"Oh right location. We're heading towards the Sliventra mountain range." Verdandi’s ears stood at attention when she heard their destination. It was hard not to be attentive. She knew that mountain range. She had documented a part of it before. "The mountain range itself is west of here, but the river my hometown sat near is to the north. The trip itself will take a few days on foot from here to there." Though, admittedly she had never ventured quite that far north or near the river – that was wolf country. Wolf country that she – even as a wolf-en beastkin – had never dared ventured. Rather it was because she was so closely related to the landlords that she knew better than head into that place.
How ironic, she would wander purposefully into corrupted land but not the land of a cousin of sorts.
Nonetheless, her tail and ears betrayed her by cowering at the thought of where she had just agreed to go and what she had just agreed to face: Dire Wolves. Still, she wouldn’t back out – not after she had already agreed. She was too stubborn for that, and though she wasn’t above a secret or two, she wasn’t a liar. She listened as Nero debated with himself over whether or not they should head by foot or wheel. Verdandi, knowing the area at least a little, knew his final decision even before Nero had said it. After all, a coach couldn’t handle the mountain roads – nor could it effectively navigate between the many wolf packs and their territories (or outrun one like she could on foot…then again few things could).
"We better stock up on provisions for the hike west." Verdandi paused for a while at the wisdom of Nero's words. As a traveler herself, one would think she was rather well practiced at preparing for travel. Yet, she always found herself wondering what all she would need except for ink and parchment, which were the tools of her trade, until she needed them - and by then it was usually too late. Then again, beastkin often preferred to live off the land anyhow, so perhaps this was the indirect reason for her thoughtlessness.
Nonetheless, she did quickly check her pack and decided that her funds were sufficient, but she could perhaps use some more parchment. So, though she did follow Nero as closely as she could through the marketplace, she made her own way towards some merchants that could assist her with her own needs. She found one with relative ease, though the woman was a bit of a...how to say, hardass, as she refused to haggle over her set price. Eyebrows furrowed, nose scrunched, and tail twitching, Verdandi ended up paying the asking price, before catching up with Nero just as he finished his own purchases and had turned to face his companions. "Before any of you crack a joke about how me getting ingredients to cook. I'll just say this, poke fun at it and you'll just have to go hungry."
Verdandi tilted her head to the side, most of her earlier irritation falling to the wayside as her curiosity rose in power, "You cook?" Admittedly, it was a surprising notion to her, that a man - a warrior no less - would be a cook. Though, on the other hand, there was nothing like a home cooked meal to strengthen the body. Despite the latter notion, however, Verdandi couldn't shake her doubt that the young man could cook well and as it stood she couldn't help teasing him or pressuring him for that matter, "Then, I'll be looking forward to it." Verdandi smiled innocently and turned away, "But please - do your very best, beastkin have a very sensitive pallet you know."
Beastkin have always felt most at home in the wilderness. It's an aspect of their nature. And from the moment Verdandi stepped outside the town and ventured away from its teeming population she had been temporarily contented. It was with a slight skip in her step that she wandered from left to right on the path, sniffed the perfumed air, and listened to the chirping of birds and insects - memorizing her surroundings by both scent and sound.
Her meandering was only interrupted as she passed by Nero for the fourth - maybe fifth - time and narrowly avoided being knocked to the ground by his flailing sword arm. "Eep!" For a moment, she eyed the offending limb, wondering if perhaps that was some form of revenge for her earlier teasing - but quickly deciding that was most likely not the case since he seemed almost as surprised as she was by its erratic movement. An odd tick then? Curious.
Up until this point the group, save the Cain and his horse, which seemed the most personable animal in the group as it pestered the mercenary most of the way thus far, had been strangely silent. It was likely that no one here was really quite use to one another or the situation yet. However, Nero - as was usually the case - broke the silence and led the way in finally beginning a dialogue. "Right on towards the Sliventra Mountain range. Quick warning to those who haven't been out that far, there are a lot of sheer cliffs you can fall from." It was unfortunate that so far, most of his conversation starters came in the form of a warning.
The mercenary turned to his horse, "Okay, mind the cliffs. Gotcha. You got all that Belzy?" Verdandi blinked, at the red-head and shivered at the thought of a cliff.
"Also once you get through the mountain's pass there's a forest bordering the ocean to the west. We will want to get through that forest as quickly as we can; no stopping to make camp."
The question stood firmly in her mind. Why ever couldn't they simply go around the forest, as opposed to through it? That seemed the wiser - albeit far more cowardly - thing to do. Was there a need to travel with great speed?
"Finally if you happen to hear a howl coming from the trees - I can't stress this enough - run. Dire Wolves have jaws that are strong enough to tear platemail to ribbons, but they're not exactly swift and their eye sight is rather poor, since they rely more on their sense of smell to lock onto their prey. And don't even try telling me you can take on a Dire Wolf, they hunt in packs." Another warning, and against the wolves. This was at least a warning she hadn't been blindsided by, unfortunately, she still couldn't avoid flinching nor cowering. Still, the question of early remained firm in her mind. Why should they head through the wolves' territory?
"You mean, bigger then normal wolves? The ones not entirely afraid of fire?" Verdandi thought to answer the mercenary's questions but they seemed more rhetorical than literal, moreover, he didn't give her much opportunity to, "My bloodline would stop rather immediately in a dire wolf's stomach, so thanks for the warning Nero."
The beastgirl nearly did a double take, "Your...bloodline?" She couldn't help wondering why that seemed to have been his first thought, "What about your life." Perhaps it was a male thing? Her head cocked to the side, but she eventually shook away the questions as they arose and turned back towards Nero.
"Perhaps, we could instead avoid Dire Wolf territory?" She moved to walk slightly in front of Nero, "Dire wolves are more aggressive than their less...dire counterparts, but they're still wolves. They won't hunt outside their territory unless they're starving. If we stay out of it, they won't hunt us. I would know, I am part wolf after all."
She paused for a moment, walk and all, before continuing, "Unless, that is, there is cause to brave the wolves for the sake of expediency? Is there reason to rush?" Verdandi smiled carelessly at Nero and her tail wagged playfully, but her eyes were contrastingly sharp - clearly preying upon and trying to pick apart his brain.
Though, perhaps now wasn't the time? She wondered. Nero seemed lost in his own thoughts as it were, so it may be best that she not join him?
She couldn't understand the necessity of it. It was perfectly possible to set up camp without needing to build a fire. Verdandi glared at the offending blaze as she huddled against the trunk of a tree situated just outside the fire's glowing ring. She hated fire. The others in the group were setting up camp, attending to their various tasks. But Verdandi had no such task - she could sleep on cold, hard rock and had therefore never taken to setting up a campsite. Moreover, she hated fire.
When the sun had started to go down, it was suggested - barely with words - that they should set up camp for the night. After all, mountain climbing was exhausting by anyone's standards...well, in theory. However, it seemed that the various members were fairing differently. Some well, some not so well. Verdandi was one of the former. She spent most of her life either working in endlessly in fields or traversing hundreds of terrains in her quest to map them out, so mountain climbing was child's play. The most exhaustive part of her day actually came in the form of that fire.
Her glare never once faltered, if anything it only intensified when the flame flickered mockingly at her and she answered it with a nervous growl. It was then that Verdandi made a firm (albeit reactive) decision. These people were likely going to set the mountain ablaze.
And she really hated fire.
How ironic, she would wander purposefully into corrupted land but not the land of a cousin of sorts.
Nonetheless, her tail and ears betrayed her by cowering at the thought of where she had just agreed to go and what she had just agreed to face: Dire Wolves. Still, she wouldn’t back out – not after she had already agreed. She was too stubborn for that, and though she wasn’t above a secret or two, she wasn’t a liar. She listened as Nero debated with himself over whether or not they should head by foot or wheel. Verdandi, knowing the area at least a little, knew his final decision even before Nero had said it. After all, a coach couldn’t handle the mountain roads – nor could it effectively navigate between the many wolf packs and their territories (or outrun one like she could on foot…then again few things could).
"We better stock up on provisions for the hike west." Verdandi paused for a while at the wisdom of Nero's words. As a traveler herself, one would think she was rather well practiced at preparing for travel. Yet, she always found herself wondering what all she would need except for ink and parchment, which were the tools of her trade, until she needed them - and by then it was usually too late. Then again, beastkin often preferred to live off the land anyhow, so perhaps this was the indirect reason for her thoughtlessness.
Nonetheless, she did quickly check her pack and decided that her funds were sufficient, but she could perhaps use some more parchment. So, though she did follow Nero as closely as she could through the marketplace, she made her own way towards some merchants that could assist her with her own needs. She found one with relative ease, though the woman was a bit of a...how to say, hardass, as she refused to haggle over her set price. Eyebrows furrowed, nose scrunched, and tail twitching, Verdandi ended up paying the asking price, before catching up with Nero just as he finished his own purchases and had turned to face his companions. "Before any of you crack a joke about how me getting ingredients to cook. I'll just say this, poke fun at it and you'll just have to go hungry."
Verdandi tilted her head to the side, most of her earlier irritation falling to the wayside as her curiosity rose in power, "You cook?" Admittedly, it was a surprising notion to her, that a man - a warrior no less - would be a cook. Though, on the other hand, there was nothing like a home cooked meal to strengthen the body. Despite the latter notion, however, Verdandi couldn't shake her doubt that the young man could cook well and as it stood she couldn't help teasing him or pressuring him for that matter, "Then, I'll be looking forward to it." Verdandi smiled innocently and turned away, "But please - do your very best, beastkin have a very sensitive pallet you know."
Beastkin have always felt most at home in the wilderness. It's an aspect of their nature. And from the moment Verdandi stepped outside the town and ventured away from its teeming population she had been temporarily contented. It was with a slight skip in her step that she wandered from left to right on the path, sniffed the perfumed air, and listened to the chirping of birds and insects - memorizing her surroundings by both scent and sound.
Her meandering was only interrupted as she passed by Nero for the fourth - maybe fifth - time and narrowly avoided being knocked to the ground by his flailing sword arm. "Eep!" For a moment, she eyed the offending limb, wondering if perhaps that was some form of revenge for her earlier teasing - but quickly deciding that was most likely not the case since he seemed almost as surprised as she was by its erratic movement. An odd tick then? Curious.
Up until this point the group, save the Cain and his horse, which seemed the most personable animal in the group as it pestered the mercenary most of the way thus far, had been strangely silent. It was likely that no one here was really quite use to one another or the situation yet. However, Nero - as was usually the case - broke the silence and led the way in finally beginning a dialogue. "Right on towards the Sliventra Mountain range. Quick warning to those who haven't been out that far, there are a lot of sheer cliffs you can fall from." It was unfortunate that so far, most of his conversation starters came in the form of a warning.
The mercenary turned to his horse, "Okay, mind the cliffs. Gotcha. You got all that Belzy?" Verdandi blinked, at the red-head and shivered at the thought of a cliff.
"Also once you get through the mountain's pass there's a forest bordering the ocean to the west. We will want to get through that forest as quickly as we can; no stopping to make camp."
The question stood firmly in her mind. Why ever couldn't they simply go around the forest, as opposed to through it? That seemed the wiser - albeit far more cowardly - thing to do. Was there a need to travel with great speed?
"Finally if you happen to hear a howl coming from the trees - I can't stress this enough - run. Dire Wolves have jaws that are strong enough to tear platemail to ribbons, but they're not exactly swift and their eye sight is rather poor, since they rely more on their sense of smell to lock onto their prey. And don't even try telling me you can take on a Dire Wolf, they hunt in packs." Another warning, and against the wolves. This was at least a warning she hadn't been blindsided by, unfortunately, she still couldn't avoid flinching nor cowering. Still, the question of early remained firm in her mind. Why should they head through the wolves' territory?
"You mean, bigger then normal wolves? The ones not entirely afraid of fire?" Verdandi thought to answer the mercenary's questions but they seemed more rhetorical than literal, moreover, he didn't give her much opportunity to, "My bloodline would stop rather immediately in a dire wolf's stomach, so thanks for the warning Nero."
The beastgirl nearly did a double take, "Your...bloodline?" She couldn't help wondering why that seemed to have been his first thought, "What about your life." Perhaps it was a male thing? Her head cocked to the side, but she eventually shook away the questions as they arose and turned back towards Nero.
"Perhaps, we could instead avoid Dire Wolf territory?" She moved to walk slightly in front of Nero, "Dire wolves are more aggressive than their less...dire counterparts, but they're still wolves. They won't hunt outside their territory unless they're starving. If we stay out of it, they won't hunt us. I would know, I am part wolf after all."
She paused for a moment, walk and all, before continuing, "Unless, that is, there is cause to brave the wolves for the sake of expediency? Is there reason to rush?" Verdandi smiled carelessly at Nero and her tail wagged playfully, but her eyes were contrastingly sharp - clearly preying upon and trying to pick apart his brain.
Though, perhaps now wasn't the time? She wondered. Nero seemed lost in his own thoughts as it were, so it may be best that she not join him?
She couldn't understand the necessity of it. It was perfectly possible to set up camp without needing to build a fire. Verdandi glared at the offending blaze as she huddled against the trunk of a tree situated just outside the fire's glowing ring. She hated fire. The others in the group were setting up camp, attending to their various tasks. But Verdandi had no such task - she could sleep on cold, hard rock and had therefore never taken to setting up a campsite. Moreover, she hated fire.
When the sun had started to go down, it was suggested - barely with words - that they should set up camp for the night. After all, mountain climbing was exhausting by anyone's standards...well, in theory. However, it seemed that the various members were fairing differently. Some well, some not so well. Verdandi was one of the former. She spent most of her life either working in endlessly in fields or traversing hundreds of terrains in her quest to map them out, so mountain climbing was child's play. The most exhaustive part of her day actually came in the form of that fire.
Her glare never once faltered, if anything it only intensified when the flame flickered mockingly at her and she answered it with a nervous growl. It was then that Verdandi made a firm (albeit reactive) decision. These people were likely going to set the mountain ablaze.
And she really hated fire.