Malki rubbed his temples as he waited for his ale. Sitting at a back table he found comfort in the isolation away from the hustle of the city life. He always hated coming here but he couldn't resist the cheep medical supplied the college supplied to those who asked for it. They may be experimental treatments but he needed to refill his stock before he wen any further. And plus, for a third of the cost of normal supplies on the road he could save a bit and pick up something nice later on.
Nodding to the waitress who dropped off his ale he settled into his chair comfortably. There was no reason to be hasty. The road would always be there for him whenever he needed and right now, he needed a comfortable place to sit, and hopefully a mental rest. Its not like he was opposed to people, its just they tended to make things more difficult. He smirked a bit and took a sip as he scanned the crowd of people inside the stuffy building.
Acadia glanced at the tall man in the back. She thought she recognized him from earlier, when she had stopped by the local college to gather a few ingredients for her little side business. It was rare to find someone introverted in such a social city, and she felt she wanted to learn more about him. On the other hand, the guy didn't seem too interested in talking.
She took another sip of her drink and reached for her tarot deck. There was a buzzy sort of energy surrounding them. She pondered the image of the man again, then absentmindedly drew a card from her deck.
The Two of Cups.
Hmm. It wasn't always that the cards spoke so clearly, but right now, they certainly recommended she at least approach the strange man. She gathered her courage and took another gander at him.
Malki let his eyes wander, catching eyes every once in a while. He kept scanning for something interesting, landing on a young woman with strange looking cards eyeing him. He raised an eyebrow. He had seen cards like hers before he just never knew what they were. He could tell she was in debate with herself. She certainly was an interesting looking person.
Malki sighed and put down his drink and crossed his arms staring her down now very intrigued at this person who seemed to want to approach. He half wanted to make his way over the other half wanted to watch and see what would happen next.He settled on staying and watching for a while longer and make his way over later if she did not come over herself, at least in his corner he had good access to the exit and a view of everyone in the room should anything happen.
Acadia caught her breath as her eyes accidentally met the man's. There was no going back now; he had spotted her. She made her way cautiously to his table, wondering what to say.
It had been a long time since she'd tried to approach a stranger. Since the day her "family" of sorts had abandoned her, she hadn't really felt comfortable talking to strangers. After all, if the people she was closest to had no problem leaving her in the middle of the night, who was to say what a stranger might think of her?
These bitter thoughts swirled in her mind and she struggled to get ahold of herself. "Hi," she managed to say, her voice a little shaky. She wet her lips and tried again. "I noticed you up at the college gathering herbs. May I ask what craft you practice?"
Malki nodded in greeting nudging a chair out for her to sit down. Eyeing her a bit longer he sighed and took a quick drink.
"I am a field medic. And I dabble in other activities as they catch my interest." He said after a bit. "I specialize in infections and other ailments. The college and I have an arrangement at the moment."
Watching her reaction closely he shrugged off her initial off put nervous reactions around him.
"People normally approach me. Its not unwelcome but what made you come over?" He asked curious. It really was strange to come up to him voluntarily. Most came with some need of medical help or out of sheer desperation.
For a brief moment, Acadia hesitated. The reception to her divining magic was always different wherever she traveled, and here in Serendipity, elemental magic and life magic was much more appreciated, with divinity noted as more of a scam or child's play.
She didn't know how to explain the certainty and understanding she felt when she touched her cards. It wasn't as if they predicted the future; rather, they guided her by increasing her understanding of her choices.
She almost reached to pull another card just to see if she should answer the man's question, but she decided instead to answer him honestly, as he had answered her. "I came over because you seemed interesting. And my tarot cards advised that we might work together. The road is long, and I want to travel with and learn from someone. I received some medical training in my youth and I'd like to learn more of it. So would you be interested in an apprentice?"
Malki tilted his head a bit curious "tarot cards, I see, so that is what those are. I have heard little of them and seen few carry them. Interesting." He said leaning back taking another drink to think it over.
He was by no means qualified to teach, although a traveling companion for a while might be enjoyable for a bit. This was an interesting time in this place. He could do with a bit of excitement outside the boring travel life he has had since he left his formal partner up north to do his own thing.
"I am not a good teacher of my own arts, but I can show you things if you wish. In exchange tell me more about your cards on our journey. I know of different magic users and how they work but this is something I have not explored in seeing firsthand" He said "We can call it an exchange in skills, even if we can not preform the skills the other teaches or shows there is room for knowledge and appreciation and understand rather than fear of an object or lifestyle."
"I'd appreciate that," Acadia replied, herself interested in learning more about other cultures. "Whereabouts are you planning to travel?"
Leaning back he grinned a bit "If we are traveling" he said thoughtfully "I am Malki. The Blackblade, the wandering medic."
"As for traveling where, I was thinking about making my way down to the river lands of Serendipity, there are fresh herbs that grow there that I should replenish soon. That and it is a bit more friendly than around here. From there who knows? and from here who knows. The path is never straight. Is there anyplace you wish to go?"
"I'll go wherever you go, Malki Blackblade," Acadia responded. "I'm Acadia Durast. I carry no title, but I'm a child of the snow and a citizen of the world."
They sat and made small talk for a while longer, but then Acadia reached into her pocket and pulled out a single leaf. "You seem well versed in herbology. I was wondering, do you recognize this?"
The leaf was small, fitting perfectly into Acadia's palm, and a violent shade of purple. Its edges were jagged, and a strange, albeit somewhat pleasant, scent seemed to come off of it.
"Snow eh? You would work well with my partner. He is born of ice." He muttered to himself.
Reaching over to take the leaf "where did you find this?" he asked looking up at her "I have not seen this in years, although I do not much use of it save its sent and a bit of flavor. Although the smell is off."
Rubbing the leaf delicately in his fingers frowned. It looked much like a leaf of rose baisle or even oregano but something felt different.
"I... I'm not quite sure," Acadia replied. All she knew about the leaf was that she had had it her whole life. It was the only constant in her travels. She assumed she got the leaf before the travelers had found her and taken her in, and she assumed they had left it with her for a reason. She believed the leaf might have some sort of power, but knowing as little as she did about her past, she wasn't able to say anything more.
"That is understandable" He said handing it back "It is not quite right either way. Could be born of magic, or used in a spell or ritual. It is not what it seams that's for sure. I do not think it is what it was originally."
Shrugging a bit he smiled softly "Who knows. in this world nothing is ever easy is it?"
"I suppose not," Acadia agreed, though she felt a sort of melancholy settle over her. Nothing was ever easy, was it? She didn't think she'd encountered anything easy in her life. But somehow, sitting here and talking over it, she felt better. There was a sort of ease to Malki that she enjoyed; she felt comfortable around him, and at peace.
Shrugging Malki stretched his arms over his head "Did you have a place to stay the night? My plan was to leave in the morning, and any more talk here is a bit too public"
"There is a campground nearby I like to camp at," Acadia told him. "Shall we meet in the morning?"
Malki nodded "If I remember correctly that is just north of town correct?" getting up and grabbing his empty mug to take to the bar. Yawning a bit he started to walk over to pay and leave.
Acadia went back to her table, leaving coin enough for the cost of her drink and tipping, then left the tavern. It had been an interesting meeting, and she wanted to wake up early tomorrow. She headed back to her campsite.
The next morning dawned bright and early for her, with mist still dampening her campsite.
Malki quickly repacked his bag before heading out to the campsite. Stopping on his way to pick up some food supplies and dried herbs he needed to get. Tightening his sword belt he readjusted his bracers and slipped on his gloves as he entered into camp. Pulling up his hood he made his way over to the communal fire and took a seat to wait.
Acadia found Malki sitting by the campfire. She offered him some of the food she had cooking up, then sat next to him to watch the sunrise. "It's lovely, isn't it? The way the sun always comes up and lightens the day, even when it's all covered up by clouds?"
"It really is. I don't tend to wait and rest for views like this often. Its nice. " He sighed with a soft smile. Taking the food gratefully he leaned back into his makeshift seat.
"where have you traveled to?" He asked watching the sun peacefully.
"Oh, here and there. I've mostly been making my way south from Hyoite, where I was born." Acadia paused, then added, "I began traveling with a wandering band of explorers for a while, so I've been to the Yoreiq Isles and seen Essyrn, though we began traveling back northward from there as conditions were hostile. After that group... left... I began traveling alone, making the rounds around the nations. I've been through Serendipity at least three times in my journeys and always return to visit a friend. He goes to the local college, and I like to check up on him."
There was a pause as Acadia thought about him, and it was obvious they had been friends for a long time. "What about you?" she finally asked.
He chuckled "I think I have been everywhere. Or as close as I will get at least once. I travel between here and Hyoite quite often actually. My partner, Whitebone, was born up around those parts and is obsessed with the Fell so I have helped him out more times than I can count. But I like it down here. Warmer and not as hostile. The coast was my favorite trip so far, mainly because there was nothing to do."
He turned to look at her "Its good that you check up on your friend. Not many people do anymore. Magic is getting a bit messy in the past years. Gotta take care of those who accept that ya got it."
"Yeah," Acadia mumbled. "Well, he's enrolled in Wyrdwood so he's got it too." Her cheeks flushed a bit, as she added, "He thinks he's so cool, and immortal, sometimes. But I still love him to death."
As they finished their meal and began to get ready to travel, there was a cry from somewhere within the mess and tangle of tents. Acadia froze, startled, as the wail came again. A second later, more voices called out, screaming "Help!"
He shrugged "Doesn't change anything. Someone gotta be there. Can't ride high forever" He mumbled placing his food down and cleaning the wood dish. Malki felt the energy hum through him as the yells for help hit his ears.
He jumped up in a flash following the direction of the noise. He kept his hand on the hilt of his sword. Weaving through the tents he stopped short at the mess in front of him.
Acadia ran after Malki, and then stopped short.
There was so much red that at first, she almost didn't see the child.
Blood was everywhere, so much more blood than she could've ever thought possible, still oozing from the child's body. A collapsed tent was piled on top of the screaming child, and as he flailed about, he tangled himself further into the tent canvas. One of the stakes used to hold the tent in place was driven deep into his shoulder.
Malki leaped into action, an authoritative figure in the midst of the hysterical surveyors, and Acadia waited anxiously for some instruction.
Malki pushed through the crowd with a frown. Taking a sharp look at Acadia he nodded "I need a shelter with plenty of clean rags. Boiled water for herbs." He said taking out a knife and cutting off the child's shirt around the stake. He left the large stake in the shoulder as he lifted the child onto a nearby wood plank. Dragging him away from the crowd that gathered he spoke softly to the child.
"Hey there" He said using the cut shirt as a rag to clean the blood from its body as he inspected to see if there were any other wounds on his body. After finding none of significance he pulled out his bag and dug for his sewing kit and a small herb pouch. "Stay still little guy, I got you. We will make this pain go a way soon alright? Can you do that?" He asked softly to the kid running his hands through his hair.
Acadia dashed to the communal fire, filling up whatever pots and pans she could find with water and placing it on the embers. She kept the crowd a short distance away from Malki, knowing that overcrowding someone who was injured was definitely the wrong thing to do, and instead distracted the people by asking for clean rags and available shelters.
A woman offered up her wagon, and Acadia brought the first pot, by now boiling with water, into the shelter, along with some clean rags. She checked outside to see a frantic couple bustling around Malki and ran over to investigate as well as redirect Malki and the child towards the wagon.
Following Acadia to the cart Malki settled in "Acadia. You said you have a way with snow? Can you do ice? or cold?" He asked as threw some herbs into the water laying a rag over the top to keep the water in and let the herbs seep into the rag. He took another clean rag and pressed it to the wound firmly and yanking on the spike, pulling it smoothly from the child's body. Replacing the now gaping hole with the rag he kept firm pressure. Quickly pulling up the mask that lay around his neck over his nose he took a deep breath as he held pressure,watching the blood start to slow a bit.
"I am going to need you to freeze the tissue around the wound. The deeper the better. Not blocking if off but enough to slow the bleed." Malki said.
"I..." Acadia paused. She had never actually tried using her snowfrost powers in a real situation before, not since her traveling tribe had shamed her and abandoned her for it. But Malki was confident, and Acadia had developed some control through some unofficial training with her Wyrdwood Academy friend.
Though she was short for time, Acadia drew out a few water droplets from one of the hot pans, tentatively freezing them over, giving her power a test run. She wouldn't want to hurt the child in any way. Then she lowered her hand over the boy's wounds.
She felt cold seeping from her fingers, through her fingers. Closing her eyes, she focused more on her intuition, her sense of self, letting it travel with the cold. She felt the pull of tissue, the numbing of nerves; she let coldness glide into the blood vessels, felt them constrict and slow the blood.
There was a slight tingle, and quickly Acdia withdrew before ice could form in the veins. The boy's blood was clotting, and his nerves had temporarily numbed his pain.
"See? Not so bad" Malki said with a grim grin. With the blood slowed enough he replaced the rag with a new clean one and grabbed his sewing kit.
"This is going to be the tricky part. I am going to need you to push the skin together so I can sew this up. Its not too deep of a wound where we can't. It just hit one of the large arteries. "Malki said as he threaded the needle and tied it off. "After we get the wound stitched we are going to have to grind up some of the herbs and make a soft paste. It will help slow the bleeding after the ice melts."
They began working in tandem now, as Acadia held the wound together and Malki stitched it up. The boy had calmed now that the pain had eased and the stake was no longer jutting out of his shoulder. Just as they finished, the frantic couple, whom Acadia had asked a camper to distract and keep outside while they worked, pushed in through the open doorway.
"How is he?"
"Is he going to be alright?"
"My sweet boy!"
Malki tied the not over the damp rag that now was used as a binding over the wound. He helped the boy sit up a bit to drink the warm herb water that had been boiling over the course of the procedure. As he left the cup in the boys hands he dipped his own into an extra bowl and started to clean the blood off.
"He should be ok for now. When you get a chance find a doctor. He will be able to procure herbs and medical supplies to ensure his wound heals cleanly. he is going to need quite a bit of rest however." Malki said looking up at the couple that entered into the room.
"Thank you so much for your help," the man said, pale with relief. "If there's some way we can repay you..."
//thanks for letting me throw in a fun little plot twist! just let me know if i'm being too overbearing
Malki smiled sadly and shook his head "No need, save for a doctor. I can only do so much"
He patted the man on the shoulder and headed outside. Nodding to Acadia "We should get going if we wanted to make good pace before dark"
(Psh you all good, Its a welcome plan)
Acadia followed Malki out. The sun was well into the sky by now, and it would begin to get hot soon. They walked along beaten trails and paved roads, picking their way through roots.
Looking around for a clear spot near the river Malki put his pack down.
"We might as well camp here tonight. Take some rest, no need to rush things" He said stretching and moving to the river to fill his canteen with water.
Acadia followed suit, pitching her tarp against a bush to create shelter for the night. They had some food remaining from earlier that day, but she thought perhaps they would have to hunt or gather soon. They had been steadily eating away at their rations all day.
The night air was refreshing after the day's long journey, and Acadia relaxed as she let a hand stir the river water.
"There should be a small fishing village under a days journey. We can probably stock up food there, after that though we will have to hunt if we want to reach the riverlands" Malki said pulling together a small fire.
"How do you feel? That was a lot of blood this morning" He asked
Acadia wasn't sure of what to say. She thought she ought to be saddened, or sickened, or something, some emotion. After all, it was her first time seeing an injury like that. But she didn't. She felt nothing. "I feel... numb, I guess," she told Malki. "Is that wrong?"
Malki stopped what he was doing and looked up.
"Depends how you look at it." He said "Some people just don't see the injury. They do what they have to. Everyone has something that bothers them, for me being puked on is one thing that puts me off like nothing else. what matters is that numbness doesn't dictate what you do. If you felt that numb then knowing what is wrong or right can cloud your judgement."
Placing some more wood on the fire he smiled softly. "If you want to help people then the numb is an ally. It lets you know that you are human. It lets you breath, lets you live with your choices for a while if you need to. "
"I don't know if some people deserve to live with their choices," Acadia replied, almost bitterly. She stood and walked slowly back to the campsite, her expression unreadable.
Malki shrugged "Not a choice I am able to sway. What one choice is good, the others may see it as bad and vise versa. Just depends on the way you look at it. We may have prolonged the boy's life for example but he will probably die of infection if the family can not afford the medicine for him"
Malki stood up and stretched walking back to the river taking off his bloody over shirt and put it in the river to wash.
"Can you fight without magic?" He asked.
"Not very well, but I can fight," Acadia replied. "It's kind of a necessity, isn't it, for travelers and merchants especially. Anyone could be the person to rob you blind in the middle of the night."
She began preparing their meal for the night, heating up water and food. A delicious smell began to waft over their campsite.
He nodded as he picked up a larger stick. "Knives, sword or bow? Or just hand to hand?" He asked walking over and sitting down. Adding some leaves to the boiling water for tea he pulled out the dishes.
"Oh, I like to be rounded out, but I've trained harder with close confrontation type stuff. Knives and hand-to-hand. I'm not particularly good at anything, but I like to know I can get out of a slippery situation and take the other person by surprise. The thing is, I'm feisty, not skilled. I'd just as soon kick a man where the sun don't shine as put him in a chokehold- and he never knows which one's coming 'cause I got no strategy."
Malki laughed hard at that statement. Tossing the long stick to her he pulled off his thick coat nad tossed to the ground. Picking up another stick he squared off "If you gt no skill then lets fix that" He said as he grinned like a cat.
Acadia put some space between herself and the other man, pulling out a long knife from the sheath on her leg. It had a deadly bite if placed improperly, but it was her only weapon. She circled, looking for a tell. In a real fight, she wouldn't have the option of scrutinizing for information, so she took the opportunity to memorize every detail she could.
Watching her pull out her knife made Malki hesitate. He had planned on a bit of fun stick play but if was blade she pulled he wasn't about to say no. Unsheathing his own blade he mentally sighed as the familiar draining weight closed around his mind. He would have to be extra careful with his jet black blade exposed.
lunging forward he made a quick jab at her and retreated using the extra length of his sword to feel her out.
Acadia only just managed to dodge, but the blade brushed up against her clothing. She took the opportunity up close to make a downward slice before shuffling back. She couldn't tell if she'd made contact with her knife or not, but had to back away again from the sword. She kept moving so she'd be a more difficult target, looking for any sort of shift in the man's eyes.
Watching her carefully he let the blade cut his short making sure it didn't touch skin. taking another step forward he made sure to stay within her range using his sword more as a long knife. with a grin he jabbed forward again twisting away so he wouldn't cut her by accident. He didn't want to give too much away.
Acadia didn't manage to dodge this time, and the knife just barely missed her. She skipped forward, past his range of sight, and gently touched her blade to the back of his neck before jumping out of range again.
He grinned and backed down "Not bad. You are not giving yourself enough credit" he said sliding his sword into the ground. "You use your skills to your advantage. I am impressed. "
Moving over tot he campfire he checked on the food before quickly pulling it off the fire before it would burn. "I would continue, but maybe we wait till after dinner"
Acadia laughed shyly, following suit with the food. "That was fun. I haven't gotten to train with someone for a while." She sat down with her food, blowing gently on it to cool it.
Malki just grinned "Next time with sticks, or sheathes. Less risk of us needing to be patched up" He said. As he waited for his food to cool down, he took his sword and cut his forearm. Laying the blade on the wound he sighed to himself as he watched the blade adsorb the red liquid for a bit before he re sheathed it. Wrapping his arm in a clean bandage that he saved for that purpose he began to eat as if it were a normal occurrence
Acadia stared at his bleeding arm in disbelief. "Um... Malki? What are you doing?"
"Feeding it" He said scratching his head "I ,umm, found it in the fell and well it kinda bonded to me?" He said 'Not too sure why...or how but it ,uhh, you cant put it away without it "feeding" on blood. Not really sure if animal blood would work so this has been my backup for a few years"
he looked down at his food blushing a bit as he moved the now sheathed sword back on its place on his belt.
"Oh. Huh. A sword that feeds on blood. Okay then." Acadia went back to her food, glancing suspiciously at the sword. Objects such as these were few and far between in the realm. Call it intuition, but something about that sword drinking blood had made her sense of magic go all buzzy.
He shrugged "Still the best blade I ever had. Never have to sharpen or clean it. Just taking it out is a pain" He said going back to his food. "One day ill figure it out, till then ill live with it"
Getting up he collected the dishes and walked back to the river to clean them.
Acadia followed him to help, scuffling through the underbrush. As they reached the river, she slowed so as to avoid getting splashed on. The sun was beginning to go down, and wearing wet clothes in the night would not be a good idea.
Finishing up he put the dished down and crawled over to the edge of the river and picked a few flowering plants.
"Yarrow. Can never have too much of this. One of the most useful herbs" He said before pocketing them in a leather pouch on his belt.
Acadia followed suit, adding the yarrow to her own herb pouches. "What does it do?" she asked.
"Helps with cough, fever, and pretty much anything that is a problem in the stomach. Even helps with tooth pain" he said with chuckle.
"I trust it comes in handy a lot, then," Acadia mused as they headed back towards their camp.
Nodding he sat down 'what do you think. About one more day till town?" He asked "We might need to keep an eye out there might be bandits in the area"
"Right. I suppose we should keep watch tonight. I'll take first shift." Acadia headed towards a nearby tree, intending to climb it and watch from a low branch.
Nodding Malki set up for a short rest. He frowned as he watched the last bit of rays of the sun dip behind the horizon shrouding the camp in darkness.
((shall we have a nice bandit attack?))
//sure thing! Is Saber active or around?
Acadia scaled the tree and kept her eyes peeled as the inky darkness of night crept over their camp.
((no idea, havent had any more contact with Saber. when in doubt we just have really bad luck with bandits lol))
Malki grumbled in his light sleep turning over onto his side.
--
The group of masked bandits numbering five in all crept through the dark wood. They had spotted the traveling duo a while back before trailing them waiting till nightfall. They neared the camp as the waited for the smallest one to scout around and another to check for magic barriers.
((Here I am. Sorry for the wait.))
Little did the bandits realize they were followed as well. A cloaked figure stealthily trailed behind the outlaws. Subsequently the stranger quietly drew a sword from the sheath. Upon close enough the hooded one suddenly thrust the blade through the back of the closet bandit. The latter let out a dying gasp before collapsing.
It would be loud enough to alert both Acadia and Maki.
Acadia startled in her tree as the noise came to her, her eyes trying to pierce through the darkness of night. She could see movement somewhere a distance away, and the sound of a blade. Hurriedly, she leaped down, drawing her knife as she did. "Malki! Live blades!" she called out, slinking towards the sound of combat and the smell of blood.
((you all good Saber!))
Malki jumped up drawing his blade in confusion before he honed in on the chaos. "Acadia, try and stay hidden" Malki called out softly as he made his way in the darkness letting his blade guide him. Coming up on the skirmish he saw a solitary figure on the defensive against the now alerted other four. Rounding to the back of the pack of bandits Malki attacked from the other side taking on the nearest one. Plunging his sword into the bandits back Malki sadly watched him turn pale white as he slid off the blade before turning to see if anyone was left.
Acadia heeded Malki's warning, creeping stealthily up to the scene. As the stranger in the cloak attacked another bandit, a third came up from behind the stranger. Acadia rammed her knife into the bandit's neck, making a cut across his main artery, before slipping behind a tree, keeping her eyes peeled for more.
The stranger and his second opponent clashed with their swords. For a moment the bandit got a look at what was underneath the hood...a dark knight's helmet. Subsequently the bandit gritting his teeth from the pressure attempted to force his attacker back through brute strength.
Instead the latter counter with a sudden knee strike below the outlaw's waist. Gagging the baldish highwayman was rendered stunned before the hooded figure brutally slammed his left elbow into his nose. Knocked to the ground on his knees the stranger sliced off the bandit's head with another stroke of the sword.
As soon as the headless body collapsed the hooded man now looked toward Malki.
With a broad stroke Malki caught the last of the bandits unaware and stabbed him through the chest. He could feel the throbbing headache from his blade creep back in as the second man fell to the ground pale white.
Malki sheathed his sword with a sigh and looked at the ground "You ok?" He called out to the newcomer as he crouched down he patted down one of the bandits, looking for anything useful.
Acadia followed Malki's lead, checking the bandit she'd killed. She found money in his pocket, several knives, and a lockpicking set. She retrieved all of these, slipping them into her cloak.