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Post by kelantar on Apr 28, 2019 23:41:41 GMT
The long road to Waterdeep met it's fair share of travelers and merchants daily, it's caravans often trading also along the way in the many towns and small cities outside the jewel. It was a frequent ocurrence that even those that weren't merchants would tag along with a given caravan for there was safety in numbers and most road-jumpers left large groups of people alone, for what good was money to dead men. As of late however things had not been so good, rumors about a orcish horde coming from the north brought on by refugees and victims. Everyone was not necessarily on edge, but lately, there had been a few ocurrences of a few caravans that were found raided. All it's people killed, and most of the things of value they were carrying having been stolen. Usually bandits would not kill the merchants unless prompted to do so, or unless needlessly evil, for after all if they killed them they would stop coming. Some called it a "tax", if they were so bold. However and as told by the only survivor of the latest streak of crime, the criminals now had green skin and a foul stench to them. Orcs they were and they did not even ask anything out of the caravans, they just attacked them like they would an enemy on the field, and they were fiercely fast and cruel. The only good to ever come out of it was that more and more caravans were now in the market of hiring more guards to travel with them, something that only benefited the caravan guards. So it would call to the attention that a traveler was walking by himself and without a horse either; not a human but an elf black of hair and with a single backpack to boot, a rather large pole to help him across difficult terrain and no weapons in sight. Kel'antar took a moment to stop in his tracks, his boots dusty as they could be and his white shirt briefly billowing in the wind. His backpack was light enough, for sure, he did not need any food or other commodities that would bother most other sentients he knew, he brought one hand to his forehead as if to wipe his sweat but there was no sweat to be wiped. Only, he blocked the sun as he focused on the horizon, trying to check if he was heading in the right direction. |
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Post by pastels on Apr 29, 2019 7:43:26 GMT
The sun was bright and the rolling fields stretched out as far as the eye could see. Waterdeep was a fist-shaped lump in the distance.
A figure walked by her lonesome through the meadows, keeping away from the Trade Road and its well-worn caravan tracks. Her face was obscured by the faded mask she wore and the shadows of her hood, but the rugged simplicity in her travel-stained clothes—cured leathers and spartan, double-stitched fabrics—showed a life spent in the wilderness. The heat bearing down on her exposed shoulders and arms didn’t seem to bother her one bit. The stranger moved slowly, fording across the knee-length grass with patience and care. Every now and then the woman would stop and glance around… then resume her inexorable advent towards the famed City of Splendors.
It was a good hunt, that. A couple of unlucky hunters near the Trollbark Forest paid her to hunt down their quarry, a gigantic grey wolf. One of them even said it had the maw of a bear. Lila almost refused the job at first—she kept to herself on the camp she made within the woods, to avoid the folks looking for the “monster hunter.” That was her fault. A bit. She probably should have held back on accepting bounties until she had a secure base. ‘Course, she hadn’t had trouble with the villages she passed before so long as she stayed away from the virgins and the zealous priests—but Baldur’s Gate had been… different. All sorts of folk not minding their own business in that shitstain of a city. Her ass barely touched the seat in that gloomy tavern before some man got in her space, asking why a freak like her was in their district. But those hunters? They were decent folk, just out making a living.
Plus, they said the wolf was probably infected with dark magic, which—they tried to be nice with this one—was right up her alley.
Sweet.
Well, at least she got a pelt out of it. Lila’s hand drifted down to where her rolled cloak lay under her travel pack, near her trusty weapons, and a faint smile flickered on her face. The distraction nearly prevented her from noticing the sudden drop up ahead… Lila toppled out of the tall grass and onto the beaten path bracing the underside of the hill, a yard away from another traveler taking a break on the road. She pushed her heel out to regain her balance, and her knee locked with the sudden halt.
“Nine Hells, almost twisted my ankle—shit round’o luck that would be,” Lila cursed out loud. After a couple of stretches, when she made sure everything was working as it should be, she straightened up to resume her walk… only to spot the other traveler. She placed a hand over her hood to shield her eyes from the sun. “Huh. Hoy there! This still the way to Waterdeep, right? I ain’t seen no caravan since… Ah, nuts. For a while now, I reckon.”
Gods, aunt Elpis could’ve sent her some money to ride on one of the damned things instead of hoping for a freebie… Guess it’s clear where her pa got that miserly attitude from. Of course if she had a money, it would be a question of which caravan would accept her presence. The Hunter’s Bane imparted an instinctive sense of wrongness—the primal fight-or-flight response, the wary understanding the prey had of the hunter—on those who beheld her for a period of time… and it was exactly why she kept her distance from the stranger, her wiry arms bound loose over her chest, as she waited for a response.
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Post by enchilada on Apr 29, 2019 22:39:25 GMT
You could have heard Vim for miles. Pudding? Not so much.
“You don’t suppose there ain’t no poss’biluhty of us an’ Plum gettin’ that hole fixed t’morrah? I’ve been itchin’ to do it, and I know Mama oughtta want it done since that rock done made it in the barn! I’d do it myself but it’s a fiddler and you know me, I’ve got meaty hands. Need yer delicate fingers for that job. And Plum won’t wanna miss out on a fun time with his chil’hood squad, eh? You rember when Mama used t’ dress us up all in them jeans? We was cute as a pumpkin patch with a cute li’l scarecrow frien’ right in the middle givin’ a frien’ly smile.”
She went on, and on.
Pudding was her brother, the eldest of all the siblings. He was a guard. And he took his job very seriously. Vim liked to get in trouble, and Pudding would walk her home. Horns included, he was seven foot something, he wore plate, no helmet though. His hair was tall, shaved on the sides, reaching up like a surrender to the sky. He seemed like a classical tiefling, horns, red skin, dark eyes, black hair, tail that thrashed angrily. And most importantly, he loved his family more than anything, and his job second. His pay packet went to Mama, cause she was the best at that thing. And they needed it.
“Hol’ up, Puddin’. That there’s a looker. I can feel it. Listen. What a pretty voice.” Vim whispered.
“Vim. You promised Munchkin you’d read ‘er a story t’night.” Pudding protested, shaking his head.
“I’ll be quick, quit yer sweatin’.” She smoothed everything over, then sidled up to the stranger. “Howdy. I’m Vim. You sound purty. Got a name?”
Pudding shook his head again, pinching the bridge of his nose.
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Post by kelantar on Apr 30, 2019 14:59:04 GMT
His body turned slowly towards the voice, a seamless transition before he lowered his hand when he found the source of the sound. He let himself show a small smile, and brought his right hand up to make a small wave of recognition at the fellow traveler.
"As far as I know, it is."
He said first, his voice hard and strong enough to be heard without any problem.
"I reckon you wouldn't. Way it goes it is said that the caravans are being raided by something, probably orcs. Everyone's wary now. I figured maybe they would feel more inclined to attack a lone traveler but I was mistaken. I've been here for about... A day now, nothing new so far."
And it had been a boring stay at that, traveling day and night in search of something that might not yet come. Beasts, he found out, also had a habit of staying out of his way. While he hadn't thought of it at first the sense of smell was the strongest one of them all for wild animals usually, and he would not really smell of something that was alive. Not entirely. This realisation alone had taken him quite a while to take root. But it did not come without it's perks, such as being awake all the time without downside, he could do a lot more things that other sentients couldn't in half the time; because actually had twice the amount of time available.
In the last day he felt as though he had become acquainted with the road he was traveling, something he would need in case something went south and he needed to flee. And just as he was about done and about to ask the traveler one question, another two joined in, though it was only one that approached his interlocutor. Kel'antar let out another soft, small smile. What a lively people these Waterdhavians were, all carefree and chatty even with strangers.
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Post by pastels on May 1, 2019 6:12:25 GMT
"What, really?"
Orc raiders, this far south? That was fresh news. How long had she stayed in the Trollbark Forest? She didn't hear about any of this the day she arrived in Baldur's Gate, and that wasn't just because people gave her a wide berth. Lila sighed and kicked at the ground, her foot unsettling a tiny cloud of dust and trampled grass. As if common bandits weren't a pain to deal with already... That's what you get for taking the main road. She could've skirted around on the caves along the coast and the worst of her problems would be territorial fish people.
"Of all the rotten luck," she muttered and looked up at the elf after a pause. He remained some distance away, but she could see no weapons from where she stood. Well, nothing half as obvious as the twin axes strapped to her back, anyway. "Well then. Don't suppose you..."
Her offer was interrupted by a growing noise, and two tieflings happened upon their tiny meeting. She didn't bother to reach for a weapon--from what she could hear of the one-sided conversation, these were common folk, not gut-stabbing bandits. Lila couldn't help but chuckle when the one with the salmon-colored hair walked up and introduced herself.
"Hullo, Vim," she returned the greeting with a smile. Noticing the armor of the other tiefling--who looked more like the classical archetype she read at the temple--Lila tugged her mask down. Wouldn't do good to get mistaken as one of the miscreants plaguing the road in front of a lawful-looking type. She was already in a pickle once the Bane kicks in. "Name's Lila. Sorry to disappoint, but I'm a pretty at best and this ain't it."
The blood hunter chuckled again at her own comment, gesturing at her worn, dirtied clothes and weathered skin. "Was just about to ask this kind fella 'bout walking to Waterdeep with me. Heard about orc raids an' such. Now I don't got valuables--" she reached behind her and patted down the side of her knapsack, to which she attached a thick canvas sack, "well, not in the traditional sense, anyway, but I'm still not keen on getting ambushed. You fine folk headed there too?"
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Post by enchilada on May 1, 2019 17:51:54 GMT
“Oh sure you is, you’s just bein’ all modest-like. It’s cute, Lila.” Vim drawled, quite happy to show off her single golden fang, her split tongue, and, going by her clothes, most of her body. Her tattooed arms were a little less modest, if that were possible — her pinups gave off no more about her personality than Vim had said already. Confident, a little gaudy, and by the goddess did she love girls.
Vim was about to agree. She was more than happy to escort such a fine lady to Waterdeep, before Pudding interrupted her. He was stroking a little beard situation he had going, again, a very typical image of some kind of fiend or devil.
“Vim,” He warned, arms crossed across his plated body — “You promised.” Pudding didn’t need to spare any more detail. Vim had promised Munchkin a story. Munchkin got what she wanted!
The tiefling groaned. She slumped her entire body, and threw her head back, uncaring of the horns that protruded far behind her. She dug her hooves, yeah, wild, into the ground a little more, and shoved her hands into her pockets. She finally turned to look up at her brother. “I did, and I’ll make good on it too. Don’t you think I wont!” She accused, pointing at him with some vigour.
Pudding shook his head. He was used to these little spats. They argued all the time, but they always made up. It was why they were family. But he knew that he couldn’t contest her. He might have been bigger, he might have been shining in his prized armor, he might have had all the authority in the situation, but Vim was more stubborn. It made up for her height, her arms, all of which were stunted in growth. She used to be stronger, and Vim was certainly on track for getting as tall as him, at least, but he couldn’t quite remember what... oh. Never mind.
The siblings stared at each other, and then they started pulling some rather ridiculous faces, tails flicking up a storm. And then they laughed, and Pudding nodded.
“Alright, but it’s not my problem when you’s the one who gets the burnt end of th’ beef.”
“You wouldn’ dare!”
“Byyeeeeee Vimmmmmm.” Pudding waved with both hands, more of a wiggle of his fingers. He sauntered off, in the exact wrong direction to head to Waterdeep.
“I swear to Sune! I’ll getcha fer that!”
“No more swearing to nobody!” Pudding yelled back, matching Vim’s cacophony, except he was a little further away, so it was tolerable. Their voices were almost identical in that moment.
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Post by pastels on May 6, 2019 1:26:05 GMT
Lila observed the exchange, amused. She didn’t have any siblings or cousins—or friends, for that matter—so she always enjoyed seeing and hearing people interact with one another. She kept quiet, arms still locked in wiry muscles over her chest, and waited for a break in the conversation. ‘Sides, she was used to being quiet. In her line of work, it was kind of a necessity.
“Ha. Family, then? Kinda thought you two sounded alike, but I’m an only child so I probably ain’t got that right,” Lila asked as Pudding walked away, her sunfire eyes watching his swaying tail. “Anyway. Don’t know what that was about, but I best not take too much of your time. Hey, elf!”
She waved towards Kel. “You comin’ or what?”
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Post by enchilada on May 6, 2019 10:15:23 GMT
Vim nodded, throwing an elbow into Lila playfully. “He’s m’big brother, o’course. Now, we’s been arguin’ like that since we was small. What that does mean, my most gracious lady Lila, is that I won the arg’ment, so, if you don’t mind, I am more than able to escort you t’yer destination. And then when we’s get there I’ll take the name of where you’re at, if you’re stayin’ anywhere, that is, and I’ll run home and write you a letter so’s we can definitely meet again. I ain’t one to miss out on purty ladies.” She laughed, punctuating her sentence, finally, with a wink.
“Now, if you’s headed to Waterdeep, for sure I got time to make sure ain’t nobody gettin’ no burnt up beef, and most certainly I ain’t missin’ out on that there promise I was makin’ earlier to my little sister. You know, there’s eight of us in that li’l farm, it sure gets busy at dinner time.”
Vim adored her family. Her momma Dahlia was as purty as the flowers, but she was still a hardworkin’, lovin’ momma. She wasn’t scared to get her hands dirty none, and Vim learned a lot about how to act like a proper lady off her. ‘Course, she made it her own by now, but she was still grateful. Her momma was like a magic person, she knew everything. She said she knew everything ‘bout Vim before it even showed. The rest of her family was as good as that, lovin’ Vim and Vim lovin’ them back. Not even their grandad Chuck ever made a fuss, and he was an old coot.
“I’m happy to take you there. Not just cause you’re— y’know.”
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Post by kelantar on May 12, 2019 23:04:58 GMT
The elf observed the exchanged with a small smile upon his lips. The devil-kin were such strange folks sometimes, well, the one in front of him was at the very least. He knew for a fact that they were discriminated against with all kinds of superstition in small towns and villages and even in big cities due to their appearance and unnatural abilities. And why wouldn't they be? It wasn't as if there was whole enciclopedias dedicated to clearing the truth about them, as if the having a forked tongue and red skin wasn't enough of an uncomfortable feature. It dawned on him that he had no idea how he possessed that knowledge, just an empty certainty on the subject. That made him slightly uncomfortable. He longed to finally recover his belongings, if only he had the means to press the search further and faster.
He cocked his head to the site at the random holler given by the first human, and it prompted a small, gleaming smirk from him.
"Why yes human, I am on my way. Forgive my slow steps, for I am an elf, and very old."
It seemed like at the very least his traveling would not be a boring one, for as soon as he did he could see the other woman still insist about meeting again with her, filled to the brim with energy and expectation. It was almost contagious. Almost. If only he could feel that kind of excitement about things. Wouldn't that be just wonderful? Eight seemed just about the right number of people to have on a farm. Every able body was welcome there, it was not like that with the nobility where having many children could lead into a war for succession and other unpleasant business.
Happy to take you there, she had said, not just because she was...
"A woman?"
Kel'antar commented after a while of silently walking at Lila's side. Then it clicked on him. The devil-kin woman had been trapped on a farm with her noisy siblings for who knew how long, knowing nothing except their ways and her own need for other sentient contact and... Whatever bodily needs she possessed. Could it be that she had been released from her circumstances not too long ago, and they were the first sentient, friendly beings outside of her family she had come across?. That was nothing if not understandable!
"Has either of you ever been to Waterdeep before?"
Asked then
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Post by pastels on May 16, 2019 5:45:46 GMT
"Aw, hell, when you make an offer like that..." Lila trailed off, teasing Vim, but the smile on her face was warm. The tiefling acted as though they had known each other for years, and while some may find that off-putting... Well. They weren't Lila. Of course, she had to admit feeling some surprise at meeting another who seemed blind to the Bane--those people were a rare few. All the more reason to treasure the company while it lasted. "Thanks a lot. Really."
A pause.
"Wait a hot minute... Eight!?" The blood hunter stared up at Vim in surprise. Although the hood still obscured most of her face, her voice was a telling sign on what she felt. Busy at dinnertime was an understatement. "Hell's bells. How'd your ma an' pa feed all of you? Ha! Is it a war whenever someone tries to nick the last turkey leg?"
Meanwhile, the elf approached with a slowness to his gait, which was made clear when he said he was... old. How old was old for elves, anyway? They looked the same no matter the age--or at least, that was what her mother said. Never saw one with the kind of eyes this one had, too.
Their walk continued in peace, meaning they weren't ambushed by any orcs or the like. Just the same, she kept her hands near her travel pack. Always pays to be prepared.
"Oh, me? Nah," Lila shook her head at the question. "Just visitin' it 'cause I got a letter from my aunt. She's a merchant up in the city, seldom visited us in the farm," she replied and gave Vim a quick look, as though commiserating on their shared background, "reckon it's for somethin' well and truly important, y'know?"
And she wasn't going to lie, it felt strange hearing from aunt Elpis after all these years. She was her mother's sister, and she had as much divine blood as Lila inherited--but she had never shown any devotion to Helm. Just... up and left town. Left the duty she was supposed to keep 'til the end of her days. The very same duty that Lila failed to uphold.
"Ach," Lila made a strange tutting noise, and shook her head from side to side. It didn't help ward off the memory but the action was comforting. "Don't know what I expect. It's probably a sight different from all the forests an' swamps I've been keepin' to, the past few years... How about you folks?"
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Post by enchilada on May 16, 2019 14:25:21 GMT
“Well, we’s eat a fair ‘mount off th’ farm, an’ everythin’ else, my pa works weekends out off someplace, and you saw Puddin’, jus’ now! In his fancy shiny guard uniform. He’s real proud of that. Mostly it’s Plum an’ me who works the farm an’ stuff, ‘cept I go outside to do errands and such here an’ there. So that’s...” Vim counted on her fingers, one, two, three, four... “Then there’s my gran’pa, he’s a bit of a grump but he’s got fight and lovin’ still left in him, but he ain’t really fit enough to do too much. Then there’s my sisters, Cas works doin’ numbers for the tavern in the village we’s based in, and oh, my mama. She looks after Muchkin, homeschools her good and proper.”
Vim shrugged, hands in her pockets. “‘Spose what I’m sayin’ is, we’s all puttin’ in a li’l fer the family if we can. We ain’t livin’ fancy, but we are livin’ real. If I was a noble up in Waterdeep? Well. I ain’t here for that kinda life.”
Vim, somehow, knew the workings of nobles better than she should. The reason — she’d been, once, involved with a woman who was a noble herself. A countess or some such. But, she had to leave with her parents after they found out, so there would be no chance that she’d be ‘corrupted’ by the ‘commoners’. At least they were sensible, no objections based on what Vim was, just who she was. Maybe they were keeping it locked inside. Vim was hard to really pin down, especially when she bust through your bouncers to bonk your firstborn heir and drop half a ton of moonshine in your punch.
“Farm girls! Ain’t that quaint?” Hell yeah. Definitely getting that letter back now. “But uh, I live pretty close by if you know the right way to slip back, so I ain’t really ever not been to Waterdeep. There’s loads of parties, y’know, with them purty girls in sparkly dresses, and-“ Vim hitched up her baggy trousers, a grin on her pierced face, “-if you sneak through the windows, they don’t even make too much of a fuss when you’re as much of a ball of fun as ol’ Vim the Termagant over here. You know, it took me a long ass time to figure out what those fuckers were callin’ me, cause I don’t speak fancy talk. Well, I do now. Learnt it frum some noble gal. She was fun.” Her forked tongue found its way outside Vim’s fangs, and she squinted her eyes so her grin could grow even more up her face.
“Speakin’ of parties, anyone want a sip?” Vim retrieved a flask from the back of her belt, which was otherwise taken up by tools and pouches. She took a swig, scrunching up her face in quite a different way. That stuff was. Strong.
Vim was loud. Too loud. The second she mentioned ‘a sip’, Pudding turned on his heels and marched right back up to her. If Vim was drinking, especially of she was drinking her own... creation... there was absolutely no way she’d be back for Munchkin’s bedtime. He snatched the flask from her hands. “Nah,” Pudding shook his head. “Otherwise I can’t trust you none.”
“Hey — hey you can’ take that! Tha’s mine fur n’ squ’re. I was the one who made that! You — you — yer right.” Vim sighed. She knew what she was like. She’d get into a fight with some guy who she decided she didn’t like, based solely on the fact they were flirting with women, and then she’d make such a commotion that she’d end up... in jail. Pudding would usually wiggle his guard fingers and get her free, but that was by morning. “Sorry, y’all, I gots to scoot on back, else god knows when I’ll manage ta get home. Iss been a pleasure. In another life. Lila.”
With a quick flourish, and a kiss to the wind, to Lila, Vim was heading off, and then she was on Pudding’s back. Away!
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Post by kelantar on May 23, 2019 3:29:23 GMT
"That's got to be one of the oddest things I've seen"
Admitted the elf with a slight smile on his lips, and not a dark thought in his mind. He nodded towards Lila when she confessed being to Waterdeep for the very first time, and held more than one question in his mind regarding Vim's family. Eight brothers? Certainly the factory was working full time, if they know what he meant. He wondered if it would still be happening right at that moment. Odd things they were. He chuckled when Vim finally left, and waved her goodbye, and then, found himself with Lila.
They walked together for a while towards Waterdeep until eventually he stopped; for his destination was not towards the city. He had accompanied the women in hopes that perhaps some of the bandits that had been attacking the caravans decided to show up, so maybe then he could identify them or maybe help to solve the problem. But it hadn't been the case, and that meant that he had to turn back. He would have to persist at least for a week before he considered another strategy.
"I haven't been to this city, in fact, I don't even remember being to this part of the world before. And I'm afraid this is where I must bid you goodbye, kind human. I must turn back you see, for I am trying to see if I can catch these bandits red handed, and they do not operate within Waterdeep but on the road, if you keep walking you'll reach Waterdeep that way. Do try and stay away from the bad neighborhoods, other than that it is a fine city."
He told her, and then finally waved her goobye as well before heading back to the place he had been before, patrolling the road tirelessly back and forth since he didn't even need to sleep. Should someone be watching him during that time it would have been incredibly suspicious, but he doubted anyone would have it within themselve to watch him walk for hours on end without getting bored and deciding to do something else.
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