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Post by Tandar on Feb 2, 2009 17:44:06 GMT -5
Ranger Palisade stood in the crowded street with his horse, Caliber, and his two young charges. People bustled around running errands and purchasing merchandise.
The ranger turned to Tory. "Find an inn where we can spend the night and stable our mounts. Arrow and I are going to get some supplies."
Although it was only midday and there was plenty of daylight left, Patrick didn't want to start scouting until the next day. They needed time to recuperate after the long trip over the ocean. Besides, this gave him enough time to plan.8
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 2, 2009 20:36:10 GMT -5
Tory nodded and gathered up the other horse’s reins. After a few days on the horrid ship crossing the sea, all three horses were very familiar with her now. She had spent almost the entire time with them because she couldn’t bear to be on deck to see all that awful water surrounding them. Her nerves were still rattled, and the ground seemed to be rolling a bit like the ship had been, making her stomach churn.
“Mind if a do some shopping after I get us settled in?” Tory didn’t have a great deal of money, but she was in need of a few personal items. “Oh, I am going to check out the Red Feather Inn first. One of the sailors said it was a decent place, but not too pricey.”
Tory was glad they were going to get to spend at least one night in a real bed that didn't rock back and forth before setting out on their horses.
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Post by will on Feb 6, 2009 14:27:01 GMT -5
(OOC: Hehe, sorry i haven't been on for a while. I live in Arkansas, and we just had the worst ice storm in its history, and I didn't have electric for a couple of weeks. Sorry!!!)
Arrow sighed and slowly patted his pure white horse, Shadow as Tory went off to shop for supplies.
"Women." He muttered quietly, thinking that Patrick couldn't hear him. "The only females I can handle are the creatures." He continued to his one and only friend, Shadow.
Shadow nickered, telling his master that he understood exactly what he meant.
Arrow chuckled lightly and turned to Ranger Palisade.
"So, we going or not?"8
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 6, 2009 19:28:28 GMT -5
Tory hopped back on Chocolate Chip to go find the Red Feather Inn. She figured it would be easier to get through the crowded streets if she was mounted.
"Did you want me to take the horses now? Or just make arrangements for them with the Innkeeper?" She asked Patrick.
After he answered, she set off following the directions the sailor had given her. She didn't have any trouble finding the Inn and it seemed to be everything the sailor had said about it. She'd had to traverse through a great deal of the city to get to it, however, since the inn was situated on the outskirts of town away from the coastline. She mapped the layout of the streets in her head as she wended her way through the crowds.
The Red Feather Inn was somewhat crowded, but since it was a very large inn, they still had plenty of room. She got a room and made arrangements for the horses for just one night and then set off on foot towards the merchant square she had skirted in her quest for the inn.
As she left the inn, she noticed a rather pale-skinned man sitting out front, pretending to whittle on a piece of wood as he watched people passing in front of him on the street and made a note of who came and went from the inn.
Tory had noticed him when she arrived and had watched him briefly from their second story room, wondering what he was up to. She thought it strange that someone would be so blatently watching the other people like that.
As she left, he turned to her and she smiled at him, but he didn't smile back. He took another stroke on the piece of wood with his knife, but as far as Tory could tell, he wasn't shaping it into anything. She noticed a strange pendant around his neck that sparkled with deep red gemstones. The stones looked like they were placed in the toes of a bear claw and the entire pendant was made of wrapped wire.
She didn't pause, but hurried on her way as if she didn't notice anything strange about the man.
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Post by Tandar on Feb 6, 2009 20:42:43 GMT -5
[OOC: I'm glad you're back with us, Will. Brandy, if you don't mind, please start a thread in Redmont to continue where we left of after Tory's Escape. We'll also have to work in the part when Arrow and Tory meet for the first time. We could either start a separate thread for that, or perhaps do a time lapse on the same thread. It's up to you. Thanks.]
Ranger Palisade reached into his coin pouch and pulled out several silver pieces. Crowley had supplied them well for this trip since he knew it would be a long one. Handing the coins to Tory, he said, "Yes, you can go shopping after you stop by the inn. Take the horses with you now. It would be a hassle trying to get them through these streets laden with supplies." For emphasis, he nodded toward a particularly large throng of people clogging up the street.
He handed his apprentice the reigns and she rode off with Caliber and Shadow in tow. The ranger stared at Arrow for a moment, pondering relations between the two youths. During the trip to Gallica on the boat, the two never really got comfortable with each other.
After watching Arrow for a minute, he rubbed his neck where the boy's dagger had left a scar. "All right, let's go pick out some disguises."8
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Post by will on Feb 6, 2009 22:20:54 GMT -5
(OOC: thanks brandwyn! glad to be back! Also, sure, do another thread for our first meeting!)
Arrow inwardly chuckled as Patrick rubbed where he'd cut into the man.
"Yes sir." He said, his tone impassive. They wandered off, glancing around the marketplace, looking for good disguises. Then Arrow spotted the perfect ones.
"Sir, there're some over there." He pointed at a place that contained different clothing, and the one Arrow pointed to were religious.
"No one would try stopping us."8
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Post by Tandar on Feb 7, 2009 20:23:10 GMT -5
Patrick raised an eyebrow as he looked over what appeared to be a monk's robe being displayed in a tailor's window. He turned and looked at Arrow, trying to imagine the boy in a monk's robe. The ranger snorted. "Get what you want."
He handed Arrow a couple silver pieces and proceeded inside the shop to look at some plain traveling clothes. Monk robes would be too restrictive in combat. His range of movement would simply be inhibited by the billowing folds of a robe.
Fishing a coin out of his pouch, Patrick paid for the outfit. "Oh, Arrow, pick something out for Tory too."8
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 8, 2009 11:14:37 GMT -5
(OOC: Although have been able to post some short answers once in a while - this certainly isn't one of them. Hope you like it...)
Tory was strolling purposefully up the streets in a different section of the city, taking in everything around her and trying not to look like it was her first time in Gallica. She was wearing her typical boyish outfit, the overlarge T-tunic over a long-sleeved undershirt and baggy pants with the ranger cloak over it all. She had her bow and arrows with her along with her knives, but she didn’t feel safe. The city made her nervous. Too many people and all of them seemed to be unfriendly and absorbed in their own missions.
She found a shop with women’s perfume and outfits in the front window and angled for it, checking to see if anyone was watching her. She didn’t see anyone paying any attention to her, so she sidled into the shop. The bell on the door jingled as she entered, and a woman in her 50’s greeted her, none too friendly.
“This is a store for women’s accouterments here, Lad, I think you might be in the wrong place.” She frowned at Tory, thinking she was a boy, but that something didn’t look quite right.
“I know,” Tory replied and pulled back the hood on her cloak. “I was looking for this store.”
The storeowner took a closer look at her, “I’m sorry! I thought you were a boy!” She came around the counter and looked her over, assessing her size and build and the horrible outfit she was wearing.
“Thanks!” Tory replied, knowing her outfit was a success. She wanted people to think she was a boy, but apparently she still had to work on her movement or something to pull it off. “I need some girl stuff.” She said as she began to look around the store. “I want to get a dress – nothing fancy,” she added hurriedly, noting the overpriced gowns covered in fake gems and fancy embroidery. “Just some plain traveling clothes – one set for winter and one for summer. Something one could wear while riding a horse.”
The woman looked at her dubiously, wondering if the child had the means to pay. Though the clothes she was wearing were for a boy, and plain, they were in good shape and suggested that the girl was not a street child.
Tory sensed the woman’s hesitation and fished a silver coin out of her pouch and showed it to her and then dropped it back into the pouch where it tinkled against some other coins. “I need a brush, comb, mirror and some perfume too.”
The clerk was satisfied that she wasn’t going to get ripped off and motioned towards a glass cabinet. “Look through those things and see if there is something you like while I go check the garments.”
Tory took a look and picked out the items she wanted. The clerk came back and took them out of the locked cabinet and placed them on the front counter and then led Tory towards the back of the shop between rows of dresses and scanty undergarments that made Tory blush just to see them.
She tried on a simple dress with an overdress made of wool and died in shades of green. They fit perfectly and she decided to take them. Then the clerk looked her up and down and seemed to come to some decision.
She brought out a fitted outfit of green and black, that didn’t look too much like girl’s clothing to Tory. The outfit had dark green close fitting pants, a long tight-sleeved lighter green under tunic that went to her mid-thighs and a fitted hunting jacket whose color matched the pants. It had big rolls of stuffed fabric around the shoulders covered in a spiral of black cord. The buttons on the outfit were black ivory and there was a matching black riding skirt that probably contained 10 yards of fabric all by itself so it would drape right when mounted on a horse.
She dressed Tory in the outfit and it fit almost perfectly, almost as if it had been made just for her. Tory loved it and she thought she looked good in it. If she took off the skirt, she could still pass for a boy, but with the skirt on she looked almost like a wealthy middle class lady.
“I love it, but I can’t afford this, I’m sure.” She turned, swirling the skirt in the mirror wistfully.
The clerk smiled, “Actually it is not so expensive as you might think. I have been trying to unload that particular outfit for a couple of years. It has never fit anyone and no one seems to like it, except you.” She noted the change the outfit had made on the girl’s attitude and decided to make a deal. “Tell you what, I will sell all of this stuff to you for a silver and a half.”
Tory couldn’t believe it. She had enough money for that with quite a bit leftover. “I believe I will take that deal!” She smiled at the clerk and forked over the money. She kept the hunting outfit on and had the clerk bundle up her old clothes as she settled her weapons and ranger cloak over the new outfit. The colors in the cloak matched the outfit perfectly.
She had entered the store as a boy and exited it as a lady. She doubted if anyone watching would have made the connection. She headed back to the Inn, watching the people around her and taking note if someone was trying to follow her.
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Post by will on Feb 9, 2009 16:23:53 GMT -5
Arrow grumbled at Palisade, pretty sure of what amused the older man.
"Whatever." He muttered, strolling up and down the rows of clothing. A few monk outfits, some cloaks, and......that's it! He grabbed the dark clothing and admired the quality of the stitching.
It was a plain black shirt with silver stitching around it with dark colored pants. A lot of people in Araluen were starting to wear dark clothing, due to the rumors of armies and uprisings.
"Here." He said briefly, paying for his outfit. Looking around, he decided that he WOULDN'T shop for a girl.
"Sorry Palisade," He said quietly, rejoining the other man. " But I can't possibly shop for a girl.....I physically can't."8
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Post by Tandar on Feb 9, 2009 17:29:20 GMT -5
Ranger Palisade chuckled to himself. "I expected that from you. Change into your new clothes now. We don't want to attract any unnecessary attention."
The ranger entered the fitting area and pulled the curtain shut. He moved quickly; he'd disguised himself many times before. Taking the crossbow off his back, he set it down and began undressing. Once he was stripped down, he put on the traveling tunic and pants. After lacing up his boots, he put on his ranger belt. Nothing marked it as special except the storage pouches on the back side.
Patrick picked up his crossbow and began breaking it down. This weapon was different from the one he normally carried. He used to carry a heavy crossbow. Before leaving Araluen, he'd swapped it out for this lighter version so he could keep a lower profile while in Gallica. This one still fired accurately over long distances, but it was easier to hide. It also featured experimental repeating technology which allowed it to fire several bolts successively nearly as fast as a ranger with a longbow.
Palisade stuffed the compact crossbow pieces into the pouches on the backside of his belt. He buckled on a single sheath and slid his saxe knife into it. Throwing on his new traveling cloak, he concealed the pouches on his backside. The ranger dropped a handful of bolts into his left boot and tossed the rest of his ranger items and clothing into a collapsible bag he'd brought along. He'd need those things later.
Patrick thrust aside the curtain and stepped out. The entire process took just over two minutes. "Let's go meet up with Tory at the Red Feather, assuming she's done shopping. We've got some planning to do."8
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 10, 2009 17:28:02 GMT -5
Tory wasn’t planning on buying anything else, but she passed a book merchant on her way back to the Inn. She loved books and just had to take a look. The merchant watched her like a hawk, throwing out titles of books that he thought would interest her, but didn’t sound interesting at all.
He was really beginning to irritate her when she found an oiled leather tube which was full of maps. She pulled them out and unrolled the parchment sheets. There was a map of Gallica and Toscano and other countries she had never heard of. Down near the bottom was one of Aslavia. “How much for this tube?” She asked as she rolled them back up and stuffed them into the leather case.
“Five silvers.” The merchant answered promptly. Tory just looked at him like he was out of his mind, and then she continued to peruse the selection of books, looking for something interesting to read. She carried the map case with her.
She picked out two other books, one was a Toscano love story with an Araluen translation included and the other was a book on herbs and their uses, complete with pictures to help one identify them.
She carried all three items up to the clerk and set them on his desk. “I’ll give you a half silver for all of these.” She knew that was very low, but it seemed a good counter to his ridiculous amount for the maps. They haggled for several minutes and she finally forked over two and a half silvers for the books. She paid for them out of her own money, not the traveling money Patrick had given her.
She placed the books in her satchel and slung it and the map case over her left shoulder and continued on her way back to the Inn.
Along the way she noticed two more men who appeared to be just watching the crowds. She caught a glimpse of red at one of their throats, and thought he wore the same pendant as the man who was watching the Red Feather.
‘Very strange,’ she thought. She reached the Inn without further incident and walked on past it instead of going in the front door for the first man was still there. She snuck around and came back to the stables to check on the horses and then ducked in through the kitchen entrance and up to their room to wait for Patrick and Arrow. She pulled out her maps and began to examine them on one of the beds, her new skirt draped around her as she sat cross-legged on the bed.
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Post by will on Feb 10, 2009 18:53:46 GMT -5
Arrow sighed and quickly slipping into his disguise, careful not to reveal any of his weapons. This seemed to get an eyebrow raised by Patrick. Arrow smirked at the man and finished, completing his outfit by strapping a strange looking sword to his waist.
Ranger Palisade looked completely puzzled.....
"It's called a Katanesh. My people make these weapons."
He left it at that and followed Patrick to the Red Feather Inn.
"Sorry." Someone muttered as they bumped into Arrow. The ranger apprentice in question narrowed his eyes and made a mental note that the man was wearing a red pendant of some sort.8
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Post by Tandar on Feb 10, 2009 20:43:18 GMT -5
[OOC: Will, please don't control my character's emotions. This is powerplaying and it is against the rules. Thanks.]
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Post by Tandar on Feb 11, 2009 21:11:47 GMT -5
Ranger Palisade and Arrow entered the Red Feather through the front entrance and found Tory sitting on the bed with the door open. The ranger motioned for Arrow to shut the door behind him. "In a few days, a couple royal scouts should arrive here and we're to escort them and assist them as they recon the area for the main army."
"Until they arrive, we should do some scouting of our own."8
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 13, 2009 20:17:21 GMT -5
Tory made a note that the guys had changed clothes too. Patrick didn’t look at all like a ranger now and Arrow looked even more handsome in his new outfit – not that she really cared how good he looked, she told herself. He was always so obnoxious she didn’t have the slightest interest in him romantically. She did wish he would mellow out some though, ‘it would be nice to have a friend my own age.’ She thought as Patrick gestured to Arrow to close the door.
She was surprised at their mission. She had been dying to find out what it was, but didn’t pester Patrick about it on the ship ride over from Araluen – at least not much anyway. Now that he was talking about scouting before the Royal Scouts arrived, Tory thought she should share what she had found out today.
Tory got up, her cracked rib protesting at the movement, and went to the window and looked down on the Inn’s entryway her new skirt swishing around her legs. The man was still sitting there. “Patrick, did you notice that guy sitting out front of the Inn? He’s been there all day.”
She turned back to her mentor, “I noticed others like him throughout the city too. They are watching people to see who is going where, I think. “ She glanced at Arrow again, then turned back to Patrick, “I noticed something else about them too. At least two of them were wearing the same kind of strange pendant. It is shaped like a bear claw and has red stones mounted in the toes of the claws.”
She crossed back over to the bed and pulled out the Gallica map on top. “Do you know what those pendants mean?” She looked up at him.
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