• Closed • Attack in the Stormlands (Varlum)

Vivian and Varlum do their knightly duties.

Beyond the city of Rharne lies the Stormlands, which is home to a number of farms, forests, fields, Lake Lovalus, and the River Zynyx. This subforum also includes the Stormwastes to the south.

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Vivian Shiryu
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Attack in the Stormlands (Varlum)

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Vhalar 34th, 718
Vivian reached out and stroked Speckle's neck as the horse paused to rest. Vivian had been sent out into the Stormlands to investigate a case of cattle theft that had apparently escalated into threatening the rancher who owned the cows. Owing to the likelihood of a martial confrontation with the aforementioned brigands, Vivian had been told that she was going to meet up with a member of the Guardians branch at the farm. In truth, she was curious about that, since she thought that she should be able to handle some bandits on her own, but she supposed that sending a lone Inquisitor, especially a mere appellant, was more than a little against the protocol for such things.

Vivian was also aware that, due to the troubles with Rynmere lately, she probably wasn't exactly trusted by all of her superiors. Her ties to her old family weren't exactly a secret, and while no one had confronted her about them yet, she had heard some whispers. Granted, she had also heard whispers about her ties to the Qe'Dreki and her trial, so she guessed that people still didn't quite know what to make of her or where her allegiances lied. She figured it would die down sooner or later, but for now, she was likely to have a chaperone a lot of the time, whether officially or unofficially.

Granted, she already wasn't alone on this mission. Raio was growing quite nicely, and while he wouldn't be big enough to ride until Cylus, the Zephyrus was now big enough to pose a serious threat to anyone who decided to be stupid. He was nearly 5 feet at the shoulder now and his fangs, claws, and horn were nice and sharp. The big cat occasionally wandered away from her horse, unable to quietly follow along. She didn't begrudge the big cat his curiosity, however, since he always returned to her side after a brief period of exploration. However, before long, she saw the farm she was supposed to investigate up ahead and stopped her horse, calling for Raio to come to her side. She figured it was best to wait outside the farm for her Guardian companion to arrive.
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Varlum
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Re: Attack in the Stormlands (Varlum)

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"Yeah. I know Vivian."

Last time Varlum had met the woman he'd been a squire working under her services. Interesting dilemma, that, being a man that towered over your alleged teacher. In Ivorian the Ithecal had at least stood within a similar height to him, for the most part. But a small woman like her teaching a giant Ithecal like Varlum had done nothing but amuse him endlessly. But she knew what she was talking about, truth be told. Whether her size made her intimidating or not didn't matter, her military mind was keen and her ability to give orders was sharp. How did a woman of that height have such a powerful voice?

As soon as he had been given the order Varlum made his way, heading towards the farm that he'd been told to go and see her at. Chances were he would be late, but horses of his size weren't in big supply at the base - which meant he was walking. At least he could be thankful for the warmth. It made the conditions comfortable to be in. Without it, there was nothing on this earth that would make Varlum walk as far as he was about to. Cold weather was hellish for the Ithecal, Varlum being no exception. Then again, he hadn't endured real cold for a long time, a lot having changed since then. Defiance was the most prominent. Did his control of the Elements mean that he would be resistant to the ice cold of seasons like Cylus?

As the Ithecal started to approach, legs already sore from the sheer amount of walking he had been doing to even get here, he saw Vivian. The pain wouldn't deter him now. Of all the people he had met in the Lightning Knights, Vivian had been the one he had to impress. That and Ethelynda, who he had been marked by during his time out in the Stormwastes. But impressing an Immortal felt like more of a lifestyle than a few moments of confidence. All he could do to keep the Immortal happy was protect people as he had done that day, charge in to every situation he could in the hope of keeping those around him safe.

When he was close enough, Axe on his back and shield-bearers mark clear on his hand, he gave Vivian a small smirk. "You're not about to ask me how to defend this farm with one stick and a toddler, are you?"
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Vivian Shiryu
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Re: Attack in the Stormlands (Varlum)

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Vivian grinned at the sight of her old squire walking up to her, then laughed at his question. Valrum had been a good student, if stubborn, during his brief time as her squire, and she had tried to teach him as much as she could in the short time they had. Now, her squire had fully become a Guardian and she felt a sense of pride in that, though she was aware that in terms of martial ability, he had been far from a novice when he had joined the knights. However, they had a good relationship with each other still, if based partially in sarcasm and backsass. Now, she looked back over her shoulder at the farm, then looked back at her squire with a serious expression. "Of course not, Varlum. I expect you to defend both the farm and the toddler with nothing but a stick. And not a very good stick, even." she said, before grinning slightly. "Although frankly, if it comes down to defending this farm, it's going to be tricky." she said, looking back at the farm with a grimace. It was a very open place, no real walls or defensive structures to speak of.

As the two spoke, Raio walked up to Varlum and growled at the big Ithecal, causing Vivian to look at the big blue feline and shake her head. "Friend, Raio! Behave yourself, you big vain fuzzball." she said, causing the big cat to ponder Varlum for a moment, then walk up and rub his head against the big knight, being careful not to stick him with his horn. "This is my Zephyrus, Raio. He's loyal and smart, but he's as stubborn as you are sometimes and very vain. Tell him he's a pretty boy and he'll leave you alone, unless he decides he wants pets." she said, before she looked back at the farm. "Well, shall we then?" she said, nudging Speckle forward the last few yards to the farm. As they made that last leg of the trip, she looked at her squire curiously. "That shield? It's a blessing, yeah? Who from?" she asked. She had done some research on the Immortals since Cassion's Endgame, but she still wasn't overly familiar with them.

When they arrived at the farm, a middle aged fellow who looked like the kind of fellow who could eat steal like it was breakfast came and eyed the two of them. "Two knights? I've been having my cattle stolen and my life threatened by who know how many bandits and they send a mere two knights?" he said, his tone so ornery that Vivian wondered if he decided to be a farmer because it meant he didn't have neighbors to put up with.

"I assure you, the two of us will be more than sufficient for the task." Vivian said, swinging down from her horse to stand beside Varlum. "Now, you say your cattle is being stolen and your life is being threatened, but we're going to need more details than that if we're going to be of any help." she said, her tone serious.

After a moment, the farmer nodded and scowled, which seemed to be his default expression. "My cows started going missing half an arc ago. One or two every dozen trials or so at first. Thought it was wildlife at first, wolves or zephyrus. Then they started going missing more frequently, and the first death threat came at the beginning of the season." he said, handing over a note.

Vivian took the note and looked it over, shaking her head. "Leave the farm or die, old-timer." was all it said, in a simple font. The parchment was some sort of leather, cow skin if she had to make a wild guess, and the writing was in charcoal. She handed the note to Varlum for his perusal, then looked at the farmer. "Is there anything special about your farm? Any reason they may want to drive you off of it?" she asked, her tone intent.

The farmer paused for a moment, then shook his head. "Nothing at all. Lands good, but not any better or worse than anyone else out here. You could get land just as good all over the Stormlands. House is nice, but in the same way as my land." he said, before squaring his shoulders. "So, what do you all intend to do about it? I won't be chased off my land by anything or anybody." he said, his jaw set.

Vivian could see that the farmer was as stubborn as the day was long, so she just smiled. "Well, once we're done here, Varlum and I will deal with the trouble makers." she said, before turning to Varlum. "Any questions you want to ask, Varlum?" she said, but there was a note in her voice that he would recognized. It was the same tone she used when she was throwing him a test during his time as her squire.
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Varlum
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Re: Attack in the Stormlands (Varlum)

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When Vivian made her remark Varlum just smirked, glancing to the farm with a raised eyebrow. "You'd be surprised what a man of my size can do with a stick" he chuckled quietly. It had been too long since he'd seen Vivian, admittedly. Even when they had spent time together the two never got a chance to fully work alongside one another, so it would be interesting for her to see how he had come along. Besides, having a leader around meant he wouldn't have to be the one making orders. Varlum was much better at just doing what someone more educated than him said.

When the Zephyrus made an approach forward, Varlum just gave the same confident grin he often did in the face of what might be danger. It was a confidence that most assumed would get him killed, but the Ithecal wasn't stupid. Vivian wouldn't have brought a creature like a Zephyrus along if she wasn't confident that nobody innocent would be at risk, Varlum trusted that much. "I hope you don't ever expect me to call anyone or anything a pretty boy again. But yes, Raio, you are an aggressive but pretty boy" he rolled his eyes playfully, almost having been tempted to snarl back at the creature. But after watching Lynessa's beast in action he knew better than to piss one off.

"Ethelynda gave it to me" he admitted, raising his hand a little to make the mark clearer for her to see. "Out in the Stormwastes when those Flameborn attacked, I was there. I took a few bad hits but managed to stay standing and hold the big bastard in place until we could take him down" he explained with a small growl at the mention of it. It had been a close call with death, one that he wished he could have done better in. Men and women had died needlessly, including their commander. Each day these creatures posed a risk to the lives of both Knights and Citizens alike. It didn't take much to see the frustration in Varlum's features at the mere idea of them.

When the man approached them both Varlum's frustration turned to him, his eyes cold at the doubt he had when only two Knights had arrived. Part of him wnated to make a snide comment about his own size, pointing out that both Varlum and Vivian must be fairly efficient to be in the positions they were. But he kept quiet for the time being. It wasn't his place to try and snap back at a civilian with some clear attitude issues. Instead he listened to each question Vivian asked, eyes keeping focused on the small man. It seemed he was braver than most would be when their life was at risk, perhaps even a Knight himself in his youth. Unfortunately, his refusal to move wasn't going to stop the bandits from moving him after they stabbed a sword through his gut.

Varlum finally broke eyes with the man and looked to Vivian, shaking his head. Of course he knew it was a test, but asking questions wasn't much his thing. He was a Guardian after all, not a Survey Knight. Whether Vivian was impressed or not it was most definitely the kind of soldier Varlum had learned to become. Asking questions and making big decisions wasn't much his strong point.

"So what now?"
word count: 582
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Vivian Shiryu
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Re: Attack in the Stormlands (Varlum)

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Vivian grinned at her friends response to her teasing. "Oh, I imagine I would be surprised. Hopefully it doesn't come to that, though." she said, grinning as they started the last stretch to the farm. "Oh, I don't expect you to call much of anything a pretty boy, but my cat likes it, the vain furball." she said, grinning as she reached down to scratch Raio behind the ears as he sauntered up next to Speckle and rubbed his head against her leg, purring like a small thunderstorm. She grimaced at the story of how Varlum had earned Taithir though. "Eurgh. I wasn't there for the Flameborn battles, I was in Rharne proper at the time, but I heard the stories. Glad you made it through that mess alive, Varlum." she said, her tone sincere. She didn't like it when her friends were injured, but hurt and healed was significantly better than hurt and dead, in her opinion.

After they spoke to the farmer and Varlum shook his head about having any questions, she looked at the farmer and smiled slightly. "Where did your cattle first start going missing, sir?" she asked, her tone polite.

The farmer thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I move around a few pastures, to keep them from eating one of the pastures out completely. They was always in the north pasture when they went missing at first." he said, and Vivian nodded.

"We'll start there, then. We'll take of it, sir." she said, before looking at Varlum and Raio. "Let's get to it." she said, leading her little team towards the north end of the farm, where a clear pasture was. "All right, so if the cows were taken from here first, our prey is probably hiding out to the north somewhere." she said, tying her horse off near a tree. "We'll both go on foot from here, just in case." she said, as they started away from the farm and towards danger. "How much experience do you have actually fighting bandits, Varlum?" she asked, keeping an eye out for signs of a bandit camp. As they walked, Raio ranged out in front of them, almost invisible in taller grass and brush despite his bright colors.
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