Solo Along with a caravan: Part 1

[Rykanis Dakshata]

45 Summer 514 It had been several days now since the caravan had set out from Zeltiva. Far enough out to be far from aid of the city, but near enough to still run into the occasional merchant or caravan heading the other way. Today though they'd not seen anyone, just endlessly trundling along, walking with the caravan, and occasional guard patrols outward a bit to check on any approaching danger. Such patrols and guards increased at night, but during the day visibility was good enough to see most dangers before they got close. He was mainly a night guard, a position he was especially good at with his special Akalakan vision that let him see heat. Unlike the human guards, he was not hindered overly from seeing in the dark, or in picking out possible threats in the dark. That meant that for the most part, during the day, he was let to rest, and do as he wished. Mostly he'd take a nap in the back of a wagon, unless something arose that required all hands on duty. Now though the sun was setting, the last glimmers of light shining over the horizon, and over the treetops. He'd rested, and soon he'd be up and about on duty. Climbing from the wagon, he gave a wave to Longlegs, a half drykas caravanner, one in charge of general horse care. Likely his gaining of the duty had been aided from his partial heritage, as they were none as knowledgeable horse folk. Or so Rykanis had gathered from various conversations. He'd also seen the man was good with horses, and knew that while his blood might have helped, his skills had been the main factor. "So how goes the napping, Rykanis?" He grinned back at the man, who as usual was giving him a hard time. "Dreadful of course, all those bumps and such. You'd think the horses had never walked the road before, even though they've traveled it scores of times." Longlegs grinned back with a silly smile, returning a jab of his own. "Or perhaps they walk as such, because they are so overburdened, you know having you carry your heavy rear about." Rykanis smiled and shook his head, and looked about. His right hand rested casually at his waist, near the hilt of his lakan, a placement of habit over time. Always ready to draw at the first sign of trouble. A few days prior there had been motion from off the road, and Rykanis had drawn by reflex. It'd turned out to be a deer crossing the road, and Longlegs had laughed for chimes over it. "I'd better go look about, see where I'm fitting in tonight. Keep the horses straight eh?" Longlegs waved him off, still grinning. He'd offered to give Rykanis a riding lesson at some point, though they'd yet to get around to it. Perhaps he'd have time at some point. For now though he was off to relieve himself, to get a bite to eat, and then to settle in for his shift as the sky darkened.

[Rykanis Dakshata]

After concluding his various ablutions, Rykanis checked about the caravan. The sun had fell, and the caravan had stopped for the night. Already several fires had been made, and cooking had begun in earnest. He could see Jan stirring a pot of some kind of liquid, most likely a collective stew that would be dished out to everyone. He'd likely eat last, after everyone else, when his short mid night break came up. But that was far distant, and so he kept to his set out patrol route, checking in with members of the caravan, making sure all were alright. Off in the distance Rykanis heard a howl, which was responded to by another far off howl. Two wolves greeting each other in the night. The night was silent, with little light casting shadows. He could hear a small murmur of sound coming from around the fire, coming from the men there and their shadows. But it was not a time when shadows were strong, and the weak firelight did not cast many of them about. The moon was not fully up yet, and so it did not cast a strong light. Heading along on his route, he was interrupted by another member of the caravan, telling Rykanis he'd noticed a sound off to one side, something that had disturbed the horses, and wanting him to check it out. He called John over, one of the younger human guards, with barely a hair on his face, and asked him to join him on his investigation. That was protocol, the way they did things. No one went anywhere alone. John grinned back at him, patting the shortsword at his side, something he'd yet to see the boy/man use. Hopefully the trip would be a boring one, and their would be no need. As they went further into the woods, away from the light of the campfires, Rykanis blinked once, flicking his inner lids open, his intravision forming into existence. With it he could see hot spots, the warm bodies of animals above the ambient temperature. Masses in the tress, likely birds or squirrels by their size and location. Some on the ground, also small, moving quickly. At the moment he did not see anything that was a threat, but still kept his right hand on the hilt of his lakan, getting a good grip, and even going so far to half loosen it from the scabbard. If he needed the blade, he'd need it in an instant, and even a few extra ticks added to his draw could result in death. Perhaps he took his job a bit to seriously, at least considering the quiet nature of the trip so far. But he did not want to take any risks, and he was here to do a job. "So... Nothing, right?" Rykanis held a finger from his left hand to his lips, making a hushing motion, and then waved for him to follow. Looping along wider Rykanis saw the horses near the periphery of the camp, their warm bodies shining in the darkness, as was Johns. Off to his right he heard a rustle, and drew his lakan in a single motion, holding it in a downward defensive position. His left hand moved to his left lakan, prepared to draw it. Within the bushes he could see a large heat mass, much too big to be a squirrel or bird. Prepared to move forward, Rykanis waited for the motion of it leaving the foliage, waited for it to come within his sight. To attack. After a chime of wait there was more motion, and a form came forth. It froze seeing Rykanis, and then turned seeing John and cursed. "Petch! Can't a man take a shyke without being stabbed? Its just me!" John let out a laugh, and then continued speaking to the man, reminding him he wasn't supposed to go outside of the camp without telling the guard. As he walked by, Rykanis set a palm on the mans shoulder, older and human, complacent, and looked him in the eyes. "Do not disrespect your leader, nor us. The rules are there to protect you. Next time it might not be me popping up with a blade in the night to come at you. Next time you might not be so lucky. I am bonded to this caravan, have made a promise to guard you all. Do not make my job any harder." As he finished he gave the man a squeeze on the shoulder, just enough to make it hurt for a moment. Then he shook his shoulder free from Rykanis grip, and stalked off. But he'd made himself amply clear to the man, and did not think he would be foolish again.

[Rykanis Dakshata]

As they made another patrol, John laughed at Rykanis, and shook his head. They'd almost circled the entire camp, but had not seen anything else but the one man of the group. "Rykanis, you need to calm down. Don't take it all so serious. This is my second passage, and I've yet to see anything dangerous. No, I take that back, last trip a squirrel jumped on me, and took off with my hat. Don't forget the knights patrol these roads, bandits and stuff know better than to come about. So calm down." Rykanis looked at him, his heat blooming brightly in his sight against the cold ground and the small peppering of grass. "Better to be over cautious, than under. If you are overcautious, you lose a bit of time, perhaps a bit of sleep. If you are under-cautious, you could well lose your life. So I find it makes more sense to be over, than under. You'd do well to recall that." John laughed again, though with a slight strain to it, not as jovial a laughter as before. The boy was young, not truly a man, certainly not by Akalakan standards. By the time he was his age, he'd passed his right of trial, and helped down a glassbeak. The two of them continued about, Rykanis maintaining his vigilance, stopping when he sensed another large heat mass, though not as hot as the man from before. Motioning for John to halt, he held up his lakan, the one he'd drawn earlier and never put away. Scouting about the camp, gathering some basic intel of what was about them, it was a basic enough mission, not overly difficult. But he still took it seriously, as if there was a deadly threat around any corner. However this body mass seemed to be still. Pushing aside a bit of bush, and peering within, he saw a dead deer. It had been killed recently, the blood only just pooling, the body not totally cooled. Logically then it seemed it had happened after they had made camp, but still recently... What he did not get was why it was here, and why whoever had killed it had not taken it. That is until he bent down and saw a small broken off mass where the blood had poured from in its underbelly. Using his lakan he cut at the mass, and managed to extract a bit of metal, an arrowhead. That was clear by the bit of broken off shaft attached to it, and by its clear shape. Showing it to John, he wiped his lakan clean, and then motioned for them to return to camp, carrying the broken off arrowhead.

[Rykanis Dakshata]

Back at the caravan, Rykanis showed the head of the group his find, and explained what they had found. John was by his side, corroborating his story. He'd since re-sheathed his lakan, and flicked back his inner lids, returning to his normal vision at the camp. Then man shook his head, and then glared at John, who did not meet his gaze. Rykanis could feel a story there, some deeper reasoning behind that, but did not push. While he felt the desire to delve into the secret, there were more pressing matters. For now he could press the need aside, but only because he knew he'd try to find out later. "So... This means there are other human about, about nearby. Animals don't use bows... And since their aren't any other caravans nearby, that means bandits." Rykanis paused for a moment, not faulting his reasoning, but not totally agreeing. "Not necessarily. Someone could have been hunting it a ways off, shot it, and it ran off, only to perhaps push in the arrow further, and end up dying by it. This is no sure indicator that there is another group nearby. What you said is a possibility, but not the only one. I looked about, and did not see the rest of the arrow, so it is hard to say how far off it broke off." The head of the caravan nodded, eying John once more, and then turning to Rykanis. "You are right... But still, I am doubling the night watch, and the guards until we head out in the morning. And I will talk to the people, make sure they are on guard. But for now, we don't tell anyone, no reason to get them scared if it might be nothing. You two both go take a break, get a bit to eat, and then head back out on patrol. You'll have an extended shift tonight." John let out a groan once they were out of earshot, and headed with Rykanis to the fire with the stew. Both took a steaming bowl of the food, and happily supped. It was a hearty mix, with a thick broth, strong flavor, and a good bit of chunks of salted meat. Once they headed back out, Rykanis turned to John. "Why is your leader so critical of you for having been out on patrol with me? You are a guard, no less than any other. So why is he so concerned of you going out?" John turned to Rykanis, giving him a stare, before letting out a sigh. "He's my uncle. My mothers brother. He promised her he'd watch over me, make sure I made it back alright. Make sure I didn't do anything too dangerous. My mom is back in Zeltiva working, my dad's dead, and there isn't much there for me. So I've taken on with my uncles caravan as a guard. But I don't want it well known, people might think he's giving me special treatment. So he's kept it quiet from the rest." Rykanis nodded, understanding. "Family is important. But the world is dangerous, there is no utter safety really. I suppose you are safer out here under your uncles watch, than doing some other task away from family. But do as I say, keep cautious, and don't become complacent. Then when we are in Syliras, you can laugh at me, and my cautiousness. But until then, be cautious, even if it is too cautious. If not for me, then for your uncle, and your mother." John nodded, for once being serious, and held his hand on the hilt of his sword, as he'd seen Rykanis do with his lakan. "Fine, but if we get there without any trouble, you'll owe me a drink in the first bar we see! I hear Syliras has stuff other than that vile seaweed drink." With a grin on his own face, Rykanis nodded once, and slapped him on the small of his back, making him take a extra step forward from the impact. "Agreed."

[Ashar]

Rykanis
Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	2
Leadership	1
Scouting	2
Intimidation	1
Rhetoric	3
Investigation	2
Medicine	1
Socialization	1

Lores

Longlegs: Good With Horses
Nightstalking: Night Casts Weak Shadows
John: Not Yet a Man
Scouting: Ears Open
Scouting: Inspecting Corpses
Medicine: Removing Objects
John: Nephew of a Caravan Leader

Additional Comments

Entertaining read, and right to the point. It was enjoyable to read Rykanis play straight-face to the careless caravaneers, and good work on writing out what happened.

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