A Nice Little Jaunt Through The Woods. (Garland)

[Nivel]

14th day of Fall, 514 AV Nivel had just recovered from her spar with Garland the Squire. The use of flux during the friendly spar had left her with some minor symptoms of over giving and she spent the next day in rest to recover. It was hard being a mage night, she knew her non magical squires didn't have to spend nearly as much time recovering as she did. To those that didn't know very much about magic it would seem like she was being a lazy slacker but Nivel hated sitting around, she didn't think there was a pycon in all of Mizahar that did. After a full day's rest she didn't feel like doing her usual training, she found Patcha and convinced the kelvic to come out for a casual ride around the woods. She knew that the woods was no place for casual riding but she wanted a change of scenery and the possibility of danger made the trip all the more exiting. Nivel hadn't run into many monsters she had read about, or even any monsters she hadn't. All she'd ever found was one or two yukman, wolves and bandits, which some might call lucky but to Nivel it was boring. She wanted some variety just not anything to dangerous for obvious reasons. However, If she didn't encounter anything but the beauty of the woods, it would still be a day well spent in Nivel's Nexus. She guided her mount through the tall grass, over high roots and around similar natural obstacles as they both basked in the sounds and visuals that the bronze woods had to offer. She was glad that Patcha could smell her way home because Nivel had very little idea of where she was going. She remembered something about the moss always growing on the north side, but she wasn't sure what direction the city was so this information wasn't much help to her. She could hear sounds of rustling leaves coming from behind her and it startled her a bit, she clenched her key shaped Pypole named "Grick" in surprise and fear. She urged Patcha to stop with a trembling pat to the head, It was part of the unique code the two had and Patcha quickly understood. Nivel listened quietly and the noise got louder, it sounded like a horse. "Who is there" she called out, hoping it was someone friendly.

[Garland]

It was just one of those days. Apparently someone had lost an important heirloom while they were out jogging in the woods, a small gold ring was dropped while the person was in the woods. It was stupid that someone decided to have a little jog in a very dangerous forest, with a very important heirloom. Garland was assigned to this task because this was not as important as the other tasks the knights were doing.

Searching the whole woods would have been stupid, he had seen Nivel earlier on a dog going to the forest, she didn't seem like she was in a rush, he dismissed it as just a simple run through the woods. Of course when he was given this task, he remembered that Nivel had some sort of magic that can made her see the auras of things.

Dogs could keep up with horses, and they could easily outrun him, he had taken his favorite horse from the stable, Tryn. Garland climbed up on the horse, and gave a small tap with his heel to make Tryn start moving.

Garland had his horse moving in a fast canter towards the woods. As they made it to the treeline, Tryn had broken off into a full gallop, not on Garland's orders.

"Stupid mule!" Garland yelled as he tried to sway with Tryn's movements. It was much harder than it looks. Tryn had stopped abruptly, sending Garland tumbling into a tree.

Tryn had just stopped in front of Nivel and her mount. Garland groaned, as he got up. "Hello... ow..."

[Nivel]

Nivel didn't hear any response to her question but could definitely hear the voice of a Tall Folk and it sounded familiar. The Sound of Galloping hooves got louder and louder suddenly but before Nivel could hide a horse came bursting into view. The armoured knight that had been riding him was thrown off and slammed hard into a tree. Leaves and twigs broke off from the force of the blow, but amongst all the chaos Nivel could recognize the poor knight. "Garland...are you okay?" Nivel asked with concern in her voice. She urged Patcha to ride up to Garland with a clap of the hands, which meant "go" amongst the two. It was pretty obvious to the kelvic that Nivel wanted to her to ride up to her friend so she did just that. Patcha began sniffing the man to get more familiar with his smell as Nivel inspected him to see if he was missing any limbs that she could retrieve for him. "looks like you aren't missing any limbs, that's good" She said with a sigh of relief. "What are you doing here friend?" it was a little strange that she had found him wondering in the woods after only having a spar with him two days ago. "You aren't following me are you?" she said playfully, she was figured it was just a delightful coincidence that they had bumped into each other. He probably had squire related business that had brought him to the woods. It seemed silly that she was only in the woods for a casual nature walk but she hadn't been given any tasks lately the brought her into the woods. Her patron never gave her anything dangerous and she still wasn't sought after for quests even though she was one of the very few Mage's the order had at it's disposal. If magic was needed they would usually look for one of the more known mages, it was probably why Grey was so busy all the time.

[Garland]

"Nivel... Just the Pycon I needed to see." He said with a smile. He then looked over to his horse with a tiny glare. "Thanks, you dumb mule."

"looks like you aren't missing any limbs, that's good."

"Yes, That is good. I wouldn't have wanted to lose an arm because of my horse." He popped a few joints back in, mostly his shoulders. He gave a small pat on Nivel's mount's head, he didn't that Nivel's dog was actually a Kelvic.

"What are you doing here friend?"

"Actually, I need a favor. I'm looking for an heirloom that someone dropped while they were out in the woods. Searching the whole woods would take decades at best, so I need your Auristics? Auratics? The magic that sees auras." He said, mispronouncing the words he was saying.

"You aren't following me are you?"

"Actually, I saw you leave the gates earlier. It was coincidence that I needed to go to the woods today." He smiled and went over to his horse, grabbing his reins and gave a small tug to make Tryn follow. "Can you help?" He asked with large eyes. "Please, searching the whole woods would take forever! I'm looking for a ring, it's golden. I don't know how auras work so I guess I might give you a description if you want."

[Nivel]

"Aww good to hear, I hate when I lose a my limb." She said happily. She was truely glad to know that her friend was okay, even if his cracking joints made her uneasy. Nivel was still very curious about how Tall Folk function and they occasionally did things that made her all the more curious. Along with the red liquid called blood it seemed like Tall folk had a lot going on inside them, She couldn’t wait until her auristics was at a level that she could know all the giants inner workings. Patcha pulled away from the pat of the human, she was drawn to his smell but didn't want anyone but Nivel touching her. The Kelvic had to many bad experiences with humans in her short life to trust them so easily. "On another note...Don't call your mount stupid! Mounts are your trusted comrade in arms that aid you in your knightly duties, a knight and their mount are a single unit! without one YOU..." She paused to think of an end to her sentence as she quivered in determination "...not a very good knight!" Nivel ranted in defence of the silly creature whom she was certain was called a horse but didn't feel it was the time to correct her friend on his word usage. Nivel acted pretty childish most of the time but certain things she took a little too seriously. Nivel's mother who served as a knight before settling down in Pyconia, instilled in her values that she must abide by in order to be a true knight and respecting your mount was one of them. When her short rant was over she quickly shifted back to the task at hand. Garland was asking for her assistance and may have been the first person to have sought the pycon out for anything. Although after hearing what he needed of her, she wasn't sure the skills he needed her for would be of any help. " If this is just a normal everyday object, My auristics skills won't really be much help" She explained "inanimate object don't give off as much of an aura as living ones do and in a forest full of life a regular ring is even harder to find. Only magical object can be detected with Auristics" she felt a little sad to crush his hope but what she said was true. "I am of course still willing to offer help in anyway that I can"

[Garland]

Garland gave a smile at his friend's little rant. "I'm just kidding around, I call him a dumb horse and he kicks me into a tree, a building, bushes, everywhere really." He said, giving his mount a gentle scratch behind the ears. Which his horse thoroughly enjoyed.

He stopped to think about any other information he was given to help with their search. "Well, I heard it was old, and was exposed to a lot of magic in its time. The client's family were skilled mages I believe, I don't exactly know if they put any magic there, but it has exposed to a lot of magic. Could that help, maybe?" He asked, hoping it would be a bit more helpful than just saying it was gold.

He took out a map with a few large circles around it. "Well, the client spent most of his jogging here." He pointed to a large circle right to the center of the map. "There's a clearing here, so that might mean he dropped it there." He pointed to a line going from the circle to another circle just slightly north of it. "He could have gone here, to the lake. It would be lost if it was dropped in the lake." He said, a bit disheartened, this being his first real solo assignment, which he was asking for help in, but all he wanted was not to disappoint. "After the lake, he made a straightish line towards the entrance to the woods, he could have dropped it while he was making a run towards home."

[Nivel]

"Really?" Nivel thought that showing affection through insults and violence seemed a bit contradictory but who was Nivel to judge relationship of others. "You're stupid Patcha!" Nivel tried testing it out. Patcha turned her head up to look back at the pycon on her back, She didn't seem sad or angry but Nivel couldn't help thinking the Kelvic was upset "Oh sorry!.. I mean that with love.." Nivel patted her mounts head to reassure her that she wasn't trying to be insulting. "Well that might be something" The pycon reassured Garland "But just being around magic isn't really enough, it needs to actually have a spell on it...Although if they are as magically inclined as you say they're bound to have cast some kind of spell on it." Nivel was only really aware of Shielding but she didn't know why anyone would need to cast that on a ring. She knew there was other magical practices out there so it's possible one of them was used on the lost item, or at least she hoped. Nivel thought it was a little strange that this civilian took regular jogs out in the woods but she was also out here too for no particularly good reason. This mage was probably fairly powerful and possible had a love for nature like Nivel did. Although she didn't like that this mage couldn't look for their own lost things, but Nivel didn't really care because it gave her something to do. "Let's maybe investigate this clearing first, If we don't find it there we can try and retrace their steps" Nivel shrugged her shoulders, She got the feeling that Garland was a little nervous and she did her best to reassure him by making the job sound simple. Nivel clapped her hands to signify that she wanted Patcha to begin moving. She extended her tails out within sight of Patcha so she could direct her mount where to go. She put her Auristics on and began searching for anything in the vicinity that seemed different. "I'll follow which ever way you chose to go" Nivel looked up at Garland with an enthusiastic head nod and fist pump to the air. "lets find this ring."

[Garland]

Garland nodded and smiled at Patcha, he still didn't know that she was a Kelvic, but he just liked talking to animals, even if they didn't understand him. "Aren't you cute. It must be weird having a little clay person riding you." Tryn gave a small snort and bit Garland's hair to make him stand up. "Right, we should get going." He looked at the map and pointed to the direction of the clearing. "That way."

He climbed up Tryn and tapped his heel to move forward, he was going to lead the way for once. He went through a few broken branches and stomped grass, it seemed that someone was here earlier or they were lucky enough to find the exact path the client used when he went out in the woods. With a deep breath, he enjoyed the smell of the grass and other vegetation. Although he also loved the smell of the city, the salty air of the docks or the fresh baked goods at the bazaar, he just loved the smell of a lot of things.

There was something he was forgetting about the ring, but if he forgot it, it must not be very important. They passed a few more broken branches and disturbed bushes. He was getting a bit worried. The only way something like this would happen was either someone was running in fear, or someone in a blind rage was... well in a rage.

"Something's not right here..." He said under his breath. "Don't you think the broken twigs and branches are a bit odd?" He asked, looking back at the tiny clay squire to get confirmation on his suspicions.

[Nivel]

"Is it weird to have me riding you? Nivel asked genuinely curious as to how it must feel to constantly have someone on your back. Patcha firmly shook her head back in forth in rejection to the notion. Patcha noticed the smile that the human was giving her and looked away out of shyness, it didn't help that he was male. The kelvic was never good at talking to the other sex or even being in there presence. She was glad that she was in her human form so she wouldn't have to talk to him. "Glad to hear" Nivel said cheerfully, it was nice to Know that she wasn't a burden to her friend. When the horse nibbled at the humans hair, The kelvic flinched. Patcha didn't like horses, Her parents were horses and were cruel to her. She stepped back and let a little growl escape at the horse. "They're just playing Patcha" Nivel explained with a giggle to the alarmed kelvic. Patcha relaxed a little but remained a bit weary as the Horse galloped in front of them. Nivel rode on Patcha just behind the massive horse. Since Patcha was so tiny compared to Garlands horse the kelvic had to work twice as hard to keep up. It was a bumpy ride for the for the smaller pair, as an real obstacle like a protruding root or rock was easily ignored by a horse. Although being short also kept you out of reach from any low hanging branches so it all worked out. Seeing the forest through the eyes of Auristics, was quite a sight. Things that normally wouldn't move had glowing auras that pulsed or swayed with life. It made it seem like everything in sight was moving to different musical rhythms all at once. It would occasionally startle Nivel when she would think she caught sight of something moving in her peripheral, but it was always just a stray arua playing tricks on her. "Really...what do you mean?" The pycon replied becoming suddenly weary of her surroundings. Nivel was too tiny to really notice the broken twigs hanging over head but the ground did seem rather disturbed. A haunting inhuman wail could be heard close by and it didn't sound human. A small chorus followed and they all seemed to be coming from up a head. Nivel recognized the sound as coming from a yukmen, she had only recently had a run in with a few of them while she was out on an excursion with Athaera. It seemed that the creatures had heard of the squires approach but like them didn't know where they were. As the squires entered the clearing, three of the hideous humanoids could be seen. Two of which were male while one was female. The two males upon noticing the squires rampaged toward them with reckless abandon as the female lumbered after. The male in front was the most hideous with multiple jagged rocks sticking out of his face he also seemed to be the most aggressive. They didn't seem to notice Nivel and sorely targeted Garland.

[Garland]

"Oh Shyke." Garland hopped off of Tryn, raising his shield up to block one of the Yukmen's attacks. He gave a strong slap against Tryn's flank, hoping it sent him away to a safe spot.

Tryn gave a strong whinny and kicked one of the Yukmen with his back legs, and he ran towards the trees. The smaller Yukman was sent back, landing on his back, he gave a savage growl as he got back up.

Giving a strong kick, Garland planted his foot right on the Yukman's stomach. It wasn't as strong as his Horse's kick, but it was enough to give him time to draw his sword. He reached for the long hilt of his Bastard Sword, pulling it out of it's sheath. His sword was getting worse for wear as the season drew on. He hadn't given it the care it needed, and it was showing, the blade was looking dull, but Garland hopped that it was still sharp enough(Or blunt in this case) to cause enough damage to kill a Yukman.

He needed to remember to get his blade sharpened when this job is finished. He gave a warcry to make the three of them focus on him. Hoping that Nivel could sneak up and attack or something. He rasps his sword on his shield to give out an annoying loud sound, like a metal drum. "Come on."

He put his right foot back, and his shield raised to his chest to protect himself. If the Yukman attacked first, he would be ready to block effectively and maybe even deliver a counterattack.