DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Hall of Fame - Latest Top 10 completed games HWD: The Heartwood HWD: Introduction

<Comfrey>

She nodded her interest in the request as well. Tales were something she never heard enough of and one of the reasons she loved inns.

Sometimes sharing a once heard tale brought people together. Briefly she recalled the reaction to Camelia's song. Sometimes it didn't. That one just brought a discussion.

Her eyes wandered around the room again at the thought.

Kadri - WIth COmfrey and COnrad

She looked distant for a moment, in thought.

"I will speak of them, although they are home no longer; they are merely where I was born; home is where I am."

After another pause - and then she speaks - addressing it to both of them.

"You are from here, yes? Have you ever been anywhere where. . you cannot see anything between you and the horizon, where only level ground stretches between you and it?"

Conrad

"No, I can not say that I have. I grew up in The Rock and have spent much of my more recent time here in Cragside or on duty with my Knight. Such a place like you describe...it is almost impossible to imagine." he said.

<Comfrey with Kadri and Conrad>

She smiled a bit and shook her head. Which question it was in answer to was not easy to tell. "Land no. But the sea? That I have seen where the horizon is cradled in arms of tossing grey-green."

Kadri, with COmfrey and COnrad:

"The ocean I have never seen. But a sunrise on the open plains. . .you can see it. . .everywhere. The entire horizon aglow with light, . . ."

Another pause.

"You can bring a horse to full gallop and not stop until both you and she have had their fill - the wind and the horizon your only companions. Where you can race the wind, and, perhaps, with the right horse underneath you, challenge it."

Again, a pause.

"But I would suppose you wish to know of. . the people."

<Comfrey with Kadri and Conrad>

She smiles gently, speaking from her love of stories of almost all sorts. "Whatever you would wish to tell, I would wish to hear."

Horses had always seemed more of a chore to her. Coming to riding late they'd turned her into a passable rider, but she had nothing of the love of the steed that she heard in Kadri and other people's voices at times. But a tale told from one who felt deeply about something was nothing to be passed up.

Daxia
with Camelia, Cesare and Dandelion

Daxia smiled and nodded to Camelia. "Bekkah -- older sister -- sang it to me after Papa and Mama died. Helped me sleep, too." She paused, remembering. "Verchovai Kassia is very frightening and intimidating woman, especially to little girls. Bekkah singing? Helped me be brave like Kisa Allaine." The redhead laughed. "Some days, Kassia scare me so much, thought I would die like Kisa Allaine, too." She shook her head ruefully. "Have known Kassia so long... am... missing her." And Daxia looked a little surprised to be saying that.

The Heartwood
Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside
Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623

Everybody

As the night deepens the conversatins fall to theirlittle groups and slowly the commns thins out. Some; townsfolks, hve their morning tasks awaiting them come dawn, others more disciplined duties.

"To not let them be forgotten or their passing to not have meaning." The mercenary tapped his wooden mug to Mikal's, taking his own draught slow and easy.

At the hearth Captain Koromov just listened to Camelia and Daxia converse; listening to both, cantching inflections and connotations.

"Mother always used to talk about the currents of the world, of waves and crests.

"Waves are not kind to m so I had to learn to stand against them, to see them coming before they even realized they were bound my way.

"I think whatever waves Father started, they are still out there, on the horizon but only just. Waiting for the wind to change."

Her head rested against the stone as she finally closed her eyes.

"I miss Poppy too. Now, that I know more, there are so many more things we could speak about. She has her work, i have mine, we look into the sky and see Her above us, and that's enough for now.

"Come tomorrow dawn, I suspect Kassia will be looking for her well, about the same time you are."

Her head simply rolled to the side, eyes opening again, offering Camelia a smile.

"Thomas.

"Thomas Montgomery.

"Thomas Montgomery Koromov."

Darian

As the room became less full, Darian took advantage and moved seats about to sit on the floor with Longtooth as well as to be closer to the hearth. She met each one of her tablemate's eyes and excused herself with a simple, "I must see to my friend's fur. I thank ye for the drink and good company."

As she settled, she pulled from her pack a wide brush that looked much like a curry comb but had fewer and longer teeth. She slipped her hand throug the back strap of the brush and began to see to Longtooth's fur. Their recent travels and much time in the rain gave it matted, snarls.

Among his breed, the hounds would normally do this for each other amongst the Pack, but like her there were no others. At least, not here. Perhaps, someday, they would find another Pack to treat with, and he could mate and engender whelps. She did not know if she would join another Pack or build one of her own. Khannish had not chosen to divulge this information to her. It was something she had to discover on this Hunt.

As she gently but firmly worked the ruff's fur, her gaze wandered over the others there in the common room. She enjoyed the camaraderie of mercenaries, their jokes and stories and songs, most of all even if some of it she did not quite understand. Her bow and quiver were to the side, wrapped protectively from both wandering hands and the drying heat of the fire.

Camelia Ayannasdotter with Daxia, Cesare, and Dandelion

"You should sleep," intoned Cami, soft, and melodic. To see herself, how she might look in a few years, had it's own wonderment and an equal measure of concern. That familiarity would nag at her, in the dark recesses, but it was late in the night now. There had been food and drink. For Cami, it would be only her 2nd night to sleep in warmth after a meal since leaving Trundle on the Hill. She could never have imagined that her life would have taken the turns it did, or that tonight she would sit at a table with kin she never knew she had... So many questions.

Camelia glanced around the room, to those she met the previous night. What was in the future for them all. Waves and Crests indeed. She wished she could read for the currents and the winds that drove those waves and crests. The ripples led to surges and if you knew they were coming, you might know from where the storm approached.

Her eyes fell upon the Healer, an eddy in what might becoming a raging monsoon. She could read that without the use of her Cards. The Squire, with honor and duty emblazoned upon his shield, he would stand against the storm. Would he be able to? These two were the first of those she might call friends. The others had been accepting but only by circumstance were they all together. But it wasn't coincidence. She had said this before, and believed it strongly. There was no such thing as coincidence. Their lives had already begun to entwine about hers. And hers about theirs. All of their fates were woven into the larger tapestry.

Camelia wished she had the view that Destiny did, and could see the picture woven by the Fates themselves, taking all the strands and lives. The warp and the weft, always the shuttle and the loom. What was the image they wove with their lives?

"Thank you," she replied when Captain Koromov... Dandelion... Dand..elion... When her sister spoke the name, adding to it each time she repeated it to weave her own tapestry.

That was the name of her father. If her sister was anything like her, then that would have been the first question she asked. And while it answered only a single question, it was an important one. A place to begin...

Daxia
<with Camelia, Cesare and Dandelion>

"Patterns, yes," Daxia murmured, "they are not complete yet." She regarded the two sisters, and eyed Cesare speculatively as well. And then she looked around the room... seeing her recent traveling companion, Kadri, speaking with the squire and the Lady of Attera; observing the others they'd met at the town's gate and who'd been in the alleyway with them; and watching Dandelion's troop, who were so very interesting. Finally, she turned back to her fellow Dayalan. "Sleeping in common room good for tonight, but you have suggestion for winter quarters in Cragside, Verchovai?"

Mikal

"Indeed." He agrees, taking a drink of his own mug.

Now a bit drier, he stretches out his feet and relaxes in his chair, watching Celi drink and Darian brush Longtooth, not much differently than he curries Talia.

He loosens the cinches on his armour a bit and watches the crowd, looking to see if the waitress will return with the answers to his questions about rooms.

As he does he tries to piece together the new information he's gotten about the Horde. The fact that Barris Ironhand is here speaks volumes, and gives him room for thought. He's not worked in a Troop for a number of years now, but the chance to serve with Barris is very tempting. Not that he knows there's any such offer available.

*Still, food for thought.*

Cesare

He cannot understand Cami's casual attitude unless it is some noble thing about hiding your feelings from everyone. Or maybe a famale thing? Perhaps she feels vulnerable and cannot cope with all this new information. For him he wwants to know more but perhaps he should save that for the morning and talk to the Captain.

Meanwhile food seems the order of the day as there is already talk of settling down for the night as he suspects he has missed his chance of a room tonight. Still small price to pay for the information given.

He beckons a serving girl and turns to Daxia.

"I'm going to order some food. Interested?"

And then in an effort to be sociable he includes the sisters.

"Either of you not eaten yet?"

Daxia
<with Camelia, Cesare and Dandelion>

She nodded to Cesare. "Stew and... mulled cider. Ta."

Daxia turned her attention back to Dandelion, waiting for the answer to her question, yes. But also an opportunity to study her, to observe the minute ways -- not just the obvious ways already cataloged -- in which Dandelion differed from her other Dayalan sisters.

Conrad

He sipped his wine and motioned for their dinner companion to continue on with her tale.

Camelia Cesare, Daxia, Dandelion

The younger of the two sisters looked down into her lap as she fumbled in the folds of her tunic, to find the small purse of coins she had been given.

"I have only a Crown," she replied to the man who wanted something of her, some reaction, some sense of understanding that she was unable to give. She was unable to process the flood of information starting with the fact that she had a sister. This man felt something for a certainty and that something scared her. Had he voiced the connection his mind was surely trying to make? She heard his words about the white haired child, but it was absolute silliness to think there was more to that line of speculation. It was too much to accept that she had a sister who just happened to look, not like her... but exactly like her.

"But if food can be had for a few pennies, then I will eat."

The night was winding down and there was so much to ask. She still had her friends to speak with, to at least explain to them what things she knew to be true... or at least hoped them to be so. It was unsettling for Cami, whose life was a known and stable thing to her before, to live with such uncertainty.

But, be brave... You are strong enough...

Kadri, with Comfrey and Conrad:

"We are. . ."

She pauses.

"They are. . . proud people. Very sure of themselves, and their future, and willing to do almost anything to make sure that it happens. Both non-traditional - they are not afraid to try new things - and very traditional - some ways are immutable. A strong will and an independent spirit are. . valued. . unless they interfere with those traditions held strongly. You will find few horses to rival - perhaps only few others that belong in the discussion at all."

<Comfrey with Conrad and Kadri>

She nodded at Kadri's words noting the pronoun change. The young woman sipped at the wine and sighed softly in contentment as the warm room continued to work its magic on her once-chilled form.

"It sounds like quite the place, these ppains," she says quietly.

Celi

Celi watched Darian care for Longtooth, who tolerated her brushing better than any she had ever observed. Unlike felines, canines did not have a predisposition for personal grooming. For him to accept this showed a great deal of affection for the human partner.

Her estimation of Darian went up another notch; she had somehow replaced his Pack, which was remarkable indeed. Perhaps there was a tale in this. Perhaps if they became friends, she might earn the right to hear her tell it. Celi was always awed by the intricacies of Nature, in all Her ineffable mystery and beauty.

Conrad

"It does sound like quite the place to visit one day. Perhaps I will hire you to guide me there when that happens." he said with a smile, wiping up the last of the stew with a piece of bread and eating it.

Kadri, with Comfrey and Conrad

"No."

She says after a pause.

"No, I don't think I am going back there any time soon. As I said, home is now wherever I find myself."

<Comfrey with Conrad and Kadri>

She shook her head minutely, a bit disappointed. The clues had been there but... People followed different trails and a game trail one might see easily she would often miss.

With a last swipe of her bread in her bowl she asked brightly, "So tell me of the home in this town, hmm? Either of you, please. For I am unfamiliar with it."

The Heartwood
Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside
Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623

Everybody

At the western hearth Longtooth suffered patiently, as each stroke tugged at snarled fur. Every now and then, with a particularly stubborn tangle his head would jerk around; but there'd be no growl or teeth, just a look of canine exasperation.

There the conversation quietly continued; the sound of rain still cascading from the roof; but it seems to be lessing as the night deepens.

"I am fine ... for it is far too easy to become fat and lazy come the storm season, a good inn and a warm fire."

Captain Koromov turned down Cesare's offer, though friendly about it.

It is Camelia, however, who got the raised brow.

"Put your crown away, sister; have you forgotten that you have already claimed my hospitality without a even a by your leave?'

She then tempered her words with a true smile, tugging her fine warm cloak about her.

"You are indeed one of us, that's for sure.

"The stew is good, its truly filling and it doesn't need Jake waking his wife to make a special meal; the bread was fresh for dinner and I suspect Nessa will glady get you some cheese if you need.

"You are right, sleep is a good thing, and I'm quite comfortable. Between me and you and you ..."

Dandelion included Daxia in the circle of words.

"This is the best tavern in the town. Jake will find you a space; might take a day or so, but he will. Until then the commons is nice. As for you ..."

Dandelion closed her eyes.

"... when you get tired, Camelia, just ask Nessa or Jake or one of the other lasses here, she'll take you to her room."

Camelia with Cesare, Daxia, and Dandelion.

Camelia closed her hand back over the small coin bag she had been given by the Healer. Of course, that had been a rude gesture on her part, to mention money after being granted hospitality. She did indeed seek and secure it, but that was really for her companions. An oversight, and a rude one at that...


Camelia watched her 'sister' as she lingered somewhere between consciousness and sleep, fighting the fall from one to the other. She too felt the weariness. Eating the food that would come and the drink before her would surely weigh her into a similar stupor.

"I have been tired for more than 30 days," she replied soft and soothingly, in the same way someone might find the intonation to speak without disturbing the natural rhythm of the sounds around them.

"Tired, cold, and hungry," she continued. "But now... I am fine as well sister." Her words spoke to a larger feeling of well-being and not an acknowledgement of her current state of provision.

Cesare with Daxia, Cami and Captain

As he listens to what people want, he waves a hand dismissively in Cami's direction indicating he had it covered, though this is further qualified by her sister.

He is not sure how much he is included in this arrangement. He has coin but only a limited amount and he knows not what lies ahead. He shrugs mentally. The Fates provide as they see fit and opportunities will ebb and flow as they dictate. He is confident he will always find a way to survive, one way or another.

As the serving girl arrives, he orders three stew with bread and cheese, another ale for himself and mulled cider for Daxia and Cami. He decides that he'll pay only when he is asked to.

Touching his clothing he finds that he is mostly dry now and stands, folding his cloak onto his pack - which is likely to be his pillow again tonight - and settling back down again, finally starting to relax. There are things to find out, decisions to make but for now he is content to eat, rest and maybe enjoy some social company this evening.