by Irowyn on February 9th, 2013, 3:03 pm
"Well, its a fine evening to make your acquaintance, Nix." Irowyn forced a smile. "And think nothing of it. I would want someone to do the same for me. It's a bit of an honor code for us crazy folks who like to venture out into the unexplored wilderness."
His smile and openness wasn't forced because he was uncomfortable with Nix's presence. He didn't want her to leave and he didn't begrudge the fact that she had wandered into his camp. If anything, he was relieved by her presence. a few minutes ago he had been in the midst of a panic attack, flashing back to the bright streets of Sunberth.
Here he was with another female traveling companion. Although nothing like Esli, this woman reminded Irowyn of Esli and Rolf. Irowyn allowed that the comparison may not have been totally fair as nearly everything reminded him of Esli and Rolf. Still, even this far out from the event, it was hard for him to summon an air of upbeat optimism.
He continued to eat, while listening to her. His eyes widened when she revealed that she didn't know where she was. He ignored her question, not out of rudeness but for concern.
"By the gods, you don't know where you are? You're not an explorer, at all, are you? How long have you been lost out here? He stood up now and took a step toward her. "It's a good thing that you stumbled upon my campsite. Are you cold? Do you need a blanket or anything?
He had, in his travels, come across stranded, injured and unlucky explorers. He always felt compassion for those people and wanted to help them. However, they largely knew what they were doing and only needed minimal help. That kind of help was usually equivalent to a friendly gesture more than a life-saving intervention.
The fact that she was not out here for the purpose of adventure but was blindly wandering about the wilderness made him severely concerned for her.
"I'm going to help you." He assured her. "Syliras is not far from here. It's likely to be less than a day's journey for a single traveler unencumbered by a heavy pack. Intrepid is strong enough to bear the both of us. I could ride you back to the city tomorrow. Myself, I am heading to Nyka. I would be more than happy to travel with you if you'd rather go there.
The only hiccup will be that I've only brought enough rations for myself and Intrepid and its quite obvious that you're traveling...rather lightly. I, myself have never been too interested in hunting the prey in my travels but do you know anything about hunting? Or shall we return to Syliras to gather a more appropriate amount of supplies?
You must reveal to me just one thing, however... Irowyn's body language tensed a bit. His face looked slightly more stern. "I would never be so impetuous and so rude as to ask you to relieve the hardship from which you have just emerged. I only need to know one thing. How did you end up in the wilderness? Was it by your own choice? Or were you cast out into the wild to fend for yourself?"
An odd question, yes, but Irowyn's idiosyncrasies were starting to make themselves known. He had a special place, in his heart, for "down on their luck" explorers but he had no patience for fools who ventured into the wild, unprepared.
He had stripped Szhair from his ability to choose. He had never forgiven himself for this. The priests of Dira had swept upon him and the Coffer and took them with no chance to fight back. He hated the concepts of luck and fortune. He pitied and loved those on the wrong side of luck but had no patience for those who chose to embrace unneeded risk and the possibility of death.