Solo On the Road Again [Kabran Road]

[Alric Wilmot]

Summer 18th of 513 AV Alric rode alongside the caravan whistling a terribly out of sync tune. The leader of the caravan chose to ignore it, but several of the other merchants voiced their complaints. Alric simply laughed and began to whistle again. Only this time, he discreetly tapped his gnosis mark, and the sound was far different. A beautiful birdsong erupted from Alric's lips, at the bewilderment of the other merchants. The leader laughed a good throaty laugh, as he was the only one who knew of Alric's mark. In fact that was the reason Alric had been allowed to join them. the ability to become invisible would be invaluable on the Kabran road. Alric found he liked the man, a short old fellow with a big drooping mustache, and a pot belly. His other companions were also a lively bunch, though they didn't care for his singing or whistling. Honestly He couldn't blame them. It was only recently that he found he liked singing, but unfortunately liking something and having talent in it are two separate things. His voice was strained and often didn't get the right note. But he'd never get better without practice and his compatriots couldn't get rid of him, so he took advantage of it. But even if his human companions did not want to hear him, he found many other things did. The moon hung over them as if it was intent on every verse, and the fireflies came to show their silent support. The wind was gentle, as to not keep him from being drowned out, and the stars were in abundance. As the wagons went along the road, grass grown tall on either side seemingly waving him on, Alric decided to oblige them. Much to the dismay of his companions. "Oh, the night is young, and oh so bright. The beasts have all brung, A lovely appetite. They await in the dark, For an easy meal. Perhaps the man near the back, Might taste of veal. I saw him gorging, In the morning. And now he sleeps, as I talk of sheeps. And his taste thereof." The leader of the caravan let out a guffaw, finding the song funny despite its flaws. The other merchants told him to be quiet and not sing of hungry beasts. A rather average looking man with the only distinctive thing about him being his unibrow, voiced his complaints of the song quite eagerly. "Nathan, please shut the man up! His singing is atrocious, and his verses are awful! Brung isn't even a word, and sheeps isn't either! Honestly I don't know why you brought him. He's done nothing but annoy us since you brought him on! And if he sings any louder we might attract unwanted attention!" Nathan, who apparently was the leader of the caravan turned his head to the man who spoke, which was difficult, since he was on the front-most wagon leading the horse. "Oh quit your belly-achein'! The man's a delight, when's the last time we had a singer along anyway? And so what if he sounds like a dying animal to you? He's loud, and when your old like me, that's all tha' matters. 'Sides, I think he's funny, a lot more cheery than you riff-raff. Now no more talkin', I don' wanna attract anythin' 'round here. I want us to keep going till we reach the next cabin. Should only be a few more chimes. Unfortunately, Mr. Wilmot, That means you too. No more singin'-" the rest of the men cheered. "-'till tomorrow." They groaned. Alric stifled a chuckle, and relaxed as best he could atop a horse. It was a friendly thing, and took to him readily enough. He had Ainsley to thank for teaching him how to ride. He still wasn't very good at it, but she had taught him the basics. He missed her, he realized. He had turned her away when their business was concluded, all because he saw her as a tool that has played its part. But, wasn't his clothing just a tool? And he didn't abandon them. He put the thought out of his head and had the horse trot up to the front of the procession, to talk to Nathan. He enjoyed the man's company, he reminded him a bit of Jahoma, his old Speaker mentor. "Nathan, a word?" The old man turned his head a bit to get a glance at Alric. When he saw who it was he smiled and nodded. "Sure thing, but keep it quiet. Glassbeaks usually don't attack us this early into the journey, but with your singing, they might just show up early. I like ya but th' boys are right about unwanted attention. So tomorrow you'd best sing a song early and then find a new hobby. We haven't been attacked by Glassbeaks in over a season and I mean to keep it that way." Alric had been hearing a lot about these "Glassbeaks" though none had given up much information about them. They were some sort of bird, that he had figured out, but they were quite feared for just being a bird. It was obvious there was more to them than he knew. Deciding it would be a nice flexing of his hypnotic muscles, he reached within himself and pulled a tendril of djed from the rest. He sent it into the old man's mind and began to put thoughts into him. Small ones, just enough to get the man in a talking mood. It really wasn't necessary, and it was more for Alric's desire to practice his art than to manipulate the man. Still, it was useful enough. "I'm sorry, but, what are Glassbeaks, exactly? I've been hearing the word, but I'm unfamiliar to the creature it's attached too. " Nathan smiled and began to speak in a softer tone, so as to encourage whispering. "I thought you'd crossed the Wildlands before. You were never attacked?" "I only crossed once before. I ran across bandits and bears. But no Glassbeaks." "Then count yourself lucky. The beasts are the fiercest thing I ever seen. They mostly stick to the Sea of Grass, but don't you think fer a second tha' they don' roam anywhere else. Last year we had a terrible attack, Ol' Bill lost his leg." Nathan gestured with his thumb to a tall man with a very large chin, and now that Alric had been told, he noticed a pant-leg with nothing inside it. Alric rose his eyebrows, realizing that an attack was not only in the realm of possibility. "Yes, but what are they? "They're birds of an enormous height, 'bout 7 or 8 feet tall. They don' act like birds though. They always run in packs and give me a mind o' wolves.They don' fly, they run, an' they're faster than any horse. They and can tear a man apart in seconds. Ol' Bill was a good fighter though, so they only got tha' leg. Yessir, best we don' run afoul of 'em. Rather deal with bandits any day." Alric gave out a whistle at the description, but cut it short when the men from behind glared at him. He gave them a smile and a wave, but he would stop, if only out of courtesy. "So how did they get the name, Glassbeaks? Are their beaks made of glass?" "Heh, no. It looks like glass, but it ain't so fragile. It's tough material, you best believe. I've seen swords bounce of o' it before. Not me own o' course. I don' have a death wish. I see a Glassbeak I stay away if I can help it." "They do sound fearsome. Though I think I might be able to handle them." With that, Alric tapped his gnosis mark and made a dozen butterflies appear from his hand in a swirl of violet light. Nathan laughed and the men in back tried to see what Alric was up to, but he was far enough in front that even the light was too quick to make out anything. The men knew he was a wizard of some kind, they just didn't know what he could do. He had attempted to conceal that fact early on, but he found that was a futile attempt. Anyone who wore robes like his just looked like a wizard, and his impromptu joining of their caravan just made them more suspicious. He knew they whispered of enchantments and bewitching, but he didn't think much of it. If it made them happy to believe he was an evil wizard out to control their leader, so be it. In truth, while he had been hypnotizing the man, it was only feelings of euphoria and joy. Happy things. As he thought on that, he decided to give them all a little emotional suggestion, to just be happy. They were a sour lot with him around, but he knew they were rambunctious when he wasn't looking. Hopefully a little push might make them forget about him. When he was done with that he turned his attention back to Nathan. "You know, my father and I always had such interesting conversations on late nights such as this." "Oh? he a good man?" "He was." Nathan nodded in understanding. "So what did he and you talk about, Mr.Wilmot?" "Well, we discussed trivial things mostly. Like, what if everyone's favorite color was the same, but we all had differnet names for it? Or, what if other people cease to exist when you can't hear or see them? Of course my favorite when I was smaller was, what kind of animal would you be?" Nathan smiled under his big mustache and whipped the horses. The hour was getting late and he was apparently losing his patience. "Well, If I was any animal, I' be the coral snake. Although I may look all dangerous and slimy, I'm quite harmless and smooth. If you catch my drift. heh heh. My own dad weren't near as fun as your own sounded. Remember 'm for the wallopin' o' ma behind mostly. So tell me Wilmot, what would you be?" Alric had to stifle a chuckle from the older man's description. He hardly looked dangerous and he doubted the man had any power over women. Still it was a nice comparison. Nathan was lucky Alric was a learned man, not everyone knew what a coral snake was. At the question, Alric stopped to think. What was he? Was he a dog, perhaps? Loyal and loving? No, his loyalty had not always been so great, he had worshiped Eyris's ideals over Ionu's, yet never paid homage to her. Was he a cat? Sly and finicky? He might be, but he didn't think he was really all that sly. As he continued to think, a moth flew past in the night. A large white one, that reminded Alric of the butterfly he had conjured earlier. His eyes widened then in realization. He was a butterfly. In his life, he had had three goals, and each goal represented a stage in his life. As a larvae, he sought to understand what happened around him, as he was new to the world. As a chrysalis he thought he had to become harder, firmer, master the world. But in truth he had only made the world smaller. Finally, with his father's death and his long sleep, he had emerged from the chrysalis understanding that he couldn't shut himself off. He couldn't master the world, it was too big, too powerful for him. He was free then, to enjoy the flowers and the wind. He had discovered joy he hadn't known before, couldn't have known. Alric smiled then, yes. He was a butterfly. Or a moth. One of the two. "I believe I would be a butterfly, or a moth. I've gone through three stages in my life and the butterfly matches very well with that." That made Nathan laugh. "A butterfly eh? Well then I 'spose Glassbeaks really are no problem for you then. Them Glassbeaks are always gobbled up by butterflys. Hah! I gos me a wizard who fancies himself a butterfly. He'll protect me fo' sure. Hah, well you'd best be ready then, because butterflys are might fragile. No matter what them strange thinkers say about 'em an hurricanes. You get stomped on, you ain't gonna get better. Hope you know that." Alric simply smiled. "I know."

[Vanari]

Alric Wilmot

Singing	+1 XP
Whistling	+1 XP
Philosophy	+1 XP
Socialization	+1 XP

Lores :

• Practice Makes Perfect
• Nathan: Leader of Merchants
• Stop Singing, Don't Attract Those Glassbeaks!
• All About Glassbeaks
• Merchants: Suspicious of Wizards
• Nathan: A Coral Snake
• Epiphany! A Life Like a Butterfly or Moth

Notes :

That was a fun little read ^_^ I see how hard you've been working at mowing down Ravok's requests, so it's about time you got some grades too!

Please don't hesitate to PM me with questions, comments, or concerns! Also, remember to either delete your grade request or edit it as "graded." Cheers