Rove
Tinkersong, The Grasping Isle
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/554030201789743105/1028654515798409237/Grasping_Isle_Final_V1.0.png]
Art by WaylanderX (The writer)
Their other two companions were strolling towards them, Sneak and Trïeste bickering over some unimportant tidbit. As they approached, Ayuen rolled her eyes at Rive, silently nodding towards the two. With a raised eyebrow, Rove nodded back to her, one corner of his lips raised ever so slightly. Well then, time to continue their little journey.
"Hey, you two.” He called out, tapping his foot on the stone. “Stop bickering, get on your bloody horses and get ready to depart. We only have two horses, so Sneak, you’re riding with me. Trïeste, you’re riding with Ayuen. Understood?”
“Crystal.” “Sneak gets it.” Came the answers. Excellent, he’d like as few delays as possible before they set off. With their party being four people strong now, they should be fine for anything but a full-scale ambush.
“Hold up, Rove.” Ayuen put a delicate hand on his chest to stop him in his tracks. “We are one person short.”
He looked at Ayuen with a confused look. They were one person short? But Trïeste and Sneak were already here.
“What do you mean, one person short? All four of us are here.”
Ayuen shook her head. “I’ve employed one more person while we were preparing. Our path will lead us to the northeast, straight through the heart of the Grey Crown. We need somebody that has enough knowledge of the mountains to get us through safely.”
She leaned in closer to him with a teasing twinkle in her eyes. “Unless you do possess that knowledge, oh mighty Rove.”
Straight into the Grey Crown, huh? Not many people had that area on their travelling resume. And he wasn’t one of those lucky few. He agreed with Ayuen’s reasoning and nodded to her, smiling and giving her a huff.
“I do not, unfortunately. Might I ask whom you have hired?”
“A local Vysari guide by the name of Tira. She should arrive any moment now.”
And as if on cue, a Vysari woman left a nearby building and walked towards them. Clad in brown and green tinted travel clothing, she wore a large backpack that was brimming with supplies, a bedroll tied neatly under it. A sash was tied around a fit waist, accentuating muscled hips and belly. Her arms were covered with protective clothing and Rove could see her hands were rough with calluses. Familiar hands. Hands he recognized as having clung to him the evening before. Before him stood the woman that had tried to seduce him the evening prior. Well… fuck.
He wasn’t the only one that had a moment of recognition. The woman, who apparently was named Tira, stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening in surprise. With a sheepish smile on his face, Rove raised a hand.
“Morning.” He said. Nothing else to say really. Fortunately, nothing too… lewd had happened the night prior. Would’ve made things ten times as awkward.
“Morning.” Their guide returned the greeting, frowning at him with clear dismay. She looked at Ayuen, who was observing the two of them with quite some interest. “I thought you were travelling alone, miss Ayuen?”
“There has been some change in plans. Let’s say I’ve got persuaded to take my old companions along. As such, all four of us will be travelling under your guidance. You will be compensated accordingly, of course.”
Tira glanced at Rove and nodded, tilting her head ever so slightly. “Very well. Are the four of you ready to head out, then?”
Rove shrugged and muttered a confirmation, as did Sneak and Trïeste. Before they could proceed, Ayuen spoke up again with a somewhat intense look at him before looking at Tira.
“If you don’t mind me asking, do you two know each other, Tira?”
Tira’s cheeks flushed a soft red colour and she opened her mouth to retort when Rove quickly interjected.
“We met each other last night while she was drinking downstairs. Got talking as she was getting tipsy with a couple of her friends.”
Tira nodded and mumbled something about celebrating a new job. Rove shot her an apologetic glance.
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Ayuen tilted her head while she looked at him and then at Tira. The red on the older Vysari woman’s cheeks had disappeared, and the guide looked Ayuen in the eyes. After a second or two, Ayuen nodded and mounted her horse.
“I can understand that. How you celebrate isn’t any of my concern. I would like you to hold off on drinking too much during the trip though.”
“Sure thing, miss,” Tira said, relief audible in her voice. She gave him a thankful nod while she walked to the tavern stables. He just smiled and nodded back, hopping onto his horse and steering it towards Ayuen.
“So, including our guide, that was everybody?”
“Yes, we are complete now.” She said somewhat curtly, Trïeste hopping on the back of her horse. She then led the beast towards the eastern edge of town. Something in the poët’s tone made him blink for a moment. It reminded him of the tone she used when they had been confronted by Prado. Or rather the moment straight after, when they had clambered out of the river. He was probably imagining things. With Sneak having clambered onto the horse with some effort and a lot of swearing, he turned his beast towards the direction Ayuen had gone into and dug his heels into the equine’s flanks. Time to go ahead and face the unknown. Despite not knowing what he was getting himself into, he found himself to be quite excited. Maybe the next couple of days wouldn’t be so bad.
Tira joined up with them a short while later, astride on a mount built for mountain traversal. The beast had short legs, a stout body, and muscles like a bear. Its head resembled a cow’s with a shorter muzzle. A Blenydh or ‘Hairy Mountain’, it was called. A stark contrast with his and Ayuen more speedy animals. The five of them headed out of town in single file, and it soon became apparent they’d be keeping mostly to game trails and creeks. It soon became apparent that proper trails weren’t all too common here, and trails that led to where they needed to go even less so. Luckily, they were travelling on rocky ground, so the vegetation up here wasn’t very dense. It was rare to come across patches of undergrowth that the horses couldn’t traverse. Even then, they could just move around it with nothing but short delays.
While they made their way through the Crown and its sharp peaks, Tira proved to be a great conversationalist in addition to being a great guide. She had been quiet the first hour of the journey, only speaking up when she needed to guide the party. As she seemingly warmed up to them, it became apparent that she was used to talking. A lot.
Soon, geographical and biological facts about the Grey Crown were flying all around their ears. The Crilnhawks roosting up above, their soft orange down highly sought after for decoration and clothing alike. A Red Crown Moose drinking from a creek, its majestic crimson antlers ending in a wicked fan of pointed tips. The information and facts kept on coming. Rove didn’t mind much, even though he listened to everything the woman had to say. It did keep the journey from feeling stale, and Ayuen and Sneak in particular seemed to suck up every snippet of information Tira had to offer.
“Okay, so why would one collect the carapace of those things?” He commented after a particularly long lecture about a species of beetle called the ‘Crazed Indigo’. “Surely it’s too much trouble for what it’s worth.”
“And that is why you aren’t a trader, sir Herhor.” The Vysari guide answered with a cocky and confident smile. “They crush the carapaces of these and produce ink from them. It’s highly sought after by scribes.”
Ayuen nodded, having hung on the guide’s lips, occasionally scribbling some notes in her little booklet. “I can confirm that’s indeed the case. Their ink is one of the highest quality inks one can get. It’s well known even in places as far away from here as Marlight.”
“So next to being a guide, you’re also involved in the business of trading.” He gave their guide a grin. “An impressive resume for a guide, lady Tira.”
Tira chuckled and grinned back at him, amusement twinkling in her eyes. “Oh yes, I am involved in all kinds of business. Guiding people through some back-end mountains doesn’t pay enough to make a decent living.”
Glancing at Ayuen, the guide gave him a sly wink, the tip of her tongue licking her lips ever so slightly. Her eyes wandered over his body. Rove got the impression of a caged beast observing its next meal.
“And talking about proposals, the offer I made you in Tinkersong still stands if you want it. No coin required.”
It was clear the woman didn’t need booze in her system to take the role of a seductress. Honestly, the thought of taking her offer did cross his mind. It had been months since he’d been intimate with a woman. Kneading some soft breasts and snuggling up to a curvy body might do him some good. However, looking at his companions and seeing their reactions, he decided against it.
Trïeste looked at him expectantly, clear twinkles of amusement and mischief gleaming in her eyes. Sneak, the bastard not understanding the meaning of the word tact, just stared at him and rapidly nodded his approval.
Ayuen was the one that worried him the most though. She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, her gaze cold, judging and strangely intense. Careful as the Pyrn woman was, he still noticed it and as soon as their eyes met, she averted her gaze, looking towards the road again. Somehow, her reaction caused a small pang of guilt to shoot through his chest.
Rove sighed inwardly. He told himself that bedding a beautiful woman near his three other companions might not be the best of ideas. Not when they all knew what was going on. Sometimes, naïve and inattentive people were a blessing. But he knew that somewhere within him, there was another reason for turning the guide’s offer down.
“I’ll keep it in mind. Might take you up on it somewhere down the road.” He answered, giving Tira a somewhat serious look as he nodded lightly towards Trïeste and Sneak. Tira seemed to get the hint, returning the nod and speeding up to ride in front of the group. Rove sighed again, deeply and outwardly this time and looked to the sky peeking between the sparse trees and mountains they were travelling under. Women were weird creatures. Always had been weird. And also wonderful at the same time. Sure as fuck couldn’t live without them.
Shifting his gaze, he watched the sun sink below the mountains, bathing the landscape in an orange glow.
Eventually, they had to set up camp in a small clearing as the ragged dark cloak of night enveloped them again.
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Art by Artwhelve on Fiverr for 'The Lugon Project' (Copyrighted)