Delivery of Horses

[Head Moderator]

Raufak Agnarsson: So! Raufak had been given a task, which just happened to

line up with his desire to head back to Navahla overland again, and not even

alone! His momma had told him about some horses that were being taken down

south and figured she'd

Raufak Agnarsson: hire her favorite son out to help protect the horses and

the person transporting them! Naturally since she'd arranged it all, she got

the money for it, booo. But oh well, it'd be some good experience, and the

money would go to his

Raufak Agnarsson: family so he couldn't' complain much! Hopefully it wouldn't

be a terribly dull

Raufak Agnarsson: trek!

Tesarik One: Mina had an itch for travel, and she desperately wanted to get

away from those that knew her as anything but a warrior, so when the job came

up to deliver some horses bred by her family she jumped at the chance. She

had no intention

Tesarik One: of coming back right away, so she'd packed for the long haul

and her own Rumerian Courser was outfitted with saddlebags full to the brim.

Of course, her family still only saw her as a young lady that could not

protect herself so

Tesarik One: well so someone was hired to come along with her and 'protect'

her. Ha! Another reason why she wanted to get away from Dove Tors! She'd

served in the military like every other Rumeria, yet still her parents

treated her with kid

Tesarik One: gloves. Poor Raufak, it wasn't his fault that she had a bad

attitude though as they did begin their travels she realized having an extra

hand with several horses in tow would be helpful. She introduced herself

quietly as Mina Klaas,

Tesarik One: and hopefully he would not push the issue if he had heard of

the von Klaas family.

Raufak Agnarsson: He probably had. He was Raufak, after all. Well..more

importantly he was a bard, and there wasn't much that he hadn't heard of! He

didn't figure she wanted to talk much about her family however, since she

didn't seem to be lording

Raufak Agnarsson: it over him like some people with well-known families

might! He of course introduced himself as Raufak Agnarsson! Even if he hadn't

seen his daddy in a while he was still gonna use the name! And at least the

fella she got protecting

Raufak Agnarsson: her and the horses looked like he could handle himself!

Being a big ol' half orc had its advantages at times. Anyhow, he wouldn't

strike up too much conversation right away since she didn't seem to be

pleased he was tagging along,

Raufak Agnarsson: he just played like a good bodyguard sort and kept his

eyes open for trouble. Not that he ever noticed a damn thing. And of course

sooner or later it got rather old, the travelling along quietly, so he eyed

her a bit before

Raufak Agnarsson: speaking! "So you didn't seem too happy to have me comin

along with ya."

Tesarik One: She seemed extremely proficient in her saddle, though they were

not engaged in combat so he wouldn't see just how well she'd been trained.

She did watch him with the horses at first, just seeing how well he handled

himself. She

Tesarik One: hadn't really been around many half-orcs unless one counted the

orcs she'd fought a few times during her service. It was perhaps with a hint

of distrust she eyed him, and she was unable to sleep very deeply during

their camps. At

Tesarik One: least for now, he was a stranger. When he spoke to her after

quite a bit of quiet traveling, she adjusted on her saddle and turned her

amber eyes towards him again, "Do not take it personally. It is not against

you, moreso against

Tesarik One: my family who still seem to think I am but a fragile butterfly

in need of a man's protection."

Raufak Agnarsson: He was nice to the horses! He wasn't very good at riding

them, but he had done it a time or two..though for the most part he avoided

it. He knew between himself and his weapon he was pretty heavy for any horse

to be carrying around,

Raufak Agnarsson: so assuming she didn't want to go quickly..which she

probably wouldn't with more than a couple horses..he'd stay on foot whenever

possible! He grunted and nodded a little. "Understood. Well I don't think you

look like you need the

Raufak Agnarsson: protection, but I can vouch for this trip being incredibly

boring by one's self. I've never had trouble makin it danger-wise, but I've

also only had myself, not a bunch of horses that look worth stealin."

Tesarik One: Well she'd probably gently offer him some advice while he was

riding, but she did not mind it if he walked. She had been looking forward to

the travel and it let her see the area more than just galloping through.

Sometimes the

Tesarik One: travel was just as fun as getting to the destination! She

grinned when he said she didn't look like she needed protection, and then

nodded. "True, perhaps we should disguise them as dirty, ragged old horses

and no one will bother

Tesarik One: us. Are you from Rumeria, Raufak?"

Raufak Agnarsson: Oh yeah, his accent probably wouldn't give him away,

considering it had a tinge of everything from Zorcan to Maddish, depending on

what word he was saying! If anything the Zorcan came through most

prominently! "That might be a good

Raufak Agnarsson: idea, though I don't know how well we could disguise such

lovely beasts. And my mom and her side of the family is from Rumeria. My dad

is from Alzorc, but he's a travelling bard, so I'm sorta from..everywhere,

since he raised me."

Tesarik One: She stared at him a moment after he finished talking, perhaps a

hint of jealousy in her bright eyes, though she blinked and looked away when

she realized what she was doing. To travel the world, well

Tesarik One: that just sounded like the best life ever to her. "That must

have been exciting, seeing the world like that. I've been waiting to travel

the world for a while, I jumped at this chance. They don't know, but I am not

coming back for a

Tesarik One: good long while." She grinned and gave her horse a pat on the

neck.

Raufak Agnarsson: "It was exciting, yeah, but it's not without its down

side. Hard to keep any friends when you're moving around every week, and..I

suppose a few people have told me my education was perhaps a bit..off. My dad

had to teach me pretty

Raufak Agnarsson: much everything I know, and he's...a character." He

chuckled. "Haven't seen him in a while, maybe we'll run into him. He might

even keep his hands to himself if I'm around, since I'm probably about a

half-foot taller than him now.

Raufak Agnarsson: An dmeaner lookin." He snickered. "I understand the desire

to travel though, I'm glad you got to get out. Hopefully they won't be too

pissed off that you don't intend to go back."

Raufak Agnarsson: And meaner*

Tesarik One: "Ah. Well, that does make sense. I don't have many friends

myself, for various reasons I suppose." She shrugged and glanced around the

area as they traveled again, going silent for a good few minutes. She

snickered when he spoke of

Tesarik One: his father keeping his hands to himself, "Not really a fan of

having some strange man's hands on me, so if you can't keep him off of me

trust me I can do it myself."

Raufak Agnarsson: "He definitely qualifies as a strange man." He snickered

at that. "But then I suppose I do too." He stretched out a little, then

shifted his big ol chopper blade on his back a bit so it rested more

comfortably. "So it's your first

Raufak Agnarsson: time leavin Rumeria then, I take it? Or did ya go

somewhere else in the military time? Assuming you did that, anyway."

Tesarik One: "I've been mostly to Alzorc, and to a few places in northern

Doxenia but that is all. So not so much my first time leaving Rumeria but I

wouldn't say I've seen much more than steppes and snow and mountains." She

dismounted with ease

Tesarik One: and gave her horse a pat as she let it travel along without her

for the moment, and moved by foot. She was a tall woman, just about six feet

tall, but her family had all been tall like that as she was just a plain old

human. Didn't

Tesarik One: even have anything cool in her bloodline ancestry. Ah well. "My

father said that it's so hot in Sarkotos during the summer that he had to

hire someone to walk around with him fanning him constantly and he still

thought he'd pass out

Tesarik One: from the heat." She snickered. Her father was a bit of a dandy.

Raufak Agnarsson: "..." He stared at her a moment after she told him what

her father thought of Sarkotos, then shook his head a little. It'd be a good

time to say "Jesus." but Raufak wouldn't know who Jesus was, ha! Or would he?

Bardic knowledge was

Raufak Agnarsson: crazy after all! Anyhow. "Sounds like your father's a bit

of a ...uh..I honestly can't think of anything polite to end that sentence

with, so I'll just let it go. It does get pretty hot down there, but not as

bad as some places, and

Raufak Agnarsson: the winters aren't as cold either, it's pretty mild

overall. Might take some getting used to, but y'know..just wear lighter

clothes when it's hot, you'll be fine without a fanner."

Tesarik One: She continued to snicker and shrugged, "My father is an

interesting man I suppose you could say. Allergic to pain, and sunshine, and

heat, and work I think." She fussed with a pouch at her side, and soon

brought out some balls of

Tesarik One: food which she offered over to him. It was a concoction of

various nuts, and dried fruits all stuck together some way, dried honey if he

had a bite is what he'd taste. Kind of like an old fashioned granola bar but

in little round

Tesarik One: balls. "How long will it take for us to reach Navahla?"

Raufak Agnarsson: He grunted at that. "People can say some unkind shit about

my dad, but I'll give him one thing. He ain't none of that. He's a Zorcan

after all, even if he is a bit of an odd duck." He cuckled, then looked at

the ball of food and

Raufak Agnarsson: took one, having a nibble. He thought about their trip and

made some calculations in his head to account for the horses, but he wasn't

nearly as good at that sorta thing as, say, Dorian was. "Eh." He thought a

bit longer, and then

Raufak Agnarsson: came up with a time that'd make sense but Andy had no idea

about!

Tesarik One: A long ass time by foot/horse! Doxenia itself was HUGE. So

maybe they could make it to a big city and then use some portals unless they

wanted to be traveling for a month or more. Or we could always say they'd

been traveling for a

Tesarik One: while already. She glanced over as he tried the ball of snacks,

and motioned with her hand, "Like it? I made it, got plenty for us. Not much

of a hunter, so I brought some things we can eat to keep us going. I can fish

pretty damn

Tesarik One: well though. I do have some gold saved up. If we can make it to

a city big enough to have a Port Union, we could cheat and use it." She

grinned. "Horses don't much like teleportation but they'll handle it, they

are Rumerian after

Tesarik One: all."

Raufak Agnarsson: He'd made the whole trek on foot and via caravan! So at

least his guess on how long it'd take would be accurate. And yeah it'd taken

quite a while. "Yeah it's pretty good. Glad you can fish though, I'm not much

of a hunter at all,

Raufak Agnarsson: and this stuff tastes better than my own rations." He

snickered. "I generally get by stopping at small taverns and telling stories

for food and a place to sleep, if I'm not out in the middle of nowhere,

anyhow." He nodded a bit. "A

Raufak Agnarsson: Port Union would be a good idea to cut down on the travel

time. I normally get back and forth with the aid of a psion, but I don't

think even he could move all the horses and both of us and himself."

Tesarik One: "That sounds like fun, we should do that, as long as the

taverns aren't too seedy looking. I wouldn't normally care but we do have to

Tesarik One: protect the horses." She nodded, and took a bite of her snack.

"I hope you're being paid well enough to keep me and the horses company. I

haven't ever been told that I am a stellar companion, probably one of the

reasons I never had

Tesarik One: many friends." She shrugged, her parents had attempted to teach

her all sorts of things with private tutors and classes and she'd never done

well. Folks in fact called her rather ignorant at times, too involved in

learning to use a

Tesarik One: weapon than book learning. It did not make for great

conversations in the circles she was used to, though she had done well while

in the military! But, that was only a short time of her life.

Raufak Agnarsson: "Well, I suppose it's time for a bit of modesty." Not

something a bard tended to have! He even looked like he had to work up to it!

"I'm a pretty fuckin great storyteller, but I dunno if I could tell one good

enough to get both of

Raufak Agnarsson: us rooms, food, and stable all the horses." He cringed a

bit when she brought up payment, then snickered. "Me, personally? I'm not

getting paid anything at all, my mom got all the gold for my services, but

it's going to the family

Raufak Agnarsson: and I was getting ready to head back to Navahla anyway, so

it's not a big deal. And it's never too late to make friends!"

Tesarik One: She blinked, "I would not ask you to pay for anything for me or

my horse." Then she frowned when she found out he was not getting paid

anything for helping her take the horses to Sarkotos. Frowned deeply in fact,

that simply would

Tesarik One: not do but she said nothing merely locked that away in her

memory. "No, I suppose it is not. We will either be friends or terrible

enemies by the time our trip is over." She flashed him a grin.

Raufak Agnarsson: He hand-waved it off when she frowned. "It's okay, no need

to have that look on your face. My mom found the job and arranged it all, so

I woulda probably given her most of the gold anyway. Considering everything

I've got from them

Raufak Agnarsson: in training, I can't complain. I'd probably just spend it

on liquor and brothels anyway." He snickered, though he wasn't joking at all!

He looked over to her and grinned right back. "I think we'll be friends, long

as you can handle

Raufak Agnarsson: some off-color language, some leerin and ain't the sorta

person who tends to think I'm an idiot just 'cause of how I look."

Tesarik One: "Oooh. Training? We should train together. Keep us on our

toes." There was a sparkle in her eyes at the thought of that, anything to

keep herself combat ready, she was ready to do. She continued to grin and

nodded a little, "Why

Tesarik One: in all of Arith would someone think you're an idiot from how

you look? People think I'm an idiot too, but that's because I open my mouth

and talk." She snickered.

Tesarik One: "Brothels huh," she added, softer.

Raufak Agnarsson: "My guess? Because they look at me and see the orc half,

not the human half, and..to be perfectly honest, most of the orcs I've met

ain't the most eloquent, educated bunch..but that conveniently ignores the

fact that I was raised by

Raufak Agnarsson: a human. From what my mom told me I lived with her til I

was about two and then she gave me to my dad. I guess I don't talk too smart

neither." He snickered. "And yeah, brothels." He just left it at that! "As

for training, we could,

Raufak Agnarsson: but I haven't really been instructed on how to hold back,

orcs don't train gently. So you gotta know what you're getting into if you

want that."

Tesarik One: "Ahh. Yes, the orcs I've fought did not seem all that

intelligent, save for an orc shaman we once battled that nearly outwitted

us." She stared at him a moment, he wasn't unattractive in the least even if

she could tell he had orc

Tesarik One: in him. "Bet you're popular at the brothels. I mean..." She

waved one hand at him from head to foot, "you look like you've got stamina.

Probably nice and ..." she paused, smirking. "Well you know. Adequate." She

nodded slowly, and

Tesarik One: looked over at him for a moment as she paused in her step, "I

am a Vindicator for Tyril, god of war. I would consider it a terrible waste

if you were gentle with me."

Raufak Agnarsson: "Well I've definitely learned stamina with the shit my

family's had me doin. Granted that's a different sorta stamina but it all

helps." He chuckled. "And you aren't wrong about the adequacy. Everything's

proportional to my size."

Raufak Agnarsson: He sent her a wink. Then tilted his head. He hadn't pegged

her as a Vindicator! "Ah, well..we'll see how eager you are if I accidentally

leave ya with a few broken bones or an eye all swollen shut. I won't take it

easy on ya but I

Raufak Agnarsson: won't use my weapon in a lethal form either."

Tesarik One: "Hmm, nice." She glanced down his body and back up and grinned

at the wink. "You don't worry about breaking my bones or hitting me in the

eye, you just worry about your own self because I may not be smart, and I may

not be pretty,

Tesarik One: but I sure as hell can handle myself in a fight. You may very

well be the one with a broken bone or swollen eye." She pointed a finger at

him with those words and then grinned widely. "You can just add some scars to

my body that

Tesarik One: I'

Tesarik One: *I'll* be able to talk about in the future."

Raufak Agnarsson: "Not pretty? Ha. They not have mirrors where ya grew up? I

think you're plenty pretty. But I won't worry about it, if they drove one

lesson into my head more'n any other it's that I need to take fights more

seriously, and I think

Raufak Agnarsson: I've done that. I don't intend to let my guard down at all

if we do have a good scrap." He chuckled. "And don't think I won't add some

scars if I'm not holdin back, I got more scars from trainin than I ever did

from any real fights

Raufak Agnarsson: I've been in."

Tesarik One: "Wha..." she blushed a bit and just stared, she wasn't used to

being called pretty. She stayed dirty and just didn't take the time to fix

her hair or put on any sort of makeup like other ladies did. She just didn't

mind getting

Tesarik One: bloody and dirty if the circumstance called for it. "I don't

mind scars. I'm sure I've got more from training than actual enemies as

well."

Raufak Agnarsson: He grinned at getting her to blush! He liked doing that,

mostly because probably nothing at all could make him blush at this point.

"I'd like to see some of them someday! I can even make up some stories for

you to tell about 'em if

Raufak Agnarsson: you don't like the idea of just sayin they were from

training." He nodded a bit. "Like this one." He moved in a bit closer and

tugged up his sleeve to show a scar that ran across his forearm. "Had one of

my cousins get pissed off

Raufak Agnarsson: and took a swing at me with a real sword instead of a

training one and I caught it on my arm there, then punched him in the face so

hard it knocked out both his tusks." Nod.

Tesarik One: She didn't blush long! But it did redden her cheeks for a

moment. "That sounds great, making up stories for them that is." She leaned

over and looked at the scar, and then listened to his story. "So is that a

true story or is that

Tesarik One: one you made up to make it more interesting? If it was real, I

cannot imagine that he would be happy to have his tusks knocked out." She

snickered, and then tugged up her shirt revealing a very nicely sculpted

stomach though she was

Tesarik One: not joking when she said she had plenty of scars. There was one

that went across her muscled stomach horizontally right across her belly

button a good 6 or 7 inches long. "Tell me something interesting for this

one?"

Raufak Agnarsson: "Well normally it's no fun to tell people if it's true or

not, but I'll make an exception. If one of my cousins took a swing at me with

a sword and I tried to catch it with my arm, I'd probably be showin you the

stump where my arm

Raufak Agnarsson: used to be." He snickered and tugged his sleeve back down.

"My mom wanted to see if I'd be any good with a pair of swords instead of

this bastard on my back, and that was the result. I'm not any good at all

with a pair of swords."

Tesarik One: "Well, me either. I tried, and failed miserably. Give me a two

handed weapon any day. Need something with some power and heft behind it."

She trailed a finger across her scar, it looked fairly old, like she'd

probably gotten it as a

Tesarik One: young teenager.

Raufak Agnarsson: His face lit up like Yule had come early when she tugged

her shirt up to show him some skin! He looked at the scar for a while,

thinking a moment. "Hmm. I'd say it looks like you were in the middle of a

nice leisurely bath and

Raufak Agnarsson: didn't have any armor on, and some creeper came in to have

himself a peek, so you gave him a clout on the head. He got all mad and

pulled out a knife and took a swing at ya, and it was only your wonderfully

keen reflexes that

Raufak Agnarsson: stopped ya from getting gutted, and then ya gave him a

headbutt so fine it knocked him straight out, he fell into the water'n

drowned." Nod.

Raufak Agnarsson: "And yeah. I used to get by just swingin a sword like it

was a big piece of wood, but my mom and cousins and ..probably a half-sibling

or two, they taught me to use it properly."

Tesarik One: "Oh. My. I love it. I sorta wish that is exactly what

happened!" She laughed and dropped her shirt and continued to walk along

beside him. "Far better story than the real one, me messing about with a

shortsword I stole from one of

Tesarik One: the guards, tripped on a damn rock in the courtyard and fell

right on the sword, cut my tummy open. I was ..oh.. twelve or thirteen." She

smirked and glanced over at him. "I like your story better, that's for

certain. Got myself a

Tesarik One: whipping too once I got all bandaged up. Didn't even have pity

on me, bleeding like I was. Whipped me anyway!" She huffed.

Raufak Agnarsson: "Well you go ahead and tell my story if you prefer it, no

need to let everyone know exactly where ya go tall your scars. Always throw

in a headbutt or a punch to the face, too." He tapped a little scar on his

forehead. "Headbutted a

Raufak Agnarsson: guy unconscious even though he was wearin a full helm.

That one's actually true, though he may have just been rattled rather than

unconscious." He snickered again. "Shame about the whipping. Gods, I don't

know how somethin like that

Raufak Agnarsson: would stand in my family. Probably end with the person

getting whipped snatchin the whip and turning it on the whipper."

Tesarik One: "I like kicks myself. Nice heavy boots and a kick to the crotch

seems to work well." She grinned and kicked a rock in her path sending it

flying forward, thankfully between the horses. "Oh gods, my father may be a

bit of a dandy but

Tesarik One: my mother has a temper, she's the one that whipped me. I don't

imagine turning the whip on her would have gone well for me." She shook her

head a little, and then tugged her hood down off her dark hair, then pulled

her waterskin up

Tesarik One: for a drink.

Raufak Agnarsson: "Well yeah, not everyone's a buncha crazy fuckers like

orcs." He chuckled. "They're surprisingly sensible about most things, though,

I'll give 'em that. Don't generally see punishment like that because you're

just as likely to be on

Raufak Agnarsson: the receiving end of it yourself the second you show any

weakness." He got his own wineskin to have a drink, of wine of course! Raufak

did like his alcohol, though he knew not to overdo it when travelling!

Tesarik One: She looked up at the sky, it was getting dark, and though she

hated to admit it she was growing tired. "Maybe we should make camp. Let the

horses graze." She glanced around, listening, and then pointed to the left.

"I think I hear

Tesarik One: water that way, sound good?"

Raufak Agnarsson: "Sounds good to me, yeah." He dug into his ration pack to

have a bit of a munch on some nuts and dried fruit. Not nearly as tasty as

the stuff she'd made, but it'd do the trick! He listened as well to see if he

could hear the water,

Raufak Agnarsson: but of course he didn't! So he took her word for it. No

reason not to trust her, after all.

Tesarik One: She headed with the horses through the vegetation and sure

enough there was a little trickling stream nearby with a small clearing where

they could camp. She took the saddle and such off her horse and let him move

about on his own,

Tesarik One: he was well trained after all, and tied up the other horses

with a long lead near the stream and grass. Then she began to gather some

fallen branches for a fire.