The Morning Delivery (Imass)

[Val'pold Aurelius]

2nd day of Summer 512 AV

Val’pold walked down the street in the early morning trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes. He had been informed the day before that he would be helping with the morning run of supplies to the fields. He didn’t particularly mind the assignment but getting up so early in the morning could be a pain. He preferred the later shifts, but there wasn’t much point in complaining since he couldn’t get out of this shift. He was grateful that it was summer which meant he didn’t have to deal with a cold mornings at least.

With another yawn he walked into the stables were the horses used by the novices lived. The armor he was wearing seemed to press down heavy on his shoulders this morning, but he knew that ones he was truly awake he wouldn’t feel the weight anymore. He did a quickly check to make sure his sword belt was on tight and that his shield was strapped to his back. Pausing at the door way he looked in on the stables with its warm glow as the stable hands prepared for the day.

He got a nod from a couple of the hands as he walked over to Sand. Sand was a middle age horse who was calm without being lazy. He rubbed nose and smiled at her before walking over and retrieving the saddle from his shelf. He walked around the horse talking calmly as he put the saddle on and began to cinch it into place. He didn’t rush since the last two things he wanted to do was scare or hurt and also he really didn’t want to fall off the horse.

Before long his horse was saddle and he lead the creature out of the stable and towards the gates. Upon arriving he noticed that he wasn’t the first to arrive, but he wasn’t anywere near the last either. It was a quiet morning as the last of the wagons were loaded.

He rubbed his horses neck waiting to see what orders he would receive.

[Imass]

The blue Knight showed up clad with broadsword swinging and a round shield on back.

Imass was a zealot. He would dig a ditch a hundred miles away if only requested by his superiors. Someone needed to do such tedious tasks; in the warrior's mind the person to complete such tasks was himself. He was happy that morning. He thought not of the earliness of the mission or the lack of sleep, but instead he focused on the task at hand. To Imass completing these errands were a sign of obedience to the Order's will. This was how he helped the Windoak personally. This is how he made a difference.

Riding upon a group of squires waiting outside the city, Imass hailed his companions, his voice was bright and happy, "Greetings my friends! Is it not a glorious day to do the work of the order?" Rearing his horse around, the Akalak clumsily brought his mount to each man and shook their forearms. He acknowledged the presence of everyone with solid eye contact. It was important to the unranked knight that everyone felt they were important. It was the only way to ensure good teamwork.

He brought his horse around to Val'pold and curtly nodded, "Squire. How do thou feel on this pleasant morn?"

Once he had greeted everyone he brought his horse up to the front of the line and began to explain the task, "Today we need to ride to an outpost at the edge of our territory to deliver this letter," Imass held up a sealed scroll, "The task is simple, but tedious. We must ride swift to the outpost before sundown. There we shall receive our next orders there. Are there any questions?"

The Akalak's steed reared and brayed at his last words. Beams of sunlight came over Imass's shoulders now and the sun peaked its sleepy head over the horizon. It was time to leave. They couldn't afford to burn anymore daylight.

[Val'pold Aurelius]

The squire looked at the large Akalak Knight as he joined the group. Val wasn't a small man himself now that he had gained his man's height and weight, but he always felt so small around this race. They were just so huge. The square jawed squire looked the in the face as he greeted him. "I am well, Sir Knight, ready to ride." He said in his soft tenor voice. While his voice was soft it wasn't week, it was just not a voice that believed in shoting.

Val climbed into the saddle and looked over at the Akalak Knight, Imass, who was leading this particular expedition. Val;pold quickly persieved that he had and enthusiast on his hands and he watched perched from his mont as the man started with his explanation of their mission. They needed to deliver a message to one of the outpost, and they needed to do it quickly. Val appreciated the mans delivery, short and to the point, he didn note that there was a no nonesense tone to the large mans voice.

Before they set off Val'pold checked that his sword was positioned correctly but ready if he needed to draw it quickly. Following that he confirmed the readness of his spear and his sheild. Making sure they would come easily to hand if anything came up. That had one thing his mother had taught him. A knight or senior squire, well equipped was dangerous weapon, and readyness was the differences between victory and defeat. She had told him pleanty of stories of knights who hadn't taken cautions because it was a short distants.

The others had also mounted and once everything was confirme to be ready the set off at a brisk pace heading south. There was time to get to the outpost with out having to kill the horses, which would have upset the order. Val allowed himself to move with the horse as it moved down the path. He looked around him at the others. Another knight and squire combo to make sure the message was delivered. He followed by Imass his squire for this particular delivery. As a squire nearing his knighthood he found himself more and more often on these missions.

[Imass]

Imass set off immediately since no one had any questions. There was no need to explain any further. Even the humblest squire would understand the directions Imass had spoken. Without wasting another minute, the Akalak loosely held the reins with his left hand and rested his right hand on his own hip. The horse moved forward, braying in natural delight. The stout destrier was happy and ready to work hard for Imass. The warrior ran a gauntleted hand through the horses' rough hair. The destrier was the Knight's best friend on the battle field; a good horse was almost as important of training their own martial art skills.

"Onward!" Imass yelled as his horse began to trot south on the Kabrin Road. As they rode down the highway at a brisk pace, the knight continued to talk about the mission with the squires. Imass allowed squires working with him to speak freely. As a follower of Tyveth, Imass believed that men and women had freewill to speak truthfully. Speaking truthfully was breed into a team by open communication. He would give opportunity for those around him to speak honestly.

"We proceed south down the great Kabrin Road past the fields. According to reports, this road has seen almost no signs of bandits or wild beasts. Still it is imperative that we proceed with the uttermost caution. I rather be safe than sorry," Imass said to the squires who rode at his side. The group of soldiers hogged the right side of the dirt road, forcing the passer bys to the left. Running at a trot, the mounts could maintain all day without tire. Imass would not reveal the location of the outpost or how far it was to the squires unless they asked (A Travelers outpost 15 leagues south on the Karbin Road maintained by a farmer and wife).

The Akalak brandished his short bow in left hand and held the reins in his right hand. As the horse trotted he tried to lean into the jostling so that he could put less work on the horse and on himself. He let the animal take most control and would use the reigns only in extreme emergency. He also tried to guide his horse somewhat with his knees, pressing lightly to steer out of peoples' way. Within a minute the traffic of the Syliran gates was clear and they were on completely open highway.

The dawn was pale from bursting sunshine and the air was cool as the cock crowed. The team of soldiers trotted down the road at a brisk pace.

[Val'pold Aurelius]

It took a moment for the young man to adjust to the trout of the horse but only a moment before he was moving with the creature as it contiuned. He enjoyed the feel of moving quickly over the while riding on the back of such a great beast. It had a certian amount of freedom that was difficult to find otherwise.

Turning to look at the knight as he spoke some more of their destination. Val nodded in agreement having heard his fair share of stories of people who listened only to reports and so were unaware as they traveled. Val was quiet for a moment before he asked in a quiet voice. "Do we know about how far this location is?" He wasn't sure if he would get an answer but felt safe enough to ask.

He contiuned to ride keeping an eye out as they traveled. They were leaving more and more of the traffic behind and that was were things could start to get dangerous it was possible for bandits to be watching to warn others ahead of them. Or passerbys might show signs of some trouble. So far though it appeared as if things were rather quiet as they road. The other travelers passed them and seemed no wore the regular travel would require.

[Imass]

And thus the delivery to the outpost commenced.

Riding along the South Kabrin road was easy. The dirt road was flat and went wide from the coast. The horizon to the east was flat except for hill ridges that encircled the valley. One could see the farmer's fields as far as the eye could see to the east. To the south loomed a mountainous range. Judging by their distance from the foothills, the green mountains rose at least one thousand hands in elevation.

Leaning back into the stirrups with his heel , the Knight stabilized himself easily enough. The Kabrin road was flat and straight at this point. Occasionally the Knight had to squeeze his knees to veer the animal, but over all it was easy riding. Tieing the reins to the saddle horn, Ser Imass just let his horse do it own thing and leaned back.

They quickly passed the first outpost, which laid only several miles from the castle gates. The riders didn't even spend a moment there and rode through. Soon the outpost was far behind them and forgotten momentarily. Everyone's eyes where forward on the horizon as the mountains got bigger as they neared. At first, perspective made them believe that the mountains where to the south, but as the road veered to the east they could see the road followed the massive ridge that formed one side of the valley; the ridge actually ran south-southeast.

Val'pold asked how far the outpost lay. The Zealous Knight turned around and shouted a response for all the squires to hear, "We take the road south for six leagues and round the range south for another six. The outpost is the last place to refresh supplies before the forests."

The Zealot untied his reins and shouted, "Val'pold with me," slapping the horse on either side he cantered out ahead of the group. Ser Imass meant to talk to the squire before, but his curiosity reminded him now.

[Balian Martell]

Imass

Skills:

• Socializing: 1
• Leadership: 3
• Riding: Horse: 3

Lores:

• Life of a Knight: Patrols are just another day on the job.
• Erring on the side of Caution: Rather be safe than sorry
• Keeping the Outposts Informed, tedious but necessary

Val'pold

Should You return, PM me for your grade.

Notes :

Nice little thread! Shame it ended short, I see alot of potential here. Please update you post in the grading thread.

If you've got concerns, just shoot me a pm.