Xannon
Adventurer 
Scholar[M:0:-25:]
. ..C.o.W.a.R.d.I.c.E.. .
Posts: 70
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Post by Xannon on Jan 25, 2011 23:30:56 GMT -5
The little lady grunted as she stretched up to the next rung on the ladder and shortly pulled herself atop a section of wall encompassing the city of Avaren. Obviously, the climbing device was designed for people another foot or so in height. Sighing, she theatrically brushed some sweat from her brow and stood up, gazing over the blazing city at night.
That was something one never saw in the country--sure, there'd be occasional celebrations and all, but this place was like a lone candle in a pitch black chamber.
The four-foot-eight maiden stretched, arching her back as her long sleeves drooped toward the earth. A staff/walkingstick/beatingapparatus/fetch toyforreallybigdoggies/stick was strapped to her back and rested between her shoulder blades. She'd walked around without it lately, but a young woman like herself (magic or no) needed additional protection from would-be attackers, right? Then again, she hadn't spotted any pedophiles yet...
Her small fingers pulled the hood away from her chocolate face. Her dark eyes flickered curiously across the walls.
The barrier was marred and cut. Had there been a war? She'd heard about a floating city crash down, but Xannon wasn't aware of Avaren being close to any other kingdoms.
Well, whatever. Mysteries were fun. She smiled, releasing a white puff of air, and began walking along fortress, a perpetual slave to curiosity.
Her belongings were hidden with magic somewhere below. It wasn't like she had tons of gold or anything. She still had some silver pieces and nickel left, but this weird-ass city primarily used gold coinage. It was difficult for the foreigner to get some people to accept her money just to buy food. How was she gonna make money anyway? She could borrow living spaces and shelter, but food was costly. Granted, she could live off wildlife or whatever, but the thought of eating one more roasted rat or damn rabbit made her flinch and want to vomit.
Brooding, she sighed again and sat against the wall, gazing forlornly at the city below. She crossed the pastel legs of her pants, feeling the familiar pressure of shin against thigh.
Such trouble... Perhaps she'd get wrinkles?
The city lights licked against the shadows and Xannon's faintly-colored clothing, suggesting the aloof presence of a twelve-year-old child's ghost.
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Post by Tiy A. Memnon-Lockheart on Jan 27, 2011 20:29:30 GMT -5
Tiy sighed heavily as she pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders. It was late, or early; and she was out and about walking around the wall, Jez, her over-size black wolf, was trotting behind her. Tiy only did this when she really could not sleep, and tonight was one of those nights. Her mind was miles away from here, wondering and beginning to believe that her husband was dead. She bit her lip lightly, looking strait up at the stars as she paused in her walk. She remembered the first time she had been up here... Zeion had come to see what she was doing and they ended up watching the sunset.
But she shook that thought from her mind. It had been over two years. Almost three. She had to stop wishing that he was alive. It was impossible... She sighed again and kept walking, but stopped as she watched hooded figure pop up over the wall and sit down along the wall. She was curious to see what the lady was up to, so she decided there was no harm in asking, and walked over to the girl. She looked down the wall and at the ladder that the girl must have climbed. Tiy let out a low whistle. "I honestly don't think I could have made it up that..." she laughed lightly, looking at the young lady before her.
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Xannon
Adventurer
Scholar[M:0:-25:]
. ..C.o.W.a.R.d.I.c.E.. .
Posts: 70
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Post by Xannon on Jan 27, 2011 21:07:44 GMT -5
A lady (one who didn't look like a kid) appeared from the shadows in cloth of white.
Xannon turned her head to look up at her. She chuckled.
"Yeah, it was a workout!" She narrowed her eyes, glancing over the path. If she couldn't climb up the ladder, then how the hell did she get up here? Was there a secret passageway? Stairs? A ramp? A lazy-person instant transport of the type of advanced magic Xannon couldn't even fathom?
"You mean, you didn't use a ladder, Ma'am?"
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Post by Tiy A. Memnon-Lockheart on Jan 27, 2011 21:26:34 GMT -5
The girl got back to her with 'it was a workout', and she laughed again lightly. She could tell by the way the young lady's chest was quickly falling and rising. She smiled lightly at ther and then the girls face fell into one of confusion. She raised a brow and tilted her head slightly, about to voice her concern when the girl asked that she didn't use the ladder. Tiy shook her head lightly. "I live within the city. The guards let me up the stairs on the inside of the main gate. Why didn't you just go to the gate?" she asked, quietly, but still loud enough for just the girl, a meter for so from her, to hear her.
How curious....
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Xannon
Adventurer
Scholar[M:0:-25:]
. ..C.o.W.a.R.d.I.c.E.. .
Posts: 70
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Post by Xannon on Jan 27, 2011 21:38:47 GMT -5
There were stairs. Inside the main gate. Awesome.
She just put out that effort to climb the ladder for nothing. Then again, the guards probably wouldn't let a "kid like her" go up so high anyway.
Xannon had entered this city through the jousting field somehow, hadn't she?
"Oh, no reason," she replied. Because I didn't know someone could even do that. She stood up, wobbling for a moment as their heights became a little more equal. Well, not nearly equal, but it certainly made her feel a little less short.
Her heart quietly thumping along, she looked up at the lady. She seemed regal--nothing like that female thief she met before.
"So do you come up here a lot?"
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Post by Tiy A. Memnon-Lockheart on Jan 27, 2011 22:00:59 GMT -5
there was no real reason for her to climb the ladder? Maybe she just wanted the exersize. Tiy nodded lightly, understanding...maybe. And then she stood up. She was rather short, but her face made her look older than her height offered. She thought about asking her for her age, but she was sure that the young lady probably got that a lot, so she didn't bother. The girl then asked if she came up here a lot. Tiy nodded, a light, forced smile on her young face. "I do indeed. It reminds me of times with my husband, before he disappeared nearly three years ago..." she sighed lightly and looked back at the young lady.
"I'm Tiy Memnon, by the way. Are you new to our city?" she asked her, curiously. She had not seen the girl before. So she figured the answer was yes, but she wanted to make conversation.
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Xannon
Adventurer
Scholar[M:0:-25:]
. ..C.o.W.a.R.d.I.c.E.. .
Posts: 70
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Post by Xannon on Jan 27, 2011 22:14:22 GMT -5
"Yeah, I'm new. I only arrived about a week ago."
That woman had been married. Unlike Xannon. Not only had she gotten her first kiss and not have to worry about pedophiles, but she'd already thrown away her virginity, too. Since her husband (also known as an additional money supply, sex toy, and possibly close comrade) had vanished for such a long time, the madam probably gained a lover or two to boot.
Oh, and she looked rich, too.
Against this missus, Xannon's ego deflated. She really couldn't compare.
Then again, "disappeared" implied anything from getting killed to running away with one's lover or any other ridiculous affair on the side.
"I came up here," said the young girl, smiling again, "to try and orient myself a bit. I keep getting lost in the city--the town I'm from is much smaller." Well, towns, to be exact. It wasn't like any place wanted to hold onto an extra kid for too long.
"It's nice to meet ya, Lady Memnon. My name is Xannon."
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Post by Tiy A. Memnon-Lockheart on Jan 27, 2011 22:26:14 GMT -5
"Well welcome to the city." she smiled.
There seemed to be an over-whelming amount of new people in the city the past few weeks, but she guessed because it was the richest kingdom for kilometers and anyone could get a job if they looked hard enough and tried hard enough. She let the smile linger and then heard the girl say that she came up here to orient herself cause she kept getting lost. Tiy nodded, understandingly: the city was indeed quite vast and the winding maze of roads, made it almost impossible for any new-comer to navigate without help.
Tiy looked out over the city and then heard the girl introduce herself as Xannon, after titling her 'Lady Memnon'. She smiled. "It's a pleasure, Xannon. But my friends call me Tiy. Please feel free to do so as well."
She turned back to look out over the city, leaning on her arms on the wall. "What would you like to know about navigating this great maze? Grant it... it's a little dark to see the entirety of the city..."
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Xannon
Adventurer
Scholar[M:0:-25:]
. ..C.o.W.a.R.d.I.c.E.. .
Posts: 70
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Post by Xannon on Jan 27, 2011 22:48:30 GMT -5
"Why, thank you! Tiy it is."
Xannon silently examined the noblewoman. She was obviously noble. And wealthy. And trusting. Yet this was not the familiar naive kind of trusting--like with Zelda, this was more of the it-doesn't-really-matter-'cause-I-can-still-kick-your-behind-to-Florida. Wait... Where was Florida even located? Whatever. Anyway, this chick was tough.
But wise. And calm. And friendly. And quite responsible toward a random stranger for no reason.
Yeah, there was definitely something wrong with her. Tiy felt like a ruler of some kind, but what kind of queen would walk around unescorted?
Oh. Right. That kind that could kick any attacker's behind to Florida, where ever that was.
"Well, then, Tiy... How aboooout you tell me about the different districts? I know there's the main entrance," she continued counting on her tiny dark fingers, "the jousting field, the market place, an area full of bars, and some shady places... However, I'm not even certain I could find them all again." She let her counting appendages fall to her sides.
That woman didn't seem like the physical type. Who could land a good punch or groin kick in that getup, anyway? She was either into religion or magic, but Xannon couldn't see any symbols of faith in the dark.
Tiy didn't seem like a nun.
"How long have you lived here?"
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Post by Tiy A. Memnon-Lockheart on Jan 27, 2011 23:09:06 GMT -5
She smiled and settled against the wall, leaning forward and crossing one foot behind the other ankle. She let out a quiet sigh and then looked over at the girl. She seemed to be trying to figure out what Tiy exactly was. She had not been summoned to the council today, she just felt like dressing up. Not to mention her white tunic with gold lining and white skirt under her black cloak were warm, and it was a tad bit chilly in the late winter night.
The girl started counting on her fingers what places she knew about. The entrance, the market, the jousting fields, the taverns, and the alleys.... she knew most of the places. But she said that she didn't think she could find any of them again. Tiy chuckled. "I know this city can turn into a maze to many people.... You are familiar with many of the places around here though." she smiled, and leaned to one side, so she could raise one arm up and point things out to her.
"The main entrance is just a few hundred meters from us, and if you go into the main courtyard there, the market place is off to the right, and the taverns to your left. Strait ahead you can find the warrior barraks, along the Northern wall of the kingdom... and just beyond the wall there is the jousting fields." she rested her arm back on the edge, evening her weight, and looking back at her. "And the alleys are pretty shady, as well as all the taverns." she smiled. "Oh! And if you keep going down the market road, the bend to the left leads you up a hill and there are homes along the road there..."
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Xannon
Adventurer
Scholar[M:0:-25:]
. ..C.o.W.a.R.d.I.c.E.. .
Posts: 70
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Post by Xannon on Jan 27, 2011 23:34:01 GMT -5
Ah... Those homes. Xannon had slept there a few times. As to whether she did it with the home owner's permission or not will be left to the reader's imagination.
Xannon adjusted her mental layout of the place.
She needed to avoid the alleys and taverns. Being sold off to the underground slave trade didn't sound fun at all, and it wasn't as though a person her size could hold her liquor anyway. Her eyes focused solemnly at nothing.
"Thanks," replied the short girl. Manners were important with the upper class. She turned her dark orbs back to the white woman.
"So... Warrior's barracks? Are ya preparin' for some big battle or somethin'?"
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Post by Tiy A. Memnon-Lockheart on Jan 27, 2011 23:43:15 GMT -5
The girl thanked her and Tiy nodded to her. It was no problem to help a new comer to Tiy. And this girl was interesting enough to keep an eye on, not in the way that she was thinking she was a thief, but because she was unique, and something told Tiy that there would be many men that would take advantage of her size. Which was very unfortunate.
Xannon then asked if they were preparing for a battle. She laughed lightly and shook her head, but shrugged. "We do not believe that there is a threat just yet, but we do pride ourselves on the strength of our army..." she smiled. "The other members of the Ruling Council think that there is always a reason to have an army, even in not in time of war. We need to prepare the men for anything the world can throw at them."
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Xannon
Adventurer
Scholar[M:0:-25:]
. ..C.o.W.a.R.d.I.c.E.. .
Posts: 70
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Post by Xannon on Jan 28, 2011 10:41:06 GMT -5
This was one of those preemptive self-defense armies that made other cities produce preemptive self-defense armies and eventually caused a battle or a stalemate because neither side trusted the other to be less than greedy. Great. Fortunately, no other city seemed to be too nearby.
And the army consisted of all men. Xannon felt the urge to comment on this point. Perhaps there weren't any strong women in this city?
"With all those sweaty guys around, the barracks must... uh, stink quite a bit."
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Post by Tiy A. Memnon-Lockheart on Jan 29, 2011 22:27:53 GMT -5
Tiy laughed out loud as Xannon made the comment that the barracks must stink with all those men in there. She turned to Xannon and smiled, "Oh, I imagine they do indeed!" she chuckled. She looked at the young lady before her and smiled again. She had become quite fine of this young stranger in such a short time. But she wondered about her accomidations. Of course, the girl probably did not have a job yet, and places to stay around here were not cheap. She tapped her chin thoughtfully with a pointed finger and then decided to ask.
"Have you a place to stay? I have many spare rooms if you would like a place to stay until you can find work or means of support for yourself..." she offered.
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Xannon
Adventurer
Scholar[M:0:-25:]
. ..C.o.W.a.R.d.I.c.E.. .
Posts: 70
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Post by Xannon on Jan 29, 2011 23:11:48 GMT -5
Tiy became thoughtful for a moment. Xannon waited silently during the dark night, occasionally rubbing her cold fingers together.
And then, instantly, she hit the jackpot.
Yes! What kind of serendipity was this? No longer would she have to sneak into people's homes and magic her way out of getting caught! No longer would she have to be so cautious about the few items in possession she had! No longer would she have to worry about not anyone noticing if she just up and vanished one day!
Xannon's dark brown eyes lit up.
"You've... got a place I can stay?" Was Xannon a fish nibbling on a hook or what? "Really?"
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