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An 'Ice Man' Tale for the Ages!

Started by Zero, April 12, 2015, 07:34:47 AM

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Zero

Elysia could already see that leaving the wolf behind probably wasn't going to work. If she had a pet she was fond of and someone told her she would have to abandon the poor thing she'd probably have been upset or given them an earful and told them where they could shove that notion.

Still, a wolf inside towns or buildings probably just wasn't a good idea. The wicked beast had tried to eat her! She could easily imagine the furball biting someone and getting them in big trouble.

The bard had been so busy fretting about what to do about the wolf that she hadn't really noticed Inyavin having a little chat with the canine until Shiran was crawling towards her looking all cute and puppy-like with her wagging tail and nudging paws. She found herself looking down at the furry menace and heaving an exasperated sigh.

Elysia knelt down, still eyeing the wolf warily even as she hesitantly reached out to lightly pet her head. She was surprised at how soft her fur felt. "Is this your way of calling a truce? Don't think I trust you, fur face, but you are kinda cute when you're not trying to eat me."

Lion

Against her better judgment the pets felt nice and her tail began to wag as Shiran scooted closer to her.  And when Elysia was within range, she lunged and gave her kisses all over her face.  The wolf soon relaxed, although remained antsy beside the yound bard, tail wagging and leaning in for more pets when the hand that stroked her stopped.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Zero

"Ack!" Elysia squealed, raising her hands trying to defend herself from the sudden onslaught of wolf kisses. Well that was a big change from wanting to eat her to slobbering all over her face. Or was it really? Maybe the foul beast was just getting a taste to see if she was worth eating.

"Alright! Alright! You can go, Furface." The young bard said, throwing her hands up in the air in defeat, before dropping her hands to rub her fingers through the wolf's fur some more.

She looked back at Inyavin with a smile. "I doubt people like like it once we get far enough south, but we'll work something out. Worst case we can just avoid towns, I guess." Elysia frowned at that. She made a living going into those towns and cities. The inns would often offer her free room and board for a couple nights in exchange for her performances.

Lion

"Avoid towns?"  He knew what she meant, and what that meant for his companion.  Shiran turned to Inyavin, gave him a whine and settled down onto her side, breathing deeply as if disappointed.  Not everyone could take wolf hugs and Shiran had been told she was easily clingy.

"We can't avoid towns," Inyavin said and put his head on Shiran's side, pressing his face deep into her fur.  "How will I get to explore the world without meeting her people? Surely you couldn't get along trying to avoid them?  You are...a storyteller after all.  You need people to listen to them."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Zero

"Yeah, going in to towns is kind of how I make my living..." It definitely wasn't a perfect solution, or even a good one. Elysia scratched her head, looking at the pair with a sigh. The Ice Man was a lot different than she was expecting, and none of this was really how she had planned on things to turn out. Getting a companion and his pet wolf along for the trip was kind of a wild card thrown at her.

"Well we can figure something out as we go, cross those bridges when we come to them and all. I'm sure it'll be alright." Maybe if Shiran was on good behavior people wouldn't mind too much.

Lion

While Inyavin was thoroughly overjoyed at her conclusion, he could understand the hesitation in her voice. He was a stranger and she taking the most risk by venturing with him into the southern edge of the world that which he had no real knowledge of.

So he extended the rest of his hospitality to her and in the morning they would travel back to the village where she had first ventured out from. And the villagers there watched in gaping surprise to see the little foreigner returning with a towering figure behind her.  And a wolf at his side




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Zero

When they had drawn close enough to the village that Elysia could make out the gaping she got a huge grin on her face, not that anyone could see most of her face since it was bundled up. With no small amount of enthusiasm she waved to the watching crowd, a jovial bounce in her step. Sure, things had turned a tiny bit weird and she had a strange, child-like giant man following her around, but she had found the ice man just like she said she would.

How many bards could really say they'd not only hunted down, but brought back, a legend?

"I'm back!" She called out to them, voice muffled some behind her heavy scarf. Honestly, how did they live out in this? Her bones felt half frozen even under all the layers of thick wool and fur. They lived in it year round! Kind of impressive, really.

Lion

It was kind of odd, being this close to real people. And Inyavin couldn't stave off the self-conscious feeling he was getting from all the gazes and whispers exchanged between villagers. He was half bundled in stray robes and cloth, emitting the drift that came from snow when wind blew over it. Shiran loped along behind them, minding her own business, and making a point sniff every step that Elyisa took.

Once they were inside her housing, Inyavin shook the snow from his out robe and smiled at her. "You truly are dedicated," he said softly. Shiran waited outside, sitting patiently and nipping anyone that tried to pet her.

"To have come all this way to find a story. What stories will you write?"




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Zero

Her "housing" consisted of a large lodge that was home to multiple families. They'd been kind enough to let her stay with them, and had urged her against going out hunting for the Ice Man. While Inyavin wasn't so scary, Elysia had to admit that she'd nearly gotten herself killed pursuing him - at least it had all worked out.

Sorta.

"You can't be the best without dedication, and I'm going to be the best." She chirped happily as she dropped her things into the guest alcove that had her sleeping furs. "I don't actually write any stories. I just learn them and then tell them to other people that want to hear them. Maybe once I've done my traveling I'll settle down somewhere to write them all down in a collection of tales. And one just for my own adventures too!"

Elysia looked around with a sigh. It was going to be a very long trip back south, but there would be a lot of cool things to show him along the way. "I think we should stay here tonight and head out first thing in the morning. We'll go from village to village until we get far south enough to make camps."

Lion

Experiencing another's hospitality was not something Inyavin was accustomed to. As much as he loved hosting himself, actually being hosted left him at much of a staggering loss. The Ice Man felt like he was practically 'sweating' in the warm large where all those bodies were nestled, sleeping and snoring, all cuddled and curled up with each other like how Shiran did as a pup.

He snorted a little, moving to sit down, not quite too close to the hearthfire.  "That is a good idea. It's...a little warm in here, isn't it?  Oh, but never mind," he shrugged and curled in on himself, to insulate himself from the heat and keep his coldness to himself.

"What sort of stories have you told so far? Any that you'd want to share? I mean, coming this far north, you have to have come across some pretty interesting ones so far. Even before finding me," he murmured, looking up at her, grinning.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

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