Solo Ravok: The Journey Continues (Part 1)

[Maria Talwa]

17, Summer, 517

The night air was cool as Maria once again walked around the camp on sentinel duty. Along with four other guards they kept watch while the rest of the caravan rested and enjoyed themselves. This was also when Maria learned about a little custom this particular caravan partook of regularly. The constant ride from city to city and the work it required to keep everything going, took a toll after a while. For that reason the group took every fifteen day off. That was when they would rest, relax, and take it easy for the whole day. It seemed good both for moral and stress relief. The only people who couldn't take a full day off were the caravan guards. Out in the wild someone always needed to be alert and ready for any dangers that might appear.

Hogar had also told the guards to be especially vigilant the closer they got to Kenash. Now only five days away from the city they were entered what would be prime territory for brigands, bandits, and other nay-do-goods that might be looking to relieve unwary travelers of their goods, and possibly their lives. So far the only excitement Maria had seen was a small predator kill and even smaller mammal and make a meal out of it. The caravan's rest day would begin tomorrow, so most of the people were already enjoying themselves and staying up later than usual. In the center of the caravan circle there was a blazing fire with people talking and laughing, a few that were dancing, and someone was playing a fiddle with a good bit of skill to it.

Being out on sentinel duty didn't bother Maria much, she'd never been the socializing type and keeping on the fringes of the society was more her style. The only thing she was really excited about was finally being close to reaching Kenash. It was the first way point of the journey to Ravok, and it would also give Maria a chance to replenish supplies. The caravan would only be there for two days before they began the thirty day trip to Syliras. In Maria's mind every day that passed brought her ever closer to the city of Ravok and the possibility of the answers she was looking for. She also took the job of guarding the caravan very seriously, these people were serving a purpose so it was best to keep them alive and well.

Things were passing slowly for Maria on guard duty, being able to walk around and think about things was the only thing keeping her from going stir crazy at the moment. As she continued to pace around the caravan, Maria kept a close watch, but was torn over the idea of a bandit raid. Part of her wished it would happen so she could kill a lot of people, but on the other hand it could also pose a threat, and be quite a complication in the journey to reach the city of Ravok.

Word Count: 503

[Maria Talwa]

While the festivities continued, Maria continued her sentinel duty with all due seriousness. Her pace was steady, but relaxed, and she was ever alert for possible dangers. What she wasn't prepared for was something happening in camp, rather than to the camp. While the merriment was in full swing, Maria took note of when the music stopped, as did the laughing and the chatter. Curious as to what was going on she craned her head in that direction trying to see between two of the wagons. Near the fire she could see a young woman talking with Goreth, and she appeared to be quite upset about something. Not long after this people started talking with the guards, including a small group that headed in her direction. At the front of the group was a tall man who was older in appearance with plain clothes.

“Have you seen a little boy, five years old?” the tall man said.

“No I haven't, what's going on?” Maria said.

“Toyara's son Togar, has gone missing and she can't find him in camp,” the tall man said.

“When did she last see him?” Maria said.

“About ten minutes ago,” the tall man said.

“I've been circling the camp steadily, must be a fast kid,” Maria said.

“Indeed, it's not the first time he's wandered off,” the tall man said. That in mind Maria looked toward the wooded area near the camp, then back to the taller man.

“Go, we'll watch the camp,” the tall man said. Like a shot Maria was off, headed for the treeline to look for Togar. She was already concerned about the chances of finding a little boy at this time of night, and entered the woods about the same time as several other people. The canopy overhead was thick, blocking out most of the moonlight, so it took Maria's eyes a moment to adjust. Used to operating under such conditions her ability to see at night was better than most, but still hampered by the darkness. The first thing Maria did was try to listen for the sound of movement, but the only thing she could hear was other people calling out for Togar.

There was so much here that could hurt a child he needed to be found, and quickly. Brigands, predators, even nature itself could be a danger, and so Maria dashed further into the forest with both hands on her swords. As the sound of the other voices faded, she once again tried to listen, but there was nothing to be heard save for what one would expect to hear in a forest. Coming to a small clearing, Maria took notice of some tracks in the dirt. With a break in the canopy it allowed the moonlight to shine through and she could see three sets of footprints, but they were all too large for a child and heading in the wrong direction. These tracks were heading toward the camp, not away from it like those who were searching.

Word Count: 503

[Maria Talwa]

“Not good...” Maria said, mumbling to herself. Most of the people searching for Togar had gone off by themselves or in pairs to search for the boy, and so far as Maria knew, she was the furthest in. There was someone else out here and they weren't part of the caravan. Now with a decision to made, she had to stop and think. Continue to search for the boy, or try to find who the tracks belonged to. Maria quickly decided a possible threat to the whole camp was more of a priority than finding a single child.

Moving in the direction the track lead, she tried to keep low to the ground and remain as silent as possible. While stealth wasn't one of Maria's better areas, she did understand the concept. Stay out of sight and make as little noise as possible. Almost on all fours, she was approaching the edge of the forest, when the sound of indistinct speech could be heard. Stopping almost immediately, she looked in that direction and spied three shadows in the distance that seemed to be taking quite an interest in the camp. For a moment Maria couldn't make sense of it, there weren't enough people to attack directly. Perhaps they planned to sneak into camp when everyone was asleep or... they were scouts!

As the shadows started to move, Maria quickly jumped up, grabbed a low hanging tree branch, pulled herself up, then moved two branches higher to get a better view. As the trio approached, she couldn't be sure, but it appeared to be two men and a woman, however their conversation was all too clear. They were talking about how the caravan appeared to be laden with good ripe for the taking. One of then said they might even get a larger share of the loot for telling the boss about this. That last statement also sealed the fates of all three of them.

As they walked under the tree, Maria slowly drew her swords, then without the slightest battle cry, she stepped off the branch. In dropping down she split one man open from the back, then as the others reacted she sliced the second man across the chest twice as he tried to draw a sword. The third was indeed a woman and with a growl she lunged at Maria. The two clashed blades, but the woman had little skill and was quickly overwhelmed by two blades against one. When an opening presented itself, Maria brought a blade down severing the forearm that carried the blade half way down. With a yelp of pain the woman hit the ground cradling the wounded the limb, and looked up to see a sword pointed at her face.

“How many?” Maria said.

“Screw you whore,” the woman said. In response to this, Maria kicked the woman in the face knocking out a tooth, then began to stomp on her chest. After four blows she pointed the sword at the woman a second time.

Word Count: 502

[Maria Talwa]

“How many?” Maria said. The woman didn't say anything this time, instead simply staring her down. When the second kick to the face connected resulting in a small spray of blood, Maria was about to inflict more damage when the pain finally loosened the other woman's tongue.

“Twenty, there are twenty of us,” the woman said. While deciding how to dispatch the woman, Maria heard a low growl a short distance ahead of them, and looked in that direction to see a small pack of wolves melt out of the darkness, six in total. With a bit of a smirk, she knew what the leader was doing, he was challenging her for these kills. Not inclined to fight a pack of wolves over a woman who was about to die anyway, Maria kept both swords at the ready, and slowly backed away. This showed that she was conceding the kills to the pack, but not fleeing in fear.

“No, please, you can't!” the woman said, holding her remaining hand out to Maria as if it would help in some way. Backing into the woods the woman disappeared behind trees and bushes, then came she sounds of snarling animals and tearing flesh as the woman screamed, and died a death that few, if any, would envy. With that situation taken care of, Maria began to dash through the woods, and exited just in time to see two men, one of them holding a small boy, some distance off as Toyara came running toward them with both arms held out. Knowing the boy was taken care of, she continued to run toward the camp and passed through the carts.

“Goreth!” Maria said. She managed to catch the caravan leader just as he was walking in Toyara's direction, and stopped short, holding up her swords. “We have to go, now!”

“What is it, what happened?” Goreth said.

“Bandits, there were three scouts in the woods checking out the caravan,” Maria said. “I managed to kill two of them, and got the third one to talk before she died. There's about twenty of them, and I doubt they're very far off. The scouts were on foot.”

Goreth didn't even have to give an order, the people in the caravan began to pack after hearing what Maria said, and in short order they were beginning to move out. Still alert, Maria kept watch as they caravan got back on the road, then heard the one thing she'd hoped not to.

“To arm, to arms!” a guard yelled. This was followed by a flaming arrow flying through the air to signal the direction of the attack. Maria followed the arrow to see roughly fifteen or so men on horseback come riding out of the woods and fire a volley of arrows at the caravan, hitting either the ground or the wagons. The wagons were riding single file and went from a fast walk to a full gallop. The guards that were on horseback formed rank in a line as well, putting themselves between the bandits and the caravan. For her part Maria grabbed a long bow and quiver of twenty arrows loaned to her by the caravan, and leaned out of the back of the wagon to fire.

Word Count: 542

[Maria Talwa]

The guards weren't the only ones firing arrows at the bandits, as most of the people able to do so, were. Of those who weren't driving, most were leaning out the front and back of the wagons, firing arrows at their attackers. The exchange turned out to be a short one. The bandits came out of the woods too late and as the caravan raced ahead, the repeated hail of arrows seemed to convince them this group was more trouble than it was worth. Glad that the attack was ending, Maria put the bow down and turned around to see if anyone in the wagon had been hurt, when she was knocked to the floor. With the searing pain that followed she glanced over a shoulder to see an arrow shaft sticking out of her back.

“Son of a bitch!” Maria said. “Where'd it hit, what'd it hit?” Knowing better than to move with a piece of jagged metal lodged in her back, Maria stayed on the floor. The little girl who'd helped her with fishing crawled over and looked at the arrow, then took a piece of cloth out of a box. Next the girl grabbed the shaft and pulled the arrow free, causing Maria to curse briefly, then shoved the cloth over the wound. Maria quickly placed a hand over the cloth to hold it in place, then sat up and looked at both the girl and the arrow.

“You're lucky city lady,” the girl said. “Your armor kept the barbs from going in.” Looking at the head, Maria could see the arrowhead was bloody all the way down to the barbs on the back, but the rear points themselves were still clean. That's what allowed the arrow to be pulled free without causing anymore damage.

“My name's Maria,” Maria said.

“I'm Deena,” Deena said. “And you're probably gonna need stitches, Nana can help with that.”

“Who exactly is Nana?” Maria said.

“Grandma Vecka, she's good with medicine and tending to injuries,” Deena said.

“Right, I'll make it a point to see her as soon as people aren't trying to kill us,” Maria said. Staring out the back of the last wagon, the bandits had already disappeared into the distance, and Maria was seething with anger. The wound wasn't what was hurting her the most, it was that someone had managed to strike a blow for which she was unable to answer back. It was like a free hit, and there was nothing that could be done about it. More than anything Maria would love to cut the one responsible for this into numerous pieces, but that wasn't possible.

For the time being Maria would have to hold the rag in place on her back to slow the bleeding until they were out of danger, then she'd have to look for this Vecka woman to have the wound tended. Regular cuts and scraps, Maria could handle on her own, but stitching, that was beyond her medical capability. That and the fact this wound was on her back, so even if she knew how to tend to it, that still wouldn't have been likely. While thinking about all of this, Maria also realized she'd need to have her leather armor patched when they reached Kenash.

Word Count: 546

[Shaqira]

G R A D E

xp

Observation +3
Intelligence +2
Tracking +1
Stealth +1
Climbing +1
Weapon, Shortsword +1
Dual-Wielding +1
Interrogation +1
Unarmed Combat +1
Rhetoric +1
Weapon, Longbow +1
Medicine +1

lores

Cyphrus: The Sea of Grass
The Sea of Grass is full of dangers
Wishing for action!
Looking for Togar
Tracking: Listening for sounds of disturbance
Stealth: Stay low & out of sight
Intelligence: Inferring bandits’ motives by their number
Intelligence: Spying from the trees
Interrogation: Beating an answer out
Cyphrus fauna: The wolf is a vicious predator & hunts in packs
Armour: Slows an arrow to prevent lethal damage
Deena: A plucky girl of the caravans
Nana Vecka: Good with medicine
Maria: Injured pride smarts worse than a wound
Medicine: Apply a bandage to stop bleeding


penalties

Maria will be left with a small scar on her back where the arrow pierced, which will fade over arcs.


notes - Great action description & totally unpredictable; awesome! I'm looking forward to part ii.
Please be mindful of playing to your skill level; shooting arrows from a moving wagon without XP in the bow would be incredibly difficult for Maria & she would not likely hit any targets.
Don’t forget to deduct living expenses for Spring 517AV; you’re allowed to be 1 season behind on expenses, however, come Fall if these are not caught up you won’t be eligible for grades!

If you feel I missed anything shoot me a PM.
Don't forget to edit your grade request here -