Riddles: Tales from Tailte IC

[BumblingBee]

Officially changed to PG 13 for upcoming scenes of gore, blood, and some sexual scenes

The trees whispered in the night air
They sang of dark futures and bringers of death
They knew what was about to arise

A time of war and fire
Where friendships would break
And trust would be scarce
They knew what would return

But until then there was peace.
The alliance would not fall for a while yet.

[Little Red]

In the land of Fhrainc, there was a slightly pale beautiful girl with long beautiful raven black hair who was crouched down behind a bush staring intently at a warm, steaming, freshly baked cherry pie that sat on the window still of a bakery. Her tongue slipped between her lips as she licked her lips hungry, starving; her last meal was a bony rabbit three days ago. She was waiting for the right time to dash over and steal it...she was soooo hungry. Xena slowly inched closer to the window still, staying close to the shadows; staying down low to the ground almost crawling towards the window, slowly and so very gracefully she crawled closer until she had her back against the wall of the building.

Jensen walked around the perimeter of the woods, his sword hanging from his hip. Sam trailed behind him with his sword, today they were going to spare each other and train. He looked back at his brother, “Sammy, don’t fall behind! We’ll be at the training area in a minute.” He said. Sam nodded and picked up his pace to catch up to Jensen.

[BumblingBee]

The Boar and the Bark

The young woman watched the sun rise over the tree tops and light up the leaves like fireflies. She began to hear the convoy of caravans below her wake up and greet the new day. Then something suddenly nudged her in the back, she turned and faced her companion: Topthorn.
“I know I know. Look I haven’t been fed yet either!”
The horse whinnied at her in response.
“All right”
She took a last glance at the horizon, then mounted her steed.
“Come on old boy”
The two made their way down the small hill where they had been appointed guard duty. Blaidds had been sighted on the outskirts of the Celtica settlement, which was a very rare occurrence. Blaidds barely left the Bhreatain woods never mind crossing the border.
These thoughts were pushed out of her mind by more important things however, like food.

By the time she and Topthorn got back to the Settlement her uncle Alroy was waiting for her. Her uncle organised who did what within the Convoy, and according to Aoife her was far too food at his job.

“You’re late”
“Good morning uncle, how did you sleep? Well? Good because I didn’t sleep at all because guess what? You put me on guard duty all night long”

Aoife dismounted Topthorn and lead him to a nearby field, her uncle followed them.
“Ha bloody ha Aoife. Now hurry up and eat, the both of you”
He turned to face Aoife
“You’re on hunting rounds with Gilly till Midday”
Aoife groaned dramatically

She plucked an apple from a nearby tree.
“Looks like breakfast on the go again”
Wearily she walked over to the entrance to the Forrest, bow in hand and dagger at the ready.

Gilly was resting against a tree waiting for her already by the time Aoife turned up.

Gilly was Aoife’s bestest friend (Apart from Topthorn of course) She was a small girl with lots of freckles and wild ginger hair. She was good at skinning animals and was almost always on hunting rounds.

She greeted Aoife with her usual chirp “Morning”
Aoife nodded in response, too tired to talk properly. This was the way they both liked it anyway. Enough silence too concentrate on their goal: Dinner.

Within a few minutes they had tracked a wild boar. Aoife waited patiently amongst the tree tops while Gilly lurked in the under growth below. The boar emerged from behind a hedge, Aoife lined up her shot. The point of the arrow aligned perfectly with the beasts head.

But before she could take the shot the beast began to splutter and wheeze, then it stopped still and fell over quite dead.

A few seconds of silence passed before Gilly piped up
“Err … what just happened?”
Aoife made her way down from the tree top in one flowing movement.
“I don’t really know”
She walked over to the beast and gave it a light kick to make sure it was well and truly dead. It was.


“Pass me your skinning knife”
Gilly unsheathed a sharp ceramic blade from her belt and passed it to her friend.
Aoife plunged it into the boars belly and wrenched it sideways exposing its insides.
It was quite obvious what was wrong. Its insides were completely black through and through.

Gilly stepped back in shock.
“What in Eans name is wrong with it?!”
But Aoife wasn’t listening, as quickly as she had descended from the tree she made her way back up.
With the ceramic blade still in hand she plunged it this time into the bark of the tree.
The outside was the usual healthy brown colour; its inner bark however was black and blue with decay and mould.
“Oh gods” Aoife shouted down to Gilly “Tie that boar up! And whatever you do don’t let it touch any other plants!”

When they reached the settlement it was mid-morning.
Uncle Alroy was waiting for them.

“What are you two doing back so early? And with only one piece of game! You’ll be on half rations the both of you”
“Uncle please listen to us” Aoife gave him a look that explained it all. He nodded and followed them into his own caravan. He closed the door behind them.
“Well then? What’s the meaning of this?”
The two girls looked at each other in confusion, then they simply showed him the boar and the bark and left him to analyse them for himself.

For a long LONG time he said nothing. Eventually he asked Gilly to leave him and Aoife alone. She nodded and gave a small wave of goodbye to Aoife. When she had left Alroy looked at Aoife in pure despair.

“This is not good Aoife, Not good at all”
Aoife shook her head in confusion.
“What does this mean uncle? Is it just a disease can we cure it?”
“This is no disease child, this is far worse”
His facial expression changed to one of seriousness. He grasped Aoife by the shoulders firmly.
“Now child what I tell you now must never leave these walls, you hear me?!”
Aoife nodded.
“Good. Now when darkness falls tonight I will send you on guard duty, but you won’t be going to that cliff top tonight. You must travel to Sareas and request an audience with King Cadman to show him this”
He handed her the piece of bark.
“If it is what I fear, you will not be allowed to return”
He looked her dead in the eye
“And not a word of this to your auntie! If this doesn’t kill us she will”

[Little Red]

Jensen stopped walking and looked around, something was off. He looked over at the border that separated the lands and looked over at that Atoni land, "Somethings wrong over at Atoni....I can sense it..." Jensen said looking at his brother. Something was extremely wrong.

[dirkinz]

Milef walked into Woolton Town, holding his cloak close in the terrible rain that was pouring down. He had been traveling for several weeks now with a trading caravan on his way to Sareas following rumors of work. The Caravan was parked some ways out of town, preparing to sell their wares tomorow but they so Milef decided to head into town and get out of this miserable weather. He found his way to a simple inn and steped in, pulling back his hood. Inside was a large common room where two patrons sat quietly having some dinner. A large fire burned in a hearth at the end of the room, spreading warmth throughout the area provided a warm glow. Milef walked over to the counter and called into the kitchen. A friendly voice responded with "One moment please." Milef took of his cloak completly and sat it down on a stool waiting for the bartender to come out. After a minute or two he emerged holding a steaming plate of potatoes, bread and a hunk of meat. "Ill be with ya' in just a moment lad" said the bearded man and he walked up the stairs presumably to drop off the plate. He was wiping his hands on his apron when he got back and asked "So, what can I do for you, lad?" walking around behind the bar.
"I need room and Board for the night." said Milef.
"very well, ya can see the room now but I recommend ya eat first while the roast is still hot" Milef agreed and after handing over a few coins the man went back into the kitchen. Milef walked across the room to sit by the hearth putting up his cloak to dry. After a couple minutes the bartender brought out his plate and a mug of mead. Thanking him for the meal Milef quietly began eating, staring into the fire.

[Reiteration6]

Kirill was, once again, in a tavern.
All in all, it seemed, the Raincs were not nearly so bad as the rumours had led him to believe. Sure, they had a tendency to take the fastest, easiest route whenever anything needed to be done, and yes, that did mean that many would be happy to murder him without hesitation if it meant getting their hands on a few coins without needing to work for them... but, even so, that did not mean that they were immune to friendship, and already, in the three short weeks that he had been here, acting as a minor diplomat and assisting the actual ambassador (in truth, only one emissary was actually needed, but Kirill and the other lesser diplomats were there just in case one of Fhrainc's oh-so-common accidents should occur, and a new ambassador should be needed at short notice), he had made three fast friends.
The bard who sat in a chair by the door strumming his harp, wearing a brightly coloured motley outfit and a small, sly smile on his face. The stranger who sat stoically in the darkest corner of the room, wearing an entirely slate-grey outfit, complete with gloves, a cloak and a couple scarves wrapped around her face, leaving only her dark and piercing eyes uncovered. And finally, a big bruiser of a man dressed all in a hunter's leather armour, much larger than average for a Rainc, who had about half as many brain cells as Kirill's own none-too-intelligent brother, who sat drinking with a group of his friends.
They were good people to know, and he had every confidence in their skills.

Kirill's attention was focused on none of them at the moment, though, but on the small Rainc who sat beside him. This greasy looking – and, by this point, thoroughly drunken – individual was one of Lord Truco's not-so-trusted advisers (this was Fhrainc, after all, no lord would last five minutes if he started trusting people). By buying him as much alcohol as he could drink, and letting slip a few half-truths at the same time (under the pretence of his own drunkenness), he could ensure that however much of his messages the little fool remembered would get back to Truco, and then the game could begin in earnest.
Truly, politics was such good fun. If it wasn't for the fact that his father had sent him here solely for the purpose of killing him off, he might have actually been grateful for this opportunity.

[Little Red]

OOC~ Hey, Reiteration, I'm really digging you character and wondering maybe your character could catch my character stealing. I thought it would be a cool way to start interacting with our characters. I'll repost the message.

In the land of Fhrainc, there was a slightly pale beautiful girl with long beautiful raven black hair who was crouched down behind a bush staring intently at a warm, steaming, freshly baked cherry pie that sat on the window still of the tavern. Her tongue slipped out between her lips as she licked them hungry, starving; her last meal was a bony rabbit three days ago. She was waiting for the right time to dash over and steal it...she was soooo hungry. Xena slowly inched closer to the window still, staying close to the shadows; staying down low to the ground almost crawling towards the window, slowly and so very gracefully she crawled closer until she had her back against the wall of the building. She slowly slide closer to the window, once she finally got to the window she slowly and cautiously poked her head up to the corner of the window for the coast is clear, then when someone walked past the window she quickly ducked down under the window until the person walked away. Finally when she was for sure it was clear she stood up to a crouch so she could look through the window and grabbed the pie, her mouth watering like crazy and her stomach growling like a monster.

[Reiteration6]

OOC- You want him to catch her? Oh well, if you insist...

IC- Taking a sip of the cheap, low quality ale which the bartender claimed was wine, Kirill leaned back casually, whilst the advisor continued cheerfully drinking himself into a stupor. Just then, however, he caught a glimpse of something darting out of his field of vision.
Suspecting something, of course (this was Fhrainc, after all), his head snapped round to stare out the window. He could have sworn he had just seen movement out there... he glanced across at his new friends. The bard, Simeon, was playing, the sudden silence would be noticed if he stopped, and the thug, Leron, was busy talking to some friends, he'd never be able to get his attention inconspicuously. The stranger, Eshe, on the other hand, he could see looking at him from the corner of one eye. He gave her a slight nod, then tipped his head in the direction of the window. She understood his meaning immediately. Kirill chose his friends well, after all.

Surreptitiously, she headed over towards the front of the room, but stopped before opening the door, and instead sidled across to stand just beside the window, but completely hidden from the sight of anyone without.
For some reason there was a pie on the windowsill.
She only had a few seconds to wait before the suspicious individual, who was apparently nothing more than an opportunistic thief, made her move.
Two hands darted out from nowhere, latching on to the pie-
But not before one of Eshe's own hands had locked around one of the girl's forearms like a pincer. The teenager let go of her prize instantly, and tried her hardest to tug herself free, but to no avail.

And Kirill walked out of the door, his hands in his pockets, smiling pleasantly and looking utterly harmless. Leron, on the other hand, who had excused himself and followed the diplomat out when he noticed what was going on, looked as though he could break her arm like a twig.
Once the two of them were safely between the girl and the open street, Eshe released her grip and backed away. So far, the bartender had yet to even notice that anything was amiss.
“Hello, my dear,” Kirill began, still smiling, not cruelly, but in a genuinely friendly manner (unlike Leron, whose mouth was twisted into a disgusting leer), “it is nice to meet you, though I must confess, I am rather new to this region, and as such am not entirely sure about the local customs... specifically, in this case, what punishment tends to be dealt out to thieves... would you happen to be aware of this piece of information, my dear?”

[Little Red]

"I haven't done squat shit! I'm just trying to survive! I'm hungry! I haven't had anything to eat in three days." She snapped. She glared up at the the brewed that was beside him. "Nice bodyguard..." She grumbled her fingers wrapping around her dagger that was tucked behind her back. She was always prepared for a fight hungry or not she would fight until she couldn't anymore. She brushed her raven black hair out of her blue-green eyes and watched them studying them. "Whatcha gonna do about me trying to survive?" She said a little ticked off.

[Reiteration6]

“What will I do?” he asked, his smile broadening. “Well, first I believe I shall introduce myself; I am Kirill Maratovich Kozlov, a minor diplomat from the land of Bhreatain, and son of one of the great Farmer-Councillors of that mighty nation... though I doubt that someone in your position knows much of politics. Oh, and for the record, Leron here is not actually mere hired muscle, he is in fact a valued friend of mine... as is the woman who prevented you from satiating your hunger, and was considerate enough to keep you here until we could arrive. I have some good friends... of course, if you haven't eaten in days then you're most likely not much of a thief, and so, alas, may not be suited to join their ranks.”

Kirill thought for a moment, looking back in through the tavern window, and then up and down the wide open, empty street around them. Not failing to notice the fact that it was broad daylight, nor that anyone seen running down the street with a pie in their hands would no doubt look highly suspicious, even if they weren't being chased by an enraged barman... or, more likely, an entire mob of drunken oafs who'd been promised that whomever caught the thief would be given a free drink or two.
Perhaps this girl was not only a poor thief, but a very desperate one as well... honestly, the chances of no one noticing the sudden and mysterious disappearance of such a conspicuously positioned pie were next to nil.
Kirill wouldn't have considered himself a bad person, and it was true that he did feel some amount of sympathy towards the girl, but he couldn't just start handing out money to everyone he felt sorry for, or else he'd soon be broke. Diplomats may have fairly good rates of pay, but it wasn't like he was royalty. If he was to help her, there must be something she could do for him as well...

“So, tell me, child, just out of curiosity; do you happen to have any skills other than theft? Anything at which you are, say, actually competent?” he fished a coin out of one pocket and held it lightly between his forefinger and thumb. It alone would be more than enough to pay for the pie, and with it she wouldn't even need to risk being maimed in order to get herself a meal.
He hadn't lied before; he really didn't know what the punishment for theft was in Fhrainc, but in general the loss of a hand tended to be seen as adequate, and given Lord Truco's stern disposition, Kirill wouldn't be in the least bit surprised to find that to be the accepted sentence in this country.