[Open] a lovely day in the forest!

[Mab]

well this is an open thread, and anyone wanting to join in is very welcome. I do intend to post here daily or every other day, depending. Anyone with no issue with this pace I do hope you join in. I am open to suggestions on what to do here. Though I mainly started this thread as something social, it can become a monster fight fest too... seeing that it is a forest setting. If you want to join in, either poke me in the Chat box, send me a pm or just post.  

Today Mab was training one of her path finding skills. As she strolled through the Windsor forests she had toggled her battle perception skill and looked around. Trying to be perceptive of the area around her. Since she was wandering around alone, Mab would try to avoid mobs, or higher powered monsters. Mab had no death wish. Even though people kept telling her that dying meant she would end up in the church back in Londinium, she did not completely trust it. Better said, she did not trust it at all. She just felt weird about it. What if she did not come back but someone else just looking like her. The idea of dying just did not seem very alluring at all. Even if one supposedly was immortal. Forcefully pushing these negative thoughts aside the path finding girl instead focussed on her task at hand. Mab had set a few goals for herself today, firstly she wanted to get proper acquainted with the territory. To be an able guide for future quests in this vicinity. Secondly Mab wished to find out what kind of monsters where mostly found here. This to get a feel of what difficulty it would be to navigate people of any kind of level around here.

Deciding on a random direction the girl allowed her feet to wander where ever they wanted, as long as she did not end up walking in circles. Whatever way was fine with her because it meant she could find new paths, streams, or even plants. Awed by the imposing forest she almost forgot what she was here to do. The mighty trees that seemed to reach for the clouds, the sounds of animals, and creatures around it was just too much of a distraction as she allowed herself to stand perfectly still and take it all in. Mab loved being in these forests. Everything just felt so alive, and real. More so then the city ever did. Even if a bunch of adventurers came blundering through, being loud and obnoxious, this forest just seemed to dampen their presence. Not that there were any people nearby as far as Mab could tell. Finding a place seemed like something difficult to do for the first time. So today Mab was not trying to find anything at all. The girl just wanted to discover the lay of the land. The girl needed to backtrack a few times, avoiding enemy encounters with her skills. After walking for some time it was time for some refreshments. Finding a convenient place to sit and have breakfast seemed like a good plan as her tummy was telling her to have food. Sometimes even loudly complaining. Grabbing her backpack the girl took out her water bottle and peaches. Today this was her breakfast. Whist relaxing herself and allowing her to enjoy the surroundings Mab took a few bites from the sweet and sticky fruit she had brought with her. This was heaven indeed, the girl mused, while enjoying her peaceful times in the forest.

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Word count: 507 

[Mab]

The breakfast Mab had was simple but delicious. Especially because she was resting in the shade of a rather large tree. The sun had been shining for the entire morning. It truly made for a wonderful day indeed. A little in the distance Mab noticed some wild animals gathering their daily meals. They were very busy collecting nuts and berries. The animals looked like squirrels. Confirming this with her pathfinder skill the girl packet up her few belongings and slowly crawled towards the busy looking squirrels. Mab made as little sound as possible so not to scare the creatures. There were about 4 of them squirreling away , minding their own business. Careful, ever so careful the druid crawled forward. Inch by inch Mab drew closer. What was her objective here? Well Mab wanted to see them up close, without angering them. Observe them and see if she could try to understand what they were talking about. Mab wanted to use a second skill she had learned. Mab wanted to use Tongue of Nature. She had never tried it before and felt it would probably be better to listen first, before trying to communicate with others herself. Mab needed to move closer for this skill to work. Since Mab had no skill to hide, or sneak, moving closer ever so quietly as she could was the only remaining option. Was it possible the squirrels did not feel her approach. Of course not. The tiny animals were well aware that Mab was on her way. But since she did not seem to send out any signs that indicated danger, the creatures were willing to leave the strange girl be. If needed the squirrels could flee at a moment’s notice.

Edging ever closer the squirrels made sure the colourful girl could not get within reach of them. Noticing this the girl just sat down and watched the squirrels do whatever it was squirrels do to collect food. Squirrels or so it seemed discussed nothing but food. Seriously... all they talked about was food, where to find nuts, where to find the bestest tasting berries. But that was about it. It was like they had the mind of someone with ADHD. They were restless, ran about, poked things with their noses, and warned each other in case of danger. Which at the time there really was none. If it weren’t for Mab the lonely boar would have approached the squirrels without much warning. However thanks to Mab she noticed the smelly beast long before any off the squirrels did. Trying to tell the squirrels that the boar was on the way did not really seem to work.

“Shoo, shoo! There is a boar coming!”

Mab tried to warn the squirrels. The squirrels understood the following. “I am going to eat my shoe made of boar!” Safe to say the squirrels did not feel particularly warned by the druid. If the squirrels could have showed their emotions they would show complete bafflement and misunderstanding. Mab could not read emotions from squirrels faces and was forced to deal with the boar situation in a complete different fashion.

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Word count: 522

[Mab]

The squirrels were not aware of the danger they were in and continued to collect their nuts and berries. Ignoring the crazy shoe lady. They had gotten used to her in the mean time so they paid her little heed. Mab could not understand the squirrels discussion, as they kept mentioning crazy shoe. The girl had no clue what they were talking about and sighed, realizing that her attempt to communicate with the small rodents had failed miserably. The boar not hurried either came closer with a slow ambling speed. It was just roaming sniffing about trying to find foodstuffs for himself. What could Mab do to avoid the boar? A thought came up and so she within a few moments had devised a cunning plan. Slowly ever so slowly the girl looked around for something she could throw around. She found it in a rather large acorn. In an attempt to distract the boar Mab threw the acorn away from her and the squirrels, aiming for a tree a little sideways. Mab did so hoping the boar would be distracted enough and head that way. The boar’s ears came up when the creature heard the noise. And let its attention wander that way. Soon the boar started moving in the desired direction. The druid sighed of relief, Mab sighed softly, as she did not wish to attract the boars attention. Happy that she got the desired outcome the girl turned around to notice that the squirrels where gone. Where had the little rascals gone? Mab wondered silently.

Feeling rather sure that she also lost the squirrels, who went into hiding with all that ruckus, Mab turned her attention back to her original goal. The goal of discovery. The girl wanted to know the lay of the land. Secret spots not easily found if not properly searched. The girl having enjoyed her lunch, the time spent with the squirrels set off on her original goal. To discover what she could about the Windsor forest. Following no particular path, but rather what ever felt right the girl slowly but surely made her way through the large forest. It was safe to say that she could not discover everything about the forest in one day. No the forest was much too large for such an endeavor. She would take it slow. One piece at a time. Allowing her feet to go where ever they wanted Mab all off a sudden noticed multiple presences. Not sure what she would encounter Mab stopped her movement. It was not as if these creatures where right in front of her. Rather somewhat to her left. When her pathfinding sill kicked in and mab was able to identify these creatures. The girl stopped moving altogether. This to make sure not to draw attention. That would be the last thing Mab wanted. For one there were too many of them. Fighting a mob on her own would mean a quick death. That was not something the path finder looked to find today. Instead she calmed herself and backed away slowly. With great care trying to avoid any attention what so ever.

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Word count: 523

[Mab]

	Mab:: Level 15 :: Druid Armor: Windsor Antiqua Leather Armor (Lv5) Main Weapon: Windsor Antiqua Staff (2H - Lv5) Quick Slot: ? Summon: Wolf Pup
WC: 512	Tags:	Skills: Skill name

Why was mab running? Well this was because during her exploration of the forest the girl wandered into a nice big field. The girl had not really paid attention to its inhabitant when she wandered on the field because the pretty flowers had totally drawn her attention having missed the snorting beast completely. Yeah Mab pretty much failed her spot check. Well that was not completely true, she spotted the nice flowers, which she was happily looking at and very much considering to gather and give someone some nice flowers. She had already thought of a few people she would have liked to give them too. Flowers in a dwarfs beard would just look so lovely. Unfortunately the druid would not have a chance to give them. Let alone convince Tobin to wear them. Back to the question, why was Mab running. Well at the time when Mab was admiring the lovely flowers a mad cow officialy a crag cow was not so quietly sneaking up on the girl. Mostly meandering towards her while giving all the warning signs. Mab had missed these completely. Well until the moment she felt the beasts breath weighing down on her neck. One could say the cow was kind enough not to rush her and trample her when he had the chance. Mab would not do so, she would say something completely different about the stealthy mad cow. Mab had shown no sign of hostility towards the cow, that might be the reason the creature was more curious than aggravated. It mostly wanted to nibble at the straw colored hair.

Seeing the girl’s big eyes turn around to look at the beast, and shock showed in the visage of the druid girl the mad cow took that for fear, something the weird cow seemed to enjoy. Within seconds the cow’s eyes turned red and started stamping its front hoof. Mab realizing that the cow was ready to attack backed away. Not waiting for the large beast to storm her the girl started running madly. Cow decided to make a game out of it and allowed the girl to create some distance between them. Once the cow felt it was a sporting challenge the beast started to rush after Mab. Mab heard her heart pounding fast from the excitement she felt of being chased by an animal. Well excitement, terror would also be an adequate way to describe it, though Mab would never admit to such. Hearing the hooves of the beast pound the ground behind her the girl knew that if she did not throw herself to the side she would be the proverbial clown at a rodeo. Stuck on the creatures horns. A vision she did not wish to make reality. Running back towards the forest edge Mab threw herself aside the moment she felt the earth shake from the thunderous hooves right behind her. Though the beast nicked her, he could not stop his forward momentum. That was what saved Mab, the girl scrambled back up onto her feet and ran into the relative safety of the forest.

[Mab]

	Mab:: Level 15 :: Druid Armor: Windsor Antiqua Leather Armor (Lv5) Main Weapon: Windsor Antiqua Staff (2H - Lv5) Quick Slot: Heartbeat Healing Summon: Wolf Pup
WC: 509	Tags: -	Skills: Battle perception

Her breath heaving from the run, and the avoidance of being trampled by an angry mad cow Mab came to a full stop. The girl needed to catch her breath. She let herself flop on the ground and turned on her back. Laying there looking at the forest canopy the girl reflected on her own actions. Why was she so surprised by the creature, her skill should have warned her. Was it because she became too distracted? It was the most likely cause. Well it would teach her not to let her guard down in the forest. An enemy could be standing right in front of you before you knew it. Well if she had paid attention she would have known earlier. And it was Mab who encroached on his terrain. So Mab was clearly the one to blame. And she did. Mab very much blamed herself. Her own carelessness, and lack of attention while in a dangerous area. Mab wanted to argue with herself, because the field had been too pretty... the field had been a trap to lure unsuspecting girls just to be trampled by mad cows. There was no way she would have known, no way she could have known.... but for the pathfinder skill she had. If she had actually paid attention to it. Mab sighed deeply, her breathing was back under control. This did not mean Mab was ready to get up from the ground. Her skill telling her there was no immediate danger so the girl just stayed on the floor.

Looking at the forest canopy. Rays of sunshine every now and then reached the forest grounds. It was pretty and it made the girl very sleepy. Battling her sleep Mab forced herself to stay awake by sheer force of will. Every time her drooped shut she forced them open. Mab realized that if she were to stay here, she would eventually fall asleep. With great effort the girl forced her limbs into action. Mab slowly got into an upright position and slapped her face a few times to get the tiredness out of her system. She slowly got up on her feet and jumped around a few times just to get the remaining sluggishness from her system. It was time to resume what she was out here to do. To train her path finding abilities. This was not so easy as she only had the one skill, this did not deter the girl. Avoiding monsters, finding her path across the forest was what she wanted to do. If only the girl had some cartography skill. In that case she could mark the safe routes for her friends and even sell the information to less friendly players out there. Those that wanted to navigate the forest with a purpose and did not want to spend hours just wandering about like the girl did. Mab pondered this as she continued her walk. Paying attention to her path finding skill this time. Mab was not afraid of this forest. In fact she loved it here.

[Mab]

	Mab:: Level 15 :: Druid Armor: Windsor Antiqua Leather Armor (Lv5) Main Weapon: Windsor Antiqua Staff (2H - Lv5) Quick Slot: Heartbeat Healing Summon: Wolf Pup
WC: 530	Tags:	Skills: none used

Mab did not want to go home. But mab did also not want to spend the night here alone. Mab could have used call of home to get home quickly but she did not want to. Not one bit. Mab decided to head home because if she did not she would be spending the night here. It would be better to come back another day. Or so the half-alv decided. She had been using her path finding skill all day and she felt it had been a pretty decent training day. This did not mean she was in any means satisfied yet. Though she noticed some results, her training was far from over. Besides as a path finder she only started to discover a small area in Windsor forest. How many days, or weeks even could the girl spend here before she had seen it all. Mab did not know nor did she really care. Eventually she would be very familiar with this forest. However she did not mind taking the time to do so. Actually she looked forward to it. This forest had its perils but was a beautiful sight to behold in its grandeur. Mab had a splendid time here, though running from powerful creatures was not something she loved, she did love being here. She loved it so much in fact she slowed her pace; not really wanting to go back to the city. The walk home would also be quite pleasant, however Mab did realize just how much she had asked of herself today.

Having almost fallen asleep in the forest earlier on the day, the path finder knew that spending more time practicing her skills would be foolish. There was only so much one could do in a day. “No need to push your luck” Mab decided. The blonde haired girl would return to this forest maybe tomorrow, or the day after. Unless she got called away for some other exiting adventure. If such where the case then the forest would have to wait. It was not like the forest would go anywhere. It would be here when she needed it. Pondering what do next to further her skills the girl set her path for home. The trail back home was not a difficult one, just a long one. Mab had been wandering across this forest without a clear goal all day. It did mean the girl had wandered quite the distance. Mab felt very chuffed about that. That she on her own could survive a day in the forest. Who would have believed her back home. Probably no-one. There was the fact that back home Mab would never have dared to go into the forest on her own. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the girl could not cure herself in her old world. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that back home Mab had lived a sheltered life. Maybe a tad lonely, not living at home with her parents like most kids, but if that was the worst the girl had been quite blessed. Reaching the edge of the forest, the girl wandered back into town.