Pirouette

The Lonely Tavern (Open to all)

Vala Lynstad

In Light Company

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Vala didn't like thieves. They were cowards by nature, hiding behind their silver-tongued quips and imagined charm. A punch to the face usually wiped that stupid grin from their faces and while the Islander would want nothing more than that, the sudden change of events shifted her more baser instincts.

Boldy as that frivolous knight addressed that bolder creature that awkwardly bent over in the main room of the tavern. Vala eyed it with her arms crossed, appearing unimpressed unlike the others who had gathered here. The halfling was the first to exclaim amazement and spouted titles that meant nothing to the Marstal native. Knight of the Rift? Clearly the bolder creature was the sigil of such an order and while the stone creature looked superficially intimating, the man did not as it appeared to Vala, this man hid behind this creature for exactly as he said 'his heavy lifting'.

An quiet yelp was the next to distract Vala's brooding of thieves as she turned to where she heard the sound. An empty dusty shelf revealed no source of that sound but the sudden sensation of being watched was felt as Vala glared at the shelves with a suspecting gaze. She would have investigated a bit more beyond just a scanning gaze had it not been for another newcomer. Even though it was difficult to tell, the woman looked northern. Not where Vala came, by the gods no, but she was very reminiscent of a mainland northern with a fleece as white as snow despite being very young.

The rest, quite honestly, didn't really matter much to the hardened veteran as each made small talk. Clearly her previous protests to the notion of transforming the inn had went largely unnoticed. She didn't care whether or not they heeded her words as the truth of the matter was, she wasn't the owner of this place anyway. She only raised that point to spite the thief playing bartender. If they wanted to waste their energy trying to repair this heap, then by all means, go ahead...

Vala sharply exhaled from her nostrils and turned to walk out to reclaim her lunch that she had dropped early. Bearing hardly a mind to the sweeping fool, the babbling idiots, and the strumming buffoon, as she slipped back outside and made the short walk to the treeline to reclaim her catch from the day. Two fish, two squirrels, and a sack of various harvested edibles that she had found.

For a moment she thought she'd stay out here and carve her kills in peace but remembering that her stuff was inside still, it would probably be best if she kept an eye on them all.

Returning back indoors she set up right by the hearth of the tavern, without so much as a word to the others, and pulled a dusty chair from the corner. She allowed her hatchet to return to her belt and drew her knife to begin skinning the squirrels, all the while staying alert to the others in the tavern.

The Lonely Tavern (Open to all)

Hey, is everyone okay if I have the characters introduce themselves to each other, excluding Ember who may want to still be hidden?

@Nevix

No thanks. Vala won't be too forthcoming yet.

The Lonely Tavern (Open to all)

@Pirouette Damn, after that last chapter Vala is looking like one helluva badass

@Nevix

Well she did boss around viking sailors during combat. So yea, she is tough.

The Lonely Tavern (Open to all)

Vala Lynstad

From One to Many

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Vala eased up her tense stance as the others spoke, sounding sincere in their offer of peace. Still, it was best to proceed with caution. She ignored the first new addition to the collective that was gathering in the main hall of this tavern. Instead, she brushed aside the trylle, with the glowing symbols on his flesh, with the shaft end of her spear. Magic was common in her homeland but being a sailor had shown her more of the world than most of her kin, so she knew what it was and what it looked like. Despite the unknown of the strength of trylle, she thought she hadn't much to worry about concerning the others. "Fine." She grumbled as she walked past the conjurer and over the coin that was tossed onto the counter top.

She shot a challenging glance to the man behind the counter as she took the flat side of her hatchet and slammed it just onto the coin before sliding it off and into the partial grasp of her spear-holding hand, inviting the man to go ahead and try arguing for that coin. Even though this place wasn't hers, she felt she had a better claim than the others at least. "Help yourselves." Vala muttered as she continued her progress to the tavern's Hearth, warm with a fresh fire. She tossed her spear into the corner. When she turned around, another had slipped in, draped in a fine, red clothing. Vala sweared that they had to be multiplying now.

The trylle then spoke about some ridiculous proposition where they run this place like a business. "Pff.." Vala spat at the conclusion of his offer. "This place is mine more than anyone's from my count." Again, she thought she had a better claim than those that wandered in here. However, she had to admit to feeling something at the proposition of fixing the place up. It had only been two weeks but she was finding it comfortable here. "Anyway, have you taken a look around? The tavern is a ruin."

The Lonely Tavern (Open to all)

Vala Lynstad

Life without the Sea, without the Hearth

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It had been four months, maybe. Whether that was an accurate count or not, the young Skjaldmær could only think any time away from her home was too long. The smell of the salted sea, the sound of churning waves... all of it was absent in this hilly landlocked plain. Yet this was her burden that she was likely to carry until her last days. Exiled and disgraced from the things she so loved... Truly, there was no greater punishment, even death would be a welcomed relief if it had not meant Vala would spend the rest of her afterlife wandering the damned shores of Helviti. So she held on because she had to. Maybe one day her ancestors might forgive her but that day could not come sooner. Until that day, she couldn't stand the sight of the open ocean.

For several months she had wandered, venturing further and further inland, until she eventually settled upon an abandoned tavern set atop a rocky hillside, no more than a fortnight ago. Vala had ran out of coin months ago which made it a perfect place for the downtrodden. As expected the place was empty and while the structural foundation was still solid, the walls and roof were slowly deteriorating with the passage of time. Still, the rent was free. Vala didn't spend much time improving the deteriorating conditions as she always felt it to be a temporary home, but she did a few things like brushing away the cobwebs. Eventually living there became a routine that distracted her, which was a welcomed sensation.

Mornings were typically a fair time to hunt. In fact, the morning of that day usually determined whether or not Vala would eat well that day or eat skimp pickings of her leftovers. Small game were the easiest to catch with her limited knowledge of traps. Sadly, Vala lacked a bow and the big game was a lot harder to come by. Thankfully a nearby stream usually had some fish the helped offset the lack of a large, hardy meal. Otherwise, Vala was left to harvest the few plants and fruits that she knew that wouldn't outright kill her if she ate them. It took a bit of experimenting but usually the local wildlife would avoid something that is entirely toxic.

Hopefully returning in the afternoon with a successful hunt, Vala would prep herself a meal and eat well. On particularly fortunate days, Vala would expend a little extra energy to make minor improvements to the tavern to prevent the place from falling apart but those days weren't common.

For the most part, Vala was isolated from the rest of the world and she kind of enjoyed the bliss that came with it. Travelers would ignore the rundown place, even looters thankfully. But today, it seemed like Vala would not be fortunate to avoid the wandering eye.

The faint flicker coming from the windows was tough to distinguished in broad daylight but the wide open front door really did help in identify the presence of someone inside. Vala drew her hatchet and tilted her spear to allow the hanging critters from this morning's hunt to fall to the ground. She never carried her shield with her as that was extra weight she never needed as well as some other items, like her armor. She always wore the thinnest hides she had as the difference in heat was clearly evident for the Northern so she had no protection outside of a sleeveless shirt and a slightly thicker set of hide trousers.

She bent down and charged the tavern, her tavern, in a sprint, trying her best to conceal footfalls. It took only a few moments but she reached the threshold of the door. As far as she knew, there wasn't another way out so whoever was inside had to get through her. She stepped through, pushing the door, which had slowly drifted to an ajar opening, aside revealing the three intruders. The three of them were strangely unique from each other and while they gave off no hostile impression, Vala had to be sure they weren't here for malicious purposes. "Undskyld!" The Skjaldmær shouted harshly like barking an order after she crossed the threshold of the doorway in her native tongue, interrupting whatever conversation they were having before. Of course she knew that they wouldn't understand that but being a giving orders in her own tongue felt natural. "What are you three doing here?" She demanded with a stern tone as she clutched her hatchet and spear tightly in her hands. The spear probably wouldn't be of much help but she was deadly with that hatchet.

The Lonely Tavern (Open to all)

Vala

Appearance:
At 5’9” and a smaller build, Vala looks like a typical Northern with blue eyes, blonde hair, which is usually kept up in a braid, and fairly pale skin. For the most part, her skin is rather free of marks and scars but there are a few exceptions. Right shoulder has a small scar from an arrow and a scar right around her right hip where a sword pierced through her entirely.

Name: Vala Lynstad
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Occupation: Master-at-Arms for the Sae Hrafn
Weaponry:
Vala primarily uses a standard long sword with a rounded-shield for protection. As a backup, she has a knife. For variety, she is pretty accurate with a short axe, both as a primary weapon and a projectile.
Skills:
Vala comes from a Northern Longship and has established her sea legs and can handle rough waters. She lead men into the defense of said Longship and can help direct forces in battle. Her primary skill is her ability in combat, both with weapons and without.

Backstory:
Vala hails from Northern Coasts of Ecen, specifically a lonely island just off the coast called Marstal, and if you are living in Marstal, you probably either fish or sail for the navy. The sea always plays a big part of those who live on that tiny island and for Vala, she grew up just like any kid, craving the adventure that the older generations tell tales of. Of course when you finally get there, life at sea is a bit crueler and less dreamy than the tales.

It wasn’t too typical for women to join up with fishing crews, as there was no guarantee that your shipmates would have pure intentions, and in order to join the military ships, where things like that would never happen, you had to have at least a year of experience on the sea. So Vala sighed onto her Uncle’s ship where she was protected as her Uncle’s attendant.

After her year was up, she signed into the navy. Starting as a simple oarsmen, she eventually rose to the rank Master-At-Arms at the age of 21. Four years she went from ship to ship, not really settling down anywhere permanently. Unfortunately her time for the Marstal Navy was cut off after being exiled for kinslaying the very same uncle who took her in. Despite Vala's adamant attempts at justifying her actions, the Jarl found her guilty and demanded her casted out from the isles. The young Skjaldmær should consider herself lucky, though. Death is usually the preferred arrangement for kinslaying.

The Lonely Tavern (Open to all)

@Pirouette Sure that's fine. As it stands actually my current character is one I barely got to use in an old rp too.

@Spybuster

Just in case you didn't see it, I swapped for a different character.

The Lonely Tavern (Open to all)

Pulled from my list of characters I haven't played fully, so there are references to places that might not be in here but that hopefully won't be a problem.

...

---

Actually, too many rogues so far. So let's try something else...

Vala

Appearance:
At 5’9” and a smaller build, Vala looks like a typical Northern with blue eyes, blonde hair, which is usually kept up in a braid, and fairly pale skin. For the most part, her skin is rather free of marks and scars but there are a few exceptions. Right shoulder has a small scar from an arrow and a scar right around her right hip where a sword pierced through her entirely.

Name: Vala Lynstad
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Occupation: Master-at-Arms for the Sae Hrafn
Weaponry:
Vala primarily uses a standard long sword with a rounded-shield for protection. As a backup, she has a knife. For variety, she is pretty accurate with a short axe, both as a primary weapon and a projectile.
Skills:
Vala comes from a Northern Longship and has established her sea legs and can handle rough waters. She lead men into the defense of said Longship and can help direct forces in battle. Her primary skill is her ability in combat, both with weapons and without.

Backstory:
Vala hails from Northern Coasts of Ecen, specifically a lonely island just off the coast called Marstal, and if you are living in Marstal, you probably either fish or sail for the navy. The sea always plays a big part of those who live on that tiny island and for Vala, she grew up just like any kid, craving the adventure that the older generations tell tales of. Of course when you finally get there, life at sea is a bit crueler and less dreamy than the tales.

It wasn’t too typical for women to join up with fishing crews, as there was no guarantee that your shipmates would have pure intentions, and in order to join the military ships, where things like that would never happen, you had to have at least a year of experience on the sea. So Vala sighed onto her Uncle’s ship where she was protected as her Uncle’s attendant.

After her year was up, she signed into the navy. Starting as a simple oarsmen, she eventually rose to the rank Master-At-Arms at the age of 21. Four years she went from ship to ship, not really settling down anywhere permanently. Unfortunately her time for the Marstal Navy was cut off after being exiled for kinslaying the very same uncle who took her in. Despite Vala's adamant attempts at justifying her actions, the Jarl found her guilty and demanded her casted out from the isles. The young Skjaldmær should consider herself lucky, though. Death is usually the preferred arrangement for kinslaying.

Multiverse At War - (MAW) (High-Casual RP)

Spinoff. Completely new. Not replacing old.

Multiverse At War - (MAW) (High-Casual RP)

Variance is fun. I'd even argue it is more fun than sticking with the se stuff. :/