(New part!)

Simona:

”Well than, maybe you should stay out here for a while.” She looked over at him, a sad smile on her face. She was trying to empathize, but she had never gone through something like that.

@Morningmist @Embermoon@Firesong (Is there anything you want to do or should we just skip to the duel?)

forest:

"we have like 45 more minutes till the duel"

forest:

"it better not" he gave him a friendly punch on the arm

Forest:

:i was like a captain i'd lead a lot of things while the general was doing other things and i'm 23"

Leroy: He nodded. "So... what was that promotion he was so jealous of?" Did Forest outrank him? "And how old are you?"

Victoria:

She just wanted to go back... "please...just be careful..."

Aiden:

It hurt slightly, but once he saw the outside world...he felt hope spring up in him. "You know...I have heard that people die sooner stuck in a room waiting waiting to die...I think...they may be true."

Marlin:

”I know. It is far too valuable.” He looked at it swirling there, wondering if they could ever find a way back through.

Simona:

She grabbed him from under the shoulders. He really was heavy, but she was able to awkwardly carry and half drag him to the entrance of the cave. She put him down by the entrance. They wouldn’t be able to get down without climbing, and she knew that she couldn‘t do that with extra weight.

Nora

She heard a wolf howl from nearby and quickly got to her feet, listening intently.

forest:

"he didn't really affect me because i'm younger but i did get a bloody nose and 1 or 2 bruises. but he got the same things but a sprained ankle and maybe other things but i forgot"

Forest:

"umm... ok. while training me and another soldier got in a fight about how i got a higher spot than him even if he'd been in the army way longer than me. then he hit me so i punched him. it went on in till the general caught us"

Forest:

"only once"

Victoria:

She nodded. "This...is going to be crazy. But we can't lose the portal."

Aiden:

He bit his lip and nodded, "Let's try it."

Marlin:

”You would make sure that the other side isn’t cheating, and you would have to talk to Leroy’s second. I would guess Forest.”

Simona:

”I’ve had to do a lot of carrying over the years in dance. I might not be able to lift you much, but I could probably get you out of the cave.”

Leroy: "Yeah. I guess so. Have you ever fought hand to hand before?"

forest:

"so you want to rest here?"

Victoria: "Ok...what does that part play?"

Aiden: He gave her a questioning look, "Carry me? I don't mean to sound rude at all, but some full grown men wouldn't be able to carry me."

Marlin:

”You would be my second. That’s an important job,” he argued.

Simona:

”I can carry you,” she offered. She’d had done partnering in both roles, so she was confident in her strength.

Victoria: "I am worried Marlin. I'm not the one fighting...I'm the one standing on the side hoping Musket keeps his word."

Aiden: he looked at the light coming from the mouth, "I can't get there."

Marlin:

”That is true,” he admitted, looking distant before turning his gaze back towards her. “But don’t worry about it. It will be fine.”

Simona:

She nodded, glancing towards the mouth of the cave. “Do you want to see the outside? For a few minutes?”

Victoria: "A lot can happen before blood is ever shed...bones broken...muscles pulled...teeth chipped...etc."

Aiden: He smiled sadly, "I'd be down there fighting with Nathan...but I guess that borderlines on fixing myself..." he sighed, "I Guess simply and more realistically, get out of this cave...out of this spot."

Marlin:

”That’s true, but the portal is a precious resource. It might be our only way home.” He took a breath, trying to refocus. “It is only till first blood, anyway. I wouldn’t get that hurt.”

Simona:

She looked over at Aiden. “If there was one thing you could do right now other than fix yourself or go home, what would it be?” Maybe they could somehow turn his bad day into a better one.

(Hey guys... Nora, Lucas, and Victoria are all officially historical characters! They came from 2021, now it is 2022. So Happy New Year!

Also, I'll be making a new part soon, so if you have a cover idea, please post!)

forest:

"it would be my honor"

forest:

"aiden and simona"

(I was getting tired of there not being medical supplies, so I randomly generated Bayeux, France... BCE. So!)

Out of the portal sprang new items! There was a basin of water, pottery bowls filled with herbs and pastes, and a bowl of wine.

(The pastes are, like, seawater and honey.)

forest:

"ok. lets get back to the others"

Forest:

he sighed "do you think you can squeeze it out?"

Victoria:

"If they hurt you...I am outnumbered..." She whispered, looking at the fire.

Aiden:

He nodded again, "I think that comes with all ways of life."

Marlin:

”Don’t you worry, I’ll be fine. Just need a minute,” he gasped.

Simona:

”Sometimes. There were good days and bad days.” She realized that she was speaking in past tense, and it made her heart ache. Had she already given up?

Victoria:

She clutched her stomach, her stomach already very uneasy. "Marlin..."

Aiden:

He nodded, "did you like your life?"

Marlin:

He really didn‘t feel so great. “Just give me a moment,” he muttered, leaning over away from her and vomiting onto the ground. He pushed dirt over it and held his stomach.

Simona:

”It was good.” She moved a thing across the ground. “I had some friends that I could rely on. There was the threat of rent, but my parents helped when I couldn’t make ends meet.”

forest:

he looked at the wounds and slightly gaged "don't you think you should put water on it?"

Victoria:

She sat next to him and pulled her knees close. "I believe in you...but I'd you get hurt..."

Aiden:

"How was your life like? Family...friends?" He asked breaking the silence, and warding off his drowsiness.

Forest:

"can you fight with it then after we get it out?"

Leroy: After they were out of earshot from the others, he answered Forest. "My left ankle's grazed, but it should be ok. I think I got a ball in my right calf, so I need to get that out." He frowned... how could he do that without some sort of tool?

Marlin:

”I’m sure,” he sat down by the fire, resting his head on his arms.

Simona:

She was still sitting beside him, looking over to check on him every once and a while.

Victoria:

She watched them silently. "Marlin." She whispered once they were put of earshot, "are you sure?"

Aiden:

He looked at the mouth of the cave, thinking of his family.

forest:

he nodded

Leroy: He held a finger over his lips.

Forest:

he followed leroy "hey is your leg ok?"

Uriah: Let the two most aggressive people take each other out, he thought. So long as Forest does not caught in the crossfire.

Leroy: "Fair enough. And what the heck, lets do it without weapons." He picked up his musket and turned to leave, trying his hardest not to show any signs of limping.

forest:

"ok. i hour lets get back to the cave"

Marlin:

”Go right ahead.” He glared. “But I ask for an hour for both sides to rest before the duel.”

Leroy: "I'm the one being challenged, so I should decide the means of the fight," he argued. It was a bluff. He liked the idea of hands only very much... Marlin would be easy to beat without a gun up against Nathan's much higher level of experience. But he couldn't accept those terms right away or Marlin would realize his blunder. Honestly, he was surprised Marlin had chosen to fight this unconventional way... maybe he had concerns about leaving Victoria like he had for Aiden.

@Embermoon @Firesong (I've got a solution they could try. Wanna hear it?)

Victoria: She looked at him, worried, "Their time period did this...what can we do?" She looked at the gun in her hand...they could really cause damage to one another without every drawing a drop...

Marlin:

”First blood works for me.” After all, his uniform was in better shape, and it covered most of his body. “No weapons except for our own bodies.”

Forest:

"victoria we have to make them stop before they do this!" he whispered to her

Victoria: She held her breath, looking between them.

Leroy: "And to what conclusion do we fight?" he asked. A moderate voice in his head urged him to remember what, who he was responsible for. "First blood?"

Marlin:

He nodded. “I’m challenging you to a duel.”

Victoria: "Marlin...are you sure?" she whispered.

Forest:

"guys thats going a little to far. don't do it"

Leroy: He immediately began sizing up Marlin. Nathan could beat him, sure, even with these leg wounds. His reduced speed would be matched by Marlin's disorientation. The soldier was strong and hale, completely recovered from the typhus, and very experienced in the world of combat. What had Marlin seen? A nobleman's life and the confines of a ship.

And yet, if Marlin had the new gun and Leroy had his musket, none of that would matter. "Are you challenging me to a duel?" he asked, tone carefully balanced.

Marlin:

He glared at Leroy, angry. “How about we just have a fight, between me and Leroy. The winner gets the area around the portal.”

Victoria: "Fine." She muttered looking at Marlin, hoping he would give her a sign, or take charge. The gun was still in her hand.

Leroy: He nodded. What Forest said.

forest:

"well then you can talk to eachother now"

Marlin:

”Dirt could damage all of the weapons, except maybe Forest’s dagger,” he muttered. “I think we pass.”

Victoria: She looked at Marlin for answers.

Leroy: "If you insist on conferring, yes."

Marlin:

He shook off the dizziness, fighting to concentrate. Burying the weapons? Why would they do that?

Victoria:

"Burry them?!" She sighed, "even yours?"

Leroy: "Then we'll need to burry the weapons temporarily."

Victoria: "Alone, Musket."

Leroy: "You can talk to him now," he said, not wanting to lose the edge.

Victoria: She looked at him, it was unfair of them to ask him to. he wanted to stay nuteral, and they had to accept that. "Leave Uriah out of your plans. He doesn't want to be apart of it." she sighed slowly, "Musket. Get off the land. I want to talk this over with Marlin."

Uriah: "If you force me... I'll make a random generated process so my opinions stay out of this."

forest:

"how about the kilometer thing and uriah gets to decide but we dont claim land we just live on it and stay away from eachother"

Victoria:

"Don't pull him into this. This is between us. And I didn't say anything about claiming land that time...I mentioned your unfair treatment of Marlin!"

Leroy: "How many times do I have to say this? This land is not ours to claim and split up. But I do like having Uriah decide."

Uriah: "I don't. That threatens my neutrality."

forest:

"how about we go with leroys plan but outside the i kilometer we can claim land. with the products of the portal since uraih is neutral he'll decide who it goes to or we take turns keeping the products."

Victoria:

"Didn't wait long enough to find out..."

Leroy: "Marlin and I are at war," he said as if it were obvious. "I thought he might be a threat."

Victoria: "yet you wouldn't let Marlin in!" She snapped, "If it doesn't belong to you, why do you get to make the rules!"

Leroy: "Tigerwing gave that to us!"

Victoria: "You claimed the cave!!"

Leroy: "You stop claiming land that isn't yours!"

Victoria:

"You get off our land."

Leroy: "What do you propose instead? The British colony of Anok?"

Victoria:

"And if we refuse?"

Leroy: "Ok. My proposed terms: the portal and a one kilometer radius surrounding it are demilitarized, neutral territory. Violence and weapons are forbidden, and the products of the portal are to be negotiated upon."

Marlin:

He stumbled forward over to Victoria, waiting for his vision to clear. What had she agreed to? They couldn’t give up this land!

Victoria:

She shook her head, but lowered it to her side.

Leroy: "Drop your weapons. Both of you."

Victoria:

She relaxed slightly and lowered her weapon. "Now let's talk."

forest:

he sighed he but his dagger back in it's pocket and pushed her "go. and btw its a dagger"

Leroy: "It's ok." A show of bravery was required here. He dropped his musket, bayonet and all, and gave Marlin a gentle push. If necessary, he had good reflexes, and if not, it made no difference.

Forest:

"how about we stay like this till uraih writes down the truce laws and standards then when we finally agree we'll let go?"

Victoria:

She smirked, "you don't. But Forest is still at my back with the knife."

Leroy: "Yeah. Well how do I know you won't shoot me?"

Vuctoria:

"Can you just release Marlin?!" She snapped, "if you want to talk, prove you won't fight!"

Quinn:

The fluffy white dog stayed close to Uriah, watching the drama.

Leroy: "Ok. Uriah, would you write that down as term for our truce?" Maybe it would be useful after all to have someone neutral.

Uriah: How had Leroy seen him? He stepped out, staying close to Quinn's side.

Victoria:

"Much more likely to then you."

Leroy: "Would you negotiate with Simona or Forest?" he asked. That wasn't his job, anyway.

Victoria:

She looked at Marlin, then back at Leroy. "I hate you Musket. And we both know you won't negotiate with me, or Marlin."

Leroy: Victoria is bluffing, he thought. She is pretending that Forest is not a factor.

"Truce, hmm? How about the portal is a demilitarized zone? No man's land. We negotiate on whatever comes out." Uriah would like that. Hopefully he and Forest could keep it that way.

Aiden:

"The kindest most hardworking woman ever." He said with a slight smile, "always wanted me to do what I wanted."