[Durak's Tavern] Playing Hookey (Nyaela)

[Razkar]

"Goddess, I can't tell you how-"

"Hurry!"

"Oh, right..."

The four Myrians didn't need to be told twice as they moved as fast as you can when trying not to appear as if you're moving fast. Razkar knew it was only a matter of time before Herliz noticed, however, and he heard her voice growl out from across the bar as Nyaela gave them one final shove out into the kitchen-

"They look bloody familiar..."

Shyke!

The couple of males preparing food - brothers, if Razkar had to guess; the features were far too similar, and they even seemed to smile and laugh simultaneously - pointed them to the door with their eyes, and Razkar was almost pushing Woxma and Erama through it, he and the other poor male bringing up the rear.

Meat for the wolf if she comes after us!

"C'mon, she's coming-!"

"You don't know that, Raz, and sweet Myri, keep your bloody balls tied on!"

The humid night air slapped their exposed skin hard, sweat from fear the only thing to cool them. Razkar's head craned left and right but no shadows lurked to see them leave, and soon all four were in the alley-

-joined by a fifth.

"Where'd they go, male?"

He'd never mistake that growl. Herliz was mere steps behind them, and he had to admire the glorious stones of the male in the kitchen that answered, voice a symphony of cherubic innocence.

"Whom, mistress?"

"Don't fuck me around!"

Razkar's frightened face whirled to his fellows, and he whispered one word: "Run!"

So they did, and he did, and buggered if he was waiting for them to keep up. Herliz would probably hear the sandals slapping on the sand and stone but running was never her strong suit, so as long as they got a few streets headstart, they'd be able to get back over that damn wall without her being the wiser.

That was the theory, anyway. And at least they had Nyaela running with them, too.

[Nyaela]

"Run!"

Nyaela had just barely set foot on the first step of the stairs that led down from the door, trying to come to terms with the sudden heat that radiated from every angle and intensified the warmth she was already feeling from her drink when Razkar sprung into action. Before she could respond in any way, the four recruits were off into the darkness, their hair flying wildly behind them as they made for ... well, she wasn't sure, actually, just that it was obviously somewhere away from the tavern.

She heard the stomp of a foot somewhere within the room and jumped past the other two steps, hitting the ground at a run as she followed the others, doubling her pace since she couldn't really rely on the length of her short legs to help her catch up to them. She was used to running after the barbarians she took as captives, but they generally had half the strength or stamina to keep up a good run. Despite knowing the Myrians' obvious strength advantage was what made it hard for her to catch up, it amused her to think that fear of Herliz put the strength of Myri in them. The ground seemed to shake and wobble - or was that her vision? - as she ran after them, but it righted itself before it got too confusing.

Still, she reached the tail of the group in under half a chime, and they ran for a few more, all five Myrians looking left and right and behind for any signs of pursuit.

After a third glance behind her, Nyaela finally registered where they were going. They'd crisscrossed enough streets that their paths would soon cross the main 'street' that Taloba had, which was really a large footpath ground into the land by constant use that led to the Market Place. Even though it was night, the open area of the market would expose them to pretty much every path that connected the city to the market, leaving them vulnerable to being found regardless of which path Herliz and her followers would have taken.

She put on an extra burst of speed, aided in part by her mark from Myri, and ran to the front of the group. "This way!" she snapped, realising that she was beginning to run low on stamina after the short command left her breathless.

Regardless, she turned left suddenly, avoiding the route to the market place and taking a side route among some of the houses and other buildings. At the next chance she got, she turned left again in an attempt to double back on their path, then right a few seconds after, and after a whole chime she turned left before --

-- they hit a dead end.

She caught herself from hitting the wall in time, drawing a large shaky breath in an attempt to hide the fact that she was out of breath, but managed to inhale the dust they'd kicked up during the run instead and fell into a coughing fit until the dust died down.

Waving her hand in front of her face to clear the air, she turned to take stock of the situation, "We have everyone?" She asked hoarsely, her chest heaving with each breath. "Are you all okay?"

She walked forward to the edge of the small street they'd stopped in and pressed herself against the wall before slowly leaning outward to check if they were followed successfully.

Her heart almost stopped when she caught the shadow of a Myrian walking in the darkness, but it turned out to simply be a male walking back to his clan home after a stroll. She sighed in relief and turned back to the others, surveying the surroundings, dimly lit from above by Leth's light. It mostly consisted of a few huts that lined the street and ended in a wall that most likely fenced in the large property of a clan. There was nothing on the ground that would help them hide if they were to wait here.

"I don't think they followed us here ... it might be to early to tell, though. Should we keep moving?" She'd finally regained most of her breath. Hopefully she still had it in her to run a bit more if needed. The warmth of the night smothered her, but the effects of the grog seemed a lot less worse than before.

[Razkar]

Streets and alleys flashed by in a blinding blur, lit by torches that seemed to blink rather than burn as five pairs of pounding feet echoed throughout the sleeping city. Razkar had no idea where they were when the depressingly solid wall loomed up ahead of them and his lower body finally stopped moving.

Then his body realized just how exhausted it was.

"Run... tomorrow..." His words came out in rasping bursts, lungs burning with every breath. "Gonna be... fucking... nightmare..."

A chorus of groans answered him from the four crouching, bent over and panting shadows clustered with him. Even as his breath stung his throat he forced himself to quiet... to listen... ears straining...

"I don't think they followed us here ... it might be to early to tell, though. Should we keep moving?"

"Shhhh!"

Erama and Woxma turned to him in shock but he was too busy listening, notice or care. Bewildered looks were exchanged in lieu of his own attention: a male speaking so to females?! It was unthinkable! They should tar and feather him, or at least give him a few lumps...

But they had bigger concerns. And they were much meaner, too.

"I don't hear them..." Razkar said after a few chimes before looking around the walls, frowning. "... where are we?"

He suspected they were on the western side of the city, judging by the rising core of flame that marked the Palace and Great Temple. But Durak's was on the southern end, wasn't it? Goddess... what a route they'd taken...

"We need to get back to the Yards." Razkar said finally, determined to get them moving again. "Herliz won't give up, and since she heard running, she knows it's recruits. We need to get back over the wall and into our bunks quick, or they'll have the Garrison roused and then we are all petched."

The sweat-shining Razkar turned his eyes to Nyaela, also getting her breath back. A pang of concern shot through him as he realized he'd dragged her into this, too... but that time was passed. They had to get moving, get back to that secluded blind spot behind their barracks and put this night behind them.

That and never listen to Woxma again when she suggests we "go exploring"!

"Nyaela... do you know the way back to the Garrison?"

[Nyaela]

Nyaela could feel her shirt plastered to her body with sweat, and trying to peel it from her skin and air it off did nothing really, since the outside air was just as humid. The faster they got out of this the better. The Myrians around her all craned their necks as if they'd hear better in the dark, and so her question seemed to catch them off guard, even Razkar, who snapped at her to be quiet.

Her brows knit together at being treated in such a way by a mere male. But that was probably her fault. Her familiarity with him at the tavern must have made him think she saw him as an equal. She was wondering if she should put him in his place, regardless of the situation they were in at the moment, but decided she'd let it pass.

"... where are we?"

She truly had no idea. Her eyes narrowed again as she tried to make out anything that would give away their position. It wasn't that she'd never traveled Taloba's streets before, but apart from the Square and the Great Temple and Palace, most clans tended to stick to their own areas within the city unless they were working in the army. At least, that was what she tended to do.

Her height didn't help much, either, most of the buildings covered everything else from her view. Except ... she saw a small flicker above a building that caught her eye. As soon as she noticed it, it coalesced into the bright flame that guided all Myrians to Myri's Palace.

Huh. She hadn't even realised what route they were taking when she'd dragged them from the market. It probably would have been more helpful to have the Training Yards in mind considering they needed to get back there before Herliz and her crew reached the gate and made it impossible to sneak back in.

Razkar spoke again, calmer this time, and she nodded in agreement with him. She had no intention of spending her off days in the army cleaning the barracks until they shined like Isurian steel.

"Nyaela... do you know the way back to the Garrison?"

She wasn't certain she did, but she didn't want to worry them right after that run-in with Herliz. As they said in the army, it was 'bad for morale'. Thinking quickly, she nodded.

"Knowing Herliz, she'd drag herself across Taloba to catch us first - she'd leave informing the Garrison as a last resort. So we still have time."

She tilted her head in the direction of the exit, "But ... I don't think we should run anymore. If we keep it at a fast walk and take slightly more common paths we should get there before Herliz." She could sense their apprehension at her suggestion to move slowly, and she added, "Besides, running will get us noticed more quickly." She obviously wouldn't outright admit to the fact that if she ran just one more chime she'd probably collapse.

As she saw it, they could take it or leave it. But she didn't miss the relief glowing within their eyes as they nodded and gathered around the exit from the alley. Nodding an okay, she took the path they'd originally taken, but she slowly began to guide them so that they were running parallel to the main street. Their path would take them near Durak's Tavern, since the Akalak had wisely situated it as close as he possibly could to the army's barracks without getting his tavern burned down. But a few twists would make sure they didn't pass it directly, in case Herliz had left a sentry behind.

The next few chimes were largely silent tiptoeing as they tried to move as fast and quietly as they could. Soft whispers were opted out for hand signals until they were certain Herliz was nowhere near them.

The buildings were finally starting to look familiar now. Near the Garrison, the city took on a very militaristic feel compared to the plain huts and longhouses sprawled elsewhere about the city, which only made sense since most of the armor and weapons shops were planted nearby the gigantic barracks, instead of the Square like most of the other shopping stallsm. The Garrison had its own armory, but you could only try so many finely crafted tskanna horn weapons before they all started to look and feel the same.

It had been a little more than half a bell since they had left the alley, at the very least. She turned back to Razkar and the others.

"I have a feeling they won't just let you walk in. Do you remember where you were able to sneak out from? I can help you jump over the wall, but we'd better be quick about it." She looked around nervously. Herliz would have given up by now. Perhaps she was already there, waiting to greet the poor recruits as they tried to slip back, unassuming, into their beds.

Again, she didn't bother to mention that. They needed all the courage they could get.

OOCSorry the description for the location of the Garrision was so vague. Wasn't really sure if there was a set location or not and I didn't want to get it wrong.

[Razkar]

"Y'know, this gets more than a little tedious."

"Hey, it's our duty, so live with it."

"Well, I can't imagine we'll be fending off a nest of Dhani here, of all places!"

"You never know."

"Pretty sure I do..."

Rencratz rolled her eyes at G'Desten's usual bloody pessimism. For hours they've been patrolling the walkway topping the wall that surrounds the Garrison, one of a two such pairs that keeps a wary eye on this bastion of Myrian martial prowess. Well, that's the theory anyway.

"Look," the slightly older female said, rubbing her tired eyes, "You know what they taught us, you were in the same yard as me. It's boring, tedious and unexciting, but it's a warrior's lot-"

"A soldier's lot." The male countered sourly as they started walking again. "Warrior's are devoted to war. This is just following orders. Soldiers... Goddess, when are we going back to the jungle? Even patrolling would be better than this."

"When we're told." Rencratz said firmly, eyes scanning the street on the north side for the hundredth time that night. "Until then, these are the orders we follow."

The male muttered something that sounds offensive, but probably not directed at her. They kept walking, two lonely and bored figures on a thankless duty...

... observed by a cluster of hidden eyes on the street about ten feet below them.

"Raz..." Woxma rasped from her vantage point in the shadows. "They're moving on..."

Razkar nodded... and kept nodding, as if he couldn't control it. His nerves were frayed and harried, just like the rest of them. Every street and alley they'd slunk and rushed through seemed to have a thousand eyes in it, a hundred enemies and snitches waiting to raise the alarm. That was mere chimes ago, and now they were nearly done, but...

"Then we've got about two chime before the other pair comes around the corner." He muttered to the rest of his little group, Nyaela among them. He turned to her and decided explain a little. "We chose this part because you can't see it from the rest of the wall. See where the wall curves into itself? Makes a blind spot, in front of that tower. But only for a few chimes, so we need to move!"

And on that word Razkar put his feet and hands where his mouth were, darting from the shadows and flitting across the street as fast as he could. He flattened his body against the stone, soaking up every inch of cover he could get, body after body following him until there were four others lined up and breathing raggedly.

"Once we're over, it's every Myrian for itself," he said bluntly, eyes fixed up and listening to the distant but approaching chatter and steps of the sentries. "Get back to your barracks and your bunks, quick as you can."

He glanced at Nyaela and nodded, oddly grateful that she was here. She could boost them up and the last over the wall wouldn't have to wait for her and pull her up like they usually did; they were playing hookey, she had permission to be out. Once she got the four of them up, she could vanish just like they would.

"So... who gets a leg up first?"

[Traverse]

Razkar

Skill	XP Earned
Planning	1 XP
Rhetoric	1 XP
Running	2 XP
Socialization	3 XP
Stealth	1 XP

•	Lores Earned
•	New Recruit Jitters
•	Nyaela: Fellow Drunkard
•	Kalea: The Land Beyond Falyndar
•	Getting the Petch out of Durak's
•	Sneaking Back into the Taloban Garrison

Inventory

- 1 GM (Grog)

Additional Comments :

Well an intersting little thread despite its unfinished nature, the one thing I would question is Herliz going into Durak's, it seems like a place most Myrians would avoid or go simply to jeer at barbarians, but it's a minor detail. It was a nice switch to see Razkar the bumbling male...especially when I look over your CS to check skills, dear Goddess man...anyway, you got a fair amount for this, and if you think I missed any, let me know!

Nyaela if you return and are looking for a grade, PM me!

Yes, I Bite.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.