Solo [Silver Chest Event] Honor the Past, but Look to the Future

[Lian Windrunner]

Timestamp: 77th Day of Summer, 515 AV The sky was a brilliant shade of blue as Lian emerged from his tent. There were a few fluffy white clouds floating by, possibly a lingering reminder that the rains had finally come. It was the perfect weather for the task Lian had set for himself. The task was one that he should have done long ago, truth be told. When his twins were born, Lian had promised himself that he would buy Seirei something as a reward for her "services." Doing so would ease conscious somewhat over the way he had hurt the girl while breeding her. And perhaps then, the words of the irritating healer, Waisana would cease to plague him. Buying a gift for his captive wasn't a simple task. It had taken him a great deal of thought before he came up with an idea of what to give her. The gift had to be more than a simple trinket, or he would be trivializing the birth of his twins. Lukar and Lira were a gift beyond measure. No mere trinket would be suitable "payment" for their birth. For that same reason, the gift had to be something that Seirei would truly like. Not just the first thing he thought a woman might like. The problem with that was that Seirei didn't trust him enough to tell him much about herself. And if Lian were honest, he knew that there was good reason for that. But it did make finding a suitable present a challenge. Fortunately, one of Lian's neighbors had a dog that had recently given birth to a litter of puppies. The creatures were useless as hunting animals, but they did make good pets for children. The mother was intensely loyal to her master, and likely to attack anyone who was deemed a threat. The puppies were likely to be the same way. Seirei was fascinated by the puppies. She spent a great deal of time watching the neighbors' kids playing with them. That had gotten Lian thinking that Seirei might be lonely here. From what he could tell, she had few friends. A companion might be a good gift, and help her feel less lonely. That required further thought. A hunting dog would be wasted on the girl. So would one of the herding dogs. Another thing to consider was that she wasn't Drykas. It felt wrong to give her something that was Drykas because of that. So he would have to look among the traders for what he wanted. A foreign animal for a foreign captive. Neither would quite belong among his people, but both would have their uses. And they could find company in each other. That felt right to Lian. Decision made, it was time to make a trip to see what the trade caravans had to offer. Lian walked slowly, still considering his options when it came to Seirei's gift. Would a puppy be better if he could acquire one? A puppy could grow up under the girl's care, developing a deep bond with her. It seemed likely that a puppy might be more loyal than an adult dog would. And from what he had seen, Seirei would enjoy playing with a puppy. But a puppy would require more work than an adult dog would. It would need to be trained to leave certain animals alone. Like striders. Talise didn't like his hunting cats. She certainly wouldn't appreciate a dog nipping at her hooves, and yapping at her constantly. Did Seirei know how to train a dog? Maybe buying an adult dog would be better. It's personality would be fully developed, and he could look for one that would be a good match for both his pavilion, and for Seirei. One that would be inclined to leave horses alone. And if Seirei really wanted puppies, she might be able to persuade someone to sell her a breeding to one of the cull herd dogs, or something.

[Lian Windrunner]

The section of the city where the trade caravans gathered was a bustling place. Traders called out to the crowd, trying to entice people to buy their goods. Men and women went about their business, looking for what they needed, and trying to haggle for the best price. Children raced through the crowd, excited by the "new," and "different." Some went from caravan to caravan, looking for something to spend their money on. Others were bored, and were trying to entertain themselves as their parents or older siblings shopped. Animals called out in startled protest when the crowd got too close for comfort. It was chaos...but it was a chaos familiar to any who had visited the trade caravans before. Lian looked around. He wanted to be done with his business and away from the outsiders as quickly as possible. Pavilions that sold animals tended to gather at the edge of the city so they would have more room for their herds. It made sense to Lian that the caravans would be organized in a similar fashion, so he made his way towards the edge to the group as quickly as he could. Sure enough, that was where he found caravans that had small herds of goats, or cages filled with chickens. A few even had an animal that was similar in size to a goat, but had a fluffy white coat of fur. When the owner of the caravan caught him staring at the strange creature, he told him that it was called a sheep. He also learned that its "fur" was called wool, and that it could be used to make clothing, blankets, and a number of other things. Lian scowled at the man, and walked away. He knew that wool could be used to make clothing! And he wasn't about to admit to the outsider that he had never seen a sheep before, or that he hadn't known that sheeps had wool instead of fur. Drykas kept herds of zibri, and goats. Not...sheeps. Lian continued to browse through the caravans until he heard a sharp barking sound. He turned towards the noise, and saw a pair of dogs running around a young girl who was standing near one of the caravans. She laughed at their antics, and when Lian approached, one of the dogs ran over, and jumped up on him, tail wagging madly. Lian was startled, but the dog seemed friendly, so he allowed it to sniff his hand before petting it on the head. "Are these your dogs?" he asked in amusement. The little girl cocked her head at him, looking confused. Guessing that she hadn't understood him, he repeated himself in heavily accented Common. The girl grinned, but shook her head. "I wish they were, but we have to sell them. They were payment for a trade we did in Syliras. Everyone was really mad at my cousin for accepting them. Papa said they'll eat our food, and not give us anything back." "Gina, that's no way to talk to a customer!" Lian looked up to see who had chided the young girl. It was an adolescent boy that looked enough like the younger girl that they had to be siblings. Lian's guess seemed to be confirmed when the older boy slung his arm around the girl's shoulders, and pulled her over to him protectively. "She is right, though. If you're looking for a herd dog, or a guard dog, these two won't help you." "I am looking for a...friend. A dog that will be a friend for someone I know." Lian said slowly, uncertain if his word choice was correct. The boy frowned. "A friend...do you mean a companion? A pet?" he asked eagerly. Lian shrugged uncertainly. Neither word was familiar to him. "Hang on a minute...how do you say...a pet." This time, the boy finished his sentence in hesitant, stumbling pavi. He didn't use any hand signs, but Lian thought he knew what the boy meant. He nodded again, this time with confidence. "Then these two dogs would be perfect for you!" he said with a grin. Lian frowned. He had only planned to get one dog for Seirei. After a few ticks, he said as much. "Well, I could sell you just one...but...just look how happy they are together. Dogs like to have friends just like people do, you know. And these two are a lot of fun to play with when they're together. Besides...you could always breed them, and sell the puppies. They make great pets, and if you train them young, they make good guard dogs, or herd dogs. It's just that these two weren't trained when they were pups." Lian considered that. The two dogs had an intelligent look in their eyes. If they were smart, then their pups probably would be, too. And Lian was pretty sure that smart dogs were easier to train. It made sense that they would be, anyway. On the other hand, Lian wasn't sure that he wanted them breeding, and having foreign pups all over the place. Still...if they made Seirei happy, Lian would feel better about continuing to breed her even if it was against her will. There was even a certain logic to getting both dogs. She had given him twins, after all. One way of looking at it was one dog for each of the twins. "How much do you want for them?" he asked after hesitating for another few ticks. "Ten mizas for each." That seemed like a reasonable price to Lian. It was a lot cheaper than what he would expect to pay for one of the hunting dogs he hoped to be able to afford one day. Of course, these two were a lot smaller, and hadn't been trained. Even so, it seemed like a good price. "Done." The boy beamed as he fished the money out of his pouch, and handed it to him. Then he ran off only to return a few ticks later with two lengths of rope. He tied one around each of the dogs neck, checking to make sure they were tight enough that they couldn't escape while not being tight enough to hurt the animals. "We'll come with you when you go home, and take the ropes back when you get the dogs home, okay? Once you start feeding them, they'll get to know you, and they won't run off. But they aren't used to you yet, so you won't be able to get the dogs home without the ropes." That made sense when you considered that the dogs weren't trained. So Lian nodded. Having concluded his business, he turned, and started heading back home, gesturing for the kids to follow him. They walked in silence, each kid holding one of the ropes. It was slow going since the dogs wanted to explore everything they came across. Lian's mind wasn't on the walk home, though. Whispers of a strange chest came to him as people went about their business. A silver chest that made things disappear when you put them inside it and closed the lid. Then when you opened it again, something else was left behind in its place. Magic. It was...unnerving. No magic Lian knew of could do such a thing. And yet...Lian was curious. When Lian reached his tent, he thanked the children, and watched them as they untied the ropes, and ran off. Lian asked one of his neighbors to keep an eye on the dogs for a time. He wanted them to be a surprise for Seirei when he gave them to her, but that wouldn't be possible if she saw them before he was ready to give the animals to her. With that done, Lian retreated into his tent. He tried to enter the Web to explore the glowing strands, but news of the chest followed him into the Web. After a while, he gave up, and returned to his body. He was simply too preoccupied to get anything productive done. So he indulged himself in thinking about the chest. What magic was involved in its making? How had it gotten to his city? Who had made it, and why? What kinds of...gifts were appearing in exchange for things people put into the chest? Was there even any truth to these rumors at all?

[Lian Windrunner]

Finally, Lian's curiosity became too much for him to bear. He carefully rummaged through his backpack until he found two small pouches. They were simple, things, each with a tie made out of beads that showed the Sapphire Clan colors. And each contained some of the most precious things Lian owned. To others, they would be useless mementos. Some might even call them worthless trash. But to Lian, they were priceless treasures. The first pouch contained a single small, but intact bone, bleached white with age. It had come from Lukar's first kill. For years, he had carried it with him proudly, until one day, he had given it to Lian. Lian suspected that his older brother had hoped it would inspire him to want to become a better hunter himself. The second pouch contained a few blue beads, a dried flower, and a single, pretty feather. They had been Lily's precious treasures while she had been alive. And now they were his. For several long chimes, Lian stared at the pouches, lost in memories. Almost against his will, he opened Lukar's pouch. The small bone tumbled into his hand. Lian touched it with one finger, as if trying to memorize the feel of it. He put the bone back into its pouch tenderly. Then he opened Lily's pouch. The blue beads were simple wooden ones with no designs carved into them. The paint was starting to fade with age in some places. The feather was blue, and black. Lian couldn't remember ever seeing a bird with feathers like it out in the Sea of Grass. After a while, the contents of Lily's pouch were returned carefully to where they belonged as well. He didn't have to do this. Lian knew that. Part of him wanted to hang onto these solid reflections of memories until the day he died. But perhaps it was time to move on. There were signs that his son Lukar was the reincarnation of his older brother. If that were the case, it seemed fitting somehow to give these remnants of another life back to the gods by placing them in the silver chest. Assuming that the chest had in fact been placed there by the gods. Lian found himself leaving his tent once more. It wasn't a conscious decision on his part, he was simply doing what his heart believed was right. As he walked, he noticed a delicate spider web nestled in a clump of grass. It was beautiful. Lian couldn't help but stare at it, deep in thought. The strands of the web reminded him of another Web that he held dear to his heart. Moving almost by instinct, Lian removed one of his arrows from his quiver. He carefully snagged the spider web on the head of his arrow. The spider scurried away, but he didn't even notice it. Instead, he stared at the web entangled on his arrow for several long ticks. Then he continued walking. Before long, he found himself in front of the open chest. As he approached, he saw another man leave. They nodded to each other as the man passed him, but they did not speak. It wasn't a time for words. Lian approached the open chest slowly. With a strange mixture of reluctance, hope, and peace, he placed the two pouches side by side in the bottom of the chest. Then he lay his arrow across them both. It was almost as if the arrow was protecting the precious treasures contained within the pouches...much the way Lian would have done anything within his power to protect his siblings. Even if Lukar had no need of his protection, and would in fact, have laughed and said it was Lian himself who needed protecting. That thought brought a sad smile to Lian's face. He stared at his offering for a few ticks more. Then he closed the lid.

[Tribal]

As the lid on the silver chest was closed the space between the gap of the lid and chest glowed a bright white in colour that caused Lian to squint in order to see the magic taking place before his eyes. Be it man, or god, or something even more powerful, the mysteries of the silver chest were unfathomable.

Upon opening the chest, Lian would find a single golden arrow that would probably fetch a good price in the marketplace. Its craft was flawless and when moved back and forth in the light is looked as if the arrowhead were on fire. On one side of the arrow an engraving read:

“With This I Take Your Life.”

While the other side read:

“Like Father, Like Son.”

[Tribal]

G R A D E S

Lian Windrunner

Experience

• Logic: 2
• Philosophy: 2
• Animal Husbandry: 1
• Observation: 2
• Rhetoric: 1
• Socialisation: 1
• Planning: 1
• Webbing: 1

Lore

• Seirei: The mother of your children
• Seirei doesn't trust Lian
• Guard dogs double as good companions
• Pavilions trading animals tend to camp on the outskirts of the city
• Sheep’s fur is called wool
• Sheep’s wool is good for craft and weaving
• Lian: A gift for a gift

Loot

1 x Golden Arrow with inscription worth 100 GM
2 x Untrained Dogs (Mutts)


Penalties

-20 GM
-1 x Arrow
-2 x Family Mementos


Notes

Seasonal Goal

Ω Buy an animal - completed.

Great thread, Lian. It was good to see a softer side of the PC with you exploring his guilt surrounding his captive; perhaps the arrow will cause him many nights of contemplation, or maybe he will get rid of it before his son is old enough to wield it? A curse or a blessing, the silver chest is a mystery. Enjoy the rewards and let me know if you think I have missed anything while grading your thread. Be sure to edit your grading request and as always, happy writing!