Solo Leading the Strongnight

A job thread

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Not found on any map, Endrykas is a large migrating tent city wherein the horseclans of Cyphrus gather to trade and exchange information. [Lore]

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Leading the Strongnight

Postby Merevaika on February 21st, 2015, 12:15 pm

77th Winter 514
Merevaika hung about in the Sea of Grass, Endrykas just visible, waiting for some lost soul to stumble across to her searching for a guide through the great expanse of snow and white. It was an almost pointless thing to do, but she had little else to do that day, Eryunt feeling unwell and refusing to let her mount him. Riding anywhere was out of the question, and without her horse, Merevaika had little motivation to hunt either. All she wanted was a quick, one day job to get her that little bit of extra money, and she would be happy.


And it turned out that she wasn't the only one who wanted the quick one day guiding either.

A small cart, filled with sacks, barrels and little children jumbled up beside where she was crouching in the snow, adjusting her possessions in the backpack in order to ease its weight and make it more comfortable. Riding on a magnificent grey stallion beside the Seme pulling the cart was an older man, although he still looked strong and healthy, full of spirit. Beside him was his wife, riding a grey Strider of her own, sporting necklaces and bangles of silver, her hair plaited in a complex knot adorned with strips of silver. She looked Merevaika up and down, examining her before placing the beautifully decorated sword in her hand back in its sheath.

"It's only a girl, Ravin, leave her, we must go," she sighed, getting the young boys and girls to remain in the cart.

"Acha, she may be lost. Or she may get us unlost. Whichever you prefer," he replied, shaking his head before returning to speak to Merevaika"Forgive my wife. She is not very hospitable. What is a girl like you doing in the Sea of Grass alone with nothing but a bow and a dog? And just a pack? Are you lost? Do you have all you need?"

"I was waiting." Merevaika ignored most his questions, answering just the first.

"What for?"

"For a job. For someone lost."

The man smiled, mouth stretching and eyes wrinkling at the corners. "Then you have to stop waiting!" he said, gesturing to the cart and making the sign for lost.

"We are not lost,"Acha demanded, leading the horse forwards as the children inside giggled at the bumps in the path they took. Ravin stopped her, asking her to wait.

"We got lost. We were travelling to where we usually set up camp, but many glassbeaks attacked us, and we stumbled off the path. Luckily, no one was injured, but we got lost. Acha here was determined not to admit that we were in fact lost, and got us even more so," he explained while trying to keep the situation with his children and wife under control, "Will you guide us? We have little other choice. I am willing to pay."

Merevaika made a sign of agreement, before continuing with the hand signs, Where?

Ravin frowned, unsure of how to explain it. "It has no name, just a piece of this great plain. But if you take us to the river, we could find our way there. That is all we require. Unfortunately, we do not know of the river's location, or we would travel there ourselves. Will you be able to guide us there?"
Last edited by Merevaika on March 29th, 2015, 6:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Leading the Strongnight

Postby Merevaika on March 1st, 2015, 6:41 pm

Merevaika agreed again, picking up her pack and dusting the snow of it. The river. They were lucky as the river was two, maybe three bells away. She was lucky too, as it meant that she would be able to make it back to Endrykas before it got dark.

Come, this way, she signed, walking away from the city in a straight line. She had left heading towards it, so the river should still be there. Besides, even if she had got the angle wrong, they would still stumble upon the river. It wasn't hard to miss the great roaring water winding its way through the white and green.

The cart moved slowly, but Merevaika still had to jog beside it. Her breath was already getting disjointed and unorderly as she panted for air, but tried to hide this sign of weakness. As they walked, Ravin talked.

"I am of the Diamond clan, but that was not always so. I was an ordinary man who a Strider bonded with. Then I met my wife, daughter to a Diamond clan Ankal, and she married me. We broke off as she wanted a fresh start, away from the endlessly growing pavillion of her own. We are the Strongnight pavillion, warriors," he grinned, before asking her of the pavillion to which she belonged.

"One that no longer exists," she explained, leaving it as that, "May we rest? I - pant- can't run this long." She sunk to the ground, trying to catch her breath. The Ankal stopped his horse, the Strider giving out a whinny. Acha rolled her eyes with fustration, calling for the Seme to stop.

"Must we halt? If we do not hurry, we will not reach the location on time. We told our son to meet us there at nightfall! What will he think if we do not arrive! We will make him worry too much!" she said in a hurry, before dragging the cart forward again before the children could come out.

"But our guide cannot keep up! The poor girl wil die of tiredness, if you push her!" Ravin argued back, "Just a little while, we can wait just a little, can't we? Or do you have no heart at all?"

"What does this girl mean to you? We have hired her as a guide, so let her guide us! We did not pay to wait around for her to try and catch her breath!" his wife replied. Merevaika glanced up at the two of them from where she lay exhausted, face flushed in the snow, debating whether or not to intervene. She decided against it, feeling that the tension wasn't just because of her.

Merevaik opened her water bottle, draining the last few drops. Her throat was still parched from the run, so she scooped up the snow and piled it into the bottle before warming it with her hands, allowing the snow to melt. She avoided looking in the direction of the arguing couple, staring instead at Denviel and the small boy who was teasing him. They would stop arguing, eventually, and let her get on with her job.
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Leading the Strongnight

Postby Merevaika on March 21st, 2015, 9:48 pm

"If you will not let her stop, let her ride in the cart!" came a shout from the man, making furious signs that Merevaika couldn't interpret from her angle.

"Her! I would never! She could be a liar and thief for all we know! She could steal out wares, and rob us before we even know it! Do you want her with your possessions, with our children? She could kill them while we travel, just like that!"

Merevaika smiled a secret smile to herself. She was a thief, that was true, but as a guide she made the promise of not stealing from her clients. Whatever goods they had, whatever things she needed. They were paying her, and that was worth not stealing from them. Only if they didn't pay up Merevaika would start thinking about obtaining her wage in more... illegal ways. But every one she had so far worked for was true to their word when they promised to pay. She hoped that everyone would be, no matter how bad a guide she was. And last time, when she had just got lost, was a time when she had been a very bad guide. Nevertheless, her clients had still paid up.

"She is just a young girl, why would she ever kill our children? Do we have so little faith in others? We are hopelessly lost , and without a guide-" Ravin broke her thought.

"We have rested enough. She had rested enough. Let us go. Girl, rise and lead," Acha scowled, raising her head. She cast another evil look at the younger woman, the jealousy of her husband's kindness towards her evident.

Merevaika reluctantly did as she was told, a stitch building up just below her chest. She started slowly jogging beside the moving cart, wondering if this was what is was like to be a slave. Being forced to do whatever the master pleased whenever the master pleased, and never ending pain. Her body killed from the endless running, and the jogging just made it worse. Unfortunately, Acha did not seem to care but hurried forward as if she was leading, not Merevaika.
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Leading the Strongnight

Postby Merevaika on March 21st, 2015, 9:49 pm

Ravin, however, showed the sympathy his wife did not, an expression of apology apparent in his posture as he sat on the horse walking beside Merevaika. He smiled a good natured smile, even slowing a little occasionally to allow Merevaika to walk a little. His wife trailed off, turning with annoyance when she realised the absence of her husband at her side. She cast a swear word at Merevaika, waiting for the two to catch up with the rest of the party.

[color=#fffff]"Is it far? Do we have much left to go?"[/color] Ravin began, but was interrupted by a shout from a child in the wagon. Merevaika joined the two adults in gazing in the direction of the stubby finger pointing into the distance. The sight they saw was horrible.

Three large birds were pounding towards them, standing 7 or 8 feet tall. The great beasts whipped their heads, snarling and growling at the group they were heading towards. Large and hooked yet transparent beaks marked them as what they were for those few who did not recognise them immediately. Glassbeaks.

Merevaika shuddered.

It appeared this pavillion was like a magnet for these savage creatures. The reason for their sudden arrival and urgency towards them was unkown to Merevaika, but she didn't care. They were coming, and that was all that mattered. Tales flashed back in her mind, of mutilated bodies, of merchants brevet seen again but lost to the hunters of the Sea of Grass. Few were lucky to survive.

Luckily, the pavillion she was guiding was well rehearsed in situations like the one they found themselves in, having survived one just earlier that day. At once all strove towards a common goal, doing their jobs in ensuring maximum safety.

The eldest of the children in the cart took over it, grabbing the reins and forcing the horse into action. The Seme, aware of the situation just as much as the humans, whinned, bounding away to safety. The children inside gripped on tightly to the goods, but it was unclear whether it was to save the goods or keep the children from slipping off the bouncing cart. The cart stopped in view of the children's parents,  yet far enough to give them more than a decent enough head start of everything seemed to go wrong.
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Leading the Strongnight

Postby Merevaika on March 21st, 2015, 9:50 pm

Acha pulled out her sword, a long silver blade, the handle a dark black and embedded with opals, and snatched several javelins, all bearing black handles of marvelous knots similar to the sword, from the back of the cart as it went by, the children passing them out to try to help . Ravin too prepared to defend himself and his family, pulling out a large axe that had been hidden under his cloak but strapped to his back. The axe too was richly decorated with a black handle, opals and knots worthy of the best. Seeing that the coupe had cast curious looks at the guide to see if she was to fight with them or run with the children, Merevaika readied her bow, arrow nocked.

She wouldn't be seen as a coward, not in front of Acha. If she ran, Acha would not shut up about it for the rest of the journey to the river. That is if there was a test of the journey. The glassbeaks could always get them first. Merevaika tried to dismiss the negative thoughts, also struggling to fight the natural urge of fleeing from the danger she knew that she could not fight. Denviel, her dog, did not even bother trying to hide his fear but shrunk back, tail between his legs and whimpering like a newborn pup.

The glassbeaks having become clearer now, it was alsi clear why the glassbeaks were running - the savage hunters of the Sea of Grass were being chased. A group of five young boys sporting various weapons and all mounted were following behind, yet lagging as their mounts struggled to keep up.

As they came closer, Merevaika saw that they were the young boys of Riverfall, hunting the glassbeaks through an ancient tradition that Merevaika knew little of and did not care about. They screamed and hollered, driving the glassbeaks among themselves. One threw his spear, it landing  a few metres away from the tallest and it turn allowing the boys to gather around it.

That left two for Merevaika and the couple to deal with.  Merevaika fired her arrow, not caring too much on hiring the target but scaring. It snarled at flying sharp thing but it did not persuade it to change course. Acha threw a javelin at the other narrowly missing. She threw again, this time piercing its wing. The warrior woman then charged at it, sword ready to swing. Taking it as it was injured, Acha hit it hard, each blow strong and precise.

Ravin took the other, which Merevaika had tried to hit. He allowed it to approach before swinging his axe and cutting it to the ground.

Both dangers dead, the three looked up at the disappearing group of Riverfall boys. Acha gathered the dead glassbeaks, ensuring that they were dead before tying them together and placing them in the now returned cart.

"You know, just because you are a guide not a bodyguard doesn't mean you should sit around and watch us kill glassbeaks. You could help too, that is, if you know how to. From the looks of it, I doubt you have ever hit anything with that bow," Acha said snidely, wiping her blade, "Just take us to the river. Now. If it is the one thing you can do."

It hurt her, it really did. Merevaika knew that she wasn't the best archer so she had never boasted about her skills, or acted better than others. Not because of the view anyway. And here Acha was, ignoring the fact that the young woman had tried to help, making rude remarks and putting Merevaika down.

Ignoring her, Merevaika took a moment to allow her bearings to return, spinning round to pinpoint the sun and try as she could to work out what direction to travel. She started walking without another word, before breaking into a run after another set of snarling remarks from the Ankal's wife, complaining on the speed and criticising her running ability.

"She is just jealous that you can actually use that bow. She doesn't, it's one of the few things she can't do. Or rather admits that she can't do. It's fine if you didn't hit anything, you are young and the glassbeak was fast. You still have plenty of time to get better!" the man told her with a friendly smile while Acha raced ahead as usual. The guide was unsure whether to take the last part as a compliment or not, so she remained silent in reply, casting a similar smile back.

Before long, they had reached their destination.

The river. The money? she signed when they had reached the water snaking across the pain. Ravin muttered a quick word of thanks before paying and leaving. Merevaika didn't want to talk, and he knew it.

It had been a long day. And to Merevaika, a horrible one. At least she had been paid for having to put up with Acha.
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Leading the Strongnight

Postby Khida on March 29th, 2015, 4:16 pm


Merevaika


Skill Points
Land Navigation +1
Observation +2
Running +2
Tactics +1
Weapon: Shortbow +1
  • Cyphrus fauna: glassbeaks and their dangers
  • Land Navigation: relative reckoning by landmarks
  • Strongnight: a small Diamond pavilion (NPC)
  • Tactics: shooting to scare


Notes


This was a fun thread to read! The dynamics between Ravin and Acha and Merevaika were quite entertaining, and I really liked your reference to the Akalak Rite of Trial.

A few housekeeping notes, because unfortunately, the housekeeping never ends...
  • Please give this thread a timestamp.
  • Please update your thread list with every thread you have participated or are participating in.
  • I assume you'll deduct Winter expenses once your wages come through; I just have to say, please be sure to do that.
And the usual closer: Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade. Also, please edit your request to show this thread has been graded.
Spring threads: 2/5 .. | .. Season Goals .. | .. GradersMaxed skill: Observation.
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