[Syliras Location] Windmount Stables

by **Gossamer** on July 30th, 2009, 5:39 pm

Services

Breed List
Avanthalian Sleigh Horse – 200 gm
Colorsplash – 100 gm
Eyktolian Desertbred – 150 gm
Firemane – 250 gm
Frostmarch – 150 gm
Gildling – 100 gm
Kavinka Paintedmount – 80 gm
Leopardbred – 100 gm
Mountain Pony – 50 gm
Nightwalker – 500 gm
Ravok Bloodbane (Non-purebred) – 300 gm
Sungold – 500 gm
Tiaden Warhorse – 300 gm
Tidal Pony – 50 gm
Windrunner – 300 gm
Zavian – 100 gm
*Some animals may be limited in availability. Inquire within.

Tack
Barding 20 gm – 2,500 gm
Blanket & Hood – 8 gm
Saddle – 10 gm
Bit & Bridle – 2 gm
Saddlebags - 5 gm
Halter & Lead – 1 sm

Feed and Board
Feed (10lb bag) - 5 cm
Hay (per bale) – 1 sm
Stabling (Per Day) – 5 sm

Vehicles & Gear
Carriage (2 Horse) – 1,500 gm
Chariot (light) – 40 gm
Wagon – 35 gm
Cart – 15 gm
Plow – 5 gm
Harness – 2 gm

Other Services
Lessons (reg. citizens & visitors) - 10gm/bell

*Help Wanted - Training included

Located in the heart of Syliras, Windmount Stables is one of the original fixtures that used to be part of the internal courtyard of Stormhold Castle. When the stable's business grew too large for the confines of Stormhold, the original owner, Cyrus Windmount - a reknown Syliran Knight - moved it to a new ten acre facility in the heart of Syliras right up against the castle walls. Now sprawling, the facility is a spot of green pasture within the safety of the city. The place itself is made of up three main barns. The first barn holds the stables prize breeding stallions. The second holds breeding mares and their foals, while a third houses horses that are 'finished' or for sale. WIndmount also occasionally has more unique mounts or exotics for sale, and they are housed in separate accommodations (a quarantine barn) off in one far corner of the facility. There is one large arena that is large enough to house jousting events, two smaller workout arenas, a large events pasture, and grazing for the horses. Recently, Conor Windmount (prior to his death) had a large indoor arena constructed as well. On a small rise overlooking the facility, a stone cottage seems to sprout out of the green landscape, the traditional home of the Windmount family.

The facility also has a simple training aspect to it. A person can learn to ride, drive, or even breed horses. Prices fluctuate according to who is available to train and the services desired. Do not hesitate to ask Serena or one of the stablehands.

NPCs :

by **Jecon** on March 21st, 2010, 11:58 pm

10th of Spring, 510 AV

Late in the day, Jecon walks into the stables leading a black Eyktolian Desertbred. Both rider and horse look weary and saddle sore.
Jecon calls out, "Hello, is anyone here?"

Out of a barn comes Serena, "Aye, someone is, what do you want?"

"I'm looking for a place to stable my horse and work, I hear you have both."

"That I do, Stabling is 5 sm a day, 1 sm for per bale of hay, and 5 gm for a ten pound bay of feed. I need help so you could start as soon as you are able."

"Alright, here is 7 gm, enough to stable Elnartin for two weeks and here is 3 sm for hay. And I will begin work right now."

"Then I'll take Elnartin, and you can get to work cleaning some stalls, the rakes are over there, and the buckets are over there."

Jecon is about to head out when he askes, "I was wondering if I could sleep in the stall with Elnartin?"

Serena hesitates for a second, then says, "I suppose it will be okay."

Jecon thanks her, pats Elnartin on the flank, and then heads to work.

by **Jecon** on April 7th, 2010, 3:54 pm

30th day of Spring, 510 AV

Two weeks later, Jecon walks into Serena's office, "Excuse me, may I have a word with you?"

Serena looks up from what she is doing, "Yes, you may," she motions to a seat, "sit down, what is it you wanted to talk about?"

Jecon seats himself and says, "I was planning to go on a hunting trip, and I was wonder if would be okay for me to leave for a few days to go on this trip?"

Serena ponders this, "how long would you be gone?"

"Four or five days, less if I get lucky."

"I am inclined to permit it, travel safe and good luck." She reaches into the desk in front of her and pulls out a purse, "Here is what you've made since you started working here," she hands the purse to Jecon and goes back to her work.

Jecon thanks her, walks out, and heads to the stall where Elnartin is stabled, with 80 Gold Mizas in his hand and a weekend of hunting ahead of him.

by **Thorn Blackwood** on April 9th, 2010, 11:59 pm

I walked into the barn and scrunched my nose at the smell of manure. "Haha. You grow used to the smell the longer you stay here . I'm Serena the stable master what can I do for you?"

"My name is Thorn. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am looking for a riding horse."

"Do you have any ideas what kind you would like?"

"No I'm not really that experienced in riding. I also don't know all the types of horses.

"Hmm..I also have a special horse I've been trying to sell. You look like the kind of person that will give her what she needs. Love, care, and friendship. She is a Sungold. I know Sungolds are extremely expensive but this one is 350gm because of how long i've had her. She includes tack, blanket, hood, lead, bridle, saddle, saddlebags, halter, and reins. I would like you to try her out even if she's not in your price range."

"The only problem with her is that she is a mature Sungold and may not bond with you. She doesn't let anybody except me in her stall. Other then that she is one of the most gentle horses here."

We then reached the indoor arena. "Here i'll give you a boost dear." She put her hands out and i stepped on them and onto the horse. The horse side stepped and then was still.

"Umm..Should I try walking her around?" I asked a little confused because she was not acting as I had thought she would.

"G-go ahead." She watched in amazement as I rode her around the arena.
As I came to the other side of the arena I pushed her into a trot. For a few moments it was going good. And then I slipped. I hit the ground hard.

"Ugh.." I moaned standing up. The horse had turned around and come back while I was standing up. She now was nudging my arm. Almost as if she was saying sorry. I looked at her and saw sincere sadness in her eyes for hurting me. It made me love her.

Serena ran over quickly. "Are you okay?" She tried to grab the horses halter which she had left on and the horse sidestepped. She tried again and it trotted away. "She will only trust you now."

"I'm okay. Can I have her then? If she only trusts me?" I asked excitedly the fall completely behind me. I grabbed my purse and realized I had enough for the horse but I wouldn't have enough to last me long after that. The look on my face must have told her I didn't have enough money to survive if I got her.

"A few of my stablehands are away for a while and maybe you could work for me until the money is payed off. Unless you have other plans?"

"Yes please! I would love to help out. I know how to muck stalls and I'm sure that I can do the other work to! Would I be able to begin today?"

"Sure you can. After you put her away and you can muck as many stalls as possible before night time. We wake up at sunrise and go to sleep at sunset. You have about 3hours of work time left today. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Can I sleep in her stall?"

"Sure. Goodbye Thorn."

"Goodbye Serena."

by **Kamrynn Sleightyr** on June 5th, 2010, 12:02 am

SUMMER 1st, 510 AV

Kamrynn entered the stables in his full ensemble of plated mail, a rarity for him. He was nervous, and he wanted ever bit of protection he could muster.

He was a knight and he was scared of horses. It was a bad combination to say the least. Sure, he'd ridden them before, but they were always the smallest creatures he could find, and he did it as infrequently as possible. He had avoided horse ownership as a fully fledged knight to the absolute limit; now his job was on the line and he had no other choice but to grit his teeth and buy a horse. Ideally the smallest one here.

A monster of a draft horse snorted, and Kamrynn nearly jumped out of his armor. Enough of this! He thought to himself, he needed help. "Hello!" He called out. "Could I get some help? I'm here to see a man about a horse..."

A woman coughed, stepping from inside a stall. She shut the door gently behind her. "Kamrynn, I presume? I was told by your captain that I should expect you today. I've got most of the Tiaden's lined up for you to take a look at." She gestured to the stalls behind her.

The color drained from Kamrynn's face as he looked at the creatures -they towered over him, standing 19 hands tall at the shoulders. "A-Actually," Kamrynn stuttered. "I was hoping to look at some of your smaller horses. Maybe the tidal ponies?"

Serena laughed. "You're kidding, right?" But she could see he wasn't. "Oh dear, your captain mentioned that you were skidish around horses, but I didn't realize you were an outright coward!"

Kamrynn bit his tongue, and his cheeks burned brightly.

"Well, the pony is something more suited for a child to ride. Knights ride Tiadens. I can let you look at the other horses, but..." She trailed off, as she noticed a horse had caught Kamrynn's eye.

It was a snowy white Frostmarch, a horse native to Avanthal. It was big for a Frostmarch, and suitable in size for Kamrynn to ride with his armor. "My mother had a horse like this." The knight said quietly, walking over to the horse and reaching out to pet its nose. The horse nuzzled his hand playfully.

"Ah, you're Vanthan, aren't you." Serena said knowingly. "Well, I suppose that would make it alright for you to own a Vanthan horse, then, even if you are a Knight. This horse will be able to handle you and your gear easily enough, but she's such a sweetheart, I really can't recommend her as a warhorse."

"What's her name?" Kamrynn asked.

"Raine." Serena replied. "Would you care to ride her?"

Kamrynn nodded; for the first time in his life he didn't feel nervous around a creature almost ten times his weight. In fact, Raine even seemed to kneel a bit as he struggled into the saddle.

Riding was a breeze, the horse followed his erratic instructions and poor riding ability as if she could read his mind. Kamrynn broke into a smile, he still felt uneasy, but he had to admit to himself that he was having fun.

"This is the one!" He shouted after a lengthy ride, he was eager to break the horse into a gallop outside of the city. "I'll buy her!"

Serena laughed, happy to see the situation resolved. "Alright kid, I'll have the Mizahs taken out of your account with the Knights for the horse and her gear. Now get out of here, you and Raine need some exercise!"

The knight nodded happily, thanked Serena for her help, then wheeled his horse around and spurred Raine towards the gates at a gallop. That's more like it! A knight in shining armor, riding his shimmering white horse!

He tumbled out of his saddle before he had made it out of the stables.

FrostMarch - 125gm
Saddle – 10 gm
Bit & Bridle – 2 gm
Saddlebags - 5 gm
Halter & Lead – 1 sm

by **Sama'el Sunsinger** on June 7th, 2010, 8:11 pm

1st Summer, 510 A.V.

The time had come, he thought, to freelance less and work more. Spring had been a lean season for all that the new growth had saved him money on horse feed since Horse was more than happy to crop tender new shoots of grass and other foliage if Sam didn't keep him busy elsewhere. But if he was going to sit in Syliras and wait for this fate he felt in his gut, then he was going to have to make ends meet. This would likely mean less time to spend in the wild, but he would just go hunting and trapping and gathering when he had days off. This would limit how far he could travel, but so be it.

The time had come, he thought, to settle down, at least for the time being.

He waited for the proprietor of the Windmount Stables to call him into her office to talk. She would likely assume he was back for her to tell him if anyone was seeking riding lessons, or horse care, or... if the gods were truly smiling on him, someone wanted his help breeding and training horses.

She was always kind enough to take a few moments for him rather than poke fun at his illiteracy. She was, he thought, good people.

by **Dusk** on June 10th, 2010, 12:21 am

Samael

Windmount Stables was one of the few places outside the walls of Stormhold Castle, though it was nestled right up against it. The Stallion's Barn actually shared a wall with the Castle, though the other two stables were free-standing. Serena's office was a simple room located at the end of the Stallion's Barn closest to the castle's entrance, though it was more like a library than anything else. Shelves were filled with ledgers detailing the breeding lines for the Syliran mounts provided to the Knights, traceable all the way back to the mares ridden by the Dyre brothers.

The young man would likely stand outside Serena's office for quite a few minutes before it occured to him to see if she was even in there - which she wasn't. She so rarely was. Serena wasn't an office type of person. No, he would have to wander the stables, perhaps ask a stablehand or two if they'd seen her, before he'd finally be sent over to the Mare's Stables. There was a bustle of activity around one of the stalls, two or three stablehands frantically running into the stall with buckets of water or out with what looked like bloodied rags. If he approached, he'd find Serena standing behind one of the mares, drenched in sweat and bloodied up to her elbows, trying desperately to save both mare and foal as the colt breeched.

by **Sama'el Sunsinger** on June 10th, 2010, 6:03 pm

Once he realized Serena was not in her office, he wandered out to see what she was about. Quickly enough, he learned from other stable workers that she was helping with a difficult foaling, and he hurried to the Mare's Stables to see if he might help. The sight of bloodied rags leaving the barn didn't faze him; a difficult foaling was a dangerous thing.

"Breech," the rag-carrying man informed him.

Sam nodded back and slipped into the barn. It was difficult to assess the situation at first, pushing past a few onlookers. He dropped to one knee in the clean straw, out of the way, but within Serena's line of sight.

"May I assist?" he asked simply.

If not, he would sit back and watch her work, observing her process, but he could help, even if only to whisper to the mare in Pavi to help her through the breech birth.

by **Dusk** on June 15th, 2010, 8:24 pm

Samael

Serena glanced over her shoulder at the question, giving a snort of admonishment. "What do you think?" she chuckled, tilting her head for him to come help. "Here, Sam, stick a hand in there and see if you can shove the ass away. It's trying to twist to the right, and if it does we'll get tail instead of front hooves, and I don't want to lose this mare."

She scooted just a bit, still with one arm elbow-deep, to allow him to step up beside her. "I've got the front hooves, but I need to keep them together. Get in there and shove him around, hmm?"

by **Sama'el Sunsinger** on June 15th, 2010, 9:47 pm

He nodded with a perfunctory smile. Situations like this made him change personalities, leaving behind remnants of childlike, ebullient Sam, in order to take care of serious business. In a moment, he was standing beside her, sleeve rolled up to his shoulder, and a soothing hand on the mare's rump as he delved in. His eyelids drooped as he tried to ignore one sense in order to visualize what he was feeling within the horse's womb.

He noted Serena's hand, the foal's hooves, and there. Then he looked to Serena and nodded, just before putting pressure on the foal's hindquarters, turning it around within so that Serena could pull it out without putting undue stress on its spine.

Perhaps he pushed a little too hard. Perhaps it was just bad luck. The foal thrashed weakly at the added intrusion, making its dam groan in pain.

"Sorry," he said quietly. "It's been a little while."

But gentle or not, it seemed he had done his part, so he pulled out his hand to make room in the birth canal for the foal.

Location [Syliras Location] Windmount Stables