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Post by Ezra Windward on Apr 8, 2024 22:07:04 GMT -5
The quiet sound of wooden wheels rolling in softened dirt and a horse’s hooves patting along at a trot could be heard in the marsh alongside the common sounds of frog croaks and the occasional rustling of wet-sounding leaves. A young man clad is steel armor and a dark red cloak held the reins of a young, brown haired horse as it pulled a small, open backed, wooden wagon behind it. The sheathed sword attached to the man’s left hip by a brown leather belt hung over the side of the wooden bench seat and made a knocking sound as it bounced and struck the side of the wagon with each bump and turn they took on the uneven road. Each divot and pothole struck caused the wooden crates, barrels, and chests in the cart to jostle and knock against each other. The young man’s messy, dark brown hair appeared damp from being in the humid bog and strands stuck to his forehead as he turned to face his travelling companion sitting beside him. The light dusting of freckles atop his nose wrinkled as he smiled brightly at her and his light brown eyes met hers.
Ezra said reassuringly to the elderly fellblood sitting beside him in the wagon, “Don’t you worry Ms. Kou. We’ll get you to the other side of the marsh. No problem!”
He felt good about his most recent undertaking. The job was easy enough. Escort this elderly old fellblood from one end of the Marsh Flats to the other. The job itself made him feel good about what he was doing and gave him a sense of purpose. As the two traveled, he thought of his own mother and how he hoped to be able to protect her along this distant and sometimes dangerous trek. Aside from that, it was comforting to have this motherly presence with him as he traveled through the Marsh. It helped to keep all the terrible memories he had of this place at bay. Each time he would feel a bit of depression, anxiety, or fear he would look over and see Kou and be reassured that everything would be fine.
Although he hoped that this would be an easy and uneventful trip, Ezra kept his eyes on the tree line just to keep an eye out for anything suspicious that might jump out at them. All was quiet thus far.
Quest Name: Muddy Tires Participants: Two or more Location: Marshflats Post Requirements: 5 posts per person, 200 words per post Reward: +1 Renown Description: The swamp has always been a difficult place to navigate, making it harder for large transports, caravans or wagons to get through the marshy terrain due to the deep mud and tangled plant life. Travelers often find themselves getting stuck, spending hours if not days digging themselves out. Recently, members of the Mud Worms, a local gang, have been targeting these stuck travelers, robbing them of their goods and even sometimes their lives. Help out one of these stuck groups, getting their supplies and vehicles free from the mud and back on their way before falling prey to an ambush. -Additionally, you can choose to instead act as a villain and rob the travelers yourself, leaving them stuck to fend for themselves.
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Do what you love, love what you do, and you’ll never work a day in your life.
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Post by Kou Miyami on Apr 10, 2024 16:23:23 GMT -5
Even in early spring, the Marsh Flats were well and properly muggy.
The humidity permeated the air; insects hummed mournful tunes to the beat of grinding wheels struggling through the mud. Despite the unfavorable weather, the air felt… peaceful was not the right word, but perhaps amicable. It was no secret that the Marshes were fraught with danger and hazards at every turn, and both of the wagon’s occupants were keenly aware of that. It was partially the reason mama Kou Miyami had requested the assistance of the young knightly man currently driving the cart.
With eight decades of life under her belt, Kou had safely reached her twilight years - and it showed. Even with her natural energy and love of life, she was still bound by the limitations of her body. It had become rapidly apparent after departing from Moonglade to King’s Valley that the unstable terrain would wreak havoc on her knees. It had seemed prudent at the time, no matter how reluctant she was to put others out, to ask for help.
Much to her relief, aid had come in the form of Ezra Windward - the kindly young man who’d offered to escort her.
Despite the inherent danger that permeated their surroundings, curling around the marsh like fog, Kou was as serene as one could be. There was no reason to fear when the young lad next to her was here. Even more than his sword and his protection, she valued his company.
His vow broke the comfortable silence; Kou offered him a smile and patted him on the knee. “I’m in no rush, dear. The journey is just as important as the destination.” She was not unaware of the risks Ezra likely sought to put behind them - travelers were warned there might be brigands on the roads - but they’d make little progress through these lands if they forced themselves through it. Much better to be slow and careful.
Of course, not everyone shared her sentiments. The world was so gung-ho nowadays, everyone was rushing to get where they needed to go and do what they needed to do like their lives depended on it. Kou was a bit atypical in that sense, and only because she’d been alive long enough for her body to forcibly slow her down. Young Ezra seemed patient, yet she could not help but wonder if she was keeping him from some kind of mission or knightly duty.
“I must thank you again for helping me.” She spoke after another moment of thoughtful silence. “I sincerely hope that I am not keeping you from anything important…” her words, spoken in heavily accented common - though her command of the language had gotten much better over the months.
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Post by Ezra Windward on Apr 16, 2024 23:20:51 GMT -5
“Not at all Ms. Kou” Ezra responded happily to her statement, “There’s nothing more important than helping others when they’re in need.”
The words came from his mouth with such enthusiasm that even Ezra thought he sounded a little cheesy. Yet; again, he meant what he said. After his recent training sessions, Ezra felt more determined and focused than ever.
Ezra returned his attention to the road ahead. Things progressed easily for a while. He leaned back in the wooden seat of the cart and listened to the calming sounds of crickets chirping. All was well until suddenly he heard the distressed neigh of a horse ahead of them in the distance. The faint sound was enough to cause Ezra to sit straight up and send his eyes darting left to right across the trail, looking for danger.
Looking over to Kou for a moment and flashing her a grin that was meant to comfort, Ezra continued forward along the path. There really was no other option. The trail continued onward for quite some time before it would split to head into another direction to another location. To pull off the road was a sure way to get stuck in the mud, and that would leave them vulnerable and immobile. So the only option was to press forward.
It wasn’t long before the source of the distress could be seen on the horizon. At first, all Ezra could make out was the back of a cart, but as they grew closer, more details could be seen. A large, two-hours carriage sat still on the road in front of them. Rather than being perfectly in line with the road, the carriage veered off to the left and the front two wheels were buried about six inches or so into the thick mud of the swamp. The two horses that led the carriage were about five feet in front of it, still attached by the reigns. They too were about knee deep in the mud and were huffing and neighing in distress at being stuck. The back of the carriage itself was covered by a large white tarp and there were two men standing on the road. One appeared to be human and was a portly sort of man, standing about five foot, nine inches and sporting a large gut and a burly beard. He was shouting at the second man, who was a tall moon elf with dull, grey hair and a pointed, hooked nose.
“I’ve told ye a thousand time Phillip; ye cannae steer the damn wagon with one arm!” The bearded human shouted at the elf in an angry tone with an accent.
The elf looked downward with a shameful look on his face as he quietly responded, “I know that Leland, but I just needed to look at the map for-“
The elf was cut off as the human, now identified as Leland, shouted at him again, “The map!? What do ye need the bloody map for? Look around ye fool, there’s only one way ta go. Where else would ye have turned?”
As Ezra pulled the reigns of their own cart and lulled their single horse to a stop, he looked over to Kou with a somewhat concerned look on his face, “Speaking of helping others…” He trailed off but flashed a grin. “What do you think Ms. Kou? Should we lend a hand?” Ezra asked, while hopping down from the cart before even waiting for a response.
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Post by Kou Miyami on Apr 29, 2024 17:22:17 GMT -5
“I couldn’t agree more!” Kou beamed. It was true that perhaps someone else might have felt the sentiment overly-sentimental or ridiculous, but they struck Kou right in the heart. She was the one who’d set out in the world to attempt to make it better however she could, after all. A single woman with no combat prowess was probably the last person who ought to be saving people in need - not when most would consider her the one in need. But if she could do her part to make the world a better place one person at a time, then by Solaria, she would.
It was an awfully nice thing to see that there were others who thought the same; others who paid that kindness forward.
Of course, peace was the most fragile thing; like hummingbird’s wings, it broke apart at the slightest touch. Kou straightened at the sound of the distant neigh, disquiet rippling through the swamp. It could have been nothing. It could have been everything. Her trembling grip tightened on her cane nonetheless. She’d heard rumor of the Marsh Flats being fraught with danger, so to speak, but to encounter it so quickly?
As Ezra offered her a calming smile, Kou returned with one of her own. Despite the uncertainty, she was not afraid.
She’d stopped fearing death long ago.
Forward they went.
Their pace was slow through the swamp, though it was not long before their motley party of two came upon another wagon on the road. No, that was not quite accurate - it would be more apt to say they were beside the road. The vehicle was practically submerged in the mud, horses braying frantically in an attempt to get out. Two men surveyed the destruction, grumbling amongst themselves.
If this was some sort of ruse, it would be an awfully poor one!
Not that Kou had considered that possibility. Such was the folly of trusting others to a fault.
“They look like they’re in quite the pickle!” Kou responded, pulling herself out of the cart. Her cane clicked along the semi-solid ground as she hobbled closer. “Of course… let’s see if we can’t get this wagon free, shall we?” Raising her voice, she called out, “Ho! Seems like you’re stuck in a bind there, young fellows! Is there anything we can do to help?”
The two men had been so absorbed in their petty arguments they’d barely noticed the approaching wagon; both, however, turned as both human and fellblood pulled themselves off the wagon and drew closer.
The human - Leeland - rubbed at the back of his neck, anger fading away into sheepishness. “Dinnae know if ye’ll be of much help, missie, unless ye’ve got a miracle hidden up yer sleeve. Yer knightly fellow, on the other hand…” He turned towards Ezra, lips quirking downward in a grimace; the look of a man who was too proud to ask for help, despite the rock and the hard place he’d found himself in. Kou blinked, struggling to comprehend his thick accent for a moment.
His elven friend, on the other hand, had no such reservations.
“You two are… knights? Travelers?” He asked in that same soft-spoken manner, looking between them with the uncertainty of a man who didn’t want to offend and turn away their only port in a storm. ”Gods, you couldn’t have come at a better time. We were just making a routine run from Lilicors to Eclipse City, but the main thoroughfare road was flooded, so we decided to take a detour… you can see how well that turned out.”
”That’s the last time I let a Moonglade loon behind the wheel in places he dinnae belong.” Leeland scoffed, and Phillip lowered his head sheepishly. ”Now we’re off schedule! Thanks to this nut, even if we get this wagon outta the muck, how’re we s’posed tae make up fer lost time?”
Kou tutted, hobbling closer to the wagon and assess the damage. “Now, now, let’s deal with the bigger problems first! In the turbulent ocean, you can only weather one tide at a time lest you get pulled to the depths!” She laughed, turning to Ezra. “I’m not sure if we can get this free on our own - but perhaps if we managed to free your horses first, we might be able to hook them up to the back and pull the wagon out of the mud that way… what do you think?”
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Post by Ezra Windward on Apr 30, 2024 22:39:24 GMT -5
“That sounds like a great idea to me Ms. Kou.” Ezra responded warmly and with a smile. He then walked over to where the horses were stuck in the mud to assess the situation. As Ezra approached the horse nearest to the road, he could see how distressed it was. It huffed loudly and shook its head. The look in its eyes was that of wide-eyed fear. Ezra reached out and gently touched the end of its nose while saying in a calm tone, “It’s gonna be alight fella.” The horse someone calmed and eventually calmed much more as Ezra continued to pat its nose with his hand. This allowed him to examine how the horse was stuck, and he knelt down on a knee to do so. Each horse was sunk into the mud down to the knee. The mud directly around the horses was also soft and lifting the leg would only result in the horse being stuck again.
Still on his knee, Ezra considered a strategy for getting the horses out from the mud. He pointed to the soft mud around the horse’s legs and looked up to the two men standing by their cart. “You got anything that we can lay here? A plank, or a thick blanket or anything?”
Leeland grumbled something under his breath before going over to the back of his cart, leaning into it, and digging around for something. He pulled a large, wool blanket from the back of the cart, as well as a round, very worn-looking wooden shield. The shield looked as though it had been sitting in the back of the cart for a very long time. The wood was cracked and dusty and the iron bands that held it together were rusted and worn. He tossed the blanket over to Phillip, who attempted a catch, but clumsily dropped it to the floor. As Phillip clambered to retrieve the blanket from the muddy ground, Leeland walked the shield over to Ezra and handed it to him. He then stepped back to the opposite side of the road and crossed his arms without a word.
The shield felt heavy in Ezra’s arms. It was old, but sturdy to be sure. The more important aspect of it was that it was large enough and had enough surface area to not immediately sink into the mud. “Perfect!” Ezra exclaimed as he laid the shield between the horse and the compacted road. He motioned to Phillip to bring the blanket over and he did. Ezra took the blanket and unrolled it; laying it overtop the shield and the remaining bits of mud.
“All that’s left now is to help these horses up onto the bridge we just made and over to freedom.” Ezra said with a smile while looking mostly over to Kou, but glancing over to Leeland and Phillip as well.
He shifted his focus back to the horse nearest him and patted its nose again while saying quietly and reassuringly, “We’ll get you out of here. Trust us.”
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Post by Kou Miyami on May 20, 2024 7:11:51 GMT -5
It was quite the good thing Ezra was here, as Kou lacked the physical strength and prowess to carry out this rescue on her own! She could provide support from the sidelines, but as far as pulling went, she’d be about as useful as, well, a horse stuck in the muck.
Thankfully, Ezra seemed to know what Kou was hinting at, and was executing the rescue flawlessly. Kou truly didn’t need to do much! Well… it would be good if they could get those horses free from the cart – it would be much easier for the beasts to pull themselves out of their predicament if they didn’t have such a great and terrible weight attached to them. Kou pulled out a broom that was tied to her bag; an apparatus that appeared to be an ordinary outdoor cleaning broom. However, as Kou began to hover in the air, it was clear that the broom was anything but. She began to hover in the air, a much easier mode of transportation on her body in this swampy marsh.
She couldn’t travel in the air for very long, though, so time was of the essence!
Kou hovered over to where Ezra had set up the makeshift ramp to help the horses out of their trap. They’d momentarily stopped struggling against their confines, bewildered by the gentle-voiced knight petting them and whispering quiet reassurances. Slowly and carefully, as not to spook them or cause injury, Kou wrapped a wrinkled hand around her cane, and pulled apart the hidden mechanism her grandson had designed for her and pulled out a small blade. Her last resort weapon. One she was not quite adept at using, but now seemed a prudent time! “Just hold on real quick, dearies, and I’ll free you from your trappings.” She promised, patting one of the horses on the head while bringing the side of the blade to its rein.
“Now, hold on just a minute-“ Leeland began to protest – leather wasn’t cheap around here! – before Kou gently shushed him.
“Don’t worry, I can fix what has been broken when all is said and done. For now, the lives of your horses are priority.”
Only somewhat reassured, Leeland and Philip moved behind the horse, as if to help nudge from behind while Ezra nudged them from the front. She did not mind the toll on her body that wisdom had taken, most days… today, though, the sting felt especially potent. The elderly woman refused to be a liability. She drew in a sharp breath, mustering as much strength as she could behind her voice.
“Alright now, everyone, push with all your strength! I believe in you!”[3] Her support sparked courage in the remaining members of this impromptu collection of people, knight and merchant alike. Enough to hopefully give them the strength to help pull the horse out of the mud…
Would that it was their only problem.
Kou herself could not hear the rumbling in the distance, like the crashing of waves against the earth. The Marshes themselves seemed to whisper, the scream of nearby insects falling silent while the threat drew closer. Leeland and Phillip were not the only foreigners who’d gotten themselves tangled in the complicated web of the Marsh’s terrain; and road hazards were not the only threat in this land. If they didn’t hasten their progress, they might have a proper debacle on their hands. 1. Witch’s Broom 2. Hidden Blossom Blade – Grandma’s Cane 3. Inspiring Presence
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