Sundust [reggybsr]

[quaggan]

 "Are you gonna be alright?"

Kolva rolled all of her three eyes. "I don't know, sis. I mean, you're leaving me in a dangerous warzone. With all those blades and spells flying, I'll be surprised if I live to see the sunset, let alone recover from my injuries. Now, if only there was a peaceful little village somewhere where I could convalesce in peace..."

"Never mind. If you're feeling good enough to use your big words, I suppose I don't have to worry aboutcha" Tarroth grinned. "Well, I guess I gotta head for the headquarters. Would be nice if Defenceless Old Ladies got big enough to have branch offices - it's annoying, having to make it all the way there..."

"Shouldn't have jumped on a random ship, then."

"Hey, how was I supposed to know it was going all the way north? There was no worker in sight I could get the information out of, everyone was hiding!"

"Excuses, excuses" Kolva chuckled. "Well, I enjoy friendly banter as much as every other gal, but I probably shouldn't keep you. I don't think this place can afford you staying for another dinner."

She had a point. After this whole fiasco that landed them in the backwater of Le'raana, they spent almost all of the coin they had on curatives and renting a room at the inn for Kolva to rest in while she recuperated. It would be more expedient to hire a healer so that they could both head to the headquarters together, but the village mage was apparently missing, for a little over a year.

"I guess Siran is right, working in Serendipity is the best" she commented. "At least there if we get separated from the rest, there's no trouble finding a healer."

"Speaking of finding a healer" Kolva squirmed into a more comfortable position. "Ugh, my pillow needs fluffing. Anyway, I've heard the gossip that the missing mage's daughter is going to look for him. Since you're broke, I thought any information about a new job would be helpful-"

"Well of course I'm going to be helpful! I'm going to drag this asshole here by his hair if need be! What an irresponsible idiot, leaving his daughter alone like that! What was he thinking-"

"Cool down there" she sighed. "The daughter in question is pretty grown up, I'm pretty sure you're getting the wrong idea here."

"I'm not!" Tarroth insisted. "It was still incredibly rude to leave her alone without a word for a year! He better have a good excuse!"

"Right" Kolva chuckled. "Anyway, if the girl wants to head out, she will probably visit the traveler's shop, so that's a good place for you to start looking."

"I will. Thanks."

[reggybsr]

//Sorry it's a little long xD. Sometimes I just never stop writing. You don't have to mirror me, though.



Nerizanna gnawed at her chapped bottom lip. What to bring, what to bring... her mind chanted over and over, her blue eyes repeatedly scanning over the wooden shelves.

Jeremiah's shop wasn't too busy that day, but neither was it empty. Every now and then the bell by the door would chime, signalling either the entrance or exit of yet another customer, probably a traveler passing through the small village of La'marri.

"You find what you're looking for, yet, Missy?" A gruff voice sounded from behind the counter, and Nerizanna turned around to look at its owner. Jeremiah Covrey was a middle-aged man with thinning pink hair and dark skin, a relatively poor merchant with roots in Serendipity. Like Ghaned, he'd come to La'marri for some peace and quiet.

Ghaned...

Nerizanna inhaled deeply, trying to force her thoughts away from her father. It was still painful to think about, even after a year of him being away.

"No," she mumbled, her voice sounding annoyingly weak to her ears. Then she braced herself. She wasn't going anywhere without letting him know the truth. She pushed more strength behind her voice. "I'm sorry, Jeremiah, but is it too much to ask for some help? I...don't really know what to look for."

Jeremiah's green eyes seemed to sag, his mouth pressing into a thin line. He knew. Most of the village knew. Ghaned Hyll hasn't been around for a year, and his wise yet lively presence was dearly missed. No one failed to notice, either, just how much his poor daughter missed that presence. It got people talking, and even Jeremiah, a dear friend to Ghaned and one of the nicest men in town, was no exception.

Nerizanna averted her eyes, turning them to the floor. Her thin skirt went up to her toes, nearly covering her most practical pair of leather sandals. There her gaze was fixed, until a hand landed on her shoulder, bringing her eyes up again.

Jeremiah looked at her, sadness swirling around his eyes, but his words of pity, had they been conjured up or not, thankfully stayed behind his lips. Instead, he asked her, "How long will you be gone?"

Nerizanna shrugged weakly. "A few months. But I'll really only need provisions until I arrive at Serendipity. I can probably stock up there again, find a place to stay while...while I investigate." Her words hung between them, even as Jeremiah led her to a section where cloaks hung limp from hooks attached to the wall.

"Well, you can start with preparing for the Terrin Mountains. Autumn's fast approaching, and it's going to get cold, so take a cloak, and I'll get you some flint so you can start your own fires," Jeremiah said, fumbling around with his wares. Nerizanna wanted to cry from how touched she was, but she held the tears in and let a small smile fall onto her lips. Was this how having an uncle felt like? "Oh, and you'll probably need some rope. Would you prefer one with or without a grapple?" Jeremiah continued.

Nerizanna was about to answer when a chime sounded from the shop door. Jeremiah perked up and leaned into the center aisle to greet the new customer. "Welcome to...my..."

Nerizanna followed Jeremiah's gaze to find a green-skinned woman—a rather large one—glaring daggers at her friend. She saw Jeremiah gulp in her peripheral vision. "H-how may I-I help y-you?" he sputtered.

The ogre visibly suppressed a scoff. "Men," Nerizanna thought she heard, the woman's voice rough as sandpaper, even as she mumbled. The stranger's gaze shifted over to hers. Suddenly, she wanted to gulp too. But she stood her ground, lifting her chin up higher. "Get the one with the grapple. It'll help you scale the mountains better."

"Oh," she said dumbly, blinking as she plucked a coil of rope—with a grapple—off the shelf. "Thank you."

"No problem." The woman nodded. "Might you know where I can find the village mage's daughter?"

Nerizanna straightened, brows furrowing in confusion. "What do you want with her?" She asked, her voice bolder than she felt.

"To help," the stranger replied. "Given she's the mage's daughter, she could probably take care of herself, but I can provide extra muscle for some coin." She patted her muscled bicep for emphasis. "So, do you know where to find her?"

Nerizanna glanced at Jeremiah, who was already staring at her. He was still frozen, probably in fear of the stranger's hulking presence. Swallowing, Nerizanna pulled her eyes back to meet the woman's.

"I do." She smiled slightly. "You've already helped her without knowing it," she said, holding up her new grapple.

The woman's eyes widened a fraction. "You?"

"Me," she affirmed. "I'm Nerizanna Hyll, the village mage's daughter." Nerizanna nodded once at her new companion. "Who are you?"

The woman bowed her head a little. "Tarroth Lennarien, a mercenary of the Defenseless Old Ladies."

"It's nice to meet you, Tarroth," she replied. "Let's stock up on provisions while we're both still here, I might need some more of your travelling advice. Then, we leave tomorrow at dawn."


WC: 849 words

[quaggan]

 Tarroth was a mercenary, not an advisor, but there were some life skills that came with the work she's been doing. While she was never (luckily, as her struggle sisters would attest) assigned to quartermaster duty, she still knew enough to be of use. "We'll want the less perishable food - dried stuff, grains... I don't know if there are any rice fields in La'marri, but perhaps we can find some groats."

She straightened up, still remaining slightly crouched - she didn't want to break the ceiling with her head, splinters were annoying to pick out of skin. The shop owner, properly intimidated, pointed one shaking finger at the shelf. "W-we have it there."

"Great! Pick what you like best" Tarroth suggested. She had no preference to speak of - she would eat anything that was nutritious and free of poison. Alongside food, they would probably need water... She racked her brain in search of a map of Le'raana in order to plan the route. Was there a lot of rain on their way? There should be some streams they could take water from...

Speaking of water, they would probably have to adjust their wardrobe. Tarroth was as resistant to temperature and weather as she was to any other physical inconveniences, but humans were squishier. She should plan for appropriate clothes to journey to Serendipity in. There was so much thinking involved when there was no struggle sister around to handle the mental challenges. It would be a far more beautiful world if every problem could be punched into submission...

"Have you already decided on a route?" she asked.

[reggybsr]

A route? Nerizanna pondered on an answer as Jeremiah came fumbling back with some choices for travel food. Lots of grain, she noted. "Well, I haven't exactly traveled to Serendipity before." Not that she remembered, anyway... She looked up at her new companion. "Is there a route you prefer? I'll take anything, though...the fastest one would be great."

At this point, Nerizanna had less than her typical regard for self-preservation. Ghaned was the priority. Nothing else.

[quaggan]

 Tarroth's forehead creased, greenish skin bunching together into small wrinkles. What routes did she remember from her travels through the mountains? "Well, the shortest path would be to go straight around Mirrorpeak, but that would require a difficult climb, and could end up taking longer than expected if we misjudge our ability. The alternative is the Silent Pass - it's two days longer, but should be easier to make for people without hiking experience."

She crouched over the sack of grain, trying to estimate their age. If the idiot shopkeeper hid some moldy ones under the upper layer, she would return just to hang him by his balls. She couldn't exactly check - not with dirty hands, she didn't want the poor squishy human to get sick. "Once we cross the mountains, is there any place in Serendipity in particular that you want to visit?" The answer to this question would be necessary to determine the further direction of their journey.

[reggybsr]

Nerizanna bit her lip thoughtfully, the outline of the letter burning a hole on her skin through her skirt pocket. "Wyrmwood Academy," she replied. "I need to visit Wyrmwood. That's where--" she gulped, "--where Ghaned was headed, supposedly."

She scanned the grain, making sure there were no molds found upon a single granule. She wouldn't want their food to go bad so early on in their travels, and get her new guide and companion sick. (Not to mention, Tarroth looked like she could pummel poor Jeremiah into a pulp if he gave them bad food.) "Regarding the two routes you suggested...despite my urgency, I know that the smart decision would be to take Silent Pass. I dont know--"

I don't know if I have hiked the Terrin Mountains before, was what nearly slipped out of Nerizanna's lips, but she caught herself almost immediately. Disguising her fumbling with a cough, she continued, "I mean, I don't really know if I can hike such intense paths. Better safe than sorry, plus, it might take longer, just as you said."

It was silent for a moment, Jeremiah's nervous shuffling from behind the counter the only sound. "I think this is alright," said Nerizanna suddenly, referring to the grain before them. She found nothing wrong with it; at least, none that she could see from where she was standing.

[quaggan]

 Tarroth racked her brain, frowning. Luckily for everyone involved, she quickly recalled the word - or at least something that sounded close enough. Stupid Serenians with their fancy place names.

"Good news: it's in the western part of the country. West is the side that's left of the map" she helpfully supplied. It was a habit she picked up working with Shannon - the elf was centuries old and still couldn't remember cardinal directions. She insisted that back when she was young, they had a completely different system, and it was a waste of time to learn some newfangled names that would probably be changed in several hundred years or so. Most of them knew that it was bullshit, but kept quiet out of politeness.

When the girl began to speak again, Tarroth turned to face her. It was only polite to show interest, and the grains probably wouldn't have enough time to grow mold or sprout. A frown of concern creased her face as Nerizanna started coughing. "Are you okay? Do you need a handkerchief?" She began rummaging through her pockets in search of some piece of fabric clean enough to make do, but before she found anything, her new employer recovered. "The Silent Pass it is, then. Let's hope there were no sudden avalanches in the area."

The grain assessment seemed to be complete. The ogre was more than happy to let Nerizanna handle it - the girl has lived in La'marri, she was probably an expert on local produce. "Great! Pick as much as you like. Weight is not an issue, I once bench pressed a several thousand pound adolescent dragon on a dare."

[reggybsr]

Nerizanna cleared her throat, trying to cough her way through the saliva she accidentally choked on earlier. "You seem more knowledgeable about the time it might take to get to our destination. What's your estimate on the amount of food we need for the trip?" she said, gesturing to the grain before them. "If it helps, I don't eat much as it is. Perhaps two bowls of grain could mostly sustain me for a day."

Her eyes widened a fraction, just then registering what Tarroth had just said. "Wait, did you just say that you bench pressed a fucking dragon? On a dare?" she asked, too impressed to mind her colorful choice of words. The life of a female ogre--as a mercenary, no less--was some puzzle, and it struck her with a sudden fascinated amusement. Just then, Nerizanna realized that the journey with her new companion may be more interesting than she ever thought it could be.

[quaggan]

 Tarroth began counting on her fingers. In moments like these, she wished she had more arms. If they were going through the Silent Pass, that was five, carry the eight... Math was never her strong suit - that was the quartermaster's duty - but she would have to do her best.

She nodded at the admission - a part of her was worried, wishing to argue that a growing girl needed more food. What stopped her was that she knew rather little of humans, let alone their development. She would just have to make up for it, if need be - they should have enough food to get through the mountains, and there was plenty of food to be found in the forest. She was yet to meet a common animal that could stand up to an ogre.

She puffed up with pride at Nerizanna's reaction, almost hitting the ceiling with her head before she remembered to hold herself back. "Well, it was a young dragon. Orual wanted to find a bigger one, but no rider stationed at Tarida at that time was willing to led us theirs. I got to dare her back. She said I lacked panache, but I guess that's what I have other sisters for."

[reggybsr]

Nerizanna chuckled, partly in amusement, and partly in relief, as the slightly awkward tension between the two of them melted. "Orual sounds like a riot, and your sisters do, too. Did Orual beat your dare?" She wanted to learn so much about the world she had somehow forgotten--though, there was no guarantee she eve knew much about ogres before her amnesia. Still, she wanted to learn. "Oh, and for the record, I don't think you need panache at all. There's a thin line between courage and arrogance, and I'd much rather admire someone for their courage."

Nerizanna froze, realizing what just came out of her mouth. Damn, her mouth ran again.

"I mean, that's just my opinion. You don't seem the arrogant type, is all. If your kindness to me so far has been any indication, anyway."

Someone magic my mouth shut, she begged internally.

[quaggan]

 Tarroth grinned. "Hah! If we come across any of my sisters, you should repeat it it to them! They can handle this whole panache - I'll just fill in the quota for courage! I would make a shitty team player if I wanted to keep everything to myself!"

The poor dear looked very worried about her words - an infliction quite common in people. "Hey, no worries!" the ogre did her best to cheer her up. "If I get arrogant, then I will just have to have strength and guts enough to back the arrogance up! That's how we roll in our company!"