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Caydock

Caydock

Posts: 6,279 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
But the guard never thought to depress the boards and soon gave the ‘all clear’ sign to his coworker.
“What is your business in Lioper?” questioned the first guard.
Jonathan discreetly dashed his hand across his face, feigning that he was brushing away a bug, although Rowan was certain that he was wiping away the perspiration. “I’ve come to restock before heading out and selling again.”
“And where do you sell?”
“North of Steadfast. There is a group of villages around that area that rely on me for basic supplies.”
The guard nodded his contentment and turned to Rowan, “And how about you? What’s your business in Lioper?”
Rowan was startled. He had expected Jonathan to do the all the talking. But he responded, “I’m working with him as his assistant.”
“Employee…” Jonathan hissed and Rowan glared at him.
“And where are you from?”
“I come from the village of Aridy.”
The guard looked perplexed, “Ari…what?”
“Aridy. It’s one of the villages Jonathan visits."
Shrugging, the guard continued, addressing Jonathan, “How long do you plan to stay?”
“Two days to restock and rest up before the return journey.”
The guard waved his hand, “Carry on. Enjoy your stay in Lioper.”
Rowan and Jonathan rode through the gate and were greeted by the sight of dozens of people and vendors, all talking, shouting and laughing in a small thoroughfare. “It will thin out as we get farther in!” Jonathan bellowed over the cacophony. “Come on!”
The two men were forced to move at an almost negligible pace by the flood of people milling around them. Old Bradbuck twisted his head and looked wearily at Jonathan, his lids drooping. The horse was tired and knew they had reached a town. His look said, “Why am I still pulling this cart?”
“Sorry, pal.” Jonathan said, leaning forward and rubbing his horse’s back. “We’ll get to an inn soon.”

24-Mar-2011 00:00:06

Caydock

Caydock

Posts: 6,279 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Rowan was pleasantly surprised to find that Victory handled well in crowds, but he realized that logic made it obvious. Victory would have been useless as an army horse if he couldn’t control himself in groups. But that wasn’t to say that Victory was immune to the food generally associated with crowds. Rowan felt a vibration run through Victory’s sides and followed the direction of his snuffling horse’s muzzle. Rowan spotted a food vendor selling items that, while he did*’t know what they were, smelled fantastic. The owner was dipping various food articles into a yellow liquid that was boiling. The combination was tantalizing and Rowan’s own stomach growled as he stared longingly at the food. Another wooden stall was next door to the first and a woman stood there, screaming at the top of her lungs, “Baked beans for sale! Get them while they’re hot!”
Rowan averted his eyes away from the beans quickly, staring instead at a third stall, but this one was less interesting. A scholarly looking man sat behind a table, glasses perched on his hawk-like nose with a quill in hand. He seemed much too refined to be yelling and Rowan saw that there was no need for him to shout; a sign hung from the top of his booth reading, “Housing Applications.”
By this time the crowd had thinned enough for the two men to attain a decent pace. They eventually broke through the final remnant of the mass and, turning onto an adjoining street, were greeted with a much more sparsely populated road. This was not to say that it was silent. On the contrary, about a dozen grimy looking children were standing in the street, playing a game with a stick and a ball. They were shouting and talking loudly, filling the air with a cheerful sound.
Jonathan brought Old Bradbuck to a stop and dismounted, stretching his back in the way he always did. After the traditional sigh, the merchant pointed at one of the large, two story building that lined the dirt street. “That’s the inn.”

24-Mar-2011 00:00:34

Caydock

Caydock

Posts: 6,279 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
A large sign that read, “Inn” swung from metal hinges that were latched onto the second story balcony.
“You don’t say?” Rowan queried sardonically, “Whatever made you think of that?”
Jonathan, misinterpreting the tone of voice, pointed at the swaying board, “See? There’s a sign.”
Rowan slid off of Victory, his feet kicking up a small cloud of dust as he hit the ground. “Yes, I see the sign! I was being—”
He was interrupted as the ball the children were playing with smacked into the side of his face, sending him reeling, although more from surprise rather than pain. Victory stepped forward and steadied his master, allowing Rowan to use his back as a support, grabbing the horse before he could fall.
Jonathan gave a loud guffaw as Rowan was knocked back. The ball fell to the ground and came to a stop a few feet away.
As Rowan regained his feet, he was aware that all the children were running away, dashing into back allies or hiding behind barrels of rain water. Confused, Rowan watched them disappear before turning to Jonathan.
“Why’d they run?”
Jonathan took on the superior look again.
“They obviously think that you’re going to chase after them and beat them up for hitting you. In a city of this size it’s what generally happens. Everyone here isn’t close and friendly as in villages like Derthi or Aridy. Oh, wait, I forgot—“
But whatever he forgot fell on deaf ears, although Rowan had a pretty good idea what he was going to say. Moving away from his friend, Rowan bent and scooped up the ball, noting that it was nothing more than a piece of animal skin with hay stuffed inside before being poorly sewn together. He tossed it up and caught it, feeling the rough texture and poky bits of straw protruding from the edges that weren’t quite closed.
“I have your ball.” Rowan called to the empty street, “Would you like it back?”

24-Mar-2011 00:01:54

Caydock

Caydock

Posts: 6,279 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Silence met his question. The only thing Rowan could hear was the murmur of the hubbub they had left behind them floating on the wind. Shrugging, Rowan turned back to Jonathan. “Alright, let’s get our horses into the stable.”
Jonathan was looking over Rowan’s shoulder and he pointed at something. Rowan glanced over and saw that one of the children had stood up from behind a barrel and was moving closer. The boy looked to be no more than five or six years old and had a ratty flop of hair hanging over one eye. He was clad scantily in a torn shirt and pants that were meant for someone much smaller. Sadness welled up inside Rowan and he addressed Jonathan. “Where are their parents?”
Jonathan shook his head gloomily, “No parents. They’re orphans, street rats. They beg for every bit of food and scrap of clothing they wear. You find them in every city.”
Rowan felt a righteous anger boiling and he asked, “Why does no one care for them?”
Jonathan raised his hands in a helpless gesture, “There are too many of them. When their parents die they wander onto the streets. In a city this size there are numerous deaths a day, which means multiple children become orphans a month. Of course, you have simple government-owned orphanages, but even those fill up eventually, leaving the overflow to fend for themselves in the street.”
Looking back to the orphan, Rowan held up the ball in a questioning gesture and the youth nodded, holding out his hand. Rowan tossed the ball in a smooth arc and the child caught it, his face breaking into a grin. In turn, he held up the ball, looking to Rowan for the answering motion. Rowan tentatively raised his hand and the boy threw the ball back.

24-Mar-2011 00:03:19

Caydock

Caydock

Posts: 6,279 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Rowan fumbled a moment but ultimately held on to the little hay-ball. He smiled triumphantly and shot a quick look at Jonathan. The merchant returned the facial expression, “I’ll take the horses and get them settled. I won’t be able to buy any merchandise until tomorrow so I’ll be resting in the room. I’ll let the innkeeper know you’re with me so, whenever you’re done here, just let them know and they’ll show you the room.”
Rowan nodded his thanks then asked, “Can you take this with you?” He shrugged off his sword, handed it to Jonathan and turned back to the boy, his arm raised to throw. He was shocked, and thrilled, to see that all of the children had come back outside, treading cautiously but making progress nonetheless.
Rowan held up the ball in the direction of a small girl and she smiled shyly. He lobbed the sphere to her and she caught it. For the second time in a minute, Rowan had the pleasure of seeing a child’s face burst into happiness.
Almost without realizing it, Rowan found himself taking part in the game. The first boy picked up the stick from where it had been dropped and brought it to Rowan, holding it out. Rowan took it from him and looked on curiously as the boy walked about fifteen feet away. A girl threw him the hay-ball and he looked at Rowan, pointing at the stick and making a motion to show that Rowan should hold the stick up in the air with two hands.
Rowan did so, but he held it awkwardly, pointing straight up in the air, unsure of what to do. The boy shook his head and, tossing the ball to one of the other children, walked to Rowan and took the stick from him.
Rowan backed away as the boy held the stick up with both hands, tilting it at an angle over his shoulder. He bent his knees and waggled the stick around, facing the boy with the ball.

24-Mar-2011 00:04:09

Caydock

Caydock

Posts: 6,279 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The ball sailed through the air and the boy swung the stick, colliding with the projectile and sending it soaring. Rowan started to clap but saw that the boy wasn’t finished yet. As soon as the ball was hit, the child had thrown the stick to the ground and taken off, running at one of the barrels. One of the other players had retrieved the ball and hurled it in to a boy standing next to the barrel.
The boy caught the ball at the same time that the youth who had hit it slammed his hand into the barrel. Instantly all the children were talking and shouting, gesturing and arguing. Rowan was confused at the cause of such dispute but he gradually pieced it together by studying the motions and catching a few of the words, although it was hard to hear exactly what the children were saying because of their poor pronunciation.
It appeared that the two boys who had handled the ball after it was hit, the one who threw it and the one who caught it, were certain that the ball had reached the barrel before the running boy. The runner adamantly opposed this belief, slamming his hand on the body of the barrel multiple times for emphasis. The other children jumped in on whatever side they wanted to, creating one massive racket.
Eventually the boy who had caught the ball threw his hands into the air in defeat and stalked away, looking angry. The first boy looked triumphant and remained where he was, his hand resting on the barrel.
All the children now turned their attention to Rowan, who was standing next to the stick. He scooped it up and motioned to it and then to himself. The children bobbed their heads vigorously.
Doing his best to imitate the first boy’s stance, Rowan waggled the stick over his head, feeling ridiculous. This time a girl stepped forward and caught the ball one of the boys threw it to her. She reared back and threw the object.

24-Mar-2011 00:05:08

Caydock

Caydock

Posts: 6,279 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Rowan swished the stick in a long sweep but came up with nothing as the ball fell on the ground a few steps behind him. The children started chattering and hooting excitedly. Rowan felt his cheeks flush and threw the ball back.
The girl flung it to him once more and, again, Rowan swung and missed. The noise from the players increased, growing in pitch. The boy next to the barrel groaned and scrunched his little face up, putting his hands on his head.
Rowan growled to himself. How did he ever expect to win the tournament if he couldn’t even hit an insignificant hay-ball with a stick?! Rowan slammed the piece of wood on the ground a few times and brought it up to his shoulder. The children all hushed, waiting for the pitch.
The ball zipped along low, at Rowan** knees. He kept his eye on it as it came in and let his arms loosen from their stiff position, swinging the stick easily.
Crack! The stick connected with the ball and it flew into the air, high above the children, carrying on for hundreds of feet until it disappeared over a faraway house.
Silence met his achievement, looming until Rowan feared he had done something wrong. Then the children burst into cheers, waving their arms and swarming Rowan, wrapping their arms around his waist and legs, depending on their height.
The first boy disappeared into one of the alleyways and reappeared in a minute, another ball clutched in his hand. The game resumed immediately.
Much later, once the sun was starting to sink in the west, the children started trickling away in two’s or three’s, going into the side alleys. At last the only people left in the street were Rowan and the first boy with brown hair.
Unexpectedly, the youth marched forward and wrapped his arms around Rowan’s legs, gripping fiercely. Rowan gently detached the child and sank down to a kneeling position, holding out his arms. The little boy leaned into him and hugged Rowan around his neck.

24-Mar-2011 00:06:22

Caydock

Caydock

Posts: 6,279 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Rowan returned the embrace, making sure he did*’t crush the boy’s frail body with his arms.
Rowan felt tears start to run down his face but he made no effort to wipe them away. He realized for the first time in his life how fortunate he was to have parents. So often he had complained about their controlling ways and odd habits, but this boy did*’t even have a mother or father. Rowan frequently griped about the hut they lived in but this child had only an alleyway in which to curl up for the night.
At last the young orphan released Rowan and smiled at him. He turned and walked away, following the other children into the alley.
How long Rowan remained kneeling he did*’t know, but it was hours later that he felt a strong hand on his shoulder, shaking him softly.
“Hey,” Jonathan said, his voice sounding concerned, “you need to come inside.”
Rowan jolted involuntarily, feeling as though he was waking from a deep sleep. He drew a deep, rattling breath and stood, following Jonathan meekly into the inn.
When they had climbed the stairs and entered the room, Rowan collapsed into bed without even bothering to remove his boots. Jonathan quietly slipped into his own cot and did*’t speak, knowing that his friend probably did*’t want to talk.
As Rowan’s eyes closed, the last thing he saw before sleep claimed his weary body was the face of the child, smiling at him.
---

24-Mar-2011 00:07:03

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