Private Tales Upriver

[Neremyn Virvyre]

Ere offered his hand, shaking Rayth's. "Well met, Rayth...Privateer Officer with no surname. I am Neremyn Virvyre." He expected for one who had spent his life at sea, the surname would mean very little. In truth, he was surprised to hear the knight errant of the Spur speak so implicitly knowledgeable about the clan. Beyond that, it was much a well known name as it was a hidden secret amidst the Falwood elves. "Itinerant Druid, performing feats of little rapport."​

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Verdant gaze shifted to Eislyn as he waved the pipe dismissively. "Kermode saw very little in his woodland travels so I imagine you are fine for now. The chef and the owner are gentle and simple people, far removed from the concerns beyond this towns footprint. It is a suitable destination to catch one's breath." The fact that the owner was so concerned for orcs, and not towards the general cruelty of all beings, was telling of these facts.​

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There was some rummaging about in the back. Clattering of metal pots and pans, glass cups and the hollow pang of ceramic dishes. The chef came out, slamming his hand down on the bartop.​

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"We're out, Elf. Totally out."​

"Out of what?" Ere looked towards the chef with a confused glance.​

"No oregano to compete with the delicate sage and thyme herbal potatoes...accouterments for the roasted boar. I will not cook this meal if it cannot be cooked properly."​

Ere shook his head, taking a sip from the cup. Then he pointed the smoking end of the pipe towards the ceiling. "You have plenty of bay trees in the surrounding canopy."​

"Magnolia for cooking?" The chef rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Ah yes, that could work. I'll just have to remove the leaves prior to plating."​

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The large chef ducked down and crossed back into the pantry. The rear door to the tavern could be heard opening and shutting. ​

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"I could see gambling having some value on a ship. I wasn't always an old curmudgeon. But we are on land now and dice and cards tends to be a boisterous affair."​

 

[Eislyn Gray]

"Oh my," she breathed, eyes trailing the closed door where the chef disappeared to and back to Ere again. "I didn't realize you were such an expert cook. One that strangers would feel the need to consult with."

Rosy lips trembled as she tried to mask her expression.

"Does this mean you two will be at the town's gambling tables?" Eislyn's hands cradled a warm mug of tea. She'd gotten chilled traveling on the road. Usually, she was good with cold, having grown up at the base of the Spine. But unable to have fires at night had left a deeper chill in her bones. Similar to when she'd fallen into the waters of the smuggler's cave.

Couldn't quite stop trembling.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"He's roasting a boar?" Rayth asked rhetorically. Whilst quite accustomed to going for long months with ship food he was relishing the thought of a hot meal.

"I don't think we can afford to lose a single coin right now," he admitted with a shrug. He took a swig of a very mild beer. The kind it would take a whole night to get drunk on. The kind that was more sanitary than the local water.

Rayth noticed Eislyn's hands faintly trembling, but she already had a mug of hot tea. He tempered the urge to reach out and place a hand over hers.

"Thank you for my getting us here Neremyn," Rayth said earnestly. "I am surprised Eislyn came to meet a druid given her family's attitude to magic?"

 

[Neremyn Virvyre]

Ere was hardly an expert at much, though it was time and knowledge of subjects that had taught him that. But he did agree with the ship-mate. They had neither the coin nor the time for gambling endeavors. And for Ere's interest, he was also lacking a certain enthusiasm for the prospect.​

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"You're welcome. And yes, I agree..." He looked toward Eislyn. "It's a very odd reconvening, given her family's attitude towards magic." A smirk played across his lips, recalling the way the very subject had been the guiding star for the princess. To disappoint her father seemed, at the time, to be the gravest of sins.​

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"But..." He stated quietly, rubbing his beard and pressing a hand over his chest. "Coin is not truly a concern. At times of war and desperation, you will find that shiny metal seems to lose its value. A ferryman might require triple the price at crossing the Bystra, when assailed by whispers of fletchings in the trees..." His tone turned dark though it seemed, at the time, unnecessary. They were quite clearly safe for the time being.​

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The smell of boar lofted through the tavern, filling the air with tones of herbs and cooking meat. ​

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Sipping the tea with some sprigs of fresh mint floating on top, Eislyn lowered the mug. "I wish I shared your confidence about the coin," she stated quietly, verdants searching Ere's bearded face. "Then again, perhaps I would if I could use my magic properly," she couldn't help the slight drop in her voice at the open admittance in public. The self-conscious glance to those sitting closest to them. The flare of color in her cheeks as if she were admitting to something...to be ashamed of. Years of ingrained habits with the need for secrecy wouldn't simply be erased over night.

Attention turned to Rayth.

"Ere and I met when I was sent to negotiate with a prominent land-owner just outside my father's kingdom. The people were rebelling and a war was spreading. The short of the story is that a rather stubborn druid insisted on following me to the woods as I searched for some healing herbs for one of my men. I suppose it was a good thing he came along."

Blizzards. Wolves. Werewolves. Attacking gnomes. It had been quite the night.

But Eislyn left the rest of the story for Ere to tell, if he desired.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth had rudely let his gaze drift off towards the kitchen as Eislyn spoke to him. His disinterest in herbs came to an abrupt end when he could smell the slowly roasting meat. His stomach rumbled quietly. He was fairly certain his body would cope with the oddity of eating a full meal right after waking given how little he had eaten in the last week.

"Always herbs then?" he mused, looking back to Eislyn and smiling.

"I don't know whether Wherlston going to war with a few thousand men will continue to disrupt the region, but I suspect it might. Which means there are two things that we need to work towards. Firstly we need to get far from the area and then Eislyn needs to learn how to control her magic."

If she trusted the druid then he supposed he had to as well. Not that they had other options for confiding in people right now. Reginald might have escaped the Duke's men, Geelyn almost certainly would have done, but they had no way to find them again.

 

[Neremyn Virvyre]

"Herbs are very important." He admitted with a feigned sage approach, waxing philosophical. "Remedies, medicaments, potions and elixirs, accouterments, garnish, and with the proper volume, very pertinent presence in stew. A stew is, after all, far more than just meat, bone, and water."​

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It should have been obvious, to Eislyn at the very least, that Ere wasn't intent on telling any more tales regarding their time in the Spur. There was no need in diving into the mystical rabbit hole when dancing bear totems and magical spores were enough to star gaze the poor ship wrecked swashbuckler. The druid decided that, like all things in a maturing world, the truth would have to come in baby steps.​

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"But yes. Magic is nothing without training. And the first step to training is understanding. And before we can understand, we must accept. Which it seems we have..." He moved his gaze towards the Princess, lifting the drink to his lips. He was content to see her admittance. To him, it was a relief. To her, he assumed it a burden only now truly realized in the discarding of it. "So I approve of your plan, Rayth No-Name. We must get out of here, we must get her some form of tutelage, and we must..."​

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"EAT!" The chef yelled triumphantly, thrusting a platter down on the bartop and taking on a pose that would have put most victorious knights to shame. With his chest barreling outward, hands held akimbo, he paused for effect. And waved his hand at the tray.​

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"I am a chef, good people. Not your server. You can plate it yourself!"​

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Ere pursed his lips in confusion. Just a moment ago, he was certain the chef had mentioned intent on removing the bay leafs prior to plating.​

 

[Eislyn Gray]

The princess shifted under Ere's gaze. As expected, there was no surprise at the news on his part. She looked to Rayth. "Much better than dried rations, hm?" And no tainted rum here. Standing, she made her way to the proud chef who quickly offered her a plate and utensils. Piling on a healthy portion, she made it back to their table.

She did notice that a bay leaf made it into the serving given to Ere.

Verdants traveled to the doorway as two figures came in. Two orcs dressed to the nines in animal skins, slick with water. Had it started to rain outside? One had a particularly rough looking scar going down its left eye. Eislyn wouldn't have paid them much mind except their gazes seemed to be searching at the faces around the room.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"A stew I suppose is water, meat, and herbs?" Rayth asked as he sat back down. He looked down at his plate, mouth watering. He was used to serving himself on the ship, but in truth most inns expected you to bring your own cutlery and sometimes even your own plates.

"I am usually just glad when the ship bread isn't so full of cooked weevils. I suppose it does give the bread a little more crunch."

Rayth didn't do much to hide the smirk. He was hoping that the notion of bread full of dead insects would slightly upset the princess' sensibilities.

"I think Eislyn does want to learn," Rayth said before tucking in. He glanced towards her for confirmation. There were many years of her treatment to undo. It wasn't going to be quick.

"Can you help?" he asked the elf. Before eating he gave her bracelets one last look.

 

[Neremyn Virvyre]

He understood the sentiment regarding bread and weevils, though he had never had the pleasure of such long voyages at sea. Stories about tossing bread against wooden planks, knocking the insects loose from their homes, was enough to deter him from such pursuits.​

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"We all want many things..." He whispered quietly, eyes drifting from Rayth to Eislyn and to the Orcs that had just moved into the eating area. "Sometimes it's simply a matter of patience..."​

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"Oy!" The man barked as he flung open the countertop latch, crossing from the bartop into the dining area. This wasn't the chef. No, this was the man who had originally greeted them as they were stabling the horses.​

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"You fookin' Orcs?" He muttered, pointing a gleaming cleaver that reflected dully from the candle lit chandelier above.​

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The two Orcs, who had just sat down, eyed each other before muttering something back. It was deep Orcish by Ere's estimation.​

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The owner sunk the cleaver deep into the roundtop table and lifted his nose, sniffing obnoxiously. "Cuss I can sniff 'em out. And by all accounts, the verdict is still out on you lot. Eh!" He barked again. "Speak up, I ain't got time for your mumblin'."​

 

[Eislyn Gray]

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Somehow, Rayth and Eislyn ended up far from the army searching for her. Far from the assassins and other threats of the northern kingdoms with the help of Ere. Far from orcaphobic in-keepers. Ere had taught her the basics of controlling her magic but soon, they too had to part ways. The druid-elf had always been mysterious in his comings and goings.

Rayth graciously ignored her strangled cry as the snake slithered across their path in the swamps. The princess gathered herself and looked up to where Rayth pointed. Verdants squinted against the myriads of browns and greens of the swamp. There was a low howling-moan that echoed through the natural cacophonous. Eislyn gulped.

"No," she whispered. But there was clearly something there. Fingertips began to glow as she drew on her magic, following Rayth's footsteps closer to that sound.

"And what I sense...it's more instinct. Complicated to explain. I think it's related to the type of magic the creatures use. In the caves, I didn't sense the krakarl until they came above the surface."

Until they'd almost died.

It was whenever a creature with the propensity for dark-magic sensed her. And their hunger to seek after her power and consume it for themselves.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Krakarl were the kind of beast that could haunt even the bravest man's nightmares. He felt no shame in admitting how terrifying he found them.

"That's not a Krakarl," Rayth explained. "It's not a naga either," he added as its reptilian nature became more clear. "It has two legs."

He kept a hand on the hilt of his saber and turned his shoulders to face the reptilian creature. It was a head taller than him and strode towards them purposefully.

"It has a sword," Rayth observed. It had taken him a few seconds to distinguish what was protruding over its shoulder. It looked like a crude weapon fashioned from bone and leather.

"Hold our ground?"

 

[Eislyn Gray]

She pushed on her toes and peeked over Rayth's shoulder. Eyes saw the reptile-like creature approaching. She was glad it wasn't naga, She'd once wanted to seek one, hearing rumors that their kind had a cure for her sister.

"Yes," she said quietly and slid slightly to the side, so she wouldn't be completely in Rayth's shadow. Before her lips could even part the man-reptile spoke in a low grumble. Reptillian eyes blinked at them with double lids.

"What are you doing here? It is not safe...," he spoke with a hiss at the end of his words.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"That was...why we are here," Rayth said, narrowing his eyes. "The townsfolk were telling stories of a monster that...well it sounded like you."

The lizardman didn't look even slightly affronted. Rayth realised he didn't know what any emotions would look like on that reptilian face. Perhaps it couldn't even make any.

"They all ran away at the sight of me before I could speak. There is a wendigo in these swamps."

Rayth paled at that word. He had never seen one, but they were a horror story baked into the psyche of most children of the realm.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Eislyn did not know what a wendingo looked like. If she had, she might've decided to go to street begging to earn some coin rather than continue on with their quest. Verdants took in the details of the lizard man's face and she couldn't quite stop the poetry from leaving her lips.

"How I linger to admire the things of this world that are kind,
and maybe also troubled - roses in the wind, the sea geese on the steep waves...," voice trailed off and throat gently cleared.

"Would you help us find this wendigo?"

 

[Tonwee]

"Am I not speaking in the correct language?" Qi'tek asked. He always had trouble conveying confusion.

"I said that a wendigo was in the area. Go and be in another place. Big monster. Eats young ones. Do not walk this swap."

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"No we do understand it is just we came out here to deal with the monster. It's just the peasants thought that it was...you..."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

"Rayth," Eislyn chided with a gently tap of her hand against his arm. Perhaps pointing out that villagers thought the monster was the lizard man they were currently talking to wasn't a very polite or politically strategic thing to do.

Shoulders squared along her smaller frame.

"If you know of this monster, why're you still wandering this area?"

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"It comes out at night," Qi'tek declared. "And at night I am...sluggish. My people are cold blooded." He lifted his reptilian maw despite a clear sense of embarrassment at this admission.

"I have been trying to find its nest by day so that I can put an end to its carnage."

"That makes sense..." said Rayth turning slowly towards Eislyn. "...I expect a Wendigo counts as a 'dark creature'?"

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Verdants shifted in thought. A small nod in Rayth's direction. Perhaps that's why she couldn't sense it now? Or yet. Perhaps she'd only be able to sense it when it was active.

"I might be able to help find the nest," eye shifted to the lizard man.

"But only if I was within range. And when the creature was active," greens shifted back to hold Rayth's gaze. She wondered if he would protest.

 

[Tonwee]

"Then we search now," Qi'tek stated. "It might not be active now. Perhaps you will sense the direction as it becomes evening."

The Draconaad could keep his body heat until after sundown for a short period of time, but he useless at dawn until his muscles had been warmed by the sun.

"You two will die if you try and fight it alone," he stated flatly. There was no judgement in his tone. In fact there was very little emotion carried by the reptile's voice.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

"Alright," she drew, not hearing a protest from Rayth. "Let us hope it stirs quickly after sunset and we won't find ourselves too far away from its nest."

Keen-eyes fell back to the Lizardman.

"I'm Eislyn and this is Rayth. We will split the reward three-ways. Sound good, mister...?"

 

[Tonwee]

"Reward? I have no need of a reward," replied the stoic dragonaad. He narrowed his eyes for just a moment, but before he could continue Rayth interrupted.

"Two way split works for me..."

"...but if you could ask for the Smith in that village to tend to my sword and armour I would be grateful."

He turned his head towards the swamps, his mane of pale silver fronds swinging behind his head.

"My name is Qi'tek, Order of Holy Kialat. Until this Wendigo is vanquished it is my only thought."

Rayth turned towards Eislyn and raised an eyebrow. A paladin, he mouthed. They had found some reptilian paladin.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

A paladin. Reminded her of Geoffrey as a twisting pain ran through her chest. She still never found out whether or not he'd made it out of that seaside village or of the duke's men had gotten him. She felt a pang for his family as well.

The sun was nothing but an orange prick on the horizon by the time she sensed something. The creature must be beginning to wake-up. There was still just enough light left from the sunken sun to cast the swamp in an eerie glow. Eislyn's pants were covered in mud beyond her knees and up the backs of her thighs.

"Qi'tek. Rayth," she whispered sharply, verdants scanning the quickly waning light. "Across that small lake. I sense...it stirring." The evil felt like a growing pulse of slick and expanding oil.

Dark magic.

 

[Tonwee]

"It was fate that brought you across my path Eislyn," said Qik'teth. "We will kill this thing now."

He drew his sword, closed his eyes and remained still. He muttered a few words in a very foreign tongue and then threw his left arm out to the side. A brilliant blue light swirled around his arm and then condensed into a shield of light.

"I will lead the way. We stop it at the entrance to its nest. We do not let it escape. They can run very quickly."