Closed Time to Patrol (Faircroft)

[Samuel Longwell]

Time to Patrol Date: 60th Fall, Year 216 Location: Syliras Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel stood waiting outside the barracks, hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He tried to look confident, to put those around him at ease. The people of the city were scared, rightly so, and so Samuel was doing his best to keep them calm. Tensions were high and Samuel didn't want to have to deal with anymore of the outbreaks of violence that became common when people were scared. Samuel kept an eye out for the squire that was supposed to be joining him. Faircroft was the name he had been given, Samuel had heard of the squire before but had never met him. The tall knight had arrived early, allowing him to ascertain the mood of the surrounding area. The faces of those around him were grim but focused, eager to finish their tasks before night fell and the curfew came into effect. Samuel stared out into the fog, the visibility not helped by the fading light of evening. Samuel frowned, the fog made him uneasy, he liked to be able to have a clear view of the area at all times. Samuel quickly realised that people could see his unease and tried to bring his face back under control. Samuel started to meditate, keeping his emotions under control was more important than ever. He took deep breaths, focusing on Yahal. “Lend me strength so I can help the people of this city.” Samuel prayed silently, “We all need your guidance now more than ever. I put my trust in you that you will lead us through these turbulent times Yahal.” After a few chimes of quiet, Samuel felt much more at peace and was able to more genuinely appear confident. Samuel trusted his god and believed that the knighthood would triumph over the darkness that had reached out to grasp the city. That conviction straightened his back and put a reassuring smile on his face. He hoped that those who saw him would feel safe under his watch. He remained in this pose until Squire Faircroft arrived.

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"

Arriving back in Syliras from the port side of things was something akin to madness. Alex had arrived back five days ago, and since then the fog that had engulfed the city had grown so thick it was damned near impossible to see more than a couple feed in front of himself. Alex had been sent on a patrol today with a Knight. A fair change from his usual fair. Normally he was the one leading a couple squires around by the nose. However with the density of this strange fog it seemed more prudent to pair up Squires a knights. Hoping that the knights experience might even out the unsure tendencies of the squires.

This however wasn’t the case with Alex. He wore the fog like a thick blanket. In his past life he was a hunter, a stalker of prey, and fog was some of the tools he used to hide himself away and camouflage away. The Knight he’d been signed up with was one Ser Samuel Longwell. A knight he’d heard of in passing from his Patron but not one that he knew personally. His words never left him, instead of speaking he preferred to watch. Even drawing in close adorned with full weaponry the blades and his bow dangling off of him. Almost appearing more steel than man. Yet still hidden amongst the fog he stepped forwards slowly, taking stock of the man he was working with. It was rare for him to see a human his height and similar in build. Though in the stillness of the night he could hear fragments of a voice cutting it lightly.

Alex stepped up his hands resting on the blades at his sides. Ready to draw them at a moment’s notice. Less out of apprehension and fear, but more of caution and practiced wariness.
“Ser Longwell?” Alex called out lightly through the fog finally emerging into his line of sight. “My Name is Alexander. I believe we have a patrol together tonight?” Despite the almost boyish face, his words were soft and calming, almost light enough to be barely heard yet strong enough to carry his voice. “I must apologize I know little of the fog I was out of the city until very recently, when did this…Turn up?” For once Alex openly worse his loop of sigils, the two most prominent ones were Yahal's wings, and Priskil's watchtower.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel turned to face the tall squire as he emerged from the fog. “Aye, that's me.” the knight replied, “It's good to meet you Alexander, you can call me Samuel.” The knight held his hand out for the squire to shake and took the opportunity to size the man up. Alex was tall even for a knight, he was one of the few people Samuel had met that he didn't tower over. The first thing Samuel noticed about Alex was the excessive amount of weaponry he was carrying. At least it was excessive in Samuel's opinion. Samuel also noticed the religious symbols around the squire's neck, his eyes drawn to the familiar sigil of Yahal. He quietly filed that away to talk about later as Alex asked a question. “Ach, this cursed stuff? It appeared not long after the start of Fall.” Samuel answered, “But that's not the worst of it, there have been attacks in the streets. Rumours of beasts crawling around the shadows. The city is not in a good place right now.” Samuel glanced at the squire, then gestured at him to follow. “We should talk about it on the way round, it's time we got moving” he said. Samuel started to walk down the street, assuming the squire would follow. “I can't believe you haven't been filled in yet.” Samuel said, a small frown on his face. “I guess it's been a crazy time and someone forgot to tell you. There's now a curfew at nightfall, which is about a bell away. So we need to make sure everyone stays inside after that.” Samuel's eyes swept the foggy streets, looking for any signs of something unusual happening. Samuel believed that an important part of patrols was to present the knighthood to the citizens of the city as something to look up to. This was more important than ever, so Samuel walked tall and confidently. Samuel was glad that Alexander seemed so confident in the fog, he had been worried that he'd been paired with a flighty squire that had no idea which end of a sword to hold. However the squire next to him needed no babysitting and appeared to be able to handle himself. “Keep an eye out for any trouble,” Samuel said, “people's tempers are short at the moment and there have been a fair few violent outbursts by civilians.”

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"

“Please Call me Alex, most everyone does.” Well barring those who dislike me. Alex mulled the finishing thought to himself as his face heled the similar look of calm self-assurance he’d built up over three seasons. And the resolution of purpose he’d fostered earlier this one. As soon As Alex caught Sam’s eyes, wander around the blades he carried Alex just smiled. “I get that look from a lot of people. And before it’s brought up I can use every weapon I’m carrying.” There was an air of ease around him as he continued forwards. Following behind Samuel as he picked up a slow pace and began to fill Alex in along the goings on of the city. He’d heard about the curfew but beasts in the fog?

That was the first sign that Alex at least had some nerves his hand tightened faintly around the hilt of his blade. And the shield on his left arm rattled lightly as he adjusted the straps. A small nervous tic he developed just before getting into a fray. Despite the growing unease in Alex’s stomach and the weight of his adornments Alex kept up pace with Sam. “I understand that people can lose their sanity quickly when pressured by unnatural circumstance. That combined with the alcohol most drink when agitated can spell disaster. I’m used to having to calm people down.” Even the words Alex used seemed to have an almost soothing nature too them.

Following behind Samuel Alex shifted his shield again just a little. “There been any accounts of these “Beasts” in the fog? I mean I’ve dealt with yukmen before and even a wailer but unless I know what it is it makes it difficult to deal with.” Less a boast when he spoke more a word to let Samuel know that if the brown stuff hit the fan Alex was more than capable of backing him up.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel lifted an eyebrow when Alex mentioned his weapons and smiled. It appeared that the squire had guessed the knight's opinion of all those weapons. As the pair walked along Samuel glanced over at the squire. Alex still looked confident but was that tightness in his jaw a sign of nervousness. Samuel couldn't be sure, but the squire seemed to have it under control so he didn't mention it. “Aye” Samuel said, “Drinking too much is certainly something to be avoided even in the best of times.” Samuel considered the squires question about the creatures. He hadn't seen anything himself but bodies had been turning up so there was definitely something unnatural out there. “There have been reports of undead cursed by Uldr himself” Samuel said, “A couple of knights took down a 'Chained One' apparently. There could be anything out there though, I wouldn't rule anything out at the moment.” Samuel was impressed when Alex mentioned the Wailer, they were dangerous foes not to be taken lightly. “That's good,” Samuel complimented, “I'm glad I've got you by my side in case things get hairy then.” At that moment, Samuel spotted a couple struggling to carry a pile of three heavy looking crates between them, looking distressed. Everyone else in the street was passing them by, thinking about their own troubles. “Right Alex.” Samuel said, a frown forming on his face, “Let's go and help those two out.” Stepping up to the pair the knight took a crate and gestured for the squire to do the same. “Where are you two off to with these?” Samuel asked, “We'll help you on your way so you can be inside by nightfall.” The man looked up at the knight and smiled gratefully. “We're not far away, just down here, It would just be a five minute walk if it wasn't for these boxes” he said. The woman nodded, clearly relieved that someone had actually stopped to help them. As the group started to move off again Samuel whispered to Alex “The look on their faces is one of the reasons I love being a knight. Not much beats helping those who need it.”

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"

The conversation moved on to something about knights fighting a ‘chained one’. Whatever the heck that was. Apparently this Uldr was the lord of the undead. An interesting god to be sure and most likely one Alex would never have any dealings with, if he was lucky. Still though the problem was a simple situation of no-one knew what nasties lurked in the fog. Grumbling lightly beneath his breath he simply mulled over the thoughts as they came up to a duo of people in need of a hand. Apparently with moving a stack of boxes.

Before Samuel had even given him the nod to chip in he was, and had gathered a crate of his own. Though the words that Samuel spoke were some he’d not quite heard. He was willing to risk life and limb just to see the look of gratitude. It almost made Alex sick. He never got any nor did he want any thanks. To him simply doing this was his own form of penance for the misdeeds of his family.
“I’ve no interest in seeing people thank me. I don’t do it to get any form of gratification.” His words weren’t meant as a dig nor an insubordinate act, merely his perspective on things. Sometimes altruism meant doing the hard thing and walking away knowing that if no action had been taken it would have been worse in the long run.

“It’s bad that I’ve only been a squire for three seasons yet… It feels like I’ve barely spent any time at all here. It’s strange, I’ve been tossed between knights like a game ball to learn from all of them and each one’s taught something different. I get the feeling that tonight I’ll be learning something new from you Ser.” Alex spoke with a level headed nature as usual. A feeling of natural ease exuding from him, almost like he himself was somewhere safe for people to gather around.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel looked a little surprised at the Alex's words and stared at him for a tick, wondering what had made this serious young man become a squire. “I just meant that making a difference in people's lives is important to me, I guess that's more important than the gratitude.” Samuel mused to Alex. Samuel gave a very small smile when Alex compared himself to a ball, thinking back to a meeting with a pycon named after the plaything. He certainly wouldn't appreciate being tossed around, not that Samuel thought it would be particularly easy to do so. “I'll tell you why you get moved around,” Samuel began to explain, “It's because you became a squire so late in your life. I had many years to train and learn what you've learnt in just a few seasons. You're moved around to help you experience different parts of the knighthood as quickly as possible. It means that you don't have to spend the typical minimum of 5 years as a squire.” Samuel laughed when Alex said he would learn something new from the knight. The couple turned at the loud sound, slightly confused at the mirth among such a gloomy atmosphere. The group stopped outside their house and the armoured men were thanked again as they continued their patrol. “Us knights can learn things from you squires too,” Samuel said, continuing the conversation from earlier, “Especially those like you who join later in their lives. What you experience before the knighthood gives you a valuable perspective on things.” Samuel kept straining his eyes through the fog, concious that night was coming close and that soon the curfew would need to be enforced. “I noticed you're a pretty religious guy,” Samuel commented, nodding towards Alex's neck, “Yahal kept me from losing control in some of the darkest times of my life and for that he has my eternal trust and obedience. Any gods in particular you worship?” The knight smiled reassuringly as a group of young women hurried past looking nervous, keeping his own misgivings about the fading light to himself. OOCMaybe we could stumble across a heated argument/fight/shouting match and have to break it up now? Samuel will follow Alex's lead with however he chooses to handle it.

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"

Alex glanced across at Samuel as he said it was more the difference than the gratitude that made his job easier.
“I figured as much.” His words short for the time being in between the darkness of the streets. Though Alex couldn’t argue with Samuel’s logic there it was a fair comment. And Sam’s logic there made more sense than Greyhearts. At least to Alex. “Greyheart, my patron always made the comment that it was because of how intelligent I was. Saying that throwing me about would help me grow faster. Your explanation makes a lot more sense. Seeing as I’m not all that remarkable.” A soft melancholic smile crawled across Alex’s features.

Placing the thick wooden crate down Alex gave a small nod to the grateful citizens and shuffled alongside Sam as they continued. Sam’s comment about bringing skills from their early lives into the knight hood was very true. “That’s a good point. Before I joined I was a hunter and a traveller, so I’m used to spending a lot of time in thick fog and my eyesight isn’t too shabby either.” As the conversation travelled to gods Alex could understand where Sam was coming from with regards to Yahal, however Alex’s own patron god was a little different.
“Faith is a powerful thing. However I find that when all else has run dry, faith, strength, and morale. The only thing left to most men is hope. And hope is a very powerful thing indeed. As the saying goes, when all else is lost hope remains. That’s why I follow Priskil above all others. Because if you can’t instil that spark of hope in people, then in my eyes you’re not doing the right thing.”

Alex sighed with an air of weight on his shoulders not one of the actual burden of steel but more one of the failures he carried. In the distance Alex could hear something beginning to spark up. Some insults hurled back and forth some loud crashing and a rather loud sound of smashing glass. “What now?” Alex groaned lightly and dashed off, his speed belying the weight of the steel adorning him as he arrived on the scene hoping Samuel followed. On arrival the scene played out with one man standing across the rearing stallion broken wine bottle in hand, the jagged glass out ready and brandished like a dagger. Across the room another patron was cowering against a wall; battered, bruised and quite clearly significantly smaller than the other man.

The man lunged for the smaller one shouting something about how he was the cause of the fog as he was a foreigner and fog arrived when he did. Alex darted across the bar and lifted his shield. The sound of glass impacting steel with force was one that made Alex’s ears whimper in pain, the screeching sound of crushing glass attempting to cut against the semi slick surface of steel. “Samuel, a little hand please!?”

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel nodded as Alex talked about Priskil, he certainly knew the importance of hope. Remembering that Yahal wouldn't give up on him always gave the knight hope for the future. Perhaps Priskil was a god that he should find out more about. About a chime later Samuel began to hear the sound of shouting and loud crashes. Before he had a chance to say anything to Alex, the squire was already running off. Samuel broke into a run, powering down the street as quickly as he could in full plate armour. The younger man pulled ahead, clearly the more agile of the two. Alex shot down the street and disappeared into the rearing stallion. Samuel followed as quickly as he could, gasping for air as he sprinted down towards the tavern. Entering the door the sight that greeted him was completely different from what he usually expected from the tavern. It appeared a fight had started, clearly the tensions had got too much. Samuel saw the bottle crashing down on Alex's shield, the large aggressor clearly drunk. Out of the corner of his eye Samuel spotted the owner of the establishment, Kevith, restraining another angry man. The apparent target of the two men was a smaller man huddled up in the corner of the room, looking significantly worse for wear. Deciding the bottle wielding assailant was the biggest threat, Samuel stepped forward and grabbed the wrist holding the makeshift weapon. Placing his foot on the back of the man's knees, the knight pushed him to the ground. Samuel towered over the kneeling man, keeping his hand on the hilt of his sword as he growled “I would calm down if I were you.” The fight quickly went out of the drunk man's eyes, fear replacing it as he realised the situation he was in. Samuel kept a firm grip on the man's wrist as he quickly glanced round the room and, once he was satisfied everything was under control, turned to Alex. “Good job.” he complimented gruffly, “I'm glad you got here in time to stop that, I would have been too late. We better get these two up to the tank double quick before dark.” Samuel paused, unsure how many prisoners Alex had escorted in the past. “You going to okay bringing the other one?” he asked, expecting a positive response from the squire who had proved himself very capable up to this point. Samuel nodded to Kevith respectfully as the knight dragged the troublemaker from the older man's tavern.

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"

Despite the fact that Alex had arrived first and blocked what could have been a really bad incident Sam grabbed the weapon wielding one and restrained him. Was really only then that Alex noticed the one that Kevith was holding. Alex was observant but sometimes tunnel vision did get the better of him. Wrenching the other trouble makers arm behind his back Alex pushed it up high forcing the man to submit to his movements. He paused before leaving nodding at Samuels comments and a gave moment spare to check over the now quite shaken individual.
“You alright?” The only two words Alex spoke and all he got in response was a small sheepish nod. Responding in kind Alex placed his other hand on the shoulder of the Incident causer. And steered him like a boat.

“Sam I’d recommend not keeping them in the tank too long, maybe just over night, after all it’s just a sudden snap and a slight disturbance of the peace. I could have been a lot worse if we weren’t there though so I’ll leave the sentencing up to you. I’m just giving my two coppers.” Walking in pace with Samuel Alex caught the words of being faster than him.
“I can’t afford to be slow or indecisive. I’ve failed too many times and lost too many people through inaction and indecision.” There was a distinct weight to his voice that carried with it. Like a man much older than Alex was speaking. Some wizened old world weary man and not the fresh faced youth.

The trouble maker in his grip decided to try and fight Alex and instead of a big scuffle Alex just pushed his fist further up his back, tweaking and hyper extending the shoulder.
“Any more struggling buddy, and that shoulder is going to pop out. So Stay calm and I don’t have to hurt you.”