Solo [ The Rearing Stallion ] The Calling

[Holland Rolandus]

Spring 8th, 515 A.V
Crisp was the air; filled with a smell that one might indeed find intriguing. A stench which tickles the nostrils of Holland; as he wasn't quite used to being in such an odd environment. Before even managing to get into the vicinity good; an observation was made immediately. Holland made note of several individuals within the area. An old woman; several younger gentlemen and multiple younger ladies. A large structure covered an entire side of the vicinity. Holland enters silently; noticing multiple pairs of eyes gawking at him all at once. Making him more and more uncomfortable by the passing moment; feeling unsafe. He decides upon taking a seat that was much more isolated then majority of the others. In an attempt to separate himself from the others and position himself for a quick escape; just encase things became dire. Holland didn't quite enjoy large social environments with individuals he wasn't familiar with. Having learned from several experiences in the past why he shouldn't trust situations like this. Although for now he would attempt to suppress his paranoia and feelings of anxiety. Drawing a rather swift breath for an elongated period of time inhaling slowly; followed by a deep exhalation. Slowing down his heart rate temporarily in an attempt to calm himself down. Yet, whilst he attempts to get settled in and relax against the Bar; he hears several voices. Listening to the commotion of the multitude of people about the vicinity.

No longer afraid to be social; yet, simultaneously still afraid of being attacked he listens closely. Closing his eyes for a mere moment and overhearing a rather loud conversation. Between the elderly woman to his right approximately thirteen paces in distance. She spoke in a rather raspy voice; Holland opens his eyes simultaneously. Making yet another observation; taking note of the fact that she wore an eye-patch. Perhaps she was indeed blinded in one eye; although that didn't quite matter too much. For what she spoke of was far more important for this given moment in specific. He could overhear the conversation loud and clear. She spoke to another man who carried with him no more then a simplistic dagger; Holland nearly chuckles at the sight of it. Although he knew from experience; daggers aren't a weapon one should make the mistake of underestimating. Although to no avail; Holland could only attempt to silence and restrain himself from chuckling. Now suddenly his heart beats slowly; and he feels the incredibly hard thump beneath his chest cavity. After hearing a few grim words present themselves from the mouth of the elderly woman. Holland wore no more then his typical attire; royal blue garments layered beneath his back and breast armor composed of no more then steel. He clearly heard her distinct and incredibly raspy voice speak to him in clear words.

"Young man, Young man! I know you are a skilled fighter. I can tell simply by laying my ole' right eye upon you. Let me go ahead and tell you a little story; perhaps you can help me with something. Do you care to hear the story; or would you not help a defenseless woman get something precious to her back from a thief?"

Holland was startled for a moment as the woman spoke to him. Her voice was so raspy; incredibly raspy, so much so that he could hardly understand it. Yet, he could very well hear what she spoke of and he responded not with words. For Holland knew of his new-found habit of being incredibly rude without the intention of being rude. Therefore with the nod the woman proceeds to tell the long tale. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long; Holland had just gotten here and he was already prepared to leave. Scared and shaken; startled as she even acknowledged his presence as he was within the bar. Many more eyes gawked at him; the people about the vicinity looked at him as if to say " That ole' woman is crazy! Don't listen to her." The eyes of the others about the vicinity only further made his skin crawl as she began to deliver a speech. She sips ale from a cup for a moment and clears her throat; before she begins to speak.

[Holland Rolandus]

Finally; after several moments spent waiting for her to finish the ale she speaks! Yet, the message she has to deliver isn't one for the faint of heart. She tells a rather deep and elongated tale of her own personal history. Having lived quite an incredibly long time to have been as old as she was. She tells Holland that she is age seventy eight, and has lived a long and healthy life. She tells Holland about her families history with the knights and the order. Delivering to Holland quite a bit of overly-extensive incredibly detail packed rich history. History about everything from herself to certain things about the order. Including the fact that squires wear full plate at almost all times in any case. Holland simply nods and allows her to continue through majority of her story. Before having to take a moment to rudely stop her and tell her to get to the point; rather then rambling on and on about herself. Therefore she simply smiled and replied; with words Holland wasn't quite prepared to hear.

"My son, tis' my son who has been robbed. On the very first day of this incredibly beautiful season; when the snow has just began to melt. When the sun had just arisen. Syna; the goddess of the sun blessed us with her light. When we were ambushed! Taken; beaten and battered by three bandits. One of which was rather muscular, and we noticed that he moved very slowly. He was armed with nothing more then his hands. Yet, it seemed like he could use them quite well. The second of the individuals was armed with a pair of daggers; and he was quite good at using them. Not to mention he moved very fast; yet he wasn't physically strong at all. I could've kicked him away with ease had I wanted to in my old age! The third of the individuals! He however was incredibly strange. He didn't talk; he spoke not even a single word but he could shoot fire from his fingertips I tell ye'!! He is quite good with running as well; the man ran with the legs of a hare! He even defeated my son in combat rather easily! I need you, you , and you only to go out and defeat all of them! Do you think you can do it? "

Holland simply gave a stern stare to the woman. Almost as if he aimed to intimidate her with a sheer look; Holland simply nods once more angrily gritting his teeth. How dare they steal from a pair of defenseless citizens; yet, she hadn't even given Holland all of the details. Holland was already prepared to burst; his blood boiled at the thought of such incredible dishonor. He wished to go out, beat and batter each and every one of the men. Now he would simply ask for detail; he wanted to know more. Holland wanted to know what they looked like; what weapons they carried. What physical mark would be a dead give away as to who they were; where they could be found. He asked and she simply told him.

"They were attackin' us in The Bronze Woods! I seen' all three of em' with me own one eye. The first individual had a tattoo that covered his entire right arm, and it was scarred heavily. The give away should be a large dagger shaped tattoo in the center of several images of skeletal structures. The third individual had a massive scar over his right eye; only an idiot couldn't tell who he was! The second had what appeared to have been missing fingers on the right hand. He is missing two and wears ragged tattered clothing. All of them leave major physical trademarks without a care in the world! They shall be the easiest men in the world to notice on sight. Do not be afraid of them; for I have faith in you my good man." Spoke the old hag.

[Holland Rolandus]

"Tell me boy? What kind of weapon do you use in combat?" Spoke the Old Hag

Holland simply replies with the most basic sentence he could possibly think of without being rude. Therefore he parts his lips and speaks to her rather smoothly. " The question is why do you ask what weapon I carry? "

She replies once more and with a sweet smile. " Because I was a duelist for quite a long time. I remember my days when it comes to fighting. Being that you are about to go off and battle against each and every one of those three bandits; you'll need my advice. Because you surely aren't a master; you're far too young!"

He simply looks away in shame for a moment; before responding to the woman once more. Attempting to not pay attention to what she just said; although he decided to answer her question. " Well, mam' if you must know and if you insist upon knowing. My weapon of choice is indeed the Rapier; one made for both slashing and piercing. I don't like the typical flimsy sticks that people call Rapiers; so I went against that Idea. They are indeed not a weapon one should make the mistake of underestimating; at all in any case. "

The elderly woman coughs and hacks for a moment. Before speaking once more " Well then my boy; it looks like you've had some proper training. You've obviously wielded that weapon many a'times before haven't you lad? Well then; let me tell you something. There is a little thing called an "Over-Head Strike" that should provide you with quite the high quality advantage against the opponent who wields the daggers. Be aware that daggers are much more lightweight; and faster then a rapier. Although you still have the advantage of reach. If that bandit gets close enough to your body; and you cannot get out of his way then you will, die. So what you need to do is parry, overhead strike and then thrust. From there you will need to disarm him. Let his blade slip into your strangely shaped guard. Then twist until he is forced to loose one of his weapons! " She goes on to explain that parrying is simply striking back at the opponents blade; in order to redirect an attack and cause it to completely miss. Followed by explaining how to properly disarm an opponent by allowing the opposing blade to slip into the oddly shaped pappen-heimer guard of the rapier. Twisting provides leverage; leverage is the mechanical advantage of an object which can help the process of disarming. The elderly woman tells him all he needs to know.

The old hag tells Holland more and more. She goes on to tell him an approximate location; although she does it through a riddle. Holland hates riddles and even further hates having to decode hidden messages in order to figure out the answer to the riddles. The elderly woman simply told him that if he wanted to find the first of the bandits. He would have to " Go to a place where the grass grows short on one side. "Yet, there is a patch directly where you stand" "In order to find the second of the bandits you will need to venture off toward a lake filled with silken water. In order to find the third of the bandits you will need to locate a sheltered area of the bronze woods. Primarily sheltered by surrounding Trees. That is where his tent will be; beware though that sometimes they do work together. " spoke the old hag

[Holland Rolandus]

"My young man and find them! They've stolen something precious from me. You will only know what it is the moment that you find it on one of them. It is incredibly precious, and valuable to me beyond all of my reasoning. It is absolutely beautiful, and means the world to me. It means to me more then my own life does to me. They stole my incredibly precious gift; if I do not receive it back I will have lost my purpose in life. Which was simply to give birth to a son; then pass the weapon on to him. For if I do not I will have broken an incredibly long family tradition. The weapon is incredibly valuable in its current condition. Bring it back to me safely; please my good boy I beg of you!"

Holland knew what had to be done, and he was made very well aware of what must be done. The elderly woman needed help; and what kind of nobleman wouldn't offer her a hand. The others in the bar continue to look at him as if he were absolutely insane. The looks in their eyes were all ones of bewilderment; Holland was willing to bet they were thinking he was absolutely insane for accepting her request. After all; she likely asked the others in the vicinity before having asked him. Holland would carry on with a nod in response to the elderly woman. Simply giving her the "yes" indirectly through bodily communication. Before long she bought him a drink in exchange for the favor he was soon to do her. Passing it over to him and placing it in his hand; before she would speak once more. Simply smiling at him and enjoying the fact that he accepted her offer.

"Drink my boy, drink for now I shall reward you for simply being daring enough to even bother hearing my story. An old hag like me knows that nothing should go unrewarded. Including the fact that you simply observed and listened to what it is I said. In order to tell a good story ; you must have the listener hooked and engaged immediately. If not then you are simply telling a story that is empty and filled with stupidity. It is pointless to tell a story that is not worth telling; I've told you mine. Therefore I should be sharing with you the same courtesy with you that you have given me. Please; tell me more about yourself sir? I would like to know more about you as a whole; after all who wouldn't want to meet their hero? So, will you be doing me the honor? Or would you rather choose to remain ambiguous to me?"

Truth be told; Holland didn't want anything to do with this elderly woman on a friendly level. He didn't want anything to do with her; all he wanted to do was to help her and get away. In order to be a mercenary often times one is stuck doing something they don't wish to do. Although in this case what he didn't wish to do; was also the right thing to do. Therefore; Holland chooses not to speak and simply shakes his head from left to right. Replying to her aforementioned statement with a simple "no". Yet, rather then speak the words he would use his actions in order to communicate. Now he proceeds to knock back the glass of crimson-liquid. Swallowing rather incredibly hard for now as the liquid spills in his oral cavity. With a concluding shiver; due to the fact that the strong liquid disturbed him. He didn't want to be rude and not accept her offering; so he drank in order to appease her. Before he spoke once more, and his speaking was short lived.

"I will go, I will go to the bronze woods. I will find those bandits; even if it takes me a decade. I will hunt each and every single one of them down individually, and I will defeat each of them in combat. Although I am more likely to get killed or beaten to a pulp before I do it. I shall go out and find each of their tents, and I will retrieve your weapon for you. Don't expect it to be given back in absolutely perfect splendid condition either; because by now there is no telling what they've done with that thing." Spoke Holland.

Now he simply exits the vicinity; prepared to go and complete the task.

[Orin Fenix]

Grades are Served

 

Holland Rolandus

Skill	XP
Observation	1
Intimidation	1
Socialization	2
Tactics	1
Story-telling	1

Lores

• Location: The Rearing Stallion
• Old Hag: Quite a Story
• Squires Wear Platemail
• The Three Robbers
• Combat: How to Use a Rapier Against a Dagger

Extras :

Very excited to see where this one goes.

Don't forget to edit or delete your grade request in the grade request thread.

If you have any questions or concerns about your grade please feel free to send me a message.