Supply Run

[Zaros]

Zaros

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☪ Time Stamp ☪
Company: ???| Thoughts: ???| Mood: ???

☪ If I had to be honest, I didn't like coming to the city. It was uncomfortable for me to be here, and that's saying a lot given my talents. I just never felt as if I fit in proper society. Granted I was only here because my father needed some supplies you couldn't hope to find while in the Badlands. So here I was, in Amoren to pick up some supplies he ordered. This place more than anywhere else in Daravin made me nervous.

It always creeped me out being here, like I was constantly being watched, which could very well had been the case, which made this place even creepier. The quicker I got what I came for the better, I could be back in the comforts of the badlands, granted nothing was truly comfortable there, but it was the home I've come to know and love.

The day seemed to be warm, the sound of a busy city bustling around in my ears as I came to the intended destination. The shop owner greeted me, as I had come to be a familiar face when picking up my father's packages and special orders. It seemed this merchant was the only one he trusted, and the only one who had a fine eye for detail in this forsaken city.

He inquired about the usual casual conversational topics, how I was doing, how my father was doing, and if we would ever come back to the city, trivial stuff like that. I could only smile and chuckle as he was barking up the wrong tree. I don't think I could ever see myself confined to the city ever, there was too much freedom within the badlands despite its harshness.

How people could be ok with being constrained to the ideals of others and being subjected to their will was beyond me, but I knew that I would never willingly be subdued like the masses. In any case, I set my battleaxe to the side and went to help the man lift the heavy crate onto the wagon. ☪

---

"Common Speech"
"Gentevarese"
"Raillen"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Vivian]

An unattended wagon?
In Amoren?

Oh dear gods it was as though they wanted to be robbed!

Vivian watched carefully around the corner as the strange man headed into the shop. He began conversing with the shopkeep, who he seemed to know well, and Vivian waited until they were deep in conversation. It didn’t look tense but then again neither did the warrior. He certainly handled that battleaxe like he could use it. Thankfully it was a slow weapon and one he could evade quite easily.

Vivian approached the front of the cart, as stealthily as he could. Okay. So he couldn’t take the entire cart…he eyed the horse. That. That was perfect. He slowly began unbuckling the animal, using it like a shield as the man was gathering his purchases. Alright, good. Get rid of the traces here, lower the wagon tongues carefully.

He grabbed the horse’s harness and launched onto its back just as Zaros came outside with the crate. Vivian sunk his heels in, and kicked the horse into a canter down the road. “Thanks for the mount, hick!” Vivian laughed over his shoulder.

This was great! If he could hold on and get the animal to a seedier stable, he could have some gold in his pocket by the day’s end! He patted the horse’s neck with a grin, turning him down toward the dirtier sections of the city. Right now he needed to get lost in a maze of alleyways and then slowly steer himself toward a stable that wouldn’t ask questions.

Then maybe he’d go buy himself a bath.

[Zaros]

Zaros

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☪ Time Stamp ☪
Company: ???| Thoughts: ???| Mood: ???

☪ As we loaded up the first crate some pale bastard launched onto the horse we used to tow the cart and ran off with it. For a moment I just stood there and watched him gallop away, then the anger set in. Setting the crate down, I went to retrieve my axe, the shopkeep looking at me with concerned eyes. "Should I call the Halamire?" The pudgy male asked, looking to the crates that still had to be loaded.

"No leave it to me." I growled, pooling Umbralplasm onto my back, I formed wings through the use of the shepherd ability, and getting a running start I lept into the air allowing the wind to carry me into the air. I had to keep up with the damned thief, as there was nothing worse than to steal from a badlander. We already had enough to deal with in the badlands, I didn't want to have to deal with damn thieves here in the city too.

The more I thought about the more it pissed me off and made me determined to catch the wily bastard. From above I scoured the ground below looking for a fast-moving object, looking for a male with white hair. It didn't take me long to find him, he was the only person running away where he stole the horse from. Now the chase was really on, as I was in pursuit of the thief, planning on how I was going to stop him from escaping.

In all honesty, I wasn't going to kill this guy for what he had done, but he damn sure would learn never to steal from anyone again, especially a badlander. Once I spotted the fleeing robber heading down an alley, he decided to try something, a wall of darkness jutting up from the ground just high enough to stop the horse in its stride. "Alright little man, hand over the horse and I'll let you be on your way. I may hunt monsters, but I dont slay common thieves just for the hell of it........unless you give me a reason to do so" I growled, landing a few feet away from the man, my ax at the ready just in case he held a hidden weapon.

He didn't have anywhere to truly go at this point, and I was prepared to take him off the horse by force if he wanted to get physical. All I knew was that this pale bastard took something that didn't belong to him, and I needed to get it back, as there would be hell to pay if I didnt. That alone was more than enough motivation to spur me to catch this rat and return with what was stolen.

"Dont make me come and take you off the horse myself, I cant guarantee you'll come out unharmed." I demanded, taking slow but steady steps towards him. ☪

---

"Common Speech"
"Gentevarese"
"Raillen"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Vivian]

Vivian urged the horse into a steady trot as they went further along. He’d needed the speed to put some distance between him and the traveler, but now he was trying to avoid the eyes of any guards or other thieves. Horses were worth a fair chunk of gold, after all, and relatively easy to take if they were trained to a rider. He patted the horse’s neck, praising the animal for being so level headed.

It was a good horse. He had an even stride and didn’t favor any of his feet. He was a sturdy breed that would fetch a decent price with a trader or farmer. Vivian smiled at it, pleased with his acquisition. “Got a mule just like you.” He told the horse. While he strongly favored the bigger brains of the mule, he could see the appeal in a good cart horse.

A wall of shadow descended in front of him, causing the horse to pull up short. The man from before appeared out of a mass of shadow, holding the axe aloft. Well, that wasn’t much of a threat yet. Vivian eyed where they were. The narrow alleyway didn’t have enough space to use that axe effectively, and he risked hitting the horse. The animal’s head and neck were blocking most of any direct blows to Vivian.

Gods, he was getting sick of fucking mages.

Vivian glared at the other man. This horse was a week’s worth of food, maybe more. He grasped the reins and slowly applied pressure backwards as the man stepped forward. He couldn’t let this go so easily. He had to think. Now, popping in and out of the shadows like that would be expensive on a man’s constitution. If he could keep running and hiding, especially mounted, he had a shot.

“You were the moron who left your cart unattended in the street.” He pointed out. “What the hell did you expect? You didn’t even tie up the poor thing. You’ve got to be the dumbest badlander I’ve ever seen.”

Keep him talking, keep him talking…edge slowly out of the alleyway and bolt.

[Zaros]

Zaros

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☪ Time Stamp ☪
Company: ???| Thoughts: ???| Mood: ???

☪ Was this guy for real? Did he really think that was justification to steal someones' shit? It was becoming more and more clear I couldn't stand being in the city, this guy becoming the prime example of that. He didn't want to waste any more time on the situation. With stratum in place he snapped on his fingers, and from the wall tendrils of darkness seeped out from it. Channeling more ether into forming Umbralplasm I blocked off any means of escape as with each step I took forward, the thief would back up at the same pace.

I wasn't about to sit here and allow this to go further than it already had. I Could feel my nerves on their last thread, as he began to berate me for leaving the cart unattended. Was he fucking serious? "You are one special breed of stupid you know that? I've had quite enough of this shit." I snapped, planting my axe into the ground.

With a hand gesture, the shadowy tendril shot out at the man from the Stratum wall behind the horse. Like a crack of a whip, the shadowy tendrils swatted the horses behind, which I was hoping would startle the horse causing it to throw the man off its saddle. Taking that chance I charged the bastard, making sure to get as close as possible to him so I could properly restrain him. It was taking everything in me not to just outright kill the man, especially the more he ran his mouth.

Murder in the city however wasn't on my agenda for the day let alone having to evade authorities because of it. ☪

---

"Common Speech"
"Gentevarese"
"Raillen"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Vivian]

Vivian saw the shadows gather along the wall out of the corner of his eye. Surely this man wouldn’t risk hitting his horse? He lowered himself to the back of the animal, winding his hands around the harness and flattening himself. He wasn’t sure if the other man would try and simply shove him off but he wasn’t giving up without a fight. This was his food. This was better shoes for Bara and new clothing for himself. If he had to run this stupid bastard over with the horse so he damn well would.

He glared at the other man. “Listen. You clearly don’t have your ribs meeting your spine. You don’t have people to take care of. You’re rich enough to park your ass outside of a shop.” He snapped irritably. “What, do you think you’re the only one who’s got it rough? I don’t eat if I don’t steal so you’re going to have to rip me off this horse, pretty boy.”

Shadows shot out of the wall and slapped the horse on the hind end. Vivian yelped, and the horse reared. It charged forward, fully intending on running the man in front of it over. Vivian’s hands were wrapped around the harness, and he hooked his boots into the traces near the horse’s hip. He wasn’t the best rider; he was used to Bara’s easy pace and he had never taken the mule out at a full gallop.

He hung on like a squirrel, the horse lunging forward and down the alleyway, away from the slap to the rear it had received. “Calm down! Stop!” Vivian couldn’t unhook his hands to grab the reins without risking falling off. Well, he supposed this worked out in a strange sort of way. They were escaping.

The bad lander thought he was the stupid one? He’d panicked his own horse! Vivian swore under his breath as the horse broke out of the alley and onto the street, charging down the lane. This was less than fucking subtle!

[Zaros]

Zaros

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☪ Time Stamp ☪
Company: ???| Thoughts: ???| Mood: ???

☪ My patience with this man was wearing very thin, thinner than his damn hair. But I couldn't help but pity the poor sap as he was similar to me in a way. He seemed to have struggled just as I did in the badlands, but that still didn't excuse his behavior, as had he just asked I wouldn't have minded giving him some coin to feed himself.

Though I had to admit my idea didn't go over as I thought it would, as the poor horse barrelled past me, almost taking me down in its path. I was almost content with just letting him go, but lugging that cart full of parts was going to be a drag for me, so I had no choice but to go after them. With Shepherd at my back, I took to the air once again, looking for the frantic horse and its unintended rider.

It didnt take long to catch up to them, following the looks of people who either almost got trampled or were confused about what was going on. Coming in low, I came upon him from behind and scooped the pale male up off the horse. I was expecting him to fuss and fight and try to escape my grasp, but I was certain that with the height I climbed he would find it would be in his best interest would be to not struggle against me.

Watching, I could see the horse as it was soon being corraled by the locals and I knew I could come back and get him later. For now, I would deal with this bastard. Finding a building nearby I came to land, letting the man go as he may have rolled across the roof. Dismissing Shepherd, I turned to face him, cracking my knuckles as I approached him. "You got a lot of fucking nerve you know that!?" ☪

---

"Common Speech"
"Gentevarese"
"Raillen"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Vivian]

Vivian did his best to hold onto the horse. The animal had clearly had enough of everything that had happened, and Vivian was doing his best to stabilize his grip so he could make a lunge for the wildly flapping reins. If he could grab those, he could get the horse to stop. Or at least, he could get it moving in a tight circle so it could have a few moments to think about what it was doing. Vivian didn’t blame the horse; it was frightened and had a stranger clinging to its back.

He made a grab for the reins and missed, swearing and ducking back against the horse’s spine again. Right, that had been close. He could get them if he tried again. Vivian growled. He had to get ahold of the situation.

The thief felt arms around his middle, pulling him up off the horse. He swore and tried to keep ahold of the harness, but the barbarian above him pried him off. Vivian whipped around, throwing elbows, and aiming his knees for sensitive parts of the other’s anatomy that he could reach. As they ascended to a more dangerous height, Vivian stopped struggling and looked down at the horse being grabbed by some of the locals.

“Gods damn it you idiot!” Vivian shrieked. There was not a man or woman in Daravin that didn’t know how valuable a horse was! This man wasn’t getting that horse back. Anyone with any brains, or at least any commoner, would be spiriting that horse to the nearest stable and selling it as fast as he could. This man hadn’t saved his horse he’d just cost Vivian the money, which was about as much as stealing from him.

Vivian grabbed the roof, struggling upright and away the moment he was let go. Despite his appearance he had relatively good balance. “I’ve got a lot of fucking nerve?! Me?! You’re the one who spooked the horse! If you had any brains in your god damn head you would have used the shadows to poke me off not made the damn thing run!” He snarled back. “Then, you made it worse! You cost us both! You really think you’re just going to stroll over to whomever grabbed that horse and just get it back tra la la? No, moron! It’s gone! That thing is being sold as we speak or butchered and carved up between half a dozen starving mouths.”

Vivian glared at him. “You left the horse alone. You spooked it. You abandoned it. Don’t fucking blame me for your own incompetence. The good gods don’t go lightly with the brains but sometimes I think you badlanders are out there because you’re too god damn stupid for anything else!”

The whore straightened and shook his head, looking for a spot to get off the roof. “I swear you dipshit country people…”

[Zaros]

Zaros

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☪ Time Stamp ☪
Company: ???| Thoughts: ???| Mood: ???

☪ Was he really serious, did he really sit here and accost me for losing the horse. Looking over to where the horse was being corraled he could see the swarm of people trying to get the horse. Well, the damn bastard had a point, go figure. But that only made me even more pissed. The fact he blamed me for leaving the horse alone and the cause for losing it didn't sit well for me.

"That I'm not worried about" I rebutted, turning to focus on where the horse was and concentrating on the mare, forming Stratums around the horse. Shadowy tendrils would whip about, fending off anyone who got close. A heavy sigh escaped my lips, as formed those, as even in my expertise, all this chasing was ether expending, another reason I was pissed about this whole situation.

Hearing him curse me as badlander was probably the last nerve for me, causing me to storm over to where he was, catching him by the collar, tossing him back, I stood over him and delivered a right hook across his face. "WHERE THE FUCK DO YOU GET OFF BLAMING ME FOR THIS?! YOU ARE THE PISSANT THAT DOESN'T HAVE RESTRAINT OR SELF-CONTROL!" I roared, hoisting him up by his hair, and snarling at him. In a fit of rage, I hit him one more time.

Then it hit me, looking at his face, and realized that he only did this cause he had no other choice.

"Fucking hell!!!!" I scoffed, backing away from the man. I ran my hands through my hair as it was always a policy of mine not to hurt those who couldn't fight back, and looking at his thin frame, I doubted this guy could fight his way out of wet paper. Walking back over to him I tore off a piece of my attire and wiped the blood from his face. "Come on, Let's get you something to eat, on me." I offered, hoisting him over my shoulder.

Carefully, I descended with him over my shoulder, navigating my way down, making my way over to where I corralled the horse. The crowd of people parted as I advance, shooting glares at them as opened up a space in the Stratum, setting the pale guy down just so I could calm the mare. Poor thing was spooked, but once he saw me, and after I spent longer than I wanted to calm it down, I ushered the pale male onto the horse.

Dissipating the Stratums I erected, we set off. "If you promise not to steal anything else from me, I'll give you some extra coin, hopefully, it will last you a while." I offered again, trying to push my anger down, battling the urge to wring the bastard's neck for what he put me through, looking back at him as we trotted off back to the merchant's shop.☪

---

"Common Speech"
"Gentevarese"
"Raillen"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Vivian]

This one was expending a lot of ether flying around and protecting the horse at such a distance. Vivian wagered he was going to be teetering on overextending himself soon if he wasn’t already. The whore preferred to use his a little more judiciously…like when men marched over to him with the clear intention of punching him.

Vivian figured he wouldn’t be able to block the punch. The badlander outweighed him, and had the benefit of consistent eating. He could absorb it. Vivian recalled the flexible armor of the flea. He had experimented with it a little, layering the chitin over his arms or hands. Flea armor was more directed at protecting the vulnerable flesh underneath by absorbing impact, not by denying it or reflecting it like a shield would.

It was probably the only reason his nose didn’t shatter when the first punch landed. Vivian was no stranger to beatings. His clients beat him. The other whores had beaten him. He’d been beaten by drunks stealing his take for the evening. He winced when the badlander grabbed his scalp and hit him again. His face throbbed, and it hurt, but thanks to the armor he’d woven into his skin…his nose was spared and bruising would be minimal.

Vivian dismissed the armor, releasing his hold on the ether protecting his face. He scrambled back from the badlander as he approached, wiping his own face off with his sleeve rather than let his opponent touch him. He was dizzy, and questioning his ability to get off the roof, but ready to fight.

Of course the beating didn’t seem to be over. The little shit was trying to carry him off somewhere! He was carrying him off the roof! Vivian clung to him, determined not to be thrown off, but anger was growing in his chest. Did this bastard think he was going anywhere with him? Food? Now he was pitying him?!

Oh, nothing could have angered him more. He had struck him in the face, twice, making sure Vivian couldn’t work for at least a day or two. Then he had the balls to tell him he’d feed him and give him some money?

“What the fuck was the point of hitting me then, huh? Just wanted to put me out of work for a few days?”
He sneered as the badlander set him down to calm down the horse. He could get something out of this. He just had to figure out what on that cart was worth pilfering, or see where the man was staying and sell his information to a few gangs. No one struck Vivian in the face. He’d make the next night absolute hell for the man if he could.

Shockingly, the man put him back on the horse and Vivian resisted the urge to immediately sink heels into the mare’s sides. He did pick at weaknesses in the leather traces while they walked. With any luck it would weaken the leather enough to snap the moment he hit a rough patch in the badlands, far enough from Amoren so he couldn’t fix it so easily. Yes, Vivian did love the idea of him stranded. Was it petty? Yes. Did he care, knowing a fat bruise was growing on his cheek and making him less attractive to clients? No.

“You better give me enough to last a few days after costing me the horse and the clients I’m going to lose with my face like this.” Vivian growled sourly. He fell silent, working on picking at the traces. Fuck this hick bastard. He’d piss in his water supply if he got the chance.