[3.5 E6] Sing a Song of Vengeance: Maelys and Alonzo

[Sarco_Phage]

On the Road to Lenton - Next Stop, the Village of Mirren

Maelys

The death of a child is always a terrible thing, but when that child was murdered by foul agents of some highborn lord - when that child was murdered in some corrupt ritual to grant that lord power that one is normally born with - well, a grieving parent can be forgiven for setting out on a quest of vengeance.

You do not know that it was indeed Turamar Travyl, a Lenton man, who had your son killed - the son born of his seed, the son you carried for months and raised for fifteen years.

But who else could it have been? Precious few people knew you had sorcerous powers, that you could snap your fingers and put a man to sleep as though dead, or chill people with the cold of winter. It was only him, and your son, as far as you knew.

It could have been no one else.

Now you are on the long road to Lenton with your old mule, a crossbow, and a thirst for vengeance.

You also appear to have picked up a clumsy, bard along the way... But he too seems to know a little of the Power. It comes of being touched by elves.

Alonzo

Jealousy drives a great many things in the world, not the least of which is the craft of song. Ser Thestle, a minor son of the Thornbridges of Mardumont, is jealous, jealous of your own natural singing talent, jealous of the lovely Jessaria's choice of you, and not him, for her apprentice. And Ser Thestle is neither a nice man nor an easily appeased one... especially if you are working under him. Already the winds of rumor are stirring, and as soon as the arch of the western gate of Mardumont passed behind you, the danger of those rumors following you stopped.

In truth, Mardumont was not the place for someone of your talents, not the ones Jessaria had given you. For she taught you more than how to sing and sing well - she taught you the magic in the music, the twists and turns of reality that can be undone by singing or playing in a certain way. You can do things most men can only dream of, Caballan, Riesian, Andlunder, or barbarian. And she told you your powers would only increase with practice.

Assuming, that is, you don't trip over a cobblestone and dash your brains out in the process.

So you have left Mardumont in the company of an older woman named Maelys. She carries some nasty weapons and a weight on her shoulders, but that is what age does to you.

Perhaps she has a story you can spin into a song.

[Strawberries]

Maelys sits on her mule, looking unblinkingly ahead. She has glanced maybe a couple of times at her traveling companion, once to note how young he is and another time to look at the clearly elven headdress and the musical instrument, but then she forced herself to look away. It gives her a pang just to look at the young man's features. He is just a couple of years older than Cayne. I wonder why he is on the road. She doesn't ask, however. Asking questions is a sure way to have questions asked back, and she doesn't want that.

Maelys adjusts her cloak a bit, and makes sure the pouch at her waist that contains the few things she needs to focus her powers isn't immediatly visible for casual observers. She shifts to gain a more confortable position on the mule and to relieve a bit the ache in her backside, and keeps looking ahead in silence, pale brown eyes focused on the road.

OOC: sorry for the lack of interation at the moment, but Maelys isn't really the kind to initiate conversation. I'll make it uo to you, I promise.

[El_Pablo]

"Cold?" Alonzo watches the old maid as she rearranges all her things. He knew the road would be long, and physical discomfort would likely be just one of many hazards. Yes, the road would be long, and likely longer in silence. He looked again at the woman on the mule, with her greying hair, and an almost aggressive stoop. She must have been beautiful when she was younger, and some of that beauty probably remained. It was a shame everyone was not born an elf, and touched by time like a gentle breeze, instead of the human's harsh gale. That game had hidden her beauty in that hunched back, and in her determined scowl. Still, she didn't seem like so many other older maids who would take well to flattery. Perhaps, she could enjoy some company of misery. "The weather seems fair, but to be honest I'm sweltering. I never got used to wearing all this leather." The bard accentuated his point by re-adjusting some straps on the old dark brown leathers he wore and scratched where a steel stud was rubbing him in his side.
The armor was an irritation like so many things of late. Getting used to it would be a growing pain. Growing seemed to be the problem. Ser Thestle's growing anger and jealousy had made all of Mardumont seem toxic. The lesser lordling was not so much older that Alonzo, but he seemed to have a bitterness that might seem more fitting to his new companion. A bitterness he spread to every inn and theater in that town. It was funny to think that he left a hamlet for being too small to get away from those who mistreated him, only to find a whole town the same way. It seemed just like so long ago, when he left his parent's house, that he had outgrown Mardumont. He scratched the spot where his armor rubbed him again. Growing was always painful, but he closed his eyes and hummed a single note. The sound inside him reminded him that growing was always its own reward.
Still, a conversation could go along way to saving him from his thoughts. So, Alonzo tried again, "Perhaps, madam, we can stop at a roadside inn or find a hamlet with a small market and get you something to be more comfortable?"

[Sarco_Phage]

On the Road to Lenton - Next Stop, the Village of Mirren

Travel proceeds in silence. At the rate mules travel along this road, it is another day and a half to Mirren, the closest stronghold of civilization and first stop on the road to Lenton. The weather is not exactly the best, and most of the travelers you passed earlier in the day are headed to Mardumont, likely to sell their wares on Market Day.

As you ramble along the road, you see an immobile, black shape on the horizon. From this great distance, it looks to be some kind of carriage.

There are gray shapes moving around it.

[Strawberries]

Maelys turns to the bard as soon as he speaks, fixing her gaze on him, as if weighting every word the young man is saying. "I am comfortable" she says, curtly. Her voice is probably the best part of her, deep and pleasant. "Thank you." she adds, to not seem rude. It isn't this boy's fault, and she shouldn't take it out on him. He is just a traveling boy trying to make some conversation. Except, she doesn't want to talk. Expecially with a young boy so similar to Cayne.

She turns for a moment ahead, trying to come up with some way to make her traveling companion understand this, and she sees the shapes on the road. "What's that? Up ahead?" She says, squinting. Despite her age her sight is still good, but of course her eyes were better when she had the age of her companion, and she hopes he can see something more. The roads aren't exactly safe to travel, in this time and age. Almost unconsciously, she brings an hand to her waist, under her cloack, to rest on her component pouch.

[roll0]

[El_Pablo]

Alonzo had started to accept the silence. The lady's stares spoke well enough to get her point across. However, boredom didn't appear to be an issue as Maelys' voice brought some warning, and a flash of excitement. The shadow appeared to be a carriage, and ,on this road, it could be traveling in the same direction. "Looks like we might find some more comfortable travel arrangements." The bard's smile shrunk back quickly after it grew. "Why are they stopped?" His eyes tried to make sense of what he was seeing as he moved closer to the carriage.

Spot: [roll0]

[Strawberries]

Maelys squints again. The lad is right, they are not moving. "I don't know" she says. "And I don't want to find out by walking right into it.". She looks around, trying to see if the caravan is right on the road. "Can we move off the road?"

[El_Pablo]

Alonzo continues to walk forward, slowing slightly. "Well, I don't hear any shouting that sounds like something is amiss. I would hate to lose the opportunity of getting a ride as far as Mirren over fear of a broken carriage wheel." The bard tried to make his voice and his posture exude calmness, but his repetitive looks down the road betrayed his greater sense of caution. A look to either side of the road draws a skeptical look to the old maid from the young traveler. "The safety of the road is the presence of other travelers. I am much more weary of the wilderness than traffic."

[Strawberries]

She makes a sort of irritated sound in the back of her throat "Just to make sure it is indeed a broken wheel. It is foolish to be immediately visible, if there is danger at all.". She looks the young boy in the eyes. Caution is learned with age, apparently. Or it could have something to do with hiding your whole life "You had other suggestions?"

[El_Pablo]

"Well, you've got that thing, for one." Alonzo points at the large mechanical bow which is probably causing the old woman all the discomfort she keeps squirming about. "How about you load it, and get down behind the mule. I'll walk up, and if I sense danger I'll whistle. If I think it's safe, I'll wave." The bard shrugged to emphasize the simplicity of his tactic. "You just have to promise not to hit me if you shoot." The last comment came with a sly smile.

[Strawberries]

"You will be getting headfirst into dang..." she stops herself from finishing the santence. That's the mother in her talking and she knows, but this boy is nothing to her, and if he wants to put himself in danger, that's his prerogative.

"Very well. If you want to" she concedes. She throws a look at the crossbow. It's brand new. She didn't have much in terms of weapon at her home, except a dagger. The merchant who sold the crossbow to her kept looking at her strangely, as if he tought old women had no business going around armed. From her part, she knows how to use it...barely. Certainly better than the mace she keeps in her pack just in case "I think I'll aim better if we get a little nearer"

I'm operating under the assumption that we're still quite far. Please correct me if that's not the case.

[El_Pablo]

Alonzo arches an eyebrow at Maelys' change of heart. There was a disconnect, and one didn't have to be singer to hear when the words in your head get in the way of the ones on your tongue. Alonzo slowly takes the reins on the mule's bridle. He looks up at its rider. "The unknown is always frightening, but not always dangerous. Yet, it also always rewards its pursuers, at the very least with knowledge and stories to tell." The bard's voice began to fall. His last sentence ending in almost a whisper. "It is the familiar things which all too often possesses those dangers we should truly fear." The words have a peculiar ring as if they belonged to someone else, but they had become a lesson all his own. He offers a hand to help the lady dismount. His voice returns to its usual canter, "I will lead the mule. Tell me when you feel we are close enough."

Alonzo will lead the mule toward the carriage until Maelys is good with the range. He will then proceed to investigate the stopped traffic.

[Strawberries]

She watches him, raising an eyebrow, a bit startled from his words, but doesn't comment any further, instead only signalling when she feels confident enough with her aim. She puts a bolt in her crossbow, and waits for his signal.

Uhm...spot again? [roll0]