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Post by Omni on Nov 20, 2014 14:00:57 GMT -5
Orrin gave a nod as Sieg mentioned coming with, but staying back. "That's probably best, especially if Freya's got problems. But eh, I should probably do most of the writin'. I'll be closer, and if I understand more of the dialect I'll probably get more out of it." Orrin glanced at his saddlebags. "I also brought a lot of paper. I guess it wouldn't hurt to both take notes if ya want." When the knights came close enough to the herd, Sieg halted at what he supposed was a safe distance. Orrin continued awhile longer before halting Freddie and dismounting, grabbing some paper and a writing utensil. He approached the man, trying to make sure he looked friendly as he did so (just to be safe), coming closer before speaking while trying not to frighten the dogs. "Excuse me," the half-dwarf said. "Sorry, I know we should've done this sooner, but it looks like we're gonna have to get yer directions written down. We'd also like better descriptions of what we're lookin' for." Orrin held the paper and pen in a ready-to-write position. "Ya mentioned somethin' about somethin' cloven, a cairn, horns, and fairies?" Orrin insists on taking notes of his own. The then approaches the shepherd, asking for clarification as he says some of what he remembers of the instructions.
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Post by Celestial on Nov 20, 2014 20:14:02 GMT -5
Ualan had just put the jewel into his pocket when he noticed the two knights coming back. One of them hung back while the other approached him. The shepherd frowned and whistled to his dogs, putting them on alert in case the knights really were trouble but he did not show his apprehension. Instead, he adopted a goofy, joking grin and tried to relax, though he still kept a tight grip on his sling. "Back sae soon? Howfur did it goo wi' th' loch beastie?" Ualan asked in a light, joking tone. However, when the Stallion knight approached him and asked him his question, as well as took out a pen and paper, the shepherd could not help but burst out laughing. "Ach, sorry. Ah shuid hae realised ye lowlanders hae na scooby aboot thae bens," he grinned and urged his dogs back, before approaching Orrin so that the knight could hear him better. "Ah ne'er said anythin' aboot fairies," he spoke a little slower to that the lowlanders would understand him. He had already given them decent directions but if they could not follow them, he might as well try to be polite. "Ye heid richt up th' glen," he pointed down the valley, "'til ye see th' Cloven Ben, tis a ben that looks lik' tis cut in twa," the shepherd mimed a mountain that had two peaks with his hands. He then wiggled one finger as though he was discipling a naughty child, "Dinnae gang ower it bit heid towards whaur th' sun rises," he gestured with one arm to the east "Thare ye'll fin' a lot o' cairns, that is muckle piles o' stanes, they're auld tombs," his arm shifted to the west "Fae thare, ye hurl towards whaur th' sun sets doon anither glen," he brought both arms up and made a motion upward, imitating two straight lines. "Keep thae twa bens that keek lik' horns up ahead o' ye 'til ye reach th' loch." Finally, Ualan folded his arms and nodded. "Thare, is thare anythin' ye dinnae ken?" Ualan explains to the poor lost knights where to go as best as he can, again.
Translations: "Back so soon? How did it go with the lake monster?" "Ach, sorry. I should have realised you lowlanders have no clue about these mountains." "I never said anything about fairies" "You head right up the valley until you see the Cloven mountain, it's a mountain that looks like it's cut in two. Don't go over it but head towards where the sun rises. There you'll find a lot of cairns, that is big piles of stones, they're old tombs. From there, you ride towards where the sun sets down another valley. Keep these two mountains that look like horns up ahead of you until you reach the loch." "There, is there anything you don't understand?"
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Post by Omni on Nov 23, 2014 19:00:22 GMT -5
The half-dwarf did his best to best to write down the key parts of the directions, listening closely to the explanations. "I've got most of it," he said, looking over his notes before looking up at the shepherd. "I think all I really need is what a 'glen' and a 'ben' are. I have an idea, but I'd like to be sure." Orrin can work with most of what he was given. Now he just wants to know what two key words mean.
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Post by Celestial on Nov 23, 2014 20:06:14 GMT -5
"Och, ye dinnae ken? Ah thought ye wur a Stallion knight! " Ualan looked shocked for a moment before he laughed and waved his hand dismissively. "Och weel, naebody said ye hud tae be fae Bern. Anyhoo..." He coughed and gestures with his arms around him at the valley. "A glen is whit we're in noo. 'n' a ben is that up thare," the shepherd pointed towards the mountain looming over them, its craggy peak scraping the wispy clouds that rolled past. "Does that hulp ye wi' whaur ah tellt ye tae gang?" Explanation of terms, oh boy.
Translations: "Oh, you don't know? I thought you were a Stallion knight!" "Oh well, nobody said you had to be from Bern. Anyway..." "A glen is what we're in now. And a ben is that up there." "Does that help you with where I told you to go?"
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Post by Omni on Nov 25, 2014 13:58:28 GMT -5
"So... a mountain and a valley then?" Orrin waited for the shepherd's confirmation before marking it down on his notes. "Yeah, that helps a lot." He gave the shepherd a smile, lifting a hand in farewell as he turned to leave. "Thank ya kindly, mister." He paused, fishing another small gem out of his purse and handing it to the man before remounting Freddie and rejoining Sieg. "Alright, so this is what I've got:" Orrin said, holding up his notes. "Go down the valley until ya see the cloven mountain. Head east until ya see piles of stones - old tombs. Head west down another valley, keeping the horn-lookin' mountains in sight until ya get to the lake." He looked up at Sieg. "I'm pretty sure that's right. Hopefully it's at least close enough that we can find the way." Orrin comes back to Sieg with a much-more-understandable set of directions. Celes, let me know if there's anything you'd like changed.
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Post by Shinko on Nov 25, 2014 21:12:30 GMT -5
Sieg sighed with relief. "That sounds a lot more digestable. I think we can follow that, or at the very least have some landmarks to ask people for if we get lost again. Let's go." * * * * * It was a little over a day later, and while they'd passed the cloven mountain some time ago, neither of them had seen any piled up rocks yet. At least none that looked nearly big enough to be a tomb. "Look, there's a creek over there," he said, pointing to a small stream running along the base of a pine-covered hill. "Let's stop for a bit so the horses can get some water- and we can get our bearings." He walked Freya over to the stream, and she gratefully knelt down to sip the water. He dismounted, shading his eyes to look across the valley. "I hope it's not too much further... and that we didn't pass it by accident. Why does everything in these mountains look the same? And why doesn't the compass work here?" The half-elf sighed, glancing up at the pine trees towards the top of the hill. "I don't suppose your offer from yesterday still stands, does it?" Mountain travel is hard man.
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Post by Omni on Nov 26, 2014 11:24:07 GMT -5
When the knights approached the stream, Freddie seemed eager to quench his thirst, quick to lay by the water and drink it in. Orrin took the opportunity to dismount, listening to his friend complain about how confusing navigation was. The half-elf sighed, glancing up at the pine trees towards the top of the hill. "I don't suppose your offer from yesterday still stands, does it?"It took Orrin a moment to figure out what Sieg was referring to, but once it clicked, the half-dwarf smiled. "Oh sure! Just wait here. I'll be back in a jiffy!" Orrin took a quick look around to try and determine which trees would provide the best vantage point, and found himself heading up the hill Sieg gestured to. Once he reached the trees, he stood near the base and looked up, trying to determine the best route for climbing. When he was reasonably confidant of his path, he prepped himself and jumped up, grabbing on with his hands as well as his feet (which was something he could do in part due to the shoes that were custom-made for him - being in house Stallion certainly had its perks). Climbing the cone-shaped pine was different than he was used to. The cone-shaped tree seemed to have rather dense branches, and there were moments where he had to do his best to squeeze through them with his large frame. On the flipside, there was no shortage of handholds or footholds. The climb wasn't as fluid as he would like, but he still made it to the top in good time and with relative ease. Well, close to the top; the uppermost branches tended to be a little too thin for his liking. Shielding his eyes from the sun, the Stallion knight surveyed the area, making sure to keep a good hold on the tree. He spotted the creek with the horses (and took a moment to wave at Sieg), and soon spotted the piles of stones. He noted the position relative to the stream and the path it would take to get to them, then made his way down - which in some ways was easier than climbing. He let himself drop from some of the lowest branches, landed, and headed back down the hill, straight for his fellow knight. "Alright, good news: we haven't passed 'em, and I know where they are. It'll be easy to get to them." He gestured down the path with a thumb. "They're right after this next corner." Orrin gets to show off his tree-climbing prowess and spots the next landmark. Looks like the knights found themselves stopping and complaining just before they got there. Don't you love when that happens?
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Post by Shinko on Nov 26, 2014 16:10:29 GMT -5
Sieg watched Orrin make his way up the tree, unable to stop his eyebrows from rising. Evidently he hadn't been kidding about his climbing ability. He smiled crookedly when Orrin waved at him and gave a salute in the half-dwarf's direction. "Alright, good news: we haven't passed 'em, and I know where they are. It'll be easy to get to them." Orrin remarked once he'd come back down. "They're right after this next corner.""Oh, of course they are," Sieg remarked shaking his head. "Well at least we know we're heading the right way." He patted Freya's shoulder, and she stood steady for him to remount. As he climbed up he asked, "Where did you learn to do that, by the way? I can't climb to save my life. If I want to get up a tree I need to employ a rope and a few sharp implements." Sieg is mildly exasperated but takes the entirely unnecessary nature of their pit stop in stride, and asks Orrin where he learned to climb so well.
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Post by Omni on Nov 26, 2014 17:03:54 GMT -5
Sieg shook his head at the situation. "Well at least we know we're heading the right way.""Yeh, it's not completely pointless," Orrin said, stretching. "It's nice to get up for a bit, and it looks like the horses enjoyed the drink." He looked at the stream. "Maybe we should collect some while we're here. I know my waterskin's runnin' low." "Where did you learn to do that, by the way?" the half-elf asked. "I can't climb to save my life. If I want to get up a tree I need to employ a rope and a few sharp implements."Orrin blinked at Sieg's question. "I just... did? I liked to climb a lot when I was smaller, especially trees. Just seemed to come to me, and I got even better as I kept doin' it." He indicated his lower hands and thumb-like big toe. "I'll admit that I like to use these, though I'm not sure if I'd say they're why I can climb so well. I know there have been things where they didn't seem to matter, maybe even made things worse." The half-dwarf gave a reminiscent smirk. "Certainly annoyed mama and the Bonds - the couple that took us in - since none of them could climb that well. Mama would remark that 'dwarves don't belong in trees!' Sometimes I'd go for a climb if I needed to get away for a bit. Had a few favorite trees..." Orrin suggests gathering some water before they set off. He tells Sieg that climbing came naturally to him.
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Post by Shinko on Nov 26, 2014 17:28:11 GMT -5
Sieg chuckled. "It's nice to have somewhere you can go for a little quiet. Though I imagine Mama would have become very cross with me if I ever discovered a place I could go that she couldn't follow me." He shrugged. "They tried to teach me to climb trees during my training, for scouting and such, but I never got the knack. Being short doesn't really help- more often then not I can't reach up to the next nearest branch that'll hold me. You get major props for being able to do it when you were young- though I admit I have trouble imagining you as a little kid." The half-elf grinned a bit. "Picture that for a second- you small enough for me to pick up instead of the other way around. I only wish. Elves are usually pretty tall, so you can bet I was disappointed at first when I stopped growing at fifteen and realized this was as tall as I was going to get. But you've seen my mother, so I suppose it was inevitable at least one of her children would get her genetics for tininess." Small talk happens.
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Post by Omni on Nov 28, 2014 0:43:03 GMT -5
Orrin gave his friend a grin. "Wouldn't that be somethin'? I do sometimes get sick of bein' so big. Doesn't help keep people of bein' afraid of me, and I've bumped my head my share of times. Made gettin' up that tree a bit harder than I'd like... Does yer sister have yer height?" The half-dwarf stopped to collect some water, then paused in thought. "Say, if ya like, maybe I can try givin' ya a tip or two on climbin'. I'll understand if ya say 'no,' but who knows? Maybe we can figure somethin' out." Tall talk and climbing talk.
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Post by Shinko on Nov 28, 2014 9:30:27 GMT -5
The half-elf laughed. "Ophelia? Nah. My dear little sister is not at all little. Granted, she's not your height, but she still stands head and shoulders above most humans. She outgrew me when she was twelve and I was fourteen, and hasn't looked back since. She's eight inches taller then I am- still rather short for an elf but at least inside an elven heigh range. Though I can understand why being as big as you are could get cumbersome. At least I never have to worry about ducking in a doorway- though you might actually like Nid'aigle's houses if that's an issue for you. They're designed to accommodate the heights of elves, who can easily be six food eight and still only considered kind of tall." At Orrin's offer to give him some climbing tips, Sieg grinned and spread his arms out in a sort of "come at me" gesture. "You are welcome to try, provided you're ready to catch me if I lose my grip and plummet out of the branches." Character establishing dialogue! Relevant I swear, just not exactly riveting to summarize.
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Post by Omni on Nov 29, 2014 1:54:42 GMT -5
When Sieg mentioned how Nid'aigle was built for tall people, Orrin smiled. "Sounds like another reason to visit. Seriously, runnin' into things isn't usually a problem, especially in buildin's. Still, it would be nice to see what it's like. Havin' people taller than me should be interestin'." At Orrin's offer to give him some climbing tips, Sieg grinned and spread his arms out in a sort of "come at me" gesture. "You are welcome to try, provided you're ready to catch me if I lose my grip and plummet out of the branches."Orrin gave a grin in return. "Sounds good to me. Maybe ya can try one of these nearby trees." He pointed to a nearby pine. "They've got denser branches, so maybe ya won't have to worry about havin' trouble grabbin' them. Though, ah..." His grin turned into a grimace. "If ya do miss, there's more to run into on the way down." Discussing tall people, climbing, and the pros and cons of nearby pine trees.
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Post by Shinko on Nov 29, 2014 15:56:47 GMT -5
"I'm not sure if I should be reassured by that or not," Sieg remarked, bemused. Climbing back down out of Freya's saddle- to her clear annoyance, as she snorted at him for getting on and then right back off again- he walked up to Orrin. He gave Orrin a bow, intoning formally, "Very well, Master Ironbeard, I am at your disposal. Teach, and I will- ack!" Before Sieg had time to finish the joke, Freya came up behind him and shoved him forwards into Orrin. With a neigh that might have been a laugh, she trotted away again, head up and tail flagging. "You know, when I told him to be ready to catch me, this isn't what I meant!" he called to the horse, though he knew she wouldn't understand the Kythian. Sieg is a derp and tries to be funny, then Freya decides to make his attempt at humor even more hilarious by turning it into a slapstick routine.
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Post by Omni on Nov 29, 2014 17:22:13 GMT -5
Thankfully, Orrin had noticed Freya coming just soon enough that Sieg falling into him hadn't caught him by surprise. He did manage to catch Sieg without too much trouble, and the half-elf shouted at Freya as she trotted off, smugly. "Ya sure weren't kiddin' about her attitude," Orrin said with a note of disapproval before helping Sieg back up, hearing Freddie give Freya a snort. "Why don't we try with one of the shorter trees? Show me what ya've got so far." Orrin thinks Freya's a bit too smug, but shrugs it off and heads right into tree-climbing topic.
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