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Once upon a time on the Shepherd Fields...; Atzolek
Topic Started: Wed Jan 15, 2014 1:31 am (2,372 Views)
Norta
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The bright morning sun poured a golden glow of the field of the dry Debon Plains. It looked warm, but it was an illusion. It was cold enough for Norta to see her breath. She was wearing a sweater, leggings, two pairs of socks, a shawl, and a cloak and she still ached from cold.

"Twill warm soon enough, aye," her brother observed, watching her rub her mittened hands. "Didna think ye'd come oout wit me t'day."

"I said I would, an' I keep me promises," she said sharply. "'Side, there nae t'do at t'Tavern an' if I keep hearthside one mare day, I might sen summat clean t'Reaper's boots."

Her brother chuckled. "Spake like a Kellcarin true."

"Aye, did ye think I were any less?" she retorted.

"Nae, luv, ne'er."

They herded their flock of sheep out to a meadow hill, where the bright sun had preserved some of the greener grass. The place was called Shepherd's Rock, for the tall rock that sat on the highest point of the hill, where generations of shepherds worn groves in the stone from where they had sat to watch their sheep.

The brother and sister whistled for the dogs, Horo and Hiel, to round up the flock and make sure there were no stragglers, then settled themselves atop the ancient stone.

After a while, Norta brother said, "Sing that sea song again fer me." He was a good country musician, but had to hear a song many times before it stuck.

"Nae. Tis too cold fer yer lute, tis too cold for me."

But he begged and pestered her until the sun rose higher and the air thawed. Finally, she agreed.

"All day we fought the tides between the North Head and the South." Her voice rose, clear and warm, over the hills, untrained, but lovely enough. "All day we hauled the frozen sheets to 'scape the storm's wet mouth. All day as cold charity, in bitter pain and dread, for very life and nature, we tacked from head to head.

"Thograinn, thograinn. Thograinn, thograinn, bhith dol dhachaidh..."*


*

Edited by Norta, Wed Jan 15, 2014 1:32 am.
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Atzolek
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Atzolek had only recently left Kellen, heading off into the nearby area to see what he would find. He'd decided that the best way to gain some familiarity with the area was to walk around and see what was there. Of course, he would also talk with some of the people and perhaps get to know them. He was planning to leave with a caravan that was scheduled to depart in about a week, so this wandering was mainly a way to pass the time until then.

He'd slept in a small inn, and he was now moving again. The weather was cold, but Atz was wearing a warm winter cloak, and moving around helped to keep him warm. For these reason, the cold weather was not much of a problem to him.

He'd been traveling for maybe an hour when he heard the sound of someone singing. It seemed to be coming from the direction he was headed, so he decided to see what it was. The singer had a good voice, though he could tell that she wasn't trained. It was a bit longer before Atz spotted the singer, a young human woman who was sitting on a rock. Nearby was a young man. Atz saw enough of a resemblance to guess that the two of them were siblings, or perhaps cousins or such.

When he reached them, he stood nearby listening, until she finished a song. Once the song was finished, he introduced himself.

"Good morning to the two of you. I'm Atzolek. What are your names?"

He wasn't trying to hide his identity, but since he was facing the pair directly and had the hood of his cloak over his head, it wasn't as obvious that he had dragon heritage. His face was visibly elven, and if one looked closely, there were some golden dragon scales visible on his forehead, though these were shadowed by the cloak's hood.
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Norta
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A sharp elbow and a soft growl from the dogs made Norta round out her verse. A stranger stood nearby, close enough to make the dogs leery, but not enough to rile them.

The man was tall. Tall and thin. He carried himself with an ease that suggested he knew how to use the longsword he carried as well. His features were elven, but his skin had a golden cast to it that wasn't ordinarily found among the Norwood elves. He was wearing a long winter's cloak with the hood up, which prevented Norta from getting a better look at him. That didn't bother her though, seeing as how it was the weather for it.

"Good morning to the two of you. I'm Atzolek. " He didn't sound like a Norwood elf either. "What are your names?"

"An' good morrow t'ye," Norta said, rising. "Me name's Norta Kellcarin an' this is me brather, Orlo." Orlo gave a friendly wave. Nora hopped down from her perch, using her shepherd's crook for balance. "What brings ye t'our corner o'the world, fren?"

Horo rose to his feet and his growling became more intense. "Ease, Horo," she told the border collie. She scratched behind his ear. "Nae mind him. He's jest a wee bit o'erprotective. Had a couple a'sheep go missin' yesterday an' a griffin's been hangin' aboot."
Edited by Norta, Thu Jan 16, 2014 4:46 am.
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Apparently Atz had been correct in guessing that the two of them were siblings. The woman seemed to be the one to do the talking, introducing both herself and her brother to him.

He noticed that she had an accent that sounded different from any he'd heard during his time in Kellen. He hadn't heard that accent before, and he also had to admit that he found the sound of it rather attractive coming from her lips. Looking at her more closely, he noticed that she was an attractive woman, even dressed as she was to keep herself warm. He realized that she probably wasn't aware that he was more than just a human or an elf, and he wondered what she would think of him if she saw that he was part dragon.

"I only recently arrived in Imythess after a long journey from a faraway place. I'm planning to leave Kellen in about a week, but until then, I decided to go see what's around here."

After she mentioned the griffin, he asked, "Were you looking for someone to get that griffin chased off or killed? I have a blade I can use to help with that."
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Norta
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Norta shrugged. "Nae much point. Tis only a griffin. Kill one an ye jest find another." She glanced over at her brother. "If it was a'startin' on people, t'en aye, t'would be trouble." Orlo and his friend had once been attacked by such a griffin. Her brother had barely survived - his friend had not. He hated the creatures now and she didn't blame him.

He just shifted his weight and kept watching the sheep. Clearly today he was not going to express an opinion.

She shrugged again and turned back to the elf. "If I were ye, I'd enjoy t'peace while ye has the chance. T'road from Kellen nae a safe one."

"If yer spoilin' fer a fight," Orlo interrupted softly. "T'ere's the Wolf."

"Orlo!" she snapped at him. "T'Wolf ain't real. Tain't fair t'sen the man chasin' ghosts."

"Aye. Tis real," he insisted. "I seen it twain naew, goin' up near Benner's Gully."

She was about to tell him to quit making up stories, but the words died on her lips. Orlo loved to tell a good tale, but couldn't make one up to save his skin. If he said he saw the Wolf, he saw something close enough to be the Wolf.

Remembering her guest, Norta turned back to the elf. "T'Wolf is an old legend on t'hills. Says he a great beastie wit long fangs an' red eyes. Kills travelers t'late on t'fields near Benner's Gully." She gave her brother a long, hard look. "Says he's a great ghost an' canna eat, but his jaws still break t'bones o'his victims and his great teeth leave marks."

Many locals, Norta included, suspected the Wolf was just a way to get people from going near the Gully in the dark. It was hard enough to find in the daytime and many a weary traveler had fallen in it, breaking their necks (and a lot of other things) at the bottom.

But if her brother had indeed seen something like the Wolf...she shook her head. "I dinna ken what ye saw, Orlo, but it canna be t'Wolf." He gave her a flat glare. "It needs seein' tae jest the same," she said defensively.

She looked back at the elf, a sparkle suddenly in her eyes. "I ken take ye tae t'Gully, if ye has half a mind tae go."

"Ye canna keep still, can ye, sista?" her brother murmured.

She glared at him and he grinned back. She poked him with her staff.
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Apparently Norta thought that killing the griffin wouldn't be worth the trouble unless it started eating people. Atz was inclined to agree with her. He knew how to use the sword that was strapped to his back, but he didn't believe in needless violence.

He smiled at Norta when she suggested enjoying the peace. He couldn't argue with that sentiment. Orlo, on the other hand, immediately suggested going after some wolf, which apparently was a ghost only believed in by certain people. Atz' first thought was that there was a wolf in that area but that it was an ordinary canine and not a ghost.

Of course, the only way to confirm what was going on would be to actually go over there and look, and Norta was suggesting that they do just that. Atz was starting to realize that not moving was starting to make him feel cold. He was also curious as to what was over there, so he decided that he wanted to head over to this Gully.

"Actually, I would like to head over to this gully with you. After all, it is daytime."

If they started heading toward the Gully, Atz walked there with them. While they walked, it warmed up enough that Atz pulled the hood of his cloak down, revealing that his head was covered with dragon scales instead of hair.
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Norta
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"Actually, I would like to head over to this gully with you," the elf said. "After all, it is daytime."

Norta gave him a cheerful grin. She couldn't help but feel cheerful about not having to spend the day with the sheep.

She didn't hide that emotion very well and Orlo rolled his eyes. "Ach. Try t'come home in one piece, luv."

"O'course," she returned, leaning her crook against the rock. Rummaging around in the pack they had brought along with their lunch, she produced a small, cast iron frying pan. She gave it an experimental heft. It wasn't her first choice, but it'd do.

She removed the belt from around her sweater and rigged up a quick carrying harness for the pan under her cloak. Then she picked up her staff, gave her brother a quick peck, and started off, the elf in tow.

He was pretty quiet for the first half hour or so. Norta was too busy looking for landmarks to make much conversation herself and the cold in the valleys was biting. But it warmed up as they walked - not enough to merit taking off her mittens, but enough that she took off her shawl and tied it about her waist. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw elf (she could not remember his name) drop his hood.

She did a double-take. He had scales. No hair - just scales. Scales that glittered gold in the winter sun.

She stopped, put her hands on her hips, and looked him up and down in almost (but not quite) mock irritation. "Ye hidin' anymare surprises under t'at cloak?"
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Atzolek hadn't thought much of it when he pulled the hood of his cloak down, but he noticed Norta's reaction to seeing his head. He was used to reactions like that and actually found them somewhat entertaining. Seeing those reactions was one of the perks of being part dragon and looking like it.

He smiled mischievously at her and said, "Nope."

He then turned around and dropped his cloak so that she could see his fiery wings (the wings were folded against his back with the flames at a low intensity so that nothing would burn) and his tail, which was also covered with scales. He gave her a few seconds to realize what she was seeing and then turned back, picked up his cloak, and put it back on. If she looked closely, she might notice that his face also had scales on it in the places where a man would normally have a beard and mustache, although these blended with his skin better, making them hard to see with his hood up. Once he had his cloak on, Atzolek smiled at Norta and waited to see how she would react.
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Norta
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She wasn't sure what response she expected from her question, but it hadn't been...that.

She wouldn't admit that her eyes got wide when she saw the tail or that her jaw dropped a little when she saw the wings. But not admitting things didn't mean they hadn't happened.

She found herself taking a half step back, reflexively. That created a surge of annoyance and she forced herself to take a full step forward instead.

Sunlight caught the elf's jawline, sparkling off...facial hair? No, facial scales. Sort of like a beard, only not quite. Norta found herself distantly wondering if he shaved it. That would be weird.

Still, the overall effect was not bad, even with the tail. Watching the elf pull his cloak over his shoulders again, she decided that she liked the beard especially.

She gave herself a mental shake. Now was not the time for that sort of thinking, amusing as it was. "So, half-dragon, aye? Half-elf tae, I bet. Nae ill pairin', in yer case, I ken." She gave him another long look before continuing on toward the Gully. "Can ye pronounce yer name fer me again, fren'?" That was always easier than saying she forgot it.
Edited by Norta, Sun Jan 26, 2014 5:50 am.
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Atzolek noticed that the girl was surprised by his appearance, to the point that she might not have noticed the rather large sword that had also been clearly visible[1]. She seemed to recover fairly quickly, though, and asked whether he was half-dragon and half-elf.

"I'm not quite half dragon. My mother was half-dragon, and my father was winged elf, which makes me about one-fourth dragon. A bit more than that, because almost everyone in my tribe of winged elves, including my father, has at least a bit of dragon blood. Not that strange once you consider that this is a tribe that often flies with dragons."

Atz suspected that the woman was asking for his name's pronunciation as an excuse for having forgotten it, but he couldn't blame her for asking. He didn't have a perfect memory, either. In fact, he didn't remember Norta's brother's name. He remembered her name, though it helped that she was female. He decided not to call her out but just repeated his name to her.
[1] I realize I forgot to mention that he's carrying a weapon. It's completely up to you whether she noticed (and remembered) its presence.
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Norta
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"Atzolek," she rolled the name carefully around in her mouth, mindful of the emphases. "Atzolek." She nodded - it was firmly in her mind now. She said it once more to be sure. "Atzolek. Sounds Istani."

She let him respond before prodding him with more questions. "Ye have a big family? Sibs an' grathers an' such? What brought yer wanderings this far afield?" All of her questions were good natured, interested in only satisfying her own curiosity. "Tis must be fair hard t' find swordwork this time o'year - 'specially so far from t'cities."

They were deep in conversation when they crossed paths with another shepherd coming in the opposite direction.

"Fair 'morrow t'ye," he said, though his face looked as though it was otherwise.

"Fair 'morrow," Norta returned. She knew him in a vague way - he was one of the menfolk who rarely drank, stood well in sheep shearing contests, but bragged little and said less. He lived with his extended family near Benner's Gully.

"Ye seen a wanderin' ram 'round these parts?" he said without much hope.

"Nae. Ye missin' one?"

"Aye," he sighed. "Thrice one in less t'an a fortnight." He started to trudge away. "Well, good dae t'ye."

OOC


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N (Norta): "Atzolek. Sounds Istani."

A (Atzolek): "I've barely heard of this Istan place. I came from a place with tall mountains, tall trees, and dragons and took an airship across the desert before I arrived at a place called Kellen."

N: "Ye have a big family? Sibs an' grathers an' such?"

Atz thought for a moment, tring to figure out what exactly Norta had said. He then realized that her dialect had elements of elvish mixed in, which allowed him to understand what she'd just said. Or at least he was pretty sure he understood her.
A: "I had a brother and a sister, both older than me. My grandparents are still around, and I've met them all. The tribe I'm from is pretty close, a group of about fifty winged elves with varying degrees of dragon heritage. As you may have guessed, we're on good terms with a group of dragons, and it's not unusual for a dragon and an elf to marry. Do you have any other siblings besides the one I saw?"[1]

N: "What brought yer wanderings this far afield?"

A: "I decided to spend a few years away from my tribe. It's normal when someone gets to my age to leave the tribe for a while. Many return within a few years, and most return eventually. I also had the perfect opportunity when an elven airship captain offered to give me a ride to Imythess. That captain was a nice girl, too.[2]"

N: "Tis must be fair hard t' find swordwork this time o'year - 'specially so far from t'cities."

A: "Actually, I'm planning to be a guard for a merchant caravan that leaves Kellen for Taras, but it doesn't leave for a few days yet. The airship captain told me that merchants will usually pay to have an extra guard around, making caravans a good way for me to travel."

Just then, they met a shepherd who was heading in the opposite direction. Norta got out of him that he was missing a ram, and that it wasn't the first that had gone missing recently.

Atz said, loud enough for the shepherd to hear, "This isn't coincidence. Too many sheep suddenly going missing means something's probably out there that's responsible for it."

When the shepherd turned to look at him again, Atz saw the predictable look of surprise that tended to be caused by his unusual appearance. The man said, "What are you?"

A: "I'm part dragon, and the most obvious feature is these scales." He smiled and continued, "I won't eat you or breathe fire on you. What I maybe will do is track down whatever's taking the sheep in this region."

S (Shepherd): "Ye're clearly not from these parts. Still t'll be good t'have this taken care of."[3]
The Shepherd then told him some more about what had happened, although he couldn't say for sure what was causing the problem.

OOC: I pretty much wove the conversation together, and there's one spot where I'll need a reply from Norta (I have a footnote pointing it out). Also, the thread might be transitioning to dealing with this problem. Atz can deal with it by himself (if it's something he can take on), or we can have farmers band together to deal with it (I'm imagining a band of farmers armed with farming implements and basic hunting weapons like slings and bows).
[1] I am expecting a reply to this along with Norta's next statement.
[2] The airship captain he mentions is my alt, Linesi.
[3] I'm terrible at writing dialects, so bear with me here.
Edited by Atzolek, Sun Feb 2, 2014 2:17 am.
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Norta laughed when he mentioned siblings. "Ach, I have ten an' seven sibs - ye live inna tribe o'fifty, I live inna clan o'fifty. Me brather mocks me fer haven' rovin' feet, but ye canna get a moment alone t'yer thoughts, ye ken?" She grinned at him. "But summat tell me ye is o' t'same feet I am. What brought yer wanderins' this far afield?"

(For the sake of sanity, let's just fast forward here to the bit with the shepherd.)

The shepherd eyed the lean elf. "Ye're clearly not from these parts," he said. His eyes slid over to Norta disapprovingly. She raised an eyebrow, daring him to comment. He coughed dryly. "Still t'll be good t'have this taken care of." He cleared his throat. "Ere thrice week ago, one o' Allister's ewe gone missin' up by Benner's Gully. He sent his lad up t'go look fer it, ye ken, but they dinna find anything. Two days later, Galbrath lost one o'his rams. Since then one o'us who works t'fields hereabouts looses a sheep every day."

Norta glanced at Atzolek. "It be a wolf, mayhap?"

The man shook his head. "Canna be. Wolf wouldna take dogs. Allister's lost Greymuzzle an' I've lost Crosser. We found what was left o'Crosser - birds got to him, but he had that docked tail, ye ken?" Norta nodded. "Canna say what killed him, but he were too big fer a lone wolf."

"Canna be a downed griffin. We'd hear the screamin' a mile off."

"Aye, true. That leaves worse things." He frowned. "It canna be healthy. Healthy animal dinna take dogs when there sheep t'be had." The shepherd shook his head. "I canna be wastin' anymare time here." He gave Atzolek a speculative look. "Ye take care o' this ginger-haired wench, aye? I known her since she was a wee bairn an' I've nae mind to be tellin' her folks she's gone." Then he turned and headed over the hills.

Norta chose not to make any comment about his protectiveness. That's just the way people were around there. Most of the time, she didn't let it bother her. "Come on," she said, turning back in the direction of the Gully. "Tain't much further."

OOC
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Whatever this creature was, Atz had made up his mind at this point that he was going to go track it down, and if it wasn't something too powerful, he would do his best to kill it. If it was something powerful, he would try to get some of the local farmers to band together with him to remove this threat to their livelihoods--and possibly their lives.

He didn't respond to the shepherd's comments or his request to take care of Norta, but he was paying attention. He had every intention of taking care of Norta, particularly with respect to keeping her safe, however.

Atz followed Norta to the Gully. It wasn't much longer before they reached it. Atz didn't see any dangerous creatures at first, but he did see a lot of places where something dangerous might hide.

"Do you know how long it's been since the last sheep disappeared?"

OOC
 
A rabid dire wolf does sound like it would be daunting but within Atzolek's ability to kill. I'll let you introduce the monster, but I'll assume that I'm free to control it after that unless you request otherwise.
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Norta
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She looked at the sky, trying to think. "If he's still lookin' fer it...nae mare than a few hours."

They reached the base of a steep, grassy hill and Norta took an abrupt left, leading Atzolek along a faint trail of dirt. Gradually, the trail widened to a path spotted with white chalk pebbles. As it wound around the hill, the pebbles got larger and the trail tilted higher, until Norta stopped just in front of what looked like a thin white line on the grass. "Careful naew. This is Benner's Gully."

The white line wasn't a line at all. It was a chalk canyon, further across than six men could stretch and three times as far down. "It's t'illusion that gets most folk," Norta said. "Dinna look like anything but a mark in t'grass til ye get right on it. By then...well, tae late, fer most." She pointed to the hill they had come around. It was just a hollow shell - dirt and grass on a thin layer of chalk. "Places like are t'other danger. They canna hold much weight. A sheep or a man, aye, but nae much mare. We're safe enough here, aye, but..."

Movement at the bottom of the canyon caught her eye and she faded into silence. A faint bleat of a sheep sounded.

Down at the bottom of the canyon a injured sheep limped in circles, making pitiful noises. Out of the shadow of a rock slunk something big, gray, and shaggy. The sheep bah-ed and tried to shy away from it. It stumbled over a rock and fell to its side.

The gray thing was on it in a flash. There was a snap and the sound of teeth ripping flesh. Red spattered the white walls of the gully.

Norta looked down on the mangy, scarred canine, her face as white as the stones. It looked like a wolf, but no ordinary wolf could be that big.

"D-Dire wolf," she sputtered, as the creature slunk away. Her knees gave out and she sat down hard, shaking. "Itsa dire wolf."

ooc

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