The Wolf and the Hunter

Night's Edge Monastary: Salle


 * ''The salle is less a room and more a roofed area attached to the main body of the manor house, the place of training for the weaponmaster and his students. Thick shardwood posts and rafters hold up a baked tile roof, leaving the sides of the space surrounded only by a waist-high wall of the same white sun clay bricks that make up the rest of the manor house. Rolled canvas is tied up on pleasant days, but can be allowed to drop to keep in warmth, in conjunction with the small stove in an out of the way corner, or keep out inclement weather. Within the bounds of the salle, the dirt floor has been carefully raked, a twenty-foot-across circle of fine white powder renewed daily in the open space at the area's center. To one side, several benches are placed to offer a class the ability to see the lesson being taught - or simply shoved against the wall to make more room for a class to work.


 * ''There is a small, enclosed armory, its heavy door of biinwood usually barred and locked against intrusion, the small store of arms available to the residents of the manor kept within. Wooden practice weapons are stored in racks outside, however, available for anyone caring for a casual spar or a quick lesson.


 * ''There are two biinwood doors: one leads off to the east to return to the courtyard, while the other heads north going through the armory to the dining hall.

Ah, the Salle. You know, usually people /practice/ in the Salle - Kael? Kael's sitting on that low wall, turning over a ring in his fingers (the steel of that odd, wolf-head ring he normally wears) and, frankly, looking as though that that ring is supposed to be presenting answers that it's utterly avoiding, at the moment.

That waist high wall? Yeah, from the middle of it, Vhramis suddenly emerges, rising to his feet. Which means he likely had to have been crawling around in the dirt to have reached there without being noticed. Which doesn't seem to even cause him to reflect upon.

... and the young freelander-mage glances up - startled and blinking and... just staring for a moment. And one might get the impression that all he can think to say, in that glaring instant of perfect and utter confusion, is "... I.. I thought I smelt ye about." Charming.

Smelt him? Wolfsbane returns that blank stare with one of his own, seeming just as surprised as Kael to find another. Perhaps he's even faintly surprised at finding himself there. "...what do I smell like?" he asks after a moment, seeming to have dread the answer.

".... like.. well... ye? Sort o' tree 'n leather 'n ... well, 's.. jus'... ye." The young man recovers enough to grin. "Better 'n I do, I figure."

Another pause, and stare, before Wolfsbane slowly lifts his arm to his nose, sniffing tenatively at himself. He finally nods a bit, relaxing his arm again. "...I could smell worse, then," he decides.

"Aye. Y' could." Kael's grin widens. "... I. were sort o' lookin' fer ye. Almos' gave up, too. Yer hard t'find, e'en when folk are lookin' close." He shifts a bit, uncomfortably. "I got a feelin' yer about th' only person 'n Fastheld what kin help m', too. Maybe Taran, but... m' nae so sure, 's odd 's 'es been, as o' late."

"I've been wandering a lot," Vhramis answers at that, considering Kael with a sudden look of faint suspicion. He's been sought? Uh oh. "Well...don't know what Taran has been doing lately. Been hearing a lot of rumors. But I haven't checked any. If you're looking for me then you must want me to show you where something is. That's what people come to me for."

"nae really." Kael slips on that ring. "th' Lady Rowena set m' t' sommat. S' a little... crazy? Jus' a bit. But... when sh' asks, I cannae much say no t' her." He smiles. "An' I got nae many days t' do 't, either. Woul' ye be willin' t' help me?"

"I don't know," Vhramis frowns a bit at that. "...learned a while ago to not agree to do things until I know what the thing is, you see. Can you tell me about it? I can let you know one way or the other, then."

"Aye. I need t' get Serath /here/ 'n two days, jus' after curfew." Kael clears his throat. "wi' be a priest, 'n Rowena 'ere, too. What happens after that 's nae fer me t' fret o'er." He watches Vhamris, looking a bit guilty - "I got th' priest. S' th' easy part. I got /'er/, too. But... m' havin' trouble figurin' out how t' get a Wildcat inta a chapel."

"...uh?" Vhramis blinks at that, taking half a step back, his form tense in a flash, the ranger seeming almost about ready to bolt. He stares at Kael, obviously trying to make sense of that. "...shouldn't he know why he's coming? For something like that?"

"Y' think he woul' come then?" Kael quirks a brow - "I mean... probably. But... m' nae sure 'e would." He makes no move to even stand. "I donnae much figure 'm fer bein' willin' - but I were nae asked t' make a weddin', jus' put all th' pieces 'n one place. I figure 'e an' her kin sort 't out from there, aye?"

"...he loves her Grace," Vhramis states, those words coming on the tail end of what is obviously quite a bit of intent deliberation, as if the fact was some huge secret. "I figure he'd marry her. But...uh...is she really looking for a wedding like that?"

"... no? but I sort o' gather sh' woul' take 't, if sh' could. Sh' woul' give anythin' t' be wi' him - fair 'n proper in th' eyes o' th' Light. An' maybe wi' nae be enow - maybe wi' need th' grand party 'n all th' rest... but s' a part o' me that just figures all th' parties 'n e'erythin' donnae much feel like /Serath/, an' .." Kael clears his throat. "i donnae ken 'm well. But.. her.. sh' aches t' be wi' him. maybe 'e wi' wed 'er if 's a smaller thing, away from all th' carryin'-on. Jus' me sayin' that, anyway. e'en if nae, woul' give 'em time t'gether, aye?"

"Serath the Ranger wouldn't want the parties," Vhramis answers, crossing his arms at his chest. "Serath the Prince...well...I don't think he'd want it either, but he may be bound to do it, all the same. I don't know. I don't even try to understand all of this." A defeated half shrug. "...trying to trick him into a wedding I can't do. But...uh. Leading them into some place where they can have some peace, I can help with that."

Kael nods. "Wi' nae want t' trick 'm inta anythin' - but 'm nae goin' t' say that if th' both donnae wish it, wi' nae be a weddin' on th 'far side o' that night. I kin give 'er th' pieces sh' asked for, if ye wi' help. An'.. I kin give 'em both a good meal, 'n a quiet room, a place without th' yammerin' o' servants o' a need t' be proper 'n upright. What th' /do/ with all o' that - s' up t' them."

Wolfsbane grimaces a bit, shaking his head. "Not our business, yeah. They don't have to tell us anything." He sighs at that, glancing about. "...what time to get him here, if I find him?"

"Two days, jus' after curfew, o' thereabouts?" Kael smiles, looking oddly relieved. "Wi' make sure e'erythin' else 's here, afore then. An'.. wi' make sure 'e knows 's my fault, nae yers, when 't all comes t' pass - 'f 'e gets mad, let 'm get mad 't me. m' life 's Rowena Mikin's t' spend, 'f light forbid 't come down t' sommat /that/ bad." That's said with an odd certainty. "An'... thankye."

"Well...if he's mad at me..." Vhramis pauses at that, considering for a moment. "I can't really think of when he was ever mad at me, to be truthful. He'll probably find all of this more funny than anything. Just keep the priest out of sight, if you want my opinion."

"S' goin' t' be Celeste. Worst-case, 'e gets t' hae a moment o' two wi' a cousin o' Rowena's afore w' all leave th' two o' them be fer a bit." Kael looks rueful. "Wi' be innerestin', one way o' another. An' great fun, I figure."

"Alright. I'll try," Wolfsbane shrugs at that. "That's all I can promise. If I can't bring him...well...I'll let Her Grace know. Though I don't really like failing."

"ye o' I both." Kael looks down at that ring, then back up. "I cannae ask fer more 'n jus' tryin'. I... kin barely ask that, o' ye. M' jus' glad yer willin'." So very much relief, there.

"You sound a bit surprised about it," Wolfsbane points out, drawn from his own thoughts as he looks to Kael. A tilt of his head, and he uncrosses his arms.

"... s' nae m' place t' ask anythin' o' ye. Th' thought sort o' scared me, t' tell ye truth." Kael does seem a bit sheepish, honestly. "But th' best I coul' do woul' be trickin' him, 'n I donnae ken I coul' do that."

"I don't think it's that big a deal to ask me something," Wolfsbane replies, shifting his weight a bit to his other foot in discomfort. "...is it? Really?" A grimace.

"I... " Kael seems at a loss, and just looks down again, at that ring. "I donnae ken. Fer me, maybe. S' nae important, aye?" He seems uncomfortable himself, shifting a bit on that seat, even glancing to the door, but not really /moving/.

The growing discomfort from the druid only serves to make Vhramis all the more uncomfortable, the ranger unable to even look at Kael at this point, instead finding something vastly interesting about the far floor of the Salle. "...right," he clears his throat.

"Donnae fret 'bout 't, Master Wolfsbane. S' jus'.. how I am. S' nae what ye are." The young man closes his eyes, a worn boot scraping along the wall.

"Kin I... I need t' get goin'. I got a way t' go afore dawnin', n' a guard o' two t' sneak past." That's... more a question, than the statement it tries to be.

The ranger blanches at that response, shifting again, and even reaching up a hand to swat at his ear lightly, as if it itches. "Ah...alright. Yeah, better go then? Right." He swallows and nods his head, stepping back.

Kael stands smoothly, easily - the mage turning to move for the courtyard door. "Wi' see ye about 'n a day o' two, I figure. Light guide ye." He flashes a grin back, a bit sheepish. "Here's t' hopin' 't all falls t'gether."

"If we can, it will," Vhramis scratches at the back of his neck, eyeing Kael as he heads away. His voice lowers, and he mutters, mostly to himself, "...how am I going to find him? Light."

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