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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 15, 2009 21:44:42 GMT -5
Monkuta hopped out of the small canoe they'd used to cross the water. He took heavy steps as he left the water, wading through the reeds of the expanse between the coast and Seacliff. They'd had to leave Jaeado and Dadal behind, letting them return home to the cabin in the woods. Not a choice that made him happy, but he knew it had to be done to remain unnoticed on their journey. Stepping up onto dry land, he looked back and saw Marina close behind him. "Welcome to Seacliff," he said. "Now we just have to make our way south and find a captain that will take us around the mainland."
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Post by ivory on Jun 15, 2009 21:50:16 GMT -5
She stepped off seconds after him and looked around. She'd been to Seacliff before, but this time it didn't seem the same. Excitement had a way of making everything else leading to that particular point, exciting.
"Any idea of who that captain might be?" she asked, bringing her gaze back toward him.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 15, 2009 21:54:55 GMT -5
Monkuta shook his head, checking his gear. His hands moved to his bow, his knives, the sac hanging over his shoulder with some basic supplies in it and finally to his neck where his necklace hung beneath his tunic. "I haven't the slightest idea. If you're religious, start praying. I'm going to rely on the public's natural fear of the mystery that is the Ranger Corps. Intimidation and persuasion will be very important skills as a ranger. Learn to use them to your advantage in every situation," he said to her. He started trekking up the hill away from the water. It would we be wise to find the road. On foot, it would be the quickest path to their destination.
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Post by ivory on Jun 16, 2009 9:21:34 GMT -5
Marina half-frowned at his suggestion to pray. Though her family was of one religion, she'd never really grown to it. She didn't see anything wrong with it, and even took part from time to time, she just didn't have the faith in the Creator as they did.
His later suggestion was much better to her liking and growing ideal of what a Ranger's life is like. She was used to exagerrating things for her own personal agenda, but she never lied to herself and so knew that though a Ranger's life would have its ups and downs, even the downs would be becoming a Lady.
So she followed him with a slight nod of the head, eyes drinking everything in around her.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 16, 2009 12:35:47 GMT -5
Monkuta staggered a bit as he walked. It suddenly occured to him that he'd barely slept a full night since their departure from the cabin almost a week earlier. He would have to try to sleep the next time they stopped. Marina would need to learn how to keep watch eventually. He looked over his shoulder at her. "Ever been to Seacliff?" he asked quietly. Normally, he wouldn't want to talk during a mission, but normally he didn't have a partner. He also feared that without the mental stimulation he might drop unconscious at that very moment.
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Post by ivory on Jun 16, 2009 13:27:54 GMT -5
"Uh-huh," she answered. "We had to visit Lord so and so and his wife Lady so and so. Then I had to play nice with their daughter Lady so and so." She rolled her eyes as she trailed behind him, her excitement overruling her fatigue for the moment. "Never could remember their names. So many of them I had to meet, there wasn't really a point in it. None that I found anyways. Ma said it was polite to do so though I'd memorize them for a while. Why do you ask?"
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 16, 2009 13:33:30 GMT -5
Monkuta ignored the question. He wasn't going to be able to stay awake more than another hour; he was sure of it. When the main road was in sight, he changed course to a cluster of trees and staggered over to a thick trunk, sitting and leaning against it. He set down his bow and bag, but didn't remove his belt or knives. Looking up at Marina. He said, "We'll start down the road in the morning. Time to learn to keep watch at night. String your bow and keep your eyes and ears open." His eye lids started to droop. "Oh... and don't wake me up unless you really can't handle it."
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Post by ivory on Jun 16, 2009 13:55:10 GMT -5
She glared at him even as she did as he asked. Marina strung her bow and nocked it before leaning against another tree. She scanned the terrain, but seeing nothing, she started to grow tired with the renewed awareness of her fatigue. She blinked her eyes hard but when that didn't help, she replaced the arrow in its carrier, slung the bow over her shoulder and climbed the nearest tree. This way, hopefully, if she started to dose the almost fall would wake her up. She scanned the terrain once again, bow once again nocked and ready.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 16, 2009 20:12:46 GMT -5
Lea was on her way to the docks in Seacliff to fullfill her first solo training mission. Though she was pre-occupied with going over the excessive training Captain Dougal had forced her to endure and his explicit instructions on her mission, she was still fully aware of her surroundings.
She slinked through the woods near the outskirts of town to avoid people. It was important not to be seen by the wrong person at this point. That was when she heard voices. She altered course to go check them out and came upon a young man who was close to her own age and a teenage boy. No, thought Lea, it was a girl, but she looked like a boy from a distance. Her voice gave her away, along with some movements that were distinctly female.
Lea waited while the man appeared to settle down for some sleep. Lea grinned at the glare the girl shot her mentor. Lea figured they were master and apprentice or some similar relationship. But of what trade? Mercenaries? Possibly rangers, she thought, though couldn't be sure. They had the right equipment. If they were rangers, their ranger horses were conspicuously absent.
She remained where she was, unmoving, until she was sure the man was asleep. She could stay still for hours now. A trick that Dougal had to beat into her, literally. She hated sitting still. Dougal had demanded the skill though, stating that it was essential to the SWC and her life would depend on it at some point. At the time Lea scoffed at him, thinking that her skill with knives would be all that she needed to save her life. Now, a year later, she knew otherwise, now that she knew exactly what the SWC did. She never should have doubted Dougal. He was always right.
She sat still, waiting....
Finally the man seemed to be asleep and the girl was looking pretty drowsy. Lea started to move forward when the girl got up and climbed a tree.
'Damn!' Lea thought, reassessing her plan. Perhaps she should try the open and direct approach, maybe using her acting skills. What story to use??? Lea wracked her brain for a few minutes as she watched the girl settle into the tree with her bow knocked, ready to fire. Definately an open approach would be better.
Lea silently backed away from their campsite until she was far enough away to make it sound like she was coming from the city. She grimmaced in distaste as she loosened her bodice and ripped her chemise under it, mostly exposing one breast. She was already sporting multiple bruises from Captain Dougal's training techniques, so her story ought to have the required physical evidence to back her up.
She smudged dirt on her face, breast and bare knees after hiking her skirts up. She was already wearing her standard "wench" garb that she normally wore when "undercover". She took one of her knives and nicked her arm and her neck just enough to draw some fresh blood. She roughed up her hair and then started running towards their campsite, crying hysterically and occasionally screaming something incoherent about being chased.
She crashed through the forrest so there would be no doubt that they would hear her long before they saw her.
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Post by ivory on Jun 16, 2009 20:32:12 GMT -5
Marina heard the crashing in the brush and she swung her bow to point at the spot. She waited as whatever was making the noise came closer, pulling the string back to full pull. One second and her arrow would be loosed and the threat dead or mortally wounded.
There! She fired, but aimed high once she saw that it was hardly a threat. She wanted only to scare her, not kill her.
"Don't come any further!" She put a touch of steel in her voice, or tried to, before climbing down the tree, nocking another arrow, and jabbing Monkuta in the side. She hit a little harder than necessary and did so with a straight face as she kept her bow trained on the woman. It was too dark to see any details.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 16, 2009 22:37:48 GMT -5
Monkuta fell over, waking up immediately. Reflexively, he rolled into a standing position, drawing his knives and looked around. The current situation became obvious to him in moments. He rolled his eyes and sheathed his daggers. "You obviously didn't understand me when I said only to wake me up if you couldn't handle it on your own," he complained groggily. He walked in front of Marina, scanning the woman before them. She was close, but far enough away that she was still running and screaming. "Wonderful..." As he slowly regained full consciousness, his usual paranoia kicked in and he started looking for any signs of danger. The woman was obviously being chased, though no one was following her... at least not closely. That meant that she was probably the threat here... And a good actress. He would keep that in mind. "Can we help you?" he asked loudly, trying to drown out the senseless screaming.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 17, 2009 10:34:33 GMT -5
Lea heard an arrow fly over her head and screeched and ducked. "Don't shoot! Please help me!" She looked wildly behind her as she came to a stop. From the shooting, she was fairly certain the two were rangers. Even apprentices were uncommonly good shots.
"He is going to kill me this time for sure!" She panted and pulled her ripped garment up to cover herself. She was still pouring out the tears and talking very fast. "Please, Sir! You have to help me! I have to get away from Seacliff, but if I go alone, he will drag me back." She took a couple steps closer as she continued to strain to see the woods behind her, pretending she was being pursued. "Please help me!"
She sank to her knees and buried her face in her hands and cried hysterically.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 17, 2009 10:40:47 GMT -5
Monkuta glances over at Marina, signaling with his hand for her to keep her bow aimed towards the forest. He approached the woman, saxe knife drawn for caution, and knelt down before her. "Who is chasing you?" he asked loudly. She had to stop screaming at some point. It was getting on his nerves. "You realize that if you keep screaming it will only be easier for... whoever it is... to find you, right? Shut up."
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Post by ivory on Jun 17, 2009 10:47:42 GMT -5
Marina glared at Monkuta. "It'd be nicer if you asked." She looked the woman over with a wince. "She's still a Lady despite..." she trailed off, figuring it'd be more polite just to shut up. Well, on that subject at least. Two seconds more and the screaming was getting on her nerves too. "Lady, shut the hell up. Please," she added, remembering her manners.
She kept the bow trained on the direction from which the 'Lady' had come from, eyes scanning constantly.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 17, 2009 10:55:50 GMT -5
Lea scowled to herself at the man's rudeness, but had to admit her screaming was getting on her own nerves. She abruptly shut her mouth and looked up at him with a fearful look in her eye. She looked at the knife and cowered away from it like any barmaid would do.
"He is my..." she sobbed, "my business manager, if ya take my meaning... Look! Look what he has done to me!" She pulled the ripped chemise away from her neck and upper chest just enough to expose some very vivid bruises that were obviously made by fists. "I ran away two nights ago, but he found me and dragged me back and beat me nearly sensless." She sobbed softly again and looked back the way she had come as if expecting the big hulking brute to come crashing through the trees behind her. Funny thing was she had played out this scene in real life once, many years ago when she was 15.
"If he finds me this time he will kill me. I can't take it any more. I have to get away from him, away from Seacliff!" She reached out as if to tug on his pantleg, but stopped inches from his leg and eyed the knife again in feigned fear.
"Please? If I am with someone he won't dare drag me back! Especially not if I am with a ranger. You are a ranger, aren't you?" Lea looked up at him, hopeful.
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