Closed A Meal to Meddle[Lance Windhelm]

[Moritz Craven]

15 Fall 523

As usual for the day, once it came time for Moritz to stop work he was glad to be off. While the Kelvic found himself stressed during any time he spent in Sunberth due to having to keep constant vigilance for danger, he had to keep even more vigilant when working as a guard. Normally he just had to keep himself and his loved ones safe. However working as a guard that need to protect stretched out to his duty to protect everyone around him. He needed to protect the workers from outsiders and patrons. He needed to protect the patrons from each other and outsiders. And he needed to protect the business itself.

With that in mind, Moritz let out a almost audible sigh when he could go back to his normal level of awareness and paranoia to be vigilant for dangers. He was alive thanks to this, but keeping up such a heightened level of it was bad for him he was sure.

As usual while working he had his button up suit showing his name on, along with boots, a weapon harness holding a few daggers, and his gauntlet out covering his one hand and arm though with the blades retracted. Since summoning the blades or gauntlet itself would be clearly odd due to how the item worked, and he could not walk around with the blades out freely, the Kelvic instead kept the weapons not summoned but the gauntlet out. This extra defensive measure had been quite useful in a pinch before, but did mean he could not bare his arm until he got home and could pretend to be removing it when he unsummoned it.

Working there at the Drunken Fish, most of the regulars would have seen him before either in passing or while working. He had also lived there before, only moving out recently a few seasons earlier when he had saved up enough funds and moved into his newly built house at the start of summer just passed.

With that in mind he was used to seeing the sailors and others that often came in when their ship was in town, along with those keeping a room in the place. He might not know them all by name, but he knew them in general and he assumed they knew him as a guard.

Once his shift was over though Moritz found himself hungry. Knowing the chef's special meal for today did not involve any meat, just a hunk of bread and a vegetable and root soup, he headed out to the dining area to partake. Grabbing his meal he headed out serving himself, before looking around for an empty table. In the end he found one that was not full, just a single person sitting at it who he was vaguely certain he had seen before but did not know the name of. Of course with his own name emblazoned own his odd suit his name was quite clear, and so with a nod at the man sitting there he took a sit and began digging in to his food with haste.

WC: 520

[Lance Windhelm]

Dinner time. Lances favorite time of day. There was no dragging himself out of bed to get it, or having to stop work to eat it, well not usually. You just ate the meal and could relax afterwards, maybe think of the day or have a few pints of ale and listen to the commotion around him. The Drunken Fish was a very popular place, mostly due to its location and the beer necessities of the sailors. But at the moment there wasn't much going on, there wasn't usually unless the sun was down and someone was playing music.

Lance ordered the meat option for dinner. Chicken, potato, carrots, all covered in some kind of gravy. He carried the plate in one hand and the pint in the other, he had to perform a balancing act so his fork and knife wouldn't fall off the plate as he found an empty table to sit down.

Today had been long. He spent a few hours upstairs writing in his journal, trying to get the words of his new song down on paper before the dark parts of his mind absorbed them. Struggling with the muses tired him out, so he took a nap for another hour, and after that Lance had to get up and eat lunch. His thoughts lingered on his music, what words went well if the others and which rhymes were right. After an hour or so Lance started playing his flute and trying to perfect his skills. Going over music and stories for work. He didn't realize how sore his hands were till he picked up the knife and fork.

Taking a long pull from his ale one of the guards came to sit across from him. Lance smiled and sat the cup down. "Keeping us all safe are you, Moritz?" Lance read the man's name tag. "You know, seeing you always makes me happy. Guards and their weapons, gives me a sense of safety. That is hard to come by around here." Lance shoved his fork into the chicken and pried a peace off before shoving it into his mouth. The gravy was a little salty for his taste, but it didn't stop him from dipping the next bite right into it. "You should really try this." Lance coughed once.

He didn't know the man personally, only waving to him here and there. But he looked mean with his weapons and assumed he knew how to use them. How else would he have gotten a job at probably one of the more fist heavy bars in town? Lance just eyed the man as he ate his food. But he also kept an eye out around him for any unwelcome guest, people had been known to break tables or chairs sometimes, and if Lance let down his guard in the city, he was probably sleeping.

Lance was wearing his common clothes. A sewn white shirt, brown pants tucked into high dark brown boots that came to the middle of his shins. The most notable thing was his dagger that he kept on his right side strapped to him by a weapon harness, and a dark brown, leather, wide brimmed hat that sat on his head. Ever since he bought the dagger you wouldn't see him without it. Though, the sword he only took out if he was going across the city, or to The Outpost. You'd never know what could happen.

WC: 574

[Moritz Craven]

Once Moritz sat down, he was greeted by the other patron sitting there. Not knowing the mans name he simply nodded in reply at first, though the other man clearly knew his. He assumed this was due to his clothing noting his name, but he supposed it was also possible the man had seen him around since he worked here and was known. Taking a spoonful of his own food Moritz simply nodded before thinking out a reply.

"Well right now I am done for the day, my shift is over. So now I am just getting a bite to eat before heading out and maybe home. I worked the day shift, so some of the other guards are guarding tonight. Though I do not mind working the night shift, it makes it easier to be out and about during the day when I am not working during that time. Today though, I got the day shift."

At his further comments Moritz was left to ponder again, meeting the mans gaze with his own odd eyed visage. If nothing else Moritz was clearly not human eyed, though most would be hard pressed to know what his eyes actually meant. Between being an Okomo Kelvic and having goat type eyes along with the markings from being an Iraso, few if anyone in Sunberth truly recognized what his eyes meant. Of course this also meant he could play off both as being related to his being a Kelvic if pressed on it, though not so easily when his Iraso sight was active and his markings on his eyes began to awaken.

Whatever a person thought, it would be relatively clear from his eyes he was not just a normal human, even if in his human form he looked more or less like a normal human other than his eyes. That and his oddly colored hair, but his hair was often just assumed to be colored artificially and so not everyone realized from his hair alone that he was not human and just assumed he had an odd sense of fashion in regards to hair coloring.

"Honestly, when it comes to a scrap though, I am better with my fists than I am with a blade in hand. I keep them on hand just in case I need them, but I can do more damage and have more finesse with my skill with an empty hand than my skill with a weapon filled hand. Plus, all those guys who focus on learning to use a weapon well have a clear weakness if you have not noticed. That being the weapon itself. Someone can be a master swordsman, but what happens if they get disarmed or do not have their sword ready? They are petched. So I prefer focusing on fighting well without a weapon, and with a weapon more as an secondary thing. So if anything seeing me empty handed should be much more comforting than seeing the blades in their sheathes on my person."

Pausing for a moment Moritz gazed across at the other man, while focusing another of his abilities. Unlike his Iraso sight which was noticeable, he had another ability he had picked up back in Syka after some odd events. He, along with some others in that city, had gained a new ability which he had honed over use. His in particular regarded combat, but not directly. Namely his ability to sense someones combat presence by looking at them. Doing so now Moritz examined the man, checking on the core of his combat presence... Only to find basically none. The man, somehow alive in Sunberth, had basically no training or ability to defend himself or fight. Which was a bit startling to the Kelvic, though he played his response well enough that his sudden surprise was not super obvious. Knowing the answer, but deciding to pretend he did not while confirming it more normally, the Kelvic eyed the man.

"What about you. Do you have any particular combat skills. Weaponless combat styles, skills in specific weapons, the like? I mean you won't have us guards around all the time, like when you leave the place. So surely anyone living in Sunberth will have spent some time learning a thing or two. Would not want to be left helpless. Or Dira forbid, only knowing how to use a weapon so you would be defenseless if ever disarmed or caught without said weapon..."

Taking a bite of his own food Moritz shrugged again, before gazing across the table at the mans food.

"I personally do not partake of animals. Meat, or their other products. I understand others doing so, and do not inherently have a problem with others doing so, but I do not. Just never really appealed to me. I suppose if I ever had to I might, but if I have the choice I always choose not to."

Letting out a sigh and stretching for a moment Moritz moved back to his food to eat a few spoonfuls, before gazing back at the man.

"You know my name, but I do not believe I have heard yours. Have we met before, and I forgot it, or have I just never heard your name?"

As ever Moritz had a serious look to his eyes, looking across at the man before him. He did not particularly know him, but was still cautious in their exchange since the man was more or less a stranger. However having seen his combat presence, or lack thereof, he was at least relatively certain he did not pose a direct physical danger.

WC: 936

[Lance Windhelm]

Lance looked at the man’s eyes as he chewed. They looked like an animal’s. And his hair was odd colored. But because the last few days had flipped Lance’s world around like a top. Learning that things existed that he never thought possible and seeing the Out Post for the first time. He was starting to learn to accept the odd, and being in Sunberth, he was not about to question the man about the odd-looking eyes or hair, or anything else. He might venture to if they were in private, and even then, only if he trusted him not to attack if angered.

Nodding as the man spoke and between eating, Lance’s head bobbed up and down as he looked to his plate and the man. He listened carefully, paying attention to the small details. When did this man sleep? Working during the night so he could do things during the day. Usually when someone has a shift like that, Lance would assume they would sleep through the day. Maybe he just didn’t need that many hours of rest as the other people, it could also have something to do with those odd eyes of his.

It is true that one would have to rely on the weapon he has mastered a lot, but logic told Lance that a good fighter would want to be well rounded. He also wondered how difficult it would be to take a sword from a sword masters hands. One would have to break the weapon most likely. Then hope the master wasn’t also a professional brawler. The man’s statement seemed to assume a lot.

“I’d just watch out. Some people can surprise you.” He said. Then swallowed a peace of chicken. "What if that fighter is also a master in the combat arts... um, the unarmed kind." He said, showing a bit of his ignorance. "Unless you could just look at someone and know about how they fight." He shrugged, "It would be difficult to just assume you can disarm them and then beat him to death with your fists." He laughed a little, but the grim nature of the world quickly stifled it.

The man didn’t eat meat. He was glad that his eating it didn’t bother him. Lance now noticed how brutal and carnivorous he was being, tearing the meat apart. He picked up his knife and started to eat more gentlemen like. As to not be rude.

“I just have my trusty dagger here. I practiced a few times, between my room up stairs and The Proving Grounds. Before living here I didn’t really need the protection. I was raised were there was, you know, civilized people.” He whispered the last part, looking around for eavesdroppers. “But you know. I am always up for a lesson if you’re willing. I could even throw some coin your way.” He said.

“Sorry about that! My name is Lance.” He started to hold out his hand to shake, but his hand had chicken oil and sauce on it. “It’s nice to meet you.” He nodded, then continued to eat. “I take it your not from around here?”

WC: 524

[Moritz Craven]

While Moritz had meant he slept in the morning and went out during the afternoon part of the day on nights he worked the night shift, he did not realize the misunderstanding he had created with the other man by saying what he had. Of course how could he, seeing as the other man had not voiced his confusion to Moritz.

For the most part though Moritz felt the man was just silent, and not one to talk much. Perhaps, he reasoned, he was thinking things in his head but not voicing them. If so Moritz would have no chance to rebutt them. Of course, the Kelvic thought to himself, he was perhaps on the more mouthy end of things and so spoke about a lot of things without overly trying to hide everything. He certainly kept important things a secret, it was Sunberth after all, but he was not tight lipped about anything else he did not think was dangerous to speak on. This was not something he felt was true about this other man.

When he did finally speak it did seem to be in response to some of what Moritz had said, but he felt like he had also skipped over some of the things Moritz had said to him.

"True, some people can do both. But the point I was making was not focusing entirely on one thing, armed combat, such that you have no ability with unarmed combat. I might be a wide based practitioner, working on many different specific styles and focused aspects of combat, which perhaps does make my growth a bit slower. But if one part of my skills is not compatible with the situation, I can just use another. And I am not so limited in what I can do. Even if I disarm them and they also know some unarmed combat style, I will be able to face them either way. However if they only know the blade and nothing else, then all it takes to beat them is to take away their weapon. Which I still think is a severe weakness to anyone focusing on weapons alone. A weakness you seemed to be indicating you had, since you only spoke of using those weapons but nothing else. Which is why I brought it up to begin with."

Letting out a sigh between taking a few more bites of food, Moritz tried to explain himself and why he had said what he had. He still felt the man had little to no combat prowess, and so if someone was going to give the man advice now was surely the best time. He had quite a few teachers over his time learning to fight, and one thing about all of them besides being able to kick his rear easily was being able to use various styles and not just limiting themselves to one specific type.

Hearing about the place the man went to train Moritz frowned, not aware of it. Still he was always open to learning about new places to train, and was interested to learn more.

"Where is this place, The Proving Grounds? I don't think I have ever been before, but it might be a place I would want to visit. What sort of place is it, and where is it? And it being Sunberth, I suppose I should also ask who runs it and such. Me myself though, I have a training room in my home, with practice weapons and such, so I mostly train there. I have had a few people come by before who I trusted and trained with them there. I might be willing to teach you some things, but coin is not the be all end all of payments. People can be useful in other ways. Not to mention, I would want to know what specifically you plan to do with those skills, should you learn them? If your gonna take what I teach you and my teachers taught me before that, and go off and hurt people and commit crimes or help some gang, I do not know I would want to teach you. That being said, words can be cheap. So just to be clear, if I did teach you and you did those things, I would most likely need to seek you out and address the situation..."

Not so much a threat as a promise of intent, Moritz words might still come off as a bit intimidating. To a degree this was his intent, but also he was just trying to make himself abundantly clear before anything bad happened or trouble resulted from his actions.

As Moritz worked on finishing his food he said the mans name in his head, Lance. He wondered if he would recall the mans name if they met again, or if he would end up forgetting it in short order like he did many other humans.

"No, I am from Lhavit. A city far away from here. What about you, what place do you come from?"

WC: 841

[Lance Windhelm]

Lance laughed a little. He indeed had little to none experience with unarmed combat, and the same applied to his dagger and sword. He wasn't about to include the one session at the proving grounds as experience, he wasn't even sure if he gained anything from it. Stabbing at the wind was nothing to an actual fight.

"I see your point." He smiled and pushed a peace of food into his mouth. He wasn't going to argue about things he new little about. Now if the man started to spout all about music and such and claim he was knew what the best instrument was, well that might be an interesting conversation, though completely relative.

"The Proving Grounds. You haven't heard of it? It's to the east in the city, I believe it's one of the largest buildings around. I'm honestly unsure who runs it or what their history is, I didn't have a very long conversation with the instructors. But they seemed friendly enough, and for a price they will teach you some skills. I think their name was Aleuia, Eleuia, something of this sort. Beautiful compound. Full of skilled fighters and a nice practice area." Lance said.

Lance didn't change his expression when the Moritz said people could be useful in other ways, but inside he was raising an eyebrow. What sort of payment was this man looking for? A friend? He could be that maybe. An ally in combat? Sure, for the right cause. But to be pushed into something one could only call, "disturbing" he would have to think twice, or once and run.

"Well... Maybe after we eat we can discuss your, 'payment' in private." He said as he popped the last peace of chicken in his mouth. "I wouldn't use these skills for anything obscene, or morally reprehensible. Only in the case of self defense." He said. "And I'd be willing to swear it if the need arise." As Lance thought of the Proving ground he came to the realization that there may not be many other opportunities to learn from someone here in the city. Everyone wanted to kill each other and the city seemed to be in the constant state of survival. He was trying to lock this agreement down as soon as possible without forcing it too much.

"Lhavit..." Lance pretended to think about where the place might be in the world, but he had no idea. "Where is that again?" He said. Lance would continue, "I'm from Zeltiva. Its a city east from here by ship. Sailors from there visit all the time it seems. With the established trade routes and all." Lance said eating the last bit of vegetables.

WC: 448

[Moritz Craven]

If there was one thing that could be said about Moritz, it was that he came across as an honest and to the point person. After all who else but a overly honest person would openly threaten a person right after meeting them, but in a way that did not seem overly threatening but just a means of clearly making his intentions none. The fact that Lance was not entirely put off by his words and continued the conversation likely said something about one or both of them.

If nothing else the human seemed to be open to listening to others ideas and perspectives, and took his words and opinion for what they were while at least seeming to openly consider them. Moritz of course felt his viewpoint was valid and the only logical way to train to fight, but he also knew many others who did not follow his point of view. Others still did what he recommended just out of necessity, by having started without weapons and worked their way up to them once they had the coin to spare. In Sunberth that was a real possibility, since fists were free but anything else could be stolen or needed to be bought in coin.

Hearing him explain where the place was Moritz pondered the area, having a very vague idea of where he might mean but not really knowing the area well. It was not one he knew well, and the specific location was entirely unknown to him. Still most places he had been to in Sunberth had someone in charge of them. Even the Drunken Fish had Father Manowar running it, a strong personality in charge. He had also met Goldfinger, who lent out money, when he had gotten his house built. Oddly enough though both of these people were very different, he got along with both of them more or less well. Other people though running other places, he could not be so certain he would get along with.

"If I get a chance, and see a need, I will have to check it out. For now though, I would rather train at home so long as I can find some sparring partners. Some stuff you can do alone, running and the like, but some things you really need another person to work on with. Although to be honest, I find sparring partners all the time in my line of work, just not ones with such clear terms as you would find in a training hall. And with those people I have to be careful not to slip up, or I might end up dead, which leaves me taking every little scuffle completely seriously... So a bit different from a friendly spar."

When the question of payment came up Moritz simply shrugged, not having meant anything so deep.

"I meant more like payment in information, or someone to spar with. Even information about simple stuff, so long as I don't know it, like that fighting place you mentioned. Lots of things can be of use. Other stuff, like trusting you to not shiv me in my sleep or to watch my back, I imagine those come in time and are not something you gain right away let alone in exchange for a single lesson."

Moritz for his part was up front about what he expected and demanded, and was not overly demanding for someone asking for a single lesson. Of course if one lesson led to another who knew where that would end up.

"As for fighting, nothing says you cannot use them for things besides self defense. Heck I fight all the time, its my job, and I use it for lots of things other than self defense. I was just making it clear how I would feel if you used it for ill. And like I said, talk can be cheap. You can promise whatever you want, but that does not mean you will keep to that promise. I was just making that point to make my feelings and reactions on it clear."

When Lance did not know about Lhavit the Kelvic was not overly surprised. Few in Sunberth did, it being so far away. Thinking back on the city Moritz was roughly working out the scale of travel. It had taken over a season to get from Syka to here. And over a season to get from Lhavit to Syka. So then going home from here would likely take three seasons, or even a year. Not an easy trip.

"Lhavit is west. Far, far west. So its not surprising you do not know of it. Still, I think of it as my first home, and were I was born and grew up mostly. I think I know about Zeltiva, I came through there to get here by boat, but I did not really stick around long."

Working to finish up his food as well Moritz took a few more bites, and finished off some bread.

"I suppose then I could teach you some things, if you would like and agree to my earlier terms and understanding how I feel on it. What would you want to learn though? I would say my deepest knowledge are with traditional unarmed combat, and acrobatics. I also know a handful more, other styles and some weapons. Even a bit about daggers, or the throwing kind of them. I've practiced a bit with both, and have both on hand."

WC: 911

[Lance Windhelm]

Lance finished his meal by eating the last vegetable and sat his fork on the plate neatly. He was surprised how honest the man spoke. Straight and to the point, it wasn't like most people around here, and it just reminded him how large the world was, did everyone from Lhavit talk like this? He wondered.

Lance tried to think of someone who could beat the guard up, but no one was coming to mind. He's seen big, burley, looking sailors come and go, and if they knew what they were doing Lance would assume they could do some damage, but once you started to get them drinking people started to fall apart. Rowdy as they may be, they are usually no match for someone armed and that had experience. He started to wonder if the Drunken Fish was an easy job for the man.

"Well, you'll have to go easy on me." He lifted his hands. "I know practically nothing about the martial arts, and these hands are how I make my living." He gently shook them in the air then noticed how dirty they were, quickly wiping them on a his pants.

Lance smiled at the comment of information seeking. Though he was new and didn't know much, he was confident in his listening abilities and finding things out. Who knows, maybe he already has information the man seeks, it might be as easy as taking a walk down the street and telling the man where to find it, whatever it was. Especially if he hadn't known about the prooving grounds.

"I understand. I am not planing on using anything you teach me in a nefarious way. I just want to learn to protect myself. God's forbid me having to get into your line of work." He laughed. "I just can't see it." He continued.

"Home." He thought. A bit of nostalgia tickled his mind. He missed his father and mother, his brother and sister. But adventure just had to call his name. Rhaus probably had something to do with it, filling his mind with stories and inspiring him to take that extra step onto a ship that led him to this gods forsaken city. He almost wanted to spit on the ground, curse it all. But he had a fairly tight reign on those emotions.

Unarmed combat and throwing daggers. He never dreamed that he would need to know about them. That stuff was for warriors and guards, what would a bard need it for, he thought. But now they both had a strange appeal.

"I am willing to learn anything you show me concerning combat, particularly things I might need to know to stay alive in this city. I do have an interest in daggers, but that may be because it is the only thing I have any experience in." He smiled.

He put his hands on the table and stood up.

"But if we are going to do any of this today, it would probably be best to wait for dinner to settle." He tapped his stomach.

He remembered as a kid if he'd go swimming or run after eating he would get bad cramps in his side. That was about the extent on his bodily knowledge though. The why and how alluded him.

WC: 549

[Moritz Craven]

As Lance spoke in reaction to Moritz words, Moritz worked on eating his own meal. By the time they were finishing up speaking he had finished most of it, and it only took a few spoonfuls more to finish it off. Moritz was a bit odd wherever he went, even back in his first home in Lhavit.

He had not really met anyone else quite like him, Kelvic or otherwise. But he also never really felt the need to try to be like everyone else, and even from a young age had rebelled against what he felt was his mothers assumptions and nonsense. Some he had outwardly accepted in time as a needed action in some cases, but inwardly he still knew he was only doing it because it was expected and not because he had been shown any true logic behind the actions.

"I will not kill you, if that was what you mean. But going easy on you, I am not so sure about that. If you spar or train with me, you are going to have to accept getting hit. How else are you going to learn how to react when it happens for real? And how will you learn to endure pain and hits to keep going. To keep fighting when it feels like just breathing is a chore, and you cannot get enough breath in to breath properly. Those are things that will all happen in a real fight, and which will harden you for next time if you work to overcome it. I will do my best not to break anything or do anything else permanent, but I make no promises about aches or bruises. If you do not have those, you probably did not learn much."

While Moritz said this all rather intensly, it would likely be clear he meant every word of what he had said. His own teachers had been rather hands on in teaching him, and had taught him many ways to increase his stamina to keep going and to enhance his hardiness to be able to take a blow and keep going.

"I mean I am sure there are worse lines of work to be in. And it pays decently, if your at least reasonably skilled at the job. I am not sure if it pays more than... Uh, whatever you do. Did you already tell me? Or was I just not paying attention... Anyways, do not knock it till you try it. I mean you could be robbing children or stealing... Uh... Things... Money? I guess thieves steal money... But whatever, there are worse and worse paying jobs around than being a guard."

From Lance's words the man seemed excited and ready to learn, along with being willing to follow his lesson plan as he guided him through it. He was not sure how long that vigor would last, but such things would come in time.

"Sure. For starting out, probably best to focus on one or two things and really hone in on those. Once you get those essential basics down, we can see about going further or expanding to other things. But better to start out simple and on just a few things."

However when Lance made his comment about eating and exercising, Moritz responded with a confused expression.

"Huh? What does eating and being active have to do with each other? I eat and then do stuff all the time. Spar, go for runs, practice my tumbling... Right after I eat. I do not see how that would matter. And I am pretty sure all of my former masters did the same... Maybe you just have a really weak stomach or something? Or maybe its just all in your head? I am not sure... Anyways, if we are going to get going, lets go! Come on then!"

With that said Moritz leaped up from his seat with a start, his food done and it appearing as if Lance's was as well, the Kelvic seemed ready to head on out right away.

WC: 676