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Post by Johannes Sawyer on Aug 29, 2023 23:46:38 GMT -5
The moon on high, this night in the forest was a particularly silent one indeed. Nary the croaking of frogs, nor the chirping of crickets, nor even the rustling of distant underbrush from some unknown predator stalking through the bushes looking for its next meal. The air was still, so still that if one stood and simply looked around the bioluminescent forest surrounding them, one might believe that the world had simply stopped. That is, until the sound of someone beating on a hollow log and singing began to ring out into the forest. The noise seemed to set time back in motion, the buzz of insect and animal alike once again breathing life into this once motionless still-life painting. Sitting upon a rotted-out log, beating upon it with his hands in a syncopated rhythm was a young man in peasants' garb. He drummed away, singing out into the chill night air, face turned upwards towards the moonlight that barely managed to pierce through the thick canopy.
"That moon, o'moon, o'glorious moon...shine your glow o'er me..."
He sang, taking quick breaths between chattering teeth, clearly a bit chilly in his short-sleeved tunic and flax trousers despite the crackling campfire.
"The suns long gone, and I've done wrong, and lost my way you see...."
He continued on, breath materializing into little clouds of mist as he sang into the air. His voice, light and lilting, seemed to have a strange melancholy tone to it. It gave a certain sense of longing, regret, and....something a little more complex than simple homesickness. However, as he sang that line, he found himself mumbling the next one incoherently. Like someone who knows the tune, but not the words. The air of sadness and longing was gone, broken by his failure to sing the line.
"Damn...I can never remember the next line..."
The boy sighed, reaching behind him and grabbing another log to toss into the flames that had begun to dwindle slightly. It seemed his singing was over, and the forest would return to silence and stillness once more, with nothing more than the crackling of his fire to keep the boy company.
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Post by Raoul O. Ardelean on Aug 30, 2023 2:20:02 GMT -5
It had been a stressful day for Raoul O. Ardelean, he had to take on a challenging and slightly traumatizing case under his hands as he investigated a series of murderers. Although he had been able to solve them and bring the man to justice, the seriously insane attitude of the killer and downright grizzly scene had just taken its toll on his mind today.
He went and stayed at the base of operations for the week for about thirty minutes filing paperwork and filing out forms of the usual boring detective work until he decided to finish the rest tomorrow or more likely the day after.
He needed to get out and relax for the night, to clear his mind from its weariness so he shut down his work encampment he had made for the night and walked away into the woods. Being in nature always helped cleanse his spirit and mind. Feeling the moon’s presence on his skin felt like he was right at home just walking anywhere.
He stopped and sat on a rock taking out a small chocolate candy to devour, he was almost addicted to chocolate of any kind. It usually helps him relax just by the delicious taste alone.
As he bit down on it he began to hear someone in the distance singing and he stopped moving for a second analyzing what it could be. It sounded human-like at least. However, it could be some sort of monster looking to trap someone or it could just be someone singing.
Either way, he was curious and decided to make his way towards the noise slowly and steadily. He walked by until he was leaning on a tree hearing a young man’s singing.
He whistled softly accompanying the gentleman’s lead, he had heard the tune once or twice in the taverns he’d go to.
He stopped whistling and then said in a quiet and gentle voice, “Hello there? What are you doing here in the dead of night?”.
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Post by Johannes Sawyer on Aug 30, 2023 4:05:34 GMT -5
The young man stood with a start as the yet unknown stranger made his presence known, the whispered voice of whom sent a bristling shiver up his spine as he whipped around with a wood axe in hand. He raised it up, ready to bury the head of it into whomever approached, but as his gaze met the strangers he sighed and laughed. Albeit, nervously, his loud chuckle ending as he hurriedly slipped the handle of his axe under the cord of woven plant-fiber he used as a belt to sinch his loose-fitting tunic around the waist.
"Could be askin' you the same thing, fancy pants. Who're you?"
The young man cocked his head to the side inquisitively, a scrutinizing look in his eye as he began sizing the stranger up. To him, he certainly didn't look like the country folk he had been raised with, more like the learned types in the cities he'd heard tales about from passing adventurers and older villagers who'd ventured in their prime. He slowly took his seat on the log once more, his body language far less prickly and defensive now that he's gotten a good look at them. His eyes, reflecting the firelight, seemed to glimmer with a strange and perhaps foolish curiosity.
"You sure look a far way from home, you're sure to find a salon out here as you are to find a wart on a noble."
He said, his words perhaps a bit brash, but his tone obviously lighthearted and even jovial. All that, despite his clearly defined fear earlier when he first heard the man's voice and rose to his feet like some cornered prey. That fear seemed to have completely disappeared from the fellow. He bent over his legs, propping his elbows on his knees as he stared forward at the stranger, seemingly still analyzing him. For what purpose? It was hard to tell, his face only revealed a certain aloof confidence that completely contradicted his earlier actions.
The young man reached into his pocket, retrieving a particularly stale piece of bread that he bit into swiftly, tearing a great big chunk from it like a wolf would the leg of a lamb. His grunt of effort to tear the piece with his teeth only seemed to support that visage. A wild boy, animal and human all at once.
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Post by Raoul O. Ardelean on Aug 30, 2023 18:43:33 GMT -5
“Woah woah there young man relax. There would you no need for axes to be aimed at strangers”, Raoul said chuckling as he raised his hands in the air.
“As for what I’m doing out here I’m here to relax and unwind under the moon’s light which I was doing before I heard some noise over here and came to check it out”.
Raoul then leaned his back on the tree facing the odd fellow taking a good look at him, he seemed a little strange not a lot of people are usually up at this hour especially not within the Moonveil Forest. He seemed normal enough that nothing about his commoner's clothes screamed evil or shady fellow so Raoul lowered his guard.
“I’m actually from here young man” he smirked, “Born not far from here in fact,” he said pointing west to the direction of his now burned-down childhood home.
“Why would I speak to nobles? I hate speaking to others during my job anyways. I'd much rather spend my nights here like I officially do But enough but why are you here young man?”.
Raoul’s brow furrowed as he saw the man devour a piece of bread, perhaps he was hungry no man deserves to starve he reached into his pocket looking for any food he had on him to give him.
He manages to pull out a small piece of Ashland Jerky he had gotten from a vendor only days ago and hands it to the young man, “Here take it”.
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Post by Johannes Sawyer on Aug 30, 2023 21:04:58 GMT -5
Johannes eyed the piece of meat in the strangers hand with great suspicion. Crossed the leaf covered forest floor towards him and gingerly accepted the jerky, but rather than eat it he slipped it into his pocket and sat back down. He let himself fall onto the log with a big huff, once again propping his elbows up on his knees and holding his head in his hands. With his palms supporting his jaw, he looked at the stranger once again with a less scrupulous eye.
"Wouldn't you like to know, mister bells and whistles, but I get the feelin' your not goin' away anytime soon."
The young man motioned towards another fallen, rotted out log on the opposite side of the fire from him, inviting him to sit by the fire with him.
"S'pose I don't rightfully know what I'm doin', 'cept wandering and pickin' up odd jobs here n' there."
He seemed to be speaking earnestly, his attention no longer being held so intensely on the man as he poked at the burning logs with a thin stick. The cinders swirled from the flames up into the air as they floated for some time before blinking out of sight. Once he was satisfied with whatever he was doing, he picked up a hand sized stone, round and flat, and slipped the axe out of his belt. He took the stone to the axe head, firmly scraping it along the axes edge. As he honed the blade, he seemed to completely disregard the man, his focus now fully on this task of his.
"Thanks for the meat, by the way. Though you'll forgive me if I don't go eatin' a strangers food right away."
He gave them a quick glance as he worked the axe's blade, but only for a moment. His eyes nigh immediately fell back down to the axe in his hands.
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Post by Raoul O. Ardelean on Aug 31, 2023 3:59:53 GMT -5
Raoul noticed the young man did not immediately devour the jerky that he gave him, “The boy’s smart it's never good to scarf down food that strangers just hand to you like I just did”, he thought as he gazed upon the young man.
“I would like to know ye and nope the night’s still young and I want to bask in its light a lot more before I head to slumber in the morning”, motioning to his pale complexion.
“Not a big fan of the sun myself but I do love the pleasant nighttime and its beautiful moon with its gentle light”.
He then stopped leaning on the tree and walked over to the dead log across from the man he tried to make himself comfortable and took care to not dirty his clothes too much after all these were his favorites.
“Working odd jobs huh, I can’t say that I'm a stranger to that. I do the same kind of thing but in a more stressful and murder and mystery atmosphere most of the time”.
The dhampir took out another cigar about to light it before suddenly putting it into his coat, “I shouldn't be doing this here in front of a kid no less”, he thinks.
“No problem kid I would’ve been more worried if ya did”, he took out another piece of jerky he had and took a bite out of it, “Although I’m telling ya these things are pretty good”.
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Post by Johannes Sawyer on Sept 2, 2023 1:28:41 GMT -5
Johannes gave him an incredulous, slightly offended look.
"Don't call me kid, I can't be much younger than you are, snow 'stache."
He said teasingly. The young man continued working the edge of his axe, his rough hand movements sending sparks flying and swirling through the air before they disappear in the rising cinders of the campfire. He took inventory of what the stranger said, about murder and mystery, and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. The idea of some snow faced investigator out in the woods, having a chance encounter with a simple peasant boy, was something straight out of a book. Johannes peeled his gaze away from his axe and once again laid eyes on the stranger, intent on no longer finding him just that: a stranger.
"Call me Johannes. Hans for short, if you'd like, but don't wear it out aye?"
He held the axe behind him as he rose to his feet, moving around the fire to approach the stranger, his free hand held out for him to shake. The hairs on his arm, dark and thin, stood on edge as goosebumps cover his skin from the chill night air. His palms, however, looked as though they had seen countless years. They were calloused, rough, dirty, all the things that someone who has gripped the axe and felled many a tree might exhibit. These hands were on a young man, no wizened woodsman or seasoned warrior.
Just a boy, just a stranger in the woods.
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Post by Raoul O. Ardelean on Sept 3, 2023 1:40:12 GMT -5
Raoul chuckles and holds his hands up in the air in response to Johannes’s response to calling him kid, “Woah there I’m Sorry, I’m twenty-four years old myself I look a bit older because of all of the work I have to do and how tired I am usually as a result, getting not a lot of sleep also doesn’t help. I thought you were younger than I because of your youthful appearance. My apologies good sir I never meant to insult you, my friend. Snow’ stauche huh, that’s pretty funny. How old are you then, hell you might even be older than I, I’ve been surprised by people’s ages before”.
He notices the man sharpening his axe, “Hm seems like the outdoorsy type, to say the least”, he thinks to himself, “Maybe he uses that as a weapon if he does battle”.
Raoul smiles, “Nice to meet you Hans, I’ll make sure not to wear your name”, and he goes in for Johanne’s handshake.
Raoul’s hands are cold, almost freezing, and he has many scars from many close encounters during his work.
“The name’s Raoul, Raoul O. Ardelean, traveling detective”, The man’s pale skin almost glowed in the moonlight.
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Post by Johannes Sawyer on Sept 3, 2023 20:21:18 GMT -5
Johannes shook Raoul's hand and quickly went back to sit in his spot, returning to his work with the axe. It seemed the axe was particularly important to him, with the amount of care and attention he paid as he sharpened the edge. There was another long moment of silence before he answered Raoul's question.
"I'm twenty one."
He said, almost mumbling as he refused to tear his attention away from his work. After that, he fell into an almost trancelike silence, the consistent rhythm of his rock against the axe head at a steady beat like a grinding metronome. Suddenly, a light breeze blew through the trees and sent a cacophony of rustling leaves and creaking limbs resounding and echoing out into the forest. It made the flames grow taller, the fire roaring a bit louder as life was breathed into it by the wind. Johannes shivered, stopping his rhythmic grinding and sinking the axe head into the log he sat on, using his axe to pull the log closer to the fire before he continued to maintain it. He would carry on like that, wordless and without glancing up at Raoul for quite some time before the routine broke and he set the stone and his axe aside. Johannes leaned forward, forearms resting on the tops of his knees as he simply stared into the flames for a little while.
"I think I'm gonna head to town tomorrow, get some solars to line me pocket and head to port."
He said, breaking the long silence.
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Post by Raoul O. Ardelean on Sept 4, 2023 13:28:18 GMT -5
Raoul noticed Johannes’s callousses and rough hand as they shook hands, “Huh this fellow’s stronger than I initially thought, his grip was firm. Makes sense though I mean he does look like the outdoorsy type”, he thought to himself.
He was slightly taken aback as the man told him his age, “Twenty-one, huh?”, he knew the man was younger than him but not by only three measly years, Raoul felt a little silly claiming himself as way older now. They were around similar ages and here he thought he was going to some sort of wise older fellow to him.
Raoul sat staring in silence at first staring at Johannes as they worked on sharpening their ax before shifting his attention to the moon staring at it and letting himself bask in its light.
He then looked into the fire and responded to Johannes, “Really? Plan on doing any jobs? How’re you gonna get some solars? You’re heading to the port? Where do you plan on going?”.
Raoul’s curiosity was piqued, “Was this man a fellow adventurer like himself? Or was he just a woodsman who hangs around the woods during the dead of night”, he thought. He still found the fact that the man was even awake at this hour sort of odd.
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