Trekking under a dark canopy - Chyril 27th - Scatha and Fin

Brytan · Post by **Brytan** » Mon May 05, 2008 10:38 am

Chyril 27th
The woods of Aveas

The previous day had started out with the thrilling discussion of where to go next. After the discussion held by the fire the eveningtide prior there were still different thoughts among the members of the group concerning their destination. Ko'sstin had opted for the northern passage across the hills and towards the coast, where Deirdre preferred the trek through the forests westward. The twins had played the "We'll go for whatever you decide" card and then made off to provide breakfast. Scatha and Finodborn were equally undecided. Where Scatha preferred the forests, Finodborn was more keen on heading to the mountain directly. This in turn made for a few marks of debate before it was finally decided to flip a coin on it, since each route seemed to come out with an equal amount of merit and backing, in part due to the centaur's directions the previous day.

"Alright...since we can't seem to agree. Let's flip. Heads we go to the mountains, tails we try the forest." Deirdre decided, trying to mediate the situation.

She took a crown out of a small purse and flipped it in the air, catching it swiftly and placing it on the back of her other hand.
OOC: --flips a coin--

"Heads it is then." We head for the mountains.

Ko'sstin was even cheery where Scatha might not be so. Deirdre in her place seemed not to happy about the thrilling experience of mountaineering, but before it would get to that they would still need to cross the Northern Rim. A rugged stretch of woodland that edged on the hills leading to Gulanadur in the north and now the isle in the northwest.

The trek was harsh and long. The temperature and humidity clung to everyone, making it impossible to walk for much more than a few marks before having to rest. That and the enthusiastic way the forest seemed to grow as they were looking at it, added to that the slight incline they experienced as they neared the Gulanadur foothills it took them a full day to get to the edge of the woods.

Whimsy didn't show herself for much of that day and as the eveningtide fell and the umpteenth hill was looming in front of them on their way to the sharp pinnacles of rock that promised the isle, the small group heard the first seagulls soaring overhead and on the top of the next hill, they could see the beach stretched out before them.

It was getting dark so they decided to make camp on the shadow side of the hill among a small patch of trees and bushes. So on the dawn of the 27th it was that they woke up, a sea breeze carrying the salty tang of the water to their noses, seagulls flying overhead.

The promise of a new day, new adventures lay in wait.

Brytan · Post by **Brytan** » Wed May 14, 2008 7:16 am

OOC: Posting to mark the edit. Will remove OOC posts shortly. Enjoy!

Finodborn · Post by **Finodborn** » Tue May 20, 2008 10:07 pm

OOC: I thought Scatha would start, but I'll give it a go :wink:

IC:

Finodborn wasn't good with fights. When confronted with one, his general way of dealing with it was going along with what the biggest meanie wanted. Deirdre didn't seem mean. Ko'sstin did. Some would call this cowardice. He thought of it as self-preservation. As such, he had sided with the gloomy character.

Yet, as Ithrainne smile to them through the head on the coin, he was slightly disappointed. He would have felt much more at ease in the woods, he thought.

Perhaps it was just a manoeuvre of his psyche to make up for his spineless behavior with Scatha and Deirdre, or maybe he missed Whimsy's craziness, but he was in good cheer. It was a demanding path they had chosen, but the sights and sounds cleansed Finodborn of his most profound worries.

When he could spare a breath or two, he would sing the queer Dortish song Scatha had taught him, but with caricatural, made up lyrics about cows, mud, hay stacks and an eccentric blonde. To please Deirdre he would hum tunes he knew from the shapers from time to time. He joked with the twins, did his best to seem interested in Gulanadur culture when around Ko'sstin, even though he still associated him with an imaginary foul smell of dampness, fungi and wet rocks.

Now and then his tired body made clear that he was running around like a headless chicken. He would then do his best to be as quiet and undisturbing as possible, worried that Scatha would get fed up with him or experience him as sticky.

When he awoke the morning of the 27th, Finodborn had the strangest of thoughts. He felt like a real adventurer, curious about what the horizon could be hiding.

Brytan · Post by **Brytan** » Mon May 26, 2008 5:25 pm

OOC: Scatha seems to be away for the coming few months, we'll take this thread at our own pace for the time being.

The sounds of the sea, gulls overhead, had already awoken some of the other party members aswell. Ko'sstin was nowhere to be seen and the twins were rummaging around with the fire they had made, trying to get it going again, muttering among themselves if they would serve roasted bread or just boil some water for coffee and have the bread with some left over meat juice. Deirdre was still asleep, as was Scatha.

Finodborn and the others had a good view of where they were heading from here. The high peaks of the strange island rose high over them to the west, casting long shadows over the water while they still basked in the early morning sun. It would maybe be a mark or so walk to get to the nearest point where the sheer cliffs touched the beach. A somewhat odd occurance, but then again, such was the entire isle.

A bit down along the coastline, Finodborn saw a figure walking in the surf.

Finodborn · Post by **Finodborn** » Thu May 29, 2008 5:58 pm

How convenient these twins were! If ever Finodborn would live as a rich nobleman, he would offer them a job as a housekeeper. The chances for that happening were, however, about as slim as him being converted to worship of the One. "Good morningtide!" he said, and added a smile.

The sight of a sleeping Scatha was also good for his mood. It was, in fact, one of the few moments one could see her in a tranquil state. The softness she normally tried to hide with her self-confident if awkward behavior was now directly visible.

Ko'sstins absence was rather worrying, though. If he had really left, they would probably have to turn around and take the forrest route after all, not a pleasant idea. Was this a sign? Could he to be trusted? Finodborn was eager to leave; this tiring trekking was only bearable if one could look back on a long distance travelled at eveningtide.

Then he noted the silhouette in the surf. With narrowed eyes, he tried to see if it was somebody he knew. Ko'sstin?
He called over the twins to add two more pairs of eyes.

Brytan · Post by **Brytan** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 11:18 am

"Good morningtide!" The two responded in kind. The young twins were excited about the new dawn and while they sorted out their cooking assignments Deirdre chose to awoke to the cheery greeting aswell.

"Morningtide..." She muttered sleepily, stretching her limber arms outward, yawning deeply as she picked up her living staff and hoisted herself up to stretch her legs aswell. "What smells good?"

Ko'sstin was still nowhere to be seen, the man in the surf was certainly not him. Where Ko'sstin was a tall man who carried himself proudly and upright, this man looked to be of age, wearing not much more than cloth wrappings. He sat down on his knees, upto his middle in the water where the tide was rolling in. Arms held out in front of him over the surface of the sea. The twins peered with Finodborn at the strange man. "I dunno what that guy's upto, but he's gonna get himself drowned if he gets hit by a big wave..."

Finodborn · Post by **Finodborn** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 2:48 pm

"Good Morningtide to you too, Deirdre. We already seem to be missing one of our party, I'm afraid. And our slightly uninvolved visitor seems, near drowning."

Het turned to the twins. "I'm rather sure it's not our tanned cousin Ko'sstin." Running towards strangers in unknown territories was not something Finodborn was inclined to do, generally speaking. But the old man didn't seem very threatening, and possibly in danger. Finodborn decided to make a run for it and check whether he was in trouble.

Brytan · Post by **Brytan** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 3:01 pm

Before anyone had a proper chance to react to Fin, partly due to the fact that half of them were still asleep, he spurted off towards the shore where the man was getting in over his head, literally. The waves struck the man, pushing him under, causing Finodborn to lose sight of the man before he got to him. The water was rolling in so if he chose to go after the man, he'd have to get himself wet. He certainly wasn't coming up any time soon, or so it appeared.

A flicker after Finodborn had left the camp, Ko'sstin appeared from behind a tree which stood a bit further up the hill.

"What in Deep's name is that all about? I wiped...sheesh..."

Finodborn · Post by **Finodborn** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 12:51 pm

Finodborn didn't particulary care about getting his pants wet - save autonomously on a public occasion- but didn't really know how to swim either. Sure, he was the son of a fisherman; that didn't mean he was a fisherman, as he had explained countless times before. However, this man here seemed to drown.

So as cautiously as he could, he tried to get closer by where he last saw the guy. He yelled greetings in adhiel en human, the sound of the surf giving him the strangest of accompaniments.

Brytan · Post by **Brytan** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 5:31 pm

The surf was not particularly deep, the waves not too strong. Still the mull sand made it hard for Finodborn to keep his footing as he waded deeper into the surf to reach the man. The shadows that were cast in the water told him that he was still at roughly the same spot as he had seen him in last. Something told Finodborn the man wasn't alone however.

He sensed another presence with the man under water. It was faint and without a proper look he had a hard time telling what it was exactly that he felt. It struck him like the vague feeling of being watched where he could detect no eyes.

As he approached the spot where the man had been lost in the surf, he emerged from the water. Not hastily and out of breath, but slowly and quite at comfort with his direct surroundings. The man opened his eyes and turned to face the adhiel that had come to his rescue. He appeared to be human, quite muscular yet a little flabby around the waistline. His beard and bald head, along with the wrinkles in his face gave him away as being quite old. He was dressed in little more than a linen length of cloth, wrapped around him in a rather ingenious way.

His eyes were a deep black, with no white what so ever, his nose rather pronounced, his skin slightly gray-ish.

"No need to shout young one, I can hear you just fine." The man answered Fin's greetings in human. His voice sounded warm and friendly, like a kind old grandfather reading to his grand-children.

Finodborn · Post by **Finodborn** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 11:53 am

OOC: sorry for the delay... My last exam is over now.

IC:
The modest water mass and the snakelike sound of the surf were things he could put up with by themselves, yet he had the feeling something awkward was at hand.

The fact that the old man rose gradually, rather than suddenly, made it all the more frightening, strangely enough, as if he had retractable stilts instead of ordinary legs with a knee joint. The eyes made his otherworldly appearance complete. Finodborn stepped back instinctively.

"Hi, err... sir. I'm sorry, I thought you were drowning. Do you... live here?" he asked, scanning the desolating surroundings as if he was looking for a small cottage with a frisky dog in front of it.

Brytan · Post by **Brytan** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:10 pm

OOC: No worries, hope it went well

The surroundings seemed quite barren. There was no sign of a house anywhere, making it anyone's guess where this man lived. The man had gotten up to full length, standing at least a head taller than Finodborn. He started walking back to the beach.

"Your concern is noted and appreciated young one. But I am quite alright as you can see." When they got to the beach the man looked at the camp from which Finodborn had come. "I had heard you and your friends were coming, and wanted to greet you. Thought I'd take a dip before you woke up. The water is so inviting on morningtides like these you see. I couldn't resist."

He smiled and waved at the people in the camp. A hesitant wave being returned by the twins who seemed quite stumped, even from this distance. "As for where I live. You could say I live here, though my home is in there." He pointed at the isle which lay in the nigh distance, high peaks rising over the water.

"My name is Groas, they call me Groas Wavebreaker. What is your name?"

Finodborn · Post by **Finodborn** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 10:30 pm

Like a beaten dog, he followed the man back to the beach, unsure whether he understood things correctly.

"That's my fellow travellers over there," he mentioned to utter. "They're nice folk. Mostly. I take, then, that you are one of... those we are looking for? Who informed you of our coming?"

He then turned red because of his lack of manners. "Oh, I'm so sorry. My name is Finodborn. Or just Fin." What followed was a confusing mixture of half a bow, an outstretched hand ready for a shaking and an uncomfortable smile.

Diplomacy was clearly a natural talent of his.

OOC: I reckon I can go to the recess thread from here?

Brytan · Post by **Brytan** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 1:15 pm

"I do not know if you were looking for anyone, just that you were interested in seeing our island. One of our scouts reported your party traveling from the centaur's home to our lands. he also told me you carried something with you, a Cryer..."

Groas walked towards the group of traveling companions, with Finodborn beside him.

"I was here anyway so I thought I'd come and see how we might help you. And, in kind, how you might help us. If what I have heard is true. That you hold a Cryer...captive. Regardless of that I am glad to make your aquaintance Finodborn or just Fin. The Mother's most beautiful creatures have fins. Your name at least gives you some credit."

Groas shook Fin's hand.

"Now then, let's eat. I smell something cooking. I hope you don't mind? Swimming always makes me hungry..."

OOC: I reckon you should be good to go to recess. As you've seen probably I've taken the liberty of mentioning your encounter already. We can extrapolate from there.