Closed Here comes the wave

[Karsynwa]

55th of Summer, 520 AV

Karsynwa had almost lost them in the chaos of coming back through the land gate even though his party had been the first through it. Fortunately, he wasn’t the only person tasked with this broad enterprise. The rest of his group was as well, though he still didn’t know their faces well enough to recognize them from the swirl of people around him. However, the caravaner were easy enough to notice with their peculiar style of dress. Most noticeable was their lack of leathers, and that their clothes were of a finer make than the coarse cloth those who worked the sea wore.

At first Karsynwa followed the group along cautiously and was thankful that the majority of them seemed to be traveling together. It was akin to the blob he’d seen them in when first catching sight of the group out on the Kabrin, but as they worked their way down the cliff face, that blob slowly streched out until it with a thin line of people with room enough for two of them to walk abreast. This was the point where he felt a little more comfortable following along behind them as they made quite the little que down this side of the cliff face. An when they stopped for a break at a small niche carved into the face of the wall where visitors could take respite. The niche was lined with greenery around its small stone benches and in the center was a small fountain.

Sensing an opportunity, he chose this moment to introduce himself. “Blessings upon you. My name is Karsynwa. I’ve been asked to offer you escort if you wish it.” A gruff, bearded man with a large Grey tunic shook his head, but a thin man with short black hair stepped forward to speak.

“We’re just resting at the moment, but if you are interested in wares from Syliras, we will have a few stalls going tomorrow.” His grin was pleasant as he gestured to a seat amongst the group. A few shared sidelong glances at this but didn’t balk when Karsynwa walked over to take a seat with the group.

“My thanks. May I ask you for any word? I have friends in Syilras and it would do me well to know how the city has been in my absence.” He asked, biting the side of his cheek as he leaned forwards slightly. “Times have been well enough. There was a strange mold plaguing the city for a time but the knights seemed to have handled that well enough without too many people having become affected by it. How long has it been since you have been there?” The man with dark hair asked, flipping the tail of his similarly Grey tunic before taking a seat on the bench beside Karsynwa.

Karsynwa nodded. He was prepared for this question, and beamed a smile at the man. “Too long I fear, over a year at least.” He lied, and couldn’t help a reflexive tightening at the corners of his eyes as he passed this information off to the man. It had been scarcely a season since he’d last been there, but over a year since his first visit, the visit he was keeping firmly in his mind as he pursued this line with the man.

“Well, I hope you get the chance to visit again soon.” The man said smiling pack and patting the edge of his knee idly. “Do you know where we might get some drink, and perhaps a few rooms to share?”

Still grinning, Karsynwa nodded and picked away at the nail on his index finger. “I do. There is a fine establishment not far down the cliff from here that I think will do your party just fine. The way is steep, but the beer will be cold when we get there if you don’t mind following me. I could use a drink myself. It has been a busy day hunting for me.”

[Karsynwa]

The man arched his eyebrow at this and a few in the group shifted noticeably in their seats as they whispered amongst one another before quickly quieting down at his glance. Hoping he got the appropriate read of the situation, Karsynwa leaned forward on his elbows to address the rest of the group. “That was an unfortunate bit of business out on the grass this morning. It was good we found you before the drykas could do anything else. They have a tendency not to look likely upon those who trespass across their lands.”

“Trespass!?” The bearded man sputtered before the man with short dark hair quieted him with a glance. Karsynwa patted the air calmly. “It was not your fault. Your guide should have arranged the appropriate payment but he was wanted by the drykas for other matters that they did not share with us unfortunately. But let us not dwell on such a grim morning, and think about getting you all situated for the night.” Karsywa said, standing up and adjusting his leathers. To his pleasant surprise, the rest joined him, pulling on their equipment in turn before it came time for them to start down the cliff side path.

The Kulkukan Tavern and Inn was a popular attraction for many reasons. It straddled the distance between the land and sea gates making it so that the humans who came here did not have to travel far in order to seek pleasant accommodations. An unlike other establishments that might be nearer to either entrance, this location held itself to an above average standard that brought in plenty of Akalak business as well. It was a respectable place, and that was what sealed the deal for it being a favorite among merchants.

Karsynwa had little doubt that they would enjoy the location, however he still felt a small twinge of relief when the group appeared to visibly appreciate the interior of the tavern. For his part, he secured a large table for the group and a couple pitchers of wine to start them off.

“I know we were speaking of beer, but you must taste our wines first” Karsynwa said sweeping a hand towards the pitchers before pouring them each a mug. After a few tentative sips, the group seemed to ease into things falling into their own conversations while Karsywa tried to catch a glance at each of them in turn. Most at the table seemed to nurse their wine though there was a man with brown hair that seemed to down his rather quickly. Before Karsynwa could examine him further however, the man with short black hair leaned in to get his attention.

“My thanks for showing us this place. This is far better than the establishment we normally frequent coming to this city.” The man said with a warm smile. Karsynwa responded with one of his own. “No problem, of course I want you to have the best experience possible when coming to our lovely city like my experience was coming to yours.” His tone was genial, even as he spared a glance over at the man he had notice earlier. There was something peculiar about his shortened brown hair. It wasn’t quite even, and looked to have a rather rough cut. His facial hair was equally uneven, with patches clearly missed along the nape of his throat.

[Karsynwa]

Scratching his chin, Karsynwa flicked his attention back over to the man on his right. “Did you stay long in Kenash?” Karsynwa asked. The man with dark hair shook his head and took a sip from his mug. “No, we barely stayed there ten days actually before we rejoined the Kabrin with that guide.” Karsynwa did his best to keep his face impassive however he couldn’t help a slight twitch of his eyebrow. Naturally it didn’t mean a whole lot on its own, but it was awfully strange that a man would get so unkempt to prompt a sudden shave when the journey was not so long as some. Especially since from what he could recall, the people of Syliras kept themselves relatively clean. That wasn’t nearly enough however for him to be sure enough to show the shackles yet though. He felt fortunate enough to have been welcomed by this group so far however, and they seemed to accept his explanation of what he was doing on the grass. Or maybe they didn’t care. Maybe they were just eager to forget the events that had transpired this morning which he couldn’t rightly blame them for.

He was still trying to forget about it himself. At least he wished he could, but duty demanded he keep it at the forefront of his mind until this mission was concluded. Karsynwa took a reflexive gulp of his wine.

“How long do you intend to stay with the city?” Karsynwa asked after a few moments. The man with the dark hair mulled over this for a moment before extending a hand. “Pardon, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Malik, and for the most of us, we intend to stay for a while. Maybe charter a ship or come back the way we came depending on how well our business does here.”

Karsynwa nodded, and shook his hand. “Karsynwa. A pleasure Malik. That is a sound idea. You won’t regret your time here, I assure you.” Malik seemed to like that, chuckling a little before finishing off his wine. “Great. Thats good to hear.” Then the man quieted and slowly shifted his conversation towards the man on his right. Karsynwa took the opportunity to shift his attention back to the man with brown hair, hoping he could make out any other noticeable details. The man was wearing a dark green shirt of coarse wool, with long sleeves that carried well over his wrists which was an unusual sight in this weather even if the sun was starting to dip below the horizon. Sweat beaded down his forehead and the roughly shorn hair on his head poked up in small patches.

The man did not meet his gaze and instead seemed rather fixated on his drink, only looking up to accept another round when it was offered to him. Karsynwa puzzled over this moment before he decided what to do. Standing up, he dipped into a small bow before addressing the table. “My thanks for the hospitality but I have a family to see you. I hope to see you in the market tomorrow.” He said in parting before leaving the table. More than a few seemed relieved at his leaving which he could hardly blame him for but still it made him immensely suspicious of everyone at the table. He tabled that for now and instead resolved on posting up outside where he would be given a good view of the only entrance to the tavern.

His post turned out to be a nook in the wall. A small little alcove that allowed him to lean comfortably and even set on the ledge if he wanted. Which he did after one bell stretched into another without anything particularly interesting happening. Slowly his body started to stiffen as he sat there and it was only on the part of his parched throat that he was able to keep his eyes open. Which was fortunate in a way as his watch extended well until the moon was high overhead.

Then he saw it. A small figure in a cloak that seemed dissonant with the warm night. Karsynwa sat up, and almost groaned at the sudden tingling pain along his joints as he had to stop to shake off the tension. He had to force himself to walk at first, one painful step at a time. Fearing that he might lose the man down the cliff face fueled him to continue on however as he trailed the man down the road. He tried keeping a cautious distance but it was hard as excitement started to boil up within him at being so close to his prize.

[Karsynwa]

When they reached a relatively isolated stretch of cliff face, Karsynwa decided to make his move. Clearing his throat as loudly as he could manage, he startled the figure trailing not far from him. Producing the shackles, he jingled them in the air between. “Excuse me, I believe you dropped these.” He said, and watched as the man visibly flinched back at the sight of the shackles. Strangely, he didn’t run away. He seemed to be fixated on something, though Karsynwa couldn’t make it out under the shadow of his hood.

“Hold” The clear, unmistakable voice of Arrel called out from the darkness. Kasynwa stiffened as did the man but he stowed his hands away into the pockets of his cloak as he looked to the left in the direction that Arrel’s voice had come from. Karsynwa looked as well, and noticed that the rest of his squad was lurking with him, though evenly spaced out along the lipped edge of the walkway. Karsynwa made a mental note that he had not seen them before hand before his eyes flickered back to the figure he had been trailing. The hooded man dispensed with the disguise then, pulling of the cloak to reveal the man with the roughly shorn hair Karsynwa had noticed before. He wasn’t wearing the long green sleeves he had been before and in the light, Karsynwa could make out a discoloration along his wrists. Karsynwa put back the shackles into his pack.

Arrel stepped forwards. “I half expected it was you whom had been captured. You have a rather lively.. Presence.” Arrel said carefully, though the slight change in speech was lost on Karsynwa. He was still reeling from the fact that he had been so easily trailed all this time, and tried to keep his mind from spoiling things with darker thoughts. Thoughts that reflected unnamed inadequacies that he felt after been handled so. He knew that probably wasn’t the case, just something for a new face in the squad, but still. It was hard to not take the action personally. Gritting his teeth, he kept quiet as he watched Arrel and the man exchange a brief conversation before the man went on the way he had been going, pulling the cloak back on to obscure his features. Turning to him, Arrel patted him on the shoulder.

“You did well tonight, better than I had expected even. Not bad work for you just being back an all.” Arrel leaned in closer to whisper. “Wouldn’t have done it like this if I didn’t have a team to manage. They needed to see you work, and you could hardly do that if you knew they were breathing down your neck the whole time.” Arrel pulled away and grinned broadly. “Well now, it has been a long day. Time for rest I think for we have another early day tomorrow.”

Karsynwa nodded slowly, and struggled to return the smile. His was a shallow, small spiteful one though he did manage to ease up under Arrel’s touch. “What should I do with these shackles?” Arrel, scratched his chin for a moment and shrugged. “Keep em.” An then they were off, disappearing towards their individual homes. Karsynwa used his long walk to think on what had transpired today and he hoped that there wouldn’t be any such tests in the future. With one final wave, Karsywa walked out of sight of the rest as he made his way up the steep side of the cliff.