Zaath
Myrmidon
"We all make choices, but in the end, our choices will inevitably make us."
Posts: 31
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Post by Zaath on Aug 4, 2009 14:49:12 GMT -6
Zaath tugged his hood up as the sand-ridden winds whipped in his face. He had been traveling for a while now, having moved from the very northern tips of the Nabata to the south eastern mountains. Up ahead he saw the first mountain range he had seen all day. It was small, but definitely worth exploring. The range was blurred by the storm, but he guessed it was not but an hour’s walk from his location. After he entered the range, he would settle down for the night and continue his work on his very detailed map of the Nabata.
Following a long and treacherous walk through the wasteland, he settled in a shallow cave at the base of one of the mountains. He began to write in his log about the uneventful day, and then began to draw in the map. He was an efficient artist and had been wandering the desert for months now, so charting the distances and individual mountains was a rather simple task. He had looked over a modern map of the area and was not surprised it the generalness. All the maps of the Nabata he could find where very simple. An unpopular region, no one really cared enough about the specifics of the geography to make any more than a basic map. This sparked his idea to make a huge, detailed map of the sun beat plain. He had maps of the other regions of Elibe, and most were in good detail. He traveled a lot, so he saw it necessary to see if he couldn’t make a map. It’s not even that he liked to travel as much as he liked to explore.
After finishing that segment of the map he went to sleep with plans to explore this new group of mountains the next day, when the sand settled and he had the cooperation of the sun, his biggest enemy in the wastes of Nabata.
He awoke early in the morning as he always did. After stretching out and consuming his breakfast (Which consisted of some dried out venison, a few swigs from his canteen, a couple leaves of lettuce and part of a potato) He packed his things into the many pouches of his satchel and continued his venture into the mountains. On his walk he noticed that brush and small trees were growing here, so he assumed the area got a lot more water (And shade) than the rest of the Nabata. In several hours he had already walked through the small range and could see the ocean. But something that was not on his purchased map lied in his gaze. A small port town.
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Zaath
Myrmidon
"We all make choices, but in the end, our choices will inevitably make us."
Posts: 31
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Post by Zaath on Aug 4, 2009 14:50:40 GMT -6
Zaath briskly walked down a grassy hill and hurried to the town, both surprised and fascinated by this small settlement. Sure, the town was small in its parameters, but too escape the eyes of a funded and guarded cartographer just wowed Zaath. In not but a few minutes of almost jogging Zaath arrived at the edges of the port and walked in through one of the many roads. The town had no walls, so he assumed that the town didn’t have much interference from brigands, but he would soon find out he was wrong.
Soon after entering the town he spotted a few men harassing a young girl (Around sixteen, maybe seventeen), not uncommon from what Zaath has seen on his life’s road. He has never let it slide. He walked over to one of the men and firmly put his hand on his shoulder. “Hey,” Zaath said in a commanding, rather dominant voice “You have about five seconds to kill me or get as far away as possible, or else we’re going to have problems..” The girl looked relived for a moment, but the look on her face said “Thanks, but you’re about to get hurt”. The Man turned around and said, or spat “Who the hell do ya’ think you are!? Anyone in the right mind knows that if you mess wit’ us, you’re beggin’ ta’ get cut!” He followed his sentence by bringing his fist right into Zaaths mouth. As Zaath spat out a small puddle of blood he thought to himself, these men are a bit too headstrong too be afflicted with my usual means of… persuasion. Zaath stood up and tossed his cloak onto a nearby empty wagon as the man that put Zaath on the ground in the first place drew a hatchet from his belt. Zaath responded by drawing his own sword and looking the man dead in the eye while widening his stance.
The man, whom Zaath assumed by now was a local brigand or pirate, lunged forward and swung his axe down in an attempt to split Zaaths head open. For Zaath, the intentions of his attack where too obvious. Zaath stepped to the right, out of the way of the fierce blow and brought the hilt of his sword into the low-life’s chin, followed by a kick to the gut. The man was down for a second, but not out. He again jumped foreword and made a wide horizontal arch in the air. By the time Zaath narrowly avoided the swing, his adrenalin began to kick in. Zaath tightened his grip on the sword, and with a few unrelentingly fierce strikes, he drove his blade through the man’s solar plexus. This shocked the man’s two companions and compelled them to draw their weapons, one a dagger and the other a short-sword.
They struck in union, hailing blows down on Zaath, but the riff raff where not enough to match Zaath technique. Zaath blocked a dagger blow with his left vambrace and slit its wielders ribs open. The one with the sword tried to attack Zaath while he had his back turned. Zaath counted on this. As the sword wielding ruffian raised his sword to deliver a powerful downward slice, Zaath pounced back, his own back still facing the man, and pushed his blade backwards into the man’s lower abdomen. Zaath is no stranger to violence.
The girl that was being previously harassed by the trio ran into an ally without saying a word. As Zaath turned to pick up his cloak, the only thing he received was a face full of oar and an unconscious state.
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Zaath
Myrmidon
"We all make choices, but in the end, our choices will inevitably make us."
Posts: 31
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Post by Zaath on Aug 4, 2009 14:51:49 GMT -6
When he awoke, he had his hands tied behind his back and was sitting up in an old wooden chair in what appeared to be the lower deck of a ship. A large man stood before him and splashed his face with a bucket of water. “Wake yer’ sorry arse up!” The Man shouted in his face. “Uh…” Zaath muttered, “Where am I” “Ye be aboard The Saint Elimine! Ya’ killed three a’ me men, lad! Now, just what am I gonna‘ have ta’ dew ta’ yew?” The man delivered a roundhouse kick the side of Zaath head, knocking him and the chair over, but not enough to knock Zaath out. All Zaath could make out amongst the ringing was “Aye’…And yew’re gon…get it!” The man pulled out a large battle axe and tested its weight just before bringing it down. As the man swung it, Zaath had just enough time to roll onto his stomach and allow the axe to strike the bottom of the ropes bonding him. Zaath got up on one knee lunged away while pulling the weakened ropes apart. Now Zaath just had to get past the supposed captain.
Zaath hoped that his supplies had not yet been distributed amongst the pirates and would still be in the supply room or in the Captains quarters. The Captain ran towards Zaath and quickly swung the axe diagonally at Zaaths throat. Zaath ducked out of the way, only just, and head butted the man in his ribs. As the Captain slid onto the ground in pain, Zaath dashed past him and opened the door at the end of the room. He locked the door the Captain was in and turned left to the Captains quarters. Zaath kick the door down to the small furnished room in and began to search. It was not long before he found his things and placed them all onto his body. He was quite thankful that his map was still there and intact.
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Zaath
Myrmidon
"We all make choices, but in the end, our choices will inevitably make us."
Posts: 31
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Post by Zaath on Aug 4, 2009 14:52:44 GMT -6
Now all he had to do was get back on land. He looked out one of the windows and was relieved to see that they were still in the harbor, but the pirates were making preparations to set off. Zaath had not but a few minutes to make his exodus. Zaath climbed out of the window and clung to the rimming of the ship. Once he was within distance, he pushed off as hard as he could and was just able to grasp the edge of the harbor. Zaath then pulled himself up and ran off as fast as he could.
While running, Zaath was confronted by the girl he had helped out earlier that day. She asked him if he had a place to sleep that night and he honestly replied no. Apparently, she and her family were very grateful to Zaath for saving her from whatever those men had planned to do to her. That night Zaath slept in their loft and was thankful to be sleeping in a bed for the first time in months. The next day Zaath set off just after thanking the family for their hospitality. On top of giving him a good night’s rest they also gave him a half a loaf of bread and some salted pork. Quite generous.
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Zaath
Myrmidon
"We all make choices, but in the end, our choices will inevitably make us."
Posts: 31
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Post by Zaath on Aug 5, 2009 14:07:18 GMT -6
After leaving the port, Zaath embarked northward. He was now thinking of leaving The Nabata, postponing his cartographical endeavors and setting off for Ilia to see if he couldn’t make a few gold pieces as a mercenary. Besides, he had never been to Ilia before, and from what he heard it would be a good change of scenery. Searing heat to piss-freezing cold. Zaath could feel the air cool as he took leave of the desert.
Zaath thought back on the happenings at the port. He wondered if the pirates would give the town a hard time. If the citizens of the town would muster up the courage to fight the pirates off. What would happen to the girl and her family? Zaath had put the location of the town on his map, so one day he would have to return. But that was all in the past (About two days), Zaath had to focus on his future. He had to ask himself: if he was going to go to Ilia, should he pass through the mountains, or go through Ostia. The mountains would be more direct, but much harder to traverse the Ostia itself. This was also important to his purse. Going through the mountains would cause him do need different things like differentially treated food and climbing equipment than passing through Ostia. He had also had never ventured through those mountains, but had visited Ostia on several occasions. Before he knew it, he had almost reached the very southern tip of Lycia. Zaath could see a town on the horizon, and being exhausted from his long journey, he figured once he reached it he would settle in an Inn and rest. He had been walking for nearly the entire day, and the sun was starting to set. One of Zaath’s primary reasons for traveling to Ilia was in fact to make some gold. He had to work profusely in Sacae to make enough money explore as much as he did, and his pockets where lightening once more. Ilia, as Zaath has heard, is a mercenary capitol. He figured he could feed his appetite for exploration and feed his pockets appetite for cash.
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