Open Chronicles A mercenary's life

[Saya Bright]

Her breath was rugged because of the snowy landscape around her, yet the cold didn't seem to bother her at all. It had been months since Sienna Barok had last set foot in a city or village, her travels had taken her from Vel Anir to Alliria during a job to protect a merchant wagon carrying some high quality goods. At first the merchants had hesitated, the girl that had offered her services looked like nothing more than a child. Standing at 148cm tall Sienna had blonde hair and a pale skin, a tattoo starting from her left upper arm all the way down across her chest to the left side of her belly, a white tank top, a black skirt and some calve high black leather boots. But there was something strange about her.. she had the ears and tail of a catlike creature, something like a lion they thought, then there were those blue eyes.. they looked as if they could pierce right through you if the girl so desired it.

Nonetheless the journey went well, Sienna had protected them from an ambush set up by some bandits. They eventually arrived at Alliria, after recieving her payment the girl left the city behind her and she made her way towards the Cairou river, after a few hours of walking Sienna decided to take a break. She sat down leaning her halberd against a tree right next to her, one look at the blade of the halberd made her utter a sigh "Oh no... this will take me at least a few hours". As she was about to take out her wetstone to sharpen her halberd her stomach growled in protest, Sienna looked around to see if she saw anything that could spice up her meal that was awaiting her, there was no wild life to be seen "Well.. I guess I can't work on an empty stomach" she smiled to herself as she grabbed some fruit and dried jerky from her travelbag.

A few minutes after she'd finished her fruit Sienna took out a map from a side pocket in her travelbag, she spread out the map and looked at it as she absent mindedly chewed on a piece of dried jerky. She followed her finger as she muttered softly "I'm about 5 hours away from Alliria right now", she traced her finger a bit further "I could just follow the Allirian Strait a bit further, then set up camp there".
Finally making time to take in her surroundings Sienna noticed she was nearing the end of the woods "Just a few kilometers left huh?", the Allirian Straight was just a few hundred meters away from her to the north. Then her eyes layed upon her halberd once more causing a frown to appear on her normal happy and beautiful face "I guess I should finish that job first before I continue traveling". She took out her wetstone and a small wooden bowl, she filled the bowl with water and layed a small but very soft cloth on her tigh as she started to sharpen the blade of her halberd. It recieved a few nicks in the blade while she had to protect the merchant's wagon from some bandits.
The sound of her wetstone sliding across the edge of the halberd's blade could be heared from at least a couple hundred meters away...

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

"You do what you can for as long as you can, and when you finally can't, you do the next best thing. You back up but you don't give up."
-Chuck Yeager​

He had been napping not to far away from the main road, as he did every so often on a long journey, him being a red haired man with two sabers at his side whilst wearing what looked to be a simple robe. He was warrior, judging by his appearance, even with his eyes closed his expression was rather serious. Might have not been clear to all, but it was one of the few times that this particular fellow could really relax.

His favorite spots for napping was usually under some large tree, shading him from the sunlight that often harassed him through his travels. The bladesmen had always preferred the rain, the cold made sleeping much more pleasant. Plus rain didn't necessarily meant things would be freezing, unlike snow. It was also the sound of water that tended to be soothing to listen to as one napped. It was for that very reason did the swordsmen place himself next to the flowing river. That, and one of his few hobbies: Fishing.

Not too far from the red haired man, was a sturdy stick sticking diagonal to the ground, with one end stretching over the body of water. A piece of fishing string tied to that end of the pole, leading down into the water, as it drifted along the current. The man hadn't caught anything, but enjoyed the wait. Certainly slowed life down even further, at least for him.

The day might have gone on like this, had it not been for that incisive noise of sliding steel.

At first, the red haired man thought that it would go away after a bit of time. It was clear to him that it was a blade sharpening, probably another fellow traveler resting not to far from him. No doubt preparing for some eventuality. Yet the noise persisted, and it was really growing on his nerves.

Finally, the bladesmen's eyes shot open, having a hard time properly napping when the sound potential violence echoed not to far from him. Violence either against them, or the threat of him becoming violent towards it. Pushing himself up, the red haired man took a moment to wake himself up, a process sped up by the further sharpening of the blade.

Pushing himself up, he'd saunter over to where his makeshift fishing pole was, and proceeded to grip onto it's bottom. Gently, he coerced the rod out of the ground, before reeling in the line. Wrapping the fishing line around the rod, the swordsmen would place it against his shoulder, the fishing hooking dangling behind him.

After he was satisfied with how the fishing rod was held, the red haired man began to proceed on his way...moving down the road towards the sharpening sound...his footsteps were clear for anyone with a sharp ear...as was he visible as he traveled down the main road...

 

[Sienna Barok]

She had been sliding the wetstone against the blade of her halberd for a few hours now, finally satisfied that it'd been sharpened enough she emptied the bowl of water and put away her stuff. Taking out the map once more she softly mumbled to herself as she checked her routing "I think I should be able to make it up to the narrow part of the Strait". Looking up at the sun she noticed she had about 3 or 4 hours of sunlight left before needing to set up camp.

Coming to a decision Sienna nodded to herself, she stood up and took a few minutes to have her senses getting used to the silence of her surroundings once more. That's when she heard it.. the squeaking of snow when stepped on. The girl froze in place, she had positioned herself with a view on the main road.
Slowly, very slowly she let her eyes scan her surroundings, making sure not to move her head. Eventually Sienna saw a red haired male wearing a simple robe, the part she was most interrested in however were the two sabers he was carrying.
Sienna didn't much feel like conflict, so she decided to ignore his presence. She picked up her travelbag and halberd then turned to follow the Illarian Strait up north for at least a few more hours.

The first signs of night were beginning to show, birds stopped chirping as much, it became a bit more chilly as well as the beings of the night starting their hunt. Sienna finally decided to stop and set up camp, she looked around and saw a small gully which would be perfect to shelter the light of a small campfire to any onlookers.
Snow continuesly squeaked under her boots, letting out a small sigh she started to clear the snow in and around the gully a bit. She already knew she had to sleep on the ground, which is why she was clearing the snow in the first place "Even I will get cold if I sleep in the snow I guess" she said. The main reason she wanted to travel up to Cairou river and eventually get to Elbion city was because she had some bussiness there from another job she had taken. Besides that it also meant she could sleep in a nice warm and comfy bed for the first time in months.

It took the girl about 40 minutes to set up her camp and getting a fire going, she looked around once more to see if the strange male she saw hadn't followed her. Satisfied that wasn't the case she started to make herself some stew from dried jerky and a bit of wildlife she had caught along the way.
Finishing up her meal she noticed the soft crackling of the fire made her a bit woozy after a full day of walking, she smiled to herself and layed down close to the fire but far enough so she wouldn't burn herself
"I guess this isn't as bad as I thought" she mumbled as she dozed off.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

Unbeknownst to both of them, the she had been traveling in the same steps as Sienna. Not too long after the swordsmen had decided to up and move, the grating sound of weapon and whetstone stopped. Might have been curious to someone else, but he hadn't really been thinking about it...he was to concerned with zoning out to think critically.

Regardless, the ronin continued to travel along, traveling out of view of the demi-human. Again, funnily enough, the red haired man decided to break camp almost at the exact same time as she did. Stepping off the road, he found somthing of a slight crevasse under one of the trees. It was reality clear of snow, and big enough for the bladesmen to lay comfortably inside.

So the man did just that, detaching his fishing rod before packing the fishing line into his satchel. He then had a light dinner consistent of a piece of bread(staple food that couldn't compare to his food) and a apple, resting himself against the back of the tree...as he watched the stars appear in the skies.

"Hmph." The ronin grunted, as he took another bite out of the apple. It had been a blissfully quiet day...though he knew better then to expect it to stay like that. Raising his free hand, he examined the white strand tied to his hand...flowing against the wind...

It only caused him to sigh, given what the fabric reminded him of, allowing that hand to slump onto the ground.

More time would pass as darkness overtook the land...Touma would finish his apple and throw away the core...before leaping back into the crevasse...not soon after, appearing to fall asleep with his hands crossed over his chest...

 

[James Lanvarok]

Crossbow in hand, James prowled the undergrowth for any sign of enemy presence. His empathetic senses screamed, bringing in emotions from those nearby. They were benign, so James chose to ignore them and pressed on, eyes wide and ears keen, listening to the sounds cast from the woods. He had been walking all day and was tired, not to mention hungry. He needed to find somewhere to settle down and rest before the hand of night cast a shadow over the land.

He walked into a clearing, when he heard a stick crack behind him. He froze, spun around and stared at the road. When he saw that nothing was there, he sighed, turned around and continued to walk towards the clearing. He wore a long, dark trench coat over a white shirt and dark britches tucked into along brown boots. He wore a wide scarf around his neck, which was tucked into the front of his coat, and fingerless gloves which allowed him to load and fire his crossbow easily.

A feint glow seeped through the branches of the trees, drawing James further towards the clearing. Hand resting against the tree, he pulled down the front of his scarf and peered through the branches, to see a young woman sleeping by the fire.

A fire, food and a pretty girl to spend the night with? James felt like he had just struck gold.

Raising an eyebrow, he loosened the pull of his crossbow and lowered it, then stepped into the clearing. The fire crackled in the center of the ground, spewing red embers into the air. James groaned, had a big stretch and sat down beside the sleeping girl. He set down his crossbow and stared at her, his eyes fixed to her chest.

She looked so peaceful, so vulnerable, like she wouldn't tell him off for touching her hair or stroking her cheek. Eyes wide, he reached forward, and poked her cheek.

 

[Sienna Barok]

Rather than feeling she sensed the touch of someone near, her eyes shot wide open and she immediately jumped up to her feet. Her right hand moved to her hip where she would normally carry her two small odd shaped axes, feeling they were not there she silently got angry at herself for being so dumb. Her eyes showing a light blue hue in the flickering of the fire drilled themselves into the person that had sat down next to her, it remained silent for a few more seconds before she spoke "Who are you and what is it that you want from me?" her words sounded more like a demand than a question.

She kept moving slowly to where her weapons were laying next to her travelbag, then she reminded herself of the male she saw earlier walking down the main road. What if he had followed her? She froze in place whilst she kept her eyes on the male that had so suddenly appeared, now that she had calmed down she decided to take a better look at him. What she saw suprised her, he looked as if he were a hunter of some sorts.. She saw him wearing a long dark trench coat, a white shirt tucked into long dark colored britches and some pretty long boots. She then noticed the crossbow which made her back up a bit further to with in the reach of her short halberd which she grabbed in a quick movement, Sienna being left handed always held her halberd as if she was right handed to throw any possible enemies for a loop.

Feeling a bit more safe now that she had a weapon in hand she spoke again "Where did you come from? Where you sent out to hunt me? You don't seem like you're from around here.." her voice sounded almost like that of a child nonetheless it did clearly carry through the open space she had created, perhaps it was because of her lionnes blood that made her sound like a child.
Without even waiting for an answer she continued firing questions at the man "Are you with that red haired male i saw earlier? If he's near us, where did you hide him?" Sienna's ears flicked and slowly moved as she tried to listen if there was anyone else near her, but the crackling of the fire made too much noise for her to discern sounds from anyone that might be sneaking around.

 

[James Lanvarok]

The woman sprung up from her light slumber, causing to James to jump back. Startled, he aimed his crossbow at her, his brow creasing as he she stared him down and demanded to know who he was. He noticed she wasn't carrying any weapons and smirked, an eyebrow rising.

"Calm your shit, woman," he rolled his eyes. "My name is James Lanvarok, I'm from the Elbion college," he said, pulling down the top of his scarf so the woman could see his face.

He kept the crossbow pointed at her as she rushed to grab her weapons. Seeing that she was now armed, James released his hold on the trigger and lowered the crossbow, flipping one end of his scarf over his shoulder.

"All I want is food and a place to spend the night," he sighed. "A pretty girl wouldn't hurt either," he crooned, awkwardly, and brushed a lock of the woman's hair out of the way with the arrow of his crossbow.

The woman asked where he had come from, a question he had already answered. "No, I wasn't sent to hunt you, I'm looking for a spellbook, but there's dreadlords on my arse at every turn, that's why I'm armed," James' tone was weary as he spoke. He was tired, hungry and wanted nothing more than to lay down by the fire, then figure out where he was headed the next day.

The woman mentioned a man with red hair and James raised an eyebrow, cocking his head slightly to the side. "A dude with red hair? Nope, don't know him." A shrug, and James sat on the log in front of the fire and put his feet up.

Following a long groan, he put down his crossbow, pulled his scarf out of his coat and set it aside. He stretched, yawned, and put his feet up, half closing his eyes.

"So what are you doing out here?" He asked, pulling off his fingerless gloves. He leaned forward and warmed his hands above the fire.