Legend of the Turobian King

"You're welcome...And thank you as well, this is definitely not the place to be stuck." Darion nodded in return to her statement. Yes, this place was way to dangerous to be wandering alone in. The dark hounds, and treants were nothing compared to the other beasts probably lurking deeper in these woods. Darion had heard a tale of this faceless monster that was relentless when chasing its prey, it wouldn't give up until it teared it limb from limb. To most men, it sounded like a surefire way to die a gruesome death, to Darion that sounded like a thrill of a lifetime. However, he was not going to endanger Kari and Dust's lives like that. Focusing back on reality, her smile never left her face, which made Darion feel a lot more confident.

"Yes, we need to pack up and keep moving.."

He followed up her behind her, rising to his feet to stretch with his arms up in the air and his legs straining. Darion groaned and then sighed, reaching down for his shirt he placed it back on. It was a bit chilly from laying on the col ground all night, but it would only wake him up quicker. Let's see..First thing probably to do is check the map, which was in his bag over by Dust. Darion made his way over to the bag, making sure not to wake up Dust, the horse would probably kick him without any question. Those bruises wouldn't go away or make anything easier. He knelt down, opening up his bag he began sifting through to find that darn map..There was so much stuff in here..It would take a while. Aha! Or not..

The map was rolled open as his eyes laid first on their location, southeast of the large hill where the treant was. Now to get an idea where the other arm was, Darion would have to inspect the arm he has now thoroughly for any hints. Once more, he dug into the bag looking around for the arm, which would be much easier to find since it was solid gold and basically made the loudest noise of anything in his bag. Pulling out the fragment, he held it by the side of the map. His eyes carefully and intently scanning the entire fragment. Darion was in a deep concentrated stare, nothing else would bother him and this is why he enjoyed his job, figuring out these puzzles. Darion noticed a strange marking on the fragment's backside, one he had never seen before..It didn't even look like anything of this world. "Strange..It appears..There is an outside mark on the fragment..One I've never seen before.." His eyes squinting even more so. "One..of..magic..possibly.."

SWOOOOOOSH! Something zipped over their heads, faster than they could lay eyes on. "AHEHEHEHEHEHEEE!" Followed by a strange, yet young laugh.

"What the?.." Darion tightened his hold on the fragment, figuring whatever it was would be probably be wanting to take it from him.

The figure appeared in the sky in clear view, just hovering as it slowly began to descend. Darion stared with a bit of fear, the hard work they've done so far might possibly be stolen by whatever it was..So he slowly tried to hide the fragment back in his bag before the figure could see where it was. When it lowered, it took the shape of a woman on a broom. They were found by Darion's most hated enemy, A witch. She laid herself down on her broom, smiling at all three of them. The look she wore told one of evil intentions and bound to cause misery for all of them.

"Darion, famous explorer of the lands...After the Turobian King?..The master is pleased by this, he is looking to see if the tale is true...Perhaps we could strike up.."She smirked, winking at him. "Some type of deal?.."

Darion was speechless for a second, unsure of what to say. Firstly, it was a witch...Witches couldn't be trusted with their own lives. Darion grumbled a bit, his eyebrows slanting down showing a big of an angered side. He had a long history of encountering witches, and they always knew where he was.

"First off..The Turobian King, is my quest..My own curiosity! And second!...I..I don't need to strike any deal with an untrusting, low-life, hag like you!.. I..I have all the help I could ever need right here. " Darion pointed to Kari and Dust, then back to the Witch. "Now..GET! Scram, witch!"

Kari smiled brightly, almost wickedly. She looked to Darion, ready to fight if need be.

"Witches, scums of the world." Kari laughed to herself.

Looking at Dust she smiled more as she could see a bit of surprise in his eyes. She was curious if this was his first witch encounter ever. Curiosity, her biggest vice, sometimes leading to more trouble than she wanted. And right now her curiosity had reached it's peak. Slowly enveloping her.

She pulled her long brown hair back into a high ponytail. A sign to all who knew her that something in her mind was ticking. Kari wasn't about to let a good opportunity good. For all they knew it was a deal that would help them. But how to go about it?

Kari turned towards the witch and her smile faded. What was this deal? Though she didn't trust her completely, Kari's urge to know was killing her. She stepped forward, raising her hand to tell Darion and Dust to stay back.

"What is the deal, if I may be so bold to ask?" she smirked, hoping it would not get them into more trouble.