Closed Out and About

[Samuel Longwell]

Out and About
4th Spring 517AV, The Kabrin Road

Samuel nodded to the guards at the entrance to the city, leading Dan by the reins out onto the Kabrin road. The knight stifled a yawn, the first rays of dawn were just starting to peek over the horizon and he had not yet fully woken up. He wondered how Michael would be finding the early start. Samuel had sent a note to the squire the previous night, instructing him to be at the gate at dawn. The note had also asked the younger man to bring a horse, but included no other information on what the knight had planned.

Once the knight was outside, he mounted his Tiaden and looked east. The road stretched as far as the eye could see, bounded on one side by the bronze woods and the farms on the other. This was the intended route for the patrol, the two men would be keeping an eye out for anything that could compound the food shortage further. The crop yield would be low enough without any other problems to add to the freakishly warm Spring. The number of patrols around the fields had been stepped up to try and prevent an utter food crisis.

Whether it would be enough was another matter, Samuel suspected that a significant amount of the population would need to help to source food for the city otherwise there would be trouble. When the average citizen became afraid of starving, it was particularly for a city the size of Syliras. Not much else threatened the stability of a region more than the thought of your family having to endure a long, painful death.

Shaking the morbid thoughts from his head, Samuel turned back towards the city gates to wait for Michael. The squire should be here soon, then they could set off.

Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.

[Michael Kyber]

Everyone had that one little thing that really irritated them. For some was having their things dirty or disorganized, while for others it might be an annoying animal like flies or poorly trained dogs. For Michael it was lateness; punctuality had been important to him even as a kid, and if he was late for something or had to wait for someone else who was late his patience had a habit of growing very thin very quickly.

An unfortunately that patience was running out right now. After he'd received a note from Ser Longwell asking him to join him at the city gates with a horse, Michael had made sure to get up very earlier so that he'd have lots of time to ready himself for the day, check the sharpness of his dagger and glaive, pack his bag with a days' worth of food and water, and make it to the gate. He'd been fine for time up until the point where he went to pick the horse he was borrowing up from the stables. It turned out that whilst he'd made an effort to be on time for work, the stable-hand who was supposed to be sorting out his horse for him hadn't shared that same sentiment, and had turned up at the stables only a few chimes before the time Garland had written on his note.

After a lot of icy glares from Michael and a lot of hurried prepping on the stable-hands behalf one of the horses, a brown Zavian breed named Jacky, was quickly (and Michael suspected poorly) readied for riding. Despite his inexperience and the weight of his armor Michael was able to mount up onto the horse's back fairly quickly with the stable-hand's help, and quickly fastened his supplies and glaive to the back of the saddle before ordering the horse straight into a trot. Michael had been practicing the things Ser Longwell had taught him in his riding lesson last season, and though he had still never tried going faster than a trot his control of the horse was now good enough for him to confidently weave the horse through the crowds of people to the gate, arriving just in the nick of time to his relief.

"Ser Longwell!" He called as he noticed the familiar face, untidy beard and all, mounted atop his Tiaden. He brought his own horse up along side it, giving Samuel a quick salute.

"Good to see you again Ser, it's been a while. Can I ask what all this is about? I brought a horse like your note said, is this another riding lesson?"

[Samuel Longwell]

“Squire Kyber, good to see you.” Samuel replied, nodding in greeting. He noted the improvement in the squire's riding technique, it seemed like Michael had been practising. “You certainly can ask. We're going to be out on patrol for a decent chunk of the day, out due East. So we should get moving. Follow me.” The orders were short and to-the-point but were not harsh in tone. The knight was on duty, so he would possibly seem more stern compared to when he'd been teaching Michael to ride.

With the steady application of pressure on his mount's flanks, the knight pushed the great warhorse into a trot. Samuel assumed that the squire would do as instructed, from what he'd seen of Michael so far the lad wasn't likely to ignore a direct order. It wasn't too far to the crossroads from the city gate, so when he reached them he gestured up each road in turn.

“If you take the road to your right, that'll take you down to Mithryn Outpost.” Samuel explained, "I've done that journey a fair few times. To your left are the Bronze woods, but I guess you have some experience with them already. We're going to go straight between the two, we're going to make sure nothing from the woods threatens the farms.”

With those words, Samuel took the middle road. Dan trotted along at a brisk pace, the knight bouncing along in time with the Tiaden. Looking over at the squire, the knight gestured at the pole-arm that the younger man was carrying.

“You had much practice with that?” Samuel asked, curious. He had seen similar weapons before, but they weren't particularly popular in the knighthood. Considering the weapon, the knight appreciated the fact that it would be very effective against a mounted foe. The increased reach of the weapon would be invaluable against cavalry.

Samuel continued to ponder the weapon's advantages and disadvantages, thinking about how he would deal with an opponent who wielded it. The knight did not like to think about having to do so without a shield, it would be nigh on impossible to get inside the weapon's reach without one. If however you managed to get past the blade then your opponent would be on the back foot. Another tactic would be to get a hand on the wooden shaft, controlling your opponent's weapon is always a good thing. The knight shrugged, he wasn't entirely sure how effective his strategies would be until he actually tried them out. Maybe he should suggest a spar with the squire at some point.

Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.

[Michael Kyber]

Ser Longwell addressed him in a far more formal manner today, speaking in a factual tone and using ranks as an on-duty knight should. Far from being deterred by this Michael was actually a little bit glad; it showed that he was taking his patrol seriously, and was staying alert for any of the many dangers that lurked outside the gates. Thazz was always so laid-back and seemingly unaware of their surroundings when he took Michael out on patrol that it made him nervous enough to keep a look out for the both of them, so it was actually quite a relief to know that this patrol was going to be done by-the-book for once.

As Samuel spurred his horse forward Michael spurred Jacky into a trot too, keeping her to the right of and slightly behind Samuel's Tiaden. He nodded in affirmation as Sam pointed out the north and south Kabrin roads to the Mithryn Outpost and the Bronze Woods, both of which Michael had traveled down before, and then followed as he led them onto the central road.

"I think I took this road when I made the journey to this city. It's the one that crosses over the Avitar river right?" A frown crossed Michael's face. "I suppose the Avitar must be pretty dry right now, what with the lack of winter snow to melt into it and all. This missing winter is turning out to be a really serious disaster, what was Morwen thinking?"

As they continued down the road Samuel asked him about the glaive he'd brought. "Not really," he replied with a wry smile. "I brought it to a raid on a bandit camp last season, but I haven't had any time to properly train with it yet. I'd like to though; I like the advantage of a long reach in combat, and it seems like it'd be very similar to fighting with a staff like quite a few wizards do." He gestured to the dagger strapped to his belt. "Weaponmaster Miriam has been teaching me to fight properly with a dagger though. She says that once my magic's good enough to rely on in combat I'll be more appreciative of how quick and easy to conceal a dagger is."

[Samuel Longwell]

While Michael was speaking, Samuel's eyes roved over the surroundings. He paid the closest attention to the treeline on his left, so that the pair wouldn't be so easily ambushed if someone did mean them harm. The towering forms of the trees had no allegiance, concealing friend and foe alike. Although the knight had forced himself to spend more time than necessary out in the woods, he still wasn't entirely comfortable in the shadowy depths. Samuel always felt so exposed, expecting every patch of darkness to be concealing a threat. When he was within the depths of the city however, it was different matter entirely. There he was truly in his element, where he seemed to exude calm self-assurance. On the well-worn Kabrin road there was somewhat of a middle-ground. A careful observer would notice a wariness in his gaze, his slightly too tight grip on the reins, and a subtle tension in his muscles.

“Aye, we'll reach the river a little before midday.” Samuel replied, “then we'll turn back. Make sure you keep a careful watch for anything that seems out of the ordianry.” The knight made no reply to the squire's statement on Morwen's actions. The goddess had abandoned her duty, and the knight was not willing to forgive such an act. But the other seasons' reaction had worried Samuel more. Slaughtering the deity's followers for her mistakes had not sat right with him, not only was it completely unreasonable but also it seemed to be a move filled with cowardice.

Samuel nodded with understanding when Michael mentioned his weapons, it seemed like the squire still hadn't had much experience with the more martial aspects of being a mage-knight. At least he had done some training with one of the Weaponmasters. On the mention of magic, Samuel turned slightly in his saddle to look at the younger man. The knight realised he knew very little about his companion's abilities with magic. He decided it would be best to find out exactly what Michael could do. Knowing the strengths of the people that you're leading is vital to being able to plan efficiently.

“So what kind of magic can you do Squire Kyber?” Samuel asked. “I should probably have asked sooner, knowing the limits of your abilities may be important at some point.”

Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.

[Michael Kyber]

As Ser Longwell ordered, Michael kept his gaze on the treeline on his right for anything suspicious looking. Nothing immediately stood out to him except for how dry and tired the vegetation looked, but even so Michael kept his eyes open in case anything changed. He'd heard stories of Yukmen and other horrifying monsters that roamed the wildlands of Sylira, but as a seafarer and city dweller he'd never seen them for himself. Not that he was in any hurry to find out.

When Samuel questioned him about his magic, Michael felt a twinge of nervousness at the prospect of telling him. People in general were still pretty suspicious of magic users even in Syliras, and in order to avoid having that suspicion cast on him Michael had made sure to subtly change the topic whenever magic had come up in a conversation he was in with normal people. Only the knighthood was aware that he was a magician, and though most of the knights were nice people there had been a few of them who had kept an eye on him when they thought he wasn't looking after he'd revealed he was a mage-squire.

"Well I can conjure and control up to about my body weight in water, create a barrier of djed around something no bigger that myself to protect it from magic, enhance the strength in one of my limbs and discover stuff about people or objects by reading their auras. Unfortunately it still takes me a bit time and focus to cast a spell, so it's kind of unreliable in combat."

He flicked his eyes away from the tree to look a Sam for a moment, trying to gauge what he though of the subject. "What do you think of magic? Most people tend to be uncomfortable around magicians, and to be honest I can't say I blame them."

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel raised an eyebrow in surprise as the younger man rattled off the list of magical abilities he had. He knew a few knights that dabbled in a single area of magic, and mage-knights were required to know at least two, but Michael had experience with four distinct disciplines. The knight was impressed, once the squire had become proficient with them he would be a powerful addition to the knighthood. Samuel was particularly interested when the squire mentioned being able to protect objects from magic, the knight was all too aware that the most powerful mages would be able to remove him with merely a gesture. A way to combat that would be incredible helpful.

When he was asked the next question, Samuel drew Dan to a halt and turned to face the squire. The lad seemed nervous, scared of what the knight might say. Samuel smiled reassuringly, his stern expression swept away. He understood why Michael was so tentative. Magic was, rightly, feared in the city, and suspicion fell upon anyone who openly practised the art.

“Magic is a tool, like a sword or a bow.” Samuel said, “It has more capability for harm than a simple weapon, true, but what makes it really dangerous is when it's wielded by those who are evil. I've been taught by mage-knights, I've fought alongside them, and I have them as friends. So the fact that you're a mage is far less important than what you do with your abilities. That's what's really important.”

Once he'd finishing speaking, the knight wheeled his Tiaden round and pushed the warhorse into a trot once again. It wasn't long after that Samuel spotted some movement in the trees up ahead of them. Dismounting, the knight silently motioned for the squire to do the same. However, the noise of the horses had clearly alerted the Yukmen by the side of the road because a group of seven burst from the trees around 100 feet away and charged the pair down.

“Oh shyke,” Samuel swore. “This is not good. I guess it's time to see how you handle yourself lad. Stick near to me and give me a shout if you need my help. I'll try and keep an eye on you.” The knight drew his blade and swung his shield down off his back. He slammed the hilt of his blade against the front of his shield and prepared himself to meet the charge.

Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.

[Michael Kyber]

He was wrong to have been worried. Samuel made a point of making it clear that he wasn't worried about magic itself so much as the one wielding it, which helped a lot in allaying Michael's fears. He'd thought Samuel was a nice guy, and now that he had confirmation of it he felt a bit silly for doubting him in the first place. As the knight spurred on his horse again and continued down the road Michael smiled to himself and silently followed on after him.

Before too long movement by the side of the road caught the pairs attention, and from afar what Michael could see what seemed to be a small group of dirty naked people. Samuel silently motioned for him to dismount, which he did, but the movement caught the people's attention, and as they began to charge at them Michael noticed the veins of dirt and embedded rocks and realized that these weren't people at all. So these were the monsters everybody said roamed the wilds; the Yukmen. He'd heard the stories about them before, but they hadn't prepared him for how human they really looked. He'd always pictured them as more like shambling corpses, but these monsters monsters had a warped but undeniably human vibe to them, as if they'd come close to gaining humanity but had fallen short somewhere along the way. The prospect of cutting them down felt eerily similar to the idea of killing a person.

Michael readied himself into a fighting stance as the Yukmen drew closer, keeping his glaive pointed towards them like a spear and his legs braced to hold against their charge. He forced his djed to flow out of his right hand and built up a handful of res within it, then shot it forward towards the closest Yukman and willed it to change into water. The water bolt struck the Yukman in he face like a hard slap and knocked it off it's feet; not enough to keep him down, but enough to break its charge.

He then grasped his glaive again as the rest of the Yukman fell upon them, gravely hands outstretched as they tried to claw at the two of them. Keeping out of reach of heir arms with the length of his weapon Michael stabbed back at them, keeping them from getting close to him.

[Samuel Longwell]

The group of monsters closed the distance to the two men fast, loping over the ground much quicker than would be expected of creatures of their size. The tallest among them stood around five feet, but their legs propelled them forward much faster than an average human could run. Two of the Yukmen were further forward than their brethren, so Samuel stepped forward to engage them. The knight knew that disabling a pair of the enemies before the rest of the creatures arrived would significantly improve the chance that knight and squire would survive this encounter.

A flash of colour from beside him drew the knight's attention. A sphere of water had flown from Michael's outstretched hand and knocked over the closest Yukman, hopefully it would be a while before the monster regained its footing. Seizing the opportunity, the knight took several steps forward to meet the lone frontrunner of the pack. Driving his blade forward, he stabbed the sword deep into the chest of the Yukman. Samuel tried to pull his blade free, but it had stuck fast in the torso of his fallen foe. The other Yukmen were nearly upon him, he needed to get his sword free soon otherwise he was going to be in serious trouble. Placing his armoured boot on the corpse of the Yukman, the knight wrenched with all of his strength. The sword came free, just as the other monsters arrived.

The next Yukman to arrive struck Samuel hard, unbalancing him and sending him stumbling back. The monster reached out with stone encrusted hands, seeking to take hold of the the knight. Regaining his footing, Samuel swung blindly with his shield to give himself some room. The metal made heavy contact with the creature's face, driving the Yukman to the ground. The knight pressed home the advantage, ducking under the outstretched arm of a new foe to drive his sword into the neck of the fallen monster. Two down, five to go.

As Samuel finished off the grounded Yukman, the one he had avoided grabbed him from behind. Both arms wrapped around the knight in a bearhug, seeking to crush the life from his body. Samuel's armour bore the brunt of the pressure, but the knight had not managed to keep hold of his sword when he was grabbed. A second Yukman approached from the front, and swung a fist at the knight's face. Samuel managed to pull his shield up in time to deflect the blow, then reached desperately for the dagger at his belt. His armour was doing a good job of protecting him so far, but if the beasts managed to rip it off then he would become incredibly vulnerable very quickly.

Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.

[Michael Kyber]

As the Yukmen crashed down upon them an intense feeling of panic rose up within Michael. His muscles felt frozen and sluggish, his mouth went dry and pulsed as if his heart was inside it, and his mind couldn't think of anything besides the savage details of the Yukmen in front of him. The primal desires to fight back and run away tore him apart from the inside, drowning out his ability to plan and reason. This was a life or death situation, and the terror of that fact had a firm grip on him.

Besides him Samuel went on the offensive, taking out one of the Yukmen with a stab to the chest right off the bat and then knocking another to the ground and beheading it. Acting with clarity in battle was the sign of a true soldier; it showed that experience had taught the mind to continue functioning properly in moments like this. However the situation took a turn for the worse as one of the Yukmen grabbed Ser Longwell from behind whilst another pounded away at his shield, practically trapping the knight between them.

Intending to assist with another water bolt Michael tried to pool up another handful of Res in his hand, however his mind was too shaken up by the conflict to concentrate and so the Res he secreted slipped out of his grasp. It was no good, he couldn't focus properly on his spell when every instinct in his head shouted at him to give his full attention to the monsters trying to kill him. Thazz had told him that the secret to being a good magician was to stay cool, but he couldn't keep his cool with the knowledge that any second now could be his last. Panic tightened its grip on him as he realised that Samuel needed his help right now and he was failing him.

In that moment the instinct to fight took over, and without really thinking about it Michael blindly charged at the Yukman grabbing Samuel from behind with a yell, pointing his glaive straight towards it. The glaive pierced straight through its back and out of its stomach, glancing off the back of Sam's armor because of the sideways angle Michael had charged from, and moments later Michael himself collided with the Yukman, sending the two of them crashing down to the ground.

Disturbingly enough though the Yukman wasn't dead. Though it was clearly in a lot of pain and sure to die soon it kept snarling in feral rage, and clawed at Michael with renewed fury. One of its attempts connected, and dirty long fingernails tore five parallel gashes across the right side of Michael's neck, each deep enough to draw blood. Michael howled in pain and desperately kicked out, hitting the Yukman twice in the face with his armored boots with enough force to break its nose and daze it, and as the monster reeled from the blows Michael scrambled to draw his dagger from his belt and plunged it into the Yukman's neck. He watched in horrified shock as blood pooled up in the Yukman's mouth and, with an all to human-like expression, the light left the Yukman's eyes and the creature fell still.

Had he been somewhere safer Michael would most likely have remained frozen in shock at this point, however as it was the vicious cried of the Yukmen around him reminded his brain that he was still in danger, and the instinct to fight for his survival tore his focus away from the grizzly picture and back to the world around him. Everything seemed muted and distorted, like he was viewing it through a window, but even so he was able to make out another Yukman bearing down on him. The creature was close enough to stop him from being able to get back up and his glaive was still trapped in the stomach of a dead Yukman, so there was nothing Michael could do but raise his guard as the creature fell on top of him, trying to pin him and bite down into his neck.