Private Tales Stranger Roads

[Lionel Armon]

Lionel Armon and his companions followed the road between Belgrath and Molthal. The journey was projected to take a few days over a weak to complete on horseback and they were now on their sixth day on the road.
Lionel had heard some sordid stories about Molthal, enough to make him want to investigate and see for himself what kind of place this was.
So he and his five followers decided to pose as merchants, purchasing a cart and wares, as well as horses and provisions, to bring to Molthal in order to investigate without arousing more suspicion than was absolutely necessary.
Unwilling to part with their house colors, he and his men wore brown cloaks pulled over their white uniforms.
To other travelers they appeared to be what they pretended to be, a well armed party of merchants heading to Molthal.

The group had been on the road almost all day judging by the sun and had picked up another wanderer traveling in the same direction. While they traveled they didn't have much opportunity to talk, but perhaps later.
Eventually they found a place to make camp, discovering an old unmanned lookout post. After scouting the ruins and affirming that it was indeed abandoned, with layers of ancient dust and snow covering everything, they set up a camp. Since they were traveling in the mountains there was little grass, so they secured the horses in the old stable that stank of mildew and put the feed-bags on their faces. As the sun was not down they didn't set up a watch yet, but gathered what firewood was to be had from the ruins and prepared their tents for a cold night.

Lionel had climbed up on what was left of the enclosing wall. The entire watch post looked like it was once surrounded by a protective wall, but the wall now had many breaches that could easily be defended, but offered multiple entrances to the yard where they set up camp. Lionel looked out from the wall, surveying the mountain range and the surrounding area.

Aithlin Kitansyr

 

[Aithlin Kitansyr]

There was a reason sentients gathered in cities, there was a comfort that came with being around other people, about having all the comfort of home at your fingertips. That was always the problem with tracking between cities, you were separated from the comforts that you started tacking for granted. It was nice to be able to shake the rust off her skills Aithlin allowed, but at the same time she missed a simple luxury like a bath soo much. The young elf plucked at her tunic, her face wrinkling into a grimace of annoyance for a moment as she paced up to join Lionel on the wall, staring out along at the surrounding landscape. Plucking her water skin from her side, lifting it to her lips as she perched on the edge of the wall, one leg dangling down, swinging against the stones, tapping against the worn stones as she leaned back against a crenel, blue eyes settling on the landscape, the hills and trees painted red by the setting sun as she held out the water skin to her companion. "You know, for everything we have to go through to get here, you really can't beat that view can you?"

Lionel Armon

 

[Lionel Armon]

Lionel glanced at the waterskin and the hand that held it. At first look he knew some about her already. Her hands were smooth and dainty and it was as if her callouses didn't belong there, not the hands of a commoner to be sure. A noble borne? Then what reason could she have of leaving the comforts of her lineage and position? He could only speculate on her reasons, but he knew his. Or he could be reading too much into it and be way off track, and it's probably not his business to pry though they are traveling together and may be forced to rely on each other in an emergency, so it is wise to know who you are trusting.

He accepted the waterskin, though he knew it would do nothing for him, and took a small drink. He swallowed it and cleared his throat, turning back to the landscape before them and the sun as it touched the horizon and the colors turned to red. He considered himself and his people blessed to be able walk in the sun and enjoy its warmth, unlike the more recent generations.

He spoke with a slight accent in elvish, to help put her at ease around him. Although he only spoke the formal dialect, so his words didn't necessarily reflect his character, "This view is indeed wonderous, a rare treat to witness as opposed to any city. The mountain air is clear with nothing to bring a haze to mar the sight."

He capped the waterskin and handed it back to her.

Aithlin Kitansyr

 

[Aithlin Kitansyr]

The young elf glanced down at the waterskin, fingers tightening around the soft material of the container, listening to the water sloshing inside as she followed the man's gaze out to the horizon, "City's have their own charm," she pointed out softly, "the bustle of the people, the sheer life of the city, and energy there." The blonde leaned back against the wall, her eyes watching the horizon without really focusing on it. "I mean, I grew up in the forest, you couldn't wish for a more peaceful place, or beautiful I mean," sone pale hand came up, gesturing at the hills, "this is breathtaking, but you've not seen anything until you make it to the forests, see the dappled sun breathing through the canopy, the shadow's dancing in the wind." A note of nostalgia touched Aithlin's face, her smile turning soft. She might have been looking at the hills, but in her mind, she was back walking through the forest that was still home to her. "You know, I never thought it'd hit me this hard but," a small shrug lifted her shoulders, "sometimes I just miss home you know."

A faint dusting of pink dusted her cheeks as she pulled open the waterskin, taking a sip herself before she twisted her head around, staring at her companion as she nodded her head in his direction. "How about you?"

Lionel Armon

 

[Lionel Armon]

Lionel looked at her fully now, His face didn't show much but his eyes told a story. His mind went back to his own home across the sea in another land, a home they were forced to leave and a people they had no choice but to abandon.

He put his thoughts aside and gave her a sideways smile before returning his gaze to the horizon, but this time also to the sea to the south that he knew hid his homeland. He dropped his use of elvish.

​

"I can sympathize, I miss my home too. A beautiful joining of magic, nature, and human ingenuity. But now that home is lost to me... Even worse than missing your home is when you are cursed by an inability to go back someday."

He quirked his head to one side as if he suddenly had a thought. He looked at her again, taking in her strong elvish features. She was by far the most beautiful elf he had ever met and realized he hadn't asked her name out of the professional curtesy of travelers.
He shifted slightly to face her better.

"I apologize, I do not know your name. I am Lionel Armon."

For a moment he entertained thoughts of winning her affection, as any man might have, but he put those thoughts aside as mere fantasy. He had too much responsibility to seek that kind of companion at this time. His sense of duty to his people. Though he bitterly considered that outside of his own kind, elves were one of the few races also effected by the curse or blessing of longevity. Throughout his long life he had seen and done so much. It would take a special woman who could understand his life and accept him for it.

He had many questions about this elf but felt they could wait till trust was built between them. But his concerns still weighed heavily on him. When he and his people first arrived in this new land they felt the nature of magic change around them and they could not use it the way they used to, any attempt took too much effort or ended disastrously. This was a serious problem and he desperately wanted to find an answer to it, otherwise House Armon was severely crippled.

 

[Aithlin Kitansyr]

"Aithlin Kitansyr," the elf nodded in the man's direction, a smile on her lips as she pushed herself to her feet in an explosive surge of motion that carried her up into the air as she landed on the edge of the wall she'd been sitting on, one foot angled behind the other as she held her arms out to her sides. She could feel the touch of the wind tugging at her clothes, her long blonde hair whipping out behind her like a silken cloak as she tilted her head to the side and stepped off the wall, twisting in the air as she did so she ended up facing him, one hand held out in front of her. "Nice to meet you, Lionel."

Greetings, properly greeting someone was important, perhaps amongst the most important things you could do but, of course, she'd forgotten to do it again. Perhaps it was a good thing she wasn't at home, if she was then chances are her mother would have had a few choice words for a daughter who forgot even the basic necessities of decorum. Leaning back against the wall Aithlin took a moment to examine the man before she spoke, they say that curiosity killed the cat, but she was this far into the conversation now at least. "If I couldn't go home...I could see that but...do you get any closure with that? Is it easier to move on and try to find a new home?" One slight hand came up, gesturing out, taking in Lionel and the rest of the caravan, "I guess that's why you're all up there, to find somewhere new to settle down?"

Lionel Armon

 

[Lionel Armon]

He shook her hand when she offered it, her gracefulness was not lost on him and her billowing hair caught his eye, and the touch of her hand confirmed that she was indeed noble borne and he found his fingers lingering just a moment longer on her soft skin.

When she asked that question he was thoughtful for a moment. How much should he reveal? He knew exactly how cunning and deadly the enemies of House Armon were, but could they actually have followed them even here? And what were the chances that this elf had anything to do with them even if they had?

"The reason we are here in this new land is indeed to find a new home, and information is key in that regard because we do not intend to establish ourselves in a position of vulnerability. That is why we are traveling to Molthal, we need to see what kinds of people can be found there be they friend or foe... But no, there is no closure in this path and leaving was not the easy choice... Leaving our homeland was the hardest decision we had to make and we feel the shame of backing down to our enemies... But if we were to save lives, then we had no choice but to sacrifice our homeland to make it happen."

He showed only a little sorrow for his people and those they all left behind, but it was a sorrow he had accepted and did not use his emotion to garner sympathy. He stated it all as simple fact.

His men were down below finishing the camp preparations, they had already collected a good pile of wood that would last them through the night and gotten a fire going as the sunset dipped lower on the horizon and the sky grew darker. The wind had picked up slightly but it would only be felt from atop the wall and anywhere unprotected by the walls. One guard decided to position himself in the tower with a crossbow for the first watch.

Lionel glanced down at the camp and then back at the elf girl.
"But enough about me, what would cause the daughter of an elvish noble to choose the life of the road?"

Aithlin Kitansyr

 

[Aithlin Kitansyr]

The elf shook her head, one hand reaching up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she turned slightly to face the landscape that stretched away from the fort to the horizon, her free hand sweeping up to encompass it as if she were reaching out to grab the land before her. “Oh, nothing and everything,” she admitted, “I love the forests I grew up in, and it’ll always be home but how can you go your entire life just in one place. Since I’ve left I’ve seen the untouched pristine snow on a mountaintop, seen the life teeming on a plain, the gritty sand of the desert. I’d never have seen any of that if I’d stayed at home.”

Aithlin’s hands came down, resting on the stone surface of the wall as she levered herself up and around, sitting on the surface facing the man. “I guess it was wanderlust, a need to actually see what the stories were written about instead of just reading them. And you know,” she inclined her head at him, “meeting new people. I love my family but if I had to listen about the deportment of a proper elf one more time I swear I’m going to scream, seems to me the behaviour of a proper elf is exactly how they behave. And the land away from home is tough, I’ve seen monster and people slaughter villages but, it can be beautiful as well, and I couldn’t have seen any of it if I was safe and sound at home.” Her eyes flicked back to the caravan, “protecting your people, saving them from death, that’s never something that you should be ashamed of. There’s no dishonour in saving a life.”

Lionel Armon

 

[Lionel Armon]

"perhaps you are right..."

He folded his arms and looked down at the camp.
The elf is fairly insightful for her age, he could appreciate her optimism.

"The sky is clear, we should prepare for a cold night. And start early in the morning, we should reach Molthal by evening tomorrow."

He turned to descend the wall but stopped when he had a thought and turned to face her again.

"What kind of relationship do the elves have with the orcs in these lands? I can't imagine that they are on all friendly terms."

 

[Aithlin Kitansyr]

"The orcs?" Aithlin paused in the middle of hopping over the wall, one hand still on the stone, one leg outstretched to rest on the floor as she tilted her head to the side. "As well as any others I guess, they tend to stay out of our forests, we stay away from their settlements." The young elf finished her dismount, patting down her tunic before looking back up at the man. "No-one really wants to see that war take off these days so we tend to mostly ignore one another where we can." A slightly cocky smile danced across her lips, "We don't wanna destroy them, you know. Bad for their pride." She winked at him as she passed him, that ghost of a smile still playing across her lips, any war might be deadly but you had to have national pride right? "Honestly, most people tend to stay out of one another's way except in a few cities."

Lionel Armon

 

[Lionel Armon]

Lionel nodded.
Where he came from Orcs were an extremely brutal but industrial people, generally despising anything appearing smooth or symmetrical.
Of course as a race they had diversity, so not all conformed to this generality, but here it seemed orcs were far more civilized, if still largely tribal.
He stored that information.

"I see, so going to Morthal would not be problematic for you? interesting."

He turned and led the way down the flight of stone steps to the courtyard.
Everything was already set up and the temperature was beginning to drop so Lionel approached the fire and placed his hands before it.
It was mostly a show, because he didn't really feel the cold, or the heat, or much of anything when it came to the weather be it rain or monsoon, snow or blizzard.
For him his senses of temperature were dead, though his senses of touch and pain were still keen, but the fire did nothing for him and did nothing against him unless he intended to stick his whole hand in the fire.
But he made a show of warming himself anyways for the sake of the elf, and the others in his group followed suit.

"What is elvish society like? I deduced that the nobility take etiquette very seriously and politics by extension, but surly that does not represent your people as a whole?"

He figured while he was on a mountain with an elf, he might as well milk her for information, could save him some time in the long run if he didn't have to perform a whole sociological survey on elven people when the time came.