Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 25: The Road to Jerdon

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"Well we could eat breakfast I suppose. No need to play politics on an empty stomach after all," she said to Helios before heading for the dining hall, which seemed busy with the hustle and bustle of various group members.

Morgan

"...That is exactly what she would expect me to do. She did raise me after all, she knows me better than anyone really. I...need more time to come up with a plan I think. The demons are a more pressing threat and easier to predict. We know what they want, but I still am unaware of Flemeth's plans- which makes her movements difficult to predict," Morgan said, putting her hand to her forehead.

[Phoenix]

Lev

Lev: It sounds almost like you're walking into a trap no matter what you do. She doesn't know me all that well yet, though. How about these; I'll commit some time to anti-Flemeth research, and you focus on the demons. It's not much, but it's a start.

[Balcerzak]

Fresh air

"<Hmmm, reunion huh?>" Iris replied back. She wasn't very familiar with Kelas's body language, so any subtle details of tics, habits, or general posturing were lost on her, but it was certainly true from just careful observation that the atmosphere was certainly not hostile.

"<Well, if so that's good for her,>" she nodded a bit, and relaxed back into the saddle. Something about what Isotov had just said was a little interesting though, or perhaps it was the way he had said it, 'most of us'. Hopefully it wasn't a touchy subject, and maybe it would smooth things a little bit, so she asked the question that had come to mind. "<What sort of unexpected reunions have you had yourself?>"

Meddling kids

Midori's story was interesting, and Tessa nodded a bit as things were confirmed little by little. She answered, "Sis is a good person, though sometimes she has trouble showing it. She's very focused on goals and results, and I think maybe that makes her a little awkward." The healer followed this up with a brief physical description of the druid before asking her next question.

"What kind of 'weird' do you mean? Can you describe it, is it like an uncomfortable, prickly sort of weird, or a fuzzier nicer sort of weird where you feel good but don't know why? Also... this is completely unrelated, but how are you feeling? That earthquake yesterday seemed to really shake you up bad. You didn't get hurt or anything, or was it just scary?" Tessa managed to work in one of the things that had been niggling at her curiosity since yesterday.

Mentos

Charlotte's suggestion seemed a reasonable one to Helios, but he did remember something from earlier as well that he realized he should take care of. "Right... food actually isn't a bad idea. I think I'll go try to freshen up and get presentable first, but I'll join up with you at the dining hall after."

The two parted, and once in his room the prince set to work. There were no problem with the clothes, he did take pretty good care of those, having some pride in his station of course, but getting his hair to cooperate, and not appear as if it were a wind-tangled mop, was quite a bit more effort. After a bit of struggle, in which some progress was perhaps made, he decided that if asked, he would simply claim that the mussed look was intentional, and would probably be in style in all of the courts in a matter of months.

Edited November 7, 2011 by Balcerzak

[Inactive Account]

"<All right, then, we can meet at the market and get something from the food vendors there,>" Kelas suggested. "<I should probably go for now, I think I'm holding things up.>" With a wave, she turned around and headed back to where Iso and Iris were waiting. They were speaking a language she didn't know-- probably Zaftran, she guessed, and she realized she'd have been completely incomprehensible to them as well. On the other hand, she didn't know how good Hainam's Common was, and to be honest it was nice to be able to speak her own language for once.

"Well, that was unexpected," she remarked upon returning. "Didn't think I'd run into anyone I knew around here... or anywhere, really."

[Phoenix]

Iso

Iso: <Well ...>

Iso had to do a little thinking. He easily recalled seeing his sister for the first time in years ... especially since it was so similar to how he left her ... in tears. Another reunion, though it may have been too brief an absence to really count was seeing Kelas again after returning to the group. It was the freshest one in memory, and might have been the happiest if it hadn't been accompanied by knowing how close people like Morgan were. Another reunion, his seeing Miranda again after Ixion turned her into a demon.

Iso: <I met my sister again when this group we're traveling with showed up in a town I was in. It wasn't the happiest occasion I've ever had. I really hate it when she cries so I'm glad she's stronger than when I left her. Meeting Miranda again ... never should have happened. Ixion really went too far but ... I can't say it's all bad.> (I hate to say this, but as untrustworthy as Miranda is ... I still trust her ... more than most of these people.) <It may not seem like a lot of time has passed, but meeting up with Kelas again was another one.>

When Kelas herself returned, Iso gave a small wave.

Iso: He's ... from your tribe?

It was interesting, but Iso wasn't sure just how important that detail may or may not have been.

[eclipse]

Normally, I'd be really upset if some random person ran up and asked me a bunch of questions, but for some reason, I'm not annoyed. I wonder why.

Midori shook the random thought out of her head. Questions or not, this might help her memory.

"It's like I'm not supposed to be here. Hmmm, that's not helpful, so, uh. . .imagine if you woke up one day in the middle of a very rich part of town, wearing nothing but rags. It's that kind of feeling." She took another bite of her food.

"As for the earthquake, I wasn't expecting it, but when I hit a wall, something caused me to freak out. So, what did you think of that earthquake?"

[Balcerzak]

Hearing that Isotov hadn't always been travelling with his sister was a bit unexpected for Iris. The fact that it had been a tearful one was also curious. Clearly there were deeper issues than her current understanding of the matter would have suggested. The mention of Miranda and Kelas were not unexpected, and while little new was learned, it was good to just have him talking again, and the lieutenant counted herself satisfied on the subject.

The nomad returned, her conversation apparently concluded, and she offered a brief confirmation of the basic situation. Switching back to thinking in common, Frederikov realized she didn't really have that much to say. She carefully watched the other nomad for a bit, and even without the connection between him and Kelas he didn't really seem threatening.

"That didn't take that very long, everything is in order?" It seemed the prince also had a question of his own, which would probably cover anything else she might want to know for the moment.

[Inactive Account]

"From the one I stayed with after... yeah," Kelas replied. "One of the handful of friends I had there. He's on his own at the moment, everyone else isn't in the area, so I doubt I'll randomly run into them too." She neglected to say why Hainam had been on his own. "I'll go talk to him again later, but I can go on my own, no need to take up your time with it. We can get going again," she told Iris.

[Balcerzak]

Imagine if you woke up one day in the middle of a very rich part of town, wearing nothing but rags. It's that kind of feeling.

Tessa's smile quickly capsized into a frown as she empathized. That had to be kind the feeling she found herself with any time she had to try to use money. While she'd not really literally been in rags (except for that once), that foreign, baffling uncertainty that came from the realization that something is expected from you that you cannot manage on your own, that had to be what Midori was talking about. A shameful state with an utter reliance on someone else to get you through the situation. This woman... surely she needed a friend right now, someone to "buy her clothes". The troubadour wasn't sure she could do that, but she wouldn't just give up and leave her suffering alone.

She sat down next to Midori, laid a small hand on the other woman's thigh, and giving a light squeeze said in low, comforting tones, "That's terrible, let's try to get you through this."

Comparatively, the subject of the earthquake had dropped significantly in importance, but that too deserved a reply. Tessa couldn't really figure out anything about the situation from what the soldier was saying, maybe because of lack of details... but sometimes, if it was anything like the caves, well... things just couldn't always be put into words.

"This wasn't my first earthquake... and all things told, it was probably tamer than that one, and nobody went missing or injured or the like," the healer thought back to that first one, the big one, the time of Arrin's severing. In spite of that, in spite of everything, she'd somehow handled that one better. Perhaps because she wasn't focused on herself at the time.

"For me, the shaking and quaking wasn't so bad, though... I do admit, the thought of something destabilized collapsing around me, of being trapped, unable to escape... Well, things like that make it a little hard to breathe. You kinda just want to frantically look around, ensure you're still in the open, not surrounded, and maybe if you find you're not... to just run and run until you are. You know?"

addendum

Iris nodded at the expanded explanation. Kelas almost seemed apologetic, which lightly amused the lieutenant, as she was in no particular hurry. If the prince had been out on his own without her and there had been unexpected delays, that would have been different, but as it was, provided they weren't late for the summit, which would be quite the feat to manage, she didn't mind the minor distraction this chance meeting had brought about.

"After you then," she answered, and readied her reins for take-off.

Edited November 8, 2011 by Balcerzak

[Inactive Account]

It seemed like an opportune time to turn back towards town rather than continuing farther away, so Kelas led the way again, angling for a clearer path with fewer trees on the way back. She watched Isotov for a few moments, remembering that he was still learning how to properly ride, and had just spent several days riding wyverns. "Looks like you didn't completely forget everything I taught you while you were busy flying around, that's good," she observed. "I'd suggest racing, but this isn't really the terrain for it."

[Phoenix]

Iso

Looking up from the reins, Iso laughed a bit nervously.

Iso: Iiiii-was just thinking about that. When Iris took off ... I started wondering what Francis would do if I gave him the 'up' command Irina showed me. It's interesting to be moving only in two dimensions again.

He then looked up to where Iris was flying. A race ... he was more worried about his chaperone than the terrain.

Iso: (Am I even going to be able to do things like that again with her around ...?)

[-Cynthia-]

Morgan

"I am not really sure what you can do but I...thank you for the sentiment nevertheless. I think that our best chance for defeating the demons right now is for the summit leaders to organize a wide scale resistance. Though I would not normally place my trust in politicians, we cannot defeat all the demons with merely our group alone," she said to Lev.

Edited November 8, 2011 by -Cynthia-

[Inactive Account]

"Depends what the command is, he might do nothing, or he might mistake it for something else. Or he might spook," Kelas added. "I'd imagine the commands are totally different for a flying mount, with the extra ways of moving-- probably would translate pretty badly."

[Phoenix]

Iso

Iso: I won't test it, then. Sooo is there anything else I should know about riding that you haven't already taught me?

Lev

Lev: As much as we need the help, I wouldn't be too eager about getting the countries fully committed to this. If they decide to step in, that'll make us nothing but their pawns. I normally wouldn't care but like you said, would be unfavorable to die on someone else's whim. I'd prefer it if they just 'helped' us, not take over, but there's probably no chance of that. (Oh the arguments we'll have with these people.)

[Inactive Account]

"Well, lemme think." Kelas nudged Amari into a canter and swerved off course slightly, heading for a small fallen tree. "I don't think I taught you jumping yet-- watch this." As she neared the tree she leaned forward, rising out of the saddle a bit. Amari cleared the obstacle easily, and after she landed, Kelas settled back into the saddle and slowed down, doubling back so that she didn't have to shout. "Before I let you try that, can you tell me what I did there? Couple things you have to do when you jump to avoid falling on your face."

[Phoenix]

Iso

Iso found himself watching the jump closely since he was familiar enough with Kelas' method of teaching. Her asking if he'd been paying attention came as no surprise either. As he recalled the jump, what stuck out the most to him was how she stood over the saddle.

Iso: You stood up, I caught that ... and I think you leaned forward while you did it ... to keep from falling backward?

[Inactive Account]

"Right, good. You lean forward for your own balance, yeah, but even more for the horse's balance-- makes it harder to jump with a rider's weight pulling down and back like usual. The other things you have to do are make sure you're going fast enough, straight at whatever you're jumping over, and that your horse can actually manage it. Amari's trained crazy, so she'll attempt any jump I tell her to, even if my balance is funny, but your average riding mount will stop if you're riding at the thing on a bad angle, or if they can't make it over. If you're going fast enough, you might still go over your obstacle... just without the horse." She sped up and jumped the fallen tree again, earning a snort from Amari, who didn't see a point in repeating these easy stunts when they weren't even the fun ones. "Your turn!" Kelas called, turning around and stopping to watch.

[-Cynthia-]

"We do control the tools necessary for ultimate victory, which hopefully will give us more say than most. We have gotten this far without nations directing us where to go and I do not intend to change that anytime soon, regardless of how the summit goes," Morgan answered Lev.

[Phoenix]

Horse Control

Iso surely didn't get a lot of study time before tests. All he could do no was keep replaying Kelas' jump in his head over and over again while he steered Francis into position. He gave Francis a few soft pats on the right side of his neck.

Iso: Okay just charge full speed and clear that thing, alright ...?

Iso took a deep breath and the kicked Francis into a gallop. Iso couldn't recall any sort of command to get Francis to jump at just the right time, so trusted the horse to figure it out himself while he focused on leaning forward. He stood up just as the jump was coming up and leaned forward as Kelas had instructed, but Francis had no intention of making the jump and pulled off to the left and slowed causing Iso to fly over the fallen tree alone. He hit the ground rolling and came to a stop lying on his back.

Iso: Uuuuuuuug .... Kelaaaas ... I need a crazier horse ... Francis has too much common sense ....

Crimson Control

Lev: The group's history may very well be what gets us collared. I'm pretty sure they're not going to let the 'Fire Bandits' do as they please, especially not if they're necessary for victory. Either they'll believe that the crimson weapons are the key to victory and fight over us like the 'new girl' in an army camp, or they won't believe the crimsons are the key and use us for something else--or let us go about our business but that's assuming they think we're uworthless. Only way I see us making it out of this without a shiny new collar is if they see us as more trouble than we're worth. There are a few officers in the party, though, so we might be able to get out of this with ... some semblance of free will.

[Inactive Account]

"Oh dear," Kelas muttered, turning back and dismounting to check Isotov for injuries. "All your limbs still working okay? I've seen worse, but it's still important to check." She didn't see any obviously broken limbs, and his eyes looked normal, which was one strike against the possibility of a concussion. From her viewpoint the fall had appeared to be of the sort that was painful but not permanently damaging, but it wasn't a good idea to rely solely on what she'd seen when injuries were possible. She'd also seen the errors that led to Francis refusing the jump, but those could wait for a moment. Belatedly she realized that Iris would have seen... well damn, of course she'd have to mess things up with the bodyguard at some point...

[eclipse]

Part of me thinks this girl's being way too forward, but another part of me doesn't have the heart to be annoyed with her. Was I like this when I was a girl?

"I was out in the open when the earthquake started, but when I hit that wall, things went a little weird. Huh, you survived another earthquake, and worse than this one? You're made of some pretty stern stuff!"

The strange unease had lifted, just a little, while talking to Tessa. Instead, Midori felt like she was. . .home?

[Balcerzak]

Iris had been watching the lesson with interest between her occasional surveying of the surroundings. A proper command of one's mount was an invaluable asset, and the prince certainly could do with some instruction on the matter, so she didn't mind a bit that the two were working on that. In fact, it was rather a comforting thought actually, and if these were a regular sort of thing, and the reason he'd wanted to go out riding in the first place, he really should have just said so.

The unfortunate jettison of the royal cargo from its rightful place atop Francis was some cause for concern though.

Cueing Drake to beat his wings in a descending pattern, she directed a landing a couple dozen meters or so in advance of where the tumbling mage had come to rest. Lightly leaping from the saddle she made her way over, having already been beaten to the scene by the nomad instructor, who seemed to be giving a thorough check-over for injuries. Relaxing a little, at the moment crowding would be detrimental and worrying without being able to act was counterproductive. We cannot be safeguarded at the expense of our own strength. Ivankov's words from the other day filtered back as well.

"Heh, I suppose a clean throw was better than getting dragged along behind the horse. But Your Highness, I think the timing is everything. Should be the same on the ground as it is in the sky. If the beast cannot react in time, it cannot obey the way you want it to, and it takes whatever measures it can instead. If there are any other tips she has as well, make sure to listen when you go and try this the next time."

[Phoenix]

Iso

Iso: My right shoulder really hurts ... makes sense since I landed on it. I also hit my left heel pretty hard ....

Iris arrived shortly after he answered, and his thoughts began racing, again. The reprimand, scolding, chastisement, whatever it was to be named was on its way and he had no excuse to hide behind. He should have known better but with her up in the air he had for a few moments forgotten that he and Kelas weren't really alone.

When Iris arrived, Iso closed his eyes, not that that would help tune out the inevitable scolding ... ... Iris' words ... weren't scolding, though; they sounded more like helpful advice, the very thing he thought had been interrupted by her arrival. He had to open his eyes and see her saying this just to make sure he hadn't suffered a head injury. He was just fine, and Iris wasn't making as big a deal out of the accident as he had expected. There was no use in gawking at her, though.

Iso: I-I ... I will ....

He pulled himself up and intentionally ignored his shoulder for the sake of appearances. He even put on a smile for the two of them.

Iso: Well that wasn't so bad, heheh.

Edited November 9, 2011 by Phoenix

[Balcerzak]

Midori's explanation didn't really clear up just what had happened to her during the quake, but at the least, it seemed like it was probably different from anything Tessa was familiar with from personal experience. When the explanation was followed up with what seemed to be compliments from a nearly complete stranger, she blushed a little and weakly protested.

"I'm nothing really that special," she said with her head tilted downward before raising it to look up at Arrin, who had followed along, hoping for a confirmation, or any unrelated input actually, maybe going back to some previous point of discussion. Anything to change the focus to something a little less embarrassing.

[Inactive Account]

"I was going to deal with that in a moment," Kelas grumbled. Iris' analysis was all right so far, but she wasn't sure she wanted a wyvern-riding mage getting ideas about teaching in her stead. "All right, can you move your arm? And how bad's your foot-- do you think you'll be able to put weight on it if you get up?"