Rustling

[Galvin Tad]

Winter 36th, 514 AV Galvin awoke to the beautiful and shocking light reflecting off the hey bails, the golden parallels gleaming through the flapping cover of the creaking wagon. The boy yawned, and the others, old, sat with the same blank stare they'd had for an hour. Galvin started rustling his pockets in nerves when he noticed he was missing a miza. He looked to the sailor on his right, then to the professor on his left. The sailor was the obvious culprit but the money had been in our young hero's left pocket. Thinking rash, Galvin took an abrupt stand when he noticed a miza on the hey bail, underneath where his ass had been. Now, feeling awkward, Galvin raised his left hand high and put his right arm in a flexing position, letting out a sigh as he twisted and stretched his body good morning. Galvin sat eventually and, shrugging off his companions, pondered about his family. He could see his mother coming and looking down upon the note and Mizas he had left, her face long as her son's journey. Galvin dug his head in his palms but immediately looking up. The other passengers were still keeping to themselves from what he saw, but he felt they knew of his troubles. The trip was to conclude today and everyone's anxieties were at full attention. "Hol' up!" Called the driver. "Easy, easy, easyeasyeasy; Ho! Ho! Ho!" The car stopped suddenly and all three passengers rolled towards the front, sitting upright in tight fashion. "What's the problem up there?" "You pipe down back there saily!" "What?" "I said you pipe down Sally!" Without a word or thought the burly sailor bashed the driver's head on the chest in front. "Now you hold on, sir!" The professor preached from the back. "What's done is done, he should watch his mouth." The driver drew his cutlass from the case, "turn around sir, you shall duel me." Without word again the two were squaring off with sailor-swords in the back of the caravan. One pushed the other off the back and they were dancing in the snow tracks, twirling swords. "You two calm down!" Galvin said, "what is this about anyway?" "This donkey's son just cracked my head!" "He called me Sally!" "Because you couldn't pipe down and shut up, we hit a block in the road and I was already in a tiff, now a bicker has to be a tragedy." "Got that right!" The sailor lunged swinging his sword straight down upon the drivers head. The driver caught the attack with his sword but buckled and was shoved back by the sailors force, the both of the adamant in their positions. "Does someone really have to die over this? It's a petty squabble, we'll all be able to move on once were in town and in the bar. Come on, can we not have this stupid fight?" Galvin pleaded, but even the scholar was too distracted to listen. The sailor lightened up on the blade and the driver's legs unbuckled. The driver swept the sailors feet with his right foot, knocking the old sea dog to his backside. "I hope Fate will be more kind to you in death than it has been in life, friend," and the driver slit the sailors throat. All the landscape was encased in white, the light bouncing at every angle, forcing it's way into your eyes. In the trance of vision caused by the snow all that was clear was the corpse, which was leaking blood quickly from the jugular. The blood was beginning to melt the snow and make a small pool in the white field. The pool got bigger and sometimes someone would go to say something but then they would stop. "Okay, let's be men about this. Hey, brainiac, you see anything?" The professor opened his mouth but couldn't speak, "Uhhh, no." "Okay, why don't you sheath that sword. You can report that into the town guard if you want, it was life or death, we saw. Even if you just wanna dump him in the wood over there I won't say a thing." The driver looked at the dead sailor, then at Galvin, then to the sailor again. He put away his sword and stepped away. The coachmen went down past where the caravan had parked and sat facing the mountain wall. "What'd you mean there was a block in the road?" "There's a lot of snow up ahead, you'll either have to find a way to scale it or get around it." "You alright?" "No." "Good, that means you still got some humanity left in ya'."

[Galvin Tad]

The path was clogged up with winter's last breath: An avalanche had crashed encasing much of the road and wood. Galvin tested the white snow and it was still soft. The professor came up and kicked, continuing the avalanche on a smaller scale. "You got a shovel?" We could dig our ways through." Galvin said. The professor looked at his pile and back at Galvin in his pinned, khaki-colored suit, "Do I look like the type of man that carries around a shovel for a living?" One can spit in their own mouth but cannot kiss their own lips. Galvin shrugged, "Oh, yeah. Would you know how to use one?" "I imagine it's rather simple." The professor sliced Galvin with a glance and thought of distant things. "Any ideas?" "I'm sure the wave guard will come soon." "This is a prime spot for a hold up." "Barbarians, in Zeltiva? How foolish.." "Not in, around. And not everyone who robs you is a barbarian, actually you'd rather meet a plain robber." "How do you suppose we get out of here?" "You've climbed trees before, have you?" "Not since my youth, but I don't see what you're getting at, I'm not hopping branch to branch." "See that?" Galvin pointed towards a high branch in the nearest tree, it was thick with flawless bark. "That thing was definitely in the path of the avalanche and look at how strong it still looks. I bet if I swing my grappling hook up there we could clear right over this here monstrosity." "It'll be fine." Galvin got to work using the grappling hook he had purchased on the trip over from a merchant. He threw the hook and caught air five times before striking the branch, shaking off snow. His fifteenth throw he somewhat hooked onto the branch, but when tugged the grapple slipped, hitting right beside his soaked boots. Finally, twenty-three throws in, the hook caught and Galvin pulled and pulled, unable to get it free, he even hopped and gave the branch dead weight and there was no wiggle. Galvin looked at the professor, "You're up first. I'll be here to catch you case you fall." The professor beat his eyes around and tested the rope himself. He mimicked Galvin's dead weight form and inched his way up the grapple like a worm. When he got to the top he looked down with distress to his young teacher, "What do I do now?" "Start swinging and then jump to clear the medium, but don't clear all the snow, you need something to catch you." The professor started swinging the rope, little by little extending the range of the swing. When the swing was wide enough to jump the professor started to quiver and slid a little bit. "I got you if you fall, just worry about making that jump." The professor inched up one more time and started swinging again. This time when the swing was right he jumped cannonball style to the other side, there was a poof and a silence. "You alright?" "Thrilled actually, you've got to try it! Oh, what a marvelous experience! My heart hasn't beat since I was your age!" The old man's laugh carried through the mountains and sounded supernatural. Galvin stuck his hands to the rope worked his way up quickly. The form was awkward, he'd start with his feet tight locked round the rope, but when he climbed they swung out before resettling the lock. He looked like he was trying to swim in the air or do jumping jacks with just his legs. The rope wiggled a little bit in Galvin's hands as he inched his way up, but he payed it no mind. "It's no big deal, I do this stuff all the time," Galvin yelled to the professor. The roped wiggled again and then jumped and then Galvin stopped moving up and started looking up. There was a splinter and then a crunch. Bending itself as far as it could for the boy's weight, the branch eventually snapped from the tree. Galvin let go of his rope and grabbed at the air, tumbling with the ground at his back. He felt the snow catch his back and looked up to see white powder and the branch coming straight down. Galvin covered his head and rolled over. When Galvin awoke there were two wavesguards over him, both poking at with their eyes. They asked each other questions and looked surprised. Galvin felt his own weight lifted from him and could see a tunnel of white, on the other side of which was the professor and two more waveguards.

[Galvin Tad]

Galvin had been healing at the local inn for two weeks now, he had been staying at an infirmary for a week prior but due to the non-urgency of his care he was released. Still though he needed to rest up and was being visited by a nurse everyday. She was blonde and fair and had blue eyes that echoed the call of the universe. The way she walked drew many sailors out of their rooms on premise alone, and their would be doors opened and shut aplenty to correspond with her comings and goings. She would often tell Galvin that she feared a liquored, late visit, the reasoning had something to do with the town's extensive need for brothels. It was now noon and Galvin had been given breakfast in bed, three eggs with sausage and toast. The plate came with a glass of water and a swig of rum. The boy ate slow as he knew his lady was on the way and wanted to offer her some, regardless of how bad she wanted it. The two had grown to like each other through their forced mutual necessity. Galvin laid in a single bed that was a couple of inches in length too small, and so he had to sleep on his side. The room was of dark wood with measurements that were remotely double to that of the bed. To Galvin's left there was a nightstand, on top of which was a journal where he had been keeping memories and writing poetry over the past couple of weeks. Near the door in the corner there was a pot to relieve oneself and a man would come to change it every few hours so the stench wouldn't linger. Despite this Galvin hardly ever got up as it because the world blurred and sound skewed, but now he was starting to feel better. There was a knock at the door, "Can I come in?" The voice on the other end had a polite, urgent inflection. "Yes." In walked the nurse, she was dressed for the coming spring in her heals and gray skirt, yet held onto winter with her matching gray long sleeve and dark blue scarf. The first thing she did was smell and look at the bucket (Galvin made sure it was clean every time she came since the first) then she looked at Galvin and gave him a wide, closed smile. "How are we doin' today kiddo?" "I don't know how you get off calling me that, you're only a few years older than me and you don't even look it." The two smiled with one corner of their lips, "I'm feeling better." "That's good, how's your head feel?" "Better, the headaches are going and I can get up without feeling like I'm gonna tip over now. Want some of my egg?" "No, me and my boyfriend just had brunch." She felt his head and rubbed the top and felt the bump that was just beyond Galvin's hairline. She then checked his neck for swelling before sticking her hand down his shirt to check his pulse and breathing. Her hands were cold but her touch was nice. "Everything checks out with you, the swellings gone down considerably and your heart beats truer everyday! Soon you'll be out of here." "That's good, beautiful." "Haha, thank you." The nurse left and returned with a bucket and a damp rag and rubbed Galvin's head with it, "This lump really needs to go, you got a big head as it is mister." "Haha." She ran the rag in the water again and repeated the action. "Can I be honest with you, Cynthia?" "Ugghhh..." she beat her eyes around and half grinned before looking back at Galvin, "Is this a good thing?" "I hope so. I'm into you." "What do you mean?" "I mean I'm into you. Like I'm attracted to you and think we'd get around nice." "But Galvvv, I've got a boyfriend." "I know." Some time passed while Galvin stared at Cynthia who was smiling wide and looking slightly past Galvin's head. "It's not like I don't feel the same way, just..." Cynthia put her finger over her smushed and smiling lips. "I just got a boyfriend that's all." "I understand." "But I want to keep seeing you like I have been." "Even after I'm better?" "Especially after your better." "Do you like that?" "What?" "That I like you?" She nodded. "I should get going." Galvin stood up and walked over to the door and held the handle, "I'll see you tomorrow?" "Of course."

[Galvin Tad]

When the day finally came for Galvin to leave he rolled off the bed and hit the floor like The Tales: Right arm extended with the palm to the earth with the other resting on it's same knee that was pointed to the ceiling, the opposite shin laid flat (so as to be ready to spring). Galvin was slouched, yet stark, looking head hunched at the blank wall. A whistle came and the door creaked. Galvin turned to see what was going on and could only see from his peripherals the door. He contorted his body so as to sit on his rear, and, while ready to do battle, it hardly seemed Galvin would be the sure victor. The whistle called back and the door closed. He had been walking around the inn for a week now and the block for three days. Galvin learned that Zeltiva had many stories. A boy told of his father getting robbed on his walk to east street; another's dad had been one of the most prestigious scholars in the history of pre-Valterrian philosophy, if not the most prestigious of all. Galvin often looked at the fisherman, sailors, ladies, and scrubs individually. Everyone talked of their work, or love, or pleasures, or soothers, leaving with the night just to come back. A bearded sapient who often sat alone drinking told Galvin, "People often forget the subject of which they speak." He had drank with this man once but the silence in between the aphorisms and affirmations was too stimulating for Galvin. The city block round the bar was often loosely packed when he walked in the day. However, he would see the odd couple out for a dandy and be reminded of his nurse. It had been three weeks since his discharge from the clinic and for a week now Cynthia had come everyday. A sailor fresh from night walked by holding the wall and tapped Galvin's door open, he apologized, closed it, and went on his way. Galvin got up and opened the door, feeling a light chill from the hallway. He slipped on a shirt, jacket, and trousers and went downstairs. Our young hero sat at a booth of his choosing after he grabbed a menu flicked through it in a frolic, having already made his mind up. "Oh! Thank you for breakfast, honey. I had so much fun!" Galvin turned around to see his nurse with arms wrapped on her boyfriendss arm. "We should come here again soon." "What can I get you to drink?" A waitress had snuck in. Galvin had never seen her and she was young and fair skinned with brown hair. Her eyes shined like an emerald and moved him like the waves. Galvin looked away, and back at her, "What's good?" "What do you mean?" "What do you like?" The waitress smiled, "I think the water'd do you best." "I haven't been drinking." "Yeah, but I heard about you, you're sickly right?" "Not at all, I'm fine actually." "So then you're not Galvin? I'm confused." "No, I am him. But I'm not sick, I never was. I was hurt." "Oh, sorry, I just thought I heard a couple saying that. Tell you what, I'll find out what's freshest and bring it to you." "Okay." She came back in a minute with a glass of light green liquid, "Grape juice, you know what you want to eat?" "Yes." "So what'll it be?" "Well, I lied, because I hadn't imagined eating while drinking something as sweet as grape juice." "So, what do you want?" "Something to contrast the sweetness." "Are you asking me what I'd get?" "In a way." "Something spicy." "I'd also like to keep it close to home: You got any fish dishes with a kick?" "Yeah, I could do something for you." "That'd be swell, just no tomatoes." "You got it." This time Galvin waited for twenty minutes for she returned, although another girl had filled his drink in the meantime. She brought over a soup and she pleaded Galvin to enjoy. It was a crab bisque with a red tinge. Galvin noted she had lied to in saying she'd get him fish, but he did not mind. The cream was rich and buttery and had pepper powder mixed in. The onion and garlic sunk after ingestion before the spice kicked back in. When Galvin sipped his grape juice steam floated past his eyes. "How is everything?" "Great. I just said no tomatoes." "Was there some in there." "Well yeah, the bisque is great though. I don't mind." "Can I fill up your drink." "No, that'll be fine. How long have you worked here?" "Just a few weeks. I come in when they need help cause I can't work all the time, I'm in the university." "That sounds swell. How is it?" "Boring really, I just go there 'cause my dad makes me." "Yeah, I know how you feel." The two looked away when they heard the door slam. A man had left in a ruckus and it kicked out, but on the recoil out another man got his foot in the door and entered. "What's your name?" "Carissa, I'd ask yours but you already know I know," she said, giggling silently. "It's really good to meet you Carissa." "Same to you Galvin." "Say, I'm just leaving here today for a place I bought, but I'd like to see you sometime again. I'm new to the town you see and I could use someone to show me around." "You seem alright enough, why not?" "Where shall I see you?" "Uhmmm, well where do you stay?" Galvin scribbled his address on a napkin and handed it to her. "I'll drop something in your mail, I'll think of a good place."

[Galvin Tad]

Galvin paid his stay with the inn, which was ten mizas as prior negotiated on account of Galvin's special needs. He had never really talked much with the bartender; Galvin sat alone, away from the loners. But today was special as it marked his last here, and not much of it was to be spent here either. "You ready to be outta' here champ?" "I mean yeah, that's why I'm paying you." "I really should of been charging you the whole time." "Well, thanks." It had been a bit since Galvin had enjoyed wise cracking. "So… I guess I'll be going." "If you meet any people registering at the university looking for a wink pass em here." An old man at the bar scoff. "Yeah, well I don't really plan on goin' there." "Hmm." The old man remarked, cheerfully. "Why not? You're young, you should be in the university" He scoffed again. "Listen here keep, you don't go tellin' this wise young person what to do." "Listen Ernie-" "That's Burgon to you!" "If you're against the university you should take your ass outside! They bring me business." "I ain't against you gettin business Sal, but I do know those coots up there don't know a damn thing! Swayin' everyone which way with their lies. They should be teaching students to think, not to memorize!" "Say, what'd you teach again?" "Philosophy, friend, though I'll never teach again." "Maybe that's best." The bartender looked at Galvin, "They say towards the end he was asking the students more questions than they were him." "What's your name, sir?" "Burgon Sock, call me Ernie though, son. Shake my hand, nice to meet you." Ernie was old and had bug eyes, if you looked at him from the side it looked like they moved autonomously. "My wife says skinny guys fight to the bone." "I've had my hair in a knick before. You're skinny, how about you?" "Aye, I've seen a scrap or two in my time." Ernie looked away from Galvin. "I've saved a man's life once or twice as well." "I've protected another on many occasions, never directly saved anyone." "But you have sacrificed?" "Yes." "So then what is it to sacrifice?" "I don't know." "You're a smart kid, you know that? Say, you should get goin'. But you should come by, visit me and my wife, we live just by East Street now." Galvin thanked the man and bid him a fair well, wondering how one could be smart for not knowing something. The air was different today, easier to breathe. Galvin knew he was still sore from being bed ridden but in a week or so of normal life he could easily be back up to speed. He would shack up at his place, buy what little he needed to get by for the time being, and heal.

[Aoren]

Riddled With Rewards Galvin Tad Notes : Uh-oh! Mr. Tad it appears that you don't have a Green Check mark next to your Character Sheet. I recommend you contact the Character Sheet Liaisons and request a review. You can also get in touch with one of the Zeltiva Storytellers and politely ask for a review. (Eldritch, Fractale, Neologism). Furthermore, please update your ledger to reflect proper Seasonal Expenses. Once these thing have been completed feel free to contact me for your grade.