emmel
2009-01-22 14:44:28 UTC
I kinda skipped any proof reading... but I just finished that and wanted
to push it out ASAP. It's an ego thing, I guess. On the upside I
probably didn't over-edit it - or was that a downside? Anyway, I hope
it's somewhat enjoyable. Comments of all kinds welcome as usual.
*****
Commander Rowrig watched the door close behind Isrin and was rummaging
his desk for the papers he was working on before, when he heard
another commotion breaking out in the hallway. He halted his search
and sighed. Before he could get out of his chair and see for himself
what was going on, however, the large double doors to his office were
jerked open and a tall, dark haired woman stormed in, with two guards
and Isrin in her wake.
'Sorry, sir...' one of the guards started, but the commander
cut him off with signed of his hand.
The woman walked up to his desk and propped her arms on it.
'The second inn from here on the forest road has been attacked
by bandits. Burned to the ground, no survivors.' she said matter of
factly, and with a hint of malice in her voice added:
'None of the bandits either.'
Having done her report she took a deep breath and then cut
right to the matter she had really come for.
'So, what are you doing about my daughter?'
Realisation hit the commander fixed his gaze on Isrin, who in
turn gave him an apologetic look.
'May I introduce: Commander Rowrig, Aleana Azanee.'
The sun was already standing low in the sky when Laiva and Mynor
reached the edge of the forest. Gently the water flowed past, the
wavelets on its surface glittering like gems in the evening light. In
spring, when the snow up in the mountains melted and let the waters
smell, the bases of the outermost trees were regularly submerged, but
now, in the middle of summer, the stems were about a metre away from
the water.
Laiva, however, had only one thought and acted on it. She let
her backpack slide to the ground and dropped lengthwise onto the sandy
ground and drew in the water in eager gulps. Even at this time of year
the waters of the White Nasir, coming directly from the mountains,
were refreshingly cool, and before long she had satisfied her thirst.
She sat back and let her eyes wander over the river, towards
the city in the distance and the plains beyond. And somewhere behind
all of that, over the horizon, had to be the capital. But first things
first, and after three days in the same clothes she first of all
needed a bath.
Mynor must have thought the same thing and was already diving
into the river, so Laiva quickly stripped out of her clothes and did
likewise. The water felt icy at first, but once she was properly in,
it was merely cool. At any rate it felt great to wash all the dirt and
sweat off and with Mynor around she didn't get much chance for
standing around and shivering anyway.
In the end Laiva stayed at the river for about an hour. She had
cleaned and filled up her water bottle, washed her clothes, as good as
possible with nothing but water, and let them and herself dry in a
warm summer breeze, but when the sun was sending out its last rays she
knew she it was time to go, especially if she wanted to reach the city
the same day still.
On the direct route the city would only have been two or three
hours away, but Laiva knew better than to try and cross the river on
her own. There weren't any fords and while the current wasn't strong
at all near the shore, in the middle she would have never stood a
chance.
When you stood on the bridge and watched the waters you got a
very good idea of the power it had. She had even once seen a whole
tree drifting by, roots, stem and everything, and it had been going
frighteningly fast. The bridge, however, was back on the road and so
it was already close to midnight when she finally reached the south
gate. Laiva lifted the door knocker of the night door, set into the
left of the large oaken double gates, and let it fall.
There were sound of feet shuffling and a small hatch opened at
head hight, that is about a head and a half above Laiva.
'Anyone there?' an annoyed voice creaked.
'I'm down here...'
Part of an and scarred face appeared at the edge of the hatch
and suspiciously eyed down her and Mynor from above.
'Gate's closed.' the voice said and banged the hatch shut
again. Laiva knocked once more.
'I said gate's closed.' the voice creaked again, now sounding
even more annoyed than before.
'But it's night and...'
'That's why the gate's closed.'
Once more the hatch banged shut. And once more Laiva let the
knocker fall against the door. This was getting old fast.
'What do you even have a night door for, if you won't open it
at night?' she snapped at the gate keeper as soon as the hatch opened
again. It was disrespectful talking to elder like that, but she didn't
have to be respectful when she was scoffed at like that, or did she?
'To let people in, but not the likes of you.'
Laiva gave him a blank look. The likes of her?
'Do you think I'm stupid? I don't know who or what you are,
but I know a bloody werewolf when I see it. Shove off.'
The hatch banged shut and left Laiva standing baffled. Mynor a
werewolf? Ridiculous. Knocked again, but this time there wasn't the
familiar shuffling of feet. She tried again, but to no avail. So much
for the famed Raniran hospitality.
She took a few steps backward and slouched down, Mynor
following her example and resting his head in her lap. How could
anyone mistake Mynor for such a beat? She took his head in both of her
hands and tilted it towards her. No werewolf could ever look like
that; there was no malice in his eyes.
That still didn't help her to get into the city, though. As if
she was going to conquer the city on her own; but obviously the guards
preferred watching her from the tops of the walls to using common
sense; she could see their dark figures against the backdrop of the
moonlit sky, eyeing through the battlements now and again.
In the mean time any number of attackers could scale the walls
and enter the city unseen. The rough hewn stones had to provide plenty
of footholds and they weren't really that large. She had climbed
larger trees than that...
'What do you think?' she said to Mynor. If the wolf's look was
any indication, he didn't think any of it, but, of course, he didn't
even know what she was talking about.
'Well, I'm definitely not going camp in front of the city
gate.'
--
emmel <the_emmel*you-know-what-that's-for*@gmx.net>
(Don't forget to remove the ** bit)
story archives available at http://ranira.wordpress.com
Official AGC feedback maniac
Proud owner of 1 (one) DISOBEDIENCE point.
Former owner of 1 (one) eating point (eaten, sigh).
to push it out ASAP. It's an ego thing, I guess. On the upside I
probably didn't over-edit it - or was that a downside? Anyway, I hope
it's somewhat enjoyable. Comments of all kinds welcome as usual.
*****
Commander Rowrig watched the door close behind Isrin and was rummaging
his desk for the papers he was working on before, when he heard
another commotion breaking out in the hallway. He halted his search
and sighed. Before he could get out of his chair and see for himself
what was going on, however, the large double doors to his office were
jerked open and a tall, dark haired woman stormed in, with two guards
and Isrin in her wake.
'Sorry, sir...' one of the guards started, but the commander
cut him off with signed of his hand.
The woman walked up to his desk and propped her arms on it.
'The second inn from here on the forest road has been attacked
by bandits. Burned to the ground, no survivors.' she said matter of
factly, and with a hint of malice in her voice added:
'None of the bandits either.'
Having done her report she took a deep breath and then cut
right to the matter she had really come for.
'So, what are you doing about my daughter?'
Realisation hit the commander fixed his gaze on Isrin, who in
turn gave him an apologetic look.
'May I introduce: Commander Rowrig, Aleana Azanee.'
The sun was already standing low in the sky when Laiva and Mynor
reached the edge of the forest. Gently the water flowed past, the
wavelets on its surface glittering like gems in the evening light. In
spring, when the snow up in the mountains melted and let the waters
smell, the bases of the outermost trees were regularly submerged, but
now, in the middle of summer, the stems were about a metre away from
the water.
Laiva, however, had only one thought and acted on it. She let
her backpack slide to the ground and dropped lengthwise onto the sandy
ground and drew in the water in eager gulps. Even at this time of year
the waters of the White Nasir, coming directly from the mountains,
were refreshingly cool, and before long she had satisfied her thirst.
She sat back and let her eyes wander over the river, towards
the city in the distance and the plains beyond. And somewhere behind
all of that, over the horizon, had to be the capital. But first things
first, and after three days in the same clothes she first of all
needed a bath.
Mynor must have thought the same thing and was already diving
into the river, so Laiva quickly stripped out of her clothes and did
likewise. The water felt icy at first, but once she was properly in,
it was merely cool. At any rate it felt great to wash all the dirt and
sweat off and with Mynor around she didn't get much chance for
standing around and shivering anyway.
In the end Laiva stayed at the river for about an hour. She had
cleaned and filled up her water bottle, washed her clothes, as good as
possible with nothing but water, and let them and herself dry in a
warm summer breeze, but when the sun was sending out its last rays she
knew she it was time to go, especially if she wanted to reach the city
the same day still.
On the direct route the city would only have been two or three
hours away, but Laiva knew better than to try and cross the river on
her own. There weren't any fords and while the current wasn't strong
at all near the shore, in the middle she would have never stood a
chance.
When you stood on the bridge and watched the waters you got a
very good idea of the power it had. She had even once seen a whole
tree drifting by, roots, stem and everything, and it had been going
frighteningly fast. The bridge, however, was back on the road and so
it was already close to midnight when she finally reached the south
gate. Laiva lifted the door knocker of the night door, set into the
left of the large oaken double gates, and let it fall.
There were sound of feet shuffling and a small hatch opened at
head hight, that is about a head and a half above Laiva.
'Anyone there?' an annoyed voice creaked.
'I'm down here...'
Part of an and scarred face appeared at the edge of the hatch
and suspiciously eyed down her and Mynor from above.
'Gate's closed.' the voice said and banged the hatch shut
again. Laiva knocked once more.
'I said gate's closed.' the voice creaked again, now sounding
even more annoyed than before.
'But it's night and...'
'That's why the gate's closed.'
Once more the hatch banged shut. And once more Laiva let the
knocker fall against the door. This was getting old fast.
'What do you even have a night door for, if you won't open it
at night?' she snapped at the gate keeper as soon as the hatch opened
again. It was disrespectful talking to elder like that, but she didn't
have to be respectful when she was scoffed at like that, or did she?
'To let people in, but not the likes of you.'
Laiva gave him a blank look. The likes of her?
'Do you think I'm stupid? I don't know who or what you are,
but I know a bloody werewolf when I see it. Shove off.'
The hatch banged shut and left Laiva standing baffled. Mynor a
werewolf? Ridiculous. Knocked again, but this time there wasn't the
familiar shuffling of feet. She tried again, but to no avail. So much
for the famed Raniran hospitality.
She took a few steps backward and slouched down, Mynor
following her example and resting his head in her lap. How could
anyone mistake Mynor for such a beat? She took his head in both of her
hands and tilted it towards her. No werewolf could ever look like
that; there was no malice in his eyes.
That still didn't help her to get into the city, though. As if
she was going to conquer the city on her own; but obviously the guards
preferred watching her from the tops of the walls to using common
sense; she could see their dark figures against the backdrop of the
moonlit sky, eyeing through the battlements now and again.
In the mean time any number of attackers could scale the walls
and enter the city unseen. The rough hewn stones had to provide plenty
of footholds and they weren't really that large. She had climbed
larger trees than that...
'What do you think?' she said to Mynor. If the wolf's look was
any indication, he didn't think any of it, but, of course, he didn't
even know what she was talking about.
'Well, I'm definitely not going camp in front of the city
gate.'
--
emmel <the_emmel*you-know-what-that's-for*@gmx.net>
(Don't forget to remove the ** bit)
story archives available at http://ranira.wordpress.com
Official AGC feedback maniac
Proud owner of 1 (one) DISOBEDIENCE point.
Former owner of 1 (one) eating point (eaten, sigh).