Group Story
 

So, in the interest of getting some more activity in this forum, I'm proposing we all write a story together. Anyone is welcome to add to it, as long as they follow the rules and guidelines, which are as follows:

In case you're skimming, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING RULES BEFORE POSTING

• You have 25 words. Try to stick as close as possible to this, though if you go over or under by one or two, no one's going to draw and quarter you. (Keel hauling remains a possibility, though. ;))
  
• I'll be compiling the story every few entries or so. I reserve the right to make changes or edits to keep it flowing and coherent, though I will try to keep such changes to a minimum.
  
• When you add an entry, please copy the previous entry in bold into the top of your post to avoid confusion if this threads gets busy. No need for this unless we get really busy.
  
• Please check after you post something to see if you've been ninja'd, otherwise, we will default to the first post.
  
• This is not a fan fiction. Please keep established characters out of this, it isn't fair to people who aren't familiar with them.
  
• You don't have to post complete sentences. Feel free to leave it hanging for someone else to pick up.
  
• This is not a place for silliness or spamming. Please try to be serious. If you're going to add an entry, make sure it connects in some way to what's come before. That isn't to say you can't be creative or take the story in a new direction, I just don't want this to devolve into chaos. I reserve the right to exclude entries from the story if I feel they aren't to the benefit of this thread. Again, I'll do my best to not do this, and if you have a problem with it if I do, feel free to PM me and argue your case.
  
• If we get muddled or confused with multiple entries, please give me a chance to sort through them and decide which ones to use. I don't want this devolving into chaos.
  
• Keep it PG-13, and tasteful please. Swearing is okay, if it fits the context of the story, but please don't use it excessively. Keep sexual content to a minimum and keep it mild, if you're going to include it. Don't get too gory with violence. Let's try and keep any references to drug use/abuse out of this, too, please. This is for fun, not for shock. I reserve the right to exclude or censor an entry on grounds of content, but, again, I will do my best not to.
  
• Try to keep conversation or chatter out of this. A little comment here or there on an entry is fine, but make it a different color please so we don't get confused.
  
• Please proof-read your entries, and keep spelling and grammar as close to perfect as possible. It cuts down on work for me. ;)
  
• This story is going to be in third-person. Please don't post in first-person, as such entries will have to be excluded.
  
• No double posting entries. Give everyone a chance to contribute.
  
• Keep within Trisphee's Code of Conduct at all times, of course.
  
• Try to leave your entries open-ended, to encourage creative responses. Don't be too specific, but don't let this hamper your own creativity either. It's not an ironclad rule, just something to keep in mind.
  
• If these guidelines sound too restrictive, you're probably reading too much into them. I'm going to do my best to include everyone's entries, just don't try and push the envelope and we should be fine. :)
  
• I reserve the right to add or change rules at my discretion, if needed. I will make a notice in-thread of any updates.

Okay, I think that's enough rules. Let's see where this goes. I'll start us off in the next post.

Have fun, everyone. :)

The moon was high in the outland hills. The sound of wolves and prey echoed in the night. Alone, a cloaked figure made their way....

...over the jutting limestone, half walking, half crouching, knee-deep in heather and moss. Calloused, carefull hands felt their way over way-markers on abandoned paths.

...

Lifting his head, the figure basked in the moonlight. The sky was clear, the moon so vivid, the stars twinkling brightly. Hearing something behind him....

...his hand strayed to his waist. He cursed himself for the absence of his sword, going for his small hunting knife, instead. Drawing it, he...

... held his hand under his cloak and looked over his shoulder.

A deer. A damp, weather roughed youngling that probably thought of him as another piece of limestone on the hill.

...

With a shuddering sigh, he slid the blade back home, drawing his cloak around him. Creeping forward again, carefully, carefully, he never noticed the...

...quiet figure, soft and pale as the moonlight under a grey cloak. The figure smiled, and although it wasn't necessarily a hard smile, it...

Yay, first compilation. Good work so far, everyone, let's keep it going. :)

... was a killer's smile, nonetheless, made passionless by years of spilling blood without remorse. This hunt had been long, but would soon be over. He...

...looked at his quarry, wondering if he was finaly going to go without a fight. His reaction to the deer proved otherwise, though one could still hope.

With cautious movements, he slid aside his mantle and reached for the crossbow hanging from the unusual holster on his back. Steadying himself, he....

... could only blink one eye before the cloaked man fell face first onto a limestone rock, a blue feathered knife burried just below the nape of his neck.

Shit.

(I'll compile this tomorrow, when my internet is hopefully being more cooperative)

Whirling, he dropped, falling flat with a wince. They never hunted alone, and every one of those knives was dripping with enough poison to...

...fell an ox, or two. He cringed when he heard the tenor laughter coming from nearby.

"You can relax, Gedard. It's just me."

Gedard grunted, and laughed sharply at himself,...

Second compilation. Post more, people!

...and at the absurdity of this hunt. Stooping, he collected up his crossbow, and with sure swift movements had it leveled at the tribesman.

Standing at the other side of the clearing was a tall, deeply inked woman with long black hair and deep ocean blue eyes, she raised...

...her empty hands as though to convince him she was harmless. He wasn't having any of it. "All of you, come out" he shouted...

Slowly, a group of five men and women came out of the dark night. Scowling, he knocked an arrow into the crossbow "I said all..

...nine of you, come out! Don't think I don't know your hunting rituals. All of you get out here and drop your weapons, or she dies."

(I have no idea where this is going. But that's what makes it fun. :p)

"Do you honestly think you could get that shot off before you were killed yourself?" said the same tenor voice from before, except this time...

...it wasn't laughing.

Now, or never, he thought bitterly. Do it.

"Yes," he said, a split second after pulling the trigger.

He was already moving...

(Done for the night, will compile tomorrow.)

He didn't wait to check his shot. All things considered, his odds were good. At least eight of them wouldn't be a problem. The nineth...

Good job so far, everyone. :)

... well, this was their turf, and it was night, besides. He ditched his crossbow, biting back a vicious oath. That had been a damned expensive weapon...

...and he didn't really wish to waste it now. Expensive or not, it was definitley better than leaving things up to chance.

He'd never been one for glorious last stands, hence him still being alive. Still, the odds were low of him being to able to slip away from...

...this situation. Despite his reluctance, he drew the expensive dagger from it's sheath. The merchant who sold it to him said that it would...

...make him turn invisible and let him fly. He hadn't tested it yet, but he was hoping for one or the other. He could hear them closing....

...in on his position, so as quietly as he could, he whispered the invoke word for the invisibility. A rustle in a nearby bush caused...

...made him stumble over the pronunciation. With a quick glance, he saw it was only a raccoon, but he'd botched the incantation. Hopefully that wouldn't...

...ruin the invoking, as the merchant had not mentioned anything about a time delay between uses. He remembered that items such as these sometimes...

...could only be used a certain number of times per day. How the items knew what time it was was anyone's guess. He tried again...

, but just in case the merchant was a lair he headed for the broken hills and tall rocks; the better places to hide. Behind him...

...a stretch of crags and overgrown weeds rendered the heatherlands nearly impassable. Flattening himself against a moss-riddled boulder, he tried to slow his breathing...

...when one of the natives came over the boulder landing right next to him. The native quickly looked the other direction, then towards...

(His name's Gedard, right?)

(And I need to compile this again. I'll get to it at some point tonight.)

...Gedard with an air of feral triumph. Before he had the chance to signal his clansmen, Gedard lashed out with the knife, but the native...

...wasn't looking at him: wasn't there. Standing still he only just noticed the sting in his shoulder just shy of his neck. He reached back...

This is getting kind of long, needs to be spoiled now.