah, umm, try that way a few yards behind those trees downstream, the leaves on that bush over there should...work." Kegan replied. "And I'll umm, try and catch some fish, even if it's not the most appealing meal. ...We're going to need the protein."
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Susanna

Susanna tried not to groan as she heard Kaleb return, though she was also slightly relieved to hear him return, as she had been getting a bit hungry. "Hello, Kaleb. What did you find?" Susanna asked with a fake enthusiasm as she smiled at their childish yet annoying companion.

Rein

"Right..." Rein muttered. She quickly went over to the specified area and returned five minutes later.

"So, ah, any luck?"

Caesar, Kaleb

"Ooh! I found something better than food! I got us a pet!" Kaleb cried with delight. He jerked a finger backward. The forest floor started to shake as heavy footsteps stomped through the area. A ferial roar went through the air before a large looking beast stepped into the clearing.

"KALEB! THAT. IS. NOT. A. PET YOU IDIOT!?"

Susanna

"What is that?" Susanna whispered in Caesar's ear as she stood behind the Humage. The beast was very large and ferocious looking, and Susanna was surprised that it hadn't eaten Kaleb. "He's sort of like a cockroach, nothing seems to stop him."
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Kegan

"Nothing..." Kegan muttered in disappointment as he turned to look at Rein. "Though I did manage to create a net using leaves, sticks, grass, and most importantly, magic. I figure we can just leave it here for an hour or so while we look for some fruit, and with luck, a few fish will be here when we return."

Rein

"Ok. Still, I wish there was something else to do to pass the time." Rein commented. She then blushed at the opening she realized she had given Kegan.

"A-And don't even think about suggesting....that!"

Caesar

"Hell if I know," Caesar replied with a snort. "All I know is that it wants us as a juicy snack."

"Oh come on, Caesar! It'll make a great pet, I promise!" Kaleb said, obvious to the real danger there. The monster reached with a clawed hand and grabbed Kaleb. It proceeded to swallow it whole. It licked its gigantic lips and looked over at Caesar and Susanna...before Kaleb came burst out of its brain and skull. The monster swayed in the air before falling with an audible 'thump'.

"No! Bad Rexxy! You do not swallow your owner! ....Rexxy?"

Kegan

"I wouldn't dare." Kegan said with a smirk on his face as he stood up. The Heir was beginning to feel amused with Rein's obstinate fears. "Well then, shall we begin our search?"
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Susanna

Susanna's mouth dropped open as Kaleb was swallowed, the noblewoman surprised that she had been proven wrong so quickly. "So he's dead? Well what-!" She asked rhetorically before being cut off as the monster's head burst open, Kaleb apparently fine.

"Of course not....." Susanna thought to herself, neither relieved nor angry that Kaleb had survived and killed the monster.
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Carlisle

"Uhh." Carlisle groaned as he finally woke up. The Doctor had overslept, he mentally noted, though he had had strange dreams to entertain him. "It's too bright...." He whispered quietly as he saw the sunlight through his eyelids.

"What is it now?" Carlisle groaned as he opened his eyes and ripped the sheets off of his face, only to find that he was in a meadow. "....Baruti." Carlisle muttered as he jumped out of bed. "Somethings not....oh well that's just bloody spectacular!" Carlisle shouted, tears in his eyes, as he realized that he was entirely naked.

Carlisle quickly looked towards his bed to see if his clothes were there, but all he saw were his sheets and a note. The Doctor quickly grabbed the note and ripped it open, reading it's contents in seconds before he turned around and looked at the mountain. "I'm going to die...." Carlisle complained before collapsing onto his bed, tears falling out of his eyes.

Rein

"G-Good." Rein mumbled, still red in the face. "So, ah, sure, let's begin. You can lead, since you're probably more familiar with this type of situation. This is the first time in my entire life I've been outside the capital."

Caesar, Kaleb

Kaleb then began to cry over the corpse of the fallen monster. "It was so young! Why did it have to die!? It must have been made out of something cheap, like glass..."

"Well, at least we have our breakfast. And lunch. And dinner." Caesar commented, glancing over at Susanna.

Kegan

"Yeah, I guess nows the time all that training from my family will come in handy...." Kegan agreed, though he was slightly nervous. "We should continue to travel the river, but lets go downstream for now, we'll end up covering more ground in the long run if we do."
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Susanna

"Is it even edible?" Susanna asked, visibly disgusted with both Kaleb and the monster's corpse as she got a better view of the both of them.
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Clara

Clara laughed as she saw Heir Driscoll crawl back into his bed, but the scenery quickly changed as it switched to Heir Caesar. "You know Baruti, I think, by sending Kaleb with Caesar, you've given the Humage an unfair advantage. No sane being is going to go near Kaleb, and thus Caesar wont have to worry about being attacked by the other Heirs. It's sad, really."

Caesar, Kaleb

"True. That monster could have all sorts of diseases. Might not be safe to eat. Kaleb! Come on, we're leaving the area." Caesar ordered. Kaleb stopped his sobbing and rushed over to the Humage.

"Alrighty! Ooh, hey, Susanna, do you wanna hear a story about Caesar back when we were in prison together?" Kaleb asked excitingly. Caesar mouthed 'no' to Susanna.

Rein

"Sounds good to me. Lead the way." Rein replied. Then a thought occured to her. "Um, Kegan? Exactly how are our...sleeping arrangements going to work?"

Susanna

"Umm no, I'm fine with walking in silence, Kaleb." Susanna replied politely as she quickly followed Caesar. "Does he have an off switch or will it be like this the whole trip?" She whispered into Caesar's ear when she was sure Kaleb was distracted enough where he wouldn't hear her.
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Kegan

Kegan paused and his brow furrowed in confusion as he realized that a difficult decision would have to be made. "Well...I'm sure I can construct a tent out of leaves for you. We can have one tent.... but have it be separated by a sort of tarp slash blaket thing cutting between it? I don't know, I haven't really thought about it to be honest." Kegan replied awkwardly.

"What would you like?"

Rein

"That sounds good to me, I guess. But'll probably be really cold up in the mountain. We might have to sleep together to conserve body heat..." Rein said. It took her a few seconds for the implication of that statement to sink in.

"I-I mean, not like that! Certainly not in that way!" Rein immediately added. By the gods, why did she keep saying things like that?!

Caesar

"Unfortunately, he will be. He never shuts up, until he sleeps. Could be worse, though." Caesar said.

Susanna

"He could compromise all of your plans by telling me everything you've been doing together for the past few months?" Susanna asked with a serious expression before she burst into laughter. "I'm sorry, sorry, just thought I would try and add some humor to this dismal situation." She explained after she finished laughing.
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Kegan

"I understood you..." Kegan replied, beginning to feel crestfallen as Rein kept vocally protesting the idea of being close with him.