[The Stone Gardens] A Crow's Harvest [Open]

[Rovan Dermane]

511 AV, 12th day of Spring. Rovan was writing. Seated on one of the stone benches inside the Gardens, he scribbled in his journal. He had a pot of ink beside him and a silver-tinted quill in his hand. His wrist was sore from the hours spent working with the quill. "And should I fall victim to one of the many cutthroats of the city, at least the crows would have a banquet of my corpse." He put the quill down. It was time to take a pause. Rovan stood up and stretched his arms, working his hands in circles to warm up the wrists. The Stone Gardens were not so populated this day, as the sun had failed to break through the grey sky. This suited him perfectly. So long as the clouds did not drop water, he would stay and enjoy the missing light of the sun and the cool air. When he turned, he saw his quill was already picked up. Resting in the beak of a crow, the bird stood on the bench and tilted its head as it regarded him. It was a large bird, its black feathers a clear spot on the bright paved stone. Rovan stood still and looked at it, almost in fascination. He was awed by its recklessness, having a human stand this close to it even as he could twist its neck. He already knew it possessed great confidence in its speed of flight. When the bird flew off, he turned his head and followed its flight. It landed not far from him on top of one of the stone walls that covered the Gardens. There it had its nest, where the quill would become part of its collection. He bit his lip slightly, damning his luck at the crow's thievery. Rovan approached the bottom of the wall. It was roughly 10 feet tall. There were small cracks in the wall where one could place his hands and feet, but he knew his own physical limits. Even so, he desperately needed that quill. It was dear to him, as he had received it from his old teacher. He saw another person enter the Stone Gardens, not far from where he stood. Perhaps this one would be more capable. He decided to approach the stranger, placing a hand on his own chest humbly. "Excuse me. Can you help a poor scholar in need?"

[Dimitri]

Dimitri came to the stone garden, to spend some time pondering on a few questions his master gave him. He didn't often have time to think on things that weren't directg useful. "Dimitri, as a knight you will have to occassionally make some very hard decisions, and be able to maintain being a knight afterwards. I want you to think some scenarios for you to consider. The first is this, 'A group of bandits captured and disarmed both of your parents, and are holding them hostage. You don't have money to pay, so you must save them. But they are held in such a way where you can only save one, and the other dies. Which do you choose?' The second thing I want you to ponder is, 'If I Adamal Brinkaas, were to slay another knight, an event which you witness but don't know the circumstances, do you side with me or challenge me?' And finally, 'You are charged with unlawful murder of a man, a man you killed trying to save his daughter. Do you plea guilty and receive death? Or do you fight against the very system you have dedicated your life too?' Now go."

Dimitri nearly bumped into a strange man as he entered the sacred ground. The man mentioned needing help getting his quill back from a raven. "Yes Ser, what can I help you with today?"

[Rovan Dermane]

"Young man, you look strong and capable! And I am just in the need of physical aid," he seized Dimitri by the shoulder, attempting to pull him along with long pale fingers hooked as a claw. He hoped his compliments to Dimitri's strength would help on the young man's motivation to aid him. He pointed up at the top of the stone wall, where the crow's nest of branches lied. It seemed the bird had left its base, off to claim more trophies for its little lair. "A winged thief took my quill. You see that nest on the top? It rests up there." He left his grip on Dimitri's shoulder, then raised his one finger pointedly, "Now, if you are man to climb up and retrieve it, I shall reward you well worth the sum of my quill."

[Dimitri]

"While no reward is required Ser, I may need your help with something as well. But that can wait. For now is a time for actions, not for words." Dimitri approached the wall the man mentioned. He studied the wall and it's height. He then pulled his tower shield off of his back and studied it as well. The tower shield when held at chest height protected from shoulder to shin. He thought back to his rescue of a kitten and figured something similar would work.

He leaned the shield up against the wall. Then with he hiked his foot atop the upper edge of it, and lifted his body up atop it. In his position he could easily reach the nest of branches but didn't see the quill. He reached up and managed to grip the top of the wall. Pulling, he struggled to pull himself up to his elbows on the wall. He allowed one arm to hold him in place as he looked through the nest. He saw a few eggs, and the quill resting near them. He reached for it and heard a loud screech and a sharp pain went through his hand. He saw the raven had returned and was not the least bit amused. Dimitri grabbed the quill, but in doing so, knocked the nest in his escape. The nest tipped and the raven cawed loudly as it appeared about to fall. As it slid off into space, Dimitri leapt and spun, putting himself between the nest and the ground. He managed to get his hands beneath the nest as he thudded hard into the ground. His breath escaped him, but the nest rested idly in his hands, the quill floating down to earth.

[Rovan Dermane]

Rovan squinted an eye in curiousity as Dimitri used his shield in a most creative way. He had to admire the balance the young man performed, tilting his feet just right to keep the shield from falling down as he heaved himself up on the wall. Impressive, he mumbled. He raised his arms in exhilleration as Dimitri reached the top. "Yes! That's it! Can you see it?". His question remained unanswered as the crow flew back to defend its lair. Rovan was once again surprised by its reckless behavior. The man was ten times larger than the bird, yet even so it attacked him without mercy. He concluded it to be mother instincts that drove it. As the man had gained the quill and fumbled his large body around before knocking down the nest, Rovan followed its fall with his eyes. They grew wider as the man jumped without hesitation to follow its fall, the scholar stepping backwards to allow Dimitri to collide with the paved stone. He had saved the eggs from a splattering doom by catching the nest before it met the ground. Rovan cringed his nose at the grisly landing, but did not waste more than a moment as he saw the quill gently land upon the ground. He strode over and picked it up, caressing it with his hand lightly. He turned to regard Dimitri. He was surprised with the man's need to save a few eggs. It seemed like nobleness and heroism in its extreme, as absurd as one would know it from fairytales and stories. The scholar did not expect to see this unfolded in the real world. It took him a few seconds to form his words. "I thank you -- most kind of you," he said, searching for more words, "And you even managed to save more future thieves." He regarded the nest the young man was holding with a wry smile. "Are you able to stand?" he asked, as he approached Dimitri, almost with caution.

[Dimitri]

Dimitri's back felt very bruised from his painful landing. He sat up slowly still cradling the nest of eggs. He looked up and saw the raven cawing up on the stonewall. Dimitri may not know animals, and especially not birds, however to him it seemed to be very worried and distraught. He rose up and walked over to his shield, using his foot to tip it up against the wall again. The cawing of the bird grew louder and it began hopping about atop it's ledge. He stood upon the and reached up, and slid the nest in place. The bird chirped once and nipped at his finger.

Dimitri smiled. The nip didn't hurt nor seemed to be an actual attempt at injury. He decided to think it was the birds way of saying thank you. He hopped down, and approached the man, seeing he had retrieved the quill. "All children deserve a chance to become thieves or knights, so long as it's their choosing. And who's the true thief, the bird reclaiming a feather in the name of it's kind, or the man holding a piece of a relative's body part? And it was my pleasure to help you Ser."

[Rovan Dermane]

Rovan raised his brows at Dimitri, as in surprise. "Very poetic. Very poetic indeed." He squinted an eye slightly, revealing faint glee. The boy knew how to talk, and seemed like one who had learned a strict code of morale and ethics. Yet it surprised him slightly to see such a millitaristic fellow speak like a philosopher. He connected his fingertips infront of him. "Oh, but the pleasure was all mine. May I know your name, my most vigorous friend?"

[Katzen]

Ooc: If you guys don't want me joining this thread, just let me know, and I'll delete this reply.

A gently breeze ruffled long, silky, black hair as dainty dainty feet stepped quickly over the stones in rough path she travled on. Katzen was feeling unusally sociable today, as she wandered throughout the stone garden, looking for a companion to share some time with. Her eyes glowed with eagerness as her head twisted this way and that, aching for a glimps of another she could converse with.

The last few days for Katzen, had been excruciatingly dull. She ached for entertainment, adventure, and was so far disappointed. The small Kelvic stopped for a moment, and glanced around to take in her surroundings, realizing she was unaware of where she was.

The Stone Garden surrounded her, beautiful in depressing way, empty of people, of life. She sighed, sat down on a bench near her, and placed her head in her hands. Katzen could not figure out what was wrong with her today. She wasn't a socialable being, she didn't like being around people. So why am I so desprately craving someone to speak to? She felt lonely in a way she never had before. Make it stop, she whispered quietly to no one in particular.

Beginning to feel pathetic from all the self-pity coursing through her thoughts, she arose once again, chose a random path, and set off upon it, vowing she would find someone to befriend before the day was out. As luck should have it, it wasn't long before she began to hear voices up ahead. Her pace quickened, so that she was nearly skipping up the path.

She came upon two men. One, a tall, lean man with slick backed dark hair and a goatee, was addressing the other man, who was also tall, but with a subtle roundness to his face that made him seem much younger than the first man. The second man has sandy blonde hair and attractive blue eyes that Katzen could make out, even from the distance she was at. She decided not to interuppt the two, unwanted as she may be, but waited where she stood for them to take notice of her.

[Dimitri]

"I am Dimitri Chenkov, a squire to the Syliran Knights. It was my pleasure to assist you...?" He went to the wall and retrieved his shield looking up at the nest. The raven eyed him as she looked over her eggs. He wondered who this strange man was. He was clearly no combatant, but didn't have the air of a magical caster either. Maybe he was neither, preferring the quill to the quarrel, the scroll to the spell.

Dimitri watched the young woman walk over. He saw she didn't wish to interrupt, so he made his way to her, hoping his new acquaintance would join him. "Hello there, welcome to the Stone Gardens. I am Dimitri Chenkov, squire to the Syliran Knights, it's a pleasure to meet you milady." He then added a formal bow, while keeping his eyes locked on hers.

[Rovan Dermane]

Rovan gained a smirk as he saw the young man's focus had almost immediately turned on something else. And with good reason. The woman before them was an intriguing sight. She had elegant, black hair and a slim physique. He scratched his chin as he approached the two. The squire was overflowing her with introductions, spilling out name and profession before she even chirped a word. Such eagerness, the scholar thought. Although the young man seemed to have forgotten all about him, he would like to see this scene unfolded. It was often amusing to see the reactions of young and inexperianced people when they were wooing each other.