Exploring the Vineyards (GM Striker, Open)

[Adelyn Weiss]

Early Morning, Aslanica
5th brightening of Ponutis, in the Season of Spring
Era II of the Celestine Mandate
Era XIV Post Fractum
The Second Era of the Regency of Milo L'Evienne.

Against advice from many people, Adelyn had decided to explore the western parts of Paxia where the burned remains of the vineyards were located. The young adult had recently taken an interest in restoring the western parts of Paxia for all its potential for agriculture. She knew, of course, that she ran the risk of running into an orc and possibly getting seriously injured if not killed, but the risk was definitely worth it if she were only extremely careful. Though the girl had not told anyone what she was up to she expected to run into people on her way there as she was walking back from all the tents in East Paxia.

Adelyn waved to people she only vaguely remembered from her past, though it felt like a different lifetime ago when Paxia was so alive and vibrant. She made sure to stop by anyone she recognized or had seen even just once and explained that she was on her way to the vineyards to see the state the soil was in and what, if anything, was left of the grapes that had grown aplenty before. Explaining to anyone that looked willing to listen she started with a disclaimer, "Though it is dangerous, I am now headed towards the western part of Paxia to explore the vineyards. Should you be interested please do come along with me. If you need time to prepare that is fine... I still want to make a lot of people aware of where I am going. As you may or may not know, the vineyards provided wine as a major export for Paxia at one point."

The girl did not stop smiling and tried encouraging as many people as she could to come along with her on her small adventure. Her heart raced, slightly excited at the prospect of finding something useful for Paxia. Adelyn hated feeling useless so this would be her first lone contribution without Roland having thought of it first. By no means was she looking for credit, but she did want to feel as though she were capable of coming up with some ideas, too.

The bag she carried over her right shoulder was starting to grow heavy so she placed it over her head and across her chest to manage the weight better. Inside it held several objects that might be of use to her in her exploration including a sheaf of papers to take notes, and small random miscellaneous objects. From the side of her pants hung her dagger, strapped on, though she didn't really know how to use it. It was the same dagger she had used in Kalendryas at Mama Juju's house, but she pushed those thoughts aside for more important matters were at hand.

[Striker]

The western district of Paxia, albeit much safer than the north, was nevertheless a region seldom trekked by the unwary. Located adjacent to the vineyards was the Coliseum of Champions, a dome-like structure that had once catered to gladiatorial fights popular of the people’s habitual pastimes. When the invasion had begun, though, the Coliseum had become a war ground. Orcs and humans had battled up and down the rafters, contending desperately for the higher ground or the slightest advantage. In the end the humans had won, but who knew how many orcs remained hidden within the Coliseum…

The two suns of Telath, distinguishable amidst the clear horizon, bathed the ruins of Paxia in a gentle glow. As always, many refugees had awoken early this brightening, tending to their daily routines or scrounging around the ruins for supplies and provisions. For the most part, the morning was generally a fine time to scavenge as the orcish marauders were still sleeping, and the brilliant suns provided enough light for the civilians to navigate the terrain accordingly.

Many stopped to wave to Adelyn as she passed; she had become a widely recognized figure over the past few cycles and her uplifting and optimistic demeanor always seemed to inspire those around her. Her smile, too, had become of the stuff of appreciation as of late. Despite the gravity of Paxia’s situation, those who interacted with Adelyn were ceaselessly astonished by her cheerful attitude. The fact that she could be happy regardless of the desperate times reminded the Paxians that there was hope for a better future yet.

“Wait! Miss Weiss, you shouldn’t be traveling to the vineyards alone...” From a short distance away, a young man raced frantically to the adventurous woman. Handsome by all appearances, his blond hair was shortly cropped. His eyes were a shade of the deepest blue, and his rugged face was tanned by many hours of exposure to the sunlight. He wore the uniform of a soldier of the Falcon Legion; however, his outfit was dirtied and blemished by debris. For now the black sleeves of his tunic were rolled up his forearms, and the top part of his shirt was unbuttoned.

Several inches taller than Adelyn, the young man glanced down at her concernedly before steering his gaze to the west where the vineyards were situated. “Are you sure that you want to go there? If you do, I insist that you allow me to accompany you.”

[Adelyn Weiss]

While she explained to another handful of people her intent she waved at others as if to say she would be over to them to talk momentarily. Adelyn's optimism could not be deterred that easily so she brushed aside all commentary on the dangers of entering the western side of the city. Naturally, she was aware of the dangers, but she had set her mind to dealing with any issues that would arise as they occurred, and none had yet.

At the moment, Adelyn was explaining her reasons for wanting to check the vineyards, a serious look on her face. Had she been looking at herself she would have laughed for all the seriousness in her appearance. She was stopped midway through her sentence, however, when she saw a young man running up to her. A frown marred her features but for a second, then transformed into a happy smile. Her eyes appeared smaller as the smile lit up her face. The young man that had so hastily approached her was a soldier of the Falcon Legion, though his uniform was marred with overuse.

"Serale! I am glad you have come to warn me like so many others. What is your name, soldier?" she asked curiously, after excusing herself from the people she had previously been speaking with.

The soldier emitted an air of playfulness despite the urgency in his voice. Though very casually dressed in his uniform (it was still early in the brightening, after all) he was very handsome. She gazed up into his deep blue eyes and said in an equally sober voice, "No, I am not so sure I want to go." She stared into his eyes for a few seconds unrelentingly, then broke into a fit of giggles.

"I would love to have the pleasure of your company. I, too, insist you come with me. To be completely honest, I was secretly worried I wouldn't know what to do if I ran into something I didn't know how to deal with, but together we should be able to figure it out."

As she looked up at him, the light from the suns hit her face and her hands immediately went up to shield her eyes from it. Already the suns had risen, and for the first time since their conversation began Adelyn noticed his shirt was partially unbuttoned. She averted her gaze to the ground when she realized she could see his muscular physique.

[Roland Moonstar]

The dimunitive Prefect of Paxia joined Adelyn and her friend on their journey. He craned his neck and nodded at the blond man. Then he turned to Adelyn. "The Lord Protector is a busy man. I thought it would be best if I tagged along in his stead.

We don't wish to burden him with too much to do. If he asks where we are going, we shall say we are off to the market, or some such thing." The Prefect wagged a russet-furred finger at both of them.

He seemed, for once, very intent and serious about this matter, and instead of clowning around or engaging in protracted information, he took point, and kept a sharp look-out for anyone or anything. "I think the Provost was interested in this? I recall someone. Halfpint, perhaps? Medaerus? It will come to me...."

[Striker]

“It’s what any gentleman would do, Miss Weiss. And besides, we can’t have our precious assistant aedile running off unattended.” the young man flashed a brilliant smile, meanwhile running a dirtied hand across his sweat-dotted forehead to wipe away the perspiration from his brow. Like the others of his military unit, he oftentimes spent his free time maintaining his tent or rummaging through the ruins for daily valuables and necessities. In the young man’s case, however, he had been helping an elderly woman remove some fallen rubble from the area where she normally cooked her meals.

Laughing candidly at Adelyn’s enthusiasm, the soldier fixed his deep blue eyes upon her as she spoke. “Please call me Derek.” Lowering into a cordial and well-rehearsed bow, the young man held the pose temporarily before straightening with that innocent smile of his spread across his lips. “Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. I must have left my manners back in my tent.”

His grin widened even more as Adeyn erupted in a slur of giggles, and he tilted his head to the side to regard her amusedly. “Don’t you worry, Miss Weiss. Believe it or not, but underneath this ugly shell of mine I’ve an amazing set of lungs. If the orcs do come, I’ll make sure to scream loud enough for the both of us.” Winking jestingly, the soldier laughed and rested his hand upon the pommel of the sword strung loosely at his side.

Tapping his chin pensively, Derek’s smiled faded as he assumed a thoughtful pose. “But if it does come to us running into some trouble, I would be more than obliged if you threw me to the orcs and fled away. If I survived, I suppose that I would understand.” Chuckling grimly, Derek’s eyes flashed alertly as the Prefect interrupted their discourse.

Blinking curiously, Derek concealed his surprise at the prefect’s arrival with a formal bow. “Sir.” he greeted, pausing momentarily as he glanced from Adelyn and back to the prefect again. Apparently the two of them would be accompanied by another yet. “It will be an honor.” With that said, the soldier turned back to Adelyn, noting her elevated hand as she shielded the glaring sunlight from her eyes. “We should probably be moving soon, Miss Weiss. The heat can be unbearable at times, but at the very least it will allow us to move across the western district more freely. Where specifically in mind did you wish to explore?”

[Z'kron]

Ah, the vineyards. Fallen like the rest of Paxia; standing next to the colliseum. The very same Colliseum a younger Z'kron had made his name in by hamstringing a giant many, many years ago; near the shop where he had once encountered a mage who made metal drip like honey without even heating it; around where the druid had once made his home back in the days when he was a sorcerer. It was a place of sentiment for him, Paxia as a whole. And it was time to repay his debt of gratitude. Perhaps even plant a cherry orchard or two when done.
Typically one of his station would ride, but Z'kron tended to eschew such things; having operated as a pack animal of sorts once himself. Instead the druid was out simply inspecting the area, accompanied only by a single companion- far less protection than one of his station was entitled to, but allowing for a much more pleasant degree of freedom.
With a smile, the ancient-elf-seeming sage and his companion greeted the group in a politely deferential tone.
"Serale friends. Sage Z'kron, something of a rebuilder around these parts- or so I hope to make myself. Would you care for some company?"

[Roland Moonstar]

The Prefect nodded at Z'kron. "Ah, yes. You were that Imperial Parsley fellow who was here a month ago."

He pointed at Adelyn. "This is Adelyn Weiss of House Moonstar, working as an Aedile here in Paxia. I am the Prefect, Louis Jean-Luc Lotholt. This soldier is Derek. I believe Grishin is around here somewhere as well."

[Z'kron]

The druid gave a short laugh that seemed to emanate less from his mouth than somewhere slightly below his throat. "Imperial Parsely fellow? Well, I've never been called that before. But I did give my intention to personally pay a great deal more attention to Paxia and, well, here I am. About time we had someone specifically from the government do something."
A polite nod of the head at the others, at Adelyn and Derek. His eyes glittered unusually as the sun struck them, making them seem even more rocklike than usual. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Weiss, Derek. I'm the resident Imperial around these parts, hoping to clean up some of the horrible mess that's been left behind by the negligence in a rapid response for Paxia- on our side, that is. Hopefully we should be able to help build on the work you and your comrades have begun. But speaking of beginnings; shall we?"

[Adelyn Weiss]

With a small 'uh-huh' and a nod, she agreed with Looie, saying it was best for his health that he did not come along on their adventure just this one time. The girl whispered over to the Prefect and asked, "Is it just me or has Roland been losing a lot of weight lately? I'm growing concerned, but he looks to have a lot of vitality to him so I don't know..." Adelyn touched the top of Looie's head with a pat and gazed off into the distance wondering if she should pay Roland a visit and ask about his exercise techniques.

She sighed and then turned back to Derek, who had just introduced himself, "It's quite alright. In haste we all forget our manners occasionally! I'm confident you'll do your best in case anything occurs."

Adelyn agreed that the sun was starting to come out strong and the group walked at a slow pace, hoping others would join them. Sure enough, another did. He introduced himself as Sage Z'kron, and Adelyn gave him a warm smile, glad for the company.

"We might have seen each other in passing before, Sage Z'kron, in this past month, but I can't be so sure anymore. It was a busy month, after all," she gave him a small nod of the head and allowed Looie to introduce them all. He certainly was good with names, especially considering he typically introduced himself with a long string of titles, but chose not to at this particular moment. With great appreciation the beautiful woman looked into Z'kron's hard rock-like eyes, and said, "Likewise, Z'kron. I would like to thank you for your work and your interest in Paxia. The city needs all the help it can get, really. But yes, we were just getting started. Let us go at a faster pace now."

With her hand pointed to the road Adelyn murmured, "This way," and began to walk by leading them on the path in the direction of the Vineyards. Should they begin trailing after her they would notice the amount of tents lessen and the families more spread out. The weather was beating down on them and Adelyn was glad her clothes was made of thin cool material. She glanced back to see the group, and urged them to keep on.

Last month she had taken Herbalism lessons around the vineyard areas with Theying. Adelyn heard he was traveling and no longer in Paxia, but she recalled him and everything he taught her. She smiled at the memory of him, but shook it off. She made a mental note to study herbalism in her own time so she would not forget.

[Roland Moonstar]

Looie shrugged. 'I asked him the same question. He said he's been.. uh...what did he say? Working out. Lifting weights. It's nice to see one of humans at what I consider normal strength, anyway. And finally someone with a normal appetite."

He nodded at Adelyn. "So... all things considered, except for the fact that he's freakishly tall and mostly furless, and the dreams, he's perfectly normal. I had Dr. Lex Lotholt check, and he agrees."

Anticipating the question, Looie gave another shrug. "Well, of course, and the lack of a tail."

[Adelyn Weiss]

Adelyn looked curiously at Looie, laughing on the inside as to how silly he could be without realizing it. She loved him for his short stature, which she could almost relate to, and his strange wit. She shook her head and touched her cheek, "Your definition of normal is quite wrong from mine. You've skipped over a very important part, Looie! What dreams are you talking about? Does ... he constantly have nightmares?" Adelyn froze over a bit, suddenly truly worried, but then again Looie could be exaggerating.

After Looie responded, Adelyn turned back to the others appearing calm and unafraid. She asked Z'kron, "Now, are you sure we haven't met? You still seem so very familiar." Adelyn recalled three brightenings ago, the night she found Viskyia and Amelia performing a ritual for the city of Paxia. Of course, Adelyn had not understood at first, but it had been later explained to her. Though it was getting warmer, a cold chill passed through her body at the memory of the ghostly girl. It was different seeing an unknown ghost figure in contrast to seeing a blood-related ghost. It dawned on her that Adelyn had seen many dead beings recently, wondering what it all meant.

"How long have you been working for the Legion, Derek? What have your accomplishments been thus far?" she broke out into a grin, allowing him to boast a bit about himself. Her eyes sparkled mischievously, as they were wont to do when she was speaking to men, though it wasn't intentional.

[Striker]

Derek’s calmly features darkened noticeably as the ancient elf introduced himself as a servant to the Imperials. With the recent idleness of the Imperial Legion situated only a short distance outside of Paxia, both the civilians and the Falcon Legion soldiers alike had had a difficult time perceiving the Imperials with any optimism. Nevertheless, being the professional that he was, the golden-haired private merely nodded. “Well met, Mister Z’kron.” He said, masking his dubiousness behind a forced smile.

A part of him, though, hoped that Z’kron’s pledge to help Paxia was not a hollow one.

Laughs were exchanged in abundance as the entourage continued westward towards the vineyards. The main road, much of which had been cleared subsequent of the resilient efforts of the Paxians over the past few months, was flanked on both sides by small hills of rubble that had been cleared to provide passageway for travelers, wagons, and caravans alike. The road was generally disused, however, as hordes of people had not emigrated to Paxia in surplus amounts given its ruined state. Occasional tracks of feet could be seen imprinted along the dusty path, but none that would indicate heavy usage of what had once been a popularly used route.

Walking silently beside Adelyn as they all jested at Roland Moonstar’s expense, the soldier turned his head and smiled candidly to the assistant aedile. “All my life, Miss Weiss, well, in a way at least.” Grinning slightly, Derek’s cerulean gaze glimmered in the sunlight as he continued to look at Adelyn. “My father was a Lieutenant in the Falcon Legion before he died. I remember always wanting to be like him...” Glancing skywards in a nostalgic manner, Derek chuckled again. “He was my inspiration, the reason why I joined the Falcons in the first place.”

At Adelyn’s question regarding his accomplishments, the private merely smiled. Like it would have been for any of his fellow soldiers, that particular inquiry was difficult to answer. What member of the Falcon Legion, after all, would daresay he or she accomplished anything at all given Paxia’s bitter defeat?

It was not long until the group reached the outskirts of the vineyards. They would notice immediately the ornately designed dolphins atop one specific building identifying it as Theying’s Blue Dolphin Herbal Remedies, a shop that was growing both in prestige and customers daily. Beyond the herbalist’s storefront, however, was a seemingly endless landscape of open land extending until the skeleton of the former western wall of Paxia.

Where the fires had scorched the top layers of the vineyards, there was nothing more than burnt and crispy soot, the likes of which would prove unsuitable for growing. Intermittently scattered buildings could also be seen in the distance, though each of these had been completely destroyed and consequently relegated to wreckage. For the most part the area had been devoid of activity save Theying’s handful of students who visited him for training.

“This is it, or was it, rather.” Derek was the first to remark as they came to a standstill on the edge of the vineyards. The ground was hard beneath their feet, and the smell of scalded earth danced lazily through the air.

[Z'kron]

Another sigh, the type of which had been all too common since he'd returned to Paxia. It was days like these where the druid truly felt his burdens of age- not so much in his body, which was as limber as ever- but in the recognition of how little of what he used to treasure still existed in this new empire.
"I used to be a Legion man myself. A long, long time ago. First real mission was around these parts; crazy mages trying to make off with wine caskets. Turns out they could still summon up fire-elementals while drunk. Who would've thought. How long ago would that be? Eighty, ninety eras now?"
The druid shook his head sadly, tapping his hand lightly on the sword at his belt. "But then you get old, and even if you want to fight, it's a damn sight harder to. And then you end up in politics, and get unfit and forget which end of the sword is the pointy-est, and suddenly you're too slow to handle yourself against a few orcs, much less a necromancer; and you're still in a damn office-job wondering why the hell no one's tried to help the survivors."
He dropped to a crouch, patting the hardened earth; and speaking half to himself and half to the ground he was standing on. "We'll find a way to fix these. Even if I have to buy the damn things myself."

[Roland Moonstar]

Looie, as an otter, was attuned to nature in a way that would please Z'kron. Leaving the others to converse amidst themselves, he went around and examined the grass and ground, vines and shrubs and whatever he could lay a paw on.

Unlike the gregarious Roland, Looie was not one for lengthy conversation unless absolutely necessary, and so he simply went around and examined everything carefully, quitely assessing both the damage and what it would take to repair everything. He did not look very pleased or happy, but otters were naturally fatalistic and so he was not unduly upset either. As to the state of the vineyard, it was what it was. Some years were better than others: this would be a cherished year for connoisseurs and collectors of rare vintages as final production would be so low, and it would be a bad year for vinters and sommeliers. Such was life.

[Adelyn Weiss]

OOC: Hoping to get some progress with the vineyards... as belated as this post is.

Adelyn had only been in these parts but once in Immanis to learn some herbalism from Theying. There had been no sight of orcs then or now and for that she was grateful. After listening to both Derek and Z'Kron's stories the girl walked further into the vineyards.

She too crouched to the ground and tried digging at the burned earth. It certainly didn't feel or smell pleasant in the least. Adelyn was slightly disappointed at just how badly the soil was, but just how far was it burned? As far as she could see the soil appeared useless and hard. Her nails were full of dirt but that was unimportant to her, the restoration of Paxia multitudes much more important.

Yelling back at her group she asked, "How many horses will be needed to plow this here damaged soil? I am sure Paxians will be willing to lend us their horses for use here. What do you think?" After listening and nodding to their replies Adelyn continued, "As far as I remember from what I heard from people working here before the soil will need to be checked for nutrients at 8 and 16 inches. And it may take an era to properly plow through it all..."

An era sounded like a long time but time was all she had to make sure Paxia was back up and running bit by bit. She walked back to Roland, Z'Kron, and Derek, calling Looie back over as well. They would all have to put their heads together to make this plan work. Once the vineyards were ready for growing it would still take a while for the vines to produce grapes. Afterward wine could be produced and help boost the economy of Paxia by selling it. Complicated, yes, but it could be done. It would just require some dedication.