Tweet
With shrill cries of alarm and a quick flurry of wings, birds take flight as an armored figure emerges from the forest. His passing marked by the chink and clank of armor, the glint of light off polished steel, and a steady stream of grumbling spiced here and there with the occational phrase that would give pause to any self-respecting dockworker. Upon the back of this armored man is a bulging pack, filled to overflowing with trinkets, crude weapons, assorted armors, and other tidbits. As he realizes he is out of the forest and in a clearing, he pauses and looks up, spying the fort, built to occupy the entirety of the pass and smiles, the first leg of his journey complete.
A very amused looking sentry waves to the figure as he passes and the Knight (for that is what, for all the world, he appears to be) thinks he might have heard a soft remark comparing him to a turtle. Casting a mock glare in the direction of the sentry, he continues on and only stops as he reaches the relative safety of the fortified area. Setting his heavy load down, he sighs in relief as he removes a smaller bundle from the large pack and sits down to enjoy a quick meal before setting on his way again. A brief while later, and he is gone from the encampement, set out again on his way after speaking with a few of the soldiers in the area...
---------------------------------------------------
"Mountain air," Mused Johnathan in a decidedly sardonic tone "is suppose to be cool, crisp, refreshing." Sighing, he wiped a mix of sweat and rain from his brow before returning his helmet. He stood at the edge of what appeared to be a rather permenant trade center on the outskirts of Sundren city proper. It was here, or so he was told, that he would be able to trade in the contents of his overly large pack for some decent coin. Most, he knew, would simply be melted down and used to create other things, and thus would fetch a few meager coins if he was lucky. Some other trinkets though, no doubt taken from previous victims by the creatures he had in turn taken them from, would sell well as they contained more precious metals. With a head full of speculation, Johnathan set forth to sell his goods.
After several hours of bartering, much of which gave him a sizeable headache, Johnathan turned from the blacksmith he had been speaking to and started back down the road to the campsite he had seen earlier. It was with some surprise he noted a large group of people not 15 feet from him. It seemed some sort of performance was underway, though for the life of him, the Knight could not figure out how he had overlooked the gathering as he had been bartering. He paused a moment to see what exactly was going on when he heard a rather whiny-sounding voice begin to recite poetry. Wincing, he secured his helm against the audiatory assault and hastened to the campsite and out of range of the horrid caterwalling.
Arriving, Johnathan found that while it seemed to be a permenant site, no one was there to attend it. Being satisfied with that, and enjoying the peace and quiet, he never heard the approach of the woman and had to stifle a yelp of surprise when he turned to find her standing not five feet away from him.
Being raised as he was, Johnathan had not encountered a very wide array of people. Most everyone he knew growing up had been very similar, and for good reason. However, when he was sent by his Order to begin his work, he had been told that the world was full of all kinds of people, and that he should not judge by what he saw, but by who the person really was. That, perhaps, was all that kept him from shying away from the woman standing there in her strange, dark garb, mask, and pale skin. As it was though, he reminded himself that apperances are not everything, offered up a smile to the strange woman, and extended his greetings...
Smiling to himself, Johnathan was glad he had resisted his urge to ignore the woman. While she was a bit blunt, it seemed she shared many of his feelings about many things. What kept confusing him, though, were the reactions of others as they came near the site. Some simply froze and then backed away slowly. Others would scream and dash away as if their very lives and souls were in danger. When Johnathan asked the woman about this, she laughed and suggested that perhaps it was his armor and blade that was causing the effect. This seemed unlikely, but the strange behavior continued for some time. Eventually the woman took her leave and Johnathan bid her farewell before turning in himself. All in all, it had been a very good day.
A very amused looking sentry waves to the figure as he passes and the Knight (for that is what, for all the world, he appears to be) thinks he might have heard a soft remark comparing him to a turtle. Casting a mock glare in the direction of the sentry, he continues on and only stops as he reaches the relative safety of the fortified area. Setting his heavy load down, he sighs in relief as he removes a smaller bundle from the large pack and sits down to enjoy a quick meal before setting on his way again. A brief while later, and he is gone from the encampement, set out again on his way after speaking with a few of the soldiers in the area...
---------------------------------------------------
"Mountain air," Mused Johnathan in a decidedly sardonic tone "is suppose to be cool, crisp, refreshing." Sighing, he wiped a mix of sweat and rain from his brow before returning his helmet. He stood at the edge of what appeared to be a rather permenant trade center on the outskirts of Sundren city proper. It was here, or so he was told, that he would be able to trade in the contents of his overly large pack for some decent coin. Most, he knew, would simply be melted down and used to create other things, and thus would fetch a few meager coins if he was lucky. Some other trinkets though, no doubt taken from previous victims by the creatures he had in turn taken them from, would sell well as they contained more precious metals. With a head full of speculation, Johnathan set forth to sell his goods.
After several hours of bartering, much of which gave him a sizeable headache, Johnathan turned from the blacksmith he had been speaking to and started back down the road to the campsite he had seen earlier. It was with some surprise he noted a large group of people not 15 feet from him. It seemed some sort of performance was underway, though for the life of him, the Knight could not figure out how he had overlooked the gathering as he had been bartering. He paused a moment to see what exactly was going on when he heard a rather whiny-sounding voice begin to recite poetry. Wincing, he secured his helm against the audiatory assault and hastened to the campsite and out of range of the horrid caterwalling.
Arriving, Johnathan found that while it seemed to be a permenant site, no one was there to attend it. Being satisfied with that, and enjoying the peace and quiet, he never heard the approach of the woman and had to stifle a yelp of surprise when he turned to find her standing not five feet away from him.
Being raised as he was, Johnathan had not encountered a very wide array of people. Most everyone he knew growing up had been very similar, and for good reason. However, when he was sent by his Order to begin his work, he had been told that the world was full of all kinds of people, and that he should not judge by what he saw, but by who the person really was. That, perhaps, was all that kept him from shying away from the woman standing there in her strange, dark garb, mask, and pale skin. As it was though, he reminded himself that apperances are not everything, offered up a smile to the strange woman, and extended his greetings...
Smiling to himself, Johnathan was glad he had resisted his urge to ignore the woman. While she was a bit blunt, it seemed she shared many of his feelings about many things. What kept confusing him, though, were the reactions of others as they came near the site. Some simply froze and then backed away slowly. Others would scream and dash away as if their very lives and souls were in danger. When Johnathan asked the woman about this, she laughed and suggested that perhaps it was his armor and blade that was causing the effect. This seemed unlikely, but the strange behavior continued for some time. Eventually the woman took her leave and Johnathan bid her farewell before turning in himself. All in all, it had been a very good day.
