Open A Smoldering Reunion (Ronan, Open)

[Miria]

Spring 50, 513 AV

Tonight it looked like Coolwater hold was to maintain The Smoldering Embrace and it was Miria's turn on the maintenance team. Dressing warmly Miria found herself wandering the dark maze as the day went on. True her part of the task was over but Miria would always spend time in the winding labyrinth.

It felt weird to say the least to be without her archery glove but given the tight occasional corners and that it was a recreational area... "A bow would be much too scary to suddenly see." Talking to no one in particular Miria simply settle with just being equipped with her trusty gladius while she made sure nothing was amiss. Besides it was more reassuring to have in her hand then her bow when her spirit wavered.

Perhaps would be a time to try some of the djed exercises she had been learning? Giving a bored sigh Miria once again tried to find her way through the maze. Granted that since she knew what the prize was she probably wouldn't get much if she happened to find the prize box but it was the journey that was the real treasure in Miria's eyes.

"That and I would like to get out of here sometime before daylight." Hanging back slightly Miria's spine quivered when the Coolwater thought she heard something behind her. Putting her hand on the hilt of her sword it was more out of comfort then anger. Opting to stay silent Miria tried to hide back into the scenery her green and brown attire helping her meld in and camouflage any unobservant eyes.

Breathing slowly Miria tried her hand at auristics. First was to look at the ground around her and then to take in random details that littered the background. Trying to concentrate she tried to direct that all encompassing life force around her eyes as she tried to find who was out there. What was it that she saw?

oocI'm writing in another thread where Miria learns her magics.

[Ronan Dugal]

Ronan was holding his nose, his fingers pressed against it. A combination of the cold in Avanthal and one of the badly lit walls of the maze had caused him an incredible amount of pain. Lucky there was no blood. Well, not that he could see it if there wasn't. A maze only open at night with no real light source to help you through it. Whoever invented this must have been quite the genius. And whoever went in it was quite the genius as well, Ronan thought as he rubbed his nose, trying to warm it up a little. Avanthal was always cold but at this time of night it was even worse. How had he gotten here anyway? Ronan's train of thought got interrupted by another wall of the maze as he bumped into it with his shoulder. At least it wasn't his nose again. In the dark of the maze, Ronan couldn't see anything. He had tried to take his mind of the lingering thoughts in it, tried to make them go away. But nothing had helped. Not even the Rancid Reindeer, which was starting to become his regular spot. The people were so Not Avanthalian there it was almost scary. Nobody knew him there, nobody cared and nobody asked question about the hooded stranger in the corner playing with his shuriken. Some of them had seen it in action, as Ronan practiced on the local dart board, usually later at night when people had left already. But the Rancid Reindeer hadn't worked today and Ronan had found himself wandering the night streets of Avanthal. It was so completely different from everything he knew about night wandering. The people he saw were not by definition thieves or cutthroats or whores, something that was a given in Syliras, at least where he came from. So, in order to lose his thoughts, Ronan had had the bright idea to lose himself in this beautiful maze. No light, no guide and not even a sure way out. Ronan just hoped that his 'stick to the right' trick would work. He had walked into several dead ends and a couple of hard surfaces. He stopped right in front of another wall, the little bit of starlight reflecting off of it just as he was about to hit it. Another dead end. Ronan turned around and back tracked. It seemed like he was alone here as there was no sound of people anywhere around him, which was good. He could use some alone time. He had been a little off for the past dozen days or so, probably longer. Things weren't really working out for him here. Ronan's thoughts were interrupted by a noise, somewhere ahead of him. His Syliran instincts kicked in and in a quick motion one of his shuriken was resting in his hand, between his two leather covered fingers. The archery gloves he had adopted as throwing gloves were quite useful for this. The little starlight reflected of the metal surface of the star shaped object in his hand. In a non stealthy attempt to discern the noise, Ronan snuck through the passage ahead. He didn't even realize for several moments that he was trying to see through the darkness that was yet another wall in front of him. The snow crunched under Ronan's boots as he continued on, trying to see ahead of himself to find the source of the noise. Perhaps it was some sort of creature, snuck in from the outside. Apparently the maze linked to the wilderness outside. At the end of the passage, Ronan looked left into darkness and then right into more darkness. Something touched his right leg, something low to the ground. In a panicked reflex, Ronan jumped forward and at the same time lashed the hand holding the shuriken back, towards the area where his leg had been just before. The shuriken hit the ground with hitting anything but Ronan was too busy trying to get away that he didn't notice. His fight or flight reflex told him to go right and with a majestic bang, Ronan ran head first into another solid piece of the wall of the maze. Dazed, Ronan staggered back for a step or two before his entire body toppled over backwards in the snow, hitting the ground with a muffled thud. His entire frame crushed the snow underneath, leaving a nice man sized imprint in the snow. The world spun around, or at least it felt that way, since Ronan couldn't really see much anyway. Whatever had touched his leg stayed away as Ronan blinked in and out of consciousness.

[Miria]

Miria could not tell if she was doing this right. Gazing off with a slight tint difference Miria could not tell if the maze before her was colored slightly or if that was of her doing. Focusing she tried to move her focus from the ground into the wall opposite of her. Unsure what it was she was trying to see Miria's head turned slightly at the sound of something awfully close. Trying to notice something that she normally wouldn't Miria's mind questioned the confusing commands she relayed to it.

So far her start at Auristics was painfully droll. The ground tells me it's ground, the walls tell me I cannot pass, what am I suppose to look at? Another cycling of the Archer's focus led her to see slight impressions on the ground itself. What was that? Quickly losing her focus on her djed Miria's eyes went over seeing a footprint in the snow. "I suppose that's a start." Switching trying to see the ground once more Miria tried to see slight tinges in the ground's aura.

Looking back Miria took a look at her footsteps before comparing it to the ones she was following. Hers were a slight red or orange while the ones before her were. Shifting slightly Miria tried to figure out the difference between the two for a chime before seeing what was so different. They were more of a yellowish-orange hue it seemed and the ground itself looked almost yellow from the way it's aura depicted itself. Opting not to make a yellow snow joke Miria pressed forward silently and slowly trying to see if she could manage to somehow find whoever left these footsteps before they noticed her.

The hunt was on it seemed! Traces of the snow started to get closer in hue to the ones she left behind her. Any moment now. Pausing slightly hearing something Miria tried to convince herself it was just like before. That spine tingling feeling was just because she was alone in a dark maze. A completely normal reaction. Taking her mental break Miria closed her eyes once more until resuming her practice of auristics. This new venture was proving more exhausting then she intended.

A sudden fluttering caught her attention switching the her focus finding an aura near the source of the movement. Dropping low to the ground Miria she inched her way closer and closer not trusting her eyes nor her auristics quite yet until... Ah! It was just a small bird. "Adorable." Hopping a distance small distance with each hop Miria watched with apt interest the color of the bird as it went on it's way. Finally noticing Miria it flashed a vibrant yellow before flying out of Miria's sight. Mirroring the yellow she just saw Miria smiled a bit before turning his attention to where the bird was at.

Though it wasn't obvious at first looking farther into the distance with Reinmancy Miria could tell that two of the paths that laid before her were dead ends. Quite a few tracks were made from the collisions into the scenery as there was a amass of auras going to and from the two paths. So it's only right that I go right. Turning around slightly Miria only managed to take two steps before turning once again then a huge descriptive scene on the wall grabbed her attention. Looking closely at the aura Miria could see faint traces of the yellowish-orange she saw before. Almost entranced by what she saw on the wall Miria did not notice the figure on the ground before she stepped on the trader. Hearing a soft groan escaped Ronan's lips Miria jumped back at the sudden sight. Falling backwards in the snow and letting out a ear piercing mew of fear.

[Ronan Dugal]

Ronan was used to being forced awake, having used the sun to pull him out of his sleep for most of the entirety of his life. But nothing before had been like this. Talk about a rough awakening. The first thing he noticed was that his chest felt very heavy. Groaning slightly, Ronan woke up, trying to orientate himself. His body didn't get a lot of time to wake up as a scream in fear right next to him jumpstarted the rest of his body. Ronan screamed back, in a not so very manly fashion. He rolled away from the sound and pushed himself up in the snow, the icy cold touching the skin of his hands. Without a second thought, Ronan jumped up and dashed away to the left, since the right had been a collision course the last time he remembered. With his hands stretched in front of him, to avoid any and all connection between his face and more walls, Ronan rushed through the maze. He looked behind him constantly, trying to see anything trying to catch him. Ever so often he stopped and listened, trying to hear if the monster was still after him but he never stopped for long. It had to have been a monster, nothing else would scream like that. He had no idea how many lefts and rights he took, how many dead ends he backtracked from when suddenly he rushed into the light. There was fire everywhere and people around it, in small groups, some as a couple, some alone, but all together. The flickering of the flames spread different shadows in all directions, dancing with the movements of the fires. Ronan's sudden surprise at being out of the darkness had him stumble and trip over his feet. Not unlike that time when he had met the dire Kelvic polar bear, Ronan landed on the ground, shoulder first, rolling over himself and ending up on his back in the snow. It only took a moment for the daze to fade and Ronan got up, jumped up, his hand flicking and drawing out another shuriken. With his arm crossed over his chest, the hand with the shuriken resting against his opposite shoulder, ready to be thrown, Ronan looked at the darkness behind him, the darkness that contained the monster. The people around him looked at him and whispered, some chuckled. One of the guards, he had no idea from which hold, approached him. The sudden touch on Ronan's shoulder had him jumping up, luckily he didn't attempt to slash at the man with the shuriken in his hand. It only then dawned on him that he was being stared at by everybody. The guard guided Ronan to one of the empty benches and sat him down. He made sure nothing was wrong with Ronan, who seemed to just be edgy, before returning to his duties. The crowds interest returned to the fire and the people playing with, called Reimancers or something. Ronan returned the shuriken to where it came from, securing it safely to his wrist. Slowly, with his eyes focused on the part of the darkness he had emerged from, Ronan reached for his belt and started to replace the shuriken he had used in the darkness, thrown at something that had touched him from behind. He hoped he could find it again since it had been somewhat expensive. Although he would wait until tomorrow, when there was a lot of sunlight, to go back and search for it. He felt a bit stupid for his reaction but was glad that he was still alive. His beating heart slowly settled down although his eyes never moved from the spot in the darkness.

[Miria]

Landing hard on her back Miria drew back in main as her hands nursed her injured back. "Ow ow ow ah! Ow!" Groaning slightly Miria was able to catch a glimpse of whatever or whoever she just stepped on. Pushing herself away while on the ground Miria hesitantly drew back warily watching the corner she just came from.

That was a man's voice right? Was that one person or maybe two? Miria still decided to keep quiet after finding her footing edging up back to the spot. Just a small peek... Nothing. Feeling herself relax Miria gave out a drawn out sigh. Whatever it was it is not here now. "Hello? Show yourself." Speaking in a pitch lower then usual Miria tried poking her head out random few ways before seeing there was no one around.

"Whatever that person was doing on the ground I don't want to think about it." The place was after all a place where couples went. It wasn't out of the question for them to find a secluded area, relax and. "Eww. No stop." Shaking her head at the idea Miria felt more secluded then she had been in a long time. "I just have to find my way out and leave." Nodding her head Miria brought up the scarf to cover the bottom of her face as she navigated the cold maze.

Once again focusing Miria tried to give auristics another shot. The overall process had been tiring for the new trainee but it seemed like the only way for her to get out of here. With the option presented to her Miria simply could not resist the temptation of using the tools she had. Making sure everything was in place Miria took a breathe inside her scarf as her left hand went over her gladius. Picking out an unfamliar path Miria tried to backtrack seeing some earlier imprints in the snow.


Rubbing at her eyes Miria sighed softly as she felt her eye itching. Messing with it only made it seem to get worse threw a slight fit at the situation. "Where is everyone?" Miria wailed slightly as she trudged along the path. Eventually noticing a small crevice Miria tried her luck as she tried to see if it went out of the maze. Please be an exit...

"Oh... yay." Miria's eyes welled up seeing where she was. "Zulrav help me." Sitting down slightly all types of exhausted Miria started to weep slightly near the puzzle box. It would have been nice if she wasn't with the group that put the box there in the first place! Rubbing her eyes once again with her scarf Miria sat lazily devoid of all initiative. Trying out auristics once more Miria could see the path that she took with the group finding the cavern with the puzzle box. Then she closed her eyes. It was dark, it was damp and she didn't want to stay here but she felt so exhausted that she couldn't help but...

[Ronan Dugal]

Ronan was not the brave hero type at all. His demeanor and moral scale was more towards that of a rat. Get what you need at all costs but run away if there is any problem bigger than yourself. Sitting on the bench, Ronan tried to calm himself down. There was no danger here, with all these people around, but his eyes constantly locked with the darkness where he had appeared from. His fingers were interlocked as he squeezed on them tightly, keeping his hands from shaking too much. He was lucky nobody seemed to recognize him here or he would have turned into some Avanthalian joke. Hey, you heard that one about the Syliran trader and the monster? He could already hear it in his head. The fire show and the Reimancers continued, spewing fire left and right, creating it out of thin air. They kept the bonfire in the middle burning and entertained the people around it. It seemed to get busier as time passed, people grouping together, laughing and smiling. How could they be so relaxed? Didn't they know there were monsters in the maze? Ronan's mind flicked around between different shapes and sizes, creating more and more dangerous and ridiculous creatures in his head. What an idiot. This wasn't helping at all. Ronan stood up, steeling himself for the folly he was about to go on. Cautious and careful Ronan stepped towards the darkness, his hands had stopped shaking as he brought them to his chest and belt and pulled a shuriken from both places. His fingers held tightly onto the projectiles as Ronan slipped into the darkness. Right at the edge he remained, waiting for his eyes to get a little used to the darkness. Blinking often and quickly, Ronan slowly got used to the dark around him and he started walking. In his panic, he had no idea how he had gotten here but he stuck to the plan. With his right hand he constantly touched the right wall, following it as it moved on. The passages led him to dead ends more than once but Ronan continued. His every sense was intensified in the darkness, trying to listen, trying to see, trying to smell and trying to hear. Every little motion he saw or thought he saw had him jumpy and alert. The little bird that rose up from the wall almost had Ronan turn tail again, seeing some sort of flying man eating best coming for him. The grip on his shuriken increased and, if it hadn't been for the darkness, the white of his skin could be seen. His right hand suddenly dipped into empty space as the wall seemed to disappear. Reaching and trying to feel the wall, Ronan turned right, inside a dark corridor. Almost like a cave or a lair, Ronan thought, and the thought didn't make him any happier. He thought he heard something, like crying or sniffing, but when he listened more intently there was nothing. To Ronan, every step he took, every time he crushed the snow underneath his boots it sounded loud enough to wake the whole of Avanthal. Every step drew him deeper in the darkness as he searched, ready to throw at whatever moved in front of him.

[Miria]

How long was it? Five minutes maybe fifty? Miria wasn't really the type to worry about such trivial things like time. Miria knew how she felt and made no effort to hide it. If she was afraid she would show that she was afraid. If she was sad she would show she was sad. If she was in love... well that might be different but that was it!

Rubbing her eyes in annoyance Miria could not help but feel all types of hopeless in this situation. Sulking was usually avoided but in her given situation Miria could not help but sit and stare... Being afraid and exhausted was starting to get tiring for her. Miria's eyes were splotchy and red with irritation. Was it too much to ask for someone to find the damned puzzle box and accompany her out?

No she was being totally unreasonable. However she was in an unreasonable world after all. The Coolwater charged straight through life too fast and now it seems like all chances of living a happy, fun life were dwindling away. Miria did not have anyone to share her adventure in the maze with. No gal pals that would stick around and the men in her life seemed even less reliable. Was it too much to ask for someone to just be there? Granted not on a white horse galloping to her rescue but just someone that was with her when she's in these odd situations?

Idling around the prize area Miria was simply bored of being scared. If she truly wanted to escape she would be shouting for help at the least. Maybe she wanted to be alone. Spending a few chimes making snowballs before throwing them at a nearby wall Miria constructed a fort of snow. A odd mannerism of any solitary person was to find something to entertain themselves. All thoughts of escaping were forgotten at least for the moment. Miria never had enough time to just play like she used to.

"Fort is done and the bait is set. Now we wait." Hiding conspicuously in the corner of the cavern behind her snow fort Miria had a grand view of the carvern and the prize box in tow. Hoping that whoever ventured in the area would be distracted by the puzzle box Miria layed prone. Hidden in her very obviously made snow fort. But that feeling of getting caught made it fun. Hiding her head under the snow wall Miria tried her best to just stay still and silent until her victim came. Scarf covering her the bottom part of her face Miria breathed easy while she waited.

[Ronan Dugal]

The darkness of the cavern started to give way to a lighter hue of grey and soon the darkness had given way to the light. Ronan found himself in a cave, sort of. It seemed man made to an extent but it did have a natural look about it. With a quick look around the cave, Ronan noticed that the snow was piled up higher in one corner of the room but he ignored it for, not thinking anything of it. His attention continued on as he saw a wall with what seemed like large blobs of snow on it. "Snowballs? So this is a human place... Good." Ronan smiled reassuringly to himself. If it was a human place than it would be safe here. Whatever monster had screamed like that and whatever monster he had attempted to find afterwards would probably not come in here. Finding nothing dangerous in the room at first sight, Ronan noticed a bench like object, made out of ice, which only strengthened his feelings of safety for the cave. Ronan noticed another object near the bench, a curious thing. He walked closer, crunching the snow under his boots with each step. His inexperienced eye did not see the other footsteps in the snow under him. He looked at the puzzle, curious about it. His hand reached out, on it's own, intent on touching the object. "Oh no no..." The puzzle box fell apart in pieces upon his touch. Ronan looked over the mess he had made, the little pieces of the puzzle all over the snow covered ground. Grasping at them, Ronan collected the pieces and sat himself down on the bench, making sure his cloak kept him from freezing from the bottom up. He positioned himself so that he could see the entrance to the cave at an angle and, consequently, also could see the higher snow wall in the corner of the room. The pieces of the puzzle in hand, Ronan looked at them. His eyes did not see the pieces individually, he just saw a mess in his hands. A mess. His mind took him back, his memories overtaking his mind. He had made a mess. His dreams of wealth and riches had started to crumble here in Avanthal, mostly due to his own design. His once greatest desire had made way for something else. Something that Ronan couldn't really place, something that he didn't quite understand. It was just a faceless feeling for now, unknown to the young man. Of course, he still wanted to build up his business and travel the world trying to trade different goods with different people. Perhaps he should leave Avanthal, go further south along the coast, see Wind reach perhaps. Some of those eagle riders would be a great asset to Ronan's plans. Perhaps the boat trip would be a good idea. The puzzle pieces in Ronan's hands remained untouched, no interest from Ronan's side at all towards the little pieces that contained who knows what kind of treasure. He had left Syliras with a clear goal. Make money in Avanthal, buy new things and move on to the next place, possibly The Spires over land or, if the weather allowed it, passage to wind reach over sea. A little spark, under all his thoughts and ideas and feelings seemed to reignite his drive towards his plans. Ronan steeled himself, focusing on the goal he had set for himself so long ago. His eyes refocused on the pieces of the puzzle in his hands as he observed them. He quickly noted how some pieces had different edges from others and that they could be put together. "A puzzle in a place like this? Strange people these Avanthalians..." Ronan spoke, only a few moments of time had passed since he had sat down, his internal conflict clear on his face, although there had been nobody to see it in this cave.

[Miria]

Miria dozed off. Patience was not this Vantha's forte and with that momentary nap came the prey she so desired to slip by unnoticed. "Ewahh?" Covering her mouth seeing the outline of someone standing near the treasure box Miria took a quick intake of breathe before dropping down to the cover of her snow fort. Keep calm. Keep calm! Just blend in with the atmosphere. People see what they expect to see.

Laying flat on the ground Miria could not find her snowballs from this position. Impossible! They were just next to her a moment ago! She was much too cramped to turn to the side to check... not only that her gladius which she took off her belt was starting to dig into her stomach. Just wait and be patient... A good hunter has to stay hidden until the final moment. Trying to fight off her panic Miria's mind slowed as she felt the snowballs at the ready. Alright all prepped.

Closing her eyes and focusing her djed once more Miria paused hesitantly seeing the aura of the snow around her so close to her face. Miria poked out her head nonchalantly slowly trying to get a read on the intruder. Apparently this one has taken up the habit of talking to himself. Miria knew this person somehow... she couldn't quite make out what he was saying but the Vantha already knew. If only he would turn his head her way. No! The point of this position was to sneak attack! Snowball at the ready warrior.

Snowball in hand Miria momentarily froze trying to get a read on the other's aura. A tight pit of color in his stomach. It was orange? or was it green. Shaking off the thought Miria popped straight up in a swift motion before yelling fervently at the intruder. "On your guard stranger!" Flinging the snowball at Ronan's face Miria dropped down to retrieve an especiall large snow mound from the floor. Sluggishly running forwards Miria pounced at the intruder with pronounced zeal before trying to drop the snow mound on them. Laughing playfully Miria laid down on the ground for a few tics before rolling over to see who it was. "How's solving that puzzle going for you?"

[Ronan Dugal]

Ronan's eyes were focused on the little pieces in his hands. He could see that they somehow fit together and realized the whole thing was a puzzle. His interest piqued, Ronan was about to start fitting them together when suddenly they were all in the air. For a moment things seemed to slow down to a halt in front of Ronan's eyes. The pieces of the puzzle hung in the air, the snowball was traversing the distance between the thrower and Ronan, the thrower who had thrown the snowball was standing up from what had been the end of the room but appeared to be a hidden part in the cave. Ronan started to stand up. Time took on it's normal form again as the pieces of the puzzle flew through the cave room. Ronan's legs pushed him up from the bench he had been sitting on and his hands flicked, the shuriken dropping into his hands. The snowball hit him square in the face. Only having stood up slightly, Ronan's balance was low and his entire body seemed to flip over backwards from the snowball. In his panic from suddenly being attacked, Ronan threw his arms forward and released the shuriken. The snow in his face blocked most of his vision and the shuriken both describe a wide path away from the assailant. Without doing any harm they clanked against the cave wall and dropped into the snow. At the same time, Ronan was flailing his arms as he tried to remain upright to meet his attacker, stumbling backwards from the impact of the snowball. The bench behind him wasn't helping as he tripped over it and started to fall down backwards. Ronan seemed to recall that mother gravity had not been very friendly towards him in the past. To make matters worse, his attacker had crossed the distance between them and dropped another large amount of snow on him. With a thud, Ronan's little trip ended as his body connected with the ground, the snow breaking most of his fall. There was snow everywhere, in his face, on his chest, underneath him, creeping into his pants and shirt, in his boots, everywhere. His cloak was sprawled out over the ground behind him. Everything was cold and his head was pounding. Realizing his bad position, Ronan rolled over and almost jumped back up on his feet. With a quick movement of his arms, Ronan wielded two more shuriken. He stared in unbelief at his attacker as she asked him how the puzzle solving was going. "Wha... huh?" Yes, Ronan seemed to lose his natural charm and intellect whenever he was off balance and at this point in time, Ronan was mentally upside down. "Miria?" The only words he spoke as he stared at the woman in the snow. He had been attacked by Miria. A cocktail of feelings and thought washed over Ronan. He was so happy to see her. He didn't want to see her. Why was she here? Did she still hate him? Would things get awkward? How was she doing? He didn't want to see her. He felt lost. He felt like hugging her. He felt like running away. He was so glad she was here. He felt... he thought... The dumb expression on his face gave away everything. The pieces of the puzzle lay forgotten in the snow and the shuriken in his hands remained unthrown.