[The Northern Pass] Entering Falyndar (Siiri, Revy)

[Carsten]

Timestamp: 51st of Fall, 511 AV.

Carsten had reached the top of a hill among the mountains, and as he looked down into the forest he frowned. It was far thicker than he had imagined, and the road down did not seem safe to him. Still, he carefully urged his horse downwards. A small stone slid down, and Carsten was forced to rein in his horse to avoid it from falling. Perhaps the journey would have been safer on foot, he thought to himself, but then I would have to carry my equipment on my back through the jungle. The last few days of journey had been bad, and Carsten knew he wouldn’t have survived without his horse. He had been in mountains before of course, he had spent many months in Kalea, but he had wanted to be high enough to look down upon the Falyndar Jungle, to get an overview of the largest jungle in Mizahar. And what a sight it was! The thick trees stretched as long as the eye could see, an occasional river peeking out from among the trees and the sounds. Thousands of birds singing, even more chirping from the insects, an occasional tiger roaring. It was much larger than he had thought. Carsten had seen maps, of course, but it was so thick you could barely see anything there, he had imagined a far thinner forest. And now he descended down into it.

He entered the jungle before he had reached the bottom of the valley. The large trees surrounded him on all sides, and he could feel insects flying towards him. He waved a few away, before realizing it was a hopeless task. Let us hope they aren’t poisonous, he thought and patted his horse gently on the flank.

It didn’t take long before most of the sunlight disappeared, the massive trees and mysterious plants almost covered the sky, and the shadows beneath them made it hard to see what was going on. Suddenly movement in his peripheral vision, and his hand quickly went to his rapier, before seeing the bird take off. He felt nervous, but that was no mystery. The stories of the Myrians killing anything that entered their jungle were many, and even more of the horrifying monsters that lived there. The stories of their mercy were… non-existent.

As he continued into the jungle, he started feeling how moist the jungle was. Compared to the high reaches of Kalea, it was as if entering a whole new world. The sweat that ran down his temple and body had soaked his clothing beneath the armour, and he sat uncomfortable, but ignored it. He would get used to it, he hoped.

Carsten stopped his horse and peered into the jungle, it was getting thicker for every step he took. But how can it get thicker than this? He leaned forward, and looked into the jungle on all sides, but could see nothing. Carefully, he urged his horse further into the jungle.

[Siiri]

Traveling the jungle had been slow, mostly because the human that was forced to march with them was unfamiliar with the terrain and surroundings and the party often had to ward of beasts that took interest in them because of the outsider's alien scent. What would have normally took less than two tendays travel was now nearing thirty days. It was only the day previous that they felt the ground start to climb slightly, an indication that they were nearing the Northern Pass that separated Falyndar from the mountainous region of Kalea.

During their trek along their patrol route, Siiri had to endure the questioning glances of both Onna and Kai as they prodded Revy the human mercenary to keep pace with them. The younger Kai seemed especially confused and torn, as if she was just waiting for the right moment to confront her leader about the human's presence. Siiri gave her plenty of opportunities to approach her during the breaks they took for camp, but every time she did so, the younger woman seemed to lose her nerve and would lapse into introspective silence. Onna had been more accepting of Siiri decision to bring the human along, though that did not mean she was gentle and accommodating to Revy. When not giving curt commands to the human to avoid a certain patch of poisonous foliage or to maintain silence when near especially dangerous predators, the archer spent most of her time up in the trees, overlooking the group to make sure that no creature would catch them unawares. She would often have Kai accompany her to keep the girl's mind preoccupied.

For his part, Garou did his best to get under Revy's skin. Every chance he got he would regale the tales of his adventures during his youth to the two archers, describing in explicit detail how his previous fang had gutted and feasted upon the trespassers they had encountered, or how they had chanced upon a half-eaten corpse decomposing on the forest floor where whatever beast that killed it left it. All this the eccentric man told in perfect Common, and he would end every story in an obviously fake wistful tone with, "Ahh, those were the good ol' days..." And then he would cackle like a mad man before vanishing in the underbrush. After the eighth or ninth time it happened, Siiri began to wonder if the stories were meant to make the human feel trapped among them or to irritate her. Certainly his ragged croak-like laughter felt more grating in the ears than ever before.

Siiri had kept quiet most of the time, except when she was giving out orders to the trio. She never engaged Revy in conversation though she kept her eyes one the human the whole time. She was still unsure why she allowed the mercenary to live, much less accompany them in their patrol route. Garou's mention of a pilgrimage to Myri in one of their private discussions played a part in her decision, but only to a small degree. Revy had raw, untempered talent in the use of the sword, as Siiri could still remember from their brief clash, and the Snapping Jaws warrior did not doubt her proclamation of never being been beaten among her kind before, but she thought the human's skill was nowhere near that of a Myrian's proficiency - with or without the Goddess-Queen's blessing of speed and accuracy with weapons. Regardless, she would keep an eye on her.

They were nearing their last stop now, the obscure trail that led to the opening of the path that transitioned from Falyndar's jungle to Kalea's mountains. Siiri frowned as a strange sound drifted to her ears: the slow, almost relaxed, clomping of hoofbeats. They were late in reaching this part of the jungle, but she was sure that no scout was scheduled to pass through the area on this day. It only meant one thing, and it displeased her greatly.

Another outsider had breached Falyndar's borders.

The trespasser seemed to be closing in on their spot where they stopped. Siiri pressed herself flat against the trunk of a tree to make herself blend in the shadowed outline of the foliage before signaling the rest of her fang to spread out and box the intruder in. With a jabbing motion with her finger, she also intimated to Revy to get down under the cover of the low-hanging fronds of some nearby shrubbery, before slowly edging around the tree to peek at who or what had walked into their domain...

[Revy Hiroe]

The mercenary had a tough time keeping up with the myrians, especially since she had to avoid certain area's because of poisonous plants. Luckily she had taken off the joint parts of her armor, allowing her for more free movement as well as being able to move more silently. For the other parts, she had put the clothing she had between the hinges, damping the sound of metal scraping over metal. It looked ridiculous, but it worked. Each time the male myrian started to regale about the past, Revy just let out a sigh inside of her mind. Did that guy really try to impress her or did he just want to irritate her that much? Revy herself couldn't figure it out. So most of the times, she just completely ignored the guy. The tales of them fighting outsiders were a little interesting, she had to admit that, but nonetheless she kept her face emotionless. The moment Siiri signaled Revy to duck, she did this. Her armor was almost silent, but in the ears of the myrians it might've been a hell of a lot of noise. How was she supposed to be silent anyway? She hadn't trained on stealth, or even moving silently. The mercenary never needed it and why should she? It's not that it would give her any advantage in combat right? Though she didn't know much about stealth, she did know to hide properly. She had hidden herself below a bush, her backpacks behind her, completely hidden from sight.

[Carsten]

Carsten urged his horse forward, but he noticed it was reluctant. Did the horse notice something he didn’t? He looked around him once again, but saw nothing but trees. Something bolted across the ground. A rodent of some sort, Carsten judged from the tail that quickly disappeared into the thicker jungle.

A sound came from his right, but as the bird lifted off the branches, Carsten noticed only the small snake that slowly disappeared into a hollow log. Snakes… Were they poisonous? Everything he knew about Falyndar, and it was not much, told him they were. Going to have to be careful, then, he thought and gave his horse a small pat on its mane. What worried Carsten most, however, weren’t the snakes or other dangerous animals around him. It was the Myrians. How often did they patrol their borders? He had almost expected a wall, or a guard outpost in the Pass. Perhaps the stories were all true? Perhaps the Myrians just killed the ones that survived? But no, he had heard the rumours. Of Myrians leaving Falyndar, and of Humans entering Taloba. Were none true? It was a possibility of course, but every fake story took inspiration from something real, did they not?

He noticed a mushroom on the ground. Large, unlike any he had seen. Was it edible? Did he have enough food to survive a trek through the jungle? With all the poisonous animals, plants and insects he doubted it. No, he had to be found by someone who knew the Jungle. As he stopped his horse and studied the mushroom more, he heard a sound and his head snapped to where Revy had sat down, but he couldn’t see anything. Placing his hand on his rapier, he looked around. The area wasn’t open. A fight would lead to his death, he had to make sure they didn’t attack. He removed his hand from his rapier and lifted both up in the air. Did the Myrians understand his surrender? Were they used to this? Were humans in these parts foolish enough to fight them? Had he been a different swordsman, he might have taken down one or two, after all, he had height on his horse. But he wasn’t. He was a fencer, he required room and a terrain to outmaneuver his enemy, in fact, if they attack his horse would only hinder him. “I am a pilgrim to Myri.” He said calmly. Carsten wasn’t sure if it would help, but maybe giving them his motives for entering could save him. As he waited for the Myrian reaction, he felt something. Not fear, no… It was suspense.

[Siiri]

Siiri spared a moment to glance at the human as she made an awkward attempt at keeping the clanging platemail she wore from giving away their position. The warrioress could see it in the mercenary's eyes - the doubt, the worry that she might be making a mistake somehow that would allow the newcomer to detect their presence. Still, she was obedient and Siiri was almost tempted to say, "Good girl!"

She decided against it though, knowing that there was too much at stake to risk taunting the human at such a tense situation. Another human had dared set foot into Myri's lands. Trespassers were never taken lightly, and this was the second one her half-fang had encountered in a single circuit of their patrol route. At the rate things were going, Siiri thought grimly, they were bound to meet another one on the way back to Taloba!

The Snapping Jaws warrior began to turn her head back to where the newcomer was letting his mount lead him when the the sound of a cracking branch left her cringing. She did not even have to look to know where it had come from, she immediately know it could only come from Revy. The newcomer, a man, heard it as well, and Siiri saw him stiffen, his swordarm lowering to finger the hilt of the fine blade resting on his hip. Yet he did not draw it, choosing to eye the jungle instead as if waiting for it to jump him.

Fool, Siiri thought. One always had to trust one's instincts in the jungle if one wanted to avoid danger. The place had so many ways to deal with the unwary and unprepared, none of them pleasant. She was about to order her archers - who must surely be in place by then! - to shoot the man down and have it done with, when the man called out his purpose for entering Myri's domain: a pilgrimage.

Siiri cursed. Was everyone out for pay homage to the Goddess-Queen? Not that she was against such a thing, a Myrian never questions who Myri called to her side after all, but was there some war brewing outside the borders of Falyndar that her people did not know about? If so, then the Spy Mistress' people were getting sloppy with their intel. Was this man among those looking for enlightenment in the art of war? The warrioress dearly wished she had ran the man through before he had the chance to open his mouth. It was so much simpler and cleaner that way. Less reports to give back home, and nobody could really question her and her troops once they have eaten the evidence.

But as it were, she had to verify the human's claims.

Siiri detached herself from the tree that camouflaged her outline and stepped out into the open, Slayer now bared naked before her. She pointed the massive blade's point at the man, authority and challenge in her voice, "State your name, human, and explain your presence here!"

[Carsten]

Carsten did not look surprised when the Myrian woman stepped out from the tree; he only studied her with cold eyes. She looked more like a warrior than a woman, but she might be pretty enough for many men, but not him. Such things did not interest Carsten at all, but he knew of many men who would find a certain attraction in her ferocious looks. Her greatsword looked finely crafted; he realized he would never have been able to fight it from horseback. One clean swing could have taken his horse down, and then another to take his head off. Unless the archers that were no doubt hiding in the forests around him took care of him first. “I am Pon Carsten of the Ano Cult,” he introduced himself. “And as I have explained, I am a pilgrim to Myri. I wish to pray for her, and to see her chosen people and city.” Did she know what the Ano Cult was, or what a Pon was? Perhaps as a piece in the game, he did not know if there were any other Cultists in Falyndar. It would not be like Gnora to ignore a region; maybe he would encounter a Counterweight or a Weight.

Once again Carsten turned his attention upon the Myrian woman in front of him. She spoke as a commander, interesting. He had heard that women were in charge, but he thought that men would be leading the soldiers. It was interesting; maybe it had something to do with Myri being a goddess? He doubted it, but maybe the women were physically stronger among the Myrians? But for now, he had only to deal with this woman.
She did not look happy, he thought. In fact, when she had come out of the jungle, Carsten thought she would attack at once, but he had been lucky. Still, he would not trust his luck in this situation, but rather his skill. He had never been a politician, he had never been a destined to be a great orator, but usually he came out of situations by pointing out logic. It was often, however, that he had to fight his way out, and he still wasn’t sure how this situation would end.

As these thoughts raced back and forth in Carsten’s head, he slowly lowered his hands and rested them upon the horse mane. He did, however, make sure that Siiri very clearly saw where they were laying.

[Siiri]

OOCUnless otherwise indicated, Myrians speaking to other Myrians will always be in their own language.

"Ano Cult?" Siiri echoed, perplexed.

The Myrian warrioress had never heard of the group before. Were they some religious sect, a holy order sending out missionaries to help spread their faith? Or were they zealots looking to convert and convince the 'unenlightened' people of Mizahar to follow their goddess ("Or god or whatever," she thought), through use of preaching or, failing that, the use of swords? She had heard of those types before, though if she had been the one in charge of such an endeavor, Siiri would have sent two, the second on to be used as messenger to the invading group. She made a mental note to ask one of Rahi's people about this 'Ano Cult'.

For the present however, she as faced with a dilemma. Trespassers were never welcomed in the lands of the Goddess-Queen, even if they came at the behest of their deity - Myrians would risk, even embrace, the ire of said divinity by slaying their messenger, but the man before her had insisted that he's come for a pilgrimage to Myri. To pray and to learn of Her and Her people, were his words. She could not turn away him away if he had truly been 'called', not could she leave him to face the dangers of the jungle... it was too risky. What if he ran across a roaming Dhani? Myri would not be pleased.

Coming to a decision, Siiri leveled the man a glare. "Dismount from your horse, human-named-Pon, and stand where you are." Not recognizing it as nothing but a title, she thought that 'Pon' was the man's name.

Siiri turned her back to him fully aware that he could take that opportunity to attack her, or escape, should he have chosen to, but she had done so with the confidence that he could not do anything to her without risking himself to danger. He could not do anything, in fact, other than to obey her if he valued his life. She had given no threats or indication that he was surrounded, but if this Pon knew about her people, then he should also know that it was too late for him to turn back the moment she had stepped out to confront him.

"Garou!" the woman barked as she moved to return to the spot where Revy was still hiding. A stocky Myrian, a grizzled veteran judging by the sheer number of scars on his running all over his body, stepped out from the side. His hair was wild and was all over the place, his features rugged and rather unsettling, and his eyes were flat, taking in everything but giving away nothing.

"Watch him," Siiri said in Myrian.

"Already have even before ye stepped out o' your ditch, girlie," the man replied in a cackling laugh. It transitioned into a coughing fit and ended with the rather vulgar spitting of his phlegm.

Siiri could only roll her eyes at Garou before ducking under one of the fronds that hid their initial vantage position. She heard him strike up a conversation with the human, his voice light and almost had a note of camaraderie in it. It was all a ploy to ease Carsten into bringing down his defenses though.

"Ever had horse meat, human? Stringy bastards, those..."

Siiri tuned them out as she called for revy. "Mercenary, get out of the mud and come over here. One of your kind has decided to pay a visit as well." She led the human woman back to the clearing where Carsten stood waiting.

"Tell me, what do you know of the Ano Cult?" she asked, her voice low so no one would overhear what they were talking about. "This one says he belongs to such a group, tell me what you know of them. If he lies, we will kill him. If you two know of each other and are both lying to me, we'll kill you both."

Her words were no threat but matter of fact. Such was the Myrian treatment to outsiders.

[Revy Hiroe]

Revy heard the order barked from the myrian woman and with a sigh, she got up. Her armor scraped along eachother, but the sound was still muffled by the clothing she had put between them. The only thing that she hoped was that they wouldn't be too damaged of the constant scraping. Revy wasn't too wealthy anymore right now and having to buy new clothes would be a pain in the ass. As she walked over to the myrian, her sword still at her hip, but her towershield got left with the bags, she looked at the man that Siiri was talking about. Ano cult? She had heard something about it when she was in Zeltiva, but she couldn't remember at all what it was. So the only thing she knew was that it was something in Zeltiva. "Well, the only thing I know is that it's something in Zeltiva. I might've heard something about it, but I can't remember at all. It's been at least 7 years since I was last there.", she answered softly. Taking another glance at the man next to the horse, she let out a sigh. What was he going to do with that needle on a hilt? There's no way that thing could be effective right? And is he an idiot or something for taking a horse with him into the jungle? It would draw only more predators to them then Revy had done up until now. "And I don't know a single thing about that guy. Can't manage to bring any respect up for him either. He looks pathetic in my eyes." She then let out a sigh. Her annoyance with the man showing on her face. It was something she had gradually been doing during the travel through the jungle. Her emotions started to slowly be noticeable on her face. Even though the myrians hadn't spoken much to her, except for that Garou guy, but she somehow felt as if she could lower her defences a little around them. It was only a gut feeling, but nonetheless she went with it. Perhaps she could find a home amongst them in the future? "I won't lie to you guys, I don't have a deathwish just yet.", she then said soft and sincere.

[Carsten]

OOCI'm sorry for the short post, I'll try to keep them bigger in the future.

As the woman disappeared, Carsten dismounted with ease. Another Myrian approached him; this one looked far more barbarous. His wild hair, scarred body and scarred body told Carsten he was no stranger to battle. “I have in fact had horse meat. I was forced to kill my horse for food a few years back,” he said as he peered into the jungle, trying to see what the woman was doing, but he could see nothing. “It is not as bad as dog or cat, though. Where I come from, food is often short, and any animal with meat is food.” He seemed to be largely ignoring the large Myrian, before it hit him. Maybe the woman was not his greatest threat right now? Maybe the man was more than simple distraction; he certainly looked able enough. His eyes slowly left the jungle, and moved back to Garou. Was he only a distraction, or was that what they wanted him to think. He decided to leave both as possibilities, they had not killed him yet, but was no longer in front of him. This man, however, stood in front of him now, so he decided to remain with the man for now. "And what of Falyndar, are there many horses and other edible animals around here?" he asked.

[Siiri]

Garou gave away nothing as he watched the human's lack of reaction. He could tell that Carsten's reply was honest from the nonchalant way he replied. Here was no fool who accidentally stumbled into the jungle, but one who truly sought out Myri and her people. Seldom did outsiders do that, save for the occasional Akalak who visited to learn more about the art of warfare from the Myrians.

"Dog ain't so bad," he said conversationally. "Though eatin' cats 'round here might get ye more'un a few blades stuck in yer hide. Boss Lady over there killed quite a few who tried, 'erself." He jerked his thumb to where Siiri had disappeared to.

"Navre's favored," was all he said as explanation, should Carsten choose to ask why,

"Food ain't lackin' here, don't ye worry," he continued. "Jus' matter 'o gettin' em yerself. Sometimes though, they come to ye jus' waitin' t'be eaten."

He regarded Carsten with a strange twinkle in his eye as he said the last part.

"Question is, be the one who walked 'pon us be prey o' predator hisself, eh?"

For Siiri's part, she remained silent as Revy divulged all that she knew about the questions the Myrian raised. She had no way of confirming the mercenary's words, but then, the human had no reason to lie to her. The warrioress thought it highly unlikely that Revy and this Pon person knew each other either. The human male seemed to refined to her, too measured in his words and economical in his actions that she doubted the man would even associate with Revy had they met in one of their human settlements. The only similarity the two had was that they were both humans, and humans usually only served as victims to Myrian arrows. But Siiri could not shake off Garou's words about these deyhan being called by Myri.

"Almost every human I've run across in these jungles have said the same thing," she told Revy. "Having a deathwish or not has nothing to do with dying."

The hand of her injured arm found its way on the mercenary's shoulder, and she remembered how Revy had clasped that same hand. That gesture alone signified that the human was her responsibility now, until they returned to Taloba at least.

"Come, I want to find out more about this human before I decide what to do with him."

Siiri moved to return to the clearing, not waiting to see if Revy followed her or not. Her eyes met with Garou's, and she tilted her head to the side, signaling her subordinate to return into the foliage.

"We break camp here," she ordered in the Myrian language. "I will speak more with the human."

For everyone's benefit, she switched her words to the common tongue. "Go hunt for our meal tonight. Take Kai with you. And the mercenary. You're pulling your weight around here...the exercise might prove to sharpen your skill for when we next cross blades."

The last part was directly addressed to Revy, Siiri's words laced with a hint of challenge. Surely the human would want to get a crack at her again after her defeat in their first meeting. Such was how Myrians motivated each other to improve their skills, and Siiri knew no other way to treat Revy to make her do the same. She waved her hand dismissively, fully expecting her orders to be followed.

"As for you, Pon of the Ano Cult, you will tell me why you sought us out, what you hope to achieve by doing so, what this cult of yours is. Everything."

OOCSorry for the crap post, I was uninspired and distracted when I wrote this. >.<