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Post by Treijim on Nov 19, 2007 11:20:44 GMT 9.5
[Joining with Cole]
A boy was sitting nearby and he had stopped what he was doing -- which happened to be resting in the shade of a large maple tree -- to watch the three that were coming up the road towards the front outpost. The guard that was stationed there didn't seem too concerned about the strangers, but this boy was watching them with the keenest gaze. He sat up and folded his arms around his knees as he saw some worker men head out of town. By the look of them, they weren't drunk, but this boy quickly grew concerned when he recognised one of the men.
He stood and planned to intercept the men and the three strangers' path, but he was some way off and he didn't want to alert them by running. The guard nearby still didn't seem too concerned when the men began to speak loudly.
"Hey, look at this!" said one of the men, finding the appearance of Eric most amusing. "What's this kid thinking, eh?"
"Looks to be some savage," said the second man with a haughty grin. They stopped and blocked the path into the town.
"Where do you think yer going?" asked the first man.
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Post by Scraverx on Nov 19, 2007 16:01:28 GMT 9.5
Daveth didn't particularly recognise any of the three men that now blocked the path into town but he had said there may be looks and the like, considering Eric's appearance. He also recognised potential trouble when he saw it.
He easily slipped into the calm, neutral manner and posture as when he had greeted Wildfire and Eric on the beach. "Hello friends," he said to the three his tone calm but warm, "I am merely visiting as I often do around this time to sell some herbs and remedies to those who buy them." He then turned slightly towards Wildfire and Eric and extended one hand slightly toward them as if in introduction. "These two travellers I met along the road, I believe they seek a brief rest and supplies." He then looked questioningly to Wildfire as though to confirm this. "As your town was the nearest with markets and an Inn I offered to show them the way."
That said he then stepped back and slightly to one side to allow Wildfire or Eric to speak for themselves as both seemed more then capable of doing so. It was at this point he caught a brief sight of the boy under a tree though he couldn't make out any particulars due to the distance.
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Post by wildfiremagni on Nov 19, 2007 17:38:18 GMT 9.5
Wildfire turned his head to Eric when he asked about all the animals running around. He knew that Eric would have been raised in unusual circumstances, but to not know what other uses animals had? This would be tricky to explain...
"Well, some animals are raised for companionship. Their only job is to keep people happy. Other animals are used for transportation and some, with patience, can even be trained to do specific tasks for their masters, such as relay messages or show the blind where it is safe to walk-then again, some animals are also raised for eating," Wildfire said. Most of what he said would probably go right over Eric's head, but that would have to wait. It would seem that they had other troubles.
As Daveth tried to reason with the three gentlemen, Wildfire did his best not to start a fight, until he was given the chance to speak.
"Yeah, like he said. We don't want or need any trouble, but if you think otherwise, I'd be more than willing to serve," Wildfire said in a velvety tone that seemed more suitable for a royal court than for avoiding a street brawl. Even though he had pretty much enticed the three burly workers to attack them with his last remark, he had a feeling that they'd be able to hold their own. Heck, it didn't even look like they were even officially trained!
At that moment, Wildfire heard a slight rustling in a tree nearby. It was only a small rustle, so he assumed that it must have been something unthreatening, especially when they were right at the edge of a town, so he tried to ignore it and concentrated on their opponents instead.
"Well? Are you going to let a few travellers pass, or cause trouble?" he asked again as he stepped to the side of the men, to keep their minds thinking, in case they decided to go 'unofficial city guard' on the three. Of course, he had a feeling that Eric was going to do something crazy, irrational, or he'd just step aside. With any luck, he'd choose the third option.
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Post by Eric on Nov 20, 2007 18:33:36 GMT 9.5
Eric frowned, trying to make sense of what the men had said. He understood most of the words, but he didn't understand why they were being said. The fact he'd just been insulted went totally over his head. The tone sounded aggressive, but not enough to anger him. He saw merely an obstacle. When you encounter an obstacle, you go around. So that's what he did. He didn't bother stopping, he simply sidestepped around the three and continued walking. "What are you two waiting for?"
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Post by Treijim on Nov 22, 2007 16:24:10 GMT 9.5
The men simply shook there head and passed on, seeing Eric wasn't interested in playing the victim. Before the other two could follow Eric's lead, Cole pulled his cape off and held it out to him.
"Here, take this," he said without introducing himself and quite ignoring the other two. "If we head towards the east end of town, towards the beach, you'll fit in a bit better. He didn't seem at all phased by the fact that he had rendered himself topless. He turned to Daveth, acknowledging his presence. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help overhearing you, but I can get perhaps two of you free rooms at the tavern overlooking the docks. I can take you there." He paused and then looked at Wildfire with the same look he gave Daveth. "They do really good chicken there."
The way he looked at each of them was a peculiar sort of silent introduction. His gaze was quite stern and direct and he did not blink, but it wasn't intimidating. Rather, it was quite observant and keen.
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Post by Scraverx on Nov 25, 2007 14:27:25 GMT 9.5
Daveth smiled and inclined his head in a slight nod to the boy who was offering Eric his cloak. "Thank you for the offer, I have enough money to get myself a room but I wasn't quite sure if I had enough to offer my companions lodgings as well." as he spoke the furry animal made an appearance from the collar of his shirt and sniffed at the new smells, extending it's long body out as far as possible. He reached for the animal and lifted it out of his shirt and held it along his forearm, gripping just behind it's front legs. "This is Geshal," he said as he stroked the animal, "I hope the inn doesn't mind pets." He then paused. "Oh yes... other people..." He seemed to remind himself. "The small savage looking one is Eric, the other is Wildfire. I'm Daveth."
That said he then continued towards town, though he seemed to be heading to the eastern part as Cole had suggested.
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Post by wildfiremagni on Nov 25, 2007 20:30:41 GMT 9.5
Wildfire raised an eyebrow when the three men just walked by. "Dang, I really felt like a fight," he said to himself as a newcomer came over and gave his cloak to Eric.
When the newcomer mentioned chicken, particularly in Wildfire's direction, he took quite a bit of offense. "Why the heck do you think that-" suddenly, his stomach let out a roar that was loud enough for the four of them to hear!
"Heh, guess I am kind of hungry," he said as they all started to follow this kid. Daveth had been kind enough to give away their names, so why was Cole so quiet? Wildfire noticed that a lot of people were staring, but he decided to ignore it. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't his concern.
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Post by Eric on Nov 26, 2007 3:07:22 GMT 9.5
Eric held the cloak in his hand and turned it over multiple times. "What do I do with this?" he asked. "And why give it to me? Isn't it yours?" Confused as ever he just held it and listened to the conversation. "What's a tavern?"
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Post by Treijim on Nov 26, 2007 7:07:40 GMT 9.5
Cole turned to Eric as they walked, his eyes glittering with bemusement. "You saw me wear it. Put your head through the hole and turn it so the gap is at the front. You won't look so out-of-place. That's what you want, isn't it?"
He heard Wildfire's stomach but didn't look at the young man.
"Oh, my name is Cole," he said after a very short awkward moment.
They headed down the main street, paved with short cobblestones and lined with simple houses that appeared to be made of sandstone or something similar. Eric didn't look so unusual holding the piece of clothing, even if he didn't have the sense to do with it what Cole was doing before he had taken it off.
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Post by Scraverx on Nov 26, 2007 15:58:04 GMT 9.5
Daveth held his pet out to Cole and it had a good sniff at the boy, "Say hello Geshal," and sure enough the animal made a 'Dook, dook' kind of noise before Daveth reached over his shoulder and let the animal crawl into a pocket on his backpack.
As he walked along at an easy and relaxed pace he seemed to think a bit, occasionally brushing the fuzz on his chin with his fingertips. "Well Eric, a tavern is," he tapped his chin with a finger perhaps trying to come up with something Eric might be familiar with, "ah yes... A Tavern is like a big house. Sometimes they are just a place where people go to eat and drink together. Other times they have a number of rooms that they let travellers stay in for a small charge, usually money."
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Post by wildfiremagni on Nov 27, 2007 10:39:50 GMT 9.5
"Not only that, but it's usually a good place to find information and there's usually someone who wants to fight for no reason, which I am more than happy to deliver," Wildfire said. He knew that this Cole kid would probably tell him anything he wanted to know, but what he said was pretty much true for any other situation...still, it would be nice to know why so many people were staring at them now.
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Post by Eric on Nov 27, 2007 12:35:00 GMT 9.5
Eric did as Cole told him. Stuck his head through the hole and turned it so it hung over his back. He thought it felt very strange to say the least. To have this weird cloth there. It was also slightly large on him, seeing as Cole was two years his senior. With it slipping all the time, it was more troublesome than some of the stares.
While walking he listened to Daveth and Wildfire explain taverns. As always there were a million questions in his head. "Why would you make rooms just for other people to stay in? Why would you fight over nothing? Surely there's some reason for the fight."
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Post by Treijim on Nov 29, 2007 7:02:20 GMT 9.5
Cole looked at Eric to address the questions. "Not everyone has a home, but some people like a safe and warm place to sleep -- especially if they travel a lot and are hardly at the same place for long. Taverns are for people like those, so we may find adventurers like this one." He waved vaguely towards Wildfire.
"And some people do fight over nothing, because some people are just stupid." He looked ahead when he said this, staring now at the glistening sea which was visible as they came over the gentle hill of the town. The docks were visible some way down the road, distinct thanks to their pale paving and stone piers jutting out over the soft beach. A few smaller ships were docked, but overall it seemed like a relatively calm day.
"Thankfully, there shouldn't be too many sailors there. After being on sea for weeks or months on end, some get bored. That's another reason why people start fights." He glanced towards Daveth and Wildfire quickly. "Some men are just... angry people. There is nothing to understand. You either accept that or you don't." He addressed the last part to Eric.
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Post by Scraverx on Nov 29, 2007 21:36:00 GMT 9.5
Daveth continued to walk along, clearly in no rush. He even paused a moment to pluck a particular weed from between some cobblestones, while the boy Cole answered Eric's questions further.
As he caught up to the other three he was crushing a leaf between his hands, apparently not at all phased by the bristly spines the weed seemed to bear. He then cupped his hands to his nose and sniffed. "Mmm... that'll do nicely," he commented, apparently to himself as he tucked the weed into one of the pouches on his belt. "Not too many sailors, less chance of random fights. Just the way we like it." He paused. "Not that I can't defend myself if I really need to, but Geshal almost got stepped on and crushed the last time." The odd youth shook his head. "Clumsy oaf of a sailor as I recall. They're quite common in these coastal towns and villages."
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Post by wildfiremagni on Nov 30, 2007 7:41:31 GMT 9.5
"What would that be for? Looks like a common weed to me," Wildfire asked as he noticed Daveth crush a few leaves. He didn't think it was much to worry about, but he knew that people often had strange habits. He hoped that was all that was. The two younger ones were talking with each other, so he figured that now would be a good idea to find out just who this Daveth person really was...
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