Act 1b: The warriors [Sands of Glory]

[Red Shadow Claws]

Radiant Lion is woken up by Thundering Avalanche "Get up boy, gather some of the young warriors, like Sandstorm, Crushing Jackal, and Bedwyr Mallory, and get some morning practice before you get your lazy butts to go hunting." The tone is severe, but there is a slight smile on his face. In the corner of the large tent you can already see your mother making breakfast for the family.

 

[Ligier]

Bedwyr is already awake, active and sweating from exertion. In the petrified forest to the southwest of the village, the young warrior stands panting in front of the petrified remains of a stunted tree. In his hands is a sword, although not his normal sword as he doesn't want to dull it's edge. The weapon Bedwyr wields now is itself fashioned form petrified wood. Rock hard but lacking a truly sharp edge, it's a standard training weapon among village boys and men.


Regaining his energy, Bedwyr closes on the tree he's facing and unleashes a flurry of blows. It's a maddened flurry, but not without style and technique. If the tree were a man, then each blow would approximately be taking it in a vital location, whether it be the head, neck, heart or groin.


In his mind's eye, Bedwyr isn't seeing the tree, instead he's seeing Sonja, a young woman of the tribe who the day before had been absolutely scathing in her insults towards Bedwyr. It was justified, because in his wilder days she had certainly suffered the same kind of tongue lashing from Bedwyr, but all the same her words stung his pride and made him want to silence her derision with a swift backhand.


He hadn't of course, but the damage to his cursed pride had stayed with him all night as he silently fumed in his bedroll, trying to find sleep and failing. Knowing his own weaknesses, his inability to ignore slights, he came out here early in the morning and started releasing the anger on this tree.


The assault on this poor, long dead piece of vegetation continues for five more minutes before Bedwyr stops, his lungs crying out for air which he dutifully provides in huge gulps. Tired, aching and slightly exhilarated, the anger has left his soul. If he were a better man, he knows he wouldn't need to do things like this to help him stick to his vows. Still, if he gets through today without incident then he's one tiny step closer to becoming the person he wants to be.


Wiping the sweat from his brow, Bedwyr slowly walks back to the village.

 

[danelsan]

Sandstorm


*Sigh* "By the Walker, I need something else to do. I like you all, but lately I'm without any excitement..." said Sandstorm in a bored tone while tending to his camels


A few days earlier, Sandstorm took two of his camels and went away from the tribe in search of some adventure. The best he could find were some high and narrow rocky formations on which to do some feats of climbing and dangerously jumping around. But these were not as fun with nobody to watch or try to match him.


Worse yet, when he came back, some elder was ready to scold him (as usual) - but this time they saw fit to ask a couple of the scouts to keep an eye on him, making sure Sandstorm didn't get away to find trouble when he should be getting ready for the travel to Harbourhead - and after questioning 'why should they depend on that city in any way' a few too many times, it was a sure thing that they'd want to have him in the caravan!


"I just hope this Harborhead and the travel to it doesn't fall short of all the stories. It should at least be a good opportunity to get some respect around here" said the troublesome warrior, contemplating the morning sun as if it held some promise of more interesting times ahead before getting back to feeding his animals.

 

[happerry]

Yawning to himself, Crushing Jackal cracks open an eye and gazes at the morning sun for a few long seconds before sitting up and stretching his arms. As he pulls himself to his feet, he takes a glance around his campsite to make sure that all of his stuff is still here. After insuring that his pack is still hanging of the rocky point were he put it last night, Crushing Jackal turns, slinging his pack onto his back in one smooth motion, and begins picking his way down the narrow goat path that he used to get half way up the rocky spire he spent the night on.


“Alright! I did see that nest last night.†Smiling smugly to himself, he pauses in his travel down to look into a crack in the cliffside about a foot off from the path. Within, some sort of animal has made a nest upon which rest a pair of dappled brown eggs. “So, any snakes in there... nope.†Stepping to the edge of the path, he carefully reaches in and plucks out the pair of eggs before returning to his downwards path.


“About time to get back into the village, isn't it.†He notes to himself as he sets foot on the ground and turns towards the tribes current place of residence. “It's a thirteen minute walk normally... Heh, I bet I can make it in ten if I move briskly. Afterall, the sooner I get back the sooner I can make breakfast.â€

 

[Lando The Archmagi]

"Of course father.", Radiant Lion says, softly grumbling about getting up so early. Radiant Lion then gets out of bed and smiles at his father, knowing his tone is serious, but the smile gives away a lot. He goes and washes up and gets dressed, putting on his armor and his weapon belt with Razor Claw sheathed at his hip. He slides Razor Claw out, checking the sword and taking a whetstone and checking the edge before resheathing it. He then tucks his flame pieces in his belt and checks to be sure he has extra ammo. He then slides his dagger in its sheath and heads out to see to his warriors. He steps out of the tent and lets the morning sun gleam over his body, flexing his muscles under his armor and gear, he looks around for the warriors of his tribe. Spotting Sandstorm first, he says, "Good day Sandstorm, help me find Crushing Jackal and Bedwyr Mallory for some morning sparring and excercise before we go hunting for the tribe."

 

[danelsan]

SANDSTORM


"Hey there, Lion! So, those two are not around yet?"


"And they say I am the rebel" *grumbles a bit to himself*


"Well, 'chieftain-to-be'... ", words carrying a hint of sarcasm but well-meaning humor "...I'm just about finished with my boys here, and sparring or hunting certainly beats feeding camels for me"


Friendly poking aside, Sandstorm respected the Chieftain's son. While the higher ups never gave Sandstorm the respect his abilities deserved, he could see his fellow tribesman deserving of being a leader - he had what it takes.


Following protocol in dealing with a possible future clan leader, however, was certainly not Sandstorm's forte...


"How 'bout this: Knowing Jackal as we do, I'd say he is probably already hunting something for himself - we should go look for him in the outskirts of the settlement. What do you say?"

 

[happerry]

Humming a wordless little tune to himself as he walks, Crushing Jackal rapids strides towards the village. “Hum?†Pausing at the sight of one very beaten up tree, he boggles at the wreckage for a second before continuing on, unknowingly striding down the very same path that Bedwyr walked but minutes earlier.

 

[Ligier]

Walking into the village proper, Bedwyr happens to notice Sonja. Giving him a vile smirk she turns away with a practised flourish, but it's not enough to rile a tired and aching Bedwyr. Heading towards his tent, he's eager for some water. As he passes through the camp, he smiles and gives friendly nods towards some of the familiar faces.

 

[happerry]

Just a few moments after Bedwyr enters the village, Crushing Jackal enters the village and begins walking towards his fathers residence, in order to cook up the eggs he had found. Humming to himself as he walks, he gives polite nods to those who get in his way as he sidles past them.

 

[Lando The Archmagi]

Radian Lion listened to Sandstorm and thought perhaps he should go a little rough on the fellow once they start the sparring, since he was beginning to stoke a fire he shouldn't with his comments.


"Aye, Jackal probably went hunting himself and where is that Bedwyr fellow? I think you should help me find them post haste."


Radiant Lion then goes around the camp and sees Jackal and Bedwyr come walking through camp. Radiant Lion clears his throat and uses his commanding voice, "Both of you come with me."

 

[happerry]

Continuing his little wordless tune, Crushing Jackal continues towards his families home, in search of a cook fire to fry up the eggs he found. Just as he slips into the shortcut behind the main square, he hears Radiant Lion calling, and wonders who is unlucky enough to get dragged off hunting this early in the morning. Still, at least it is not him.

 

[danelsan]

SANDSTORM


Looking as Jackal keeps the same pace as if not hearing Radiant Lion's call, Sandstorm decides to add some pepper to the situation


For somebody who thinks his hunting is aaall that, Crushin Jack is not that good of ears, huh? Or...nah. I'm sure he wouldn't act like that just to disrespect you, right?


Without expecting for Radiant Lion to answer, he adds another call, this time by name to make sure there is no confusion:


Jackal! Bedwyr! Why don't you come here so I can challenge you to some sparring? you guys gotta be prepared for our little trip!

 

[Ligier]

Not breaking his pace, Bedwyr casually swings round so that he's walking on an intercept course towards Sandstorm and Lion. Halting in front of them, he nods in greeting.


“Any news?â€

 

[happerry]

“Hum?†Breaking of from his little ditty, Crushing Jackal turns to go see what his fellow tribes men want from him “Is this going to take a while? Because I have some eggs here and I want to get started on cooking them up for my breakfast.â€

 

[Lando The Archmagi]

Radiant Lion observes as Sandstorm gets Crushing Jackal to stop what he's doing and come towards them. Radiant Lion looks at him as he mentions cooking up his eggs, "Well make your breakfast quick then as there is some exercise needed to be done. I want to be sure my hunters aren't getting too soft. Never know when we'll need to fight for our survival or protection of our beloved tribe."


He looks at Bedwyr, "Good morning, gather your arms, we're going to do some sparring before we go hunting, so I hope you're prepared to sweat and bleed."

 

[happerry]

Crushing Jackal nods at him, and then turn back to the path to his home, rolling his eyes as he goes. “Yah, sure, and who exactly is it who spends most of his time in his nice comfy bed instead of out there in the wilds? Him, not me.†he mutters to himself as soon as he gets out of earshot. “And what does he mean his hunters? As much as he might act like it mister high and condescending is most definitely not the chief yet.â€

 

[Ligier]

"Sweat? My exertions and the sun have beaten you there. As for blood, I should expect not. We'll all good enough fighters to pull our blows short while leaving it obvious that we couldhave drawn blood if we wanted to."


Bedwyr rests his chipped and battered petrified wood sword on top of his shoulder. "Well, what are we waiting for?" He seems utterly unconcerned about the prospect of more training.

 

[danelsan]

SANDSTORM


You are right, better start soon or we'll end up hunting with the Sun passing right over our heads.


Mr. hunterman Jackal can join the fun later. It's not like fighting him is harder than fighting me or Bossy Lion here*Taps radiant lion's shoulder* Sandstorm was never too fond of authority without merit (and usually authority in general), and since Radiant Lion was starting to take the cart before the camels in acting like a chieftain before getting the position, he felt a comment was necessary.


By the way, what do you guys wanna train: blades and spears or archery? I'm not much for target practice with bows...we'll train it by hunting later one way or the other.


Hmm...both of you are better with close range weapons, yes? Should we focus on that? Or...*grins* would you take me in a bare handed fight? It can be both of you at once... Sandstorm was known for making up challenges that were likely to be a bad idea. But in this case at least he knows he is a better brawler than his fellow warriors. probably not enough to defeat them both, but he usually took chances like that. Sometimes it even worked!

 

[happerry]

Ducking through the entrance to his residence, Crushing Jackal quickly has a fire going and begins to cook up some scrambled eggs.

 

[Ligier]

"Fists or bows," says Bedwyr, idly scuffing at the sand with his boot. "I'm already a match for any man when it comes to swordsmanship, so there's little to no room for improvement there. It we're meant to be bettering ourselves, best to practice at something where there's still room for improvement, yes?"

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

After Crushing Jackal gets his breakfast ready, and eats it, all of you are sparring for about an hour, and you start breaking sweat.


Once you're done sparring, with a multitude of calls, both from your other fellows, and from some of the other tribesmen who watch the spectacle for a few moments. Some call suggestions, while most are just making remarks, either crude or funny. But it's all in good spirit, and is part of the morning ritual.


Once you're done with the training, the lot of you get a short shower, before the other hunters all gather. Your job today is to head south-east and try to see what prey you can find. As usual, you know not to kill too many, lest the animal population will not recover. The shaman who conducts the ritual of blessing tells you that he saw the wake of a sandswimmer, leading to a worthy prey.

 

[happerry]

Pausing at the edge of the village, Crushing Jackal turns to the others and says “Well then, everyone ready?â€

 

[Lando The Archmagi]

Radiant Lion ignores the comments from Sandstorm and enjoys the morning sparring with his tribesman, knowing full well why he's the general and son of the chieftian for his superior skill in arms and blood. He nods to the shaman thanking him for this blessing and hefts his bow. He looks at Crushing Jackaal, "I'm ready , let us have a good hunt."

 

[Ligier]

"Well Jackal, your time to shine, is it not?"

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

gimmie Perception + Survival all, to find tracks