Completed Adventure of a Scientist [1]

[Shimoje]

It was a great morning. As Shimoje was walking his injury seemed to subside and the small talk between the trio made Shimoje feel a bit relaxed. “The Nettle District. Right, that is what I meant. I am still very new here in Syliras. I grew up in Zeltiva.” He responded. As walking he took note of the conversing between Ser Xervos and Ferrin. It was almost as if Ferrin was new himself, but he wasn’t entirely sure. His thoughts subsided when Ferrin began to explain where everything cheap would be in the city to buy new things. Shimoje wasn’t used to shopping. He preferred feeling more comfortable making things and using them himself, but he knew that wouldn’t always be best.

When the trio finally reached the Rearing Stallion a waft of smells hit Shimoje in the face, and suddenly so did the hunger. “I will take the same...” Shimoje imitated. He figured why not get the same thing. There wasn’t much use in seeming more different than he already had. He was used to the weird looks, but something seemed to bother him this time. He continued on with his sentence “Miss? Don’t mind me, I am quite a decent one if given the opportunity.” The server nodded and went off to the back to hand in the order.

Out from the back came a woman wearing an apron. “Oh son, it looks like you could use some more meat on your bones!” the miss exclaimed “Here have a sample of this while I fix up your orders” She took a ladle out of her pot. It seemed to be chunky with a stew type of consistency. It sure did smell good though. “I just made this! Lucky you come so early, the fresher the better.” Her motherly and kind attitude instantly made Shimoje change his mind about her. At first he thought she would be mean cause of the way she looked. Furthermore, after taking a sip of the hot stew he almost fell in love with her cooking. He couldn’t even open his mouth except to eat. He was enjoying his sample and he looked over to the two kind enough to take him to this wondrous new place. “Would you two care to take a taste?” He placed the ceramic bowl onto a table nearby, but remained standing. “I don’t want to dirty your seats, miss.” He innocently sputtered.

“Nonsense, by the way young man I am Remi Aargon. I own the Rearing Stallion alongside my husband. It will be just a chime longer and my server will get your drinks. Have a seat.” She said. Shimoje shrugged and sat down, noticing the table wasn’t exactly level, but just enough so that any drinks placed wouldn’t spill. Soon enough the lot of drinks and food touched the table. Shimoje instantly picked up his and started to drink. It was a fairly awkward taste as first, but it went down easy, with a slight burn feeling to his throat. He coughed a bit and his eyes began to water. “Not used to this. Really, and I don’t just mean the drink.” He laughed. The effects were already apparent. He wasn’t too bad, but you could tell he was a lightweight. He took more bites of his stew and it had a breakfast feel to it. Not too heavy, and not too fatty surprisingly.

After he finished Shimoje ruffled through his pack and took out 1GM to pay for his portion and placed it on the table. He at least wanted to show good faith. He sat there quite for a bit, but then proceeded to get to know the two. “The city really is more grand than what I am used to. As knights you two know more of it. How often would it be for someone to be killed around these parts. I was told to come here after news of my father’s death and haven’t come across any information yet.” He took a serious setting from drinking the beer as opposed to getting loopy, and once again found himself more social than usual. He started to run his fingers over his left eyebrow. Looking over he saw the fine miss Remi Aargon walking by, he waved her down “Thank you so much miss. It was wonderful, may I get a glass of water please?” he solemnly said.

“Sure thing young man, you feel alright?” She questioned. It wasn’t too awkward for her to ask, as her kind nature tended to take over. “Oh, yes maam, just a lot of thoughts on the mind.” He responded.

The two at the table with him were surely able to notice that he wasn’t being fairly lively and then all of a sudden he piped up from his seat and looked at them with the highest of intentions. It was as if flames were seen from his green eyes. “I need to do something here or I will go crazy. First thing is first though I should get prepared for what is ahead. May you two be willing to help me? If anything I will tag along with your patrol so I am not too much of a burden.“ He sat back into his seat and initiative was seeping through his pores.

A fine maiden came by with Shimoje’s cup of water and set it on the table. It wasn’t Remi this time, and she just scurried away to the back not making any contact with the dirty bald guy. He took a few sips of the water slowly stared at the fireplace on the far end of the tavern.

[Ferrin Al'Mandrikan]

Ledger Count-4sm for Ferrins bowl. -4sm for Ser Xervos' bowl. And -4sm for Shimojes. Equals to- 12sm.

I'll update my ledger ASAP.

The head chef of the Rearing Stallion officially greeted the trio her self. She as Remi, the husband of the natural owner of the building came out to greet them personally. Ferrin said little as he was engrossed on his food, the sweet wafting aroma that spoit throughout the room was incredibly in a state of gloriousness. And it awed Ferrin so, the genuine taste of the stew, the sweet aroma of the broth and meat. "You turly do a swell job with these stews Remi. Thank you so, you do great at this cooking." Complimented Ferrin before he went back to eating on his bowl of soup.

Ferrin looked up over to the balded man before him. The man named Shimoje, did need some cleansing. He appeared to be worn out as well, perhaps Ferrin should take him to the healers house to get a nice check up to see if he is doing just fine, unless if Shimoje decides otherwise.

Ser Xervos tilted his head upwards slowly with a relieved sigh. "Thank you, Ferrin my boy nothing is better than a morning meal. Once we're done we should head out and recontinue the patrol." Said the Knight with a slight smile across his face. "Alright Ser." Replied Ferrin solemnly. The Kenashian wished that he could have had stayed at the Rearing Stallion all of the morning and than do the patrol in the afternoon. Surely, there are afternoon patrols. Bit, Ferrin hadn't been introduced with them yet.

Maybe, the morning patrols is the Neetle District and the afternoon should be the Kabrin Road? Perhaps. Oh the times when he was out hunting at the Bronze Woods. Those felt like good times. And there was still more to do in the future. And there is a long time before Ferrin would ever have a chance of becoming a Knight and this was just his first season. Imagine, how many more seasons he has to have completed in his training to just become a Knight of The Order.

From Ferrins perspective Shimoje appeared to be one of those guys who had a hardened shell in development, but hadn't reach the full aptitude of a back bone. At least, this bald headed man knew how to do the important things, all he needs is help to get used to the city. Surely, things with the city can be quite overwhelming for a new commoner.

"Oh, you sure you want to hitch a walk with us, I mean you had just arrived here and been quite busy lately. Do you want to take a rest?" Said Ferrin mainly to Shimoje, Ferrin knee that Ser Xervos would want to take a rest soon, but he's the one introducing the patrol not the one who had taken the long petching journey. "You don't have to if you want to."

WhoopsForgot the drink for Shim, that would be, 1sm

[Shimoje]

The fireplace on the far end of the Rearing Stallion was empty. It’s charcoaled remnants of logs still lay from the night before. Though a distinct fire could be heard from somewhere in the desolate tavern. Aside from the trio the only current occupants were the staff. A brush of wind whistled from the door and sun poured in from the propped open space that was left. It was as if the outdoors were beckoning, almost inviting Shimoje to go along with the two knights. With a stretch throwing his hands in the air the young man let out a yawn. He wasn’t too busy. He had his own intentions, sure – and despite his interactions thus far he had no reason not to tag along with them. He knew that they needed to continue their patrol. The knights in this city were relentless in trying to keep things in order, and they seemed to do a good job at it.

“How many problems do you really run into here, in the morning at least?” Shimoje tried to question the intentions of why they had to do such. “A rest would be nice, but I just woke up it feels like!” Shimoje had been all too familiar with the wanting to just relax, but now was not the time. As he we questioned by Ferrin he exchanged a glance with him and seemed to perceive that he didn’t really want to go either. He turned his attention to the knight who had been edging him along and thought it was his doing. While sitting at the table Shimoje kindly stacked the bowls and placed the cups in a manner where it would be easy to pick them up and clean the table. He disliked leaving a mess. He noticed that Ferrin had already taken care of the whole order. He was treated to his refreshment and definitely felt satisfied.

Shimoje stood up and beckoned the two to the door. “Thank you kindly, Ferrin. It means a lot to me. I will repay the favor, I assure you.” He promised. Shimoje exited the Rearing Stallion. His exit wasn’t too gracious and his side started to act up a little bit. It took a bit to muster up the strength to hide his injury. Once outside he noticed the variety of taverns and inns which were placed closely together. Among them were the White Swan Inn, The Golden Dragon, and the Rearing Stallion from which Shimoje has just visited. It seemed strange to Shimoje that so many inns were that close together. The building looked old and there stood a few consignment stands.

One in particular caught his eyes that seemed to bring a lot of color to the rather bland walls. A flower stand full of exotic flowers and great bushels of plants ran by a rather old looking but kind woman. He had no interest in flowers but the woman seemed to not be fairing so well. She started coughing and sat on her chair hunched over. Shimoje was a little bit concerned and went over to ask her how she was doing. “Good morning, ma’am. You alright?” he asked kindly. The sweet old lady responded with a harsh crackly voice “Don’t mind me young … man, I will be fine. Come to get some … flowers for a young lady?” She coughed in between the pauses and looked sincerely at him.

Shimoje ruffled through his pack and found his waterskin. It was filled with just enough water for a few sips. “Here ma’am, have some water. I don’t have much, but it should help.” The woman didn’t judge the dirty young boy one bit. She took his kind offer and took a few sips of the water and handed back the waterskin. “Thank you, boy. I am Atta Sabot. You are a kind one aren’t you?” she gracefully picked up a single white rose and smelled it. “Do you know what this symbolizes?” She asked him.

Shimoje didn’t know. He didn’t much about flowers at all. “No ma’am. I am Shimoje by the way.” He smiled back. It wasn’t long before Anna continued on “Well, the white rose is the symbol of new beginnings and honor. Here, take the flower.” She held out the rose already pricked of its thorns and handed it to Shimoje. He wasn’t sure how to react, but held it in his hand. So many kind gestures had shaped Shimoje a new outlook on life. It was a very great day. “Have a good ma’am, thank you!”

Shimoje for a minute thought he lost track of the two knight, but found out that they weren’t far. Probably waiting on him, but not completely sure. He walked back over to them with the flower and handed it to Ferrin. “Here, you seem to deserve this more than me.” His kind gesture was just a bit out of place and random, but regardless Shimoje had no one to share the beautiful velvet white petals with.

It wasn’t long after handing over the rose that a screaming arrow whistled its way across the city. Shimoje was startled by the loud noise and it seems like the arrow caused a bit of distress as most open doors closed shut and the area of which Shimoje stood almost seemed empty. As the arrow’s whistle faded another other from the west sounded it’s beacon. Shimoje knew that this was close to the Main Gates.

[Ferrin Al'Mandrikan]

As the two, Ferrin and Ser Xervos stood apart from the Rearing Stallion. Ferrin awaited for the newly met man to return from his visit at the florist kipsk who had randomly received a white rose from the shop keeper. An oldish, lady who sat at the kiosk waiting for paying customers to take a browse and hopefully select some flowers of their choosing. Shimoje and the lady who seemed to be coughing exchanged some words of advice. The bald headed man loaned out his waterskin that contained some water to the woman. The woman in return, traded the drink of water for what appeared to be a white rose.

Ser Xervos almost grown impatient and was ready about to leave from what Ferrin could see of the Knight. With the return of Shimoje, the bald headed man handed Ferrin the white rose. It hadn't officially shocked Ferrin, but it certainly took Ferrin off track. Ferrin cordially grasped the white rose that was handed to him by Shimoje and placed it on a slot in his sheath that contained his short broadsword, and tucked it in for safe keeping. "Thank you Shimoje." Though, the Kenashian hadn't known much of or even about flowers he understood that Shimoje was mainly handing it to him out of gratitude. It wasn't long after that things began to change.

An arrow seemingly whistled over head as the three were about to set foot for their patrol. "What in the name of..." Said Ser Xervos, but the rest of his words were muted by another arrow. "Probably another old drunken fool again." Ser Xervos said as he took his steps towards the Gates. "Aye, you squire. What you doing standing there behind the gate. Go see who it is." Commanded Ser Xervos while he spoke to another squire. The Knight turned his head and gestured Ferrin with it, to do the same. "Go on. Get him under control."

Ferrin broke out in a jog. Soon enough, the Kenashian wasn't greeted by one drunken man, but by a couple. Surely, these men do know what they were doing. "Aye! Stop that!" Ferrin yelled while he trekked towards the small group of squires already formed. "Ha ha! Look at me, I'm surely the best archer here. I can shoot with my eyes closed!" Said CA man with one of the bows in his hands. Seemingly, his eyes were closed. Unfortunately, before a squire had gotten on top of him, an arrow shot upwards in the sky. It arched ever so slightly, and struck the men in his leg. The drunken man yelped in pain and dropped an arrow. The fastest squire got to the man first, and it wasn't Ferrin.

The squire managed to pick up the man and carry him over to the healing house. But, the other drunken men. It seemed to be a problem. "Relieve your weapons." Said Ferrin in a calmed manner. They ignored him. Then they recontinued to shoot arrows in the air and laughter sprung from each of them. "Stop!" Another squire yelled. And he rushed at the closest man before him to only successfully tackle the drunk. Ferrin managed to easily disarm his closest drunken man by simply taking away the bow. "Ser Xervos what do I do?" Asked Ferrin dumbly. Surely there would be a better way to ask, but Ferrin managed to restrain the drunken men from injuring any more people by holding his arms in a cross behind his back. "Take him to the healers house to get looked at." With that, Ferrin did as he said.

OOCThis was fun to work with, though I don't recall talking about arrows over the wall.

[Shimoje]

The arrows seemed to disgruntle Ser Xervos and Ferrin. It was a bit worrisome. “Hey whe-“ before Shimoje could finish the two seemed to head towards the commotion near the main gate. He heard some yelling coming from Ferrin in the distance and decided to head towards it. He couldn’t jog as fast as Ferrin, but still knew the general direction to head. Once he arrived he saw Ferrin holding some guy’s arms behind his back. Just as soon as he was there it seemed a group of other knights and squires escorted them. Shimoje heard him say something about the healers’ house. It seems that things tended to work in his favor cause Shimoje knew he could use some help himself.

He followed the crowd and they seemed to head in a similar direction. Before long a set of wooden double doors that seemed to longer than normal. Shimoje followed behind and went down a set of stairs. He was greeted by another young man who seemed to be a bit in worry. “Are you with the knights that just came through?” the receptionist asked. Shimoje just nodded his head. “Right follow me, they took them to the private pool this way to be treated and mended. You look bent out of shape yourself.” He said as directing Shimoje to the correct area.

Once inside he saw a man with an arrow in his leg unconscious being treated and another man dazed in the corner with a towel across his forehead. “What is going on?” Shimoje asked. There were three healers in there tending to the two and there were also 2 other squires alongside Ferrin and Ser Xervos. A lady asked one of the squires if Shimoje was involved as well, and they nodded no. Shimoje stood there and watched as they extracted the arrow from the man’s leg. Blood rushed from the leg onto the floor and seeped into the currently unused pool. One of the attendants noticed it and immediately requested one of the helping hands to drain it. The helping hand tried to drain the pool, but for some reason it released only a little bit of water from the pool. Shimoje saw the concern as the attendant started to argue and yell at the helping hand. Without any words Shimoje jumped in and took his wooden device out. “Must be a clog.” Shimoje ruffled through his pack and pulled out his wooden device that looked like a corkscrew. He put it into the drain hole and started to twist. Whatever was down there caused there to be tension as he twisted. With great effort Shimoje kneeled down into the water and tried to pry upwards. Nothing happened. Using a back and forth motion in the waters he eventually felt it give way. A splash came up out of the pool he lost his grip and floated backward a little bit trying to regain his balance. The blood ridden water started to drain and Shimoje went to grab his wooden device. It seemed to break in the process but wrapped around in the coil of the carved grooves was a torn towel which held it together.

He took the towel and broken wood device and place it outside of the pool as he attempted to climb out of the pool. His side was really hurting. “Might I be seen about my side please?” He asked as taking off his shirt. He noticed that in the process of him trying to drain the pool the attendants were about done handling the two men. His chest showed all different hues of purple and blues. “How much would it cost?” Shimoje asked one of them as they observed his injury. “Nothing too severe, just 8gm.” A female attendant had quoted the price to him. He pulled out the money and laid it on a bench and sat down ready to be treated.

“So what is wrong with me?” Shimoje had asked her. “Well, if you see it looks like you have deep internal bruising. Time could heal you, but it would be slow if you had a cracked rib as well, which feeling from this you do. I will do my best to heal you.” She placed her hands upon his chest and Shimoje grunted from the pain. It seemed that the soothing rubbing had some effect as the pain started to subside, soon enough she was tightly wrapping bandage around his chest and was done with him in a bell. The knights and squires were still trying handle their affairs with the men that caused such a commotion and Shimoje was awed in how he started to feel better so fast.

“So tell me exactly what happened with me please?” Shimoje had asked. “Well if you feel here.” She pointed and touched his right rib by his diaphragm. “This rib here is part of your true ribs. They connect to a cartilage which is connected to the sternum. Your second rib was fracture or cracked and it serves as an intermediary to other ribs. It also has a large tuberosity for a muscle halfway along its length. Because that rib was damaged is why you bruised so badly and your muscle was so bruised as well.” She had explained in a very caring manner. Shimoje was intrigued so much about this that his eyes started to glisten and he concentrated on every bit that she had said.

“Thank you I feel much better.” He said to the healer. He looked back at Ferrin and Ser Xervos who seemed to be involved and questioning the two men now. It wasn’t long until Shimoje was back on his feet when he was stopped by one of the attendants. “I washed your clothes while you were being treated, it comes to just 4cm.” Shimoje was surprised that they did that without his permission, but they were very dirty and needed to be fixed. He shuffled through his pack once again and fished out the proper coinage with tip to a total of 9Gm. He didn’t mind paying extra for being taken care of.

1 and a half bells have passed by, and as Shimoje got dressed he couldn’t help but to think how relieved he had felt. He had food in his stomach, a quenched thirst, clean clothes, and no more pain from his injury. “Where to now?” He asked as he turned to Ferrin.

[Ferrin Al'Mandrikan]

"They're no good unconscious, talking to them its useless. We won't be able to find out who these fools are." Said Ser Xervos with a shake of his head as he spoke to a fellow Knight. "Alright." The other Knight replied. Ser Xervos smirked and sighed once again and walked casually back to Ferrin and Shimojie. And it had appeared that Shimojie was getting looked at. "Alright Shimojie, you feeling any better?" Said the Knight with a worried look. There weren't any arrows that had struck the balded man, but who knows what could've injured him. Perhaps he had had it for a long time now. Unless, he had gotten it from the Pits this past yesterday? The Weapons Master certainly has a knack for wanting to take down those new and unused to the weapons at first hand. Surely, he must have had injured Shimojie during the process of his training.

Ferrin spoke and replied to Shimojie with a simple nod and said, "Well, we were planning to gather some information on whether or not these men were bandits. Mostly just trying to figure out who they are so we can keep some tabs on them." Said Ferrin simply with a shrug of his shoulders upwards and a sigh. "Yeah, those fools could barely speak what their names are. There are probably more of them in the woods, we can check there. You coming Shimojie, do you think you are up for the task?" Said Ser Xervos with a simple worried head gesture to the bald headed man's side.

While Ferrin had been in Syliras. Not much had happened while he lived here. Surely, bar fights and drunken men shouting. Not much had really happened. What Ferrin had hoped was that this wasn't some sort of scheme planned by those pethching bandits. In the Winter, there had been more bandits and wolves lately, but hopefully the amount of bandits hadn't increased since then. Ferrin had gotten real sick of those bandits that roamed around the Bronze Woods. Why not just live a normal life without stealing peoples things or robbing buildings. Why?

Better to change the subject now then talk about bandits. "So, Shimojie, where did you say you had come from?" Said the Kenashian with a friendly smile at the bald man. Hoping to at least change the subject. Well, the subject that was going around through his mind. Ser Xervos started walking, "Come on, you two. We should check the Bronze Woods for any more like these men. Surely, there might be more." With that, Ferrin started to follow in behind Ser Xervos, but would only slow his pace for Shimojie to catch up.

[Shimoje]

Afternoon Day 31 of Spring 516 A.V.
“I came from Zeltiva on a trade ship. It is a very long story, but I can give you the gist of it, and don’t worry I wasn’t a slave!” Shimoje laughed He walked up towards Ferrin and strolled alongside him. “You see, my father was killed somewhere around this area. Who knows it could have been from the bandits you were talking about, so I don’t mind coming with you to investigate.” He continued on while studying how Ferrin was reacting “All I know is from a messenger who came to my door dropping off this…” He patted his leather woodcarver’s toolkit that was strapped to his side. “and that his body was found in this area.”

With that note Shimoje went quiet for a few moments. He remembered back to the day when his he heard news of his father. It was a normal day for the most part. He started off his morning by rolling out of bed lazily with a book falling to the floor. He fell asleep reading late at night again. He knew that by the time he woke that his father would already be at work. His father was a scholar and a man of many mysteries. Often he would be seen making something new every day. Shimoje fell into the habit as well and enjoyed creating things. It wasn’t too soon that after breakfast he heard the knocks on his door and that is when he got the news. He immediately fell to his knees and started crying. He didn’t know what to do.

Shimoje started to tear up a little bit while he walked but quickly tried to hide it by wiping his eyes hoping that the two he was with didn’t see it. “So the bronze forest… Is this place dangerous?” Shimoje already knew the answer if it was home to some bandits. He knew deep down that it would be a bad idea to go out there unarmed, but with the protection of the knight and the squire he seemed like everything would be alright. As they were walking Shimoje noticed that he had been a bit too … serious with them. Telling them of everything in such a depressed manner. It really made him feel like a kid, like he depended on them. He hated it. He hated feeling like he couldn’t do anything for himself.

He paused mid walk and looked at the Ferrin. He knew this was going to be a very daunting task when he noticed how serious the situation was. “Have you ever been out there?” he questioned Ferrin seriously and looked down at his feet and his hand waved over his woodcarver’s toolkit. The blades were sharp in it, and he knew that if worst came to worst he could use those.

oocAssume that Shimoje would follow you to the point in which they arrive to the exit of the city and into the bronze forest - he doesn't have any riding experience but if you choose to go there by horseback it would cause for a more interesting entrance into the forest. - - - If you go this route I give you permission to RP him as getting stuck on the saddle and the horse taking off for you to "chase."

[Ferrin Al'Mandrikan]

OOCWalking won't take to long, though the Kabrin Road stretches on regions and regions on end. So, mainly patrols would technically be perhaps a few miles or so from readings on other threads I've seen most people do casual walks with their patrols.

Ferrin had been met by Shimoje alongside him as the trio recontinued their walking. So, Shimoje came from Zeltiva. Not the first person that Ferrin had had met who came from that city. Ferrin had been told to go see the waters and the rest of its natural life by another local from their. At each step, dirt had been kicked up from the ground and twirled throughout the open sky by the metal and the non-metal feet that strolled over the earthly ground beneath the men.

"Zeltiva you say. Quite an interesting story, your father's death. Odd, I haven't been notified or even I don't think Ser Xervos had been notified of the case. Usually, someone would've sent in a report, unless, it had been some time ago before I've came here in Syliras." Replied Ferrin in a more friendly demenur. Ferrin smiled to Shimoje as he continued his explanation. Ser Xervos walked quietly, peering over through the woods now and then to check and see if there are any bandits lurking about.

A messenger from Syliras to Zeltiva. About a death. Now, that was something that had struck Ferrin as odd. Wouldn't there just be some sort of letter sent to his door? Or, what else could there have been? Surely, there could be... Nothing. Probably no more outcomes out of this. But, really Ferrin hadn't had heard of any deaths here save for the bandit kills and the wolves. Shimoje had asked if these woods are quite dangerous. Yes, fairly so at an amount.

"Yes, these woods can be a bit dangerous. They were quite dangerous. They were a bit dangerous last winter with the activity of the wolves and the more bandits lurking about." Said Ferrin simply. They continued along the road simply, step by step and Ser Xervos spotted something. A trail of smoke escaping the brim of the tips of the tree line to the west. "Ferrin. What do you see? Over to your left?" Said the Knight simply with a gesture with his left hand towards the top of one of the treeline that surrounded the Kabrin Road. "Yes, smoke." Said Ferrin with an odd shrug of his shoulders. "I bet you, ten Gold Mizas that there would be bandits over there. Best to take the Road and cross through the woods and intercept them there." Said Ser Xervos strategically. "I believe that would be the best route. "

Ferrin thought the suggestion over for a few ticks and figured that there could be another way to go about this situation. "Perhaps we could flank either sides of the camp? We don't really know how much men are out there. There could be a possibility of a small clan just outside these woods." Replied Ferrin as the three kept walking. "Honestly, I think we should wait for more recruits to come and assist us on this confrontation." Replied the Knight with a shrug. Shimoje had asked another question while the two conversed. Have the two of them been out there? "I've been out here hunting before I became a Squire." Replied Ferrin with a wry smile.

"I've been here in these woods many times Shimoje. And they can be quite superstitious in many ways, and quite peculiar with the strange activity of either the wolves plus the bandits. I do not know why their are more bandits around now a days, but it's certainly a mystery." Said the Knight. "So many options to go about this hunt. What do you think Shimoje?" Asked Ferrin.

OptionsYou can choose whether to wait for more, if you do we could wait for whoever wants to join in on the next post. Or, you can go the route that Ser Xervos had suggested. Or the flanking route and you could choose who to split up and follow. I'm fine with whatever.

[Shimoje]

oocProper timing for this adventure should end before nightfall

Heading into the woods was a real change of scenery. All of a sudden it felt like the lively city and safety of the walls was far away. It would be a lie if Shimoje wasn’t a little bit scared. As they walked through the woods light seemed to shine through the canopy of the trees creating rays of light which lit the ground beneath them. Every now and then a break in the trees would show a glimpse of the sky, and something was particularly eerie about this place. A deep black smoke came from the west of the trio’s direction and before Shimoje even noticed it the skilled knight pointed it out.

Shimoje disregarded the delving comments about his father and how they hadn’t heard of it. He wasn’t sure how else to explain things. All he knew is that he got the message, and it caused a lot of stress. As Shimoje walked despite not wearing the armor he seemed clumsier than Ser Xervos and Ferrin. Every few steps a twig or branch would snap under his feet creating noise. The slight ruffle of twigs and undergrowth would run across his pants, and the occasional bug would fly in front of his face annoying and distracting him. He was clearly untrained and undisciplined compared to them.

“Wolves. Bandits. Either way I feel like we should be careful. I will try my best not to get us killed.” He wasn’t too worried about them, but mostly of himself. He knew far well that wolves and bandits couldn’t be the only thing that lurked in such an environment. The smoke didn’t seem to travel much but upwards cause usually Shimoje would try and smell it, but this time he didn’t smell anything. As Ferrin proudly displayed that he had hunted in the woods before he couldn’t help but to remember he hasn’t even been hunting himself. He knew nothing of the art, if you could call it that. All of this seemed so barbaric, but yet Shimoje liked it. He loved the thrill. He liked the feeling that he could possibly be at risk, he never felt this way before, and with every step his heartbeat grew that more intense.

The knight finally asked for Shimoje’s input on what to do. “I do not know honestly, but when I traveled by boat here I know that the captain purposely avoided some paths that were well traveled to not get attacked by pirates.” He explained “It would only by logical to not travel a path where we could easily be seen, especially since we do not know what we are dealing with.” His voice grew a bit softer and he looked over to Ferrin to see if he agreed. He was looking for support in what he said. Though, this time Shimoje wanted to listen to his gut. Splitting up seemed like a very bad idea to him, the more people he had with him in these woods the safer he felt. Even the knight himself said that we should wait for more people, but it seemed like all the other squires and knights were busy doing their own patrols and stuff.

“If anything we should go around, and not travel the road. Going through the woods and using them as cover would at least allow us to scope things out a bit better.” He said finally and firmly. Shimoje shrugged and took out his largest woodcarver’s knife from his kit. “I can use this to mark trees like this.” Shimoje walked over to the nearest tree and put a gash into his bark just at shoulder level. With a few more knicks into the wood he created a circle within the wood. “A circle means that this is the start. A triangle facing forward means we went forward, and a triangle to the left or right means we went left or right. Each mark will be place directly in a straight line to a tree, branch, or underbrush that is perpendicular to it. No sense in marking them senselessly.” He explained as he clutched his knife in his hand.

Shimoje entered the underbrush noticing the variety of different plants that lay before him. A few bushes here and there, a log of a tree which had fallen probably from a storm, various leaves and twigs which seemed dried from the winter before. It was as if no one had stepped through the brush ever. Directly in front of him was his next tree. It wasn’t as large as some of the others. “You said it was to our left right?” he questioned as he put a triangle in that tree facing to the left. He paced to the next tree and tried to watch his footing when he came to a log on the ground which he had to climb over. It was only a few paces away, and with a quick hurdle a branch from the other side caught his pants leg and caused him to trip.

Shimoje got red in the face, embarrassed. He already felt like he messed up. He tried to untangle the twig from his pants leg and eventually got frustrated and then decided to swipe at it with his knife. The knife went straight through the thin piece of twig and freed him easily. In the distance he thought he heard some sort of movement, but it was probably just Ferrin or Ser Xervos he thought until he heard it again. “Did you hear that?” he asked. With a flapping a bird came out from the underbrush and flew up to the canopy of the trees. It seemed larger than any other bird he had seen, but that didn’t really settle into his mind till after it was out of sight. “oh, just a bird.”

He continued on and made his next mark. He could smell the smoke at this time, and the brush was starting to get thinner it seemed. “Are we close?” he whispered, not knowing for sure if they were or not. Shimoje clutched his knife tighter and kneeled down. Beneath him a spider crawled inside of its thin silk focusing on a poor bug that had been caught in its weave. It paid no mind to the human that was right next to it. With a few more steps Shimoje kept his low profile and noticed a string that ran from a tree to another tree. “wait I think I see something!” he whispered.

He followed the string to the base of a tree and it seemed to run upwards. Keeping his distance, he saw that it pivoted on a tight axis up into the branches. In the branches he swore he saw some pieces of wood that didn’t fit with the natural environment. “what is this?” he questioned. He was familiar with the draw and tightness of the rope. Usually something that tight would have something attached to it. Sure enough not far from the canopy of the tree was a slip knot that connects to some sort of device. It had spikes on it and would surely prove to be lethal if it fell on anyone. “I don’t think that we are alone here. Would a hunter employ such a device?” he thought about it for a second, and usually hunters would want clean kills as not to butcher the meat. No, this was surely some sort of trap meant for larger prey that didn’t care how they died.

Shimoje took note of the trap and studied it for a while. A few chimes passed by. “Let me try and disarm this thing.” He said. Upon studying the trap further, he saw that the fulcrum of the trap lay across the top of a branch. This sort of set up would usually cause a swinging method much like a pendulum on a clock. It seemed easy enough to disarm, he would either trip it or make it so that the bottom part of the device would be rendered useless. He didn’t want to trip the device in case anything bad would happen. Instead he looked around his surrounding and found a larger piece of wood. He went into his woodcarver’s kit and found a chisel. This tool was used for creating large holes into wood, and could easily get into the base of the trunk. He traced the piece of wood on the trunk with his knife and then chiseled a decent hole into the bark right by where the rope went upwards and tested to see if the piece of wood would fit. It had a tight enough fit, but still rotated a little bit, it should work as long as nothing hit the tree itself.

As he placed the wood into the trunk he carefully looked at how the rope connected to the trunk. It seemed to have a nail hammered into it leaving just a little bit of slack, which would if someone stepped into the rope would cause it to slip off of the nail. The wood extended far more outward than the nail did and was rather close to it. Should the trap be triggered the theory was that it would catch on the larger piece of wood instead of going completely slack and releasing the spiked contraption above.

“Just a little bit longer guys. It shouldn’t take much more time.” Shimoje felt like he was being rushed as the two guarded him in performing the disarm. He looked around for something heavy and noticed a rock not too far away. It was rather large. He tried to pick it up and it was quite strenuous for him, but he managed to lift it. He was surely sweating now, both from the weight and the nervousness in hoping this would work. He stood directly above the rope from where it was tight, a bit by the trunk of the tree and carefully aligned the rock. He sat it down directly ontop of the rope… and the rope slipped from the nail.

A loud creak was heard from above and the device swayed a little bit, but didn’t fall. “Looks like I just got it! Guess being short is a good thing!” he was excited that he disarmed the trap. It wasn’t long after that he heard something from the distance. It sounded like a bird sound again. Man did Shimoje start to hate birds at this point.

“Well… lets continue on.” He said as taking a few steps forward to the next tree and made another mark in the direction of the smoke. Finally, a clearing was in view and it seemed that Shimoje was scared to go any further. “Is it close?”

[Ferrin Al'Mandrikan]

"Alright through the woods it is then." Said the Knight with a slight smirk across his worn out visage. The Road felt more secured to Ferrin then the woods. For many reasons as well. Though, without his armor he would be exposed to a more sudden death then when he had his armor. Simple as it sounded it was still dangerous, walking through the woods. Obviously. What woods aren't dangerous?

Shimoje had looked over at Ferrin after his explanation of not taking the Kabrin Road. Ferrin nodded his head simply. "Yes, it seems fit. I think it would give those petching bandits a confusion. If they were hoping to ambush us." Said Ferrin spiritedly as he eyed the more in depth parts of the forest.

Shimoje expanded his explanation more thoroughly to why the trio should not take the Kabrin Road. "Ah, yes. More clear now." Said the Knight with a plausible manner and nodded his head. The traveler, said something about engraving within the trees to represent which way that had traveled. If Ferrin had his longbow with him, hunting down these bandits would go a lot smoother. Well, at least that was what he thought. It was a basic knife meant for carving wood. And Shimoje started to implement the directions of the ways they took. "If you know how to use that thing, it'll come in handy." Said Ser Xervos with a casual glance over at the Zeltivian man.

The trio trekked on after the first engraved mark. And tredded towards another tree, just a couple yards out. Shimoje asked if the smoke was to our left. Ser Xervos answered in return. "It was to our left on the road, I believe we're almost straight in sync with it." Said the Knight in a matter of fact tone. The wind lightly blew over the trio and through the forest. It almost whispered to Ferrin as if it wanted to help in finding out where the bandits were.

Shimoje also explained of the reasoning behind the engraved markings for their travel. Circle. Start. Arrows. Directions of where they went. Ferrin nodded and followed beside Shimoje with his shield strapped on his left hand and his short broadsword grasped with his right. Ser Xervos trekked with his longsword and stood a bit behind the two, and guarded their backs. It felt good, knowing someone whom you could trust behind you. Really.

Shimoje went to mark another tree as Ser Xervos answered his question prior. The man tripped, and Ferrin could feel his face turning red. He didn't know what emotion struck him, bit it sure wasn't a joyful one. "You alright Shimoje?" Asked Ferrin simply. Shimoje struggled a bit and eventually cut the twig that tripped and caught him swiftly.

There was a slight chirp and a flapping sound. From the underbrush a bird popped out and flew back up to where it dwelled. It landed safely and curled in its own wings with a few picks of its beak at its skin. Mainly to clean itself from the twigs that had previously gotten onto it.

"Yep. Just a bird." Said Ferrin shyly. A new sensation filled the nostrils of the Squire. Smoke. He could smell that burnt wood and burning food. "I think so..." Whispered Ferrin as he got low and picked his steps carefully behind a different underbrush. This one much larger than Ferrin. Ferrin looked at Shimoje as he said he'd seen something. Ser Xervos kept his eyes on the clearing as he peered lightly over the underbrush. The underbrush was able to hide the three from cover. If there were ever some possibility that the bandits could be out here. "What is it that you see, Shimoje?" Whispered Ferrin.

There was a string from what Ferrin had seen. And he followed it with Shimoje. "A trap!" Whispered Ferrin. He almost wanted to cut the string with his blade, but restrained himself from doing so as he didn't know what the reaction could be. "No, I don't think so. And not for that long. I'm pretty sure this was a sign to keep others out." Said Ferrin quietly, but his tone slowly grew anxious.

"Whoever is out here must be planning something and doesn't want anything to deal with intruders." Whispered Ferrin as he peered his head around his tree. "Or, they want to catch a bear or something of the sort." Said Ferrin as he turned his focus back on Shimoje since he couldn't really see what was going on behind the tree. "Ser Xervos, do you see anything?" The knight shook his head, but only counted a few tents and no one out yet, besides one man cooking some fish.

"Yes, you disarm that trap." Said Ser Xervos without looking at the bald man. He kept his focus on the camp whilst Shimoje attempted his best to disarm the device. As Shimoje worked on the trap, Ferrin crouched over to his patron. And assisted with the look out. "So, do we have a plan?" Asked Ferrin lightly as he peered his head so that just his eyes were over the bush. "No. I haven't counted all of the bandits yet. There must be more than those few that we have had arrested earlier." Said the Knight in a hushed tone filled with impatience. "What should we do though?" Asked Ferrin mainly to himself.

"Good. Good. Said Ser Xervos. And if you mean close, I think we're here... And not alone." Said the Knight. "Look. Carefully."