Solo A Walk on a Beach

[Crylon Stonecraft]

5 Fall 520 Heading out from the Meraki land, the Demesne as it was referred to in a shorthand of its full name which Crylon tended to use, Crylon was prepared for a bit of exercise. A stretching of his legs, a bit of endurance training, in truth more of a long walk along the beach to explore the land beyond the Demesne further from Zeltiva. He had been to the Demesne and to Zeltiva, but in truth Crylon had barely taken a foot on any place further beyond either. This seemed a good way to get some exercise while seeing the surrounding area. Likely others had explored it before, and he had not heard of anything specific that was dangerous, so he felt the trek was safe enough. Wearing his sandals and vest along with his pack which had an odd assortment of items, Crylon began to walk away. However as he did he thought better of it, and reached into his pack to pull out a small statue. Uttering a prayer while looking out to the sea, Crylon spoke. “Laviku. Is thank for view. Is thank for sea. Is thank, and wish for protect, while in view of... Domain. Bless journey, to be of fruit.” As he finished the simple but honest prayer the small statue suddenly changed, going from an inanimate thing to a living or seemingly living thing. Albeit a tiny thing, not even a foot tall. “Is greeting Tide. Is thought go walk, would want come? Along beach, border of Laviku domain.” Reaching up the small man clambered up his arm to find a perch atop his shoulder, peering about as a sighter would on a boat when trying to find land. "Ah, that would be grand. A fine way to spend a day, walking along the beauty of Lavilku's domain, seeing its grace and majesty. I would... Wait, Crylon did you not wake me yesterday? What day is it? How many days has it been since I was woken?" Pointedly avoiding the small mans gaze Crylon set off along the beach. “Ah... Maybe few days. Uh... Seven.” Blistering the tiny man moved to pinch Crylons shoulder, only to find he could not as he was perched on the Isur's special Izurdin graced limb which could not be budged even by tiny statue fingers. "Crylon! Your supposed to pray and wake me each day! Seven days! I know you've been busy of late, but thats a lot even for you. Now make sure from now on it doesn't happen again! If you do you will earn my wrath, tiny but terrible as it might be." Letting out a sigh at the oddness and absurdity of being harangued by a tiny living statue for not praying to his deity and thereby awakening him, Crylon simply kept walking. “Yes Tide. Is... Will do.” With that Tideon calmed down, taking advantage of his perch to enjoy the walk. "Well, as long as you do, then we will not have a problem. Now, why don't we see more of Laviku's beauty and enjoy our walk." WC: 513

[Crylon Stonecraft]

Continuing on their trek, Crylon enjoyed the view of the sea without having to actually be in it. As the sun rose the water lit up, the light changing as a bell passed. Two. Slowly changing from early morning to later in the day. As they walked Crylon and Tide spoke, the topic shifting as the waves of the sea. "So what is it you want in life Crylon? Have you decided what you are doing?" “Ah, is hard. Now... I just... Build. So much learn. For Isur, still young. Not master any. Just another Isur. Maybe skill, for human, but for Isur much need learn. Like when show how make boat. Learn new.” "Ah yes, that went quite poorly, did it not... I don't know if that was my failing as an instructor, or yours as a student. Probably more mine. Have you tried another? I bet if you did, the next one would float." “No... Uh, not try yet. Maybe other day. Not yet.” "Well, you cannot expect to be a master of it all in a day. Even those master Isur you speak of, once they were quite horrid and learning. But they kept at it and learned. Why, you could be a master Isurian boat wright, how many of those are there? You did say you lived on a mountain, did you not?" “Uh, yes. But, not many Isur make boat, that is like say best of blind man at seeing, only have one eye missing. Still could master, but be best maybe only not many do. Family, we build. Build house. Building. Tower. Bridge. Things. None of family, make boat.” "So that means you cannot do it? Strike out on your own Crylon, do what you will, take your own path. Perhaps you will find something you can do others cannot? Have you thought about that? Maybe you have been struggling so, because you are trying to be better at things so many others have done before. Try something new, different. What else have you done that you enjoyed that others of your family have not?" Thinking back Crylon pondered, realizing there was something. “Learn, of make gadget. Is enjoy do. Not other family do. I could...” As their endless discussion looked to continue without pause, Crylon noticed something on the beach ahead of them. “... Is you see something? What that?” Peering forward with one tiny hand over his eyes, Tideon inspected the spot Crylon pointed at. "I think that is a boat. But... Something is wrong with it." Curious what the statue man could mean, Crylon picked up his pace till they arrived. When they did it was clear what Tideon had meant and what he had noticed. There was something wrong with the boat. Quite a bit. On one side there was a harpoon sticking out, the other had a scorch mark, and the front had a where something had struck and left a crack in the hull. Not enough that they would capsize Crylon did not think, but serious if not attended to. The small boat had been driven ashore. Had they been attacked? Why? Puzzles upon puzzles. As they looked on suddenly Tideon pointed off to the side, noting a track that was clear in the sand. Something wide and straight had been dragged from the boat. Survivors? WC: 557

[Crylon Stonecraft]

Following the track away from the beached boat, Crylon and tide puzzled on what had happened. Judging by the regular shape Crylon was fairly certain it was some kind of object rather than a person. But what could have happened that would mean abandoning ones boat? What could be of such import? It was not long in their travels away from the shore that they began to hear yelling. The sand had changed into dirt, and their were trees overheard. As they drew closer this developed into two distinct male voices, both clearly arguing deeply about something. "And I say we leave it. Its too heavy. I'd rather get away with our lives at this point than whatever is in here!" "Your not thinking. They know we took it. We can't go back. If we lose this, we will have nothing to show for it! How are we gonna find a new crew, or make it to another city, if we have no money? We get this somewhere, sell whats in it, and we get out of town. Maybe up to Sunberth, they won't follow us there. And if they did, they would never find us!" Realizing he was hearing a conversation he should not, Crylon went to take a step back only to step on and break a small dry twig. It broke with a loud snap and suddenly the voices went quiet. There was a moments pause, and then before he had time to react two forms came rushing around the nearest tree. One was holding a tarnished and damaged sword, the other a armed cross bow. "Don't move, or you'll get a bolt in the gut! Now... Petch, whats wrong with his arm! And why is he blue! Oh Dira, he's a ghost!" The man with the crossbow elbowed the man with the sword, before aiming the cross bow again. "Now, you've gone and seen too much. Or heard... Or, whatever, you know too much! Can't trust you to keep quiet, so nothing personal but we'll be killing you now." "Can I do it Jimmy? I never killed anyone before. Here, I'll make it quick!" With that the man with the sword stepped forward and raised the blade. Crylon trying to think quick and keep them from trying to kill him in earnest, raised his left arm to ward off the oncoming blow. He needed to stall... Which meant making himself useful. But what could he do? The container! They couldn't get it open! “Wait, don't kill me! Can help get it open!” Unfortunately for Crylon the man with the sword was so eager to take action he had not listened to what Crylon had said. The other man with the crossbow yelled for him to wait, but the man with the sword was already bringing the blade down. Fortunately Crylon was an Isur, and he had been warding off the attack with his blessed arm. Rather than hacking into flesh the sword banged off Crylon's arm like it was another metal sword. It was enough from the momentum to make him stumble backward and nearly fall, but he kept his feet. Barely. WC: 526

[Crylon Stonecraft]

The man with the sword let out a curse, stepping forward to make another swing when the crossbow wielding man pushed him aside while yelling. "Hold it Paul! We can use him! Now don't go killing people without discussing it with me first! We're a team! Partners! Aren't we?" Somewhat chastened, Paul hung his head and let his sword lower. "Fine. But when.... If.... We kill him later, I get to do it." He said this last bit, the correction, with a sly wink at his partner. Clearly he felt he had saved himself from making his intent clear, but even Crylon with his rough grasp of common got that message. His being useful might keep him alive for a bit, but they clearly intended to kill him later to keep him from talking. He would only live as long as he was useful. Clearly these men were criminals, and had stolen something they could not open. And they needed to cover their tracks. Which meant killing Crylon, now or if he could be of use once that use was exhausted. Thinking forward, Crylon realized there really was not that much to plan, too much was open to what happened next. Either he could not get the container open, and they killed him. Or he got the container open, and they killed him. Or he did something, while trying to open the container but without opening it, which gave him an opening to get away. Now he just needed to think of something to do... The solution to that problem of which he could think of nothing. But perhaps in the moment he would figure it out? Either way, if he stayed alive his chance of figuring something out increased. He turned to look at Tide, wondering why the two had not commented on him, to find that the tiny statue was gone. As he had been with him until they met the men, and he did not see him lying around on the ground, the statue must have dove into his pack at the first sign of danger. A devout Laviku worshiper he might be, brave and willing to throw himself into danger he was not. That made two of them, regarding the bravery and danger. “I... I can help open. But, must see thing. You take, I look, try open?” Paul, the man with the sword, looked over at Jimmy with his crossbow. "Fine, but no funny business." Confused, Crylon looked at the man as he tried to figure out the mans meaning. “Why I make joke now? Seem serious thing. And I not much on make joke.” "No I meant... Ah forget it. Just move." As they walked Jimmy got Paul's attention at pointed at Crylon, and tried to talk quietly. In truth though neither were too quiet, and Crylon could hear what they said. They did cover their mouths with a hand, talking to each other behind them, though this did little to nothing to stop the sound from traveling. The more Crylon saw, the more he felt these two were not expert criminals. "See his one arm, that's the one you hit. Its a different color than the rest of him," "Yep, I see it, it was like hitting a sword, or an arm shaped lump of metal." "Well only that one arm is the color. I bet if you hit him somewhere else, he'll bleed just like anyone else." "Right, right, I got your point." WC: 581

[Crylon Stonecraft]

The two men continued discussing their plans for a few more moments, before they arrived at their destination. It was not quite a clearing, more a small gap between the trees. But in it there was a spot where there had been a fire, or someone had tried to make a fire. There was also a chest with a big iron lock on the front. Using this as a chance to get his surroundings, Crylon walked around the chest while examining both it and the ground around it. In all honesty he did not see much. He could try to break the lock with his hand, but he was not sure he could manage that. It might be iron, but it appeared well crafted. Crylon walked around again, this time stopping near the pit where the fire had been. There had been a fire, Crylon could see the residue, grayish black soot, ashes and things on the ground. Something had burned there, though he could not be for sure if it had been from them or someone else. Nothing else on the ground presented itself, no weapon, no means of escape. He would need to figure out something, some plan or cunning or subterfuge that would make his escape possible. Then he realized, the ash! Motioning for the man with the crossbow to come near, Crylon pointed at the chest. It was of course no use, the chest and lock were well built. The hinges were inside the chest, which meant he could not even unscrew or remove them. The lock was solid and build flush with the wood, there was no gap. But he could make something up, which appeared the next best thing. “This spot here. It is... Seam, of wood. If loosen, can weaken wood. Like with... Ah ash, rub in, could help.” Bending over Crylon took a double handful of ash. Moving towards the chest Crylon pretended to consider his positioning and where to spread the ash, as Jimmy the crossbowman leaned forward to look at what Crylon was doing. He waited until he was near, till he was leaning forward, and then he turned and threw the double-handful of ash right into his face. The reaction was immediate and drastic, and far better than Crylon could have hoped for. Jimmy pulled back, trying to cough and clear out the stuff from his face. In reflex he lifted his hands up to his face, clenching and setting off the crossbow by accident. This sadly did not hit anything of use, but did loosen the bolt into the treetops which meant he would need to reload. Standing up Crylon turned to see Paul coming at him. He had not waited more than a moment after his partner was ashed before moving to attack, and Crylon barely had time to get his left arm up again. This time he was ready for the impact, and pushed forward as he was struck so that he kept solid footing on the hit. As Paul recoiled Crylon moved forward with his right more normal arm, though still quite tough compared to a humans with their thin and weak skin and easily broken bones. More by surprise than by any skill with punching, Crylon managed to land a single blow on the mans head. He had been aiming for his mouth, but missed and struck the man in the side of the head more or less right into his ear. Not waiting to see what the two men would do, how they would recover or how long it would take, Crylon enacted the last step of his innovative and well thought out plan. He legged it. WC: 614

[Crylon Stonecraft]

This, Crylon could see, was the most important part of the plan. The part where he ran away like mad after doing some random stuff to some people. Turning back the way they had come, Crylon raced for the beach. It had not taken long to get there walking, getting there running was even faster. He hoped that once he got there he could flag someone down, maybe find a passing boat. His alternative was to run back to the Demesne, which he was not sure he could manage. It had been hours of walking, and while running was faster he did not think he could keep running for that long over that distance. And at some point the two men would recover, and come after him. He was strong and sturdy, but he was also short compared to the humans. Once they got running they would be able to move much quicker. Making it to the beach Crylon paused for a moment to catch his breath, determine which way was towards the Demesne and Zeltiva, and ran off to the right in that direction. Right was south, as they were on the east coast. Crylon ran. And he ran some more. Then for a change of pace, he ran. Soon enough a small stitch was forming in his side, a stitch that was slowly growing into a red hot poker being ripped up to his armpit. Still he ran. He was so focused on running, it took him a moment to realize there was yelling from behind him. Glancing back quickly Crylon saw it was the two men, having apparently left their chest behind in an attempt to run down and kill Crylon. Crylon ran more, harder, the stitch fighting him. But in truth he could see it was not to be, while he had a lead on them they were slowly gaining. They kept running, yelling and waving all the way. The one with the sword was waving it over his head, the one with the crossbow was holding it in front of him. Crylon could not tell if he had rearmed the crossbow, which could mean he was preparing to fire at him. Or perhaps he was rearming it now? The answer to that came soon enough, as a moment later a crossbow bolt landed a few feet to the side of him. Crylon was unsure if the man had bad aim, or if he simply could not aim the crossbow well while running. Crylon hoped he would not work this out and stop to aim and shoot next time, or he would be feeling a bolt in the back. Still running Crylon heard more yelling, only to see motion out of the corner of his eye. Not the motion of the sea, but of... A boat! Two long boats were coming ashore a bit ahead of him. Both were full of men who seemed proficient at their job. They were also armed, all wielding some variation on swords, daggers, harpoons, and crossbows. Once he reached the men he stopped, nearly collapsing at their feet. He looked behind him to see the two men now running away. A group broke off, heading after the two men who had been chasing Crylon, while several stayed with Crylon. "Hey, did you see those two men! Two thieves! Where did they come from? Why were they chasing you? Did you see a chest?" Out of breath Crylon tried to explain, but had trouble. “I... Found... Broken... Boat... Follow... Trail. Found... Them... Chest... Follow. Trail. From boat.” Once he finished talking several more men broke off, two back to the boat clearly to communicate to their main boat where they should go and what to search for, several more to join the men on foot and go after the thieves. With a pat on the back the man looked at Crylon, a smile on his face. "Now, you head on home, alright? You don't want to see what we do with thieves. Suffice to say, they will be helping to feed Laviku soon enough." Not wanting to hear more, Crylon began walking again, this time to home. He had been through quite enough excitement for one day, and did not want to know what the man meant. He had a feeling Tide would now, and so he did not take the small man out just then. WC: 735

[Alric Lysane]

Your Grades Crylon Stonecraft Skills Brawling – 1 Endurance – 1 Logic – 2 Persuasion – 2 Philosophy – 1 Running – 2 Socialization – 3 Stealth – 1 Subterfuge – 3 Tracking – 2 Weapon: Unarmed – 2 Lores Brawling: Ashes To The Eyes Life: What Do I Want? Persuasion: Strong Arm Tactics Plan C: Leg It Subterfuge: Give Them What They Want Tide: A Promise Made, Every Day