Completed Lesson Learned

[Jadlin Hayes]

Jadlin Hayes

88th day of Summer, 514

It was nice to have another day off. Jad felt like celebrating. He was eager to see Mr. Maze again, and today was a good opportunity. He'd met him in the big library here and had discovered the man to be a part of the family he'd come all the way from Syliras to find.

It was not that leaving Syliras had been a tough decision. After the raid on the estate, the trial of the members of the household and the discovery that he'd been in a mind-controlled condition since birth, serving primarily as a djed battery for a cult of Sagallius-worshiping mages, he was in no mood to stay. He had no family there.

He'd come to realize that he'd been fated to live and die in anonymity there. He'd been told his name was 'Hayes'. But a woman had handed him a ring and told him the 'The Lykata' had said his father had owned it. Strangely though, the ring was a large "M". It didn't seem to fit his name. But after meeting Mr. Maze, he thought he could imagine a connection, one where a name with a similar sound was applied as a safeguard against accidental exposure of his identity to anyone that came looking.

It would be a reminder of names to avoid, and also be an excuse to feign innocence of a "simple mix-up...oh such a shame...all this time." Jad grit his teeth just imagining the innocent act. It didn't help that Mr. Maze had had no idea that there was another young man in the family. He said he was going to check some family records and see if something was overlooked. Somehow, Jad was certain Mr. Maze wouldn't find anything. It seemed pretty clear that his entire existence had been the cult's well-kept secret, and had been intended to stay that way.

And so, while the discovery of a brother had led to great joy. It alternated with anger that it had HAD to be discovered. And just knowing that such a happy occasion could EVER cause anything but joy just compounded his distress. But he did his best to shake it off. It was behind him now and best forgotten. Syna seemed to beam from behind some clouds as if in response, and his mood lifted. After all, he was free of those criminals and had most of his life still ahead of him.

x

[Jadlin Hayes]

Jadlin Hayes

Jad shook his head at his own mood swing. Here, he had been feeling so good, only to think of aspects of the same great development to become gloomy about. Yes, it was definitely time to put his past behind him. It was a beautiful day, he'd found the family he'd been looking for, and he'd found a woman he thought he could build a family of his own with. He planned to see her later. But first, he intended to meet with Mr. Maze again. He grinned at the thought that the man would probably insist he start calling him "Ricky".

He lost track of his path through town as he basked in the knowledge that he had a brother. Well...a HALF brother, at any rate. As much as he enjoyed his time with Black, he felt a certain anticipation of the relationship with a brother. As much as he cared about Black, he missed the fellowship of other men. It was not that Black blocked him from going out with "the guys", but he really didn't know any since 'Bethany's Badge' had sailed. Now he had a brother! And his brother had lived here for a long time, so he'd have a circle of friends. Jad hoped he could find a place among them eventually.

His thoughts traveled the paths of interrelations between men and their women. He knew there would be give and take as far as the time spent in each others' company. But he also figured that, since Ricky had a wife and child, he should look to Ricky for cues as to when he was spending too much time away from Black. The best thing would be if he and Black could become close with Ricky and his family. But the last thing he wanted to do was force himself on them. He needed to take it slow and let it develop naturally.

He suddenly realized that he'd not taken the turn he'd intended, being so lost in his reverie. He looked around and realized he was passing one of the other businesses that stocked at the same warehouse as his employer, Mr. Pelthes. There was a guard standing inside the door, taking occasional looks up and down the street. He wondered if this fellow was a new guy like he was. He'd become acquainted with several of the guards who rotated that duty with him. But he did not know this one.

He was about to call out and wave when he heard a muffled cry from an nearby alley. He was about to turn and look when it occurred to him that it may well be the same pair that had "tested" him ten or twelve days earlier. The woman was his boss' daughter. She and her fiance had staged an assault to give Jad a chance to have first hand experience with the consequences of being lured from his post. Her father, his boss, had established this ruse to "break in" new employees. Jad had run after the pair, with rescue in mind, only to fail and then return to his post to find the warehouse potentially ransacked in his absence.

Admittedly, he was not positive that this was the case here, and was momentarily torn as to what he should do. On the one hand, he did not want to interfere with the "training" that his boss and the partners in the warehouse might be conducting. But on the other hand, he did not want to ignore a genuine need for assistance on the part of a fellow guard. He decided to slip out of sight and see what transpired.

x

[Jadlin Hayes]

Jadlin Hayes

Sure enough, the young guard called to a few passersby for assistance, just as Jad had done. But ultimately, he felt compelled to abandon his spot by the door and charge up the street, just as Jad had ALSO done. Having made the same mistake himself, Jad felt he'd earned the right to shake his head at the youngster's impetuousness. But something did not follow the pattern he expected.

When he'd returned the night HE'D been tested, his boss had been waiting inside for him, along with his daughter and her fiance. They had entered while he'd been running around, trying to find the alleged victim and villain, not knowing that they WERE the daughter and fiance. The point being, that with the front entrance now unguarded, the boss and his assistants should be arriving to await the returning guard and deliver the "tsk, tsk" that he'd earned.

But they did not arrive...

Instead, imposters strolled up and walked inside. A few chimes later, someone looking very much like the guard also took up position at the door. It occurred to Jad that it was very likely that the neighboring businesses were familiar with this routine and would not look or think twice about this development, having seen this same pattern repeatedly.

Jad had to admit, the disguises were well crafted. He would have fallen for it too if not for the fact that this same day, Mr. Pelthes had slipped and twisted his ankle badly enough to close shop and get a friend to cart him to the University's Infirmary. He'd sent a runner to instruct Jad to take the day off as a result. The man dressed as Mr. Pelthes mimicked the old fellow's slouching gait admirably, but failed to add the probable limp that would be expected. As well, the young, supposedly engaged, couple showed no romantic interest in each other at all.

And when the ersatz guard took up his position, he first leaned his head inside the door to speak a just a few words, then nodded and took up his post. Jad knew from his own run-through that this would be when this guardsman would be standing inside, before Mr. Pelthes, trying to excuse his lack of discipline and loss of focus on his priorities, not outside, as if everything was normal.

Then the last element in this charade pulled up in front of the building, a horse and cart. Jad remembered this cart from when he'd gone running from his post, to rescue the phony victim. And the driver was one of the two plain-looking men that had been attending it. It all clicked together. The boss' daughter had mentioned a previous, newly hired guard that had not reacted well to the test-run, and had quit on the spot. It appeared that, being aware of this "training" program, he'd decided to avenge his wounded pride by committing a genuine robbery under the pretense of it being just another test of a new hiree.

Most likely, there was NO test scheduled for tonight, and this guard, obviously a genuine employee of the merchant group, was in on it. Jad did not know where his boss, or the daughter and fiance, lived. If Mr. Pelthes was still at the Infirmary, that would mean running all the way to the University grounds. The criminals would be long gone by the time anyone could get back.

Unless some Wave Guards came by, he was on his own...

x

[Jadlin Hayes]

Jadlin Hayes

Jad went around to the back of the Warehouse and found a stout, club-worthy length of wood. He then picked up a rock and threw it, shattering one of the few windows in the back of the building. He backed himself flat against the wall to listen, in case one of the men inside looked out. Instead, he heard one of them shout, "Garlen, we've got some punks around the back. Go chase them off before they attract the guard." Jad assumed this was the name of the guard accomplice at the front entry.

He waited a few ticks and then started to walk back around to the back side corner where Garlen would be coming. When he heard footsteps hurrying toward his corner from along the side of the building, he turned and hollered, "Yeah, you'd BETTER run, you brats! Next time, I'll have your asses arrested!"

He shook the shaft of wood like an old man chastising some kid with a cane as Garlen came around the back corner. Jad turned, putting a look of glad surprise on his face. "Oh good, good! Just in time. They went around the other side." Jad hurried toward Garlen, rattling off details as though it was the obvious, dutiful course of action.

"There were four of them. Just kids, but that's no excuse. If we split up we can catch one of them for sure, and he'll give up the others..." He didn't give Garlen a chance to say anything as he reached him stepped partially past him, gesturing back with his club, "You go after them, and I'll go around in case they double back."

Garlen finally got his bearing and interrupted Jad, who he figured to be a zealous, but not overly sensible citizen. "Look, we're not going to catch them, buddy. It's just a broken window. Nothing that serious. Just leave it to me, I'll-..." he had turned his back on Jad as he pointed at the window. As he turned back, the last thing he saw, prior to an explosion of dizzying stars, was the club Jad held, slamming into the side of his face.

Garlen dropped like a rock and Jad quickly liberated him from his sword and cloak. There wasn't time to "borrow" his armor, but at least Garlen had hair like his. He hoped the cloak would hide his identity for any crucial moments as he jogged back to check how things stood out front.

x

[Jadlin Hayes]

Jadlin Hayes

Things stood about as Jad anticipated. One of the carters was lugging a crate out the front door, turning to descend the few steps to the street. Jad turned his back to him and rattled several strategies through his head. He knew he was not about to dispatch 4 men and a woman by himself with just a sword, a weapon he was barely proficient enough with to know which end to hold.

It might be possible if he could take them one at a time. And admittedly, here WAS one of them, by himself. Jad cursed himself when the cart bed sagged slightly, knowing that the man no longer had his hands full. The man didn't appear to be holding a weapon, but Jad knew he'd be unable to stop the fellow from shouting an alert if he attacked him.

Maybe he didn't have to actually attack anyone...If he cut the horse loose, the wagon would be immovable. Jad waited for the man to return for another crate, but a second man came out with another before the first disappeared back inside. He could hardly stand there hacking at the leather harness with any of them watching.

He looked at the riggings, finding them confounding. these were no simple buckles, like you'd find on a belt. And furthermore he saw evidence of a metal core, making it all the more unlikely he'd be able to cut the harness. He traced the separate lengths of reinforced leather to where they connected, but couldn't be sure of any of it, they were designed for such heavy duty that they were completely unfamiliar to him, what MIGHT be an end to start at was, itself, heavily strapped and riveted down.

"Garlen! What the petch are you doing!" A voice stabbed. Jad nearly soiled his trousers.

He stammered, feigning a cough to cover for time, "Uhh...I uhh...I'm checking the tack. It's going to need to be extra stout." he babbled, hoping his terminology was correct.

He was answered by a snort. "Why? It only has to make it to East Street, ya lazy shyke. We'd never have time to slip through the pass. Now get in here and help us carry, It's not like you're gonna have to worry about yer job." Coarse laughter from inside emphasized the point.

He was stuck. The man had returned inside, but he knew he would be expected to follow him in. At most he had maybe ten or fifteen ticks before the thugs would start to suspect him. He could run, but he had avoided eye contact and couldn't even describe them beyond their clothes, which were clearly intended to be nondescript.

Then it hit him. He would simply hop up on the buckboard and drive the cart away. Without thinking further, he climbed up onto the bench seat and grabbed the reins. He heard heavily-laden footsteps reach the doorway and stop.

"What the petch...?"

Jad, having never driven a cart, simply shouted at the horse, "GO!"

The horse did nothing. But the man on the walkway did. Jad heard the sound of a crate of soft goods thump to the wooden porch and the shuffle of hasty steps as the man leaned back inside and called, not too loudly, but loud enough for his cohorts to hear. "It's not Garlen! And he's taking the wagon! Get OUT here! NOW!"

x

[Jadlin Hayes]

Jadlin Hayes

Jad at least had the satisfaction of knowing that taking the wagon WAS an effective way to stymie the theft, but the horse wouldn't go. He shouted more desperately and rattled the reins. Still nothing. The horse even had the gall to turn its head and look at him like he was an idiot.

Jad knew he was going to be a dead idiot if he didn't get some results, and right now. Already he heard a number of additional bootsteps pounding his way. In a flash he realized his mistake. His only experience riding was on the back of his Kelvic horse girlfriend, Black Onyx. But THAT had been to avoid Yukmen. Black had KNOWN the danger and the plan. She hadn't NEEDED to be told what to do. He had just assumed THIS horse would ALSO immediately do what he needed. but Black way way more than "just a horse".

His assumption was going to get him killed. The thugs were almost upon him. He stood up, his last resort coming to mind as always...Leeching. The horse would fly in terror the minute it felt its essence being sucked away. He felt bad doing it, but it would only be to get it going. He jumped onto the horse's rump, planning to start leeching right there.

It didn't occur to him that this horse may not have been trained as a rider; that the sudden crash of weight, from a scrambling, leaping human, on its haunches, would be more than enough to provoke such a horse to rush off. Jad never had to DO any Leeching.

The horse screamed in shock and lurched off, the sudden momentum making Jad slide off its back end to get caught in the harness, his back and shoulders slamming back into the front panel of the buckboard. It was all he could do to grab onto the footrest portion to keep from falling through to the paving stones. But he could get no leverage against the swinging harness to prop himself up any further. All he could do was hang on.

A few blocks later, he saw that 'just hanging on' wasn't going to be good enough. A face, upside down from his perspective, leaned over the buckboard with a sneer and a sword, retribution in its eyes. "You son of a bitch! You can be trampled or gutted, you little prick! CHOOSE!" The killer lifted the sword high, and Jad's life flashed before his eyes.

x

[Jadlin Hayes]

Jadlin Hayes

One other thing flashed through Jad's mind, a prayer. He didn't know if there was such a thing as a god or goddess of lucky breaks, and he acknowledged in his mind his regret that he did not know the name of any such deity, but resolved to do homage to any that heard him if they would send a miracle his way.

He already knew that if he was dead, any witnesses to the slaying would hear that HE had been the robber, and that the avenging ex-guardsman was the hero who'd stopped the crime. Being an employed guard at the warehouse would make it easy implicate HIM in the role Garlen had filled. This crook would not hesitate to sell out one or two of his cohorts to pad his credibility. Garlen would either end up in jail, or, if he was lucky, hailed as Jad's first victim in his alleged plot to rob from the good folk of Zeltiva.

He tried to prep his body for some evasive dodge of the impending sword stroke, but he was using so much effort just to keep from falling that he couldn't initiate anything likely to succeed. He instinctively closed his eyes as he saw his assailant's body language shift from preparation of the stroke, to delivery. It was not so much dying that distressed him, as it was that he'd end up being thought of, posthumously, as a criminal.

Suddenly there was a loud barking, snapping snarl, and the horse whinnied fearfully. The cart lurched to the right, and Jad barely had time to see his assailant's eyes widen in shock before they disappeared, along with the rest of him, off the left side of the cart. There was a sickening, crunching thud as the dog's barking whizzed past Jad's ear. There was suddenly more shouting and a scream and the cart lurched back to the left.

Jad lost his grip on the buckboard and his upper body slammed once against the street. Somehow, a last shred of focused thought directed him to unhook his knees from the harness, lest he be dragged for Gods knew how long. He had a fleeting impression that he did so before he lost consciousness, still rolling across the paving stones.

x

[Jadlin Hayes]

Jadlin Hayes

The street was remarkably comfortable. Jad had expected that he'd need to hurry to move before he got injured further by some passing wagon. He remembered screams and shouts. He twitched at the memory of sharp pains, finding his movements strangely hindered. There had been a voice saying something about 'Don't move him....' some instructions to '...you men, go block the road...'

Then more shouts about moving him '...no...it was...NOT...moving him...wasn't it?...moving..."he's moving"?....Who's saying that?' he wasn't entirely sure, but he thought he was trying to roll over. It was hard to tell since there seemed to be something tight restricting his movements. 'Am I still pinned under the wagon?...Just let me stay here...it's so warm...and soft..."he's moving doctor"...Is that MY voice?'

Th delirium passed after a few bells, and the pain returned. But it was manageable, as long as he made no severe movements of his torso, or try to prop himself up on his right arm, or really do much of anything with his right arm. A pair of nurses came in, followed by a doctor. "Well, it could have been much worse, young man. You've got a couple cracked ribs, several bruised ones and we had to reset your shoulder."

The man went on to fill in the blanks in Jad's memory. How the cart had been so heavily loaded, so it didn't hurt him that badly. How the dead man had been recognized as a disgraced ex-guardsman. How a current employee of the warehouse group, named Garlen, had been found and broken to implicate several other men. "He tried to implicate you at first, but that just didn't add up, seeing as you were the one that ruined their plan. As well as the fact that that ex-guardsman was trying to kill you. The Wave Guard is all too familiar with him. Well...WAS familiar, anyway. He's as trustworthy as ANY dead man now."

Jad smiled in spite of himself. He really wasn't glad that someone had to end up dead, but he couldn't deny being glad it hadn't been him. The doctor went on. "And they are apparently familiar with you as well. One of the men that serves as the City Rep seemed downright eager to vouch for you." He turned slightly to indicate someone behind him. "AND, your boss, Mr. Pelthes, was quite willing to do the same."

He grinned and stepped aside, revealing the old hunter and leather worker, lying in bed with his leg splinted and bandaged. "Jad, my boy! You've done a man's service. I'm proud of you. But truly, you ought to have simply run and gotten some guardsmen. Let it be a lesson to you, nothing gets stolen in this town that doesn't either go to the docks or East Street. The Wave Guard has a presence in both those locations most of the time. They'd have kept a look out for the wagon."

They talked for a while, both falling back into the grip of painkilling herbs before long and agreeing to talk some more after some rest. But Jad asked one last question, wishing to know the name of the deity most closely tied to lucky breaks, or miracles. Mr. Pelthes laughed outright, appreciating the young man's motivation for such a question. "That would be Kelwyn, son. Though, it's more a sense of 'Lost Causes' than a lucky break. But I think that probably suited your situation accurately enough. Ovek is considered the God of Luck, but it's more to do with Gambling luck."

Mr. Pelthes went on to describe Kelwyn as the name of twin deities, Kel and Wyn. He relayed the accepted concept that the twins were brother and sister, and started as sort of underlings, or errand runners for the gods, but decided they enjoyed helping those that really needed their help rather than those that had power enough to help themselves.

"Well, when I get out of here, I am going to give thanks to Kelwyn for the dog that saved my life." Jad stated with conviction, deciding he liked the attitude of these gods.

Mr. Pelthes looked at him curiously, "Dog? I don't remember anyone mentioning any dog. They all figured the wheel came loose and made the cart jerk to the side."

Jad just smiled and lay back in the bed, all the more convinced.

OOC - continues here.

x

[Perplexity]

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Jadlin :

Skills:

• Observation | +3 EXP
  Acting | +2 EXP
  Brawling | +1 EXP
  Tactics | +3 EXP
  Disguise | +2 EXP
  Driving (Wagon) | +1 EXP
  Riding (Horse) | +1 EXP
  Acrobatics | +1 EXP

Injuries:

• Cracked Ribs- Jadlin’s reckless behavior has resulted in him getting no less than three cracked ribs. This injury will take no less than a full 65 days to completely heal. He will need regular chest bindings and even moderate amounts of physical activity will leave him slightly winded.
  
  Bruised Ribs- In addition to a few being cracked, Jadlin has suffered bruising to his ribcage. While not as serious as the cracking this makes it difficult to breathe even during moderate activity. The bruising will clear up after roughly 14 days.
  
  Dislocated Shoulder- Jadlin’s shoulder was dislocated during the accident. As a result the joint is much weaker than it normally would be. There is muscle swelling, tearing of tissues and strained tendons. The resulting scar tissue will make his shoulder slightly stiffer in the future and will not completely heal for 15 days.

Lores:

• The Discovery of a Brother and What It Means
  Acting: Chasing The Rabble Routine
  Acting: Trying To Be A Thug
  Brawling: Wood Plank As A Rudimentary Club
  Disguise: Using Opponent Clothes To Blend In
  Tactics: Spur of the Moment Plan of Action
  Acrobatics: Tuck and Roll
  Kelwyn: God(ess) of Lost Causes
  Ovek: God of Luck and Gambling

Comments :

I gave you a point in brawling because part of brawling is using objects from the environment to gain an advantage in a fight. Feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns! My inbox is always open.