Closed How To Be Lost (Markus Andres)

[Naeya]

How To Be Lost Timestamp: Season of Winter, 47th Day, 512 AV "This can't possibly be right..." Naeya muttered, her bewildered gaze focused entirely on the open scroll in her gloved hands. The scroll detailed a map of Konti Isle and had been recently procured from the Silver Velispar Emporium. It was a spontaneous purchase, aided by the persuasive abilities of the shopkeeper and Naeya's own fanciful thoughts. Never mind that she didn't know the first thing about reading a map; the one she now owned was unwittingly being investigated upside down. "I'm going to be an adventurer! I'm going to explore the island all by myself! Have you got any more brilliant ideas, Nae?" Her voice raised slightly in self-mockery, but was quickly carried off by a rogue breeze. Surrounding the solitary young konti lay the Silverwood. Its needles had paled to whites and blues the moment the Watchtower flared to indicate the winter season, and Naeya had been amazed by the change for days. Now, finding herself disoriented within a cluttered clump of trees, she felt less amazed and more exasperated. "It all looks the same," she groaned, assuming herself alone. Her nerves were a touch on edge; the last time she'd found herself lost in a forest, two men had died. Talking to herself was an attempt to calm her thoughts and help herself feel less out of control. How had she even ended up in such a predicament? She'd been so prepared - at least to her knowledge. She wore what she considered to be the ideal travel outfit: her white tunic, brown breeches, and a pair of high, lace-up leather boots. A brown pack was slung over her right shoulder, contrasting distinctly with her thick, white woollen cloak. Inside, she'd crowded all of the remotely useful travel items she owned: flint and steel, rope, two candles, an eating knife, and her dagger. A loaf of bread, hunk of cheese and three apples, all wrapped in scraps of red fabric, sat at the very top of the bag. Her stomach growled greedily at the thought. She'd only expected to be out for the day and then back to the Pearl Diver's Inn for supper, but it was now late afternoon and Caiyha threatened her with a soon-to-be fading sun and a snowy winter's night. Avalis guide me now, she silently implored her patron goddess. ...Sharing your map-reading expertise would be ideal, if you wouldn't mind.

[Markus Andres]

"Petching wind." When the Syliran Knight had left Mura earlier that day, he had expected it to be an easy trip around Mura to explore the island of the Konti. But soon things had turned sour. He must have taken a wrong turn at the sixhundredth tree and had ended up not knowing where he was walking. The Island also surprised him in size, never imagined it to be that big. Nor the forest to stretch on for so long. Luckily, he had not been completely unprepared for the journey. His brown backpack was slung over his right shoulder. It contained the essentials of his wilderness gear. Including tools to get a fire going, except only thing he could see was snow and snowcovered trees. Hardly ideal firewood. But it contained something just as important. His rations. Dried meat. He couldn’t wait until he found a good place to shield himself from the upcoming night. "I'll freeze to death out here." He muttered under his breath. Markus pulled the warm fur cloak closer around his massive frame. Doing his best to shield him from the pestering wind as he trotted through the winter scenery. It was beautiful, as he had come to expect of anything on the Konti Isle, but it was deceptive. For as it was beautiful it was cold. Although having grown somewhat accustomed to bitter winds from his many voyages out at sea since he had left Syliras, Markus still felt the chilly winter touch his bones and cause him to shiver. Markus was a child of Zeltiva, but having grown up in Syliras' mild winters had softened his resistance to cold winters. Always having spent the evenings before a warm hearth. Now, he longed for such a hearth. For he knew, when Syna descended, the temperature would drop sharply. As he walked, dreaming of a warm fireplace, he saw something move up ahead. Or thought he did, at least. He narrowed his eyes and shielded it from the falling snow with his hand. It looked like someone was standing up ahead. But the person bore white and the only thing that stood out against the backdrop was the brown backpack. His immediate response was to slide his right hand down to the hilt of the bastard on his left hip. Markus still carried his weapon with him around the island. He simply felt naked and exposed when he wasn’t carrying the bastard with him. The coldness of the metal shocked him. ”Hello? Anyone out there?” Markus said loudly as he carefully continued forward. Shielding his eyes with the left hand as his right hand never let go of the hilt. Not until he was certain it was only a Konti and not some creature or witch of the wild. ”I am lost, could you show me the way back to the city?” He said loudly as he got nearer to the woman, guessing from the size of the person.

[Naeya]

Do the squiggly lines mean 'water' or 'walking trail'...? Naeya squinted at the island plot, tracing the upside-down route with her eyes. On her journey across the scroll, she passed over several words indicating what she presumed to be locations. It was difficult to know for sure, however, since she'd failed to ask for a map written in the Common tongue; as such, all locations were given their Kontinese title. Lost in her scrutiny, Naeya nearly jumped out of her skin when the deep pitch of a man's voice invaded the silence. Whirling around, she thrust the map out from her chest like a shield - her only defense against the intruder. And what an intruder he was. Tall, broad, muscular. The man very nearly put the Silverwood's grand trees to shame. His hand and cloak shadowed his face, but she could just make out boyish human qualities - handsome qualities, even, under better light. After a heart-pounding tick, the konti realized she was in no immediate danger and slowly lowered the papyrus to her side. Her hood had fallen back during her frantic pivot, revealing pale blonde hair and flushed cheeks beneath. In the pause that followed, her sharp green eyes darted to the man's right hand, firmly grasping the hilt of his sword with an ease that betrayed his familiarity with the weapon. Careful, Naeya. "You're not here to kill me, are you?" she quipped, her congenial tone underscored with tension. The words themselves, spoken in the Common tongue, were accented with a Rivarian lilt. "I must admit, I'm not quite ready to visit Dira just yet. I swore an oath to my aunt that I'd water her plants tomorrow, you see, and one can't just go around breaking promises." Naeya broke off, surveying the man for signs of ill intent. Upon failing to find any, she continued to speak. "Show you the way back to the city?" The corners of her lips turned upwards as if she were laughing inwardly at a pleasant joke. "It depends. Are you able to read a map?" she asked dryly, nodding at the scroll in her hands. The cold terrain crunched underfoot as Naeya agilely navigated small mounds of snow to reach the stranger's side. Standing next to him, she became even more aware of just how much his size engulfed hers. He must have been at least a head taller than the small konti, and stood, broad-shouldered, like a hulking mountain of a man. Swallowing her concern, Naeya held out the wide map for him to investigate. As she did, her gaze drifted once more to his sword before flicking up to his face. Slowly, a look of cautious trust filled her features. When Avalis offered hope in a hopeless situation, she was never one to turn it away. Besides: he had kind eyes.

[Markus Andres]

Markus had to hold back a chuckle when the startled woman twirled around and thrust a map in his direction. He tilted his head and wondered just what was going on. Her quick pivot had revealed her heritage and inherent beauty of said heritage. She shared the traits of her race, traits that would make human women jealous. He was puzzled by her question, only then remembering he was still grasping the hilt of his sword. He quickly let go of the hilt and moved his hand away and smiled to the woman. He did find her comment about watering her aunts flowers quite peculiar. But that mattered not, he had found his salvation from this snowy paradise. His way to a warm fireplace and dry clothes. "What. No, of course not, miss." The first word was flat, as he was shocked by the question itself. The rest, spoken quickly. Trying to alleviate the tension in her voice. But it seemed her concern vanished quickly for her next question made Markus almost drop his jaw. He had somehow managed to stumble upon the only other creature on the island who was also lost. Somewhere a cruel god or goddess was laughing at his misfortune. Before Markus could respond to her question the lithe Konti lady made her way through the snow to stand at his side. He noticed the colour of her eyes in the waning light. He was astonished to see them green as his own. It made him smile again. He cast a glance down at the map she held out. As he suspected; he had no idea where the petch he was. But he did find Mura and a couple of other buildings marked on the map. He noticed that she looked to his side. He followed her glance and noticed the bastard. For a Konti lady on Mura, a weapon as that must be uncommon enough to warrant suspicion. "Ah, don't worry, I am a Syliran knight. Carrying a weapon comes with the title." Markus said with a soft smile trying to ease the konti lady. For the next piece of information he was about to give her was going to be very bad. "And unfortunately, I haven't got a clue as to where we are. But I do see some buildings marked around. We will probably stumble into one of those and get out of the cold." He said with conviction. Bad news sprinkled with a bit of hope. "I think we shouldn't stand around. For once Syna descends, it will get really cold out and we better have found or created shelter before then." He said and voiced his own thoughts out loud. Hoping she agreed with him and would come with him, for he would be unable to leave her out here alone.

[Naeya]

Naeya held her breath in anticipation as she waited for her new acquaintance to proclaim his complete and total understanding of the Konti Isle map, laugh jovially about the mishap, and lead them both back to Mura before the evening meals were served. Her eyes were hopeful and she fought a childish urge to cross her fingers behind her back for luck. But alas, it seemed the God of Luck had business elsewhere. The konti tried her best to keep her face from dropping as the man admitted his ignorance - he was being so kind about it - but she couldn't stop the disappointment from stealing into her expression. They were truly lost in the Silverwood. No gods, no goddesses, no sign of home. Pull yourself together, girl, she chided. At least you're not alone. That whole "two heads are better than two feet" thing the humans are always saying. Or something like that... She rearranged her features into what she decided would look like optimism (though perhaps appeared more like an optimistic grimace), and forced herself to respond cheerfully to the man's words. There was no use in dragging down both of their moods like a wet blanket. It was her own stupid fault she'd become lost in the first place, and she certainly couldn't change that now. Not yet, at least. "Ah, that's all right," she replied, rolling up the map as she spoke. "I'm sure we'll find shelter somewhere around here. It can't all be trees, right?" Her laugh felt false, even to her. Naeya cleared her throat and threw back her shoulders determinedly, trying once more to lift her spirits. What was that he'd said earlier? That he was a Syliran knight? She took a deep breath and allowed that knowledge to sink in and ease her worry. She knew a Syliran knight. He was an akalak and one of the best men she'd ever met, though she hadn't seen him in years. If this stranger was anything like him, she was certain to find her way home in one piece. "We really should get moving," she continued, tacitly agreeing to the man's offer of companionship. She dropped her pack to the ground and bent to stuff the map into it, swinging the bag up to her shoulder when she was done. "Perhaps while we walk, you could tell me more about yourself? I visited Syliras once, several seasons ago, and I'd be interested to know what drew you to the knighthood." She looked sheepishly at her companion. "The knighthood... is that what you'd call it? I don't know much of anything about it - only what a friend once told me." The konti paused and pointed indiscriminately toward the trees. "Let's try that way, maybe?" She tightened her cloak and pulled the hood over her head to ward off the cold. "Oh, and I'm Naeya. Ti'av. Naeya Ti'av."

[Markus Andres]

Despite his best efforts, he could see that she was less than thrilled about being lost in the wilderness with a complete stranger. But nothing Markus could do about that now, he would just have to keep his hope up and play with the hand that had been dealt to him. He was certainly not going to die on the most peaceful place he had ever visited because he was stupid enough to get lost. Dying to a little blizzard was unacceptable and he found find a way and he would get this Konti lady to safety on top of it all. She seemed to hang on to optimism as well, so it wasn't all bad. Plus, he could think of worse looking companions to get lost with. The Konti lady spoke of the knights, beckoning him to explain how he ended up with the knights. Markus had never been proud of how he joined the knights, but nor did he try to hide it when people asked him. It was just a matter of fact, but sometimes he wished circumstances around his recruitment had been different. "Hmm, I suppose that direction is as good as any other." Markus said as he began walking next to the Konti lady. Who introduced herself. Markus was mighty pleased that she decided to repeat her name again, otherwise he might not have heard her correctly. For that name was quite a mouthful of vowels in rapid succession. "I'm Markus Andres, pleased to meet you, though I wish the circumstances were a little different." Markus flashed her a confident grin. As if this was just a minor inconvenience. No doubt they would survive. "And sooner or later we'll have to run into a building of some sort, this Island can't be that big." Markus continued in the same confident tone of voice as he looked around for any flickering lights of a lantern hanging or perhaps a solid building standing out against the black and white background. His six feet plus a couple of inches towering above the Konti of smaller stature. "Oh, and yea, you can just call it the knighthood or the knights for short." He paused briefly, contemplating how much he should tell her about himself and of him joining the knights. "I'm afraid that I will make for dull conversation topic, even the story of me joining the knights is quite uninteresting. I joined, or rather, was signed up to the knights when I was around ten years old by my father. And I won't lie, at first I hated life in Syliras, the harsh discipline, the cramped quarters, people everywhere, races I had never seen before in large quantities. It was quite the culture shock. Oh right, sorry, slipped my mind completely, I was born and raised in Zeltiva." He continued as he trudged through the snow. It was good to have someone to talk with, to keep the mind off of the fact that they were wandering in a random direction chosen because some trees looked marginally better than some other trees. As good a reason as any, really. "In any case, I couldn't really picture a life outside the knights anymore. The knights are just about the best thing that could have happened to me. How about you Naeya? I take it you're not native to Mura?" He asked curiously, the few Konti he had seen away from their Isle had all been travelers coming from Mura. He doubt they would have gotten lost on their home island. But Markus did not feel he was in any immediate danger of freezing to death, he was quite optimistic about their chances so his mood was quite good and the smile on his lips was genuine and not a fake attempt to keep up hope.