We Put The ''Merc" in Merchants... [Mercenary Travel Thread]

by **Jason Luntilla** on January 24th, 2011, 3:11 am

OOCSorry I have a huge test on Wednesday, so I was a little slow with this one

Jason had never had much of a problem with the cold, he worked with it far more than most people seeing as how that was part of him now. The riding though, he was not as accustomed to traveling as the rest of them, this caused him a distinct problem in the form of exhaustion, he was wheezing lightly by the time they reached the clearing, and in all honesty would be glad to set up camp. He would learn to adjust to the traveling eventually but for now, he just wanted to sit down, and he got his chance.

Jason was told to kill anything that wasn’t one of them that came behind them, and that was something that he could do. So long as it wasn’t too strong. A bear might cause him some challenge and he knew that where they were that was a possibility, he took a deep breath embracing the cold air around him, knowing that beneath his feet was a veritable armory of ice and earth. It was cold, and that made him strong. He brushed off a patch of ground and sat down on top of the clear area, cross legged, knowing that this could be his chance to prove himself in a fight, he was not going to give that up, and if he had the chance he was going to take it. He slowly looked into himself, pulling on his very essence, a feeling that was simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating, he slowly breathed out the life taking Res. And shaped it into small discs thinning at the end, he could not just shoot balls at people, he was not a fiery man, he was calm cool and collected. Fire was not something that he ever grasped. He starts to spin the discs slowly, then faster. He needed blades to be able to fight. Blades of ice, but blades nonetheless. As he begins to focus on the world around him now, rotating his Res was not hard. He listens and watches, very, very carefully.

by **Caleb** on January 24th, 2011, 3:31 am

Caleb had been pleased that his brother had remembered to show up. It woulda been a lonely trip without him. Not to mention, a long walk since he had forgotten his horse. As it was though, Caleb was enthusiatisc about the trip. Sure he might have to fight, he was a mercenary now after all, but it was worth it having interesting compainions around him constantly. The one that interested him most was the isur. he had seen them before, however he had never had the chance to converse with one for any length of time and he wasnt going to miss the chance. As soon as they took off Caleb started positioning himself till he was riding next to the Isur, and he started asking questions. This was it, he was going to learn everything interesting about there leaderand nothing was going to stop him. Not unless he ordered Caleb to shut up, and even then he might not stop. No question was unasked, from 'have you traveled alot' to 'are you a virgin?'. Theese things Caleb asked, one after another, barely giving Ivan enough time to answer the question, before he asked the next.

And it was in this fashion that they traveled, at least untill it started to downpour. Even Caleb's high spirits couldnt keep up the barrage of questions, or his mood and he sank into a quiet thoughtfullness as he watched the landscape pass them by. As the day went on, he slowly fell back till he was riding next to Jason, taking comfort in the fact that he was suffering to. if he could take the weather, so could Caleb, and with that in mind Caleb continued examining everything. He whad been on a trip before, to Syliras, however he had been working constantly then uynlike now. Now he had all the time he could want, and even his own hyper-active mind was slowly starting to calm down in the dreary weather. Just as Caleb thought he'ed go mad in the weather, that Ivan spoke up and gave a more interesting command. To halt and take Coba's horse as she went and scouted out the cabin. He wished he had a more active role, but then, watching was safer after all.

Reaching out, Caleb took the reigns of Coba's horse, almost losing his seat on his own horse in the process. He managed to catch himself in time, however he berated himself for letting that happen in front of his new friends. Looking around to see if anyone had saw his near-tumble, he realised this was a serious matter and chewed his lip. He watched Coba slink up to the Cabin and sat wondering what would happen.

by **Kuujin** on January 24th, 2011, 3:58 am

As he sat in the snow, all but literally freezing his rear end off, Kuujin suddenly found a thick and warm-looking blanket being dropped in his lap. He studied it for a moment before looking up to see the woman who’d given it to him, a somewhat curious expression on his face. Although he wasn’t used to acts of kindness he certainly wasn’t going to push the blanket away – he already felt half frozen and they hadn’t even started their march. Wasting no time, he unfolded the blanket with his stiff fingers and draped it about his shoulders and pulled it tight about his large frame. It might not make him as warm as he would have been in his natural form, but it certainly helped – and then the frozen sleet came down.

After an hour or so, he really had no clue about how long it’d been, he simply could stand the cold and the frozen sleet any longer. Without a word of warning to anyone he stopped on the spot and flipped the catch on his already loose breeches and let them, along with his bulging bag full of Mizas fall to the ground, leaving hum nude save for the blanket. Jogging ahead, he puts a hand on Ivan’s shoulder to get his attention and holds his possessions out for him to pack away somewhere. Once relieved of his burden, a bright flash of yellow-green light surrounds Kuujin’s body. For a brief moment, his twisting and changing limbs can be seen before the light fades, leaving a very large grizzly bear standing where he had been. Then, as if nothing important had just happened, he continued his march with the others, only now lumbering on all fours and quite unbothered by the temperature and the sleet.

Much, much better.

As the hours and miles slipped by uneventfully he found a strange sort of contentedness in knowing he was moving forward, quite literally in this case. Moving forward towards fixing that ever nagging discontent feeling he felt every day. He hoped he’d understand and be rid of it it sooner, rather than later. Either way, at least he was doing something new, and that was good. Wasn’t it?

For the most part, his mind drifted and he ignored the people and the horses about him, until he noticed that they’d stopped and Ivan was barking out orders. He felt a twinge of annoyance, or something akin to it, at the way Ivan ordered them about. That was going to take some getting used to, but he had he’d agreed and was here. That was that. Upon hearing his own name called and his rather simple task, he pulled himself up to his two hind legs, bringing him to his full towering height, and moved beside Ivan, standing behind Coba with a slight growl, ready to take care of whatever was inside the house.

by **Ataraxia** on January 24th, 2011, 9:24 pm

The hollow thud of a sloppy ball of ice and dirt impacting the house reverberated through the area, then replaced by the shrill sound of wind beating upon the traveler's bodies. Everyone waited in anticipation. Swords were drawn, fists clenched, even djed was readied... but after a moment, it seemed that no one was coming out. The stillness of the cabin became apparent, and the complete lack of any sentient life inside would be confirmed as the first man or woman stepped inside. Swords would be sheathed, breaths of relief would be exhaled. Jason would find that his preemptive drawing upon his djed was for naught, and would be forced to expend it uselessly.

All in all, it was actually quite cozy if a little run down. There was a hearth for a fire, a set of twin beds with blankets that smelled only slightly moldy, and a pantry that seemed to contain a few foodstuffs such as bags of rice and grain (though they would probably be highly suspect). The wooden walls were lacquered, and a massive woven rug took a commanding place in the middle of the room and obscured the well crafted hardwood beams that comprised the flooring. A brief examination of the exterior of the small cabin would reveal that it even included a small stable to shelter their animals, an added bonus. All in all, it seemed like a damned nice place for out in the middle of the woods. It was.

So nice, in fact, that the group would have trouble finding anything wrong with it. They would take their places amidst the room, occupying the beds and probably settling down for a meal if one could be created. The sky was darkening and night was upon them, signalling the need to sleep after the day's journey began to take it's toll and settle into their bodies. Unless this group of travelers were completely inept and didn't understand the need, a sentry would most likely be placed outside the cabin to watch for danger. Perhaps they would work in shifts, or perhaps one unlucky (or perhaps willing) member would take on this role by his or herself. Either way, this soul would find that in the dead of night the constant assault of freezing rain and ice, gusting winds and temperature surely nearing freezing were miserable. Very, very miserable.

The world was filled with noise, but as the majority of the group was inside the cabin most likely peacefully resting, something odd began to occur. Right about the time the lightning began to strike and the thunder began to boom, a strange new noise could be heard. It was almost entirely voided by the sound of wind and rain, and could be dismissed as a tired and miserably cold mind playing tricks on someone. It was the sound of digging. More accurately, it was the sound of the earth being moved, or displaced by something. An eerie sound, filled with scratching and crackling... and it became louder.

Loud enough to alert the sentry that this was not a mindgame, but there would be no time to alert the others. A brief flash of lightning illuminated the area around the cabin, just in time to see a silhouette emerging from the thickly wooded forest that circled it. It appeared to he a humanoid, but something was odd. As it stood with it's gaze locked upon the sentry, bits of dirt and small rocks would fall from it's body and sink into the mush of ice and dirt beneath it. Another flash of lightning would give the sentry enough time to note that this was no human, but a creature of rock and soil that seemed to mimic their shape.

The brief lightning also made it clear that it's intentions were not to make peace. An ear splitting cry erupted from the creature, shrill and high like the sound of metal screeching across stone. It charged forward, clumsily and beast like, with it's arms outstretched to take hold of it's victim and tear at their flesh. It was not a focused assault, and was likely doomed to failure. The relative ineffectiveness of the creature's assault was but a brief respite from that which became immediately obvious. The scratching, gnawing sounds hadn't gone away. They were in fact becoming louder, more chaotic... and closer.

And as the alarm was raised, these creatures began to rush the cabin in numbers far greater than the travelers own. From all sides, packs of three or four of the beasts, known as Yukmen, emerged. Their cry silenced the wind, overpowered the thunder, and reverberated in Ivan's mercenaries ears. They swarmed every window, every door... simply everywhere. As it stood, at least two dozen of these creatures had emerged.

And yet, the scratching sound of moving earth and their shrill cries was still growing louder.

Mod Note :

by **Ivan** on January 26th, 2011, 10:28 pm

Once the small house was inspected, Ivan took a lap around it. There was a stable, which he pointed out to the others. He took no part in securing the animals though, but only because he did not know how. The others had entered the cottage by the time Ivan had finished his inspection. It was not in as bad a shape as he though. He even managed to find long forgotten fire wood in a pile slightly away from where the stable was. He brought as much as he could inside in a single trip and leaned the split logs against the wall to dry out a bit.

Ivan found that this place had quite a few places to rest, and chose the one closest to the front door as his own. He stripped himself of his and kuujin’s packs, and set on his bed the hand axe and light hammer that rested on his belt. He opened his pack so that it would dry faster and to let Thunder be free from it. He still kept hold of his hammer though, as he spied a rectangular table with seven chairs. He took a seat at the head of the table and put his great hammer in front of him. The day was cold and tiring on him.

“ May as well get comfortable, friends. I am sure we will not be able to leave ‘till well after dawn. Caleb, start a fire if you would.” Ivan left off any orders for the rest. There was not much for them to do at some point. He took off his outer shirt, which was quite damp with snow, letting show his chain mail shirt under it. He ran the dryer parts of the shirt across his hammer, trying to remove the snow and wetness that clung to it. It was his most prized item, after all. Forged with isurian steel and imbued with the first level of Izentor, most common with things produced in Sultros, it was as much a gift from Izurdin as his left arm.

Darkness had finally taken over the land as the group settled, but the snow never stopped. It seemed tonight would be very cold and terrible to be without shelter. Unfortunatly for him, It was Ivan’s thinking that he should stand watch tonight, most likely awakening some other person later on to take his place. He had heard that his race had the best sight, so he would spend the night makeing sure they were not murdered in their sleep. The wilderness here was very similar to his mountains. Nothing was safe.

OOCSorry i was so late, i couldn't find a ride home till late in the evening. Pain hasn't responded yet but I've asked to have two or three consecutive post without moderation, so that we can be social. Also meaning for the next few post there will be a set posting order, if pain doesn't mind. Remember to check back to his last post once we get to know eachother a bit. Thanks!

by **Thunder** on January 30th, 2011, 3:22 am

Thunder looked around from inside the pack a bit before he jumped out. The cottage was quite homely, considering its location. The stone walls kept the snow out fairly well, and it was dry as well. The only problem was the wind, which came in through the windows, occasionally throwing in a drift of sleet.

"Someone should cover those windows," He said to the others, knowing it was illogical for him to be expected to do it. After saying this, Thunder grabbed on to the edge of the pack and flipped over, landing on his feet. Bending his knees a bit to absorb the shock, he stands back up and decides to do something worthwhile.

"Anyone mind if I practice a bit?" He asks to nobody in particular. "Guess not." He mumbles, smiling.

Unrolling the spiderweb silk Py-string from his wrist, he holds a two inch length of it between his hands, and begins to practice. Short thrusts forward could make a small deep cut, or a long shallow one, depending on the angle of the strike. Swiping from side to side could deepen the cut, and make new ones alongside the original. Couple these techniques with gymnastics, and you get a dance. Twirling to gain inertia, Thunder struck out and stabilized his turn, halting his movement and adding its momentum to the strike, ensuring a deeper cut in his imaginary foe. The same principle is applied to flips; jumping forward, pushing off of the ground with his fists, Thunder would strike down, contracting his shoulders, on the downward turn, to increase the amount of energy in the strike. This would ensure a deep cut. Afterwards, if the angle of the strike was just right, he could pull the string up and rip a chunk of muscle out.

He did all this in a corner, of course, so as not to disturb any of the other group members (Or accidentally cut them).

by **Caleb** on January 30th, 2011, 8:37 pm

Caleb was relieved that they had found a safe place to stay the night. He had quickly entered the stable and put his horse in there, making sure that his horse had food and water before entering the cabin. He looked around as he did so, amazed that such a place stood silent in the middle of the wilderness. Why was it abandoned? the thought flickered through his head, but was quickly suppressed by his joy that they wouldnt sleep in the cold. "start a fire" ivan had told him. Well he hoped ivan was ok with a controlled inferno, cause he didnt know how to do it the mundane way, and he wouldnt have even if he did.

He took a couple pieces of wood off the pile Ivan had brought in and tossed them into the hearth. He then closed his eye's and took a deep breath before pointing at the logs. A gas started to leak from his fingertip gathering into a ball that gradually grew bigger till it was the size of two of his fists put together. the ball then shot out at the logs and burst into flames, igniting the wood while at the same time drying them out rapidly from the intense heat. He stayed like that, pointing at the fire and keeping his magical fire burning untill he was sure the wood was dried out all the way and the fire would burn long after he stopped.

When he was done he looked around, wondering if he should bother with cooking or if the group eat dried travel food. Decideing he was to cold to cook properly he shrugged and moved over to sit with his back against a wall, looking at thunder practice. He had never seen a pycon fight before, but he hadnt expected them to fight with a string. That was unsusual to say the least. Deciding he should get to know the little man better he spoke up "Whats that your doing? it looks more like a dance then a fighting style, is that what your practicing? a dance?"

by **Coba** on January 31st, 2011, 8:37 pm

The silence was oppressive, dead.

It had become far too obvious that this place contained nothing, nothing more then a couple memories. Memories that didn't matter anymore. Kicking in the door for effect, she spared a glance around. It was nice. Beyond nice, for something standing alone a day's march from Syliras. Frowning, she collected her effects, including the blanket that had sheltered the, as she was very happy to find out, bear kelvic. The house was not something she was overly enthused about, being trapped in a small space with a bunch of stinking males hardly her idea of comfort. Sure, it was better then sleeping outside on a night like this, but still. Too many bodies, too little space. She was far happier to hear Ivan tell about the stables behind the house, grabbing the reins of her beast back to lead him around the house as it had been indicated. Once out of sight , she sniffed that blanket experimentally, worried that a) it would smell like a sweaty male, or more so curious, that it might b) smell like a bear. Her morbid curiosity was without reward.

The stable, in her opinion, was better use to her then the house. Lightly musty bales of straw were stacked against one wall, hay next to it. From the cursory examination, she could figure that it might have only been abandoned for a year or so, causing the foodstuffs to be not entirely eaten by decay. But that was not the way of hay and straw. They could keep for years. She pulled her gear of his back, slinging it into the alley and stood him in a comfortable box stall, releasing him to poke around while she busied herself fluffing up straw for him to lie on. Snatching a handful of straw from the floor, she began to rub him down, working the cold out of his coat and muscles, talking as conversationally as she was capable to him. He leaned into her ministrations and gave a rumbling sigh of content.

"Yeah, you deserve it," laughing at him. Pausing and rolling her own shoulders in a basically faulty attempt to work out the stiffness that accumulated in her own back. If only she had someone to rub her shoulders. Her horse expressed his discontent for her intermission in his pampering by subtly lifting his foot and setting it down on her own. Proceeding this he started to load his weight onto the foot. Yelping, she hammered his sides and pushed back on his flanks, eventually freeing her poor foot. She frowned for a moment, then laughed off his antics. Her toes throbbed, but not enough to truly be anger worthy. Finished this element of the basic horse care she knew, she walked over to the discarded packs and pulled out his rug, pushing the mass of material over his back so it could settle to cover his neck to rump. There could be nothing worse then a sick horse on this journey. Tossing him a suitable amount of hay before shutting the door, she concluded that she would have to boil down some snow once a fire got going inside.

Speaking of inside, she reluctantly slipped outside to cross back into the house, leaving her supplies and blanket in the stable. She would stay in the house as long as it took for the others to get drowsy, then either keep watch or go nestle within the straw. They were her employers, but that meant very little. The ice that had clung to her hair had melted in the stable as the horses radiated heat, leaving her hair soaked. It stiffened slightly in the cold of her crossing but quickly returned to water when she entered the cabin to the sight of evening preparations. So mundane. There was a fire going, which was good. However smoke laden the air was, the scent was not one of hot food. She sighed. She craved it, but it did would appear that the cook intended that they eat jerky. Not that it mattered. She suspected that there would be much more jerky in her future then she ever wanted to have even nightmares about. As an idea occurred to her, the corner of her mouth twitched with amusement of the notion. Walking into the centre of the room, she shook out her hair vigourously, spraying the immediate occupants with melt water. The fire popped and hissed under the assault, the sounds rather gratifying.

Taking some supper, she settled into a corner to observe while being out of the way, eyes fixed on the clay man, who, as best she could describe it, was dancing in the opposite corner. It was interesting, in it's way, but didn't strike her as particularly useful. She was still fascinated that something that small could be human, sort of anyway. This world was a dangerous place, and she didn't know how it would survive. Maybe it was indestructible. That was the only thing she could imagine that made it a race, in it's way. The isur and the others had similarly installed themselves, causing her worry that they would try to get cosy with each other. Life stories were bad enough, but if Jason started reading poetry, or someone started to sing ballads, she was going straight to the stable. As it was, she looked on, chewing with some difficulty the toughened road food, jaw working vigourously just to begin making it palatable.

Between intermissions of chomping, she addressed Ivan. "I'll cover sentry duty. Jointly, perhaps." Her fingers drummed on the floorboards on their own accord, tapping out a rapid rhythm consisting of four beats. Waiting, though she did not especially desire to take part, for someone to speak up, or do something. This was quickly becoming rather dull.

OOCYeah, don't even read the middle paragraphs. They're just. . . excess I'd been accumulating since Ataraxia posted. Sorry.

by **Jason Luntilla** on February 3rd, 2011, 11:03 pm

It was quiet, and that was boring, Jason had never fared well with the quiet and he had no intention of starting now, he walked over to the stable and put up his horse, scratching it under the chin. Walking over to the Kelvic and poked his side, “I’ve always wondered, do you feel anything when you change or is it as natural to you as well say breathing?” He will look the bear in the face with a curious look and ask a few more questions, “where are you from? What do you do all day anyway, did you ever really spend much Time in Syllaris? If so what were you doing? You do realize that until you answer I’m never going to stop talking right?” At this he will smirk and then realize that he just provoked a grizzly bear, and take a slight step back.

“So umm please don’t be angry with me, I was just trying to start conversation and get to know you, I have never actually met a Kelvic before and you seem interesting, and ummm I’m just going to sit down and stop talking now.” He will continue to follow the Kelvic.

After waiting patiently for answers for all of ten minutes Jason will begin to get bored again, this time having no plans whatsoever, he will walk outside, make a snowball, and heave it inside. “SNOWBALL FIGHT” can be heard easily as Jason yells and throws two more in. “Come on, if you all are going to be boring, I’m going to fix that problem, we may be out in the cold, but I’ll be damned if we can’t enjoy ourselves.” He will start heaving snow balls into the shack taking care not to hit the fire, and to hit anything else.

by **Jason Luntilla** on July 3rd, 2011, 10:33 pm

Jason went the rest of the trip to Ravok pretty much without any actual contact with the rest of the group, He ate his meals apart from them. talked with his brother some and taking care of his horse. The rest of the group left him to his own devices and he spent a lot of his time writing down different possible maneuvers for Reimancy. He does a lot of his writing in the snow, because his finger’s have no problem with the cold. He sketches out a couple of bodies and where he needs his Res when he converts it, or when he starts attracting it. Marking attraction with an arrow, and conversion with a plus, he designs one maneuver where he creates a thin layer of res around the body of someone, attracts a large amount of earth to this thin layer, then creates Ice from the Res to seal the collected earth. More often than not though he is either relaxing or reading.