Hearing someone come up behind him, Oleg spins around, drawing the knife at his belt and looking like he's ready for a fight. Seeing Theodronis, he relaxes, but doesn't put the blade away. "Please wait with the rest. I can handle things myself, and I'd rather not have a stranger in my home." He gestures to the building behind him with the knife.
Theodronis would hold his hands up in a non-threatening manner.
"Of course, I meant no harm and I respect your privacy. I have no intent of entering your home with out your consent. I merely meant to offer a helping hand."
While waiting for Oleg to return Annik paced back and forth. So far this trip hadn't yielded anything but vague hint after vague hint. There would need to be a real lead sometime soon or all hope was lost and all of this would have been for nothing.
Not long after Theodronis returns to the group, Oleg exits the small building he and Svetlana use as their home within the trading post carefully rolling a keg to a stand for it. Seeing Theodronis still eager to assist him, he waves him over. "Help me lift this in place."
After the keg is in place, he taps it and then heads back inside, returning quickly with a tray of seven pint mugs. He deftly pours each of you a drink, and then carry's the tray, delivering one to each of you.
As Oleg sets the last mug before you, there is a voice from the open doors, a voice you all recognize. "Hello brother! I see you have some new guests." As which point, Oleg stops, hand still on the last mug, looks around to Xenos, then to all of you, and his face begins to redden.
Seeing the impending fight, Svetlana drops her spoon with a splash and rushes to her husband as he starts yelling. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE! GET THE HELL OUTTA MY TRADING POST BEFORE I BEAT YOU SENSELESS AND LEAVE YOU FOR THE WOLVES! And you seven, I see by your reactions that you know this no-good sonovab$!+@! Explain yourselves before I kick you out to the wilds!"
Master Oleg, it is true, we have met your brother in law. He was our guide to your lovely home. It does not change the fact that we bring you no ill will. It is not our place to speak on the issues between the two of you. We accepted his guidance and aid but nothing else. Please here out our business before casting judgment. I have spent many years in this world and for what its worth I can tell Xenos is extremely sorry and remorseful for what happened. We all just want to see you and your lovely wifes trading post prosper. Let us forget the past for a night and try and make new friends and memories that can forge our future together.
It is true we have met Xenos. We have shared food and wine on the road. He aided us greatly in guiding us here, that we may fulfill our charter and establish some order in this area. It seems ill done, however, to judge us through the haze of your anger with Xenos. While I do not normally interfere in family disputes, by Torag's will I shall not stand silent today. Oleg, you are not the only one to be suffering the great pain of loss, and it does no one any good to carry this great burden of anger and blame.
With the careful words of Baelin, Connel, Helgash, Hyglak, Korren, and Svetlana, Oleg is calmed enough that he doesn't physically assault Xenos.
Barely containing his rage, Oleg says to Xenos, "Why did you have to take that route?! Every merchant worth their scales know it's one of the worst possible areas to travel through!"
Xenos takes a moment, tearing up, then says, "She insisted, as I've told you before. She convinced me we needed to get that shipment delivered as fast as possible, and that that route was the quickest. Believe me brother, if I had the power, I would switch places with her and she would still be here today. I take solace in knowing she is with the Master of the First Vault, helping to keep the celestial ledgers in order. Please, know that I would gladly die, even this moment, if it would bring her back." As he finishes speaking, he draws his finely crafted rapier and turns it around so he is holding the blade. He takes a few steps and kneels in front of Oleg, the point of the blade in his chest, and the handle in easy reach of Oleg. Tears flow freely down Xenos' cheeks, and a small red spot is beginning to form where the point has already pierce the fabric of his shirt and his skin.
Master Oleg, surely you can see the remorse in Xenos. He pays for his decision every day in both tears and prayers. While I do not have diving power, I did spend many years in a monastery. I too believe your sister is at peace and away from the harshness of this world. While I know it brings little comfort we can replace the sadness with memories of how she made you feel in life, and how she would want you to go on living. Surely Xenos is a brother worth having. I’m not asking you to let her go, just to let the anger go and honor her memory and celebrate her life by continuing to live for her. You will see each other again, all of you, but not now, not today.
Baelin would have tears in his eyes offering this last plead to Oleg.
Let us drink and reforge old and new friendships
Helgash tenses visibly at the situation, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.
He observes Oleg carefully before speaking his mind, trying to gather what may be under the raged surface.
"Master Oleg, you have no reason to heed my words, but do ponder your actions before giving into rage - believe me I know well what loss is... And very much so..." - his forehead cringes at the thoughts of his brethren and... Talian... - "I would not dare strip you of your revenge, the same way I have still not managed to cleanse my soul from my own wishes of retribution - but I try, harder each day. I do not even presume to have the right to stop you if you decide to exact your justice on this man. But he IS your kin. From what I understand, and even though for you it may not be clear at all, he seems to suffer both for your loss and for your pain - and I do believe that if you give in to wrath now, your sense of accomplishment will be short-lived, and soon you will regret your decision"
Looking deeply at Oleg he adds - "One opportunity, that if given may gain you a brother back..."
Annik stood back, quiet. She was bad at these kinds of situations and she knew it, that's why Birgit always handled these sorts of situations. She refused to let things come to blows though and was ready to interfere.
Korren's eyes widen as Xenos puts the blade to his own chest, but he recognizes that this is not something he can interfere with; this is solely between these two brothers. Korren shifts his weight a half step back and calms his expression as he waits.
Theodroni's respect for Xenos grew at that moment and he was anxious to see how Oleg would respond.
"Oleg, while my opinion may not matter at this point in time, I think its clear that the loss of your sister has been felt just as deeply by Xenos' and that he punishes himself more than any of us could for his part in the decision that cost his wife her life that day. While Xenos has clearly offered you his life to you so that you might take it, do not strike him down without a thought as I am sure that if your sister held even a portion of passion that you do, Xenos could not have dissauded her from the choice to take the path that they did."
Heeding your words, Oleg still grasps the handle of Xenos' sword, taking another step and pushing the traveling merchant on to his back and repositioning the point of the blade to Xenos' throat. Oleg says, "You could have stopped the caravan from taking that route, preventing Helena's death. But, I know how persuasive a woman can be when you've given her your heart and soul." His voice gets caught in his throat and he has to choke down a ragged, calming breath. He tosses the sword aside, turns and starts walking towards he and Svetlana's house. Pausing at the door, he says without turning, "I forgive you." He steps inside, and Svetlana quickly runs to get inside before he closes the door.
Xenos continues to lay there, crying tears that are a mix of pain for his lost wife, and joy due to the forgiveness of his brother-in-law. He says, "Let me just lay here for a few minutes and stare at the sky."
After a few minutes, Xenos slowly sits up, then stands and goes to retrieve his sword. Seeing the nobody has picked up the cooking, he wordlessly does so, managing to save the now nearly burnt stew, and the big spoon Svetlana dropped in her haste.
The Levetons do not emerge from their home again tonight. The silent warrior woman joins you for the meal, leaving a platinum piece on the table as payment.
After closing and baring the doors, you all make your way to bed, emotionally drained from the day.
sitting around the table
Who knew this trip would provide such thrilling drama. I can't wait to get to investigating what the wilds have to offer. Xenos we thank you for all you have done and I for one am glad I got to see your forgiven. I want to raise a glass for our gracious host.
Baelin continues to joke, talk and tell stories to entertain his new friends and companions for the night.
Hyglak sits down and eats with the others, remaining mostly silent but occasionally interjecting. After the meal he gathers a handful on small sticks and begins whittling them into small recurring shapes, after sometime it becomes clear he is making some kind of gaming pieces.
1 Pharast, 4707 AR: The day arrives with a cold rain turning the yard to slick mud, and a chill breeze from the north. Some time in the night, somebody cleaned up the remains of dinner and put away the rest of the muddy mead.
Dressed in heavy furs with an oiled outer cloak, Svetlana is in the process of starting breakfast for the group. Dressed much as he as yesterday, Oleg is running around and making sure all the windows are secured while taking quick looks at the stable to make sure the horses aren't getting nervous enough to break out and run wild.
Korren steps into the yard, pauses for a moment, and looks at the sky sniffing the air towards the north.
Talking to himself he says, Hmm, Morozko coming in. Korren heads to where Oleg is checking the stable.
Oleg, how long have you been living here?
Annik spent the morning studying, dividing her time between her book and conversation with Rapu.
When she walked outside she shivered and almost reflexively extended her hair to wrap around her self, deciding against it at the last moment. She walked up to Oleg, "Say, do you happen to have any clothes suitable for the cold for sale? This breeze is sending shivers down my spine."
Seeing Korren and Connel up about, Oleg says, "Hey, help me with these!" And he points at a pile of wood planks he's in the process of nailing across the closed windows.
At Annik's question, Oleg responds, "I ain't got time now, talk to Svetlana." He continues hammering nails with a very practiced ease, driving a nail home with each hit, grumbling something about 'damnable morozkos' while working.
Rapu is terrified of this weather.
Annik roles her eyes and turns gets over to Svetlana, "Do you still have any cold weather supplies for sale? The breeze is giving me shivers and I'm afraid Rapu destroyed my old outfit." The blue crab sits on her shoulder, somehow looking even more blue than he normally does.
She looks up from cooking, revealing that all you can see are her eyes. She reaches up and pulls down her scarf and says, "Sure thing, just keep stirring this and I'll run inside and get you some. You can pay later." She smiles and then rushes off, returning a minute later with a bundle of furs and an oiled outer cloak. She hands the pile to Annik. "Here you go, best bundle up before the storm gets here. They're nasty."
In response to Connel, "I'm sorry Sir, but...we've been having supply problems of late. That was all the extra we have, aside from Oleg's gear for when it gets bad enough that he needs them. That husband of mine has glacial melt running through his veins, so the little bit hitting us now doesn't bother him."
While working, Oleg answers Korren's question. "Lana and I've been here for a little over four months now, but this ain't the first morozko we've had to deal with. They used to occur only about once a decade, but they've been happening more often since Aroden's death. Not sure why, but it's certainly worrisome."
Baelin emerges and takes in a few deep breathes off the cool morning air. He then walks over near Svetlana and Annik
Good morning ladies. Ah Svetlana you have a talent with the food. It smells delightful. Ah the men seem to be boarding up the windows. Is there something going on I should know about? I could maybe be of some use. You seem extra bundled up today. Is there a storm coming? I could maybe use some furs and heavier clothing if that is the case. If you would like I will assist you with breakfast. I will leave the running around to the younger men and women.
He smiles and starts to assist with breakfast.
Not responding to Baelin, Svetlana turns and yells, "Oleg! We have a problem!"
Hearing his wife, Oleg immediately stops hammering, turns and starts jogging to his wife, giving Baelin a mild dirty look. "What's wrong?"
Svetlana says, "We have more people than cold-weather gear. What are we going to do?"
Oleg thinks a moment, then says, "We'll all have to group in the house, next to the fireplace. Share whatever clothing and blankets we have, and strip to our skin. Easier to conserve heat that way." He steps away and calls out, "Hey! Everyone! Gather around the firepit!"
Having completed his morning exercises, Theodronis emerged as he started to hear the commotion.
"Well that's worrisome," Theodronis would state to himself as he started to realize what was going on.
After assisting Oleg with the preparations for the incoming storm, Helgash turns his attention to the matter of the biting cold -
"In my tribe, whenever the biting cold was too strong, we would pack the animals together with the tribe, not only to keep them safe and calm, but also because beasts are an excellent source of heat - if it does not offend your senses this could be an option"
Looking around the settlement he adds - "Also master Oleg, perhaps if we make a round of the outpost, we are able to find additional ways to protect ourselves, in the form of blankets or other protective clothing? - Even if not, we can search for other materials that can provide warmth, like curtains, grain sacks, or others?"
The animals would make for added heat. I'm not sure if we can do this safely though and without destroying Master Olegs house. Please let me know what I can do to assist. I am no master when it comes to surviving. Though I am a student and these all sound like good ideas to me.
Baelin will spend the minute to summon his celestial armor so that he may be of more use in moving things and helping prepare.
Meridian nods with approval, If I can help, let me know. Without waiting for his agreement, Meridian begins helping him get the animals prepared for the coming storm.
Once the animals are prepared and it seems like they will likely come through the storm okay, Korren heads back to the house to help them finish getting ready.
Hearing Oleg's bellow, Hyglak joins the rest of the group, and Oleg begins to speak. "Okay, some of you may know already, others not. We're in for one hell of a storm. A morozko. I'd say we have at most 2 hours before it hits, but could be as little as a quarter of that, so we need to plan for the worst. I've already bundled the horses and feed them a special mix of some herbs to keep them docile and temporarily make them overheat so they survive. I need the five of you.." He gestures to Annik, Connel, Hyglak, Korren, and Theodronis ..."to strip the beds and bring any other clothing or bedding you may have. Svetlana will show you where to take them inside."
He looks to Baelin and Helgash and says, "You two, help me gather all the loose wood and bring it inside. We'll need to burn it."
He looks last to Xenos and the warrior woman. "You two, get up on the wall and keep up appraised of the weather. Join us inside when you actually see it racing at us."
At this point, everyone runs off to deal with the tasks Oleg has given them.
Working hard, everyone gathers as much bedding, clothing, and other items to bundle together. Ready with a few minutes to spare, all except Xenos and Elana gather around the fireplace in the Leveton's bedroom, the bed tipped on its side to provide a little more insulation along an outer wall.
As you all sit wait, a slowly intensifying roar can be heard coming from the north, slightly unsettling. As it gets louder, you hear the occasional sound of people screaming, and hope it's only the storm and not actual people.
As the house starts to shake, the two watchers from the wall burst into the room, both covered in thin layers of snow and ice, but appearing to be unharmed. As the thaw themselves by the fire, which Oleg is cautiously feeding, Xenos says, "The damn thing came up so fast that by the time we say it approaching, it blew us off the wall. I almost landed in one of the middens."
Elana cuts him off, "The door is barred, and should hold." Her voice is both soft and inviting, yet holds an undertone of strength.
The storm rages, everyone losing track of time as the house shakes. Even with the precautions, it grows extremely cold inside. Svetlana nearly falls asleep from the cold, but Elana shakes her awake and says, "Sleep will cool you. Stay awake." After which Elana takes over stoking the fire so Oleg can take care of his wife.
After an unknown number of hours, the storm finally passes, roaring to the south.
Waiting a few minutes to make sure the storm as actually passed, everyone goes to check the condition of things outside, but is momentarily slowed due to the bar holding the door shut being frozen in place. Elana and Helgash work together to break it free, and pry the door open, revealing a layer of ice. Thankfully, the ice isn't thick and breaks with a touch.
Stepping outside reveals the weather to be very cold, but the air is fresh and, aside from the storm raging its way south, the sky is clear. The sun is shining brightly to the southwest. Everything is covered with ice of varying depth, and snow piled on the north face of things.
Though it takes some time, doors to the stable are opened, showing the horses are fine, though the effects of the herbs appear to have worn off. The main doors prove to be more of a challenge, taking several minutes to open. The ladders are cleared with ease, though nobody climbs on to the wall after the first wrung breaks due to the cold. Oleg swears, as there's now something else that needs fixing. He grumbles out, "Stay off the walls as well, I don't need them breaking..."
Opening the main doors reveals a land of ice and snow, mostly ice, for as far as the eye can see. Even the edge of the previously visible forest is indistinguishable to Annik, Elana and Korren.
Strangest of all, yet not all that surprisingly, Xenos' wagon is clear of ice and snow. He checks it over anyways, saying "I'm glad to see you held up as well as always. You're the second best gift she ever gave me."
During the storm Rapu is almost constantly running back and forth between the fire and some open space, keeping himself both from overheating and from cooling down too much. "He normally survived these things below the surface of a lake or deep pool, the water their stays quite nice once the surface has frozen." Unique mumbles just load enough for those close to hear to hear it.
Once the storm has stopped Annik moves outside, her mind working to keep a tiny flame in her hands burning. After surveying the damage she turns to Svetlana. "If you need to get some heat for cooking or anything I can help. Unless you mind me using a little magic."
Even though all seems fine, Helgash will take some time to tour the fortification - I swear I could have heard screams during the storm - he ponders to himself.
After being reassured that there are indeed no other victims, he will check in on each of his companions, also making sure that all are well.
He will assist as possible, lending mainly his great strength where it may be needed, with the necessary repairs to the structure or any other damaged portions of Oleg's household. If given an opportunity, he will strike up a convesation with Oleg.
"Oleg, we should be heading out soon enough - would cold weather protection and clothing be something that would find a place in your outpost for sale? I would be glad to make arrangements to have them brought to you, from wherever supplier you wish that is in our range. I do not know if these occurences are frequent or not, but it would seem that everyone could benefit from further protection against cold out here - myself included - perhaps commercially this would be something that would interest you?" - he says with a smile.
"And when I speak about cold weather protection, it does not have to stop there - we are exploring the region, and from my perspective I believe we will be travelling a lot - perhaps some sort of cooperation could be achieved amongst us, that could prove useful to all"
Well that was a bonding experience. Can’t imagine what it would have been like out here. We should be careful on how far we venture out until we are properly equipped. If no one has any objections I say we move out to find the Hermit Bokken I believe was his name.
He looks to Svetlana for approval that he had the correct name.
He may have info to help Annik on finding her father, and it wouldn’t hurt to make more contacts or potential allies in the wilds. What do the rest of you think?
Korren seems unfazed by the storm and during the aftermath. When the ladder breaks, he picks up the broken piece and holds it in place for a moment and when he takes his hand from the broken rung, it is again whole.
Korren is quiet after the storm, and unless spoken to directly does not offer any conversation.
In response to Helgash's questions, Oleg says, "Don't worry about that now, spring is coming and I've never seen more than one morozko hit in a year."
He addresses everyone, "Y'all all did well. Just help us out today and I'll give y'all free room and board for the rest of the month. Tomorrow, you can head over to see Bokken, though don't expect to make it there and back in a day, not this time of year. The only time there's enough light for that is in the last half of Sarenith. Now, let's get to work."
Baelin continues to help and work with whatever Oleg and Svelana need help with for the day.
Theodronis, glad to be out and about moving once more after being confined to a room while the storm passed,would quickly lend a hand where ever he could.
"You have my help good sir Oleg, what would you like me to do?"
I will, of course, lend what aid I can. Your hospitality has been much appreciated.
You all spend the rest of the day getting the trading post to an operation state again, with Korren hardly going more than 5 minutes without having his mending touch called for.
As the last sliver of the sun vanishes over the western horizon, Oleg calls work for the day to a stop, and asks everyone to have a seat at the tables.
Once everyone is seated, Oleg and Svetlana step away and converse between themselves for a minute, then Svetlana says, "I know what you think, but I'm still asking them!"
She gives her husband a fiery look as she comes back to the tables. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're lacking trade goods." She looks around at the group with a questioning look, and you all realized you've missed this little fact. "Anyone want to guess why this is?"
Korren looks at Svetlana with a considering look, Judging by the response we got as we approached and the caution you showed in allowing us inside, I would guess that you were robbed. Perhaps by someone you know.
Looking at Svetlana, caught by surprise by the straightforward question, Helgash replies - "To be honest, I have no idea, but if I had to put forward an opinion, I would say that you have been having problems establishing trade routes? Perhaps the commerce in the area is not really active, not worth the investment?"
"Bandits or other things that waylay traders is what sounds like the likeliest options to me. The weather might deter some as well." Annik sat quietly with Rapu on her shoulder. The crab seemed to whisper something to her but she smiled and shook her head.
I don't have a guess why, but am quite curious to find out. Your manner of asking would make it seem you think we can help in the matter, so I'm agreeing with Annik. It must be bandits. I think it was even in our charter about bandits in the area. I'm sure in our exploraton of the green belt we will certainly start by exloring and creating a safer peremiter here. If the others agree...