Fable - Ask The Tides of Fate

[Ruvsá]

Ruvsá nodded with a smile as Kol headed them towards the market. She kept her hand in his, for the time being, and kept her body angled towards his, smiling softly at his sometimes awkward efforts to do the same. They'd posed as newlyweds to the captain, so hopefully any awkwardness could be explained by that should anyone call them on their ruse.

She doubted that they would, though. As they moved through the streets, most people seemed to ignore them entirely, especially now that they were dressed more like everyone else and didn't reek of a filthy ship's hold. The shield maiden continued her act of gawking at everything, because it gave her an excuse to count the number of patrols that they passed. The number of guards on the city walls. How many dead end streets they passed.

It was warm, though, and despite the early hour--mid-morning, at the latest, she thought--there was a light sheen of sweat across her skin. The bustle of the streets picked up as they neared what appeared to be the market quarter of the city. Ruvsá looked around, trying to see if there was any rhyme or reason to how stalls were laid out and if wares of like kinds were grouped together, or if it was simply whoever got their first got the best spots.

When Kol leaned into her and drew her attention to the assortment of rocks, though, she didn't have to feign her gasp of awe.

"Are they magic?" she murmured quietly, curious. "Or is it... some natural feature of them? Whatever sort of purpose do they serve?"

 

[Kol]

"No magic miss, at least not yet."​

The store clerk apparently had the ears of a snow hare, his head turning almost as soon as Ruvsa spoke up. He seemed to slide into place before Kol and her, smiling with the look of a hawk who had just discovered some prey among the snows.

Kol looked at the man with a perked eyebrow, clearly somewhat unimpressed by his hawkish behaviour, though he said nothing as he held Ruvsa close. He tried to keep in mind the instructions that she had given him.

Such things did not come naturally to him, but he held himself close to Ruvsa, peering as though an uninterested husband.

"They are charged with the power of love, affection."​

It was a struggle not to roll his eyes as soon as he heard the words.

"They are a shield against evil spirits, charged and kept in place against the heart they will protect and make any relationship endure."​

Kol looked down at the rocks for a moment, then up at the merchant.

The Nordwiir would have been willing to bet anything that they were little more than ordinary pretty rocks.

 

[Ruvsá]

Ruvsá couldn't help but be impressed at the shopkeeper's hearing. Her own was quite pronounced, as a Nordenfiir, and she briefly wondered how her enhanced abilities might compare to these strange ashen-skinned elves. Her face, though, she had to quickly school into gullible curiosity as the man began to speak.

As the merchant continued his spiel, Ruvsá shook with silent laughter--enough so that Kol would be able to feel her trembling if he were to wrap an arm around her waist--biting the inside of her cheek to keep it contained. Her eyes were wide with the effort of it, and she hoped that it only contributed to her portrayal of naivete.

She almost--almost--burst out into full laughter when the man said they are a shield against evil spirits remembering their first night outside the prison on the island.

"Oh, can we, darling?" she said, twisting to face Kol, mirth in her eyes, not able to resist teasing him as much as fooling the merchant. Ruvsá leaned in as if to press a playful kiss to his cheek and whispered quiet and low, "but I don't think we should tell him that they're useless against evil spirits, my demon."

 

[Kol]

Kol could only chuckle, though the sound was a bare rasp as he shook his head in slight disbelief.

He knew the man was lying of course, spinning tales so that he could sell more of these stones. Most likely he was giving some poor orphan a few coins in order to collect them from some nearby cavern. If he had to guess the things were likely as common as sand here.

Perhaps even more so.

"I suppose." He said with a smile as she pressed her lips to his cheek and whispered into his ear.

Briefly he wondered what truly would have happened if someone tried to ward off evil spirits around him. If some sort of priest or cleric tried to cast out the Dark Gods that lay within his skull. It seemed almost impossible, but there was something...curious about the thought.

He mused for a moment. "Will this do?"

Kol asked as he pulled out one of the smallest golden nuggets that he'd created.

It seemed only right. Scamming the scammer.

 

[Ruvsá]

Ruvsá twisted back to face the stall as Kol pulled out one of the fake gold nuggets, the briefest moment of disgust flashing through her eyes as she saw the greed twisting across the merchant's face.

"Yes, yes, more than enough! Pick a stone for yourself as well as the lady!"
​

She grinned, and as Kol completed the payment, she picked out two stones. Almost giggling as she imagined one of the ridiculous things hanging on a cord or chain around his neck. It would be so out of place.

"These," she said, pointing out her selections to the merchant. "You said they had to be... charged, to protect from evil spirits? Are these done already? What does that entail?"

It was... interesting, this interaction. They did not get many curious visitors in the tundra, but clearly here they expected them. Catered to them. Scammed them also, obviously. She wondered how different their introduction to Sheketh might have been if they'd truly come as merchants, and not as fleeing slaves.

 

[Kol]

"Oh yes yes. It's quite simple."​

The man smiled for a brief moment, looking at Kol and then to Ruvsa as though he knew something that neither of them ever could. If the Nordwiir had to guess it was all lies of course, something that he invented just to appear as though he knew more.

It was infuriating.

If they had been in the Lost Isles he would have stabbed the man through his lower jaw and ended his life in the blink of an eye. His blood spilled would have brought more satisfaction that he could have said. "So tell us."

He couldn't quite keep all of the anger from his tone.

"Well, your lady love must simply wear the stone through your...nightly adventure."​

The man wore a rather creepy grin as he spoke.

 

[Ruvsá]

Ruvsá felt Kol's annoyance. Felt him tense as the merchant teased them, withholding information, and she settled her hand against his wrist, gently stroking her thumb along his pulse to distract him.

It was annoying, but this was the way of merchants. It was part of why the Nordenfiir had never adopted a form of currency. Barter was simpler. More honest.

She stiffened, though, when the merchant leered and gave the... instructions for how to use the stones. It was a true testament to her shield maiden training, though, that her ire did not show in her eyes or in her voice. Her smile didn't so much as dim.

"It's that simple?" she gasped, with feigned gullibility, picking up a stone and holding it up in the light to examine it a little closer. "So strange that such a pretty little thing hides such powers."

She set it back down, then smiled at the merchant. "I don't know how much shopping we'll do. Can you package those up and have them sent to our lodging?"

At first, she'd thought the stones an harmless trinket, but now she suspected they were charmed in some way. Why else would the merchant look so lecherous when he said that she should wear it while copulating? It would be handy to have Kol look at them later, away from prying eyes--hopefully, anyway. Maybe while handling them, he could sense something about them, and if there was magic at play.

Maybe it could be twisted to suit their own purposes.

 

[Kol]

"Yes of course, of course."

The man said as he bowed his head and turned away from the 'couple'. Kol watched the man for a moments more, imagining for just a brief second taking his knife and ramming it into the underside of his jaw. Fingers tightened for a moment, and then he let himself be pulled away by Ruvsa's touch.

A breath filled him, his head shaking.

"A man like that would not last long back home." The Nordwiir mused as they stepped away, knowing that they were out of earshot for the merchant. The fool was still rolling the nugget of gold between his fingers, caressing it like it was his only salvation.

Kol did not glance back as they moved away, did not need to. He had seen the man's heart, and greed was what drove him.

The Sorcerer shook his head.

"What next?" He asked. "There is much to see still."

 

[Ruvsá]

"No, he wouldn't," Ruvsá muttered in agreement, her lip curling in disgust for a moment before she schooled her face again. Nordwiir and Nordenfiir, they both seemed to be equally disgusted by this man's trickery.

Ruvsá took a cleansing breath as they stepped away from the stall, shaking her head just a little in disbelief. "Do you think they have a way of... seeing through those stones?" she asked when they were definitely out of earshot.

When Kol asked what next, Ruvsá looked up the street thoughtfully.

"It'd be nice to find a weaponsmith," she said, "if... it won't get us in trouble with whatever powers-that-be here. I'd like to replace the fighting knives that the orcs took."

 

[Kol]

He considered for a moment, and then let a shrug roll over his shoulders.

"I don't see the harm in trying." So far no one had asked for that strange passport, but that didn't mean the question wouldn't come eventually. If they were asked, they could simply claim ignorance of the law.

Peering through the market Kol began to search for a weaponsmith. The throng of the crowd did not make it easy, and eventually the Sorcerer began to use his other senses to search for what they needed.

After a few moments the two of them began to wander again, following the sound of ringing hammers and forge bellows. It was a sound Kol was familiar with, and as they walked he spoke up. "My father was a Blacksmith."

He mused, the first piece of his past he had shared with Ruvsa.

 

[Ruvsá]

Ruvsá could hear the distant clang of hammer on metal, but it was difficult to tell where it came from with the way the streets winded. The number of bodies crowding the streets also muffled the sound, and she was content to let Kol lead the way.

She glanced at him when he spoke, surprised at what he offered. He'd been more than willing to speak of his Dark Gods, and his future goals for his people, but had been fairly tight-lipped about his past. Though she hadn't really pried.

"Was he?" she said with a smile. "Did he specialize in any particular aspect of it? Or just make common, everyday things that were needed for life?"

If they were in a quieter place, she would speak of the Solstal steel that most shield maidens coveted. She huffed quietly to herself, realizing that her chance of earning the Queen's favor for access to it was likely long gone by now.

The forges were on a side street it seemed, and Ruvsá stepped in that direction, beginning to peruse the different offerings, and see who might have the best quality of knives.

 

[Kol]

Kol glanced down at the weapons. "He made everything required."

In the Lost Isles it was really the only way that you could get by. Most people specialized in a field, but that field itself was generalized. His father had forged joints for ships, armor, weapons, everything that he was required to.

It had not been a good life.

"I do not think he enjoyed making weapons." Kol mused, remembering how hesitant he had been to forge swords. The old man had worked for the local Warlord, a man named Bruk the Harrowed. His hand had guided everything his father had done.

Whether he'd wanted to or not. The Warlord had been a cruel man, and Kol's father had been little more than a shadow of himself by the time The Sorcerer reached his bloodying.

Bruk had been the first to fall to Kol after his return. "These seem well worked."

He mused as he cast a glance over the knives on display, noting the odd wavy lines that ran through them.

 

[Ruvsá]

Ruvsá nodded with a quiet hum as Kol spoke. "If there is one thing I have learned," she spoke softly, "it's that even quiet, sensitive souls will do what they must to survive in a harsh world. Especially if they have children who depend on them."

When he paused at a table of knives, commenting on their quality, Ruvsá looked them over.

"I've heard of a forged blade," she said, more quietly than she'd spoken at the earlier stall with the lecherous merchant, "some call it watered steel because of the patterns left behind on the metal by the specific process used. It's comparable to Telling steel, and to... one other type" --Solstal steel, she didn't say aloud. Because blades and weapons forged for the Nordenfiir from Solstal steel transform with us.-- "though I've never used either, so I won't be able to make the comparison myself."

The shopkeeper approached them, then.

"I'm looking for twin fighting blades," Ruvsá said, nodding her head in greeting, "with hilts appropriately sized for a woman's hand."

Better to be upfront that they were blades for her, then counter back and forth with subterfuge. If they were violating any laws, she'd rather know right up front. As Kol had said, they could claim ignorance, at least the first time.

 

[Kol]

The blacksmith seemed to blink for a moment, considering.

"Dun have anything made."​

As he spoke Kol watched him closely, seeing if he was luring them into a trick, a trap of any sort. Yet as he looked over the Sorcerer and his companion the Blacksmith seemed more surprised than anything else. As if such a request wasn't expected from a pair like them.

Perhaps it was the clothes.

Kol stayed quiet besides Ruvsa, his gaze flickering across the knives and into the crowd as he watched what was around them carefully. He knew that they were still in a foreign place, that they had to be careful of what was around them.

"I could prolly make somethin, but it'd take a day or so. Most of my blades are made for men."​

The Blacksmith explained with a shrug.

"Or Ogres."​

A small chuckle escaped the man's throat as though he had told a very funny joke.

 

[Ruvsá]

Ruvsá smirked a little. She probably had more in common with these ogres than anyone here expected, and if--when, perhaps--the time came, she was certain that at least in her bear form, she would be of equal strength to them, if not greater.

But winning a fight wasn't always about strength.

"If you can have them ready by tomorrow morning, we'll make it worth your time," she said.

She glanced at Kol and saw that while he was listening to them, he was keeping his eyes on the people in the street as well. Good. She would likely hear if someone tried to sneak up on them, but her heightened senses could only do so much when she couldn't look around.

Ruvsá turned most of her attention back to the smith, holding up her hands. "I'd like the knives to be this long, from pommel to point," she said, indicating a length of about ten inches. "With a guard between the hilt and the blade. A metal hilt is fine, I'll wrap it in leather myself."

Kol had said he acquired sufficient gold for a few sets of clothing for her. Hopefully that would be sufficient to cover the cost of the knives. She would make do with her tundra clothes, once they were cleaned, and this... strange garment she wore currently.

 

[Kol]

The Blacksmith paid careful attention to Ruvsa as she began to speak and describe the knives she wanted. Impressively he even took out a small notebook and began to write down her description. A man dedicated to his craft, and apparently pleasing his customers.

"Aye, I could do that, but it will cost a little extra."​

Kol turned towards the man for a moment, shrugging his shoulders. "That won't be a problem."

Though for some reason he did not like the idea of ripping the man off as he had done with the other merchant. Perhaps it would do them good to exchange some of their 'gold' for actual coin. He turned fully to the man.

"Set your price." He told him. "We'll pay it."

After a few seconds the Sorcerer added. "Though only if she approves the quality."

The Blacksmith did not even hesitate for a second, turning to address Ruvsa as Kol spoke of her having the final say.

"I assure you ma'am, such a thing will never be in doubt."​

 

[Ruvsá]

Ruvsá was pleased with the attentiveness the smith showed and felt herself relax a little. At one point he even flipped his book around to show her a quick sketch, and she smiled and nodded.

She continued to inspect the knives laid out, picking one up and looking over the blade carefully, as Kol and the smith spoke.

When the smith turned back to her, assuring her that she would not be disappointed, Ruvsá smiled as she set the knife back down. "It seems to be very fine craft you do," she said. "I'm sure it will be satisfactory."

As they finished up the transaction, agreeing to have the knives ready by the same time tomorrow, Ruvsá quietly looped her arm through Kol's. When they stepped away from the stall, she asked, "Where to next? I don't think we've made it to the market proper yet. Shall we see what other wares they have?"

Once they were out of earshot of the blacksmith, and she'd checked for any guards, she murmured softly, "We'll be paying him with real gold or coin, yes?"

As they continued to meander through the streets, working their way back to the majority of the market stalls, Ruvsá found herself glancing up at Kol every so often with a quiet smile. "Circumstances of our arrival aside, this isn't so bad," she said at one point. "There's definitely worse company to be had."

 

[Kol]

"Real gold." Kol agreed with a nod.

He would have to some quick trading, perhaps a passing of hands, but that shouldn't be much of a problem. Kol had grown up thieving. Taking what he could from those who had it, never going noticed. Before his blooding it had been the only way that they had been able to survive.

Not that his sisters had made it in the end anyway.

A frown touched his lips for a brief moment at the memory, but his head shook as he dismissed it and they stepped into the Market proper. His eyes flickered over the stalls as Ruvsa spoke, a quick nod dipping his head.

"Yes." He agreed. "Not so bad."

The Sorcerer had seen much worse in the south.

Though none of them would want to openly admit it, there were things just as dark as a collar around the throat in both Alliria and Vel Anir.

He glanced towards Ruvsa as she slung a quip at him, his eyebrow raising. "I suppose there is."

 

[Ruvsá]

Ruvsá had never been much of one for small talk, a fact with had irked most of Aggar's other jarnas. Her years of training as a shield maiden had made her more prone to bluntness and a matter-of-fact manner of speaking. So she fell quiet for a while, perusing the stalls and sometimes tugging Kol toward one if something caught her eye.

She wanted to know more about him, but wasn't sure how much she should ask, either in private or in public.

So she distracted herself with learning, observing. She let her nose draw her toward exotic spices, though a few of them made her sneeze. There was a stall full of fresh cut flowers, the likes of which she'd never seen, but straying even within a few feet of it made her eyes water and she couldn't stop sneezing.

Once they'd made it past that stall and she could breathe again, she caught sight of a cobbler, with various leather sandals on display.

"Oh..." Ruvsá whispered, tugging at Kol's sleeve. "Is there enough to manage a pair of those after the cost of the knives? My feet are so hot in these boots."

She'd had every intention of making do with the sealskin boots but they'd been walking around long enough, and the day was starting to warm up significantly, that a light sheen of sweat had spread across her skin, and she kept sweeping her loose hair from one shoulder to the other to try and keep it off her neck.

 

[Kol]

Kol watched Ruvsa as she tried not to slip into a sneezing fit, his eyebrow arching for a moment as he tried to understand what the hell was happening.

Allergies and the like weren't exactly common in the Lost Isles, only because such things died out long before one could reach adulthood. The Sorcerer shook his head, deciding not to question Ruvsa as she quickly darted passed the flower stall and moved on ahead.

As they approached the cobbler he glanced around for a moment. "Suppose there will be."

He mused for a moment.

Kol searched around the crowd, looking for something when suddenly his eyes stopped. A smile touched his lips, and then he motioned towards a man in an alleyway towards the back of the market. Three cards lay on his table, and he slowly shuffled them around as a small crowd gathered in front of him.

One man was playing the game with him, a game that Kol was familiar with. He had seen it on the streets of Vel Anir. A scam, the Dreadlord he'd spoken with had called it, But the Sorcerer saw opportunity.

"Lets go play this game first." They needed real coin after all.

 

[Ruvsá]

Ruvsá grinned, and stepped toward the cobbler's stall--she may have been a warrior, but she was equally a woman and enjoyed pretty things--but Kol didn't move, and she turned back to see his gaze wandering through the street.

When he smiled and motioned, Ruvsá looked over.

"A game?" she asked curiously, stepping back to his side and grasping his arm once more. "What sort of game?"

The Nordenfiir had plenty of gambling games of their own, though they wagered things like favors and drinks most often, but their insular society meant their games were unique to their culture. And her shield maiden studies hadn't included much about street gambling in other cultures.

"I assume you're confident you can win this game?" she murmured as they headed toward the gathering crowd.

 

[Kol]

"One of chance, or at least that is what they will say." He had seen this before, and always it had been the same sort of play.

Kol had never bought into it, though that had only been thanks to the whispers within his ears. The Dark Gods enjoyed their tricks, and the game that this man played was one that they had invented. Or so at least Kol had been told.

Whether that was the truth, no one could tell.

As the two northerners approached the stall and threaded their way through the crowd Kol leaned in and whispered to Ruvsa. "It is called three card draw."

He said quietly.

"The man will show me a card, and tell me to memorize it. Then he will flip it, and slowly shuffle it among the other two." A smile touched his lips. "It will move, and then with a quick touch of his hand he will replace it with another."

A simple trick. "It is a scam, but one that will not work."

Kol looked to Ruvsa with a smirk. "Not with me."

 

[Ruvsá]

Ruvsá nodded as Kol explained, a tendril of heat curling down her spine as his breath brushed against her ear. When he looked at her with a smirk, she laughed, and leaned over to kiss him softly. "Just don't win too quickly, or too often," she murmured when she pulled away. "We don't want the wrong kind of attention."

Nearing the front of the crowd at last, Ruvsá turned her attention to the gathered throng. It was a fair mix of folks--most of them were the gray-skinned elves who seemed to be the native inhabitants of this place. But there were also a considerable smattering of humans, a couple of orcs--though not Blightland orcs--and some with strange scents that seemed... almost similar to the animalistic scent of the Nordenfiir, but not quite the same.

The card dealer was still playing his con on another, and Ruvsá took her cues from the crowd for interaction--cheers of anticipation, calls of advice for which cards to pick, and at the last, an audible groan as the dealer pulled his trick.

She wasn't sure if Kol would step up next, or another one in the crowd. She assumed that Kol would hear from his Dark Gods about which card was the correct one. But she was curious if she would be able to detect the trickery by using her ability to smell.

 

[Kol]

Kol only smiled in answer as Ruvsa cautioned him, taking a step forward out of the crowd and towards the table.

"I'll play." From his pocket he fished out one of the golden nuggets.

It seemed to glitter in the light of the sun, and the man behind the table seemed to brighten as he pulled it from his pockets. Shoulders squared, and he reached back for a moment as though he were considering the bet.

"Are you sure sir? That's quite a bit to lose and I wouldn't want you gettin ornery."

Kol smiled. "Oh I wouldn't."

He said with a wave.

"I've fallen into some luck, and I think I can carry it forward." The Sorcerer shrugged. "As long as you can meet the bet?"

The man behind the table seemed to consider for a moment, then nodded his head as he plopped down a bag of coin. He fished out the worth of the nugget, then began to take out his cards. "Wait."

Kol said as he motioned towards Ruvsa.

"I need my lucky charm." A smirk touched his lips as he glanced at his 'wife'.

 

[Ruvsá]

Ruvsá kept her attention split between Kol, the gathered crowd, and the card dealer. As she listened to the conversation between Kol and the dealer, saw the flash of greed in the dealer's eye, she spotted a couple of other human women in the crowd. One wore a collar, one did not, but she exchanged amicable smiles with them.

She could tell by the hush falling over the crowd again that the game was about to start, though she turned back with wide eyes when Kol beckoned for her, then her a brow lifted and her lips curled up into a teasing smile.

"Yes, darling?" she purred, gliding over to his side and wrapping her arm around his waist as she cozied up to his side, batting her eyelashes coyly.

A show for the crowd, ultimately. Get them on her and Kol's side, and if the card shark tried to throw a fit when they ripped him off, they'd have the crowd ready to defend them, even if just with words. Everyone loves a good romance, after all.