Solo Where the shadows lie VIII

[Cleon]

4th of Summer, 522 AV

He sat back a little in response to that, thinking for a chime before he responded. Water was of course the first thing on his mind, their supplies were running low and they would need to top those off while the fire was still going. He imagined there was a process for breaking down camp as well, possibly starting with retrieving their food and getting their bags packed the right way after they had retrieved all of their items from around the campsite. Then of course there was navigating their way back to Syka where he could try to use the lay of the land and his mark in order to get them back. He just needed to maintain a clear head and focus on what needed to be done.

“I suppose we ought to go about securing some water first for the trip back, more than what we think we’d need ideally, and while that is occurring another one of us could set about breaking down the camp so we are ready to go before Syna starts beating down upon us. On our way back to Syka we can keep our eyes out for foraging as well to make sure we have plenty of resources in case the unexpected happens along the way.” Cleon explained to Uta who was already nodding. “Very good, how about you and Indigo go fetch some water now, and I’ll keep an eye on these birds while breaking down our camp. That way we are ready to go as soon as the birds are ready to eat and the water ready to drink. Remember, time management is crucial in this sort of situation, and while we are eating we can spend that time checking our tools and supplies for defects.” Uta explained and Cleon nodded getting up to retrieve his iron pot. Then he followed Indigo a short ways into the jungle in only a slightly uncomfortable silence that lasted up until they reached a small stream bed. Indigo looked up from the stream to meet his eyes and arched an eyebrow at him.

“Do you know how to clean water?” Indigo asked. Cleon nodded. “Yes, you boil it right?” Indigo looked away, down at something in her hand. “Yes, you boil the petch out of it but I’m thinking we’ll want to save time this morning so I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I had this made to purify water in a pinch. It needs to be submerged in the water for a full chime but it will render it drinkable after that.” Indigo said, hesitating a moment as she produced a small golden spiral in the center of her palm. “Here, I want you to have it. It will go well with your charm bracelet anyways and it might save your life one day.” Indigo said, handing the small spiral over which Cleon took gently. “I well… I don’t know what to say. Thank you Indigo. I won’t forget this and if there is anything I can do for your in the future just let me know and…” Indigo held up her hand and Cleon abruptly stopped talking, frozen for a moment until Indigo cracked a smile.

WC - 539

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[Cleon]

Cleon couldn’t help but to chuckle as then Indigo gave him a strange look before her face became once more a mask of indifference and she stooped down to help him gather water in his iron pot.

The new charm fit perfectly on his wrist, snapping on seamlessly alongside the rest as he marveled at this latest addition. He was genuinely surprised and a little overwhelmed with Indigo’s gift, much as he had been with Uta’s because a part of him, a deep part of him at this point still had a hard to shake suspicion of magic and yet the other side of him, the surface knew that this was a small community and this was just how they operated. Because it was small there were different rules here, and because it wasn’t Sunberth, everyone was held accountable for their actions. If anyone meant him any harm, they wouldn’t do it through a gift that could be easily traced back to them, of that he was completely sure, and magical gifts had to be fairly easy to trace back to the gifter given their particular uniqueness.

Once the pot was full of water, Cleon dipped the charm in as asked, and watched slightly amused as the charm seemed to pulse with a faint blue light for about a chime before the light dissipated, and he could remove the charm. They decided to fill all of their waterskins right then and there, and then fill up the pot again to bring back to camp for a little bit of casual washing up before they headed out that morning. Cleon insisted on going last, only really wanting to wash his face, hands and feet but giving the rest of his body a short little scrub at the women’s insistence. By the time they had all cleaned up, the food was ready and with the camp dismantled there wasn’t much left to do but eat and then get going.

Even though they were garnered under suspicious circumstances, the pigeons tasted great, and Cleon deeply enjoyed the camaraderie around the fire as he picked apart his bird. Afterward he washed his greasy fingers, and sat about quickly checking his tools for wear. His hatchet was thankfully still it one piece thought it was slightly beat to shite near the wedge, something he would have to get retooled at the community forge if Antelokes was available. His machete likewise could use the touch of a sharpening stone, and perhaps his survival knife too, although he hadn’t really used that much on his trip. When the equipment in his bag was more or less in order, he got his things together on his back and joined the other too in covering up the fire pit before they decided what to do next. Cleon looked up at the sky, anticipating what was to come, and despite himself, reached out to his mark which told him where the sea was in relation to them. Still he tried to put that together with what he was seeing with his own eyes to better help him understand how to navigate on his own.

WC - 524

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[Cleon]

“Well it looks like we are all ready to go. Are you ready to lead us Cleon?” Uta asked. Cleon nodded hesitantly, then pointed in the direction he felt the sea. “I can feel the sea closest that way so I have to figure that is the direction we should go. I’ve also suspect we will catch a glimpse of Syna rising from that direction if we come across a break in the canopy. Without this mark I would follow that stream we’ve been using to refill our waterskins and I would be able to find our way back that way as well, eventually. I’m afraid I’m not so good at making a mental map just yet though, so I’ll have to keep more or less with these directions.” Cleon explained, reasoning as he went. Neither woman complained or commented on his explanation, simply nodded and followed him along when he started walking.

Cleon was a little uncomfortable about leading the expedition and perhaps Indigo noticed the hesitancy in his steps because before long she was striding along side him where the jungle permitted which lent a measure of confidence to his strides. After all that they had been through, Cleon was starting to feel rather good about how the expedition had went even though he’d had more than his fair share of mistakes in trying to learn how to adapt to the environment. He almost felt good enough to forget about that mornings conversation, but there was no such luck on that account, not really as those glowing purple eyes came back to him. Cleon swallowed and kept moving.

They stopped for a break by a papaya tree which looked at first to Cleon like a thick woody stem with yellowish orange fruit hanging heavily off of its green branches. Leaving Cleon to do the honors, Cleon bent the thick woody stem of a trunk until he could reach far enough to knock off a couple of the fruits which Indigo and Uta caught before he released the tree to flex back up right. “One of the most interesting things about the jungle is the sheer diversity of plant life in a square foot area, however have you noticed anything different about the section of jungle around Syka in comparison to what you have read in that book of yours Cleon?” Uta asked as she split apart the ripe fruit to share amongst themselves. Cleon took a slice and chewed on that for a moment as he considered what she had said, and recalled the grove he had been shown. “Well, it seems like a lot of the plants around Syka have been grown intentionally which would explain why we have such a ready selection of fruit. At first I considered it might have been grown by the settlement, but from what I’ve gathered so far there used to be an ancient city here called Pavena. I don’t know much about it, but I think I’ve been in their old library and me and Tazrae stumbled across their Djed ship port last season.”

WC - 514

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[Cleon]

Uta nodded. “Yes, you are completely right. A lot of the plants were already growing when we came here which made growing our settlement a lot easier than we initially anticipated. The presence of so many fruiting plants, and ones with medicinal properties in such a tightly confined area has been extremely beneficial and was likely the product of this older civilization living for as long as it did on the edge of the jungle. We are always finding out new things about them like the Djed ship port that our Verusk allies have found very interesting, so thats also possibly a side benefit of trying to get more rangers out in the wilderness exploring.” Uta explained carefully as they went along. Cleon listened along, nodding occasionally as he more or less tried to keep their direction straight through the jungle. He had to check his mark several times because maintaining the same direction in the jungle was surprisingly difficult with how overgrown it was. He had to make liberal use of his machete, hacking away at dense clumps of foliage to make a path that they could all reasonably follow. His new favorite grip favored folding his fingers along the underside of the handle with his thumb curled over top and making all of his swings downward at an angle. He remembered somewhat that him and Tazrae had discussed this once so he kept his swings short and sweet to avoid getting tangled up, or not making a complete strike.

It had a way of reminding him rather clearly that he definitely needed to get his tools extensively checked up on before he went out again as he realized just how petched he would be without them. Of course Uta had shown him how to chip tools out of stones and wrap them in vines but that was extremely labor intensive and he would save a lot more time and effort if he just made sure to take good care of his tools. Eventually, he accidentally stumbled upon part of the path they had taken the previous afternoon, or someones path at least as he saw the cut underbrush and disturbed ground all around him. He looked back to favor Uta and Indigo with a smile as he picked up the pace and within a few chimes they were more or less back at Syka. On the cobblestone path they decided to part ways, and Cleon gave them both a hearty hug which he was mildly amused that Indigo accepted before he promised to visit again soon and set off on his way to change clothes at the Protea before he had to get to work. All in all, he was feeling more fulfilled than he had in a long time, and he was excited for the opportunity to go out again. Hopefully alongside the rangers.

WC - 477

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[Cleon]

Grade Award!

Cleon:

Skills:

Logic + 1, Observation + 3, Planning + 2, Socialization + 1, Weapon (Machete) + 1, WS + 2

Lores:

WS: Keeping on top of water supplies
WS: Finding a potable water source
WS: How to treat water for drinking
Spiral Charm: Able to purify water when submerged for 1 chime
Indigo: Gifted Cleon a spiral charm
Indigo: Cleon owes her a huge favor now
WS: Preparing equipment for the trip back to camp
WS: Keeping tab on the state of different pieces of equipment
WS: Obtaining directions by using Syna’s light
WS: Orienting based on where the sea is
WS: Why Syka has a profusion of useful plants
WS: The jungle is extremely diverse with plant life
WS: Using a machete to clear vegetation
WS: Finding the way back to Syka using Oceanus

Feel free to pm me with questions or concerns about your grade, and don’t forget to edit your grade request!