As Angor remarks about his wings Alphonse's only responce is "Wouldnt know, people in my experiance either think im some kind of god and attempt to worship me in some odd manor or think me an abomination and think more of killing me than eating me"
Alphonse is still rather excited to meet new people but he feels like the party is still a few short so he asks "I was told that the party i was to meet down here had a smattering of races, humans obviously and you mighty half orcs certainly, but i seem to remember mention of a dwarf, a lizard folk an an elf, are they about? id like very much to meet them"
Durielle wakes early again. She walks the palisade as before and reflects on how the visions of futures no longer include Morgrym who had just yesterday walked this same path. She practices control and tried to dismiss them choosing to watch the half-orcs go through forms of martial maneuvers and weapon maintenance.
Durielle visits Whisper in the stable and hums a wordless tune as she brushed the mare's mane and rubbed her down. She heard a bustle of activity outside. There were new voices, but feeling confidant that she had seen no visions of violence, she was not alarmed and chose to remain apart.
When she finally did emerge, she approached Svetlana and asked to help with some of the busywork needed around the trading post.
Sugua's face.. held no joy. There was no playful behavior, there was no fervor or rancorous smile. He simply stared at Angor. When Alphonse Introduced himself he simply stared as well, the stare progressively devolving into a look.. of jadedness. He responds to the divine one and the rest of the half-orcs as he hefts his blade and starts walking outside of the post, off by himself. His words were lacking any emotion save disdain. " I'll use few words then. Dead, Gone, Inside. Angor, next time you, Vlad and Khargol are taking point instead. " He ignored Kestor, brushing by him.
Khargol simply grunts an acknowledgement of the statement. It did make the most sense for those to lead he supposed... and despite his general dislike of Sugua's attitude, he willingly deferred to his greater experience in the region.
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Khargol can tell with no little terms that in this one case that was not the intention.. AT ALL It more seemed like Sugua was condemning them,or more likely allowing them to go forward instead of himself (who most likely being the best to take a surprise attack) as he was previously going to do. For what reason? He could have a plethora of ideas.
Upon hearing Sugua mention the death of Morgrym, Alphonse immediately drops his cheery smile and tone saying "I am deeply sorry for your loss, i will avoid the subject in future unless the other bring it up, I am going to excuse myself and make my introduction to the elf"
Making his way indoors Alphonse takes a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the darker room of the kitchen. Taking a look around Alphonse takes notice first of svetlana, correctly assuming her to be the wife of Oleg as he has met the rest of the party and she is certainly not an elf. And then his eyes spot her and he is momentarily struck No one said that there would be a beautiful maiden, just an elf, i had assumed that it would be a man like the rest, i must endeavor to be on my best behavior
Moving calmly Alphonse approaches and speaks to Durielle "[Elven]Good morning fair lady, what name does such a creation of natures beauty posses? i know of angels for they are my forebears but none match your soft glow[/Elven]"
Tomas watches the angelic being walk away with a hard stare.
He is certainly working hard to place himself outside the group with that attitude!, he thinks as he watches him interact with the 1/2 orcs.
As he passes from his view, Tomas walks over to Sugua and asks, "Why not take point yourself, or are you training those 3?"
For a moment Durielle does not even notice the aasimar as lost in thought as she is. Svetlana had insisted Durielle sit with some tea after she had begun to cough again, and it is in this situation Alphonse discovers her.
The elf looks up startled as she so rarely hears anyone speak her native language—at least directly to her. She somehow knows it despite having spent extremely little time around other elves. A mystery most likely never to be explained.
Seeing an unknown man, Durielle realizes he is looking directly at her. The things he said were so complimentary. Had he really been talking to her?
"Ah...I..." The elf fumbles for how to respond. Noticing the wings on his back are not some form of pack but are rather...wings definitely throws her off kilter.
"Uh... The man is very fair and has no hardness to him. The future swirls, and her vision fills with multiple images of this new person with their exploration team. However unlike any of her previous visions, this man glows. The multiple overlaying images she sees are almost too bright as each one of the man adds more.
Now that he is close, Durielle's wasting sickness is more evident. Whether or not he still considers her as beautiful as he claims is for him to decide. Her eyes are rheumy and slightly red on the lower lid, Her face is thin and pale as is typical for an elf, but hers is slightly more gaunt and her pallor was a little more noticeable even for one of her race. While her hair is golden, it is so very fine and the color could almost be described as bleeding into the air around her giving the impression it was so gold it was nearly white.
But if there is one point of elvish beauty which could not be disputed, her silver eyes do have a powerful light behind them. A light and an agelessness which can fill the viewer's mind with the weight of ages and the awareness of all the years yet be lived.
"Um...do I...ah..." Durielle's pale cheeks seem to be filling with a rosy color despite their usual color. She looks at Svetlana in a panic, and her eyes are wide as she continues to fail in her words at the sight of this angelic being who is speaking to her in such a romantic manner.
Durielle does not know what to do.
Seeing how Durrielle reacts Alphonse realizes he may have over stepped a tad and apologizes taking a seat next to her and calmly says "Forgive me milady, i can see you arnt acustomed to the flattery your beauty calls for, no matter i can hold back on that front if you would desire. Allow me to try again, my name is Alphonse and who might you be? i understand we are to be travel companions and i would love to know your name"
Sugua seems to ignore Tomas as if either he had his mind made up for the situation. If Tomas continues to follow it is quite a ways away from the post to which he will respond similarly as he did before. " No need, they got it. Clearly. "
Tomas ignores Sugua's comment and just watches the group. After awhile he asks
"What do you think about the celestial?"
Donovan replies to Tomas after a moment's thought.
"He seems quite eager and sociable. From what we can see of his apparent heritage I'd presume he has some sort of magical talent. Assuming that he's genuine he would probably be both pleasant company and quick to be helpful.
"Of course, people are more than just appearances. He wants to assist and that's a good start."
Even his apology is flattering! But now the man has introduced himself, and having just been subjected to several visions of his possible futures with them, Durielle feels less intimidated.
Her accent is strange and difficult to place seeming to comprise several different dialects at once. Almost as if her knowledge of it was fragmentary, or as if she had been taught it by many different teachers who all had their own regional accents influencing their pronunciation.
In Common, Durielle says, "I assume you arrived with the others that came today. You will definitely want to be introduced to our current hosts."
Standing Durielle raises an open palm and indicates Svetlana. "This is Svetlana, proprietress and wife of Oleg the trader."
" Weaker, standard prettyboy, probably like you all with the magic. Or Some sort of sage. Didn't pay attention to what he said "
"So having magic is a weakness to you is it. Why? Because it is not a weapon you understand? Can you truly say my methods are not effective? Why do you fight against everything Sugua? Must you seem a threat to be one, or is this all an act?"
Sugua's eyes crest Tomas, he doesnt seem amused. " You assume too much. Did I mention anything of martial or magical strength? Weaker is weaker. The bear could take those like you in one swipe. Though he isnt sickly, he has the disposition of those like you and the elf. The question is why you are following me? This is what happens when you use little words. "
"That same bear could also kill you. You speak of nature Sugua, and I use little words so your small mind can understand what I am trying to say. Why did you come here, to the Greenbelt? To test yourself against nature? We all have strengths and weaknesses...it is playing to our strengths and limiting our weaknesses that help us survive. As finding those who complement our strengths, and cover our weaknesses...well then you have a useful party. Do you agree?"
Khargol leaves Tomas and Sugua to work out whatever it is they are working out as they walk away. He didn't miss the tone in Sugua's voice, to be certain...he was no fool and was a great deal more insightful than most gave him credit for. He chose not to pursue a point of it at the time because, like it or not, he felt heavily responsible for what happened to Morgrym the previous day. It was likely he would spend a significant portion of his life trying to atone for that failure.
While waiting for Tomas and Sugua to return to the party, he looks to the others in the group. "Are we in agreement about our next destination? The kobolds and the mites should, in my view, be seen to next, simply by merit of their being sentient beings and not some mindless beast that sees us as another meal. I know little of either species, but if it is possible that we could recruit any of them to our aid, it would also make any further goals easier to achieve."
Sugua twitched and seemed to be holding something back, " Leave me. Now. I'll not be insulted any longer. "
"Didn't want to say et while he was around but Sugua is right. He just needs to learn to say et better," he says after Sugua is out of earshot. He then sighs and shakes his head. "We have not been prepared well enough for dis place. If we go see de kobolds we should bring poles to test traps and tower shields to block fire. We could also try de lizards. De are cold-blooded no? Rain should make dem sluggish. Maybe find some bows to challenge dem with range den move in."
"That seems like a reasonable course of action, Khargol." Vladimir says retrieving his journal.
"Although we may benefit just as much by continuing to more exhaustively explore the regions closer to here."
Tomas gives the 1/2 orc a measured look, shakes his head, and walks away. As he leaves he adds,
"I will not insult you Sugua, but maybe you should do the same?"
He heads back to the rest of the group.
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Sugua answers with silence, and he doesnt return until the group decides to head out.. even then he sticks to the very back.
Angor is about to head out and bring Sugua into the conversation when he passes Tomas. He reaches out to stop the wizard before heading back into the outpost. "He still acting like the back end of an ettin?" he asks, inclining towards Sugua. "Or will he play nice for a while?"
With the group mostly reassembled, Donovan mentions in response to Argol, "It might even be possible to reason with kobolds. Although I don't speak their language. Regardless, there are potentially multiple solutions to the issue of unfriendly neighbors."
He glances about, then adds, "I don't see the celestial fellow or Durielle, I'll go round them up." He heads out to find Durielle and Alphonse and alert them that the group is gearing up for another trip into the wild.
"He is what he is Angor. He feels himself superior to all of us, and maybe he is, but he most certainly does not need to push everyone away. I do not even know why he decided to work with a group that he has no faith in."
Tomas shakes his head and looks back at the solitary 1/2 orc.
"I just dont know..."
Angor shrugs and heads back in, in time to hear Donovan talking about the Kobolds. He veers away to find Trent or Oleg in the hopes of settling this faster. "Are de kobolds and mites in de area willing to talk?" he asks, expecting a negative answer.
Oleg simply shrugs, "No idea, haven't ever seen em. They seem to keep mostly to the south I suppose."
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Donovan comes to retrieve Alphonse and Durielle and they move to join the rest of the group. After hearing the groups minds on how they should proceed Alphonse pipes in saying "I think the idea of dealing with our neibours that have thinking minds is a good idea but making sure we have a clear unobstructed retreat path, so perhaps exploring a bit through the lands between here and there would be advisable first. Id offer to scout but these wings of mine havnt borne me aloft since i was a small boy unfortunately"
"I've not had a chance to see much of the map you've drawn," says Donovan carefully, "but it seems to me that if we are to exercise caution, the wisest course of action is to become familiar with the terrain immediately closest to us, then slowly work our way outward."
"Donovan and Alphonse make a well reasoned argument. Exploring what is closest to us makes the most sense. Now its just a matter of which direction."
"I agree! Wandering the wilds without a plan is courting death. A decisive search needs to be conducted or we are going to be saying good bye to more comrades."
"Agreed. If ever I was an advocate for charging forth, I certainly am not now. Take it slow, making sure that we first have knowledge of the area surrounding Oleg's, with the short-term goals of first mapping out all the land around the fort, then the second goal of reaching the kobold nest, assuming it is not terribly far beyond that. If it is, we should be careful to have a wide swath of land between there and here mapped out so we can be certain they are as free of hostility as possible."
"Those among us most perceptive, and willing to help, should lead the group. Whether Sugua had suggested it or not, I would have volunteered myself for this position, but I believe it a good idea for one or two others to take that charge up, as well. We should also be certain that those of us trained in the use of ranged weapons are armed with one, regardless of our skill with them."
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"If dat es de group choice so be it. But I do not want to impose on Oleg any more dan I have to. Ef we can take one of dese forts or ruins, den we will have our own place from which to explore."
"Even if we were to recapture one of these ruins, it would not have supplies of food, weapons, and tools, aside from whatever we bring with us. Unless we are able to live off the land, we won't be able to count on them for anything more than shelter, at least until we have a chance to rebuild them and bring in supplies that we purchase through Oleg's trading post. So, regardless, we have to start here for the time being."
"Not to mention the established supply lanes outside of what is considered dangerous territory. Here is the best place to base ourselves for the foreseeable future."
As the party retraces their steps back to Bokken's they soon find themselves being followed.
Turning around to meet their aggressors they find themselves face to face with a band of kobolds.
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One charges Vladimir with his Spear while the others throw Javelins at Khargol and Angor.
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