forum Future Heroes walk into a Guild(closed!)

Started November 03, 2023 by Deleted user

tune

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Kaltain smiled gruffly at the two. "Well, shoot. Guess we got ourselves a party" she always found it funny, her Egyptian-type accent over her country bumpkin language. "Name's Kaltain. You can call me Kal". She glanced at the adventuring board and meandered over, half-hoping half-expecting the other to follow. She read down the list until she found an interesting quest with a handsome reward "Hows about this one?"

Carmen only nodded, expression unchanged, as she trailed behind Kaltain towards the adventuring board. "Dragon hunting, huh? Sounds interesting. How hard can that be?" For the first time that day, she grinned and mimicked pulling out a sword and baring it for battle.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remember she still hadn't introduced herself. And yet, somehow, it didn't feel right. Almost as if there was a moment to be ruined, if she were to add that her name was Carmen. Perhaps this was a sign? Maybe she needed to stay anonymous. Who knows? There was always plenty of time to let them know later, anyways. Perhaps she could earn a nickname for herself in place of her name, instead.

Raiki walks up to the board. "Pleasure to meet you Kal." He leans over to read the dragon quest. It described a young dragon terrorizing a village. "Yeah, I think we could take that. Its not a millennia old Ancient dragon, so I'd say its within my range of skill. What do you guys think?"

"I'm down," she said smiling. "Dragons aren't that bad" She ran a bandaged hand through her soft auburn hair and the bandages she wore around her chest shifted with her breath. She then stuck her hands in the pockets of her large harem pants. "We just write our names next to it and cross it off?"

…sounds a little too easy, Carmen thought to herself, but nodded along with the group.

Looking around for a pen or another writing utensil, she spotted one hanging from a small thread off one of the top corners of the board, and wrote her name by the quest. As a fox, you'd think her handwriting would be nicer. Instead, she scrawled her name messily, trying not to take up too much space, miserably failing.

Raiki writes his name next to the flyer as well, signifying to the rest of the guild that they had taken the quest. He double checks the location, which was a village less then a days journey away. "Alright, it's official then. Shall we rent some horses from the stable, or should we just walk?"

Kaltain wrote her name nicely next to the rest. looking at her, you'd think she'd have extremely boyish penmanship, though it was small and decorative cursive, the t crossed and the i dotted quite nicely. "I'm down to walk if y'all are"

Carmen shrugged, before pulling out a notepad and a pencil from from a pocket on a thigh strap that had been hidden under her dress. She'd thought about this quite a bit since the wolf had first mentioned it.

Depends on what we're bringing. Since it will be whole day, horse might be nice for food and overnight supply.

After scribbling, she turned the pad around to show the other two her thoughts.

Raiki leans in to read the notepad. "Personally, all I need is on my back, so either way works for me." He begins walking out of the Guild as he discusses with the others. "But I'll do whichever you guys prefer."

"I got my whole life in my pockets." She said, smiling. She dug around in her pocket, seemingly looking for something. "We can get one horse, that way we save money and we have one if we need 'em" she proposed, finally pulling out a small coin bag from her endless pockets.

Carmen nodded, with no further comments to add. Digging around at her thigh a bit more, she dragged out a few coins, hoping that the other girl would understand the gesture. Quiet as she may be, that didn't mean she was cold-hearted.

Kaltain smiled and accepted the coins. She walked out of the guild, assuming the others would follow, and up to a nearby horse stable. She talked to the boy caring for them and paid him the whole coin bag, and the few coins the fox had handed her. She walked back towards the others with the horse in tow, holding him by the reigns and petting him softly. "This is Barnaby. He'll be our helper" she smiled. She seemed quite familiar with the horse, who seemed just as comfortable and at ease with her

"Hello Barnaby!" Raiki waves to the horse with a grin. He turns to Kaltain and asks, "So do you ride Barnaby often, or are you just that good with animals?"

"Ah, Barnaby's mine. I raised him since a colt, and I pay Ricky, the kid I talked to, to keep him in the stables." She smiled as she pressed her forehead to the stallion's head. "He's beautiful, no?" She asked, her accent coming off thickly when she used proper language. Her accent is only ever thicker when she speaks her native tongue. The stallion was a large black Clydesdale with sleek hair. He had a long mane, also black, with silver pieces braided in small braids here and there. His eyes were the most striking feature. He had large, loving blue eyes. Crystal and icy. The opposite of Kaltains warm color pallette of brown and red

Once again, Carmen found herself trailing behind the other two like a lost puppy as they headed towards the stables where the horses were kept. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the horse, a sudden energy bubbling up inside of her, threatening to overflow. She had always preferred talking to animals. Cliche, probably, yet there was something relaxing about them. Around them, she didn't have to mind her accent or her quietness—in fact, she thought the animals preferred these qualities—which was always appreciated. And there were no expectations. Just mutual respect.

Without thinking, she raised her hand carefully to Barnaby's nose, letting him smell her before gently pressing her palm against the base, and for the first time, smiling gently at the creature.

Raiki personally didn't ride horses too often, as he tended to just run from place to place if he ever needed to go cross country. "He does have very pretty eyes." Raiki comments about the horse, as he walks alongside it. He pulls out a map from his bag, and begins to triangulate the fastest route to their destination. If they made good time, they'd make it to the town by the next morning, given time to camp overnight.

Kaltain stepped aside as the fox interacted with Barnaby. She smiled warmly as Barnaby nuzzled the other's hand gently. She offered a hand to the fox to help her mount the large stallion. "He likes to be ridden from place to place instead of led" She said, hoping the other would take the reigns as she walked. She loved her horse, but was much more useful on foot

Carmen's eyes lit up, sparkling. And then, she spoke. "…really?"

Her voice was soft and husky, accent all but threatening to overpower her words. She'd had a few years of experience, so she gratefully took the wolf's hand and got comfortable. Once seated, it was then she noticed how out of place she felt, being the only one on a horse. Even so, she sensed that if Barnaby could speak, he might have told her she understood the way she felt. And in this, she found comfort.

"Alright then, shall we get going?" Raiki asks the others, after a few moments of horse riding have passed. "We need to head out soon if we want to make good time."

"Of course" Kaltain said, the moment between her, the fox, and Barnaby passing swiftly. She passed the reins to Carmen- she figured this was what she was called, based on the name she signed up with, and began rifling through her pockets. She stuck her arm about elbow-deep in her left pocket and pulled out a large map. "What town did they say we had to hit?" She unrolled the map and looked it over. She pulled a pen out of her right pocket and opened it, ready to circle their destination

Carmen took the reins, grateful for the trust. Even if it was small, at least it was still a connection. As long as she had the horse, she still had a place in the group… even if she was still clearly out of place. She thought for a moment, before leaning down to brush her finger on the map, tracing invisible circles before finally landing near a group of mountains in the middle of the right edge, just below a lake.

Sometimes, she wondered if she would ever be able to understand people. At least the wolf and the girl seemed nice…