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Post by Valcrist on Jan 8, 2011 23:14:20 GMT -6
"The plains were so plain." Hah... hah... if someone else was there they'd probably punch him for that one. Ugh. The blond haired boy just hung his arms down, his back hunched over and a pitiful looking pout on his face. He looked to the west. Plains. To the north, plains. The south? Several armed men charging at him. The east, plaincity. It was excruciating really. He didn't even know if he was going the right way, if there was a right way that is. Where was he going anyway? Maybe it would be best to go back! Sel is probably just waiting there, Val can just laugh and say
Ohgodtherearepeopletacklingmewhy
His body hit the ground with a sort of thud, a man sitting on his back and holding his hands behind him. In his hands where rope, in which he was currently focused on tying the young swordsman's hands together. A woman walked up to the unfolding scene, and looked at the pathetic Nabatan. "What are you doing here?"
"I dunnoooo." Val whined. God this was becoming a familiar scene. Not the man crushing his spine, the whole being accosted of doing something wrong by attractive women on the other hand... He felt like crying, not out of fear but rather frusteration. Can't a guy just walk around anymore these days? Was it really necessary to CRUSH HIS SPINE! If they just asked he'd give up or something.
The man got off, finally, leaving the blond boy hogtied. "I think you do. What is this? Your blade?" She touched the sheathed weapon with her foot, lifting it off the ground and letting it clunk down back to the ground.
"It's Fang, yes. And I don't know what I'm doing here. I just kinda wandered into Sacae and OW Why are you doing that!?" He let out a yelp of pain as the woman stomped down onto his body.
"Fang? What a stupid name for a blade, you disgrace the sword thinking you can tame it with a name." She answered his franticness with her own sternness. "There has been word of a man in sacaen clothes stealing our tribe's horses in this area. A man I would assume is you."
"S-stealing horses?" Val stuttered out. "Ow!" With his silence came another kick.
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Post by Valcrist on Jan 9, 2011 10:52:53 GMT -6
"Yes, stealing horses. OUR horses." This mysterious woman wasn't happy. Nay she was positively steamed. Her arms crossed with a dark look on her face, she turned to the man traveling with her and nodded her head. Slowly she drew her blade, a long thin sword not at all unlike Val's only... much less fancy. It looked, from Val's expert eye, Sacaen made. Well duh, that made sense.
"Wait, what are you OW! Always in the same spo- OW" Val tried to say something, but was silenced by two swift kicks. One from the woman and one from the man. The woman's hurt more.
"Silence. I should execute you right here." Some Sacaen judgment it seems. "Tell me, can you use that unnecessarily over-decorated blade? For your sake, I hope you can." She looked at the man. "Untie him. We will settle this in the traditional Sacaen fashion, a duel of skills."
The man stayed ever silent, it was a bit unnerving, but he had a smile on his face all the same. He took a knife from his waist and cut the ropes he just expertly tied moments ago. Val was finally able to stand on his feet once more, but he also had a sword stuck in his face. Well that figured. "Thank you." He said, though he wasn't really sure why. Must be ingrained manners.
"Draw your blade." She stepped close, bringing the blade even nearer to his face. "Try to run and Iril will shoot you dead where you stand." She nodded her head over in the man's direction. He had a bow at ready, a kind smile that totally didn't fit the situation at all.
"Are you sure you're not done kicking me?" He sounded bitter, but then again he thought a little bitterness was justified. How did he get into these messes? Slowly he drew Fang from his sheath, the black blade catching the sunlight and making a gleam. It was in impeccable condition, to be expected as he polished it almost every day. He held it up, nervous.
"That stance, it's Sacaen." She muttered. Now that he was finally untied, he could finally give the girl a good look over. She had short, boylike black hair, a lithe body with a tradition sacaen garment that didn't look too unlike Chelsea's covering her body. On her face was a couple of freckles and light blue eyes, she was... kinda cute if you were into the tomboy thing. The man over there on the other hand, he had a nice smile but since that was the only facial expression Val had seen it was a bit biased for an opinion. He was tall, taller then Val atleast, built slenderly in a way that reminded him of Wein. Short green hair that looked messy. His outfit looked closer to Yaen's then Val's but the general coloring scheme was the same.
"Erm... Yeah..." He kinda chuckled nervously.
"You look like a sacaen, let's see if you can fight like one!"
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Post by Valcrist on Jan 9, 2011 11:59:18 GMT -6
It happened faster then he expected, her body bolted from the spot faster the was prepared for. Not faster then Yaen, but definitely faster then Selibas. He held up his blade in self defense, the resound clanking of metal on metal making him nostalgic for his days at the forge. How did a blacksmith get his self in this kinda mess? Maybe he should of just stayed home instead of listening to that wild impulse.
He found his self with a gash in his new clothing, and a bleeding wound underneath that. He cringed in pain, stumbling back. He had been too busy thinking to realize her feint. With a deep breath, he held his blade up once more. The wound stung and his eyes twitch telling the story, but it wouldn't stop him. Well hopefully. She came at him again, her blade lowered close to the ground, slashing up as she came near. Val once again threw up his blade in defense, the metal weapons clanging like they did in the past. Instead of sitting there and fighting for dominance through the weapons, Val disengaged, letting her strength push her and her blade to the side.
He saw an opening to strike, but didn't take it. Just... Just thinking of his blade sinking into her flesh made him wince. She noticed this. "Why do you hesitate?" She snapped as she came back around to attack Val, once again the same way. It was becoming predictable. She probably didn't have much battle experience either, like Val. However, he remember Yaen telling him once that a good swordsman can see through an attack if you begin to rely on it. That's why it's best to change things up. Val wasn't a good swordsman... But he was starting to see something in her movements.
It was like... Like a picture. All kinds of different lines, different movements made up the greater piece. All he needed to do is look closer, pick out the little imperfections, and find the error in her fighting.
She dove, and Val dodged, separating his self from her.
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Post by Valcrist on Jan 9, 2011 13:55:11 GMT -6
"Stopped dodging!" She spat as she went in to attack the bladed blond. He swiftly moved out of the way. Even when she tried to feint, jumping from side to side to catch him off guard, all of it wasn't working. Val just dodged and dodged and dodged. That was what he was good at, dodging. He was seeing her attacks, and moving appropriately.
"That's like saying 'Stand still so I can kill you'!" Val shouted back as he ducked under her swing at his head. He took his blade and held it backwards, so the hilt was facing out and the blade was running beside him. With a quick movement he hit her in the stomach with the blunt handle and she fell back in pain.
"D...dammit." She groaned, Val could see as she resisted the urge to grab at it in pain. It made him feel bad for hurting her. She blasted forward far faster then he anticipated for an injured woman and slashed at him. This one caught him off guard and caught his arm, giving him a painful gash and sliced clothing. Luckily it was his right arm, and he could still use his blade arm, but it hurt really badly.
"Don't... you dare take it easy on me!" She shouted at him. She sure doesn't seem to be taking it easy on Val it seems.
"Well what do you want me to do? Kill you?" Val replied when he knew he really shouldn't.
"Yes, if you can!" She laughed. "Though I doubt it! You're nothing more then a thief and a disgrace to our way!"
"I told you, I'm no thief!" He repeated for what felt like the umpteenth time.
"Then kill me! Prove your innocence!" Wow she was batty.
"I don't think it works that way." Val tilted his head.
"Shut up, you know nothing." She responded a bit quicker then was probably good for her case.
"Alright, If I can land one blow, promise to hear me out." Val tried to cut a deal.
"Implying you can actually hit me!" She laughed.
It was a quick movement, she was off guard because she was busy laughing at Valcrist, before she knew what had happened, there was a slight cut on her arm. "No wait, that doesn't count you cheater!"
"Oh it totally does, now listen to me."
"No!" She kinda pouted like a child. "It doesn't, I wasn't ready." She stopped and looked over, the archer was standing behind her and shaking his head. She looked at Val with a sigh. "Oh alright. I'll listen, then I'll kill you."
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Post by Valcrist on Jan 9, 2011 20:37:12 GMT -6
"Has anyone ever told you that you're a violent young lady." Val was exasperated and exhausted, annoyed at this whole ordeal. But there was little he could about it outside of inviting an arrow into his skull, so might as well try to reason with her... though he couldn't help but feel like that was a pointless task. She was too busy imagining what color he'll bleed when she runs him through it seems. It's red, by the way. Not the vicious acid she was probably expecting.
"N-no." Oh god, that was a lie if Val ever heard one.
"Well, where should I start? First off, I'm Nabatan, you know the desert place." He began, but he still held his blade just in case. His right arm kinda hung limply at his side. He could still use it, but it was less painful if he just let it hang like that.
"Alright, I know you're full of crap already. Nobody lives in Nabata, it's a wasteland of death. C'mon Iril, let's kill him." She rolled her eyes, then narrowed them into a glare.
"Please stop doing that." Val groaned. "Let me explain before you try to kill me atleast." The woman sighed, which Val took as an Okay. "Like I said, I'm from Nabata. A small village called Koroda, it's a relatively well known trading spot, but it's not unusual for most people to never hear of it. It's a village of artisans, my mother and I are both blacksmiths." Val recounted an abridged addition of his life.
"You don't seem like a blacksmith to me. Awfully scrawny." She laughed at him.
"Thank you." He groaned. "But yes I am, I'm a blacksmith who specializes in making ceremonial weapons. Though I've been studying making effective weapons for the last few years. This sword here," He lifted his sword arm to show them the blade. Now that they weren't trying to murder him, maybe they could see the delicate and intricate engravings. "I made it myself."
"Seems frilly and pretentious to me." She crossed her arms with a scoff.
"Well it's not for everyone, that's for sure." He lowered his sword arm. "I left my home a few months ago, and after some misadventures I've wound up here. I'm just on my way through the plains, I think to Ilia but I don't have a map so I'm not sure." He sighed, maybe he should recount the things he did on those misadventures, but it probably didn't matter either way.
"Riiiight." The woman looked at him with a raised brow. "That's why you are dressed and fight like a Sacaen, are wandering the area the horse thief was, and have an incredibly fake sounding story."
"I'm telling the truth. My name is Valcrist Terris. The clothes and fighting are from my tutor, a man named Yaen. He taught me my swordplay, and he was a Sacaen swordsman like yourself."
"So, Iril. Should we trust him?" She looked over to her archer friend, he simply nodded in silence. "R-Really?" He nodded again. "Oh hell. If you got Iril to believe you, I guess I can't do nothing about it." She sheathed her blade with a sigh. "Are you sure you aren't the bandit?"
"YES." He sounded beyond annoyed by now, but still relieved.
"Alright alright... Damn it. I thought I finally caught him too... I'm Al, this is Iril." She gestured to the silent archer. "He doesn't say much, mute actually."
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Post by Valcrist on Jan 10, 2011 20:53:55 GMT -6
"Is there any particular reason you are so deadset on killing this man?" Iril the archer was bent over the blond boy, instead of tying him up this time he was bandaging his wounds. He gave the silent man a look and smile of thanks as he worked, it was nice one of the two was a reasonable human being.
The girl was looking away from the currently shirtless Valcrist, and the nabatan could only guess she was grimacing. "It's because none of your business." She snapped.
"Actually..." Val muttered in response. "If anything, that is. It's the reason you wanted to skewer me after all." His eye twitched in pain as he felt pressure being put on the gash around his arm.
"It's a big deal in my tribe, you wouldn't understand." She said, still facing away. Val was wondering if she turned away out of scorn, or embarrassment to seeing his scrawny blacksmith body in it's full glory.
"Is she always like this?" He whispered to the man tending to him. He gave an awkward look, looking left and right for a moment, and scrunched up his face as he nodded quietly. Poor guy. "So, I got you two are hunting some kinda horse bandit around here."
"Yup."
"So..." Val was finally getting up and pulling his clothing back on, he'd have to get someone to mend it later. "Why did you think it was me? Oh, I'm done by the way, you can turn around." He said offhandedly as he tightened the clothing.
"Because, you fit the description." She muttered as she turned back around. "You can't blame me really."
"Well, I guess I can't. But couldn't you at least listen to me instead of tackling me to the ground and say you're going to kill me? That's a little harsh." Val was still a bit bitter over it all, understandably of course.
"Stop whining. You're gonna help us find him." She gave him a raised brow, coupled with an evil smile.
Ugh, he should of known. "Alright, sure." Not like he had anything dire stopping him.
"While we're walking..." She suddenly grew a lot less sharp in her words, she looked away as she talked, and Val could feel she was uncomfortable possibly embarrassed. "Can you... tell me how you learned to fight like that?"
"How I learned to get cut up?" Val laughed.
"No! I mean the dodging."
Val thought for a second, then shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
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Post by Valcrist on Jan 10, 2011 22:13:28 GMT -6
"Well... You have to watch their movements and try to notice a pattern..." Val blathered on as he tried to describe how he dodged her attacks so easily. Al nodded quietly as he spoke, while Iril kept a look out for the man they were hunting for. He wasn't sure if she quite understood all his words, but it was actually kinda fun to talk about. The last person he had a conversation about fighting styles with was Yaen, and all he told Val was that he sucked and needed to be better. Well not exactly, he was actually very knowledgeable and philosophical about it all... Val just couldn't help but feel like that was all he was saying though.
"Wait, I don't quite get it. Do you..." She responded in kind, asking questions. He couldn't help but grin, he felt like something other then a complete novice for the first time in his entire life.
Iril tugged on the absentminded Al's shoulder. Instantly she dropped the conversation and turned her head to where he was pointing. She in turn tugged on Val's shirt and pointed as well. "Shh... I think we might have our man..." She spoke in hushed tones, and indeed there was a man over there. He was riding a horse, and from what Val could tell from the distance, had the traditional color scheme of Sacaen clothes. Light blue or green and yellow.
Val couldn't make out too much from this distance, but it looked like there was another person with him. He was without a horse, but it still looked like someone was there. There was also another horse near them, possible one that was stolen. "You gonna tackle him?" Val asked in whisper.
"No, they're too smart to fall for that." Wow, thanks. "I think we should get close and spring an ambush." She said in a hushed whisper, barely audible. Why were they being so quiet anyway? They were far enough that their normal voices wouldn't be heard... oh well.
The trio hid behind a large rock. There wasn't much in way of cover around here, the best bet would be to use Iril's archery to cause a distraction to lure them towards a place with cover. Then Al would confront the man, with Val appearing afterward to help take out the partner.
It probably wouldn't be that easy though, nothing ever is.
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Post by Valcrist on Jan 10, 2011 22:53:36 GMT -6
"So Howard, how much do you think this one will go for?" The man looked at the horse with a look a self-satisfaction on his face. The group were walking through the plains, approaching a forest a bit aways.
"Hrm... Probably five hundred gold or more, it's a pretty nice one Vince." His partner said with a nod, sitting atop his own mare. He patted the girl on the side of her head as she whinnied.
"Good, that'll bring us to around four thousand. We almost have enough now." The man had a wide smile on his face, looking quite cheerful.
"Hrm..." The man identified as Howard muttered quietly to his self.
"What is it How?" The other man, called Vince asked. He was wearing the traditional Sacaen garb, but it didn't look natural on him. At his side was an axe, which only added to the confusion. Sacaens, in general, prefer blades and bows to axes and lances.
"We should leave soon, I remember seeing some tribesman moving not too far from us a while ago. They're probably on to us, we need to find somewhere else." The horse riding man muttered, he had a large lance strapped to his back with a sword strapped to his belt. His armor made it obvious he was a cavalier, he didn't even appear to try to cover his identity. The group started to head into the mouth of the forest, it wasn't even a forest really. Closer to a small clump of trees that have grown together.
Vince spoke up loudly, but earnestly. "But... but we're so close. Two or three more horses How!" He calmed. "We've almost got the 5000 gold we need. We can't stop now."
"This isn't what we should be doing to get that gold..." The horse riding man muttered.
"Do you think I enjoy being a common bandit? We need the money to make the payment, and once we do... we won't have to worry anymore. It's too slow and dangerous to be a mercenary... I don't want either of us to die... We don't have a choice..." Sounding defeated, Vince let his arms fall to his side, looking at the grass below him.
"Maybe.. Maybe we should..." The man began, but his sentence was finished with the arrow embedding itself in the ground near him. The horse he had on a rope started to rear back and whine loudly. It struggled and fought, the arrow spooking him, it was too much and Howard couldn't hold it anymore. The horse galloping away.
"I'll go after the horse!" How began but a certain blond haired boy dropped from the trees above them.
"Sorry." Valcrist smiled awkwardly, drawing his blade.
"I'm not, now prepare to die bandit!" Al also popped from the trees above, holding her sword ready to strike down Vince.
"Damn it, an ambush!"
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Post by Valcrist on Jan 11, 2011 14:14:37 GMT -6
Al was already at work attacking the axe wielding man. She shouldn't have too much trouble, the axe was designed for breaking armor and smashing lances. Heavy powerful strikes, making the sword a natural counter with it's agile and speedy blows. Especially in the hands of Sacaen Mymidon, Val even noticed her fighting style changing slightly. She was probably more self conscious over her movements after Val's talk to her about them. It would of been enough for Valcrist to crack a smile, if he wasn't too busy being preoccupied by the cavalier wielding the lance threateningly at him.
"Boy! Leave now or you'll regret it!" The cavalier spoke, with a kind of anger that made Val feel uneasy. If it was just him, he'd probably would of taken him up on that offer. This wasn't something he'd want to get involved in... but he sorta made a promise that he'd help those two. He'd look really guilty if he just left now, so with trembling hands he drew his blade.
"That... That sword!" The man said, his eyes widened. "I could get a lot for it. If we had that... we could pay the rest at once!" Well crud, looks like they wanted his sword now. Typical. The horse riding man charged on his steed with his lance in hand, lunging as he grew closer. Val left the spot immediately as he thrust, and circled around the horse. The man turned to change the side he was attacking on, but Val was too fast and was able to strike first. His blade screeched across the metal of his armor, slicing into the steel ever so slightly. Drat... His weapon was not good against armor.
As the man tried to stab the boy, an arrow caught at a gap in his armor. "Argh!" He grabbed at his arm in pain, giving Val another chance to attack. So the boy attacked again, except this time it wasn't at the man but rather at the reins he was holding. It wouldn't stop him, but it should impeded a horse rider's mobility enough to make a difference.
Meanwhile, Al was doing well in her fight. She danced around the fighter, not taking a single hit while the man took several slashes. It was really unfair to him, this was the worst possible type of person he could fight. If she was a knight or a soldier instead, he'd butcher them. But... a Myrmidon was not a fight.
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Post by Valcrist on Jan 11, 2011 15:44:03 GMT -6
Val danced around, dodging the man's spear thrusts. Without the reins, he was forced use his hands to guide the horse around, eventually the horse became more of a liability then an asset, and hopped off the mare. He took his spear, and he was much more mobile off the horse. Horses were good for large scale battle with multiple targets, they were good for traveling long distance quickly and they were good for giving slower fighters more mobility, but in one on one combat they weren't efficient.
The man lunged with his weapon, and Val found it much harder to efficiently evade his attacks without the horse slowing him down. He ate a lance grazing at his arm, not too far away from where Al slashed him earlier. He cringed in pain, but he wasn't about to give up quite yet. He was watching the man's movements, they were a bit clunky. He was far more used to horse combat then ground combat, he used the spear at full length, as if it wouldn't leave him open. Most likely a sign of him being used to being able to continue moving after attacking, as his mobility relied on a horse then his own legs.
His attacks were hard to dodge, but he left his self far too open after his attacks. Val dashed over and slashed as the area between plates while he reeled and prepared to attack again. Unlike a knight, he didn't have a shield to cover his self after striking and unlike a soldier he didn't wield his weapon in a way that allows mobility after striking. He fought like a cavalier, but a cavalier away from his steed didn't fight well.
Howard cried out in pain as Val slashed at his exposed parts, and he tried to counter, but the blond swordsman was already gone by the time he lunged. He came around the other side, but the spearman wasn't unprepared. He did a swift movement with the butt of the lance, thrusting it in Val's gut. The myrmidon from Nabata reared back in pain, and prime for another strike, but was interrupted by another arrow.
He'd need to thank Iril later. Val took the sword in hand and rushed back at him, despite the pain, and took his blade to another section of unarmored flesh. He stumbled back and fell to the ground. Not in death, but pain. The lance fell out of his hand as he bled violently. "Damn... it... Go ahead, finish me."
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Post by Valcrist on Jan 11, 2011 17:12:42 GMT -6
Val turned his head to see that Al was still fighting with the axe man. He signalled for Iril to come closer. "I'm going to help Al, you watch him." He told the silent archer, and the archer nodded in agreement. "We'll deal with you later." He told the man, trying to sound intimidating. He was about as intimidating as a loud mouse. He coulda scared someone, especially people who don't like mice, but for the most part it wasn't very threatening.
Val dashed, a slight cringe in the eyes as he moved, his gut still stung from the lance that bashed him there. As he neared closer, he saw that Al was winning, which didn't surprise him. The man was covered in cuts and barely able to stand. Quickly Val entered the fray, holding up his blade to stop... hers. "Wait!" The blonde boy called. "We should hear them out first!" He sputtered out.
"Why bother? These men stole from us. The Sacaen way is to execute them." She fought back with her weapon, pressing into Val's blade.
"No, you... You can't just kill him! I don't care if it's your way! If it is, then your way is wrong!" Val fought back.
"You know nothing of our way." Al spat like venom.
"Then help me understand!" Val shot right back, pressing hard on the blade and throwing her back slightly. The man was barely able to move. He didn't know what to make of this, his life was being saved by the same people threatening to take it away.
She backed off for a moment, just staring at the man as if he was not of this world. But she simply sighed. "Iril, are you done tying that man up yet?" She called to the archer, he held up a hand in response. Probably meaning yes, since she seemed to sigh in peace rather then aggravation. "I'll let you have your way then child." She stared at Val with dark eyes. She was probably the same age as Val, so the fact she called him a child was both a bit silly and painful at the same time.
Val laughed nervously as Iril came over, dragging the spearman in toe upon the horse he hopped off. As soon as he approached, he went to tie up the axeman, and Val looked at him with an odd smile. He felt... well awkward. "Um... so... er... who are you two?"
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Post by Valcrist on Jan 11, 2011 17:49:18 GMT -6
"Never." Vincent said, adamant.
"Vincent, please, this is our only chance to live. Don't be difficult. They could of killed us if they wanted, they're giving us a chance." The spear wielder spoke, he sounded a bit more reasonable then his partner.
"Ugh. Fine. I'm Vincent, he's Howard." The axe man looked like a giant child with the way he was pouting.
He looked at Al, to see if she would prefer to ask these questions. She just turned her head in a harrumph as he looked at her. That must be a no then... He kept his blade out, but was tempted to sheath it. He felt odd talking with it out. "So... Why are you two stealing horses?"
"Because we want money. Duh." The axe man laughed. Val held out a hand to stop Al from murdering him.
"No, I mean why do you want the money? Why would you steal horses to get it?" Val didn't catch any of the conversation earlier, so he was in the dark as to their intentions. "That man said something about a payment, what are you paying and to who?" Val tilted his head as he spoke, an odd habit that made him look like a giant puppy at times.
"Never." The axeman spat.
"We're Etrurian Deserters." The spearman corrected.
"Howard!"
"Now, come on Vince. We're in no place to act like this. It's either the truth or death, and I prefer to live." Smart man, as Al would of killed them both had not Val intervened.
"Fine then... We're from Etruria. We deserted after the battle none too far from here against the traitor Richter. Except we didn't want to become soldiers for him. We're tired, both of us. We want out of this war." Vince spoke with a solemn, almost depressing voice.
"We need to get 5000 gold to be able to afford a new life. We found a man who calls his self X, and he said he would erase our past lives and help start our new ones if we got enough money." Howard said with a sigh. He tied up and on the horse, but he was still talkative enough.
"We stole horses because... it was the only way we could make enough money." Vince said with a sigh.
"Really? There's a thousand ways to make money. I don't think stealing horses is the 'only' way." Val looked at him with a raised brow.
"We couldn't do anything else! We are Etrurians and... no one trusts us. We need the gold by the end of the week or the deal's off. There was no other way to make enough fast enough. We couldn't be mercenaries, we wanted to LEAVE that life!" He sounded desperate, but the that sound of desperation told Val that he was telling the truth. Or atleast what he thought was the truth, he believed every word that came out of his own mouth it seemed.
Val sighed and shook his head. "So in order to be trusted... you stole from innocents? Great plan."
"But..." Vince stuttered.
"It was wrong, as we know it." Howard spoke up for him. "If... if you'll let us... we'd like to make amends."
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Post by Valcrist on Jan 11, 2011 18:26:30 GMT -6
"Well Al, it's your call." Val turned his head to woman. She just stared at them silently, her hand at her mouth and a pensive look on her face. She didn't even appear to be staring at them, but rather through them. "Al?" Val asked again, getting closer to her, trying to look at her face.
"..." She stayed silent before slowly opening her mouth. "Take them... to the village. We'll let the chieftain decide." Val couldn't help but smile at her words. He had successfully talked her out of killing them! He knew listening people out would work out in the end! "Come on Iril, get this man on that horse too, lets travel back to the tribe... Valcrist you..." She looked embarrassed, just a little bit. "Can come too if you like..."
Val nodded enthusiastically. "Of course I'll come." He basically cheered. "I saw you watching your movements a bit more during that last fight..." He began to blather about fighting once again. Iril shook his head with a smile as he hoisted the man onto the mare. Patting the horse on the nose.
"It's alright girl, he won't hurt us." Howard said aloud, an awkward smile.
"Try to escape and we'll kill you." Al said quite coldly. "Will that be alright your highness?" She looked at Val, a sarcastic smile on her face.
Valcrist rolled his eyes while bringing his weapon to his sheath, resheathing the blade in one swift movement. "Sure."
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The walk had taken about half of an hour, but it went by quickly. The two swordsman talked and the archer added his input in his own way. His own silent way. It was interesting, he spoke not a word, yet his presence wasn't one you could just ignore. He was loud, but with actions instead of words. They neared a settlement of makeshift homes, looking like they could be taken down instantly. That must be the tribe, Val thought, and Al only confirmed it. "There it is. The Erlis tribe, we're a moderate size, but not too large."
"Al Erlis?" Val said with a little laugh.
"Alexia! There you are! And you too Iril... who's that you got with you?" A man came up to the group. A lookout it seems.
"Perfect timing." She groaned. "Yes uncle Relan. These are the horse bandits that have been plaguing the tribe. I've brought them back like I promised I would." She sounded proud in her words, it seemed she wasn't believed.
"And who's this young man? Another bandit?" He eyed Val suspiciously. It made the blond boy feel awkward. Was he sweating? It felt like he was sweating.
"No, he's a friend. He was looking for the bandits too." She swiftly lied, though it wasn't really a complete lie. Did Alexia consider him a friend?
"Erm... Nice to meet you... I'm Valcrist."
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Post by Valcrist on Jan 12, 2011 12:08:06 GMT -6
"So..."
"Shutup."
"Your name is Alexia, is it?"
"Shutup."
"Such a feminine and elegant name."
"Shut up!"
"Alright alright... Alexia."
"GRRRRAGH"
He could barely contain his laughter as he taunted Al about her name. She seemed like a total tomboy, as such she probably hated her feminine name... and he was right, she did. "Atleast my name actually sounds like something. What the hell is a Valcrist?"
"I dunno." He lied with a shrug. "I'll stop, sorry Al."
"No... it's alright. Don't need to be sorry. I'm just... a little touchy about it. That's all." The two were walking into the village while Iril was helping Relan bring the men to the chieftain for judgment.
"Hey... do you people have a blacksmith?" Val turned to her, smiling.
"Uh... Yeah. Master Ishke, he's down in the tribe proper. Why?" She looked at him for a second, then it clicked. "Oh yeah! You're a blacksmith, right? I forgot because of how SCRAWNY and WEAK you look." She waved him off dismissively with a smile.
"You sure seemed embarrassed earlier when my scrawny body was in FULL GLORY." Val put his arms on hips, his chest puffed out in false self-esteem.
"I was afraid looking at you would break your bones." She laughed and poked him in his puffed chest.
"Ow...." He rubbed where he was poked, as if it was a sword wound.
"C'mon, I'll take you to the blacksmith you big baby." She grabbed him by the arm.
"But it huuuuuuuuurts." He whined as he was dragged away.
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Post by Valcrist on Jan 12, 2011 12:34:27 GMT -6
"Master Ishke" Al called out as she neared the man toiling at an outdoor forge that was built into some sort of cart. It was a large cart, about the size of one of the homes that the other people dwelled in, but it was exclusively for the forge and blacksmithing tools. There was the hammer... and the tongs... all of it. Val hadn't seen a set up since back in Bulgar, but it made him oddly nostalgic. Not without good reason, most of his childhood was in a blacksmith's shop. Not many travelers came in and bought goods though, maybe the rare idiot looking for the legendary treasures said to be hidden in the desert. The bones of long dead dragons, in which powerful weapons could be forged from. Usually, they were never saw again...
"Ah, Alexia!" He said with a smile. Al's gaze fell into a dull glare. "Oops, sorry, 'Al' then." She rolled her eyes and laughed. "What brings you? Broke your sword again?" The man was tall, and had sooty and ashy skin, thick calluses on his hands and a muscular body. A big nose, and thick eyebrows that were a dirty blue color. His head was, for the most part, covered in tightly cropped and short hair. It was... a face that Val thought he had seen before.
"It's alright Ishke." She sighed. "Anyways, no, I wanted to introduce you to Valcrist." She got around the blond boy, and gently pushed him forward from behind. Val skidded forward with a nervous smile that looked incredibly forced and fake. He stared at the man not saying a word. "Talk Val, talk!" She bopped him in the back of his head. "You had no trouble talking to me a minute ago."
That's because you broke the ice by TRYING TO KILL ME. Val gulped and laughed, simply to fill the silence. "I'm, er, V-Valcrist... I'm from, er... N-Nabata. Koroda if you-"
"Koroda! That's it!" The man said with a loud guffaw of laughter, bringing his hand to his brow. Val looked at him, confused. "Yer that little runt in Koroda! I recognize ya boy. You've gotten taller... and hairer." He laughed again.
"Erm... wh..." Val sounded confused.
The man didn't even let him finish. "About ten years ago, I was a part of a trade caravan, we stopped in Koroda to visit the legendary Terris blacksmith." He laughed. "I think it was yer mother. Pretty lass, completely embarrassed me with what she could do with steel. I never fergot her. She had this little squirt who she said was her son, that was you. I think yer drew my picture fer five gold, which you bought some candy with or something." he laughed again.
Val thought back for a second. "Yeah... I think I remember that." He could never forget those eyebrows. "Yeah!" Val said with a nod. He never forgot a face, names on the other hand... were a bit harder.
"It's nice to see you again boy. How's yer mother?" He had a wide grin, it made even Val want to smile. It was contagious.
"When I left, she was just fine. Had a big commission coming up for son Bern noble child or something. A spear I think." Val nodded with a smile. "The last letter I got said she'd finished it, and got a tidy sum for it."
"That's good boy. Whatcha doing in Sacae?"
"I'm traveling, then I... er..." He looked at Al, who had been silent this whole conversation.
"Ran into me. We had a spar, then he help me catch those damn bandits." She clapped Val on the back in a way that almost said 'tell him the truth and I'll kill you' without saying a word. Message got.
"Erm, that. That is why I'm in Sacae." Val knew better then to disobey an order, he may be poked again.
"Alright..." He looked at them with a raise giant brow, as if he didn't believe them, but his good nature took over and he just laughed. "So, whatcha want boyo?"
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