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[Dravite]

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20 Summer, 515 AV
Morning, 7th Bell

Dravite walked over the soggy patch of earth, his feet sinking into the soft soil leaving the prints of his bare feet wherever he went. He had been tracking a herd of wild goats for two bells and had so far failed to find them. The horse lord crouched down in what he thought must have been an old riverbed, one that filled up in the winter and lay bone dry in the summer. He looked at the fresh sets of tracks left in the drying mud and reached out to pick up a few strands of short, white hair. Dravite brought the hair to his nose and breathed in the scent; it didn't hold the same smell his goats back in Endrykas had, but he still felt he was on the right track.

The old riverbed was covered in tracks leading in all directions and as Dravite studied the hoof-prints, he couldn't help but feel he was being watched. The man stood up slowly and turned around, the small hairs on the nape of his neck prickling at the thought of being followed; perhaps this was how those poor goats felt? The man scanned the horizon slowly and glanced to his Strider, Cree, from the corner of his eye, looking for whatever it was that had caused his skin to crawl. He looked for warning signs; the way the horse's ears turned forwards, the silence of the birds that were usually all too happy to sing at this time of morning, and stillness across the plain.

Like a deer watching for the wolves, Dravite listened to the world; what would it tell him he wondered? Cree lowered his head and snapped up another mouthful of grass to demolish, seeming uninterested all of the sudden. Maybe, Dravite thought, it was just the wind, or perhaps he wasn't the only predator following the goat trail this morning. "It would be wise to take the high ground," Dravite told himself, mouthing the words, scarcely giving them life.

Something rustled up ahead of him suddenly in the grass, drawing the man's eye. He raised his spear to shoulder height, fist closed tightly around the body of the weapon. He had a tight grip, the clumsy hold of a beginner, but a stance that made him ready none the less. Lining up a shot, he waited a few ticks longer and then launched his spear towards the shifting grass. The weapon flew through the air and hit the ground with a thud, rather than piercing the earth like he might have first expected. The man froze, focusing all his attention at the area he had seen movement, a hand reaching slowly for the dagger on his black, leather belt; just in case.

His racing heartbeat thudded in his ears and Dravite felt his stomach twist and sink as the anticipation built. "Shyke!" He yelled as the sound moved closer and then a rabbit darted into the clearing from the tall grass, giving both man and Strider a huge fright that made them step back a few paces. Dravite felt hot in the face but managed to laugh it off. Poor Cree on the other hand looked as if he had seen a ghost, eyes wide, tail up and turned on itself. "Easy, boy," Dravite cooed gently as he edged towards the large Strider. He put his hand on the animal's neck and rubbed the tense neck muscles until he felt them relax, "just a rabbit, nothing to be afraid of."

[Dravite]

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They spent another few chimes walking around the old riverbed. Dravite had collected his spear, still in one piece, and returned to the mud to make note of the prints he saw there. He was holding a leather bound book with blank pages, and a piece of charcoal from the fire he had built up last night to keep the tent warm. He sketched one of the prints that had set in the mud, undisturbed. "I assume it's a goat print," he told Cree, who made a disapproving sound behind him, "it looks the same as our goats, if not a little bigger."

His drawing skills weren't all that good, but he managed to get the basic shape of the hoof right, curved at the bottom and pointed at the top with a split between the two, mirrored shapes. Underneath the sketch he wrote 'Wild Goat, Cyphrus Plain' in Pavi and then in common, finding the letters of the latter harder to form. Carefully, he shut the book and put it away in the saddlebag fastened over Cree's back before returning to the mud.

Smokey-grey eyes followed the tracks in the earth, looking specifically at which direction the points of the prints faced. He followed them forwards and out onto dry ground where the prints were harder to make out. They led into the long grass which was parted and trampled in places. Dravite whistled to his horse and Cree lifted his head, turning his ears forward towards the sound of the high-pitched noise. "Come," Dravite encouraged, "they went this way!"

Cree swished his tail and put his head down to graze again. He was just as stubborn as his rider, if not worse. "Cree!" Dravite called and again the horse looked forwards.

He was determined to train the animal to come to his call even if he died of old age before he succeeded. "Come!"

Cree shook his head, tossing his long, black mane back and forth. The animal gave an uninterested snort through his nose and chewed the grass that was still hanging out of his mouth. Dravite whistled and called, and called and whistled, but nothing seemed to be working. Perhaps, he thought, he could persuade the horse by tempting him with a lush handful of grass. Quickly the man bent down to collect a large handful of grass and held it up this time as he called the Strider's name. Cree raised his head, lifted his tail and let loose a long, bubbling fart.

"Well..." Dravite stared and dropping the fistful of ripped up vegetation , "I guess I'll just come to you then."

[Dravite]

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Cree threw up dirt and dust as he galloped towards the herd of wild goats. Dravite had steered him through the tall grass, going wherever the bent vegetation had led him until finally the herd came into sight. Dravite readied his spear and studied the herd as his Strider helped thunder him towards the grazing animals. He picked out the buck, a few healthy does and then spotted a nanny feeding two kids at the edge of the herd. That one, he decided, and used his feet to see that Cree would turn just enough, pressing his heel into the animal’s soft side gently.

The goat heard them coming, lifting her head quickly to bleat her warning to the rest of the herd. Hastily she ran only to halt and look back at her kids, calling to them as they sat dumbly, wondering where dinner had gone. Cree was good at this game; he liked the hunt, and loved pleasing his bonded rider even if he was stubborn at times. Dravite held his spear out, using his free hand to take up a handful of Cree's mane to keep himself steady as they moved. As the pair came up alongside the goat, Dravite stabbed his spear forward, catching her neck; just a graze.

The goat stopped, watched which way the horse went and then turned to run in the opposite direction. Instincts told her to re-join the herd, there was safety in numbers, but she didn't want to abandon her kids. Dravite yelled, adding to the animal’s confusion. He managed to turn his horse quickly and come back for another swing, but instead of using his spear, he positioned Cree to run the goat down, slipping from the Strider's back as the horse slowed, having knocked the nanny over.

The horse lord ran towards the goat and drove his spear into her neck as she struggled to get to her feet, eyes blinking quickly to try and rid themselves of the dust that had become trapped there. To make sure her death was swift and that she would be well bled for the journey home, Dravite took his dagger and drew it across the animal's neck, cutting the throat. "Blood for blood," he thanked his goddess, Caiyha, "life for death."

The kids moved close, two white little things that looked barely a week old. Dravite sat still as they wandered over to sniff at their mother before snatching one of the kids by its back, left leg. It struggled and kicked, bleating as it tried to escape. Dravite stood up and carried the animal to his Strider. He checked the sex of the goat before binding her legs and setting her in the empty side of the saddlebags. She called out, confused, and thrashed against her bindings for a chime before settling. Dravite buckled the top of the saddlebag down so that the kid could look out through the side but had no chance of slipping loose. "A girl," the man grinned, patting Cree on his beefy rump, "let’s hope the other one is too."

The second kid had followed him before darting back to his dead mother at the sound of his sister's warning cries. He didn't make himself as easy to catch, running Dravite up and down the clearing until the man's legs were tired and he felt short of breath. "Damn goat," he hissed, slapping his thigh, "stay out here then!" He threw his hands up, finally giving in.

The nanny was heavy and after all of the running that the man had endured, he found her hard to lift. The horse lord bound the goat's feet and lifted her onto his shoulders to carry back to his horse when he realised the kid was at his side again. Carefully and without making any sudden movements, he put down the lifeless nanny, waiting until he was within striking range. He grabbed the kid by the neck, pulling him into his arms. "A boy, no wonder you were so much trouble," Dravite laughed, "I don't have much use for a boy, but I suppose we could fatten you up to eat at a later date."

[Dravite]

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Morning, 9th Bell

The ride back to Endrykas was a slow one with two baby goats to worry about and the nanny held up over his shoulders like a wild hog. Dravite used a couple of trees to navigate the land, having made note of them on the way out of the city. When the tents came into view he was thankful to see them, his arms sore from holding the nanny, and his legs aching after the long ride. He felt a little stiff as he slipped from the saddle of his horse's back, and dropped the nanny down on the grass outside his tent. Belkaia came out to meet him, all smiles once she saw he had been successful with his hunt. "Husband."
"Wife," he grinned.
"You look a little red in the face, is everything all right?"
"Of course," he nodded, "I rode out further than I intended to find them, but it was worth it; look how big she is."
Belkaia beamed. "She is a beauty, will you take some to market to sell; we can't eat it all."
"No," he shook his head, "I'm going to give some to the neighbours; they haven't had too much luck lately."
"Can we have Arandia round for a meal tonight?" Belkaia asked, folding her lower lip between her teeth gently.

Dravite paused and looked at his wife.

"Please, she is so lovely!"
He sighed. "Fine, just as long as she doesn’t start telling any of her silly stories, or I'm going to sleep!"
Belkaia pinched the man and grinned. "You love her stories just as much as I do."

He smirked and undid the saddlebag. Belkaia moved to stand beside him and gasped. "Oh, my love, look at them! They are so small!" She took one of the baby goats and held it gently in her arms, cooing.
"Don't get too attached to that one," Darvite warned, "we'll be eating him in the winter."
Belkaia covered the kid's ears and hushed Dravite, "don't be so cruel, how can you think of dinner when you look into those sweet little eyes?"
"Tie them to the post for me, we don't want them running off."
"What are you going to do?" She asked.
"Don't worry; his head isn't on the chopping block yet. I'm going to go to the marketplace and pick up another doe, they need someone to feed them and our goats already have kids of their own."
Belkaia smiled and whispered to the baby goat. "See, he may look mean, but he's just a big softy deep down."
"Can I leave you to deal with them while I'm gone?"
"Yes, yes," Belkaia assured him, "then I'll take Kyanite to go find Arandia."
"All right," Dravite agreed and dragged the nanny into the shade before removing the yvas and saddlebags from Cree's back.

He ducked into the tent to fetch the brush and returned to the Strider's side to start brushing all of the loose hair from his back, neck, shoulders, and rump. Cree seemed to enjoy being groomed, and there was something terribly satisfying about keeping a well maintained horse. Dust and hair floated away from the animal’s hide with each flick of the brush and whenever Dravite scratched behind Cree's ears, his eyelids would close half way over his big, black eyes, signalling his contentment. "That's all you get," Dravite told him, picking the animal's hair from the brush before he set it aside, "I have to get to the marketplace; be good while I'm gone."

Cree snorted and shook his head before moving away from the tents to roll in the grass, undoing all of Dravite's hard work. "Typical," the horse lord scoffed as he left camp, "I'll remember that for next time!"

[Dravite]

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Negotiating a fair price was never easy in the marketplace of Endrykas. The merchants and traders had set up a right monopoly amongst themselves and it was especially hard to cut a deal with them in the summer when the men and women with trade from Syliras were about. "Two goats," Dravite repeated, the merchant was pretending to have a hard time understanding him but Dravite had heard him speak perfect Pavi not three chimes ago when he had been dealing with another customer, "two milking goats."
"Two cows?" The man asked, clasping his hands together as if to distract the horse lord.
Dravite tried in common, "Goats!"
"Oh, goats!" The man smiled, nodding his head briskly before disappearing into his herd to bring forth two young males.

Dravite was about to pop a vein, was this guy serious? He laughed at the man and held his hands up, acting out the process of milking. "Two milking," he gestured the action with his hands, "goats!"

Again the man disappeared, returning with single milking goat. Better, Dravite thought, but she had three kids with her and he didn't need any more kids. Dravite lifted his hands and set them on his hips, using his eyes to intimidate the merchant with a look that promised all sorts of rage if he did not comply, and soon. "I'll take my busy elsewhere, forget it," Dravite waved.
The merchant piped up in perfect Pavi. "No, you wait here; I have exactly what you need."

The cloaked salesmen went out back and led out two young Does. "Sisters," he explained, "two years old, both had kids late spring which I sold two days ago."

Dravite knelt down beside one of the goats. He noticed that her udders were full and when he gently gripped and squeezed one udder, a white stream of milk shot into his waiting hand. He cupped the liquid there, bringing it to his lips to taste before doing the same with the other Doe. When he rose he dug around in his pocket for the right amount of coin.
"Twelve gold miza," the merchant said, holding out his hand.
"Eight," Dravite insisted, low-balling the guy as he slowly counted out the coin in his palm.
"Eleven and five,"
"Nine?"
The merchant paused, thinking on the offer. "Ten and five?"

Dravite shook his head and turned to leave. Haggling included knowing when to walk away from a bad deal.

"Ten!" The merchant called after him, desperate to make a sale after all the trouble he had gone to.
"Nine and five," Dravite stopped, speaking his offer without looking at the man; he could pay ten for goats anywhere, this man had been a pain in his backside.
"Ten is the best I can do, please."
Dravite sighed and counted out ten gold miza into the man’s hand. "Don't mess my people around," he scolded and lead the goats away from the stall.
"Thanking you!" The merchant chimed.

Upon returning to camp with the goats, Dravite found both tents empty. Belkaia and Roan must have left together with Kyanite, he thought; perhaps having the young man around had been a good decision after all. He tied up the goats and gave the wild kids enough rope to get near them. Both kids seemed to need some encouragement when it came to feeding from a doe that wasn't their mother, but they soon got the idea with Dravite’s help. The White doe accepted them without question, while the tan female knocked them off with her back, right foot.

Dravite disappeared, returning with a bucket. It would be cruel to leave her with so much milk, he had convinced himself, and a pity to waste it. For half a bell he sat milking the goat until the bucket was full. He gave both animals a quick going over with the brush then, flattening there haphazard hair until it was smooth and flattened against their lean forms. "Looks like you two need feeding up, I'll take you out onto the plain with the rest of the herd tomorrow,” the horse lord promised.

[Dravite]

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Morning, 11th Bell

All around him the tent city was alive and buzzing with people working and taking care of their livestock. Dravite sat in the shadow of the entrance to his tent, sharpening a piece of charcoal from the fire with his dagger. He used the weapon to create a useable point on the charcoal for sketching the goat kids as best he could. His drawings were clumsy, that of a child's in all honestly; he had never been fond of book work, doing only what he needed when he was younger to get by in Pavi, which explained his terrible grasp on the common language.

Dravite worked on drawing basic shapes, a circle for the head, front and back part of the body before trying to join the points up with simple lines. Underneath his terrible sketch he wrote a small caption with the piece of charcoal, first in Pavi before challenging himself to jot down the same notes in common; writing, something else he would probably never master.

"The wild kids were accepted by the White Doe. The tan coloured goat is not wasted however, as we can now collect at least a gallon of milk from her a day. Comparing their hooves I have found that the wild goats do indeed have bigger feet; I wonder why this is? It will make tracking them easier"

He edged closer to the tamed Drykas goats and studied their prints for a few chimes, sketching them next to the print he had drawn while he was out hunting. There were quite a few interesting differences between the two and a lot of similarities in comparison. Both were roughly the same shape, but the long points on the wild goats were slightly sharper and narrower at the top; elongated even. Dravite smiled, satisfied with his work for the morning and set the book down inside his tent before returning to start work on skinning the wild goat he had caught.

The hunting knife was a lot sharper than his dagger and called for a lot of concentration whenever it was used. He cut down over the belly, around the udder, having no use for that and then traced the legs roughly. The man's skinning ability didn't really extend to leg work yet, which he was planning to pay for some kind of lesson in later on in the season. One of the local butchers he had sold a deer to had a brother that was an expert tanner and seemed prepared to impart a few wise words and techniques regarding the subject.

Once Dravite had cut out his lines he looked over the lifeless goat and started cutting the skin away carefully, trying his best not to nick the hide as he worked, spending at least half a bell on removing the pelt before he was ready to butcher up the meat. He removed the two back legs, the easiest of the cuts he needed to make and then cut away the head, using his hatchet to smash through the thick neck bones. Not wanting to deal with the innards today, Dravite stood up and dragged the headless goat from camp to the pavilion three tents down. The Riverstone Ankal met him with a big smile on his face. "Blackwater, when you said you would drop something off I didn't expect a whole goat."
Dravite smiled. "It's no trouble. I hope you don't mind, I kept the back legs."
"Don't be silly, boy."
"Will the dogs eat the head?"
"You're feeding my people and my dogs now; how can I thank you?"
"No need," Dravite assured him, "Drykas look out for their own."

The two men shook hands and Dravite dropped off the head before returning to camp to wait for the women to show up while he rubbed salt into the goat hide to help it cure in the sun.

[Dravite]

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The horizon danced in the heat of the midday sun, causing the distant landscape to shimmer. The sun was warm on Dravite's back. He had slipped out of his shirt to roll it up and used it as a pillow where he lay on his stomach in the grass that surrounded the campsite. It was peaceful, undisturbed by Kyanite, who would usually be crawling all over him by now; or Belkaia who would probably start nagging him to clean up a bit, or start prepping tonight's meal. The young horse lord felt so relaxed he could have almost drifted off to sleep, in fact, he was quite sure he did.

In a sleep like daze, Dravite heard someone walk up behind him and when the person’s shadow loomed over him, blocking Syna's light, Dravite opened his eyes and rolled onto his back to see who it was. "Raven!" He beamed and struggled to get to his feet, suddenly remembering his healing rib.

Raven held his hand out to help Dravite up and swiftly the horse lord accepted it. "By Zulrav, I haven't seen you in years, uncle."
"Almost five," Raven reminded him as he drew Dravite into a hug, "I guess Belhaur turned out to be just like your father after all; keeping you all away from the city in favour of the grasslands."
Dravite smiled and put his hands on Raven's shoulders as he stepped back, "five years," he mouthed, "let's not let that happen again."
Raven beamed, the tops of his teeth slightly yellowed due to all the smoking he did. "I don't plan to," he boomed and closed his hands around Dravite's wrists before patting his nephew on the shoulder. "Come, we have a lot to talk about."

They sat down outside of the tent, enjoying the good weather. Dravite couldn't take his eyes off of Raven, surprised how much the man seemed to have aged in that time and it seemed Raven was thinking the same of him. "I always knew you would be a strong boy," Raven smiled, "that sister of mine always fed you far too much."
Dravite laughed. "I was her only child; she was bound to spoil me a little."
"I'll miss her," Raven sighed. "I already miss her."

Dravite bowed his head and closed his eyes, trying to chase her memory from his mind; the peaceful look on her face when he had found her body.

"Tell me," Raven encouraged.
Dravite set his hands on his knees as he told the story the way he recalled it. "We were running low on water. I told them both there was none to be found until Endrykas but Lazuli thought she knew better. The break in my rib was fresh; the only way to get any peace from the pain was to sleep. When I awoke," he paused, "Belkaia told me she hadn't been gone long."
Raven closed his eyes as if trying to picture it all. "How?"
"I found her Strider first, the Night Lions had--"
"How!" Raven cut him off.
"She fell on her dagger and bled out before she made it back to camp," Dravite managed to tell him.

Raven bowed his head and wiped away a stray tear. "I was a terrible brother," he admitted, "I abandoned her after your father's death. I couldn't stand that rat, Belhaur; never did trust him."
Dravite watched the man, studying his weathered features. "She loved you," he offered, "she always talked about you."
The left side of Raven's mouth turned up in a half-smile. "Kind boy, but a brother knows his sister's heart better than anyone, and I know it had no room for me."

Dravite rubbed his temple; the midday sun was giving him a headache.

"But do tell me, who is Belkaia?"

[Dravite]

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"You have a son?" Raven seemed surprised, "I like the sound of this Belkaia."
"She keeps me on my toes," Dravite laughed.
"She sounds a lot like my Yuki."
"How is your wife, and my cousins?" Dravite inquired, he had missed the girls, especially River who had been about his age.
"They are well, River is married now and Sparrow is a member of The Watch."
"She is?"
Raven nodded. "She is doing quite well. She told me she had seen you at the first meet for the summer and said you must not have recognised her."
"It has been far too long," Dravite admitted, "I would love to see both of them again."
"You will, my boy; in fact, I hope we will be seeing a lot of each other now that you're no longer moving in Belhaur's shadow."
Dravite looked as if he might snarl. "Belhaur disappeared at the end of spring. He had a big fight with his son Belhatir who ran away late one night. After that we made our way without them to the summer grounds. We were attacked in the night by a grassland bear and the Windborne pavilion pinned the blame on me."
"Why?" Raven asked.
"I was the only one with any webbing experience, I was meant to be watching out them... I was exhausted after looking for Belhaur for two days and I fell asleep"
Raven scoffed. "They have eyes; the web isn't the only way to keep a look out."
"I failed them, uncle."
Raven closed his hand over Dravite's shoulder and squeezed gently. "They failed you. They failed Lazuli. They failed themselves the moment the let Belhaur get into power."

Dravite was quiet, what did Raven have against Belhaur? The two never seemed to get along, but Dravite sensed it was more than that. He tied his shirt over his head to use as a makeshift hat to keep the sun off and then watched Raven again.

"I want you to let me join your pavilion," Raven told him.
Dravite was taken aback by the admission. "I don't have a pavilion," he sighed, "it is just Belkaia and I, and a boy from the Syliras border."
"You will have a pavilion," Raven's tone seemed to promise him, "you will be a great leader."
The horse lord looked away, what had gotten into his uncle? "I have no problem with you staying with us, uncle, but I must talk to Belkaia first."
"Tonight," Raven smiled, "let me bring Yuki and Sparrow round for a meal."
"If you like goat," Dravite laughed, pointing to the inside of his tent where he had hung to two legs up in the shade.
"Perfect," Raven grinned before getting to his feet quickly, "I will meet your wife and introduce her to my family. We will bring some vegetables and a gift for you and your son," Raven admitted.
"No, no, please; no gifts," Dravite scolded.
"Nonsense," Raven protested and waved a hand before Dravite could say anymore, "I will return here by the seventeenth bell."

Dravite stood up hugged Raven goodbye, watching the man disappear down the dirt path towards the edge of the city where he then moved out of sight. "Belkaia's going to kill me," he sighed, scratching behind the ear of one of his new goats. He looked down at the animal, two comical looking eyes staring back at him, "and then you can all have a fattened horse lord for dinner."

The goat bleated dumbly, causing the man to laugh.

[Ssezzkero]

Grades

DRAVITE

XP:

Observation +5
Socialization +5
Tracking +4
Animal Husbandry +4
Logic +3
Negotiation +3
Wilderness Survival +2
Stealth +2
Deduction +2
Weapon: Spear +2
Drawing +2
Writing +2
Leadership +2
Hunting +2
Running +2
Endurance +2
Storytelling +2
Carving +1
Philosophy +2
Rhetoric +2
Land Navigation +1
Riding +1
Planning +1
Horsemanship +1
Persuasion +1
Skinning +1
Intelligence +1
Butchery +1

Lores:

Scent: Tame goat hair vs. wild goat hair
Tracking: Dried mud preserves prints well
Tracking: Identifying goat prints
Following Tracks through different terrain
Hunting: Choosing the target prey within a herd
Hunting: Making noise to confuse your prey
Identifying the gender of a goat kid
Riding with goat kids
Arandia: Tells silly stories
Negotiation: Knowing when to walk away
Telling a foreigner what's what
Drawing: Goat prints
Drawing: Goat Kids
Encouraging goat kids to drink milk
Writing: Cataloging short events
Tracking: Difference between wild and tame goats
Tanning: Carving around a goat udder
Re-uniting with Raven
Sharing the story of your mother's death
Raven: Doesn't like Belhaur
Raven: Believes you will lead your own pavilion on day

Awards:

1. Two back legs of a goat
2. Two wild goat kids (a male and female)
3. Two nanny goats

Recipt: -10 gm for two nanny goats

Notes: I looked deeply, so I hope I got everything you were working for! Sounds like a good plot is on the horizon (or already came, since this thread was so far back in the queue xD). Don't forget to edit your post in the request forum as 'Graded'. PM me if you have any questions or concerns.