Everything Has Its Place (Job Thread)

by **Pulren Marsh** on May 24th, 2015, 6:25 am

70th of Spring, AV 515

Dressed in his uniform, Pulren pulled his door closed, the residual warmth of the cooling hearth a memory. The bay was blowing a cool breeze through the quarters that morning, its best recreation of a mild Bonesnapper. While some goosebumps rose up on his arms and neck, his chain shirt and uniform kept him fairly comfortable. Weapon and armor in hand, he set out to the Guard's Headquarters to see what the day would hold for him. Light was just beginning to filter into the streets, though the docks were already awake, the ships preparing to depart and the bulk of labor done before Syna rose to make it sweaty labor.

His life as a Guard was slowly becoming routine. The danger and excitement of his time in Sunberth was a slowly fading memory, replaced instead with standard orders and long days of standing. He didn't know what he really expected to change. He was literally a town guard. Besides doing menial tasks and common errands, what else could he do? In the past, there were Overgiven Wizards to deal with, but now that the Asylum was destroyed, the city had become fairly normal. Nothing wrong with that, since the populace could enjoy the peaceful times.

However, the other side of the coin was becoming apparent. There were a few career paths available for him and they were all lifetime goals. Each one was pretty much a lifetime road to tread and it would take him some time to decide. There was the Wave Guard, though as a primarily voluntary force, the higher paying positions were few. He was proud of the Guard and respected it, but he knew that in the long run, he would need to aspire to something higher. There was the Zeltivan Navy, which was a lifetime commitment. He would be guaranteed a lifetime of skills and probably a good pay grade, but never leaving the Navy and committing to a life at sea was something to take in.

As he climbed the hill toward the Temple of Laviku and the base for the Guard, his mind traveled to another opportunity, even loftier. From the higher perspective, the Zastoska Forest and Mountains loomed behind the city. Somewhere therein was the High Guard, the most Elite of all guards within the city's history. They only took the best of the best, looking out at the region from their mountain outpost. Rumors had it that the Valterrian survivors had hidden in the fort there, which only spoke highly of its defenses and the strength of the Guards who called it home. It was something to think about, but Laviku's realm called to his soul and he couldn't stomach being so removed from it.

Walking in through the double doors of the Headquarters, there were already a dozen or so Guards and Officers milling about. Approaching the counter, he found a young Guard in a clerk's attire waiting to greet him. "Arren, yeah?", Pulren thought that was the name of the young clerk. The guy nodded generally. "Arrett, but closer than most. You're Pulren Marsh, right?" Placing his shield down on the counter and his trident against it, he nodded and shook the boy's hand. "Indeed, I am. I hope I am not notorious." The boy shook his head. "No, but your Sunberth exploits are known. Anyway, there's not a lot going on yet, but we have some scrolls that need to be delivered to the Martial Society Headquarters if you want to do that. We might have the rotation set once you get back." Pulren shrugged and took the scrolls, signing off on their receipt before leaving with them.

"Sounds like a plan."

by **Pulren Marsh** on May 31st, 2015, 6:45 am

And just like that, Pulren was out of the door and heading back down the hill toward town. Syna was already rising, the city below becoming lighter and the air beginning to warm. He had borrowed a large sack to put the scrolls in, since his weapon and shield took up both of his hands and he wanted to make sure that they weren't damaged. While being a courier wasn't a glamorous job, it was still to be taken as seriously as any other charge while Pulren was still a Wave Guardsman. The bag was looped with a leather cord and tied off to his belt, the bag bouncing on the back of his left hip for safekeeping.

The awkwardness of the setup made him think about ways to carry the trident and shield and keep his hands free. It was a thing that often crossed his mind when he needed to carry something else. Leatherworking might provide straps or hooks for the shield to be carried on the back or shoulder. A kind of scabbard or sheath could possibly carry the trident, but it would take some trial and error to figure it out. When he was doing his guard duty, he just carried them normally. They were the tools of his trade and he had to have them at the ready. He also had other weapons that he wished to work with, though, like the kukri and the shortbow. He would be overburdened trying to carry all of those things, rattling and jingling like some kind of fool. He would be heard leagues away!

Greeting other Guards as they began climbing the hill and heading toward the Headquarters, Pulren took a shortcut through the docks to East Street, the sounds of the water lapping beneath the piers always pleasant to him. While he looked out at the various ships and the beginnings of the day, his mind drifted back to his days in Sunberth and before that, to the Maiden's Voyage and the mercenary that had driven him toward the life he had enjoyed briefly for two seasons in the city of Chaos. Tyler. His actions had been swift and brutal, saving both his own life and that of Sarge's when things had gotten bleak in the face of Gaius Sivet and his Reimantic cronies.

It was why he had purchased his own set of studded leather and a wooden shield. It was also why he had purchased a shortbow, though he had never used it. That would change in the days to come, even if he had to put his diving aside in order to practice it. Having reach with the trident was a good thing. In fact, the trident and shield were very formidable in most cases. However, he had seen situations when having the ranged attacks of the shortbow or the close attacks of a kukri or dagger would have been better. Easier to move in silence with just a straight razor or short blade. More efficient to put a single arrow into a lookout rather than try to creep up near them or distract them.Even those dreams would never come to fruition without the initial training.

by **Pulren Marsh** on June 3rd, 2015, 10:54 pm

Walking through the alley that would take him across to East Street, Pulren saw a few guys lingering who could have been just regular people or could have been criminals, but he guessed the latter when they parted and made way for other climates when the blue linen and golden shield of the Guard appeared. Strength in numbers did it for the Wave Guard more than anything. While it was true that they were just a volunteer militia, there were at least two hundred of them , so crime on the docks tended to stay low or it was forced to be subverted into dank corners and hidden corners.Probably where crime should stay, if Pulren had any say.

He made sure to take a pass into the alley where he had almost lost his life. This was a regular thing for him whenever he found himself with business on East Street. The alley looked about the same, save for it being daytime and the lack of any giant gorillas or black eyed women. No, just the usual refuse one could expect on an East Street alley. Not even a wharf rat to piss on. Kneeling down on the spot where his body had started cooling, his fingers touched it and he looked at the sky, saying a silent prayer.

"Thank you, Rak'keli, for saving my life through the hands of your child, Aoren. Thank you, Dira, for letting me go that night." Rising, he wiped his fingers off on his pants out of respect for his health and turned to leave the alley on the side of life. The most preferable vantage point, surely. Turning back into the more crowded street, he could see the rooftop of the headquarters for the Martial Society. It wasn't exactly out of place on East Street, having been there for as long as Pulren could remember. It was probably just how clean it was. Most of the structures in the area were run down, though he suspected that some mercenaries might have to do the repainting and the rubbish collecting.

Entering the gates, he saw the guards on the grounds and each one looked completely competent in their tasks. In fact, non one in vicinity of the Society's building looked like they couldn't handle themselves in a fight. He received various mutual nods of respect from them, as the Wave Guard was actually seen as a peer group to them, unlike something to kick at as the Council Guard might do. Perhaps it was the voluntary status of the organization. One could never tell. He was not hampered in entering the building and he found a young woman minding the desk when he entered. She was attractive and red haired, her skin the color of fresh cream. Nevertheless, she also looked as if she could handle herself. Everyone had killer's eyes. He felt at home.

Stooping at the desk, he placed his shield against the wooden inlay and then his trident next to his brother. "Hello. I'm Pulren Marsh of the Wave Guard. I've come with a few scrolls from our administration." He did his best to keep his eyes on her own. She was probably aware of this and seemed to smirk at his inability to avoid ogling. He didn't really try too hard, but he didn't want to look like some teenaged fool either. "Nice to meet you, Marsh. I'm Anna. Let's see what you've got." Yes, let's. Shaking his head slightly, he returned to the normal conversation and untied the sack from his hip and placed it on the counter.

by **Pulren Marsh** on June 3rd, 2015, 11:33 pm

He watched her face as she dug about in the bag, gingerly taking the scrolls out, her delicate fingers stroking the length of the paper rolls.Blinking a few times, he chuckled to himself. She caught on to his dilemma, musing. "It's hard being beautiful sometimes." He couldn't tell if she was being serious but he laughed all the same. "I know what you mean." She smiled again and looked down, her fingers tapping a scroll in particular. "Tyler has been waiting for this one. He'll be glad to have it."

Pulren's attention was pulled away from the young lady's looks for a moment. While it was certainly probable that the Tyler he knew was the Tyler she spoke of, there could also be other mercenaries with the same name. Of course, he could always ask as well. "Tyler?" He found from Sunberth that less was usually more. Why throw the whole bag of crumbs when one worked as well. Anna looked up at him and her head turned a little like a bird's. "Tyler Johnson. Captain of the Society? Son of the Seneschal? You're a Wave Guard, right?" He suddenly felt a little inadequate and his face probably showed it. He had no reason to know these things, though it was apparent that he should do more digging as to the leadership of the city.

"Sorry. I just assumed...I apologize." She looked genuine in her apology and Pulren felt the need to immediately forgive her. "Don't worry about it. I guess I was just happy enough being a Guard." He felt at a loss himself, now. He wanted to leave, so he bent down to retrieve his shield and make haste for the headquarters. Blood was rushing to his face as it was. "Oh, there he is. You can meet him if you'd like." Standing and turning, Pulren didn't hear the clanging of the shield as it dropped out of his hand. It was him. A few guards from outside stumbled in at the din of the metallic shield hitting the ground but Tyler raised his hand and they retreated to their posts.

"Marsh. Look at you. I hear you survived Sunberth after the Voyage. What are you doing wasting your time in the Guard? We could use you over here." Pulren wanted to respond, but he couldn't. Standing before him was not only the man who saved his life, not only the apparent Captain of the Martial Society, but his genuine hero. he could only nod and pick up his shield. Did he say to come to the Society? "O-okay Tyler."Sound was vaguely creeping back into his ears as he turned and watched the man pick up the scrolls delivered. Anna said, "Not into girls? Shame.[/i]" Pulren staggered over and reclaimed his weapon, desperately trying to regain his composure.

Tyler clapped him on the back, laughing. "Anna, this guy just think he has seen a ghost I think. I am pretty sure he likes girls, from what I hear. At least the Loveless girls say so. Marsh, if you want to join up, come on over and have a meeting with me sometime." Pulren nodded and mouthed 'Thank you' and wandered outside and into the daylight. He was stunned, to be sure. He could serve under Tyler. Was there any other answer? For the rest of the current day, he would have to keep being a Wave Guard. Now, where was the headquarters again?