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Post by Ringulf on Jan 14, 2010 12:17:21 GMT -5
(Setting: somewhere deep in the city surrounding Castle Araluen)
The smell of the stable mixed with the charcoal fire of the small forge. The sound of Ringulf's hammer beat rhythmically upon the old anvil in front of him. He held the horse shoe with the metal tongs in his left hand and inspected it. Satisfied that the piece was finished he doused it hissing into the water barrel next to him and tossed it on the pile of shoes he had already made.
As he looked at the work his eye was caught by the sight just beyond him outside the door where a small figure dressed in drab greys and browns with short cropped brownish hair stood practicing her shooting, recurved bow in hand. She was sending the arrows to three different hay bails onto which she had affixed scraps of red cloth for targets.
"Remember no two shots at the same target Myl, you don't want to depend on that ranging shot" Ringulf called to his apprentice.
He gave her a Frown from under his knotted reddish eyebrows but the look softened considerably as the beginnings of his own smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
He had a hard time being his gruff old self with her, She had come through so much since he had met her and even more before that day, and she still kept up that remarkable resilient spirit. Granted her life had gotten better, she was no longer chased by gangs of street urchins or fighting for food and shelter, Ringulf saw to that, but he wondered if a life of wandering and the danger of being a ranger's apprentice was any better?
If only we could secure a fief and settle down a bit so I would not have to take all these side jobs and bounties, I could train her properly and give her the life she should have. He thought to himself as he stared into the glowing charcoal embers of the forge.
His own life had been difficult though there had been some rewards. His father, a Scandian Jarl, was dead by the hand of a rival Jarl who had sworn to kill he and his mother. His mother now passed away and buried in the graveyard behind the Castle Araluen reserved for the faithful servants of the King, was a cook in the castle after escaping Scandia with her 10 year old son.
He thought he had finally found his place when he had turned down the offer on choosing day of joining the kings army as a man at arms. He would have liked to go to Battleschool but there had been no one to stand up for him to help him with an appointment.
He chose the kind offer of an old ranger, Hugh who had once been a soldier, to become an apprentice and he became a ranger. Though he was a bit big and it was harder for him to be stealthy, he had mastered the art of silent moving and camouflage to the ranger's standards but that was not his strongest skill.
Since He was strong and fast his master Hugh had taught him to fight with other weapons like the Scandian axes he trained in as a youth and the seax knife all rangers carried. He was also good with a spear and though he could wield a sword well, he did not grasp the finer points of sword play.
Hugh did train him well and he excelled with his great long bow, one most rangers could not even pull, and he became a very well known long distance archer.
Ringulf felt the heat off the hot coals on his face and also recalled the old man teaching him to make the weapons he used and to do the other necessary tasks of a smith. He chuckled wryly to himself. That had been one of the most important lessons Hugh could have taught him, since that was what had kept him from starving for all these years. That and the Ranger contacts that had been made through his now dead master...
The difficult thought of his master and how he died pulled Ringulf out of his reverie and he once again tried to bury it deep inside. He turned and was a bit startled to see Mylia standing close behind him. He was surprised to see her there and the black clouds parted from his face as his daydream vaporised.
Neither of them liked being caught off guard, so it didn't take long for the two to set that game aside and not make each other feel foolish.
"You all done with practice Little one?" he said softly.
"Lets get some dinner I have finished the shoes for ranger's horses and made up our bedrolls in the loft, so drop your stuff and let's go."
"Ringulf" Someone called off to there right, "Got a message for you, it came by courier from the palace no less!"
"Thanks Renn" Ringulf said as he took the rolled parchment with the wax seal.
"Don't know what this is, we'll see after dinner." he said as he tucked it into his brown leather jerkin, seizing the opportunity to teach Mylia a little patience.
He sat at a long table and helped himself to bowls and spoons and very soon had scooped out two healthy portions of some type of stew from a big pot sitting in the middle of the table. he did not ask what it was for he did not care, around the quarters of skilled hunters one would be well fed if one was not to particular about what was in the stew. It was warm and filling and quite tasty so he ate unreservedly as he had been subject to much, much worse in his life and he knew the same was true of his young apprentice.
Finally he pushed away his bowl and started to work on the pewter tankard of short beer before him and pulled the parchment from its hiding place, opened it and began reading it to himself.
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Post by Firehead on Jan 15, 2010 13:26:33 GMT -5
Mylia aimed for the smallest scrap of red cloth, and fired. The arrowed thudded into the hay bail, missing the red cloth by a scarce margin. "Blast it!" she snapped, her temper fraying a bit more. She narrowed her eyes and stared at the target, as though she could move the arrow through sheer will-power. She pulled another arrow from her quiver and started to repeat the process.
"Remember no two shots at the same target Myl, you don't want to depend on that ranging shot"
Mile? Why did he call her that? She gave a mental shrug and and said aloud, "Uh-huh." She shifted her aim to the largest scrap and steadied herself for another attempt at hitting the target.
Zzzzip!
Thud!
"Rats!"
She'd missed again.
She gave a frustrated huff, and turned away. Much longer, and she'd not be able to think rationally, thus making it making it more difficult to concentrate. It also tended to get her into more trouble than usual.
So she turned away and stepped inside the stable to watch Ringulf work at his forge. She had no idea how exactly he managed to make the things he did, but she liked to watch him do it anyway. It was interesting.
Seeing that he gave no indication of having heard her come inside, she stepped softly up behind him and started counting. She had just reached three seconds when her mentor turned his head.
"You all done with practice, Little one?" he said softly.
She made a face, showing her distaste. "Nope. But I'm getting sick an' tired of missing, over an' over again." her stomach growled, and she added, "I'm also getting hungry."
"Lets get some dinner. I have finished the shoes for ranger's horses and made up our bedrolls in the loft, so drop your stuff and let's go."
Her face brightened, and she sprinted up the ladder to the loft, depositing her bow and quiver of arrows on her blankets, leaving them in favor of the two knives that all Rangers had. She forewent the ladder on her way down, choosing the more direct route of grabbing the opposite edge of the trapdoor, swinging herself out and away from the ladder, and dropping to the hay-strewn floor below, landing on the balls of her feet with her knees bent to absorb the shock. "Okay, I'm ready."
They were just inside the door, when someone hailed them from their right. "Ringulf! Got a message for you, it came by courier from the palace no less!" The man handed Ringulf a rolled piece of parchment. "Thanks Renn."
Mylia watched curiously, as her mentor took the proffered message and tucked it into his jerkin without reading it."Don't know what this is, we'll see after dinner." he said.
She sighed as she followed him to a long table where they sat and helped themselves to the main dish-- stew. Mylia had nothing against stew--she liked it. Often, she had joined a group of homeless folks around a pot of the stuff scrounged from the rejects of merchants. Usually, it tasted like anything and everything, including nine days old. But this, this was good stew. It had fresh meat and vegetables in it and it tasted delicious. No boiled boots in this stew.
Finally, she pushed her thrice empty bowl away and sat there, sipping at her own tankard-- cider, not beer-- and watching as Ringulf read his message. She waited for Ringulf to read it aloud, half hoping that he would simply hand the parchment to her, and let her practice her reading. Probably not, though. While she could read, it took forever for her to do so, because she'd only had three lessons in reading so far.
In the end, she simply asked, "So what's it say?"
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Post by Ringulf on Jan 15, 2010 16:52:21 GMT -5
Without looking up from the letter Ringulf said softly, "Your holding your breath."...There was a long pause.
"Your holding your breath while your aiming and you breath out all at once during your release, Thats why you are missing by such a small margin."...
"Next time steady your breathing, inhale on the draw and exhale slowly on the release...Oh and this is a letter from Duncan saying we have to go meet a foreign Battleschool student at the port of Caraway Fief and escort him here for an audience. All of this was said in a very off the cuff non-chellant manner.
"Seems he is Scandian...and we were requested, hmm..." His voice trailed off as he stared at the page like it was going to reveal some secret runes to clarify its meaning.
He handed the page to her and said, "Here you read it too in case I missed anything, looks like we will be going down river by boat to the port but we are to draw horses at the rangers stable and deliver them here after we meet this young fella and ride back."
"We leave tomorrow afternoon from the east quay. You don't get seasick do you?" he said with a grin.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jan 17, 2010 0:06:02 GMT -5
(OOC: Meanwhile in the Castle's stables...)
Tory managed to slip away from Crowley's watchful eye and headed for the stables. Crowley'd had her practicing throwing her knives at moving targets. She was getting better at it, but found the practice tedious. She knew she needed to practice, but her heart just wasn't in it.
She was depressed and lonely for Patrick and didn't really care about how badly she threw a knife at a scrap of fluttering fabric. She slinked down to the stables and slipped into Chip's stall, holding out an apple she'd swiped from the castle kitchen at breakfast.
"Hi Chip!" she said softly as the small horse munched the apple. "I wish we should go for a ride. just leave and keep on going." She picked up the brush and began to groom her ranger horse, knowing she wouldn't get far. Crowley had several people keeping an eye on her, hoping to catch Palisade if he visited her. She was thinking about Patrick and how he liked the present she had made him. Then the dark hole made by his leaving began to overwealm her. She understood his reasoning, but that didn't mean she had to agree with it.
Tears welled up in her eyes and she buried her face in Chip's mane and started to sob. The ranger horse turned his head to rest his nose on her back, as if comforting her. Tory hugged him tighter. At least she still had Chip. She couldn't bear it if she lost the horse, but then she thought she couldn't bear it now that she'd lost Patrick too. She hadn't let herself cry yet, and so once it had started, she couldn't seem to stop.
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Post by Ringulf on Jan 17, 2010 1:23:45 GMT -5
After Dinner Ringulf headed back to the stables he stopped by Crowley's office to ask a quick question about what boat they would be taking tomorrow.
The grizzled old Ranger sat at a paper strewn table that he used as a desk and seemed to be engrossed in a report he was reading. Ringul cleared his throat and gave a little knock on the door lintel. The officer looked up and motioned Ringulf in.
"Ringulf, Just the man I wanted to see!" He barked.
Crowley's eyes darted down to the two axes at Ringulf hips but he didn't let them linger there more than a moment.
Ringulf saw the brief motion and was well aware of Crawlies thoughts even before he tried to recover.
"Guess he still looks at me as an oddity among the corps" Ringulf thought to himself.
"Two things really, How are you and that new little apprentice doin' together? its almost been a year now hasn't it?"
Ringulf nodded and gave him a suspicious look. With one eyebrow half cocked he replied,
"Good she is coming along pretty well, Moves well has good instincts and awareness, damn good with a knife...why watcha gettin' at sir?"
"It's not the skill I was thinking of it was more the frame of mind, I'm aware of her background and was wondering how you have been getting along?" Ringulf could see he was backpedaling.
"She can be a bit distant at times but I would imagine I've been no picnic in the forest myself, We give each other our space but she listens to me and works hard without complaint... I would trust her to have my back in a scrape."
"That's good," Crowley said, "just what I wanted to hear. You still feel like wandering or do you think you two are ready for a post? I may have something right up your ally."
That took The big ranger by surprise he felt the blood rush to his head and a certain tightness in his throat as he recalled his thoughts about giving Mylia a better life and training opportunity, so he pushed away his feelings of inadequacy, guilt and mild panic and said in a strong, confident voice,
"Yes sir I believe I am..."
"Good speak to me when you come back then and we will see what we can do" he blurted out before Ringulf could change his mind.
"That'll be all Ranger!" he said putting emphasis on the title.
"Sir didn't you say there were two things you wanted to speak to me about?" Ringulf said and immediately regretted opening his mouth.
"Oh yes, very good, well since you have done so well with one troubled young girl I thought you could help me with another matter, call it a personal favor."
Ringulf didn't like where this was going but he inclined his head to encourage Crowley to go on.
"Well it seems young Tory has had a bit of a disappointment with this Palisade thing and I thought a bit of new scenery, new faces and something to occupy her mind might be good for her. I realize this is a milk run down to Caraway but why don't you take her with you, besides there are three horses to bring back and Lord knows she is a good rider...been spending a bit too much time with Chip needs to shake things up a bit and..."
"All right, all right old man I get the picture! you've sold me! I'll let her know we leave after lunch!" Ringulf said chuckling at the old fellow.
He tuned to go and the officer said,
"Oh an Ringulf The name of the boat is the Percephene!"
He gave Ringulf a wink feeling like he had regained the upper hand on the ranger and Ringulf returned the wink with an informal two fingered salute to his brow and again turned with a wry smile.
When he got to the stable Ringulf looked around for Mylia, he wondered how she would take the news about the additional traveler, he also decided not to mention the possibilities of a post for them until it was certain. He was anxious to give her the good news though.
He got a thick pole down from the loft and started lining up horseshoes on it to carry them to the farrier's forge in the rear of the stable. He had 32 of them on when his strong arms began to strain so he left the rest and started down through the dark open area between the stalls.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure by one of the horses but the horse was covering her face will his muzzle and he couldn't make out who it was.
"Mylia?" he called matter of factly, That you, I sure could use some help with these!"
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Post by Brandwyn on Jan 17, 2010 10:34:22 GMT -5
"Mylia?" Ringulf called matter-of-factly, "that you? I sure could use some help with these!"
Tory heard an unknown voice call out. She peeked over Chip’s back and saw a ranger standing there looking at her. She ducked back behind Chip and wiped her face on her sleeve. She stepped out around the horse by ducking under Chip's neck and out to the door of the stall. “No, Sir. It is only me, Tory.” She said dully, her face puffy from crying.
She eyed the man warily, even though he was wearing a ranger silver leaf, he looked rather large for a ranger and he was carrying two very scary looking axes. Plus her history with large men, or rather one man in particular, made her distrustful. The nightmare she’d had again the night before of Korrin assaulting her back in Meric had the incident fresh in her mind. She made sure to stay out of arm’s reach of the big ranger. “Who is Mylia?” She asked, “And who are you?” Abruptly she realized that was rather rude and stammered to correct herself, “meaning no disrespect, Sir. I just don’t know many rangers yet. Patrick and I left—.” She broke off and her tears welled-up in her eyes again and she turned her head away for a moment, not continuing her sentence.
After a moment she amended her statement, “I haven’t met very many rangers.” In fact she could only think of five, Crowley, Halt, Rick, Tandar and Shanna besides Patrick of course. Of the bunch the only one she trusted even a little was Tandar. He had been kind to her in La Rivage and seemed like a decent guy.
Then Tory realized the ranger was standing there holding onto a pole of horseshoes. It had to be heavy. She didn’t really want to help, but figured Crowley had sent the ranger to spy on her and she was trying to stay on his good side. “What do you need help with?” She asked Ringulf, hoping if she helped him he would go away and leave her alone with the horses again, and just maybe take back a favorable report to Crowley.
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Post by Ringulf on Jan 17, 2010 13:37:26 GMT -5
Ringulf felt his back start to cramp with the heavy load he carried, he realized that some beads of sweat were stating to form on his brow and that he wasn't wearing his helmet so they would soon be evident to the slim young girl who had just wiped her eyes and ducked back under the horse to face him.
“No, Sir. It is only me, Tory.” she said and Ringulf saw immediately she had been crying.
He wasn't terribly surprised when she told him her name, he had heard a bit of her situation from one of the other rangers as word of the Patrick Palisade situation had spread among them.
He instantly felt uncomfortable with her state of emotion but also felt a deep compassion for her. He wanted to reach out and comfort her but his own shyness made him cast his eyes down toward his load of horseshoes. His arms were starting to tremble with the strain and he did not want to show weakness in front of the young apprentice so he hitched them up and got a better grip on both ends of the pole and leaned back a little to ease the weight.
“Who is Mylia?” She asked, “And who are you?” “meaning no disrespect, Sir. I just don’t know many rangers yet. Patrick and I left—.” “I haven’t met very many rangers.”
His arms started to shake for real now and he knew he had to say something or the girl would keep talking just out of nervousness.
"He chuckled softly a bit to himself and said,
"Well don't know that you really just did now but if you wouldn't mind," he said warmly with a little half grin, "There will be time for introductions after you give me a hand with this."
“What do you need help with?” The young girl asked.
"Well for starters throw a halter on that fine animal you seem to be so fond of and lead it down her with me to the farrier's station and we can get started."
With that Ringulf headed down to the end of the stable not turning to look weather or not the girl was going to do as he asked.
He heaved a sigh of relief knowing that if he hadn't put those shoes down soon he would have dropped them, most likely right on his own feet and made quite an embarrassing scene for the both of them.
"Hmm... isn't that strange," he thought to himself, "I suppose our steps are truly ordered, perhaps there are really no chance meetings after all"
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Post by Brandwyn on Jan 17, 2010 16:10:43 GMT -5
Tory saw he was straining under the weight of the horseshoes and was very impressed he managed to carry that many at one time anyway.
"Well for starters throw a halter on that fine animal you seem to be so fond of and lead it down her with me to the farrier's station and we can get started."
Now why would he care how Chip’s feet were? She looked down and noticed that her horse’s feet could use some attention. It had been weeks of riding in Gallica and poor Chip hadn’t had his shoes replaced in the front in all that time. She had managed to trim the worst of the chips off his back feet though because they didn’t have shoes.
Tory pulled the halter from the peg and slipped it on over Chocolate Chip’s head and grabbed the lead rope and led him down to the back of the barn. She didn’t really need the lead rope, but decided to humor the ranger anyway. Anything to get rid of him sooner, she thought.
“Are you sure you know what you are doing? Not just anyone knows how to shoe a horse you know.” Tory said warily, thinking it strange a ranger was shoeing horses. She didn’t want him to mess up Chips feet, so she watched him very carefully as he went about each step. He seemed to know what he was doing and she had seen enough horses shod to know the difference.
Then she started to worry; what if he expected her to pay for the farrier service? She had no money. She started to chew on her bottom lip in worry. “Sir, I can’t pay you for this, well not more than…” she fished into her pouch and looked down at her last 3 copper pieces. She had spent most of her money on the materials to make the knife scabbard and cloak for Patrick. Her heart gave a twinge at the thought of him again. “well, 3 coppers is all I have left” She knew Chip could use the shoeing, but she might need the money for more urgent things, like food, should Crowley decide she wasn’t fit to be a ranger.
She wished Crowley would make up his mind, but with the King being kidnapped, Tory was sure her situation had been pushed right out of Crowley’s mind.
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Post by Ringulf on Jan 17, 2010 17:16:19 GMT -5
Ringulf took the shoe pole to a rack that looked like it had been specially made to hold it and heaved the pole up onto the pegs on each side being careful not to shift the weight as he placed one end then the other up in its place. He walked over to a bench along the wall and opened a long rectangular canvas bag that opened like a long mouth with wooden lips closing it. He pulled out several files, a claw hammer a few odd steel scraping tools, a pair of end cut pliers and a leather pouch of small nails. He laid them all out on the table as though he were to preform surgery. Then he took out a few small glass bottles wrapped in chamois cloth and a small paint brush.
"There now, he said cheerfully, "lets take a look at him."
He walked up slowly and gently to the animal and started to speak quietly and soothingly to him. He stretched out one hand passing it below the horses muzzle and let the creature sniff at him a bit as he took his other hand and cupped it under his lips giving him a small hand full of oats that he had somehow removed gently from the pocket of his tan leather apron.
“Are you sure you know what you are doing? Not just anyone knows how to shoe a horse you know.”
"Well Tory he is certainly a fine animal isn't he, yours I assume by the way he follows you with his eyes, Whats his name?" "oh I'm sorry speaking of names, Mine is Ringulf and yes, I have done this before, My apprentice's name is Mylia, in the half-light of the stable I thought you may have been her."
After having secured the animals confidence he bent down by his fore leg and gently, but firmly lifted the horses foot to look at the shoe,
"Hmm, you two have seen some miles, but the wear is even," he said as he looked at the other foot, "so he has a good gait..."
He returned to his tools and brought back a few of them in his big front pocket along with the claw hammer and pry. He set about removing the shoe, cleaning the hoof both inside and out and then he shaped them a bit with the file, all the while working gently but skillfully and speaking soothing words to Chip. As he was shoeing the horse he spoke a bit to Tory.
"I spoke to Crowley a bit about the mission Mylia and I are off to tomorrow, he felt it would be a good idea if I took someone else along. we need to meet and escort a Battleschool student from Caraway up her to Araluen Castle. We also have to pick up three available ranger horses and bring them up here with us. Crowley said you were a good rider, feel like getting outa' here and getting some wind in your hair again?"
“Sir, I can’t pay you for this, well not more than…well, 3 coppers is all I have left” She said a bit worriedly.
Ringulf chuckled a bit louder this time.
"Your a Ranger aren't you? And that is a Ranger's horse? Well Missy I've had my supper and I have a place to sleep tonight so I've already been paid!"
He finished the two front shoes and applied the liquid from the little glass jar with the brush and asked, "
You Like to keep his rears unshod? I'll clean and dress them anyway but there are enough shoes to go around ha ha, Well what do you think I could use your help?"
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Post by Brandwyn on Jan 17, 2010 21:22:56 GMT -5
Tory spoke softly in Chip’s ear as Ringulf got acquainted. Chip kept one ear trained on Tory and one on Ringulf. "Well Tory he is certainly a fine animal isn't he? Yours I assume by the way he follows you with his eyes? What’s his name?"
“Chocolate Chip” Tory answered, patting Chip’s neck, “on account of his dark brown spots all over his creamy white hair. They reminded me of that dessert the Mistress Colburn had imported from some far away country. They called it chocolate and shaved off chips and put them in heavy cream. I used to have to serve it to her.” Tory’s eyes glared in anger for a moment at the memory of her hated, abusive former mistress. “I call him Chip mostly though.” Chip tossed his head as if agreeing with her and nuzzled her stomach, searching for treats.
Tory looked at the ranger seriously, “and yes, he is a fine horse. I couldn’t have a better horse even if I searched the whole world. He saved my life twice in Gallica…” Her voice got quieter until it trailed off to nothing as she recalled the days on the run with Patrick with the Grizzlies on their trail. They figured the other rangers trailing them too. The river crossing still haunted her. “If not for Chip I would have drowned in that river, and that already happened to me once. I really hate rivers.”
She watched him clean and trim Chips front feet, moving to the off side when he switched hooves so that on the off chance Chip acted up, she could pull Chip toward her and away from him. When he switched to the back feet she stood on the same side, that way she could pull Chip’s head toward her and swing his hind end around away from Ringulf. She had learned that trick many years ago from Meric’s ferrier when she held many a horse for him while they were fitted for shoes.
She saw him painting the liquid onto Chips hooves and figured he was going to use that to mark the shoe to get the shape right, but she wasn’t entirely sure. When he asked about Chips back feet, she shook her head. “Unless I am taking him into rough terrain, he doesn’t need shoes on the back. He likes to carry his weight up front for the most part. But if I am going into mountains with him, then yeah, best to shoe the back feet too.” Rocky terrain could really tear up a horse’s hooves. “But since it looks like I am stuck around here indefinitely I don’t see the need.”
Ringulf surprised Tory by saying, "I spoke to Crowley a bit about the mission Mylia and I are off to tomorrow, he felt it would be a good idea if I took someone else along. We need to meet and escort a Battleschool student from Caraway up here to Araluen Castle. We also have to pick up three available ranger horses and bring them up here with us. Crowley said you were a good rider, feel like getting outta here and getting some wind in your hair again?"
Tory looked at him in amazement first, and then with some suspicion. What was going on here? She thought, eyeing the rather large ranger. She analyzed what he said carefully for a bit before she answered him. She didn’t care for battleschool apprentices. The ones in Meric had bullied her mercilessly, though it took five of them together to best her. She remembered the near drowning incident of a couple years ago. “A b-battle school apprentice?” she asked worriedly. “I don’t know…” She then caught the comment about riding horses back. “We won’t be riding horses there?”
She had a sinking feeling there was going to be boats cropping up in this little trip. She hated boats and rivers, but knew as a ranger she was going to have to deal with them. Actually, deep down she was terrified of the water, but very, very few people knew that, she hid it well.
Still, a few days away from Crowley’s watchful eye and network of spies would be a welcome change, but not if she had to leave Chip behind. She would have to come back if Chip wasn’t going too. Why not ride there on their own horses and lead the new ones back? Or why not ship the horses back on a river boat or something?
She weighed the pros and cons for several minutes as she watched Ringulf work. Then she realized that she probably didn’t have much choice. Undoubtedly Crowley had ordered her to go along, and Ringulf was trying to make her think she had a choice in the matter. Swiftly she jumped to a conclusion, “So Crowley wants me out of his hair for a few days at least.” She said sullenly. “Seems to be a theme where I am concerned.” She hid her face in Chips mane again, fighting back tears, knowing that no one wanted her. After a moment she said, “Yeah, I’ll go. Not like I have much of a choice really.” She muttered bitterly, but then realized how sour she sounded. “But thanks for trying to make me think I have a choice.” She gave him a sad, half smile in apology.
She thought again that at least she wouldn’t be here with Crowley watching her every move. “Who knows, maybe it will be nice. Anything is better than staying here with Crowley scrutinizing everything I do and waiting for Patrick to show up so he can catch him.”
Tory stroked Chip’s neck, staring at the silken strands of his mane, “I will try not to drive you nuts.” She said softly, barely audible.
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Post by Firehead on Jan 18, 2010 9:58:58 GMT -5
"Your holding your breath."
"Huh?" She squinted at him., waiting for him to explain. She didn't have to wait long.
"Your holding your breath while your aiming and you breath out all at once during your release, That's why you are missing by such a small margin.
"Next time steady your breathing, inhale on the draw and exhale slowly on the release...Oh and this is a letter from Duncan saying we have to go meet a foreign Battleschool student at the port of Caraway Fief and escort him here for an audience.
"Seems he is Scandian...and we were requested, hmm..."
Mylia tipped her head to one side, considering. "Well, you're Skandian, aren't ya?"
"Here, you read it too, in case I missed anything. Looks like we will be going down river by boat to the port, but we are to draw horses at the rangers stable and deliver them here, after we meet this young fella and ride back."
"We leave tomorrow afternoon, from the east quay. You don't get seasick, do you?" he said with a grin.
"Not as far as I know." she replied. -----------------------------------------
After they had finished dinner, Mylia headed back for the stables to practice her archery yet again, while Ringulf went up to the castle.
She took her time, going through all the motions that Ringulf had taught her, before firing. This time, she was elated to see the arrows striking the red cloth targets, nearly every time.
After going at it for a straight half-hour, she stopped, feeling that she had done a good job and a a strong start. Now all she had to do, was remember all this tomorrow. She put her bow and arrows away, and was playing with a group of kittens back of the forge, when she heard Ringulf calling.
She scrambled quickly to her feet, but hadn't taken a step toward the open forge door, when she heard the sound of another voice talking to Ringulf. She paused and listened to the two talking, moving in her direction. Apparently, he was shoeing a horse for someone. Listening, Mylia found herself getting intrigued by their conversation. She slipped inside, being sure to stay out of the way, and seated herself on a barrel.
The girl's name was Tory and she was also a Ranger's apprentice. She was several inches taller than Mylia, with very light brown hair, and had a face that was red and puffy from crying too much, and was-- in Mylia's humble opinion-- skinny as a bean pole. She needs some meat on those bones. Not only that, but she was going with them.
“I will try not to drive you nuts.”
Mylia looked up at her and blurted out, "What, are you a Tuscano jumping bean?"
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Post by Ringulf on Jan 18, 2010 13:26:38 GMT -5
Mylia had slipped into the end of the stable where Ringulf and Tory were shoeing Chip. She found a seat on a barrel just out of the light in the corner and listened. It was a credit to her ranger skills that she had entered and remained unnoticed by both her mentor and Tory until blurted out all at once,
"What, are you a Tuscano jumping bean?"
It seemed as if both Ringulf and Tory were a bit surprised at here sudden "appearance" and Ringulf looked quizically at Mylia with a smirk, trying to hide the private sense of pride he had for his students skill, and said in a loud voice,
"Mylia good your here I'd like you to meet Tory, Tory this is Mylia my apprentice," Then back to Mylia he said, "Seems like we will have another traveling companion Myl, Tory is coming with us to meet our Scandian Student and take the long ride back!"
He had emphasized the word Scandian in reference to her question about his own origin, as she well knew he was only half Scandian himself.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jan 18, 2010 15:17:51 GMT -5
Tory jumped at Mylia’s words, not realizing the girl had snuck up on her. Then she wondered what the heck she meant by that comment, a Tuscano jumping bean? What the? She glared at the girl for a moment, thinking her very rude.
Fortunately Ringulf jumped in before Tory could utter the comment she had wanted to make about eavesdropping and gave Tory the chance to think better of it and hid her expression in Chip’s mane until she could compose herself. She didn’t want to start off on the wrong foot with Mylia. What if Crowley ended up assigning her to Ringulf too? Then things would be miserable if they couldn’t get along with each other. So she swallowed her surprise and irritation and embarrassment.
“Hello Mylia.” She held out her hand to shake Mylia’s, but couldn’t bring herself to smile, so her face was impassive as she complimented Mylia, “Good job on the moving silently thing. I had no idea you were there. Maybe you can show me how you do that sometime.” She really didn’t want to take lessons from the girl, but obviously Mylia had learned a lot more in her ranger skills than Tory had.
Tory could track as well as Patrick, though, so she had her own area of expertise, and she would bet Mylia hadn’t been involved in the war and in a shootout, killed anyone or been chased like a rabbit in a foxhunt for weeks. So let her have her little victory, Tory thought, besides she had done a good job sneaking up on them.
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Post by Firehead on Jan 19, 2010 17:01:39 GMT -5
When both jumped in surprise, Mylia realized that they must not have seen or heard her come in. She gave them a guilty look. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you both."
"Mylia good your here I'd like you to meet Tory, Tory this is Mylia my apprentice. Seems like we will have another traveling companion Myl, Tory is coming with us to meet our Scandian Student and take the long ride back!"
"Ya mean I get ta talk to someone my age, for once?" she asked, a twinkle in her eyes.
“Hello Mylia.”
Mylia switched her gaze to a solemn-faced Tory, holding her hand out. The somber look didn't deter Mylia from smiling brightly at her in return, though. "Hi."
“Good job on the moving silently thing. I had no idea you were there. Maybe you can show me how you do that sometime.”
Mylia frowned, slightly. "That might be a problem. Ya see, while I know how ta do it, I've never really figured out...how. If ya know what I mean?" Her cheerful grin returned. "But it'll be a lotta fun ta finally talk ta someone my age, again. You'll even know what I'm talking about! Ranger-wise." she added.
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Post by Ringulf on Jan 20, 2010 0:23:23 GMT -5
"Hey I understand what your talking about! Riingulf said with mock hurt in his voice,
"...well most of the time anyway." he grumbled a bit more dejectedly.
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