Terra West Trading Co - Chapter 3 - Jy 31st ET

[Anistis]

Anistis laughed right along with Anna at her teasing. "Well, I suppose you could call me 'The Right Honorable Lord Anistis, Esquire' if you really wanted to," he said with a grin and a laugh that was directed as much at the silliness of the practically meaningless titles people tacked on to their names as it was at the idea of them being added to his. "It doesn't bother me or anything; I just never really felt like a 'Mister,' y'know?"

When Mikail produced his green goo, Ani nodded in agreement with Anna's analysis, but he trusted Mikail, and with a smile and a shrug, he began to stir.

He found it hard to believe that Talis really found the stuff appetizing. "Y'know, Talis, there's no shame in being hungry. It's been a while since lunch and all, and we couldn't eat a very big one... Hey, are you alright?" he asked, his tone softening dramatically as he noticed the dampness on her face. The likeliest possiblitly, of course, was that there was something in her eye, but Ani didn't like to assume such things in case there really was something wrong, and thought it best to make sure.

Later, after the food was prepared, Anistis tore into it with abandon. He hadn't grown up in a very refined household, and table manners hadn't been stressed much beyond simply not making a mess. Ani had quite the appetite, and probably could have made a horse dissapear just as quickly as if it had walked through a Portal, and he was having a similar effect on his soup.

Even by the time Anna offered her bread, Anistis probably could have eaten it, but didn't see any reason to deprive her or anyone else of food.

"Nah, that's alright," he said with his requisite smile, "I've got plenty to eat right... What was that?" Anistis set his food aside, rose, and took a few tentative steps in the direction from which the flash had come- or from where he thought it had, anyway. "Did anybody else see that?" he asked his companions, growing more concerned as he realized that Haikan hadn't returned yet.

[Matiel Escariot]

Matiel took his time trying to remember how to do what he was wanting to do. Looking at the pots that were already cooking, he had the feeling that a crook wouldn't be needed at all. Maybe there was a difference with what he planned to do and what was wanted with the crook.

It seemed to not matter though, yet it still confused him a bit. He had his rocks and his knife, but now that the pots were almost done, what was the crook for?

"Mikail, how many of the crooks do you need?" This much he would ask. True, the food might be nearing completion, but something is needed to keep it warm for everyone else. A crook might be good for that. For this, he turned to Anistis, "Just try to learn by watching what I'm about to do now so that you could work on some more if more are needed."

Tallis and Brogan weren't ignored either, "Forgive my rudeness. My name is Matiel. I work here. I'd be happy to engage any of you in talk but as of now I do need to get a few things done first."

The work itself was easy, for as long as the earth was easy to till. This was what he needed to do first. Picking up the knife Mathias fetched for him, Matiel knelt on one knee and took a glove off one of his hands. He made sure the hand he took it from had all his finger, while the other held the knife. With his naked hand, he caressed the earth, feeling every inch of dirt before him, not far from Mikail's own work, for the right feeling of dirt to plot the crook on.

The kind of earth he was looking for felt as easy to dig as mud, but steady and firm when the fingers applied pressure. He did his best to feel the earth, and when he found the plot most suitable, he struck with his knife.

The knife was to for digging, and he made sure his strikes were shallow enough to slowly weaken the soil's hold on itself. The digging was a simple enough pattern, a drawing of a cross with its intersection deepened into the dirt while the ends rose level to the ground. When the soil was properly weakened, he started to dig out the pattern he made with the cross.

He was carefaul to gauge the size of the pots they were going to handle. He estimated those diameters and worked it into how deep and widened the intersection of the cross would be.

When the channel was done to his expectations of it, he began to lay the rocks. He laid those rocks on the converging edges of the intersections, the cliffs that stood over the deepened pit he made. He was careful to dig out some of the edges though, as these he overlaid with stones and secured with soil and more stones. The pot would be laid on the intersection of channels, on the stones he laid which were foundationed with more stones beneath them to keep the pots wait in check while the earth beneath kept the stones stillness in check. Then, he began to lace the stones together, forming a slowly rising tower over the pit. When he was sure it was tall enough to properly feel the heat of a fire and still keep the pot high enough for anyone to get their soup from, he stopped. It was as high as his knee, a stout circle, and hollowed within with a pit waiting to be alighted below.

He pushed these stones inward just a little bit to make sure they wouldn't move and tip the pot over when it was placed over it. When he was sure his work would hold, he asked Mathias, "Could you make another fire? This time, place the fire on the pit where the trenches meet. The pot should be placed on top of that, but just to be sure try to see if placing anything on top would break it. Maybe sit on it or something. I'm hoping the rocks' weight pushing on each other toward the center would keep it stable."

[Brogan Gharnost]

Seemingly snubbed by the starry-eyed adhiel, Haikan, Brogan in turn pretended to ignore the apparent rudeness per his usual routine of standing motionless and speaking nothing, and overall showing the same exuberance at the matter as would a rock who has just discovered that its mother had died.

Soon after Haikan had left, the behemoth was assailed by a hail of responses to his question, from people he had not addressed. A young lieutenant spoke first:

Hey, he's all caught up in his little friend there. I heard you offer help for the evening. I'm in charge of the night squad and you're welcome to join the ranks if it suits you. We won't say no to an extra set of eyes - especially ones so high off the ground.

Massive eyes in a massive head turned towards the source of the hail. After quickly studying the general aire of the lieutenant, Brogan was about to speak when the form of Mikail sidled up beside the half-giant and apologized for his brother's hastiness. Continuing, Mikail caught rather the attention of the behemoth:

You know, since I take my brother's place at night, your extra help would be very appreciated. If I trusted anyone in this universe at all, perhaps I might suggest you take the allotment of time between my brother and I so that he can rest more. However, don't feel excluded. It's my best effort to be fair to everyone by distrusting them all equally.

So distrustful. what a wonderful cynic. I may yet appreciate this one's biting view of the world. I must investigate. With voice softened to match the tone offered by Mikail, Brogan spoke: "Tell me what to do for the night guard, and I would gladly do it. I wonder if I could go on watch with you, I am uncertain of the circumstance of this business venture, and I need someone to enlighten me about goings on. I understand your distrust of the universe, and I have interest in your views on certain pertinent matters..."

Haikan, and that little dragon. I'd also like to keep an eye on them and their progress.

"Mikail, yes? Is the evening meal finished?"

[Mikail]

"My name is indeed Mikail, and my last name Verida, which translates in the human language to Green... showing my family's undying appreciation and love for nature." He paused for a moment, realizing this was the first time he properly introduced him to anyone. Damn, I really don't care at all, do I? Perhaps I owe it to the people in the caravan to start giving a shit. I only hope that should I choose to be a more involved member, it doesn't come too late. Who knows? Maybe these people actually need me. I would hate to see this caravan go down for lack of something I could have provided.

His eyes wandered away from the giant as his mind continued to wander. NO! I will not be useless, I have so much I have to give to mother and father, I will save the Adhiels from the hard life that constantly follows them! He looked back up at Brogan, realizing he was hunched over with a fist clenched in front of his face in a valiant, determined pose. Instantly, he shook back to his upright posture and normal composure, returning to the conversation.

"The night watch doesn't take much, you just have to make sure we don't all suffer horrible deaths from something unexpected. The worst thing anyone can do is be negligent or take this caravan (and its safety) for granted. The minute any of us stop caring about this trip is the minute that it goes up in flames. Still, you can't force yourself to want to protect something dear to you, but you can darn near create a thousand motivations to make it fun!" Mikail began to wonder now if he was really talking to Brogan, or himself.

"I... You..." He trailed off, and then regained his mind. "My father told me, 'If you're bored, you're boring!' Such is the way of self-motivation. Sometimes even when this thing seems like work and I just want to sit in my tent and read, I have to remember how important it is for everyone else to have fun here. Look at Geoffrey and Haikan. They're not business associates. They're friends. Be wary, because that is what you're protecting. All of the amiable happy company here is as dear to all of us as is our very universe in which it exists."

He smiled, realizing that he finally regained his ability to be longwinded. For the first time since the conflageration, Mikail felt like himself. He began to enjoy explaining this, as each breath of his passed below him an upward draft of inspiration. "What you have to do is be very perceptive to anything that's happening around you, and even if it hasn't happened yet, you should still be watching for it, whatever it is. You never know what kinds of crazy things happen in our universe, it is as unpredictable as it is reliable. If you join me in the watch, you will be protecting a universe in its existence through each pair of eyes in this caravan. Who better to do that than a mighty half-giant?"