Trials de Espadas: Water (Yarrow, Keeva)

[Fish Stick]

As Yarrow and Keeva arrived on the beach, they managed to see two other teams of players there. Though there where only three people in their team, the other two teams each had three. One of the referees walked over to greet the three teams.

"Serale, I see that you have all managed to find your way to the beach as told...Well, I am going to explain to you the rules of the first Trial...the Trial de Agua. The Water sword is located some where in the ocean...probably...about a few miles out there. Your task is to bring it to me. The first team that retrieves the water sword, and brings it back to me will get to go on to the next trial...Even if you get to the sword first, it doesn't mean that you win. I must have the sword delivered into my hands...meaning you may end up battling over who gets the sword...Now, Corporal Yarrow and Keeva, and Rsss'tan, you are the blue team," he finished saying.

Then he walked over to the other two teams, and gave them the instructions. The team that had two elves, and a human were the green team, and the team with a hobbit, pixie, and elf were the purple team. Once he finished explaining all the rules to all of the teams, he quickly made a line in the fine sand of the beach. Then he had all of the teams line up on the line.

Holding up a blue flag, he said, "I am going to count to three, and then as i wave this flag, and call out start, i better see all of you running your arses off to get that sword for me!!!" His voice seemed to be booming outwards so that all three teams could hear him even if they were a mile away. He then held up his blue flag, and said, "one...Two...THREE!!!!!" As he bellowed out three, he began to wave the blue flag rapidly signalling for the three teams to go.

The purple and green teams waisted now time in starting off towards the water as well as the blue team most likely would waist no time. As the green team neared the water, they just ran right into it like a bunch of maniacs, with their armor, weapons and everything else. The referee smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand, and then looked towards the rest of the teams.

The purple team had reached the waters edge, and they happened to be smarter. The hobbit quickly stripped down to his trowsers, and took only a dagger in a sheath and strapped it to his belt waist. The Pixie stripped down to something that was almost completely showing her entire body, but not yet. It was just a little too skimpy, but hey, who cares. She also took a little dagger onto her belt as well. The elf whom was a part of the team quickly stripped down to his trowsers, and then ripped them at the knees, so as to gain the effect that swim trunks would have. Since he was taller, and stronger than the other two, he also quickly placed his short sword in a sheath that was slung around over his shoulders and onto his back.

What would Yarrow, Keeva, and Rsss'tan do? The crowds that had gathered had only one notion of what they were doing, and that was reaching the water's edge, only to decide to go in with all their armor and weapons on them, or just the bare minimum, so as to be able to swim much faster, and not tire out as quickly....

[Yarrow]

Yarrow began to run as well...with the other three teams and her team (probably right behind her), but as she ran she managed to pull off her shoes and socks and toss them aside for her to pick it up later. As she ran she concentrated on getting to the water and from there...

She pulled off her sword and then her axe until she only cared a dagger in her mouth and one still stuck in her pants belt nicely. She dove into the water...

[Keeva Kaldres]

'Er...Bye then.' Keeva murmured in response to Yarow's legging it down to the ocean and proceeding to dive into it.

There must be some easier way of doing this...

...But what? Keeva knew she was far from the strongest of swimmers. In fact, she couldn't remember swimming before in her entire life, spent mostly in Alleria Prime as it was. Stripping off her armour, shoes and socks, and placing her dufflebag on the sand next to her, Keeva took the silver dagger she had salvaged from the quarantine camp, all those cycles ago, and placed it by her hip, for easy access.

If the sword lay a few miles away, Keeva would definitely not have the strength to go all the way out to get it and then make the journey all the way back to the haven of the beach to place it wearily in the hands of the referee.

Hoping that Yarrow was still within earshot, and that the other teams would not be able to hear her plas, Keeva yelled after Yarrow as loud as she humanly could.

'Yarrow! When you get the sword, just swim part way back! I'll take it off you from then, then bring it back to the beach! You'll get too tired otherwise!'

She then turned to Rsss'tan. That is, if he was still on the beach ad hadn't already dived into the cold waters of the ocean.

'If you go and look for the sword as well, and do the same as Yarrow when you find it, we should hopefully be able to win this trial.'

Without waiting for a response, the young woman walked down to the water's edge, and rather reluctantly at that, before starting to swim her way out into the ocean, trying her best to keep an eye on booth of her comrades at thesame time.

[Fish Stick]

Rsss'tan looked at Keeva, and then smiled. "I will make ssssure to do that," he said, and then took off at a full dash. He himself was much stronger than either of the two woman, so would definitely be able to swim alot harder and faster. Swimming, fortunately, was one of his good points. As he neared the water's edge, he stripped down to just the bare minimum, that being his short sword strapped to his back.

Then he dove in the water to follow Yarrow. Soon enough he cought up to her, and as they continued to swim, finally got almost a mile away from the shore, Rsss'tan quickly halted Yarrow and asked, "How do you suppose we go about finding this thing?" It was the best question to ask at the time, and maybe Yarrow had some good ideas about how they may be able to track the sword down since it happened to be somewhere in the ocean...

[Yarrow]

Yarrow's father had been a sailor. It had been he who had taught his children to swim, but he had never been the one to go into the water to show them how. His back had never been the same since the accident and had to limit what he did to a bare minimum.

I do not recall anything I learned from my teacher in Druidism that may help us here... She said as they halted. She simply swam in place...thinking....always thinking. Maybe if we wait until another group finds it and take it from them...or perhaps...or perhaps... or perhaps what? Suck out all the water in this place and scoop it up? I don't think we can do that...

Or perhaps we can ask a nice little fishy that comes by who might be able to help us...I know a spell that helps you befriend animals...perhaps we can find something that could find it for us? Would that be cheating...he said nothing about that did he? She meant the guy who had been giving orders back there on the beach...the fellow that looked like he was in charge.

[Keeva Kaldres]

Staring after the duo, watching their forms fade into the distance as they swam farther and farther out to sea; that was all that was left for the young human female to do. Emotionless grey eyes silently egged her companions on, and silent thoughts floated and undulated within her mind, wonderings about whether or not they would be able to find the sword before any of the rival groups managed to. She sincerely hoped so; she did not relish the thought of losing in this first part trials.

Wading out, the woman soon reckoned that she was treading water about midway between the rest of her team, and the safety of the shore behind her. Now, once again, all she could do was watch...and wait.

[Fish Stick]

Yarrow:

Rsss'tan looked at Yarrow and then replied, "I think that we sssshould allow you to usssse that sssspell to befriend an animal that could help ussss...or at leasssst point ussss into the right direction..." The other teams were already frantically diving down into the water, in order to attempt to find the sword, but no luck had come to them so far.

Looking around, Rsss'tan looked back to Yarrow and said, "Alright, you usssse that ssspell, and I am jusssst going to ssscan out the groundssss below ussss to ssssee what we are dealing with here..." There were definitely multitudes of colorful fish swimming around that Yarrow could ask. There was no problem with that aspect of the spell. Rsss'tan quickly dove downwards, in order to see what all he could, and in looking around, he saw that there were plenty of jagged cliffs, and underwater tunnels that surrounded the area around them...

Keeva:

As she found herself treading the watter in between the two areas, the beach and the place where the rest of her team was, she noticed a patch of fur that was just swimming around merrily, not seeming to care much about the multitude of soldiers that happened to be searching for something. The creature looked like that of an lutran, or an otter shaped thing. It was up to Keeva as to what she would like to do, whether it be approach the creature, or just keep a look out of her team...

[Yarrow]

Yarrow breathed in and out very slowly like her teacher had taught her to do. Then she looked deep inside of her. In...and....out....in and out... She then focused on friendly feelings toward any of the colorful fishes that were swimming about below her. With the friendly feelings she tried to put "urgency" into it and then an imagine of a sword...pointy sharp...in and out...in and out...sword, friend....in and out...

[Fish Stick]

Yarrow:

As Yarrow focused on doing the breathing and such, she could see that the fish were suddenly moving in an odd formation. Then she could tell what they formed. They moved up, so that suddenly they formed the shape of a sword, even though they weren't a sword, they still formed the shape of a sword. It seemed that the spell was making the fish try to turn them all into a sword, but they were having a hard time connecting themselves together.

Meanwhile, Rsss'tan was swimming deep down in the ocean, and then decided to enter one of the caves. As he did, he managed to surface, his head coming up out of the water to peer inside of the cave that was infront of him. Nice, he thought, I wonder what could be inside of here...

[Yarrow]

Yarrow sighed and broke her conection with her vis. That hadn't worked at all! The fish were trying to turn themselves into the sword instead of show her where the sword was. Perhaps she should try something else...or maybe dive and try and see where her team mate had gotten himself. One more try at least! Yarrow thought to herself. She closed her eyes again and started her breathing.

In and out...in and out... She connected to her vis again and tried something else. Where is the sword? She asked. In and out...in and out...Where is the sword? Again she asked. In and out...in and out...in and out...

[Keeva Kaldres]

Watching her comrades gradually diminish in size as they approached the borders of her vision left the dark haired soldiers at a loss for what to do next. She could not conduct any other point of action until the pair returned with the sword, after all, and that was assuming that they found it before any of the rival teams. Of course, she barely doubted that they could. She had known Yarrow for a great length of time, after all, and knew that the woman was more than capable of beating off the competition and claiming the weapon on behalf of her team-mates.

Feeling the water lap about her legs, the soldier soon allowed her mind to wander, to gaze about her in a bid to find something else mentally stimulating. Looking out to sea was not proving to be the most interesting of exercises, after all, and she was fairly confident she had a substantial amount of time to spare before anyone brought the designated treasure back to shore.

In conducting her idle scrutiny of the immediate vicinity surrounding her, Keeva did not fail to spot the body of fur indulging in a jolly spate of swimming, seemingly blissfully unaware of the events actually taking place at the beach that brightening. Her lips quirked into a smile, even as a small sense of jealousy wrapped its coils about her form. Oh, how she wished she could behave in the same, nonchalant way!

Approaching the otter-like being was the result of her innate, interfering curiosity, and, instead of keeping full watch on the rest of the team, Keeva merely chose to keep them fixed in her peripheral vision instead. Watching the creature swim about for a few amused moments, the woman found her smile broadening. Her mind hadn't considered the notion that it might be a lutran, but had instead processed the thought that it was a cute, fuzzy thing not capable of logical thought.

"Serale, there, little one. I don't suppose you know where the sword is, do you?"

Reaching out gently with one wan and delicate hand, the soldier then made to stroke the little creature lightly across its back, not expecting any vocal response as such from the otter-like being as she did so.