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Post by Nyanunix on May 28, 2017 3:01:13 GMT
"Then you tell me what you were. What you did," Orison said, voice almost near a snap. This was quite possibly the most real emotion she had displayed since she first got upset with him.
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Post by Poopmok on May 28, 2017 3:20:44 GMT
"See? Was that so hard?" He said, mostly just to annoy her. "I was a shaman with the Tribe of the Morovid. We are river-people, you see, we live along the Morovid, and worship Her along with all the other Gods' that come from Her." There were better times in the past, although he couldn't bring himself to speak of them now.
"As you might've heard, I was part of the resistance against the Hetanids who live in the city by the coast. They forsake the tribal ways years ago, and we've been resisting their rule for /years/ as well." To call their city an actual city after living in the Empire for so long was almost a joke, but he knew no other name for that hated place.
"Anyway, I was young and stupid and let myself get caught by a Paladin and now I'm here. Perhaps if the Ruler permitted it, he'd allow me to crush all those damn Hetanids and their unnatural city. I doubt it, but either way, I'd die for the Ruler and if you aren't willing to do that, then you should leave while you still have the chance. Many new ones have come before you, and you won't be the last, that's for sure."
His little ramble over with, he sat in his saddle, silent as before.
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Post by Nyanunix on May 28, 2017 4:20:22 GMT
Orison seemed to bristle. Her mouth became a thin line of anger.
"My devotion to the Ruler does not require me to divulge information to you that I do not wish you to have," she snapped. "Who are you to question my loyalty? You do not know me in the slightest, and that is by design. You do not need to know every detail of my past to trust me on the battlefield. I have my reasons for being unwilling to share. My life has been difficult and every happiness I have found has been taken away, and perhaps I do not wish to share my misery with every random person I happen to find myself doing the Ruler's work with."
By the end of that, she was done. Orison returned to looking straight ahead and looking disinterested; she gently nudged the horse to be out of a comfortable range for speaking. She was unsure if she wanted to break something or scream or kick her horse isn't a gallop, but she knew she could do none of those things, so she settled for doing absolutely nothing.
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Post by cassiusexgladio on May 28, 2017 16:40:19 GMT
The next day saw the sun's blazing heat gave way once again to looming dark gray clouds. They released their payloads in due time in the form of a great thunderstorm. The storm was of strong stock - it had come from the North and brought with it howling shrieking winds that raked the land. Trees shivered and quailed in the onslaught, leaves and branches snapped and were carried away. A heavy downpour drenched the area - the road became slick and rivulets of water ran alongside it, carrying bits and pieces of detritus.
There was little cover close by - light forest covered the land here, composed mostly of tall slim trees that did little to shield from the elements.
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Post by Poopmok on May 28, 2017 16:44:17 GMT
Leonid rode along in the saddle, seemingly as if he was unaware of the storm going on around him.
In reality, he was doing the complete opposite, instead silently attempting to divine to the Gods through the storm. He wasn't trying to stop it, he didn't have the power to do that himself, but perhaps the Gods' were trying to communicate something to him. Or maybe the beasts were stalking him in the woods and wanted to wait until they were worn down by the storm before murdering them, he had no clue.
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Post by Nyanunix on May 28, 2017 17:16:39 GMT
Orison loved this sort of weather. Some kind of tension that had built up inside her had broken and she was more relaxed in the saddle. She was slightly less gentle with her steed, but still not anywhere near cruelty. Her eyes were awake and alive; lightning illuminated her face and made her seem wild and untamed. Everything in her longed to kick her horse into a gallop, but that would not be wise; the ground was slick and it wouldn't do for the horse to injure a leg.
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Post by cassiusexgladio on May 28, 2017 17:24:25 GMT
The howling winds made hearing difficult but there was no indication at the moment of any sort of beast assault. The heavy rain severely lowered visibility but as the group rounded a curve, they saw lights in the distance. A blocky rectangular building, a thatched roof, a stables, why, there was an inn ahead!
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Post by Poopmok on May 28, 2017 17:33:39 GMT
Leonid quickly made his way over to the inn, knowing his companions were close behind.
The inn was exactly what the group needed to keep the little morale they had left, and Leo made his way over to the stables, looking around for a stableboy or anything of that sort.
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Post by Nyanunix on May 28, 2017 17:37:58 GMT
Orison dismounted once in the stable and shook her head slightly, managing to get water from her hair everywhere. She seemed much happier, though whether that was because of the storm or because she was now out of the rain was up for debate. She did not enjoy being wet, but she liked storms, so it was somewhere in the middle. Her horse, however, was decidedly happier now that she was under some shelter.
She, too, was looking for a stableboy.
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Post by cassiusexgladio on May 28, 2017 17:41:57 GMT
A stableboy quickly ran out and took the halters of their horses. "There's hot soup and warm bread inside if that suits you!"
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Post by Poopmok on May 28, 2017 17:46:14 GMT
Leo hopped off his horse, staggering for only a few moments just from such a long ride in those conditions. After this, he took out his coinpurse and dug out a copper, flicking it over to the stableboy before silently making his way into the inn. He didn't need to speak to some stableboy, but he could respect someone who worked in somewhere as remote as this.
He entered the inn, his clothes bringing in all matter of water from the outside. He wondered what sorts of people were out in a inn like this.
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Post by Nyanunix on May 28, 2017 17:57:11 GMT
Orison thanked the stableboy before making her own way into the inn. For once, she was staying relatively close to Leo; she did not know what kind of people would be here, and would not be able to rest easily until she was certain everything was okay.
She did not display this uneasiness, though. Perhaps one of her companions would have been able to tell, but Orison showed nothing but a smile; she would occasionally stop to exchange comments about the weather.
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Post by cassiusexgladio on May 28, 2017 18:12:51 GMT
The inn was packed to the bursting, almost every table taken. A great brazier sat against the far wall of the inn, opposite the entrance. A large black cauldron of soup bubbled and the smell of spices, roasting fat, and warm bread mixed together into a heady mouth-watering aroma.
Many had come in from the rain - there were plenty folk there who were damp or dripping. Most were peasants but a small area at the back of the inn was occupied by soldiers who too were taking shelter from the rain.
The innkeeper, a chubby woman with brown hair, scurried over to the newcomers, wiping her hands on her flour and grease stained apron. "Come in, come in!" she chirped cheerfully. "We've still got some seats, hot food, and good beer."
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Post by Poopmok on May 28, 2017 18:22:18 GMT
Leo nodded to the innkeeper, shaking his head to get some of the water out. "Yes, give us a seat if you could, we've been out in the rain for /hours/," he responded back to the cheery woman with a dry tone, only seeking a decent meal at this point now. He could dry his boots by the fire here, and perhaps chat with those soldiers, if they were from the Duke.
"And as for food, I'll take anything hot, yes," he added, looking quite unusual in an inn full of southerners, even if this area was quite close to the North for the Empire's standards.
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Post by Nyanunix on May 28, 2017 18:26:13 GMT
Orison brightened considerably at the mention of food. Her slight frame was because of malnutrition as a child, not because she did not eat now, and in general, if she could get some good food, she would go for it.
"Food sounds great," she said, seating herself.
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