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RESPITE MARKETPLACE - NOON
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Bracvar is looking over the last few of his fish, sighing as hot sunlight beats on his dark carapace and glints from the melting sheet of crushed ice under his morsels. He looks about towards his cart for a moment, shaking his head at the heat.
Enver steps out of one of the alleys nearby and walks slowly through the marketplace. He's a young, lanky mongoose, almost comically slender and just on the verge of adulthood. He looks a little down on his luck, if his threadbare clothing and slumped posture are any indication. Market folk might have seen him around the market juggling fruit and doing other minor acrobatics for a few spare coins. He runs a hand through the yellow-grey mottled fur on his neck and sniffs the air as the smell of the fish reach him. His stomach growls in response and so he makes his way over and peers down at the delicious morsels.
Bracvar turns back in time to see a somewhat familiar face peering down at his stock, grinning under his tendril beard as she crosses his arms. "Hullo, friend! Looking for the most delicious fish the sea provides? These might be the last, but they certainly aren't the worst!" He takes in the stranger's appearance as he speaks, noticing how poorly he's dressed.
Enver looks up for a moment and nods to the big crab. "Oh, uh... yes sir... how much is that one there?" He points out a catfish about a foot-and-a-half long, one of the smaller fish left, but certainly not the smallest. He looks down again quickly, his reddish brown eyes focused on the food before him.
Bracvar chuckles, looking to the fish for a moment. "Hum, that one is pretty near and dear to my heart, my boy. A lot of memories tied up in that there fish. Hmm." He scratches under his beard, feigning deep thought for a few moments before nodding. "Eight coin, I think." He nods again, affirming the price as his hands rest on his hips. "Yes, eight."
Enver nods to Bracvar, his lips descending into a frown once the price is announced. "Oh, of course..." He reaches into his left pocket and pulls out only a scant few coins. After tallying them up, he frowns. "Oh.. um... can I get anything for three and a half?" He does another recount of the mostly copper and bronze coins in his hand. "No... three and three quarters actually..."
Bracvar bends over the stall to look at the coins, huffing out a light sigh. "I could, in theory, but this is my livelihood, friend. Even that little one, barely two mouthfuls, is five coin. I'm already down to last day prices, too." He leans back, crossing his arms, though not speaking with any gruffness. "I've seen you about doing your dance or what have you. Did no soul toss a coin your way?"
Enver shakes his head. "Folks don't seem to like tricks much around here... could probably get more if I had anything flashy to draw them in, but I have to work with discarded turnips or whatever I can find..." He looks down to his coins again, hoping that maybe somehow more of them are there than before. "This is all I have though." He carefully puts the coins back into his pocket, along with his hand. "Guess it's more cabbage for dinner, then... was hoping to maybe get something nicer is all..." He turns, looking down at the ground. He kicks up a cloud of dust in front of himself in frustration before stepping away. "Sorry to waste your time, then..."
Bracvar grunts, shaking his head. "That won't do, lad, get back here. You've been mostly keepin' to the wrong end at the wrong times. Act like you, ya gotta be outside a place lie the Minnow, when everyone's had their fill. Or inside, if'n you can convince the barkeep." He ponders for a moment, glancing towards his cart.
Enver stops and turns back, though he doesn't get quite as close. "I suppose... don't want the guards hucking me out of town or anything, though..." His stomach lets out a small audible growl as he gets a stronger whiff of the fish again. He doesn't seem opposed to the idea, but definitely seems to be a little nervous about the idea of attracting too much attention.
Bracvar blinks before laughing. "Boy, the guards about Respite are so bored they're more likely to throw you a coin than throw you out." He shakes his head, continuing to chuckle as he turns and scuttles over to his cart. "Hold on a moment, I have an idea of sort." He lifts the heavy covering, ducking his torso under it as a wave of icy mist drops to the ground around his legs.
Enver just stands there, unsure of what's happening. "Uh, ok mister..."
Bracvar pulls away from the cart, a bit of frost on his carapace rapidly melting away in the sun as he approaches the stall again. He sets four chunks of ice, roughly the same size and shape on his display. "Yer always over at the other end, trying to hide away from the Guard, I suppose, so I've never really seen you goin'." He leans back, crossing his arms with a grin that shows only in his uncovered eye. "Go on then, friend."
Enver blinks at the ice. "Huh? You want me to... juggle these?" He picks up the slippery ice in his left hand, then does the same with his right, though almost drops that one. "I guess I can try?"
Bracvar shrugs. "I am a fish vendor. If you can find a ball, all the better. If'n you can juggle those, I'll personally find you something appropriate." He takes the slippery one back for a moment, effortlessly scoring the surface of it on his rough carapace to give it some grip, as he had done with the other two already.
Enver tests the grippier balls of ice in his hands and finds them better. "All right, sure..." He sets the ice balls within easy reach and hefts the first one up into the air, carefully getting the feel for its weight and arc as he tosses it high and low from hand to hand before taking up the second ball and adding it in. The third soon follows and finally the fourth as the mongoose sways under the balls, adjusting himself from side to side to make their travel through the air all the easier.
Bracvar watches with interest at the single-ball start, nodding as his grin grows with each additional one. He doesn't say anything as the mongoose performs, but he quietly reaches into his apron and runs a finger along the edge of a coin. The vendor next to Brac's stall has also stopped, watching along with their two customers.
Enver maintains the juggle, as he carefully begins to change his footing, first climbing up on top of Bracvar's cart before stepping across to the stall itself, perched on the edge so as not to sully the fish before his body begins to curl its way up around one of the poles holding the canopy of the stall. Soon enough, the mongoose has his torso above the top of the pole, his body curled around it as he continues to juggle the ice balls in the air.
Bracvar chuckles, stepping back to give the mongoose plenty of space as his act becomes more elaborate. One of the customers at the next stall over claps lightly, drawing the attention of a couple more passers-by. By the time that Enver is at the top of the canopy, he's gained a small audience of seven, including Bracvar, the crab nodding his approval.
Enver continues with his juggling, but ends up missing one of the balls with his right hand. Luckily, it bounces off the canopy and over the heads of the small crowd, smashing to bits on the cobblestones of the marketplace. He glares at his right hand for a moment before continuing to juggle the remaining balls one handed, using the right hand to clamber higher up so that he now sits atop the canopy pole.
Bracvar watches the ice fall, looking back up to the juggler and laughing as he continues the act. "Excellent!" Another joins the crowd, though two leave after Enver drops one ball, leaving no coin for him. Brac notices this, frowning at the two despite their backs being to him. "Ingrates." He mutters before returning to watching Enver.
Enver continues for a bit longer until the ice balls melt away into virtual nothingness in the summer heat. Once gone, he slinks down to the ground again and gives just a small bow to the assembled crowd, blinking a bit at its size. "Uh, thank you all..."
Bracvar applauds over the crowd, laughing. Despite their applause, the crowd offers a meager ten bronze and five copper coins, though Bracvar nods his encouragement at anything at all. His hand remains in the pocket of his apron as he watches the crowd disperse back to their shopping. "That was a fine show, lad. Well done!"
Enver gratefully collects the coins and smiles as he adds them to the ones in his pocket. "Ah... um... thank you mister...?" He looks down, embarassed that no introductions were made. "Sorry, didn't get your name, sir..."
Bracvar grins, nodding. "Aye, true. I am Bracvar of the sea, pleased to make your acquaintance." He offers a very slight bow. "And your name would be?"
Enver nods gratefully. "Enver, sir... of Sarn... or at least I was..." He counts out his coins again and sets eight worth next to where Bracvar stands. "I've enough for the fish now, thank you..."
Bracvar takes the coins, dropping them into his apron, and setting three gold coins out on the edge of the stall. "Your exchange, friend. Take both those fish, you've more than earned it." He indicates the catfish and the smaller rockfish that Enver had asked about.
Enver blinks. "Um, if you insist, sir..." He's not too reluctant to actually take the coins. After tucking those into his pocket, he moves his left hand onto his right hand and gives it a twist, removing about half of it, showing it to be a stiff prosthetic. He tucks away the hand before taking the two fish and grinning at Bracvar. "I won't forget your kindness, sir..."
Bracvar blinks as the mongoose removes his prosthetic, his smile softening as he nods. "Next time you see me, swing by. I can always use the entertainment after a long day. Take care of yourself, Enver."
Enver clutches the small fish in his right hand and slings the larger one over his left shoulder. "Will do, sir." He gives a small bow before turning and vanishing into an alley again.
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SOMEWHERE IN THE FOOTHILLS BELOW THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS - EVENING
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Louma drops her last armload of firewood next to the shallow pit that they've dug, another dead branch to burn dragged up to her side a second later by tail. She sighs quietly, scanning the treeline ahead of them, her wings shaking slightly by the chill that runs up her spine. She turns the other way, unable to see Respite through the thicket they'd crossed to enter this clearing.
Nesseth has been busy helping set up a couple of small, one-person tents for a couple of the other guardsmen, his little mallet swinging down onto the pegs with dull, rhythmic thuds. By the time Louma arrives with the firewood, he's just about finished with the last tent, leaving him a bit chilled by the sweat clinging to his scales. "Whew... there we go."
Louma looks towards the small tents, nodding. She bends to set up the kindling for the fire, preparing a neat little stack. "Well done, we made good progress today, everyone. With a good jog, we can make the first plateau by midday tomorrow." She shifts awkwardly for a moment, straightening up and shifting her armored tail to a more agreeable position.
Nesseth hums a bit as he goes back to his pack and pulls out a little folded towel with which he wipes away the sweat from around his face, leaving his scales cool, but not bone-chillingly cold. "So that would leave us with... something like four days to search Mean Peak? Shouldn't be too bad if there are relatively fresh tracks."
Louma nods, finishing with the pile of wood and beginning to rummage in her pack. She pulls a package of tightly wrapped meat, the only fresh food she'd brought along, as well as May's gift, staring at the disc for a long moment before setting the food aside and leaning over the fire pit. "Yes, I should hope that's plenty of time. If we don't find anything on the way, which would be very lucky." She stares at the disc, trying to recall May's instructions.
Nesseth sets the towel aside to dry, then goes and digs through his pack again for some of his own fresh food. As he digs, the pendant he got from Plume slips free from under his collar and dangles on its necklace. Right beside it is Vix's good luck charm, secured to the chain as well. "Is that some kind of fire starter?"
Louma hums, nodding. "Yes, May gave it to me as we were saying our goodbyes. Ah, right!" She twists the top half a quarter turn, then presses a button on the top. "There! Now we just- Oh, that is much faster." The wood beneath the device begins smoldering within a few seconds, wisps of smoke drifting off on the light breeze. She straightens up, turning to Nesseth with a grin.
Nesseth blinks, surprised at how fast the wood catches. "Wow, that's a lot faster than flint and steel. May's handy with magitech, isn't she? First, the distiller in case we run out of fresh water, now that fire starter."
Louma chuckles lightly. "Yeah, she has a lot more talent than she lets on, but she'll deny it if you tell her so." She catches sight of the charms dangling, grinning. "Oh? I recognize that symbol, a gift from Plume, hmm? What's the other, though?"
Nesseth glances down, only just noticing his pendants have fallen free. "Oh, yeah. Plume gave this to me as a good luck charm. I guess, unofficially, it also makes me a Silver-Talon agent. As for the other one, it's a good luck charm from Vix."
Louma thinks for a moment, turning to watch the flames begin to grow. "An 'unofficial agent', hmm? That's an... Interesting turn of events." She shakes her head, looking back to Nesseth. "Hold on, isn't Vix the name of that petty thief? The cat?" She glances across to the other guards, who are occupied with getting their gear into their tents. She looks back to Nesseth, "The one that started me on Xochi's trail."
Nesseth chuckles and nods. "The very same one in the market square that sells odds and ends, yup. Though I imagine she'd take a little offense at being called a thief." He smiles in amusement, "But yeah, that's Vix."
Louma hums, shrugging. "I've met her once, everything else I know about her is through reports. Those rarely paint a kind light on anyone. So both of those are good luck charms? Combined with the one from May, and whatever Nary and Hansyl brought along, we should be alright... Right?"
Nesseth grins a bit, nodding again as he takes a moment to bounce both pendants in a hand, before tucking them away under his uniform's collar. "Yeah, we should be swimming in luck on this trip."
Louma sighs, settling down onto her coils. The flames have fully taken, prompting Louma to unwrap her food after feeding a few larger logs on. She pulls a wide, flat piece of iron from her bag, settling it over the fire on top of two standing logs, which are at either side of the pit. "I could have used that luck the first time. We might not be out here at all, then."
Nesseth crouches near the fire, enjoying the warmth radiating from the crackling wood. "I imagine Garwin and Victoria could have used the luck, too. But I guess... better late than never, in this case, right?"
Louma nods, holding a taloned hand over the iron to check it's temperature before tossing the hunk of meat onto it with a nice sizzle. She glances again toward the others, then back to Nesseth. "I just... Hope I'm not the bad luck charm." She looks down at the disc among the flames, a smile creeping back to her. "Although... I can't be that unlucky, I suppose."
Nesseth gives Louma a bit of a smile and shakes his head as he takes a seat on the grass. "Nah, I doubt you're bad luck." His eyes flick down to the fire starter in the fire pit, "For obvious reasons, I'm sure. Luck works in odd ways, but it usually balances out."
Louma grins, nodding. "I was a little jealous that Plume was at the gate with you, right up until we were ready to leave." She turns her voice a bit sweeter. "That has nothing at all to do with you carrying the tents, though."
Nesseth grins knowingly. "Of course not, Louma. I didn't think it had anything to do with that at all." He pauses for a moment as his grin shifts to an amicable smile, "Though... I suppose in a way, May's duties are a little more all-encompassing than Plume's."
Louma nods, shrugging. "They both have incredibly important jobs. Couldn't fault either for not having the opportunity, I feel lucky she's ever got time to spend with me, honestly."
Nesseth hums. "Mmh, that's one of the challenges, I think. Just... trying to find a balance between work and home. The two of us have it easy, because our jobs have defined start and end times. Plume and May are almost always on the clock."
Louma sighs, looking aside to Nesseth. "You speak the truth, Nesseth. It's probably for the best, it lets us be available for them whenever they need us." She smiles and turns back to the rough skillet, picking up her food by her talons and flipping it over.
Nesseth nods, smiling a bit as he catches the smell of the meat. He waits for a few seconds before his appetite gets the better of him, and he leans to the side and extracts one of his custom-made rations to nibble on. "With how stressful their jobs are, we're there for them. What makes it work, I think, is that they're willing to do the same for us on the rare occasions things get harder for us."
Louma chuckles. "You're right, May has done more for me than I think I've done for her. I'll have to think about how to fix that when we return. I had a nice conversation with Plume during the checkups. Don't go getting yourself hurt, alright? They were very insistent."
Nesseth chuckles in turn, nodding. "Funny enough, May said the same thing to me, when I stopped by to get the distiller crafted. She was pretty insistent about you not getting hurt. So, I guess we just need to watch each others' backs, as well as Nary and Hansyl's."
Louma blushes, a warm feeling in her chest knowing that May had voiced her worry with others. "She did? Alright, I'll be depending on you, then." She draws her sword from the sheathe lying next to her, wiping the blade off with a cloth before using it to roughly cut the cooking meat in half, still nicely pink in the middle. She picks one half up and swallows the piece whole, humming to herself. "You know, the one nice thing about being out here, I can actually eat at my own pace."
Nesseth takes a bite out of his ration and laughs. "No need to rush or be rushed, hm? I guess that's nice, but then, I figured you'd have more time to enjoy a meal during the day with Brun helping you take care of paperwork recently."
Louma chuckles, picking up the second piece of meat. "Funny. You know I mean eating slow with a fork for decorum sake." She swallows the second piece of unseasoned meat, smiling. The other two guards join them shortly, using Louma's makeshift skillet to fill the air with more delicious cooking smells. "Hm... Where did Kira get off to? She's not eating with us?"
Nesseth hums a bit as he looks around. "No, she's probably exploring nearby, if I had to guess, or she's already sleeping. The morning trip probably took a lot out of her, since I'm pretty sure she's usually asleep during the day."
Louma settles into her coil a bit more. "Ah, you're probably right, I didn't consider that."
Nesseth shrugs. "It's the only way I could see someone doing her job during the night. If either of us tried it, we'd probably fall asleep partway through."
Louma chuckles. "Some of us can barely make it through a day shift without falling asleep."
Nesseth snorts in amusement at the veiled jab. "Says the guard captain that I occasionally catch dozing off behind her desk."
Louma grins, glancing towards the other two. "Alright, we'll trade duties for a week when we get back. You read, connect and file fifty day reports, I'll stare at the desert and soak up some sunshine."
Nesseth chuckles. "I might miss the sun, but we'll see who's more tired at the end of a long day. The person whose brain is constantly working, or the person who's just staring out at a whole lot of nothing."
Louma smiles, nodding. "Just don't make a mess of my folders." She sighs, looking up to the stars as she gauges her current wakefulness, stretching her neck slightly. "If nobody else objects, I'll take the first watch. Once you lot finish your food, get some sleep." She rises from her coils, looking again to the disc in the fire, smiling slightly to herself.
Nesseth gives Louma a salute along with the rest of the search party. "Alright, Louma. Just give one of us a shake when you're ready to switch out for the next watch shift." As he lowers his hand again, he grins, "And don't worry, I'm sure after a day, we'll both want to swap back to our usual positions. I won't mess up the folders, though, you can trust me on that."
Louma chuckles, nodding. "I'm sure you won't." She gives the trio a quick salute, picking one out of them. "You'll be up after me, Hansyl. Sleep well, everyone. We move on at sunrise." She slithers away from them, her thoughts flitting between their goals and home as she begins to track a circle around their camp, staying far enough from the fire that it doesn't interfere with her vision in the limited moonlight.
Nesseth gives himself a bit of a stretch as he finishes up on his own ration, then gets up and dusts his pants off. Leaving his pack at a safe distance from the fire pit, he turns and makes his way to one of the tents and climbs in, preparing for a nice, if slightly uncomfortable night's sleep in the wilderness. His dreams are light, and linger on thoughts of home.
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WESTERN MOUNTAINS FOOTHILLS - JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT
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Nesseth: ==Western Mountain Foothills - Just After Midnight==
Nesseth walks a long circle around the camp, Louma having gone to sleep after having switched watches with him. He stays a little ways away from the smouldering camp fire, to preserve his night vision, not that the embers that remain would really cause any problems at this point. He steps quietly, the only sounds of his movement being the rustle of scales over dry grass as the tip of his tail drags along the ground behind him.
Kira flutters over from her previous perch atop the tent she shares with Louma, just enjoying the quiet of the night and the light of the moon. "I think I've been here once, or somewhere like this. I remember these trees..."
Nesseth tilts his head as he hears Kira approaching, then turns to look at the moth. He keeps his voice low, so as to not disturb the others while they rest. "You've been around the area before, Kira? What do you think of it?"
Kira looks around. "I think so? I was a crawler then, so I don't remember much, but I remember the smell of these trees and some big rocks, so maybe? It's nice here. Less dry than the town, but less wet than the waterfall..."
Nesseth hums and nods at Kira's assessment. "Sounds like it's a nice place, then... I guess it's as good a spot as any for wildlife to flourish." He sighs a little as he casts a look around at the darkened trees and brush nearby, "I just hope most of the wildlife is friendly. The less trouble we have out here, the better."
Kira looks around and nods. "I haven't heard much... there's an owl in that tree over there..." She points with an antenna before continuing. "And something sleeping under the bushes, but I haven't seen anything else around to worry about."
Nesseth glances over to the tree in question, confirming the owl's presence when he sees its yellow eyes peering curiously down at him and Kira, then nods as he likewise scans the bushes again, "That's good to know... I'd rather not have the first night past the walls start with an ambush."
Kira nods a bit. She lands nearby on a large rock and looks to Nesseth. "Do you think there will be much danger?"
Nesseth slows to a stop for a little while to give his legs a moment to relax. He shakes his head as he stretches out a bit. "No... if things stay smooth, we shouldn't run into anything problematic until we get further up the mountain. Once we get into that bear's territory, though, we'll have to be alert."
Kira gives a little nod. "And another one, right?" She looks around, still a bit wary of the mostly unfamiliar surroundings and the difference in the sound between here and in town.
Nesseth hums softly, likewise listening to the sounds of the night. "Mmh, Victoria. She was with Garwin, the bear, when they went out on patrol a while back. Hopefully she's still okay and just hiding somewhere."
Kira takes flight again, fluttering in lazy circles around Nesseth. "I do hope so. And I hope we can help Miss Erika too..." She frowns a bit. "I don't know how I'll be much help, but I'll do my best..."
Nesseth smiles a bit as he straightens up again and starts on his patrol route once more. "You've been a good help so far, tonight. You've got sharp senses, better than my own, even." He sighs a bit, "Though, for Erika, we just need to find those flowers she ate, and bring some samples back to town."
Kira nods. "I'll be on the lookout for them..." She starts to fly back toward camp, but then doubles back. "And thank you, I'll do my best to let you know about anything I sense... I mostly just know where things that might want to eat me are..."
Nesseth nods. "It's a good ability to have. No need to fight if you can sense the danger before it becomes a problem, right? I really appreciate the help, Kira."
Kira nods. "I would be useless in a fight other than to maybe hit something with my lantern..." She looks back at the camp and gives a little yawn. "I think I'll get more sleep now. Be safe on your watch, Nesseth."
Nesseth chuckles. "Honestly, it's probably safer if you just took to the air and let the guards deal with anything that comes our way." He casts a short glance back at the tents, then nods again, "Have a good night, Kira. Sleep well."
Kira giggles a bit and flies back to the tents. She stops to watch the fading embers of the fire and warm herself a little before moving back into the tent she shares with Louma and getting more sleep.
Nesseth adjusts the strap of his crossbow as he scans his surroundings carefully, then continues on his way, resuming his wide circle around the camp as he walks his way through his watch with no trouble to speak of.