Solo Halted by Devious Winds

[Lenz]

33rd of Spring, 514 AV

It was a marvelous morning. The birds were chirping and a few buds on various amounts of trees had sprouted, blossoming into small and fragile flowers.

Lenz was up and ready for whatever her day held. She was already adamant about attempting to work more on a story she had been writing for the past few days. She was rather pensive about her imagination and the allowing of it to spill out in the form of words.

She had had a nice rest last night, free of much wrestling and tugging at her blanket and bedroll. She hadn’t stirred in her sleep to the extent of knocking the child in the nose and she was grateful of this.

She always seemed to think better when she had just arisen from a relatively decent slumber. To others they might think better after being severely sleep deprived, possibly due to the fact that they had to strain to think, unlocking chambers of ideas that weren’t normally given a second thought.

With her mind clear of fatigue, she went on to write. She had been in a writing mood for a while now, having been jotting down random ideas with her quill. Sometimes these ideas came to her in the middle of the night, or even when she was trying to focus intently on something other than stories. It was a gift and a curse, but either way it was one she cherished with much of her heart.

“Hey, Ipisol?” she asked from across the tent.

The child muttered in response, not fully awake. She tossed and turned until she was propped up into a sitting position, one hand on her cheek, the other clasped into a fist as it rubbed her glassy eyes.

She yawned and finally managed to open her eyes. They were slits of crystal blue, rubbish tainting the insides of her eyes and the tips of her eyelashes. It was slimy and gross, but Lenz paid no mind to it. She wanted to ask her an important question before she got too delved into whatever it was she was planning to do.

“Do you have anything you desire to do today?” she asked promptly, raising one eyebrow and leaning forward on her knee.

Ipisol yawned again and scratched the side of her head, digging her fingernails into the fleshy part above her ear. “Not at the moment,” she replied.

The woman felt defeated, dejection slowly creeping in. Sure, she had other things she wanted to do such as write her story, but the thought of having something to do made her more joyous. She despised feeling bored. She needed something she had to do that refrained from cleaning up around the tent.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t want to do anything today? It’s quite a lovely day out. You could go out and play with your-“

“I don’t want to do anything right now,” she persisted, falling back onto her bedroll and immediately shutting her eyes again.

Lenz sighed, but didn’t push the matter any further than she already had. If Ipisol wasn’t willing to prevail in the battle against boredom, than she wouldn’t urge against it.

She went back to her story, taking her quill out and dipping it into the opened vile of black ink. She moved her hand against a blank piece of paper, listening as the sloshing sound of the brush against the parchment filled her ears with pleasure.

She wrote,

”This is a tale of two individuals both of which fell deeply in love with one another. The two didn’t know each other until the day they met, yet they felt a strong presence of déjà vu when they both laid their eyes onto one another’s figures.”

She crossed out all of the words she had just written, musing to herself in pessimistic ways.

“Stupid, stupid,” she said to herself before starting over.

[Lenz]

33rd of Spring, 514 AV

She gripped the quill tightly in between her index finger and thumb, using her middle and ring finger as support before she dipped the tip into the black substance. When she took it out, she made sure to drag the tip across the lip of the vile to prevent from any drips.

She then moved her arm so that it hovered over the paper, trying to conjure up a better way to explain what she was trying to say.

She wrote,

”This is tale of romance.”

She leant back, rolling her head to one side and then to the other. She stretched her neck muscles, earning a popping sound in response. She cracked her knuckles by applying pressure to the upper portion of her fingers. She lifted her chest and propelled her breasts to the sky, her back snapping in multiple places.

She felt better, more relaxed, and as she maintained her sitting position with her legs crossed over one another, she took a deep breath and continued to write.

”There was a boy of intelligent origin, yet he was no prince charming. He was mocked, toyed with and bullied for no wrongdoing. He grew up in a stable house with a kind and caring mother. His father on the other hand was cruel and harsh, giving out punishments as if they were sweets. To predict where he life was going, it was safe to say that he would be emotionally and mentally and even possible physically scarred for the rest of his life. This was true without infallible mistakes; however, if it weren’t for a young lady, it would have stayed true and infallible.”

“Hey Ipisol?” she asked, calling over her shoulder.

She was prone to taking breaks, sometimes longer than necessary but never less than she should. It wasn’t that she was easily distracted or wasn’t able to maintain attention for very long, but more that she wasn’t appealed to many things for longer than a few chimes. She needed something to disturb her, hence the reason she was disrupting the little girl from her nap.

There was no reply.

“Ipisol?” she asked again, with more of a sing song voice added to her normal tone.

“What?” she cried out angrily.

“Why don’t you want to do anything today?”

Ipisol sat up, a frown prominently plastered onto her chapped lips. Her eyes were narrowed and her eyebrows were casted downwards.

“Because,” she said slowly as if she were talking to a child and not vice versa. “I am fine with what I’m doing right now.”

“All you’re doing right now is sleeping, dear,” Lenz said in an insinuating fashion.

“So?”

“So, that’s boring!”

Ipisol silenced herself by slamming her head back down onto the bedroll. She huffed and tried her best to ignore her guardian as she continued to pester her for another few chimes. Finally the woman gave up, not necessary approving of the length of her break, but satisfied nonetheless.

She picked up the quill again and bent her head so that her eyes were glaring at the piece of paper. Let us resume, she thought to herself as she closed her eyes, breathed and opened them again.

[Lenz]

33rd of Spring, 514 AV

She dipped the quill’s tip into the black liquid and spun it around inside, making sure to attain as much ink as she could so that she wouldn’t have to keep dipping it in and out to write. She then did what she always did and tapped the edge of the tip to the side of the vile in terms of removing any excess ink so that drips wouldn’t occur.

She scavenged her mind for ideas, inspiration and any and all creativity that surfaced from the depths of the sea inside her mind. The waves washed to shore, but then receded, revealing a thought or two that could potentially add to the plot that was already being held in her mind.

She began to write,

”There was a young woman who had everything she could ever dream of, yet nothing at all. She was at a loss for what there was in the world. She often asked her the question of ‘what do I want’? or ‘what is there in life’? And it was these questions that drove her mad at the end of said interrogations.”

“This is stupid!” she cried aloud, startling Ipisol into sitting up. It was a frantic movement, something that almost seemed inhuman. Lenz was startled by how startled she was.

“What’s wrong?” the girl asked, deeply concerned for her guardian’s wellbeing.

“I’m bored, that’s what,” Lenz replied stubbornly as she reached for her coat and her shoes. She put an arm through one hole of the coat and the other through the other. She slipped on her shoes and stood up, reaching out a hand in terms of helping Ipisol to her feet.

“We’re going out,” she announced tenaciously. If there was any talk back, she would simply send them a modest glare, and it would be enough to shut them up.

The child took her hand willingly and got dressed. She put on her coat and her shoes after tossing her blanket to the side and followed the woman out of the tent.

After zipping the tent’s door closed, Lenz trekked through Tent City and emerged near the stables. She walked right through the barn doors and up to the stall that held her horse, Ametrine.

“Hello there my beauty,” she whispered to the elegant creature of vast colours. “Why don’t I take you for a ride?”

She jumped over the gate, leaving Ipisol on the outside as she slipped her hand underneath the rope that held the horse to a post. With her other hand, she untied the knot that was securely fasten on said post and then started to lead the horse out of the sable.

She shifted the hinge from the lock on the stall and opened the door, quickly jumping onto the creature as she emerged from the sanctity of the shelter. She helped Ipisol onboard by offering her a hand. Ipisol took it and hoisted herself up, using the stall’s door as a boost.

Once the two were on Ametrine together, Lenz used the back of her foot to lightly nudge the horse into a steady, yet quick paced gait. Soon the three of them were speeding out of the establishment and into the morning sunrise without a clue as to what they were to do for the rest of the day.

One would only know after they attempted to find out, though, right?

[Lenz]

33rd of Spring, 514 AV

The sound of hoofs on hard ground infiltrated her ears. It was soothing and calming to the woman as she listened with an open mind for the sounds of nature as they pulsed in her ears in rhythm with her heartbeat.

“Where are we going?” the small voice interrupted her sense of tranquility.

It fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, creating a loud cataclysm sound that reverberated through the soil beneath the horse’s feet. She didn’t dismiss the annoyance, but she didn’t let it go either.

“I don’t know,” Lenz said honestly. “I thought it would just be nice to go out for a ride. There is much to see that we haven’t already seen before. It’s spring, therefore the flowers are coming up, the trees are growing their leaves and the ground is softening with better soil. There are probably animals coming out of hibernation for us to observe.”

Ipisol clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth from behind her.

“What?”

“That’s boring.”

“Ipisol, if you don’t want to go out and do something today, you can go back in the tent and suffocate from boredom alone. I don’t have to put up with your incessant whining, alright?”

Ipisol closed her mouth and sewed it tight with invisible thread. She stashed the needle and prepared for silence, bracing herself for the sudden impact. She was sorry and showed her apologies by not speaking any more.

Lenz continued to drive the horse forward, using her foot as a propellant for the horse’s movements. She was utterly satisfied with the child’s acknowledgment towards her stern tone. She should remain quiet the entire trip and if she does so, the woman might abstain from not resisting the temptation of giving her a treat for her obedience.

The tranquil galloping resumed, filling Lenz’s ears with their melodically serene rhythm. She grasped the halter and pulled it to the right, watching as the horse turned right. She then proceeded to try pulling her to the left and watched as, after a few moments, the horse shifted direction towards the left.

She was pleased with herself as she nudged Ametrine’s side with the heel of her shoe once more. They were prancing through the grasslands of the outskirts of Sunberth, looking through fields of weeds and bordering beside forests of hefty leaves.

Suddenly the atmosphere changed. It was a dramatic shift, and one all too obvious to go unrecognized. The sky darkened and the humidity increased in the air. Lenz felt pinpricks of rain dotting her flesh and her eyes grew watery as the wind whipped through her hair and into her face.

“What is this?” she asked aloud, scanning the horizon for any signs of hazardous weather. It was getting worse by the second as clouds started to roll in large groups. The sun was shrouded and leaves started to fly around her.

“We need to go,” she said more so to herself than anyone else.

Soon the sky opened up and sent its rage down in the form of thick ran drops. A flash of light accumulated several miles to the south, startling Lenz into accidentally kicking the horse more than what was necessary.

“Go!” she urged as Ametrine picked up speed. They needed to seek shelter, and quickly.

[Lenz]

33rd of Spring, 514 AV

She ushered the horse to the left, gripping the halter in between her fingers as tightly as was allowed. Her knuckled turned white and her breathing picked up pace as anxiety swept in like a black fog.

“What’s wrong?” Ipisol cried from behind her. Lenz used her other hand to lightly pinch the girl’s thigh in a way of comfort as she mentioned that there was a little storm coming, and nothing to be afraid of.

Ametrine sped through the meadow at a reasonably quick pace, kicking up grass as she flew. They were heading in the opposite direction as they had come, hoping to return back to the stables in time to not get slammed with the oncoming tempest.

Sadly, they were running out of luck. The lightning neared and thunder spooked even the creature they rode on. The rain pelted their backs and crashed into their skulls as they tried to outwit the weather.

Suddenly a peculiar building arose from out of nowhere. It appeared to be a rotting mill, physically decrepit as the couple neared. The building was crumbling under its weight and was currently giving Lenz a churning stomach at the sight, but there was nowhere else to go for shelter.

She pushed through the rainfall, for it was starting to become so thick that the droplets were roping together to form some sort of fog, disallowing them to pass through without prevailing in their level of sight first.

Lenz stopped the horse by applying pressure on both sides of Ametrine’s body. As well did she raise the halter so that it made her muzzle heighten.

“Woah,” she interjected. “Easy there.” She needed to shout these words in order to be heard above the crashing waves of rain and barking claps of thunder.

Finally the creature stopped moving, allowing her master to jump off her back and help the child down so that she stood beside her.

Lenz’s scarlet hair was plastered to her face now, and after glancing over at Ipisol, she realised that her appearance wasn’t as terrible as the child’s. She almost laughed, but managed to stifle it. Besides, it was a storm! How else were you suppose to present yourself decently?

“Come here!” she commanded, leading the way through the weeds and toward a door that led inside the mill. The hinge was broken, the wooden door hanging on by a sliver of a thread. She threw her weight at it, hoping to break it down.

She was defeated the first time, but tried again, using the wind to her advantage. She hoisted herself up and jumped into the door, finally being able to splinter the wood in half as the door came crashing to the ground.

She told the little girl to go inside, that she would be in in a little bit. She had to find a place to tie her horse. It needed to be somewhere safe, but given the circumstances she wasn’t allowed many options.

She took the rope that hung around the horse and guided her around the mill, searching for somewhere to keep her safe until the storm had passed.

It was growing in strength, doubling its powerful blows of wind and strike of thunder. The lightning was crawling closer, threatening to stab something or someone with its electricity. Lenz gulped at the thought, but kept her head as she continued to examine her surroundings for a decent setting for Ametrine.

Finally her line of sight hovered over a little shack of sorts. It looked like it would have been a storage building for harvested crops or tools for the workers at the mill. She trekked through the storm, holding onto the rope with all her might until she emerged.

“You’ll stay here for a while,” she whispered to the horse, stroking her muzzle before tying her to a rotting post.

“I will be back,” she reassured before turning on her heel and exiting the shack.

She was pummeled by the tempest once more, but she sprinted through it, using her feet to maintain her bearings. She thrust her arms forward, trying her best to propel herself and fight the wind. She succeeded in the end, managing to relocate the mill’s entrance. She fell through the open door, almost knocking into the child in the process.

“I have returned,” she announced with a small chuckle. A giggle was earned for her attempts at brightening the somber mood that had been forced upon them, shrouding them in fright and confusion.

“What now?” asked Ipisol.

Lenz shrugged. She frankly didn’t know what there was to do next. They would have to wait out the storm unless they wanted to harm their chances of being protected. She didn’t want that, so she shook her head before her imagination was ignited like a flame.

“Why don’t we wait out this storm by telling one another stories?”

Ipisol squealed in approval of the grand idea.

“I’ll start first…”

[Lenz]

33rd of Spring, 514 AV

At first, Lenz was pondering the thought of acting out the story she had tried so hard to write this morning, but she ended up deciding against it. She did better when she simply explained the story from out of her mouth rather than attempting to write it down on paper.

So she began with a rather quiet voice, adding suspense to the mysterious introduction she was willing to present.

“Once upon a time there lived a man who wasn’t very wealthy and not very smart, but he was thought to be loyal and responsible, respectful of all those he encountered. One day he was out playing in the field behind his parents’ cottage when he stumbled upon a rotting log. He stopped to investigate, wandering farther from his house each moment. Finally, he managed to see a glowing dot on the log. He bent down to get a closer look when he saw a small bucket of a golden mizas. He shouted in jubilation, ecstatic because of what he had found. However, when the boy leant down to grab the bucket, his hand was swatted away by an even smaller hand.”

Ipisol kept her gaze locked warmly onto her guardian’s orbs. They were stunning, an icy blue, but they held intrigue without bounds. It was an infinite amount of focus, her interest portraying in molten bubbles in her eyes, dancing like the embers of a fire.

“Keep going,” Ipisol urged in a mere whisper as she leant forwards on her knees.

Lenz smiled before continuing, “The small hand that slapped the boy’s hand away belonged to a small creature. He had a human face and a humanoid body, but he was shrunken and his eyes were a blazing golden, resembling much like the golden mizas he had stolen.

‘These be mine,’ he said to the boy whilst dragging the bucket closer to him.

‘I saw them first,’ countered the boy.

Suddenly the small man came up with an idea. He buckled over and whispered a favour to the boy. If he would look over his pot of gold, he would receive many more pots of gold as penance for his help. The boy accepted willingly before returning home for the night, the pot of gold safely kept under his arm.”

“Do you wish for me to go on?” asked Lenz rhetorically, staring with glassy eyes into the child’s young face.

“Of course!” she retaliated, oblivious to the stupidity of the question.

Lenz sighed before continuing.

[Lenz]

33rd of Spring, 514 AV

“The next morning, the boy was to return back to the log to return the gold and accept his money, but instead, he went to his parents and showed them what he had found. His parents were so happy! He took the money and bought many things with it. Some of those things included a new shirt, a new hat, some ink sticks. But there was so much money, you see, so they ended up spending the rest of it on a new house, a bigger one with a large yard and a flowerbed and two floors!”

“Woah!” Ipisol gasped, her mouth agape.

“Suddenly, back where the small man was waiting, some of his limbs were beginning to fade away. He was disappearing and all because he had trusted his gold to be in the wrong hands. He thought the boy could be trusted, but apparently not. With his body slowly starting to vanish, he began to worry. He went out to try and find the boy only to stumble into his abandoned house.

‘They have moved?’ he asked himself before being startled by his head starting to disappear as well. Soon, the boy burst through the room, crying and desiring forgiveness. He saw the small man and only sobbed stronger. He did not have the entireity of the money any longer, but he kept one last golden miza. He forked this golden miza over to the shrunken man and hoped his deed would stop the process of his disappearance.

Do you know what happened?”

“What?” Ipisol asked, her eyes nearly close to bulging out of her sockets.

“He stopped fading away! The boy had done the right thing and was heavily rewarded for his kindness. And in the end everyone lived happily ever after.”

Lenz sat back and watched the girls’ face turn from emotion to emotion. It was surprised, confused, elated and then sad that there was no more story to tell. Another thing that Lenz observed was that the sound of rain hitting the top of the building had ceased.

“Do you hear that?” she asked. “I think the storm settled. We can go home.”

With that, Lenz helped the child sit up and the two walked out the door and strolled behind the building to see Ametrine safely alive, if not a little happy to see her owners.

“Ready to take us home?” Lenz asked before hopping onto the horse after assisting Ipisol first. The woman nudged the horses side before bringing the halter into her hands. She forced the horse to start turning away from the building as she began to trot.

Lenz rode into the sunset, admiring the sun’s dying rays caressing across her skin. She felt free as she tasted the gale that licked at her lips. She pulled at the reins and slowed the horse down as soon as they had neared the Tent City. Once the horse had slowed down a little, Lenz jumped off to stare into the horizon with solitude.

Everything was wonderful, that was until she heard the news of the death of her employer. But that was for another time. As for right now, she was content and relieved.


NoteAfter realising that Lenz’s employer died, she will begin to take her place in running the store herself, at least until the end of the season. After the season’s end, she will seek new employment.

[Shai]

However hopeless the situation appears to be There yet always exists the possibility of putting up a stubborn resistance Lenz : Writing 3 Riding 3 Horsemanship 1 storytelling 2 Socialization 2 Observation 2 Taking Cover From a Storm Escaping Boredom Check : If there are any concerns with my grading please feel free to toss me a PM. I am more than happy to explain my reasons or reevaluate them if you feel I've been unfair.