Solo A Repeated Day Part IV

[Moritz Craven]

10 Fall 522 - 4th

With a start Moritz jerked upright, his hands rushing to his neck as he felt a wait crash onto his stomach. Panting heavily he looked around, confused as to where he was. In a detached way he remembered the pain, but only as a memory. He knew it hurt, but in the same way he remembered a pair of boots were brown...

Axle, seeing Moritz quite disturbed, lifted off his weight and began to pat the Kelvic on his head, checking to see if "You okay?" with concern. Moritz for his part nodded, trying to get his breathing back in order, an odd thing to have to do seeing as he had just been sleeping.

"I'm fine Axle. Just... Memories... Or maybe dreams, would be more accurate."

What should he call his past turns of the days memories, Moritz considered. Where they memories? As far as he could tell they had never happened. There was no sign of it, no markings, and no one else but Moritz remembered... And how many times was it now? Honestly, Moritz realized, he was having trouble keeping track. First he had gone hunting, and then blanked out on the destroyed and empty caravan.... He had gone hunting again, and they had bagged a dear. Making it back earlier in the day they had arrived with a few stragglers. He had managed to kill one, before another plus an archer took him out, lopping off his head. That had been relatively painless as a way to go, though the arrow had hurt.

Lastly and most recently, which was why he had woken grabbing at his throat which was perfectly fine, he had died by having his throat slit. Though, thinking on it while smiling and patting Axle in return to assure him he was fine, he realized that was not the whole thing. First he had been shot with multiple arrows, the one in his back being particularly bad. Then he had tried to save himself and lost a hand... Only to then have his neck cut open... Though at that point he was kind of numb, and soon after fell over and just sort of... Faded. He could remember all of those things, knew vaguely how they felt and how painful they were, but did not really feel attached to that. After all it was all in the past, a past that had never happened.

Visions, Moritz finally mentally settled on. They were truths, and had happened, but also had not, which if anything made them visions. Visions, he figured, were not inherently true or false, but just possibilities... Ones he had actively worked to change. But thinking back on what he knew, he would have to change things more. But for that, he would need a plan. Something he could do. He had some details, but he knew to do things properly he would need at least one more try before he could figure things out. Namely, he needed to figure out where those bandits were coming from.

First, he would confirm some details, details he could not know. Which he could then use on the next time he went through the day. Then he would need to find a way to track those invaders, if possible back to wherever they were camping in preparation for their attack. They would not attack till much later in the day, when the caravan slowly moved up, which meant it should be possible to beat them to it if a smaller group moving quickly headed there... But that would also mean giving up today to failure, and assuming he would try again on the next.

With a sigh Moritz resigned himself to another bad day, in hopes of making the next try a better one.

WC: 629

[Moritz Craven]

Since it had worked the day before, Moritz repeated the early steps he had taken before. Talking to Axle, explaining things with Run the dog... And asking to try another experiment. As expected Run had returned to normal with the new day, no sign of his eyes being affected. With that in mind Moritz once more got close to Run, preparing himself for the process and going over what he had done before. More importantly though he was going to go over what he would do differently.

"Alright, just give me a bit to prepare Axle... Just, once I give the sign I am starting, make sure you keep Run steady."

Focusing his mind, he tried to picture yesterdays events... He had projected the djed across, powering it into Run's eyes. But in the end he had blinded him. But also, in hindsight, he now recalled a feeling he had, that moment where he felt had had projected across the right amount of djed. Only knowing it in hindsight, he knew he would need to try to aim for that and stop the moment he felt himself hitting that threshold. Any more and he was liable to end with a result like the day before. All he needed to do was to focus... And end at the right time. With a nod to Axle Moritz leaned forward and began, matching his eyes to the dogs.

Willing his djed within his eyes to swirl, he activated his djed sight and then willed the djed to build. He pictured a wave of djed building up within them, only to come surging outward and across to Run. Focusing on this he willed the djed into Run's eyes, picturing it surging through the hounds eyes, changing it with its traces just as his own eyes had been changed.

Focusing on the dogs eyes Run tried to move a few times, but Axle held him in place. Still... Just a bit more... A bit more... Focusing on the image, he willed the djed across, pushing it into the dogs eyes. And then, he felt it, that moment of doneness, of saturation. At that he cut off the flow of djed, willing it to stop just as he heard Axle make some noises at recognizing something.

Waiting a bit for the djed to settle he focused on Run's eyes, Just as his they had the telltale starburst of an Iraso. A moment later they began to glow to life, as his did when active.

However a moment later they faded back out, only to come back on again, and then out, off and on repeatedly in short order. Run, whining, laid down, shaking a bit. Confused Moritz thought he had worked it out, but realized he had missed something.

Trying to think back to his own initiation, and to his master instructing him in the process, he tried to figure out where he had gone wrong. While Run did seem to have received the Iraso markings, the djed clearly had not done its work right. It seemed... Unstable. Unsteady. Not right. So was that the problem? Along with stopping at the right amount of djed, he also needed to inject the djed steadily. So rather than a crashing wave being pushed in, maybe he could try a steady concise stream? He was sure it would be harder, but at the same time it did seem to be the thing he should do. Letting out a sigh he rose, trying once more to explain to Axle that Run would be fine tomorrow, while knowing in the moment he was not. But still he had learned something, and knew a new thing to try for next time, and was that much more sure for the next time that he would get things right. Or at least, he admitted to himself, that he would get that much closer to his goal, another step along the road which he had taken a small step on today.

WC: 666

[Moritz Craven]

Once his, he believed, failed initiation, Moritz began moving about the camp before they set off. He was not sure what exactly he should look for, and at first considered looking inside cases and boxes and crates and barrels... But as he thought on that, knowing the contents of the storage was more likely going to lead to someone thinking he was a spy or in league with the bandits and invaders, rather than anything good. With nothing else to do he finally found the leader of the caravan, a old man who despite his age still seemed in good shape. Somehow he was more muscular than Moritz who was much younger, and seemed well used to using the sword he kept at his kip.

"Excuse me sir, can we talk."

The man, in the middle of moving across to somewhere else, paused at his words, eyeing the Kevic. Being the leader he knew him, having been the one he had requested passage from, though he did seem confused as to why he was bothering him. "Fine, but make it quick, we are setting off soon." Thinking things over a bit Moritz settled on what to say after a few moments to catch his breath and order his thoughts.

"I need to tell you something. A warning. I have had... Well, it is hard to explain. But, a vision seems as close to it as I can get. I don't have them often, but when I do, well they tend to be important. The last time I had one it led to a missing god and where they went missing to. This time though. Well... Its a bit harder to explain."

Clearly unsure if the Kelvic was crazy or not, the man eyed him before speaking. "Just tell me your warning, and I'll decide what to do with it." Moritz, nodding, took another pause before replying.

"I had a vision of this caravan, but later today. Of this afternoon, before we stop, bells from now... And of it being attacked by bandits, or slavers, or some such invaders. First off to the side, hidden among the wilds, a group of archers fired arrows and took out a few guards. And while they laid down fire, a group of melee fighters came crashing in to the weakened forces. If we do nothing, I fear the same will happen again."

Clearly serious now, but unsure whether or not to trust this random passengers words, the man whose name Moritz did not know frowned deeply. "And how am I to know that any of that is true?"

With a sigh Moritz nodded, accepting his words.

"Its up to you if you believe me. But either way something needs to be done. All I ask is you be extra vigilant. And if am lying, nothing bad will come of that. If I am telling the truth though, it may save us all, or at least many lives. For instance those archers... If we could stop them, it would mean that the guards would not be taken out and your forces weakened and distracted for when the melee fighters come in. That alone could mean the difference between life and death."

Nodding along the man considered Moritz words, before making a grim smile. "Well then, how about you prove your words and your conviction. Your a Kelvic yes? A decent sized one? I've seen you a few times in that form. If you know where the archers are, then all you have to do is sneak up on them in your animal form. They won't expect anything, and if you take care of them before the attack then they won't be able to attack as you said. That way it doesn't involve any of my men which would weaken our defenses, but also means you get to prove your words. That way it works out whether you are telling the truth or lying."

Nodding after a moment Moritz followed his logic, but had to add on one detail.

"Fine, I will do it. But eh... This will sound weird, but I also need one other thing. There is a chance that today is not today, but I am just having a vision of today and experiencing it. Which I have no way of knowing. I'll only know if I wake up after this remembering this, but it being today again. I've actually had several visions, each one slightly different based on what I have done in each vision... So anyways, on the off chance that this is just a vision, could you tell me something only you would know which would make it clear to you I had a true vision of the future. That way I can tell it to you next time should this prove to not be real."

The man, shaking his head, looked up at the sky for a bit before responding. "I don't know if you are mad, or profound, but fine. If I turn out to be a figment of your mind, then tell me this - Violet Chrysanthemum on Christina's grave- I will know what it means and know no one else should know."

WC: 865

[Moritz Craven]

Once the plan was agreed upon, Moritz had nothing to do but wait. Since it would be a while before they neared the ambush, Moritz just silently prepared as they moved along. He also spent some time going through his possessions, trying to think if anything would be of use. If not he planned to head out wearing only the items he could not remove, like the star in his hand and the charm bracelet he could not remove, along with his outfit which shifted with him.

For a bit he considered bringing some daggers, or perhaps his bow... But he realized he was not good enough with either of those. Better, he felt, to focus on his best combat abilities which was standard unarmed fighting. Which, he supposed, was also good if he was to be in his Okomo form since he could not really use a bow or dagger in that form.

Going through the rest of his stuff he did not think much of anything would be of use in a fight, though a few charms on his wrist might be useful in certain cases...

Still with nothing else to do Moritz simply silently waited in the wagon, trying to clear his mind and focus himself, readying his mind and body for the task at hand... Calming his breathing, by focusing on and counting each breath in and out. Focusing on his body, each part as it moved to check his limberness and readiness for what was to come. And then just running over the plan again and again, along with what was to come after... Oddly enough he found this planning calming, showing himself mentally how ready he was... As they moved the land before him melted into one, almost meaningless, until finally he saw a bit of land that looked familiar.

Getting close to the spot Moritz silently hopped out of the wagon and rolled out of the way as he hit, before shifting into his Okomo form.

Once that was done he bound out ahead of the rest of the group, keeping his eyes out for the patch of shrubbery where the men lay in wait. For the first time in awhile he had the chance to really stretch in his Okomo form, and so despite the odd situation and danger he was going to enjoy it.

Focusing the djed in his eyes for a moment Moritz activated his Iraso sight, his eyes glowing to life just as his horns and hooves did in the dark. He was no grey beard, but he felt he had grown a respectable set of horns by this point and so felt even more confident than even a few seasons prior when they were shorter.

Moving in a cross between a jog and an odd hopping motion Moritz more pranced than anything else, not quite bounding as he would up a mountain since an Okomo was not really built for speed in a straight line like a horse. Still he could certainly move faster now than in his human form, and he did not have to worry about his skyglass bone hooves wearing out like horses needing shoeing.

Before long he found the patch of land where the plants were, and so he cut off the road there and headed around the side. Between his senses and his djed sight he did not have too much trouble finding the men among the plants. As he drew near he began to hear some quite murmurs, quiet enough they could not be heard from the road but loud enough he could make out bits and pieces. "Yeah and then... Watch out for the... And ready..."

Not quite ready to attack, since that would tip off the other group of melee fighters to their being found, Moritz did not act just yet. Instead he sneaked as best he could, moving each hoof as quietly as possible. It also helped that the man were focused on the road, and not expecting someone to come at them from behind.

As the caravan neared the men finally noticed him, letting out a stifled sound of alarm. Several of the men turned their bows on him, but none fired, hearing the first sounds of the caravan beginning to approach. If they fired now they risked alerting the caravan if the animal reacted, which they did not want. Prey off their guard not expecting anything was much easier.

Since Moritz did not seem to be doing anything, just standing around, and at one point the Kelvic even began to munch on some grass near one of the men, they themselves seemed off guard. Or at least, reasoned that the odd beast was not a threat. "Petch, just leave it. We'll deal with it after the caravan. Just keep quiet. He's probably worth something, if he's rare."

Silently Moritz counted the men. One. Two. Three. Four... Five... And six. His estimate the day before had not been far off. Just as the caravan grew nearer, the bowman readied their aims. Some stood, while some took a knee, but they all were positioned spread out. Moritz for his part moved to one end of the group... And then let out a loud yell. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Before the sound was done he charged, head down, horns out, smashing into the men from the side. His first charge knocked over three men before he had to turn, having trampled one underfoot. The other two managed to get back up, but were at least somewhat the worse for wear. Letting out another cry Moritz charged again, bowling over the others as they turned their aim from the road to the beast. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Ready for a ranged fight the men were not expecting to be attacked from up close, and another two men were trampled and did not rise after his rush...

With three left the men began to draw weapons, pulling out daggers. Jumping high Moritz landed on one with his hooves leading, before bounding forward and smashing into another with his horns. That man was sent flying, crashing through the foliage and landing where he was visible from the road.

Turning on the last man Moritz spun his body, smashing his horns into the mans arm from the side. And then with a bound he moved forward, landing atop the man with several hooves.

WC: 1,063

[Moritz Craven]

Having taken care of the archers, Moritz trusted the caravan guards and people to address the melee fighters. Without the archers to assist and to disturb they would have a much easier time of things... Though their victory was not entirely guarenteed, he expected a bunch of men on guard would do much better when not running into an ambush... Still, he had to shake his head and focus, pushing asides thoughts of that, or the men he had smashed, trampled, and otherwise killed with his body, hooves, and horns.

Focusing his Iraso sight he looked away from the road, tracking around the men. While they had moved around the area a lot, they all seemed to more or less converge before trailing off and away... Which, Moritz reasoned, was the route they had come from. He was unsure what he would find, likely some kind of temporary camp... And likely only a few people left behind, since most would be involved in the raid. Still following their djed trails he hoped he could find out where they had come from.

Pushing away any other thoughts Moritz focused his mind, calming himself after his short rage filled rampage. There off in the distance led the mens trails, in some respects easier since their were several together. While they had not entirely followed single file they did stand out among the forest and wilds, since they were more or less the only paths visible within his limited time window. After all, not too many people would be heading through this area.

Following along the path the men took, Moritz was able to move faster than men on foot forging a path, both because he could see their route but also because he could move better in his Okomo form.

Switching from one trail to another as he moved and tracked he got a feel for their trails, not memorizing them or their djed as he had done in the past for a few select people, but getting to examine them better... Over time he could sense things as he had before with the deer, that they were all men... Human men... But anything more than that was beyond his current abilities. He did his best to remember the route, since the next time he would need to follow it he would need to do so by memory. And so he tried to focus on specific details, cutting the route into smaller chunks he could remember. From this rock... To this tree... And then a moldy tree trunk fallen over with a branch here... And then a small stream... And a tree stump broken off like so... Bit by bit he recalled the trail in those chunks.

Soon enough the Kelvic was able to track the trail back along, luckily for him the men had not thought to hide their route from such a method and had assumed no one would follow their trail. In the end he came to a small campsite, with a few men around. However much fewer than the attack group. From what he could tell it seemed to be a small group, but also a temporary site. There was a few big tents, and a few small ones. There was also a few woman in chains, moving about and working at tasks... Likely, Moritz reasoned, catches from prior attacks they had not yet sold off...

And who knew where they had attacked last, or where they had been taken from. To avoid trouble with the knights they would likely move a lot, changing locations after each raid and selling off any goods or slaves as fast as possible...

With a sigh to himself inwardly Moritz turned and moved to retrace his ow steps, working to fully harden the route in his brain by taking it back upon his own track, something he could follow much more easily. He would go back to the road, and seek out the caravan. In the end he would find that they had survived, though numerous people had died or been wounded... Tomorrow though he would come back at another try of the day, and try for his best iteration of the day.

WC: 701

[Moritz Craven]

Having scouted out the enemy camp, Moritz then headed back to the road, taking the long trek back out. He used this time to further ingrain in his head the route, reviewing each step and landmark and further working to memorize it. That tree... Then that bush... This log with mold... This big rock... This and then this... Over a path this way... Though he knew it would not work in general such as when exploring new areas, finding a specific route between two spots seemed a good idea. The more he explored this one bit of land the more he realized why the route was the one he was taking.

This bit of land tucked this way, such that nothing grew, and left it free for passage... Which meant animals were naturally going to pass and make a trail. And over here a felled tree had made some freedom for the plants, though once it grew back in he supposed it would be obstructed. Each little bit, each nugget of information made him feel like he understood the land a bit more, getting in the head of the animals and why they did as they did. Having grown up in a city such things were not very common for him, leaving him also feeling at times like he was not a proper Kelvic.

Still he was what he was, and he was not going to change it. Improve, yes. But at his core he did not expect he would change much now. Of course part of that was his constant drive for improvement, trying to get better and better. In some few ways he was good, but he was surrounded by so many people better at things than him. Better fighters. Better hunters. Better at this and that. He only hoped in time he would learn to be an expert at something, something useful. For now he just felt like he was in an endless game of catch up, driving to improve but only making small steps in that direction.

As he thought on this, the endless repeat of days almost seemed perfect for him. Trial and error was how he learned often enough, and trying the same day repeatedly was one of the easiest ways to work things out. Even an idiot who had no skills would eventually figure out how to go about things, and learn the right path to take him through the day. He just thought critically, planned, used logic, and in the end things worked better and better in a somewhat cumulative nature.

With a sigh Moritz saw another bend in the trail, seeing why it went that way... The slope of the ground.. And that creek... Meant animals went this way...

Eventually his musing ended, returning solely to focus on the path ahead, and with that his time began to pass more quickly. Without fully realizing it he was back at the road, coming out onto it. Turning he saw where the attack had happened, and moved back that way.

At first someone tensed, seeing something coming at them after the attack, but after a moment the guard recognized Moritz and went back to work. The caravan leader came over upon seeing him, and Moritz shifted back to his human form. Now barefoot but wearing his outfit that shifted with him Moritz looked around, before meeting his gaze. "Thank you for your help. It seems you were right. We... We still lost a few people, six or seven men came in with weapons. But since we could focus on them, and no one was hurt, and we knew it was coming... Only a few died. More were wounded, but that hopefully can be treated. If not for your warning, things would have been different. Oh, and I sent someone to check, all of the archers you dealt with are dead. We gathered their supplies and brought them back. We will leave the dead of theirs for the knights."

With a pat on the shoulder the man moved off, heading off to some other important task. Moritz for his part was tired, but likely not as tired as these people. Heading to pitch in, Moritz looked around and tried to work out where he could help.

Seeing someone struggling to bandage a wounded man Moritz offered his aid. Cleaning his hands quickly with some offered soap and water he followed his instructions, tending as he was told.

It was a simple enough wound, a gash from a sword, long but not deep. It had been stitched, and now it just needed to be bandaged. Picking a point as directed Moritz began winding the clean cloth around it. First he was told off and had to begin again as he was too loose... Then he had to start over as he was too tight. "Too tight and you will constrict. That will cut off blood to the arm. Just do it lose enough to be safe, but not so tight it can't circulate okay?"

Trying his best Moritz began weaving again, winding the bandage around, doing his best to do it as instructed. In the end the man did not correct him, so he assumed he had done it right the third time. With that Moritz moved on to the next task, having bandaged that one cut.

WC: 892

[Moritz Craven]

Grade Award!

Name: Moritz Craven
XP Award:
Acrobatics 1
Detection 1
Endurance 1
Hunting 2
Investigation 1
Land Navigation 3
Medicine 1
Negotiation 2
Pathfinding 3
Persuasion 2
Philosophy 1
Planning 4
Rhetoric 2
Stealth 1
Storytelling 2
Subterfuge 2
Tactics 1
Tracking 2
Unarmed Combat 2
Wilderness Survival 3

Lores:
Pathfinding: Failing an initiation partially
Taking advantage of your Kelvic nature for artifice
Pathfinding: Following a groups trail
Wilderness Survival: Figuring out a path between two points
Medicine: Cleaning your hands before tending a wound
Medicine: How to bind a wound with a bandage
Medicine: Too much pressure stops blood flowing to a limb

Penalties & Awards: N/A

Notes: N/A