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Post by Eren on May 26, 2014 14:20:23 GMT -6
It was an overcast day as Eren and Mika glided over the barren Ostian countryside. It was quite the depressing sight, actually. Farms laying dormant, fields overgrown with weeds and brambles, and orchards withering away in the gloom. Nobody in their right mind would come to Ostia willingly, especially not without good reason.
That must mean that Eren was off his rocker.
"Oh look. A town! Finally, let's hope there's something to do here."
Their descent was uneventful, with wyvern and rider landing amidst the crowds of nonexistent people. "Right, to the tavern."
Eren entered the run-down establishment, causing the heads of some grimy-looking, grizzled soldiers to turn.
"Bloody 'ell, it's a fine soldier wif shiny armor! You rich, boy, or just crazy?"
"Both. I want work. Give me a job, preferably one that involves my lance and axe. It will be done. Quickly and efficiently, no less."
This was a cause for uproarious laughter from the locals. "Any job, huh? Well, here's one for you. You can escort a merchant down to Thria. He'll leave tomorrow, right, Gunther?" A heavyset man nodded the affirmative, his body shaking with mirth and causing his sword to tinkle against the metal of his chair.
"Good. I will be waiting."
Eren exited the tavern, conscious of the dead silence behind him. Surely this man couldn't be foolhardy enough to actually take the job on? Every time Gunther left, he had an escort of soldiers, and every time, they always ran into trouble. More often than not, one of the soldiers died. Was this newcomer suicidal? Or skilled?
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Post by Valcrist on May 27, 2014 21:20:48 GMT -6
If it wasn't for all the monsters and bandits and dead farmlands and natural barriers and the overwhelming feeling of dread and the smell of death that simply never left the air, Ostia would be a nice place to visit. He hadn't been here before, another check for his list it seemed. He wanted to see all of Elibe, but it was becoming readily apparent that all of Elibe wasn't worth seeing. There was nothing but deadlands from here to Etruria, and over towards Laus it was crawling with creatures. Not exactly fun, it wasn't exactly a fond place in his memory to begin with, but he wasn't sure he'd want to see it in this state. Last time he was there the mage's academy was knocked down by a dragon.
Valcrist sat in the seedy bar, actually seedy would be a compliment but he wasn't enough of a wordsmith to craft a description more appropriate. He drank his alcohol that smelled and tasted like it was just water with the smallest drop of drink inside. Ugh.
His... fellow patrons, if they could be called fellows in any capacity, seemed rough and rowdy. Not exactly unexpected, then again Valcrist didn't expect much. In a land as dead as Ostia, only a few different types of people could be found. Bandits. Survivalists. People too proud to give up their home. Those sort of people, then there were travelers like Valcrist. He was hassled a bit when he entered, but he simply ignored them. They quickly grew bored, though they did ask if he should be 'ordering milk' or whatever their insult was. He couldn't remember, it was about his age though, he expected that might be half the reason his drink is basically just water.
Travelers were rare in these parts, who wanted to travel the deadlands? Well apparently there was at least two people that dumb, seeing as another person walked in rather suddenly. The whole room suddenly dropped everything they were doing and paid attention to him, and only him, because you know that's how things work. Not that he could make jests, he was paying attention too. It was kinda boring out here.
So this guy, the first thing he does is demand a job. Money hungry mercenaries are par for course really. People laughed, a bit too much since the guy didn't actually say anything particularly humorous. The smith rolled his eyes as he stood up. The man left, without getting any detail on the job or anything, seemed reckless but then again Valcrist was a blacksmith not a mercenary. Well not usually, he's wore that hat before, it wasn't his favorite though. Still it didn't stop the Nabatan from trotting out of the bar, following the man's departure. "Hey, you, guy." He tried to flag the man down.
"You're leaving town on some big great mission tomorrow, right? If I chip in some gold, can I tag along? I'm a merchant myself." Valcrist offered his proposal, it wasn't really lucrative but if he was already going that way Valcrist might as well go as well. He wasn't particularly loving Ostia, so it gave him a reason to move. While he could probably easily make the trip alone, he prefered some company.
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Post by Eren on May 29, 2014 18:58:20 GMT -6
"You're leaving town on some big great mission tomorrow, right? If I chip in some gold, can I tag along? I'm a merchant myself."
Eren turned in surprise. He hadn't heard the man approach, probably because he was too busy thinking to himself about just what a boring and awful this journey would be to make without anyone to talk to... Well, here was a new face, and someone he could talk to. That was good.
"Well, I'd assume it's fine. I would check with the heavy man in the tavern, though. His name is Gunther and I believe he's the one leading this convoy."
Eren looked the man over briefly. He looked clean and presentable; clearly not your average ruffian or lazy moocher. No, this man seemed quite responsible. "Pardon, I didn't get your name. I'm Brigadier General Eren Baratta of Bern, then Ilia. And this," Eren said, whistling discordantly and calling Mika down, who landed in a flurry of jet-black and a rush of dust and grit, "is my wyvern, Mika."
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Post by Valcrist on May 29, 2014 21:08:46 GMT -6
"Well I was hiring you, not that guy." Valcrist shrugged with a sort of half-cocked smirk. He arced a brow as he listened to the man talk and introduce himself and so on and so forth. "I'd rather not have to deal with him, but I suppose clearing it up should be a step I take somewhere down along the line. He's a merchant though, if I know anything about merchants it's that they like company and they love money. Luckily I can provide both. If bandits attack I could be another corpse to throw at them while he scurries away for his life or something along those lines." Valcrist added with a gesture of the hand.
"Big title." He commented as Eren rattled off a list of his positions and achievements and oh hell did he say Bern? And Ilia? That's... That's like double bad. Frickedy doo dah. Well it's been a while since that whole thing happened, and he wasn't fighting off bounty hunters or anything, so it was safe to say his identity was secure. It was much more likely people just didn't care though, he was only some random fighter in the arena who fought a dragon helped an assassin escape, it was a bit egotistical really to expect it become a big huge deal. "I'm Valcrist, a blacksmith. Nice to meet you Eren, Mika." He nodded his head at the man, then the scaly wyvern. Val didn't exactly love wyverns, but he didn't particularly hate them either. It was more of an indifferent understanding. When the black scaled creature landed, it brought a gust of dust and dirt with it, but Valcrist didn't really react to it. Dust and dirt wasn't much to him, he was used to it after over a year of using his windsword.
"Kind of an odd place to see a brigadier general, last time I checked Ostia wasn't a part of Bern. Or Ilia for that matter, unless I missed something pretty major. In which case I've been living based on a lie for years now." He chuckled. "So what brings you to this little patch of forsaken land? Moonlighting as a mercenary in a foreign nation doesn't exactly seem like a common occurrence. If you don't mind me asking of course. You can just say 'shut up Valcrist' if you do."
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Post by Eren on May 31, 2014 12:26:31 GMT -6
"Hohoho, you're sharp, aren't you? Fitting, for a blacksmith. You're absolutely correct -- it is odd for one of my status to be out in the boondocks. I could feed you a line about scouting or hunting down deserters or some hogwash like that, but I figure honesty's the best policy. I'm retired, you see. I took a sort of... 'sabbatical,' in a sense. I wanted to travel a bit, try to see the lands, and, with all of the agitation back home, I found leaving to be the most prudent course of action, so that I don't have to make any thorny choices and upset people that currently are my friends. I do hope to return, one day.
Anyway. I accept your offer; I'll guard your caravan to Thria, if that's fine with you. Gunther stops there, so if you're traveling farther, we can discuss that once we arrive. It's a bit... concerning to me that the locals regard the job as a suicide mission. I'd rather not die on a dusty road, swarmed by bandits or, Hartmut forbid, those undead freaks."
Eren nodded to Valcrist, giving a tight-lipped smile. "Do you... defend yourself at all?" He couldn't see any weapons on the man, but, then again, he didn't wear a lance and axe on his armor like Eren did. Hopefully the man had some way of repelling an attack. At least Gunther had a sword...
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Post by Valcrist on May 31, 2014 14:18:17 GMT -6
"Oh I get it. Sharp, blacksmith, funny." He smirked, sounding somewhat amused. "Well I'm sorry for bringing it up." He shrugged. "But if it makes you feel better, I'm traveling the lands myself. I mean why else would anyone wind up in a forsaken hellhole like this?" He gestured at the grey lifeless landscape in the distance, it was gross here quite frankly. "I wanted to see the whole world, that's why I started traveling in the first place, but I see now that some places simply aren't worth exploring. I mean I seem to be exploring them anyways, seeing as I'm here, but there's clearly a line somewhere marked 'not worth the effort' out there. Must have missed it on my way in." He chuckled.
"I'm not really traveling with a caravan, it's just me. I used to be in a caravan but, eh, I like to make my own routes. I mean how many caravans would come to a place like this? Well obvious more than I thought but that's not quite the point." He shrugged. "I don't carry too terribly much on my person, since I mostly do commission work. People hire me to make specific things, instead of my just peddling generic blades and bows. You know, fancy swords to hang on your mantlepiece, something they give generals to signify their importance. I do magic weapons too, lot of work those are, expensive too, but definitely worth it though. You just need to find a mage to enchant it, I'm not really magically inclined." He continued, then realized he was never actually asked. "Ah, sorry. I tend to ramble when it comes to smithing." He waved his hand a bit.
"Anyways, I can fight a bit." He admitted. He didn't have his weapons on his person at the moment, the barkeeper got all upset and said 'no weapons' and such. Apparently Eren didn't get the memo, but he was only in the place for all of ten seconds so there wasn't really a whole lot of time for it to come up. Or maybe the barkeeper was just being an ass to Valcrist. Now that the smith thought about it, that seemed more likely. "As a smith I have a good understanding of all types of weapons, give me anything made for poking chopping or cutting and I could probably use it. I have a few items I keep for personal use though, so I'll be fine." He left his weapons in the inn he was staying at, all he had on his person was a simple iron shortsword that he hid on his person. He never would go someplace completely unarmed, especially in a place as seedy and kind of dangerousish as this.
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Post by Eren on May 31, 2014 15:06:03 GMT -6
"Hmm. Fancy things, huh? Well, I've been throwing the idea around of a lance that works kind of like a javelin, but more sturdy and able to fly better. Like a spear, but more suited to both close and ranged combat... and less expensive. Would that be a viable weapon, do you think?"
Well, he felt better if both Gunther and Valcrist could fight. That would make the journey safer. It was getting late, though. He'd have to excuse himself from Valcrist's company soon and head to bed for the night. They were leaving early in the morning, presumably because bandits would be less daring during broad daylight. But in a place as desolate and digusting as Ostia, Eren doubted it'd make much of a difference. Ah, well. Whatever kept them alive, he supposed.
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Post by Valcrist on May 31, 2014 15:37:17 GMT -6
"Like a javelin, huh? Well in that case it's probably gonna be kinda steep since you're just throwing your weapon away. You'd need a small supply of them. There's a reason javelins are cheaply made and not exactly great close range weapons, you chuck them at people. I mean you can always retrieve them, but sometimes you can't. Spears are so expensive because they're of a higher quality of spear throwing." Valcrist crossed his arms, and wrenched his face, thinking of what the guy wanted.
"I could make you a shorter spear, striking a balance between the quality of a throwing spear and the price of a throwing javelin. I've seen them before, it won't be as good as a spear and it won't be as cheap as a javelin but I think I can strike a good balance and make you a few. Just try not to lose them." Valcrist nodded with a wink, an idea already forming in his mind. He's never actually specifically dealt in short throwing spears, but he knew about them and was confident in his ability. "I can work on them overnight, and have them ready for you in the morning. I do my best smithing at night anyways."
"Speaking of overnight, it's getting kinda late. Maybe I should go get started on that, I'll give you a good deal since you're taking me along. Just pay for the raw materials, I'll skip the commission charge as a gift." He smiled. Somewhere out there his coin pouch cried as Valcrist once again did smithing work for dirt cheap. He was never gonna save up enough to pay for his own smithery this way. Still he enjoyed helping people, and he liked making weapons, so it didn't exactly bother him on a personal level.
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Post by Eren on May 31, 2014 16:27:09 GMT -6
"Ah, that would be much appreciated. Also, I've heard of axes that are both lightweight and strong, used mainly for military purposes. Back in Bern, they were referred to as 'Killer's Axes' or 'Killing Axes.' Have you any idea of how to make one of those? I'd be able to pay you well for both, of course."
Eren smiled and nodded his head, impressed. Valcrist must be a well-trained and experienced blacksmith. Eren was quite glad to have met him. He was quite possibly the only worthwhile part about the cesspit of Ostia so far. Without Valcrist's presence, Eren decided, Ostia would be completely devoid of any merit or attraction. What an awful place.
Eren waited for Valcrist's response on the axe, but agreed with the man about the hour. "Indeed, it's getting pretty late. I'd best head to my room, and get some rest so that I can be alert tomorrow. Hopefully the innkeeper actually gave me a room with a bed this time. Last town I stopped, they had a couple of planks with a rug for a blanket. Talk about a terrible place, huh?"
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Post by Valcrist on May 31, 2014 17:12:18 GMT -6
"A killing axe?" He always found the term 'killing' whatever so crude. Couldn't they just say 'serrated' or 'sharped' or whatever? "You're in luck, I don't even have to make that one. I had a guy commission one a while back, never actually showed to get it. So it's been just bouncing around my things, and honestly I don't feel right using it myself." He touched his chin and nodded with a small hum. "I'll sell it to you, I've already lost more then enough money on it as is. I'll be barely breaking even, but I'll learn to live with myself I'm sure. It's with the rest of my things, I'll bring it over when I bring the spears. Have the gold ready then, we can hash out a specific price later." Valcrist finished with a shrug.
"I'll see you in the morning I suspect, I just hope no one nixed my things while I was away. This place is awfully sketch." He looked over at the rundown ramshackle of an inn he was staying at down the street from the tavern they were previously in and were now talking in front of. He grimaced, ugh. He needed to stop by the smithy and rent out the shop for the night, usually it's not a problem. Most smiths don't complain since they weren't using it in the night anyways and Valcrist was willing to pay. He was very conscientious about that. The sun was setting and it looked beautifully awful. Huh. "Have a good night, guard your purse well."
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Post by Eren on May 31, 2014 17:31:34 GMT -6
"Wonderful. That's superb news."
Eren was feeling quite pleased. He had a job to bring in some more coin, he had met an interesting new acquaintance, and he was going to get new weapons! Weapons always filled him with excitement, especially new ones. Weapons! They made such a nice clang and they cut so well and stabbed so well... Weapons were like a drug to him.
"Indeed. Take care, Valcrist. I'll see you tomorrow morning; I assume we'll leave as early as possible. So long."
Eren nodded to the man, walking back in the bar. He spoke briefly to Gunther, who didn't mind the additional merchant (or maybe he was too drunk to care) and nailed down the details of the journey. Two days, a fast pace, on horseback, to Thria. Well, Eren would be traveling by Wyvern, but... Still. All the way to Thria in two days. Gunther was either ambitious or it was really bad out there. Hopefully it was the former.
Leaving the bar and heading over to the inn, Eren received his key and entered his room to find... "Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me..." The room was quite bare, with a simple table, chair, and a few hay bales covered with a cloth that looked like it'd been used to mop up a few too many spills. "Guess I'm sleeping in my armor, then. Eren securely barred the door, moving the table and chair in front of it to block the entryway even more. Better safe than sorry in this hellhole.
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Post by Valcrist on May 31, 2014 17:58:37 GMT -6
Well that was good, what started off as a crappy day ended with a slightly less crappy ending. He got a buyer for that axe, was gonna be making something new, and didn't have to worry about traveling alone the next few days. It wasn't that he needed people to travel with him, he was more than capable of taking care of his self, it was just boring. Even if he didn't know a thing about this Eren fellow, outside of he's a wyvern rider and uses axes and spears, it beat traveling alone. He wouldn't need to be as on guard, and could actually relax a little bit. If he's lucky, Eren will take care of all the fighting and Valcrist wouldn't have to even draw his blade. He hoped there wouldn't be any trouble but it was pretty much a forgone conclusion at this point. He expected this 'gunther' fellow had trouble following him, and it might not be a great idea to travel with him, but the smith was curious as always.
Valcrist retrieved his things and headed to the smithy, in which the woman in charge gruffly regarded him but eventually agreed to let him use the forge for the night. She did, however, threaten that if she was missing anything in the morning she was going to hire assassins to gut him. Rough crowd. He wasn't planning on stealing anything, but now he really wasn't planning on stealing anything. The flickering of the forge's flame was the light that filled his night as he worked on his items. The design was rather simple, effective, yet elegant in it's own way. Before the night had finished, his work was finished. It wasn't too terribly difficult, he's done much harder and demanding jobs to be sure.
He would be a bit tired in the morning, but that wasn't anything new. He's used on running on small amounts of sleep, especially considering his preference of working in the night. He was a master of taking short naps throughout the day, he was almost like a cat in that way. Still somehow he doubted he'd be able to nap much tomorrow.
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Post by Eren on Jun 1, 2014 8:21:41 GMT -6
Eren awoke, as he was conditioned to, as the sun began to rise and the light began to shine through his open window. Stretching, he removed his armor, quickly doing some calisthenics to warm up. Holding his armor in his arms, Eren proceeded to unbar his door, exit his room, and return the key to the innkeeper, who was sound asleep. Well, they'd find the key when they woke up.
Eren exited the inn and walked over to the tavern. Going around to the back, he found an open barrel of water, which he dunked a cloth in and then used to clean himself briefly. No matter the situation, hygiene was important. The Dragon Knight then proceeded to polish his armor and clean his weapons. Which reminded him. His gold purse... Good, still there. He had plenty of gold to pay for the weapons.
Eren put his armor back on and then entered the tavern from the front door, noticing that Gunther was not there. Only a few other locals, passed out in their chairs. Lovely. Leaving the tavern, he made his way to the town gate, where he called Mika. She emerged from a small stand of trees, looking fresh and surprisingly happy for the surroundings. Mounting up, the Dragon Knight took to the skies, circling the town twice before landing on the roof of the stone granary (hopefully it was sturdy) and waiting for the others to arrive.
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Post by Valcrist on Jun 2, 2014 19:03:02 GMT -6
Have you ever heard the phrase "Let sleeping smiths lie"? Of course you haven't that was a dumb phrase, but right about now Valcrist wished it was actually a thing, maybe people would be less inclined to waking him up all the time. The pounding at the door sounded more like a guy trying to break in and brutally beat him to death then a wakeup call, it woke him up alright though. The way he sprang right up, his heart beating through his chest and him looking around wildly like a squirrel. "TIME TO GET UP YOU LOUT!" The burly voice undoubtedly belong to either a man just as burly or a midget (since that's how it works) burst through the wooden frame of the door. The smith brought a finger up to his ear, trying to dig out the remains of the frame he shattered. (figuratively of course, the door was still very much intact. If metaphors were more easily communicated in writing this probably wouldn't have been necessary) The smith took a few breaths, laying a hand on his bare chest to feel it slowly falling into a more, less scared for it's life, rhythm.
"Ugh." He brought a hand up and dragged it through his hair with a sigh, his light blond hair messy from the scratchy bed and the countless tossing and turning it created in the night. He groaned, but woke up all the same. He wasn't really a morning person really, more of a nightbird. He yawned and stretched and scratched his self as he crawled out of the straw filled bedding. Or at least it felt like straw, it was very uncomfortable all the same. He looked around for where he sat his outfit, only wearing a pair of rough hempen trousers at the moment. He doubted he'd find someone to clean his clothes while he was here, this place probably had enough water problems, so it was the least he could do to not sleep in them. Also they weren't exactly 'comfortable' for sleeping, especially since he started wearing armor underneath his coat.
He gave a small "hrm" noise, tilting his head as looked at the long orange muffler. It was a bit different then the rest of his outfit, while everything else was worth and worn and looked like he had been wearing it for months, the scarf looked nice and fresh. If you looked closer you would see the countless tears and rips have been meticulously mended with a slightly different shade of orange, Valcrist had a hard time finding thread the exact right color. It was a gift, it made him feel bad when it got ripped. Which it did. A lot. It's funny, apparently having a fluttering thing hanging from you neck is an invitation for it to catch on to everything and for bandits to grab thinking they've 'got you' (they usually get a face full of SWORD instead)
Outside the inn's window he could see some figure moving in the streets. It was that Eren fellow. That's right, he needed to go meet him. So he grabbed up his outfit and got his things together.
It didn't take long for Valcrist to get ready, most of the time was fixing his hair, and when he left that inn he felt relieved. For only half a second, before the bleak dead depressing nature of Ostia hit him of course, but for the half second oooh weee, it felt nice. So he went to where he was supposed to go, the gloom not as doom as he had thought it might be. Good for him. He saw Eren flying around in the sky before landing on some building. Valcrist cupped his hands around his mouth and called. "Good morning Eren!" He grinned.
"Here early I see."
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Post by Eren on Jun 3, 2014 19:50:10 GMT -6
Eren hopped off of Mika and dangled his legs over the edge of the building. The rough stone felt cool against his hands as he reclined slightly, his axe clinking against the edge of the building as he sighed. It was no use going in the early morning to avoid bandits if one of his companions was fast asleep from smithing, and the other from excessive drinking... Everything in moderation.
"What do you think, Mika? You think they'll show up soon?'
As if on cue, he heard a voice call to him. Valcrist, the blacksmith. Ahh, well, someone else who actually understood punctuality. That was a plus, at least. He could count on Valcrist, it seemed. It was always good to have a comrade. Somebody to watch your back, to warn you. Somebody to depend on in a pinch.
"Ho, Valcrist! How goes it, sir?" Eren moved sprightly and got back on Mika, flying down to the ground quickly and dismounting, giving the man a smile and a quick salute. "How was the room, and the night? I found it restless, uncomfortable, and hot, since sleeping in armor isn't the best for allowing the skin to breathe and such..."
Eren shook his head. He'd been rambling. Man, he really needed to stay disciplined. "Sorry about the rambling, Valcrist."
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