Private Tales Into The Wilds

[Gabrielle Selana]

He's really goin--- She immediately looked away once more. Gabrielle kept her eyes averted, not offering to assist this time with the fire, or the collection of wood. She feigned being a bit tired, continuing to simply lay on the rock she had positioned herself on. The beaming red of her cheeks completely lost on Jorg.

What she hadn't brought with her was a book, or anything to entertain herself with. How long could she not look at him before he thought she was strange. The rock was also not exactly the most comfortable place to lay, but she was almost too anxious to move.

Gabby remained quiet while he worked, the only noise coming from her being that of a low humming to a song she heard often back home.

Nightfall couldn't come soon enough.

 

[Jorg]

The fire sparked into life without any of the half-magic dust this time. The crackle was almost immediately, and Jorg leaned back with a bright smile, glancing up to the rock to look towards Gabrielle. "You May want to move your clothes where mine are."

If she looked then Gabrielle would notice that he had put his clothes directly above the flame, suspended by a tree branch.

They would smell like smoke for the next few days, but from experience Jorg knew that they would also be dry. Besides, the smoke would wash some of the smell out from the day before when he'd been sweating non-stopped.

"I can get you a blanket." He offered, still trying to at least pertain to her western sensibilities.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

"That would be great." She said very flat toned, though appreciative. "Thank you."

She glanced momentarily toward the fire to see he had successfully started it, the billows of smoke rising up towards the tree, and the scent of burning wood beginning to fill the air around them. She saw how he had positioned his clothing to dry faster, and considered it for a moment.

"Alright." She said finally, though the heat in her face still had yet to leave.

At least with the blanket she could change while still maintaining dignity.

 

[Jorg]

Jorg pulled himself up, walking over towards his saddlebag and quickly pulling out what appeared to be a large cloth blanket.

The thing was surprisingly dry, but that was mostly due to the quality of his Saddebags. It was an odd thing to carry out here into the wilds, but Jorg had been caught out in strangeness enough times that he'd taken to lugging it around.

Never knew when you were going to get cold.

He carried the thing over to a branch near the rock, throwing it over so that it would block the view from his angle. "There you are."

Jorg said with a smile. She could undress behind it, and then when she was ready pull it free to cover herself up.

Easy enough.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

Thoughtful.

She sat up, reaching for her bag before sliding off the rock. Gabby set the pack onto the ground and, before starting, looked around the blanket just in case, before returning behind the hanging blanket. She removed her clothing, set it aside and then covered herself with the blanket itself.

Once finished she followed suit with Jorg, hanging everything to dry. It was still somewhat odd to leave her small clothes out in the open in front of him, but there was little she could do in that respect.

"Thank you." She said again, before sitting down near the fire.

 

[Jorg]

"You're welcome." He said with a smile.

It seemed that all the training his father had insisted he took hadn't gone completely to waist. He well remembered the lessons on "modesty" he had been given. It seemed silly to him, what was one set of tits in a world of millions?

Yet who was he to make that call.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, reaching into his saddlebags to drag out some of the rations he'd taken with. "They don't taste very good, but will fill ya up at least."

Jorg would have loved to eat something fresh, but hunting in the Wilds one often found themselves more the prey than predator.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

Gabrielle settled down, feeling the redness in her cheeks subside now that the initial shock of Jorg's unabashed display had worn off. Still, she didn't make it a habit of looking at him, and when she did she was determined to keep it eye level.

She nodded, "Yes, quite actually." Her stomach felt empty after the day of riding. A bit of food was a welcome prospect, regardless as to whether or not it was gourmet dining. "Food sounds lovely right now."

So long as whatever he dug out of his bag didn't involve eating bugs she could likely stomach it.

Some folks ate some interesting dishes, but that was something she'd sooner starve than partake in.

 

[Jorg]

The food, as it turned out, was Mallian Hard tack. "Here."

Jorg said as he half stood and offered her two bards of the stuff.

"It's from my home." Over the centuries Mallian had learned that traveling through the jungle was dangerous not just because of the monsters, but also because of the lack of food. Most things found within the Wilds were poisonous, and thus on long trips you needed something to sustain you. "Mallian Hard Tack. Has enough nutrients to sustain you for an entire day."

Some people had claimed it magic, but it was truthfully just nutrition.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

"Thank you."

Of course, Jorg made it rather impossible this time for her not to take in the sight of his free form upon offering her food. Gabrielle did her best to appear unphased by the visual, though it wasn't without difficulty given that he was as close as he was.

Looking down at the food it seemed pretty unassuming, bland perhaps, but not outright wretched. Gabrielle had certainly seen less appetizing offerings in her travels. One would have to be rather naive to expect delightful meals while trekking through a jungle, or ruins, or anywhere else that hadn't a butcher or fisher, and herbalist in the same vicinity.

 

[Jorg]

Jorg smiled, not even aware that she might feel awkward looking at his god given gifts. The idea didn't even really occur to him. "You're welcome."

He said chirpily, digging into his own meal a second later.

For him, all of this was simply...ordinary. Nothing he ever did was meant to upset her, nor was it meant to embarrass. This was simply how Jorg actually was. A fact evident by his casual nature.

"This Ruin." He prompted. "Do you hope to find something specific there?"

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

Gabby paused and considered the question for a moment while she chewed on the food. She gave it some thought, and took a sip of water before finally answering the question to the best of her ability. "Well, I don't have a specific thing in mind. Nothing so far as to say I heard of some supposedly magnificent artifact that lay deep in the ruins."

Those types of tales were generally nothing but stories or legends.

"But typically the ruins most stay away from, or ones untouched by all but time are what hold the truest tales, and, occasionally, something tangible to discover."

 

[Jorg]

It made sense he supposed. The ruins who stayed most untouched were those who would actually have something left to pick up.

Of course that left a very obvious question. "You know..."

Jorg frowned for a second. Was this going to offend her? He'd done quite a good job at not doing thus so far, but this was her line of work. For a moment he chewed on the question, and then he decided to ask it anyway.

"If the ruins have remained untouched, it stands to reason there is a cause for it." He chewed on a bit of Hard-Tack. "Have you thought of the reason for that?"

His own mind drifted towards monsters.

There were always monsters.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

She laughed rather openly at the question.

"Of course. These places remain abandoned for one of three reasons. Either they are simply forgotten about until someone makes a discovery, or they have bolstered tales of peril that may just be exaggerated to deter anyone from actually venturing there, or..." She said, lingering on the thought for a moment. "Or the stories are true, and the ruins are swarming with dangerous, blood thirsty monsters and traps that kill anyone who dare enter."

Gabrielle didn't seem too deterred regardless of the idea.

"Anyway, while any of that may be the case, I am well prepared to handle traps and dangers of that sort. I have you for the monsters, and I have a bit of magic at my disposal for when I think you might need a bit of my help."

 

[Jorg]

He shrugged. "Fair enough."

Jorg wasn't really worried about what they might find in the ruin, but he had been worried that she carried some carried some sort of misconception about what might be lurking there. It seemed however, that there was no cause for such concern.

Leaning back against the three behind him Jorg closed his eyes, sprawling so that he could be a bit more comfortable.

"You're really starting to grow on me Red." He said with a yawn. "You're a lot more reasonable than most of the fools who come calling in this part of the world."

That was something to be admired.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

Gabby continued to focus on finishing her meal while Jorg spoke and made himself more comfortable.

"I'm only theorizing, but I suppose many of the others you take on these sorts of expeditions are more treasure hunters or the type looking to make a quick bit of gold, having little to no experience in exploration, survival, or even magic aptitude." She covered her mouth to stifle a hiccup. "Not to flaunt my own achievements but I am well versed in all three, including knowing when to ask for help."

She gestured with her elbow towards Jorg. "Case in point." She was willing to spend gold when she knew she was out of her element, for someone qualified to take the job.

 

[Jorg]

Jorg shrugged his shoulders. "You're probably right about that."

There were a lot of rich kids who wanted to make a name for themselves who would delve into the Wilds and then dip out after their first encounter with a monster.

He hated those the most, perhaps because at one point in time he was one of them. An eye popped open as she gestured to him with an elbow.

"Was that trip to the spine your first foray into exploration?" He asked, not trying to be rude, but genuinely curious. It would not have been his first choice for an expedition. "You must have started somewhere to get experience."

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

"I wish I could say it was, but no. It was my sixth. That trip was a combination of overconfidence, carelessness, and lack of preparation."

She pursed her lips, blowing a strand of hair from her face out of the way.

"I've always had a knack for investigating things, but my first true expedition was actually just west of Elbion into the mountain range there. It was during the late spring so the snow had begun to melt and the temperatures were rising. It was a much more hospitable environment overall."

There were still dangers, melting ice shelves, beasts, but by comparison, much safer than her current habitat.

"I didn't come back with anything of tangible value, but it was a good experience, and I got to see a lot that people otherwise wouldn't."

 

[Jorg]

Respectable, and probably far more intelligent than what he had done. He remembered when he had first struck out from Mallian and made his way into the Wilds. Looking back on it now he wasn't entirely sure how he had survived those first few weeks.

Dumb luck he supposed.

Jorg took another piece of wood, this one green, and put it on the fire. The log crackled and hissed as Jorg leaned back against the tree again. "What was your first big find then?"

Some people might have considered all his questions invasive, but Jorg liked to know the people he was traveling with.

He thought well of Gabby so far, but that didn't meant he would stop talking. Hell, according to his mother he was the sort of person that never stopped talking.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

She realized as Jorg continued to press her for information that he had spoken almost nothing of himself since they started off. In her experience, people tended to only be interested in talking about themselves. In that case Gabby wondered if there was some reason behind his lack of self indulgence, perhaps customary for this part of the world, or if this was a means for him to extract information from her unknowingly, or if he simply didn't want to talk about himself for one reason or another.

"Well," She said, despite having the question now itching in her own mind. "I found this sapphire." Gabrielle lifted her left hand again, the one still covered by the metallic gauntlet. "It's a bit unique in that it's no ordinary rock dug out of the dirt."

She turned the hand so that the stone was easier for Jorg to see.

"There are tiny, intricate carvings just beneath the surface. The stone itself was born into or of magic. It gives it the ability to store and release energy stored within it. The stone may appear to glow of its own volition, but it's the carvings within that actually give off the vibrant light, reflecting through the blue hue of the stone face."

She set her hand down on her covered leg, "...Then I was promptly chased by a Chimera from the ruin within the cavern. But I got away with the stone."

 

[Jorg]

Jorg let out a whistle. "A Chimera?"

He had heard of the beasts before, though they did not make it this far west. From what he understood they could have given many of the creatures in the Wilds a run for their money. Seeing something that fierce would have been interesting.

"So at least one of your expeditions was a success then." He said with a smile, looking at the Gem for a few moments before shaking his head. "Let's hope this one is the same!"

Magic was still as much a mystery to him as the stars in the sky. He didn't really have any interest in that sort of thing, and neither did the Wolf.

"Maybe we'll find an airship or something." He joked. "Would probably get you home faster."

Mallian had a few stories about airships, just like the rest of the world. Most of them centered around the Age of Wonders and the like.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

Gabby nodded, "I've had a few expeditions that had tangible gains, but this by far was my most rewarding." By far the most used anyway. It was the best means she had to keep her magic in check and to avoid the pitfalls other mages tended to step into. It ensured she never over exerted herself with an overly taxing spell, which could put her into a more dire situation.

"I don't quite know about that, but I'm hopeful there will be something to discover."

It was a very long journey to reach the Wilds after all.

"So what about you? What does your family do? Do you ever go back home?"

 

[Jorg]

He cringed slightly, though he had seen these questions coming eventually. Gabrielle seemed to actually care about things more than just herself, and people like that eventually tended to turn the conversation around.

Sometimes he hated nice people. "Me?"

Jorg asked, pursing his lips.

"My father is the Duke of Mallian." Jorg dropped it so casually he might have been talking about the weather. Compared to Elbion the city was small, having only a third of the population. It was still famous though, the one touch of civilization within the Wilds. At least...on the edges of the Wilds. "Haven't been home in almost five years."

Since the Wolf had bitten him.

Casually, Jorg reached over and began to munch on another piece of hard-tack.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

"Oh?" Her voice sounded inquisitive. "And why's that?"

Gabrielle enjoyed the thrill of discovery, but she always returned home after a few months of travel. She couldn't quite imagine not being home in five years. That was quite a long time to be apart from everything she knew.

"Surely this" She gestured towards herself and the surroundings. "Can't be that big of a draw that it keeps you away?"

Especially given his family's prominence where he came from.

 

[Jorg]

A shrug rolled over his shoulder. "I'm the first born son."

A point of status that Jorg had enjoyed for many years of his life, but had quickly come to dread as he'd gotten older and older.

"If I went back I would have to inherit my fathers position." Plus, there was also the fact that he was a fucking Werewolf. If that ever got out he was pretty sure even his father couldn't stop him from getting strung up. "And I have absolutely no interest in that."

He shrugged. "I enjoy the freedom of choice I have out here. A gilded cage is still a cage at the end of the day."

And a noose was a noose.

 

[Gabrielle Selana]

"Eldest to youngest here." She said, noting her own situation as the last of three daughters born to her parents. "Yet I still stand to inherit my family's business, given that my sisters have no interest in engineering." Funny how that worked out.

What he said made sense though, forced to rule sounded a great deal more work than a business. "Still though, you couldn't simply visit and refuse the position? What would happen? Would you be imprisoned until you agreed to the position?"

That seemed hardly enforceable...