Muttonhawk

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

Huh? We're springing up entire cities in a single post now? And entire nations? Damn, I need a hain post up so those guys don't get swept aside for good!

About Teknall and Toun's knowledge dump: Toun gave the basics of agriculture, which may eventually herald the start of sedentary lifestyles and the creation of larger communities, should the Toun-worshipping Rovaick spread it (which they probably will). The METALCRAFT, on the other hand, has not been spread around yet as Teknall's daughter Conata hasn't made landfall yet.

The Lifprasilians are probably allowed metal now as they have a lot of applied godly meddling on their community. That, or the post was set a little further into the future.

Multi-storied buildings and similar huge cities are probably a stretch without might influence as well. At least at this stage.

I'll talk about the Hain of Envy and the secrets he'll have to keep after I have some breakfast.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

Welcome back!

I'm sure a short summary could be assembled, but I am about to go to bed.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tzirret stoop up with the sack of seeds to face Ma'tanza with a bit of surprise. "Dangerous? No! No, there is no danger. The apprentices ensured Tzirret. He got to try it a few times to make sure...but anyway..."

With the sack in both hands, Tzirret approached Ma'tanza again. His smile faded into nervousness as he looked away. "This one..." He stumbled over his speech, wringing the opening of the sack between his hands in a tight ball. "Damn it, this one knew the words...he..." Tzirret gathered the courage to look Ma'tanza in the eye and his knees began to quiver beyond his control, ever so slightly. He took a breath to ground himself, nodded his head back and forward, and then began properly.

"Where to start?" Tzirret curled his lips. He had trouble keeping eye contact and his words were not much more steady than his knees. "Well, Tzirret is...not looking forward to leaving. Being with Ma'tanza has been the best thing he has ever done. And, even though he was clumsy, and nervous, and inexperienced, and sad sometimes and...and sometimes simply a fool, Ma'tanza has helped him to realise more about himself. More about what he is good at. She is always so nice, but at the same time she is not afraid to stand up for herself." Tzirret nodded to Ma'tanza. "And, as for herself, Ma'tanza has heard this one's compliments over and again. She is everything that Tzirret wishes he could be. And he means that."

Tzirret's hands parted, opening the sack he held. His candlelight revealed that it was full of glossy black seeds that Ma'tanza could recognise as watermelon seeds. Tzirret was staring into the seeds. He did not sound as nervous, but instead he was mournful. "This one does not know if we will ever see each other again after he leaves. He hopes we do. He will not forget Ma'tanza in any case. Before he goes, though, he wants to say something properly."

With closed eyes, Tzirret slowly brought his chin level again while taking a long in breath through his nose. He then opened his eyes to Ma'tanza's, showing an intense look. He held the sack open and forward. "Please, take a big handful of seeds," he instructed. "This one will dismiss his light. Then, please toss the seeds up into the cups and bowls."

Tzirret gave Ma'tanza a moment to get her bearings and to convey that this was not a joke. The light then went out and plunged them both into darkness. They could still see the outlines of things, thanks to their Khajiit eyes, but the only light coming in was the smallest amount possible slivering in from under the door. It flickered with the torches in the hallway.

---

Meanwhile, the sun had not yet set outside of the clanhome. Fendros lead Ahnasha between the hills, carrying his bow, quiver, and a bag along with him. They didn't travel further than a few hundred metres before Fendros stopped and looked up at the top of the hill on their left. He put his hands on his hips. "Ah, good," he remarked. "The wind didn't pick up too much and blow the targets over."

Evidently, Fendros had been up the hill earlier that day setting up what they could see. A short distance from the top of the hill were two strange-looking miniature horizontal windmills. The thin planks that functioned as sails were picking up the soft wind and turned at variable speeds. At the end of the arms of the windmills were cords of thin rope that held up odd little wooden cylinders.

Fendros raised a hand to shade his eyes from the sun when he turned to explain to Ahnasha. "I, uh, asked the local marksmen how they challenge themselves here in this clan. They said they use these little windmills to practice against unpredictable targets. The aim is to shoot the cord so the little weights come rolling down the hill to use as a score." Fendros looked at the targets again, opening his mouth slightly as he squinted his eyes. "They said that when they're on the top of a taller hill, like this one..." Fendros pointed his bow to the targets. "...that the wind's too strong to hit anything." Fendros grinned. "I thought we might prove them wrong."

Fendros place his bag on the ground and drew an arrow, gesturing sideways to the hill with it. Strangely, there was the sound of rubbing beads in the bag as it rolled flat onto the ground. "I was thinking we'll take turns, and by the time I've run out of arrows or until we shoot all off of the targets from one, we'll count up who shot down the most. You take the left one, I'll go for the right one." Fendros hummed and japed, "It may seem difficult, but I'm sure that you'll get it with a bit of practice, Ahna."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I would have put more in my post, but I figured that Ma'tanza should have the chance to react and I also have to catch a bus in a few minutes. I'll open up the other scene in my next post.

G'night!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The light from the door lit up some features in the room beyond, but Ma'tanza could see little in the dark storage room but Tzirret squatting over an array of cups, mugs, bowls, and other vessels arranged on the ground below him. A candlelight spell hovered above him, lighting the immediate area. Tzirret jolted at the sound of the door opening and looked up to see who was there. He smiled brightly at seeing Ma'tanza's silhouette.

"Ah, Ma'tanza, you are just in time! Come in, come in." Tzirret beckoned Ma'tanza to come inside. "Close the door behind you -- er...watch your step.

The rest of the room became more apparent without the brighter torch light from outside. The candlelight lit the room well when Ma'tanza's eyes adjusted. Apart from the usual fare of a storage room, the centre was cleared out to make way for all the cups. There must have been at least forty of them, arrayed in some unknown pattern. All of them were half-full with an unknown liquid. The detail of an unattended chopping board, a mortar and pestle, and a hempen sack of seeds spoke of alchemy at work. Tzirret spent a few moments carefully adjusting the position of a couple of the cups before precariously stepping over them all to join Ma'tanza.

Tzirret took Ma'tanza's hands. "So, um..." Tzirret grinned and chuckled nervously. "This took a while. He had to get help from some apprentice alchemists he met on the march, to teach him how to do it. Tzirret hopes it works."

Running a hand over one ear, Tzirret looked over the cups unsurely. He carefully nudged one across a short distance with his foot and then paused, staring. He then perked his ears and widened his eyes. "Right! Um..." Letting go of Ma'tanza for a moment, Tzirret went to collect the sack of seeds from nearby and brought them back.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

On the top of the parchment that Ma'tanza held was written some lines of nervously penned Ta'agra that had been viciously scratched out. Upon closer inspection, the Ta'agra handwriting was jagged, the spelling was atrocious, and the grammar made it all but incomprehensible. Below the crossed out Ta'agra, however, was some marginally better written Cyrodilic. This Cyrodilic appeared to be a repeat of the above Ta'agra, except completed this time. The top of the letter had a few crossed out beginnings, apparently indecisive.

My De
To the most bea
Good morning, sunsh
Hi Ma'tanza,
Tzirret is leeving to go home to Bruma in a few days. He has been working on a serprise for you. It is not a carving, but Ma'tanza might like it. Come to the roum this one shows in the map below at diner time and he will show you. DO NOT ARRIVE EARLY!!
-Always yours, Tzirret

The line beside the final words could have been another scratch that Tzirret may not have decided to follow through with.

Below the writing was a drawing that depicted one of the larger chambers and the surrounding halls. In the main chamber was a small drawing of Ma'tanza's face in surprisingly good quality, with an arrow drawn from her, through the halls and to a storage room nearby. In the storage room was a small picture of Tzirret's face as well, again drawn very well.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

No worries.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I'll start the second scene in a few posts, once the timing lines up.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The night that followed was uneventful for the packs. The combination of travel and vicarious grief from the families and prides of the soldiers that did not return had caused everyone to be tired out. The memorial would be soon, and that would be enough for most to pour out the rest of their grief and say farewell. For many others, the pain would not subside for a while.

The morning came around with the same routine as always. The structure of life in the Orcrest clan was something of a stable foundation for those traumatised and grieving to lean upon. Things went smoothly, even with somewhat less tension than before. However, it was still quieter than usual and there were still fewer smiles.

Ma'tanza awoke to the comparatively odd occurrence of Tzirret not having breakfast with her. He had been doing so more often since after the attack to the point where there was barely a morning that he dined with his own pack. Discussions with him had previously revealed how unstable it was in his pack during that time, but that made this sudden change strange. When she proceeded to her first habit after breakfast, whether that had been a duty, some kind of grooming routine, or something else, she found a scroll of parchment rolled up and tied with twine. It had Ma'tanza written across its outside corner, in Cyrodilic.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sorry for the short post. There weren't many actions to take.

I'm good to end these scenes for now. I have a couple of scenes lined up for the next day, so I'm good to skip to then.