Woodlands and Dragons.

So this is the fabled Cremea Wodlands. About time I finally got around to visiting this place. Oroan thought as his smooth steps carried him silently through the trees. He had decided to avoid the areas with the human settlements. They had little purpose in this place aside from the logging that was being done and while he agreed that people had to expand, he wasn't really keen on being associated with any of them while here. he had heard of the beings that resided in this place and there was a good chance some of them didn't take kindly to people involved with those groups.

Stopping at a small stream, Oroan scooped up a handful and took a small drink to test it. The water seemed to be as clean as he could hope for. Taking the water skin from his belt, he filled it up and refastened it. As he walked through the woods he took the time to observe some of the plant life. He had read that many herbs and other things that could have healing and numbing effects could be found in this place.

That was where he was when he heard the rustling of footsteps. It took control to not instantly whirl around and draw the broadsword sheathed at the small of his back. Such reactions were fine for a situation that was clearly dangerous, but he wasn't in such a place. He simply stood up and pivoted on his heel to face the source of the noise.
"Hello?" He called with the tone of his voice making it clear that he was trying to be welcoming.
"I'm not going to attack if you aren't." He added with a small smile in an attempt to be a little less worrisome to approach.

Sometimes an assassin was hired by legal authorities to take down a criminal who had left the country's borders, and was thus out of legal reach. It was one of the very few cases when assassins were actually legal enforcers, instead of being criminals themselves. One such mission had been given to him by his master, to kill a criminal who had left to the relative safety of the Cremea Woodlands. While it would have taken his master time to even get to the Woodlands, Aemon could cover that distance much more rapidly, being a dragon.

Now though he had chosen to move in his human form, one of a teenager, between the ages of fourteen and fifteen. It was easy to fool a potential target with the apperance of youth, though to be honest Aemon was still considered young by dragon standards at one hundred and twenty years of age. Yet it gave him the edge of experience, along with greater strength than most adult humans. Not to mention his breath. Not forgetting his skills as an assassin, and Aemon was far from defenceless. Yet his targets did not know that.

He wasn't used to walk in forests though, and did far more noise than he would have done in the cities. Enough noise to be detected, great going there. He could already hear the assassin's laugh, if he were to hear of such miserable lack of stealth. Well, better answer the man. He wasn't the one Aemon was hunting anyway.

"Good! Because you're not the one I'm looking for!" answered Aemon as he stepped out from the vegetation. "I didn't expect anyone here, few people ever visit the woods unless they're running from something. Are you?"

Most boys his age might have been apprehensive to encounter a complete stranger in such a place, yet Aemon showed no such sign. He wouldn't have been even had he faced imminent death, his master called it pride. The dragon called it confidence.

Oroan's eyebrow lifted as he saw what looked to be a young man in his early teen years. The kid seemed to have something off about him, it didn't seem to be anything that would present too much of a threat to himself at the moment so he decided to only pay it a slight amount a mind for the time being. He gave a grin at the statement and question that was presented.
"Well I;m not really one to run from anything, and I get the feeling that if I were it might not be a wise idea to let you know with how forward you are." He replied as he relaxed.

Walking slightly closer to make it easier to talk he took a moment to look the kid over. For the most part he seemed average enough, though it was odd to think of some kid out in the woods on their own. Granted he was in the first steps of manhood by all appearances and if wasn't Oroan's problem.

"So you're looking for someone...? Well there haven't been many people out in this place. At least not anyone I've been able to detect. Are you looking for family perhaps, or is there something more sinister lurking about?" He asked, wondering if he could lend a hand or if this was a situation he wanted to be careful about.

Aemon shrugged. "You never know, some folk are too honest for their own good." he replied. He checked the surrounding forest, narrowing his eyes to see if anyone was lurking within the shadows of the trees. His target worked alone, an anti-social, yet skilled enough to evade the justice of the Republic. It meant Aemon had to be careful, yet like any city-man, he may be at a disadvantage in teh forests, like the dragon was.

"Not family no... Quite the opposite really, he killed my father, and now I hunt him down." Aemon answered. It was a lie, true, but the man did not know it. As to why one would be so open to their reason, it would have to do with the confidence he showed. "If you ever see a man with a skin like tar and cracked skin, try not to kill him. I'd rather be the one to do it." he added, his voice suddenly cold, as someone hunting down the murderer of his family would.

He was about to leave when he caught sight of movement among the leaves of a nearby tree, and then the fight begun. Aemon's target was special, in the sense that it was a man infected with a parasite, a Corrupted, who had much greater phyiscal aptitudes than a normal human. The corruption had driven him mad, animal-like, and now he lived in a constant berserk fury, provoking the deaths of many. He would attack with his sword, for while mad, the man still remembered how to use it. He looked quickly between Aemon and his new acquaintance, and decided to attack the latter, perhaps to get rid of the greatest threat first.

Oroan gave a slight chuckle at the kid's response.
"Too true." He replied as he noted that the kid was still observing the area. He wasn't just looking for someone, he was hunting someone down. Oroan had been assigned to take out a dangerous person often enough to know what a person who was going out to kill another person looked like. Then he heard the boy's explanation.
"So the classic story of revenge. Too much of it in this world." He said before giving a sad smile.

"Not to demean you in any way. It's often seen as a son or daughter's duty to avenge their parent when they have been struck down. I wouldn't think of getting in your way due to that." He said as the smile vanished when he heard movement.
"I think that's your quarry, apparently they are-... The hell?" He said as the man (If that was what he could be called) appeared. He had dealt with a couple Corrupted before, but it had been some time.
"Well it looks like you have your work cu- Damn." He was cut off as the thing came at him instead of the kid.

Attacking with it's sword, Oroan felt relieved as that was something he could handle. His hand gripped the handle of his weapon and draw it. The thick broadsword blocked the incoming attack. Knowing to be ready to be overpowered, Oroan shifted the angle of his blade so that the tip of his attacker's sword met the base of his own weapon, giving Oroan extra leverage. This made it so that Oroan's arms were not pushed back, but his entire body was, his feet creating furrows as he was driven back.

Swinging his blade out to the side he let the Corrupted man's weapon be parried to the side.
"Looks like he isn't picky." He comment as he swung his own weapon back in for a slash across the man's chest. Hopefully the kid would be able to help out here. Oroan could fight one of these off, but he never found himself having an easy time of it.

He should have been used to it by now, being ignored even after nearly a century passed among human lands, yet it sill managed to frustrate him. He was a dragon, a creature feared by all, yet was disregarded because of his human apperance, seen as a child! Even a madman thought him harmless!

The teen did not stand and watch the fight though; a Corrupted was a dangerous creature, not especially hard to kill when focused on another enemy. Aemon took out the daggers he usually fought with and sneaked up behind the mad creature. He chose the moment when it jumped away from the man's slashing blade to stab, though Aemon had underestimated the thing's speed, and instead of the heart of piercing the back to reach the back, the dagger stabbed a few inches below. It was a life threatening wound, but Corrupted were known to keep on fighting even when wearing such wounds.

In fact, that only served to unleash a new wave of frenzied violence. Aemon found himself flying through the air after being dealt a punch by the creature. Fortunately for him, he was still more solid in his human form than most humans, and instead of breaking his back, it was the tree that broke when he crashed into it.

"Ow." Amon said from among the remnants of the tree. The Corrupted returned its focus on the man, not noticing its wound, or perhaps it did not care. It was now using its sword like an axe, trying to chop off the man's arms, the animalistic side having taken hold so completely that what little had been left of the man was gone after being wounded.

Oroan's counter had sadly ended up being a miss as the Corrupted jumped out of the path of his attack, though it served well enough as the teen came up and stabbed the Corrupted from behind. However, it wasn't a killing blow. Instead the kid ended up taking a punch that sent him flying through a tree. Oroan winced, if that boy was the normal human that he seemed to be, he had likely just been killed and that would be a pity.

Though Oroan had his own troubles, the blasted thing came at him again. Though it was attacking with increased strength and fury, Oroan was able to parry the attacks to the side, using speed and skill instead of trying to fight against the things brute strength. One of the blows ended up catching his blade where the hilt met the blade and forcing him back and down to one knee.

As the next swing came down, Oroan rolled out of the way, his speed and reflexes keeping him alive once again. At the end of the roll he was on his feet once more and held his blade at the ready, trying to spot a valid opening to get a strike in. He couldn't take chances with this foe, that would lead to the loss of his ow life. Spotting one he pushed off and darted in, swinging his sword upward and aiming to cleave the Corrupted from it's right hip up to it's left shoulder.

The Corrupted was faster than a normal being, yet nonetheless the man's sword connected with its body. While it did not have the effect intended, to kill, it did manage to wound the Corrupted, mortally also, yet the beast still fought on. It moved to the man's side in astonishing speed, seeking to flank him...

And was met by a sudden torrent of fire coming from the area where Aemon had fallen. It burned the creature, shattering its bones with the tremendous heat. It left little behind except for the thing's deformed skeleton, with a few remnants of flesh hanging on.

Standing at the source of the flames was Aemon, whom looked not the worse for wear, except for the few splinters in his clothing. Otherwise, he didn't seem even bruised, surprising considering the force with which he had been sent flying. Nothing about him indicated as to how the inferno had appeared, whether it was magical or otherwise... at least, to the naked eye.

"Well, I guess that puts an end to that." Aemon remarked, walking over to the broken corpse and taking from it a small ring it had worn. It would be proof enough for his master. He noticed the black stain on the ground, something that then stained his fingertips, like ink when writing. He shrugged it off, probably nothing. "Few are able to stand before a Corrupted, much less wound them like you did." he added. He did not explain how the fire had appeared, some secrets were best left unspoken, even if the truth was not very well hidden.

Curses Oroan thought as his blade cleary didn't cut deep enough. As fast as he was, the Corrupted was clearly operating more quickly than he was. Oroan pivoted on the ball of his foot to keep the thing in front of him as it moved, but then it was consumed in flame. Oroan released his sword with one of his hands to bring an arm up to his face, shielding it from the heat. He didn't get harmed by the flames, but they certainly had their effect.

Looking over, he saw Aemon approaching, and the kid seemed more or less unharmed. Oroan himself wasn't even breathing hard as he sheathed his weapon. Letting Aemon grab the ring he gave a grin at his comment.
"I've dealt with a few of them before. It's a matter of outlasting them and finding the right time to strike rather than simply beating them." He said before narrowing his eyes slightly.
"At least for us humans, I must admit, today is the first time I've seen a person get knocked through a tree and walk away with nothing but some damage to their clothing. I would assume that fire came from you as well." He said. Oroan wasn't knowledgeable about dragons, he was figuring that the kid had used magic to shield himself from the impact against the tree and had sent a torrent of flame as something other than a breath attack.

He then gave a shrug.
"Not that it matters. I'm glad to be alive. Your talents pulled us through that fairly well." He added before giving a slight bow.
"I never got to introduce myself." He said as he stood strait up once more.
"For saving me I guess you at least deserve that. I am Oroan Valborg, something of a vagabond. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance my lad."

"Magic can do many things." Aemon answered with a shrug. Magic would be the more likely explanation that he could give. Magic was poorly understood by most, his master had once told him, and people were ready to call everything magic if it did not fit in their beliefs. Hopefully though, the man wouldn't be the kind to lash out at the first mage he encountered, that would be bad... Especially as on how he hardly even seemed winded by the fight. It would seem the teen was not the only one with a secret.

"I couldn't let you have all the fun now, could I?" he replied, looking at his stained fingers. He had tried to rub it off his clothes, yet it remained there. Maybe when he'd find a small pool of water. "At least it is done... and I can go back now." he continued. He nodded to the man when he introduced himself. "Well met, Oroan. I am Aemon." he answered. Aemon wasn't his dragon name, but rather a simplified version of his true name, Aemosastraz. Telling his "name" Aemon could have little consequences, at least he thought so.

"I studied at Luxur's Mage school before... well this. I think I'll go back, if only to tell my mother and uncle that justice has been done. And also that I am still alive." he added. "Where are you headed?" he asked.

Oroan decided not to go into the subject of the kid's abilities with magic. Oroan knew the abilities were varied enough that he was likely never going to learn about all of them. The teen introduced himself and Oroan followed his gaze to his fingers, apparently stained. His eyes widened and his expression went blank at the sight. He knew very well what that possibly could mean. The rest of what Aemon had said was lost to Oroan as he reached into a pouch at his side, his fingers seeking the herb he had started carrying with him after his first fight with one of the corrupted.

"You've got that infection on you, it's not going to come off easy if at all." He said as he pulled free a small folded piece of cloth and started to unwrap it.
"I've not been able to find out if this will work with the infection, but this herb often stops the spread of most infections." He said as he pulled the herbs free and sprinkled some water over them.
"Hold your hands up, I can't promise anything, but it's better than not trying to do something to stop the spread." He said a he covered his free hand in the cloth and gathered the wet herbs up so he had a barrier between his own skin and the infectious substance.

Aemon arched a brow at the man when his face went blank, his eyes fixed on the stain on his fingertips? What? It was probably nothing-- "Oh.... Oh hell, that's fan-fucking-tastic." he swore. Tainted. He was tainted. Damn it, how stupid could he be? Of course the stain wasn't normal, it wasn't some kind of vaporized ash, it was Corruption! Or residue of it, either way, it could very easily kill him... Or turn him into the thing he had hunted.

Could this day get any worse? Wait no, scrap that, I don't want it to somehow find it worse. he thought quickly.

He held his hands up quickly as ordered, actually close to panic for the first time. Most Corrupted he had seen, though they were few, were humans... Did the Corruption kill everyone else? He didn't want to die! No, he would fight it, he refused to be so easily forgotten by the world. He would either be rid of it completely, or be changed by it. One thing he was certain about; he would not die.

"[b]Are the effects instantiation?" he asked. So far, the stain, which had spread to his fingers, had been contained with the use of the herb. It seemed as if the herb prevented the Corruption to gain more ground... Though it did not remove it. He was beginning to hope, that he would have only corrupted fingers after all, when the corruption bypassed the herb, ignoring it as it spread further up his arm.

"Uh... Any other ideas? Quickly!" he asked, panic in his voice, his eyes wide as the stain spread further yet. It wasn't as if it had a lot of surface to cover... and he still wasn't sure how it would interact with his dragon physiology.

Oroan was silent as his mind raced to find any way to stave this off. The herb seemed to have an effect, but it failed. He wasn't a healer, he was a warrior. His knowledge of how the infection worked was limited to the results and that you didn't want any of the stuff on you.
"I don't know Aemon, this is beyond my experience." He replied as he pulled a small hunting knife free. There was another thing he could think of.

"We'll need to get you to a settlement quickly either way, but this is all I can think of." He said as he cut two strips off the end of his tunic and then grabbed two short thick branches from the ground.
"I don't know how this spreads but this might work." He mentioned as he wrapped the cloths around Aemon's forearms, above the spread and then tied them to the branches.
"This is going to hurt like hell and you'll need a healer." He said as he twisted the branches to make a tourniquet on each arm. It would stop the blood flow it if spread through that and then he brought the knife up.

"Your arms and hands are going to go numb from the blood loss, and I'm planing to make shallow cuts below the tourniquets to release pressure and hopefully let the infection drain, this is just guesswork from what I know about the human body. If there is anything about you that I need to know, now would be a very good time to let me know." He sad as the knife hovered abouve his arm.

It seemed the corruption spread faster the more Aemon panicked. He tried to calm down, but only slowed its spread momentarily. However, the prospect of being cut by a knife did not help. If anything, what his Master had never told him that bleeding someone, even completely, would not get rid of the taint. "You know, I don't think this is a good idea." he said, pulling his arms back to him. The teen was far stronger than he looked; he possessed the strength of a dragon after all.

Aemon didn't like healers or doctors to take a look at him, because he kept his true nature a so closely guarded secret. He would certainly not let a stranger learn it so easily. He stepped back, and by then it had reached beyond his arm. He looked around him, and then knew what he had to do.

"Thanks for the help, but I'll take care of myself." he said with the courage that comes from people who know they are doomed. He needed to get away... Run... And no sooner had he thought of it was he running. There was no logic in it, he just felt the need to get away, from what he was not truly sure. Years as a thief and, more recently, as an assassin had taught him how to outrun many, and it was not as if he had to go far.

Once he was behind a thick bush with many leaves, he transformed, though just enough to give him wings, and flew off, hidden by the foliage of the forest. When the forest was between him and the ground, Aemon took his true dragon form, a huge beast even as an adolescent, thirty feet long. The dragons of the volcano breed of Everdark usually reached fourty feet in length, with rare specimens like Aemon's father reaching fifty.

His scales were as black as midnight, and thus the taint was not perceptible in this form. Soon, there were clouds as well as forest hiding his presence, as he flew away, back to Luxur. If Oroan had tried to follow him, he would find no trace of the boy, his steps abruptly disappearing after the bush, as if he had somehow teleported, impossible even with magic, away.

Oroan couldn't blame the kid for being upset, he himself was having a hard enough time in not doing so himself and he wasn't the one who was infected. Then with surprising strength Aemon pulled his arm away claiming that Oroan's plan didn't seem like a great idea, far be it from him to argue with the teen as his experience was limited, Oroan still reached out as Aemon took off.

"Damn" He uttered as he ran after Aemon. Soon the kid ducked into some brush. Oroan tried to get to him but by the time he got through, the kid was gone. He had heard some rustling that didn't seem to go any further than the spot he had been in. However the kid was nowhere in sight. Oroan thought for a moment, wondering if once more the teen had employed some form of magic to vanish. He knew enough to know a skilled practitioner could employ many forms of spell casting.

"Whatever god there might be have mercy on him." He said with regret. He had never heard of someone being touched by the taint being unscathed before, in fact he had only known of people like that poor soul that had been engulfed in flames back there. Giving a sigh he turned on his heel and headed to the edge of the woods. He wasn't so keen on being there for the time being, right now he was more interested in finding shelter for the evening.