Far From Home [Waheed]

[Nira'lia]

The injured man had been making an effort to speak, but in an instant, he again succumbed into unconsciousness. 'Did he just tell me it's not safe?' Impulsively, Nira'lia started to search in his chavi. Her eyes turned into a daze again as she saw images of this man's memory. She knew that whatever had happened was not far off from the present – she knew what she was looking for, she just needed to close in on it. Then... there. She saw two dark figures looming over the man. They were asking for a letter, a letter that this man did not have yet. "Give it to us," said one of the dark figures. The man pleaded and said he didn't have it. "The courier hasn't come yet, let us wait for him outside," replied his companion. "This man might run out for help. Take care of him." That's what happened right before the vase was slammed against the man's head. Startled, Nira'lia returned to the future. She looked around in panic – Avalis's blessing didn't yet allow her to see into the future, but looking in the past allowed her to know what was to come anyway. Nira'lia attempted to pull the man up and bring him to safety. She couldn't just leave them there. She didn't have much strength and he was much heavier than her, but she had to try. However, the door suddenly swung open. She opened her mouth to call out the courier's name – she was hopeful that it was him. When she realized that she didn't even know what the courier was called, she turned her head around to check who it was... and it was one of the men that she had seen from the unconscious person's chavi. "The letter, hand it over," the stranger said. "I... I don't have it," replied the Konti. She hoped that the courier would get back soon. Nira'lia had nothing with her – not even her suvai. She had not expected to be in such a situation.

[Waheed]

”shut it friend, before a knight gets here your dead and I’ll be on my merry way” The Thug said, menacingly pointing his shortsword at Waheed, who quicly stood up with his Scimitar in turn pointing at the thug.

Gulping nervously he took a combat position, the tip the scimitar pointing at the thug with his left hand raised ‘What should I do? Somebody must have heard me; Syliras defenses weren’t so lax during the rebuilding efforts! It was even more secure than before those accursed storms’ But there were more people during these times, a mass of refugees from small settlements or other cities tended to bring with it more unsavory characters who would sneak into the city, thinking they could cause trouble within the city and get away with it.

It was undisputable the thug would try to kill him and Waheed would try to defend himself, but for how long? Could he buy time till a Knight or two arrive and take it from here, or will he have to stain his scimitar with blade for the first time? It wasn’t training, he wasn’t up against a wooden post in his apartment, nor was he sparring against an associate who was part of the knights and using wooden blades. He was in a life or death battle, a situation which meant kill….. or be killed. He recalled a few words from his first spar which summed up how such battles would be handled ‘Anything goes’ the only thing that mattered was survival.

The Thug simply stood there for a moment as was Waheed, neither was moving, the air was silent and filled with tension ‘Could be cut with a knife’ as the saying goes. Then, a random sound acted as the signal for the beginning of a dance. The thug immediately swung his blade at Waheed, an overhead strike which was blocked by the flat of Waheed’s scimitar and promptly received a kick to his stomach. The thug stumbled a back a bit but was not evidently affected by the kick. Waheed hadn’t moved for the offensive, opting to stall for time rather than go on the offensive ‘Just stall, don’t kill’ He told himself….But can he survive? The thug looked at him curiously for a moment, only to attack with a lunge this time, again Waheed barely managed to avoid the majority of the thrust, grazing his left shoulder and leaving his skin cut in its wake. He jumped back a bit and the thug only looked at him curiously once more.

“Planning to stall, eh? I can tell that, with little effort I might add, the you never killed someone. Your sweating all over, and that sword of yours doesn’t look like to have ever been used on flesh, man or animals’ He said with terrible accuracy, it made Waheed even more nervous, his sword arm shaking slightly. But it seemed to be all that the thug needed, with a quick motion he moved to closely for Waheed as his mind was too slow to keep up with what was going on, unable to push the man away or nick him with his blade as his wrist was grabbed and twisted, his scimitar falling with a loud clang as it hit the ground “[i]Sorry friend, and as cliché as it sounds, you were just an unlucky sap who got mixed up in the wrong job’ He was about to kill Waheed, his short sword pulled back for a thrust, to spill Waheed’s blood all over the floor and take the letter he carried. But before that could happen, his right shoulder was struck by a bolt that seemed to come from nowhere “ BLOODY HELL” He shouted in utter pain as he dropped his blade and his arm went limp, grasping his shoulder he turned to see two knights dressed in their iconic platemail armor “Halt, or Dira shall be your guide from heron after ” One of them said, his crossbow pointing at the thug while his associate pulled out her short shortsword.

“By the gods, you’ve come” Waheed said in utter relief, from mere moments away from dying he was now saved by knights in shining armor, missing their steeds though. The thug knew he was licked and surrendered without a fight, not that he could with a limp arm. As one knight secured the prisoner tightly the female knight came up to him
‘You’re clearly the one heard screaming, forgive us if we were late, there was a spot of trouble we had to deal with and many drunkards had to be herded.” She said politely “I’m afraid I need to ask you some questions though, why did this man attack you?”

“Well I was delivering this letter to a man who lived not far from here , I was accompanied by a konti who was lost and so after delivering it I was to escort her to where she needed be” He said to her and flashed the letter “ When we came upon the house we thought no one was there after I knocked and called for the man a few times, but then we found the door was unlocked and well. to our surprise the man was knocked out. The Konti had medical experience so she stayed with the man while I went to find you knights and then he attacked me” He pointed the thug, who then gave a knowing grin

“About your Konti friend, you may want to check on her. Who knows? She and the fat bloke may not be alone” He hinted ever so obviously, with shocked eyes he picked up his blade and both he and the female knight made a mad run towards the house, hoping they make it in time.

[Nira'lia]

"Give me the letter!" roared the thug. He held a blade in his hand, and he had an expression that said he wouldn't hesitate to strike at her if necessary. "I told you I don't have it...!" said Nira'lia as she edged away from him. The Konti looked around the room – there were no other doors aside from the one they entered in, and the man was blocking her way. She couldn't make a run for it. A fight would only end with her screaming in pain. If she had only brought her suvai, then she might have a chance. Nira'lia had very minimal knowledge when it came to fighting. This man before her looked strong and was about twice her size. The Konti screamed when he suddenly rushed at her and grabbed her arm violently. As soon as his skin touched hers, images flashed before her eyes... visions of this man's happiest memory. Nira'lia's eyes turned into a daze as she was shown a scene from his childhood, from a time when he knew nothing about violence. She was shaken out of her reverie by the man. "What are you staring at, you darn Konti!? What is this, Avalis's mark...? Are you looking into the future, girl? Can you see me beating the shit out of you?" he growled as he saw the lily's sign on the back of her hand. It was Avalis's mark, a first-level gnosis that allowed her to see into the past, and not the future. 'He doesn't know that,' thought Nira'lia when she was finally able to recompose herself. "They're coming..." said Nira'lia, and she attempted a voice that seemed to be in a trance. She was shaking, but she attempted to fool him with lies. Nira'lia was not good with lying, but the only way she could get out of this was if she stalled. "I saw it. They're coming... the courier has Knights with him. If you kill me, your life is over." The thug looked at her, his eyes full of fury. He looked unconvinced, but in the end, he didn't want to risk it. Suddenly, she was thrown aside. With a thump, she fell to the floor. Wincing in pain, she looked up, just in time to see the man about to rush out of the door. However, he stopped in his tracks, his figure looming by the doorframe. He had his eyes on three figures that were running to the house – two knights and a courier. Nira'lia had been lying, but by a stroke of luck, she had actually been correct.

[Waheed]

They had arrived just in time, the second thug was standing just outside the doorway, his frame facing opposite of the door as he stared at the courier and the two knights before him. The female knight’s companion readied his crossbow and let loose a bolt that pierced the Thug’s throat as he grasped his neck, blood flowing both from the wound and his mouth as fell to his knee’s trying to sputter out words and finally simply fell to the side as death overcame him. Waheed simply stared wide eyed in horror than looked at the female knight “Before you say a thing, do realize they were charged with breaking an entry, assault , attempted thievery and most importantly attempted murder” They broke many a law, and by her wording the thug from earlier was already killed.

As they entered the small home, the unconscious man and the konti girl were safe and fared none the worse, if they hadn’t arrived things could have been worse ‘By Yahal we are blessed’ He praised silently to the god. As he approached Nira he lowered himself and placed his hand on her shoulder “Are you alright?”

“I recognize this place” Said one of the knights as he looked around , his partner looking after the unconscious man “ This is the home of Ser Liam’s father. Courier, may I see the letter?” He asked poilitely and extended the hand, Waheed only obliged as he didn’t much care about the letter. Examining the letter, the knight let out an audible sigh as he pulled out the dagger “It’s his seal alright” Opening the letter and examining it quickly, he quickly turned to his companion and handed it to her. The female knight looked at it and quickly her brows furrowed “Courier, we will handle things from here, head to our headquarters to receive your payment for delivery of this letter” Although curious of what the letter said, Waheed knew better than poke his tongue into knightly affairs.

“Come Miss, its best if I take you to the entrance, the knights will handle things from here”

[Nira'lia]

Nira'lia shrieked as she saw the blood spill from the thug's neck and come pooling down on the floor. Drops of the warm, crimson liquid splattered to her face. She covered her head and cowered. Nira'lia was accustomed to blood – she was a medic, after all – but violent scenes like this reminded her too much of a painful past, memories that were brimming with trauma. She kept her eyes shut and tried to drown out her surroundings. She had been present in violent situations before, but this was different... the man had been hit and he had fallen to the ground without as much as a warning. Nira'lia had not been expecting it, his death, or even his blood on her skin. Suddenly, a hand rested on her shoulder. Her body shook in surprise, and she knocked his hand away. That's when the involuntary visions came. Memories fluttered before her eyes as a daze met her expression. Visions of Waheed's most precious memory played before her eyes. When they were finally over, she shook her head to regain her composure. The knights were speaking to Waheed, but Nira'lia didn't pay attention to their words – she didn't really care. She nodded in reply to the courier's statement and stood up, ready to follow him to where she needed to be. The Konti rubbed the blood off her face and wiped it on her skirt. She could clean it afterwards. Nira'lia thanked the knights and exited the house. The Konti went around the dead thug, avoiding him. She turned to Waheed and said, "I... uhm..." She couldn't find the words to say. All she could do was frown as she scratched her head in turmoil. "Thank you, you came at the right time," she said simply. "And... now that I think about it, I never got your name." It didn't sit well with her that she wouldn't know the name of someone she had just shared a horrifying experience with. Forcing a smile, she started to follow him towards the city entrance. She said nothing else as they walked in silence, a sullen look on her face.

[Accolade]

Nira'lia

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Investigation	1, XP
Observation	2, XP
Acting	1 XP

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	A city in ruin, the aftermath of the djed storm of 512
•	Getting lost amongst the maze that is Syliras
•	Meeting a mysterious and nameless courier
•	Solving a mystery about a letter Konti style

Notes :

Good read, if Waheed returns then I will add his grade.

The Sylir has spoken

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.