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| Recruitment [P]; Kagiso | |
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| Topic Started: Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:55 am (214 Views) | |
| Vyse | Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:55 am Post #1 |
 
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Vyse sighed as he waited in the Cascadia Guard's training grounds, he had asked to borrow it to see if the next lot of mercenaries would be worth hiring. It was still early in the morning though and they weren't supposed to meet here till noon, but he was mostly lonely since Umbriel wasn't here at the moment, she was to be used to surprise the recruits, if any of them shrieked in fear he would know how they'd react to surprises. He looked at the training dummies and training blades along the walls, he might as well work up a sweat while he's here. He had not brought his armor with him, nor his helmet, he had only brought his four blades of preference, and Umbriel was not wearing her armor today. He picked up two of the practice swords, he would have to restrict his use of the draconic might he held, he would have to use what strength he had gained from battles fought and won. He began his assault on one of the dummies, his blades slashing and thrusting, feinting and spinning, soon he had moved away from the dummy and he was now fighting an enemy in his mind, his blades swinging through the air, he let his draconic might loose as he swung his practice blades in mid-air. His swordplay slowly escalated until it was his true fighting style, his blades slashing and thrusting, but the movements of the blades seemed to wobble, changing where they would hit by little more then an inch, if a blade wasn't properly up it would by pass the block and sink into his foe. He did not know how long he was in his blade frenzy, but when he opened his eyes, sweating accumulating on his brow, he saw people looking at him, probably the mercenaries, they were probably surprised by the pudgy looking merchant practicing swordplay and showing a mastery of two weapon fighting. He nodded to them, sticking a sword into the ground, wiping his forehead with his now freehand, "Uh, hello, I'm Vyserial Noclan, head of Noclan Merchants, you're probably here about the job openings as a caravan guard or as a bandit killer, or possibly both. Now if you wouldn't mind please start practicing whatever swordsmanship, archery, or other style of fighting so I can get a feel of your skill." He stood aside, waiting for the people to start practicing. |
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| Kagiso | Fri Oct 21, 2011 4:29 am Post #2 |
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It was tough getting work as a loner mercenary. Companies always got more work, but the loner didn't like working so closely with others. It was an eventuality, she would campaign for a few seasons and suddenly her war 'buddies' would come calling for some chat or something. Kagiso gripped her crossbow a little tighter. The informal name for mercenaries in her position was lone wolf, but she disliked the assumption that she was supposed to be with others. The other mercenaries sat on one of the benches lining the walls, while Kagiso kept off to the side. They chattered and joked about their prospects, how they would be hired without fail. The loner adjusted her helm's front a little more, tightening it. It didn't drown out the noise but it made her feel more distant, like she wasn't standing in the sunlight waiting with these fools. A man demonstrated his skills with a pair of swords. He was unexpectedly quick for one with so much weight on his stomach. Kagiso suspected some form of trickery, and made a mental note to watch herself about him. Doubly more so for the presence of such a powerful creature. She had seen wild tigers before, but none so large. He stated his role and told them to demonstrate their skills. Kagiso took a position at the archery lineup and checked her crossbow over calmly. It wasn't battle so she wouldn't need to rush into it. She checked each mechanism carefully before pulling the recoil-absorbing machinery back. It locked the silvery bow string into place. The islander jammed a magazine of bolts into the weapon and lifted it. She calmly planted all five bolts into the target. Her performance was average overall, something she wasn't entirely pleased with. But her firing rate was immense. She caught up with the archers before they could blink. |
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| Vyse | Fri Oct 21, 2011 4:45 am Post #3 |
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Vyse watched over them, taking note at who was flashy and effective, and who were quick and deadly, though his eye was drawn to a young woman with a rapid fire crossbow, he walked up beside her and watched her work for a bit, nodding, if a single arrow didn't kill a man several in the same area would, she would have easy times with single targets, but so would everyone else. He waved the archers aside, "Enemies won't be standing still in a row, show me how you would fight if an enemy was coming at you, target them how you would deal with them, just don't aim for the easiest to hit areas hoping I'm some sort of buffoon who can't tell the difference between a good archer and a decent one." He watched as some of them changed how they did things, their arrows missing more often, he sighed as he turned away, he would check on them in a bit, first he needed to see the warriors. Vyse walked over to the other set of training dummies, he could see some of them fighting them as if they were real enemies while others attacked as if they were dominating a sand bag, he rubbed his temples and sighed, it was obvious who he had to let go and who he would let stay among the warriors, but the archers would be harder, a lot of them were decent, but only a few of them were any good. He spent the next hour watching them practice, he was sure they would be tired by now, he whistled to get their attention, calling out to them, "Alright! Form up two lines, warrior line and archer line, if I point to you, you've made it to the second test, if not, you're out, if you have any complaints you can have a one shot spar against me to see if you're really worthy." He waited then, waiting for the archers to retrieve their bolts and arrows while the warriors took a short breather and sheathed their weapons as they walked over, now it was time to see who was worth being part of his caravan guard. |
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| Kagiso | Sun Oct 23, 2011 4:47 am Post #4 |
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Kagiso adjusted her firing as bidden, but not much changed. She fired at moving targets more frequently than she did stationary targets. It meant there was no net change in her efficacy. He eventually gave orders for them to line up, and Kagiso promptly ripped her bolts from the straw target. She began repacking the bolts in the magazines as she waited patiently for him to point out who would actually get the job. (ooc: Sorry about shortness.) |
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| Vyse | Sun Oct 23, 2011 5:26 pm Post #5 |
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Vyse looked at the line of people, he nodded to them, "Alright, you have one more test before I get rid of half of you, the next test is..." He stopped to whistle, the large dire tigress heard the whistle, standing up and running to the location, leaping walls that got into her way and finally jumping the line of warrior, going to tackle Vyse. He smiled as he easily caught the dire tigress in his arms, holding her as if she were a kitten, he knew Umbriel was a great judge of character, she let only the good touch her and she showed respect to those who were strong. Vyse let Umbriel down, the cat purring as it nuzzled her master, she was acting like a giant house cat, her tail whipping back and forth. Vyse stroked her head before looking to the others, "This is my battle companion and old friend, Umbriel, she's a dire tigress, now just because she acts like this now, doesn't mean she will act the same to you, some say it's stupid, but I've found animals have a strong sense of who is good enough to touch them and who deserves their contempt." Umbriel wandered into the center of the lines, her tails sweeping back and forth as she yawned and laid down. Vyse smirked, "The next test is to pet Umbriel, if you can pet her and she doesn't snap at you, you win and will have the chance to be hired. As I said before, if you fail you can duel me, if you win, you are immediately hired." He smirked as a few sized him up, they probably just thought of him as a skilled pudgy merchant with some skill with two blades, but it was so much more, he had won fourth place in a tournament of arms, leaving his match to a judge decision, he had no idea who had seen it and he doubted anyone cared about fourth place, but he himself was proud. He smirked as one man walked forward, boasting about raising horses and knowing how to treat animals, he talked down to Umbriel, who looked up at him, standing up slowly as he brought a hand out to pet her, she growled and roared in his face, her fangs and claws bared. The man freaked out and back pedaled, he had failed miserably, Vyse chuckled, things were just getting started. |
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| Kagiso | Tue Oct 25, 2011 5:23 am Post #6 |
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Kagiso stared at Vyse, averting her eyes whenever he glanced over to her. He spoke of the next test, and with that the massive tiger made her reappearance. The creature was clearly docile, if not positively friendly. Kagiso prefered animals to humans, and patiently awaited her turn. The tiger weeded out person by person, until it finally reached Kagiso. Instead of stand still like the others, the crossbowman knelt down and held her hand out. Umbriel snuffled into it. Kagiso smiled warmly and scratched beneath the big cat's ears. Her hands felt the luxurious and smooth fur, mentally noting how well fed the cat was. Vyse must care for the beast quite a bit. The huntress patted the tiger onto the next person. She stood up fully, and waited for Vyse to issue more orders. (OOC: Sorry about borrowing Umbriel, I just wanted it to be a little more personal for Kagiso.) Edited by Kagiso, Tue Oct 25, 2011 5:23 am.
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| Vyse | Wed Oct 26, 2011 3:28 am Post #7 |
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Vyse smiled as quite a few people passed the test, he wanted people who were good at heart and strong of arm, people who would try their best. He watched as a rather large man got his hand batted away, of all things he raised his hand to strike his cat, the man was nearly twice Vyse's size, Vyse stepped in, grabbing his arm before he completed his action, if he struck Umbriel and survived, Vyse would throw him off of Cascadia. The man spat in Vyse's face as he spoke, "What does some dumb beast know about humans, it's probably jus' afraid of me! See my size, I'm as strong as any two of you, and probably three times as strong as you, the pudgy merchant. Since I need gold though I'm going to challenge you, if I win I'm on ya said, right? Well let's get it on!" He drew forth a battleaxe and slashed at Vyse, ignoring any practice weapons and going straight for a killing blow. Vyse brought up one of the practice weapons he had been carrying around, blocking the strike with ease, the man was arrogant, brash, and unfriendly, he wasn't worthy of being employed by Noclan Merchants. He flicked his wrist, swatting the battleaxe back, bringing both swords up at his stomach, the man putting the haft of his battle axe in the way, just before it could make contact. The practice blades weren't sharp, the all metal battleaxe cracked down the middle as the swords shattered, the impact bodily lifted the man, sending him over the line of people waiting to take the next test. The man was sprawled across the ground, he slowly stood up, his face twisted between fear and anger, he ran away, tripping over his feet as he ran, Vyse smirked, now they saw how strong he was, that would give him a measure of respect from some of them. Vyse looked to the others still here and nodded, "Alright, the next test is one of endurance and overall body strength, Umbriel, stand and get ready, everyone... prepare to take a ride on Umbriel. Step forward, first come first serve." He watched as a few timidly walked forward, mounting the tigress, some lasted only a few seconds, since the beginning was the hardest, Vyse and Umbriel always went from a stand still to a sprint, the sudden jerk shaking most of them off, this would be a hard one. |
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| Kagiso | Fri Oct 28, 2011 3:39 am Post #8 |
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One of the men threatened the merchant with an ax. Kagiso knew what was about to happen even if the man didn't. What she didn't expect was him to fly quite so far. Her mind leaped to the only logical conclusion, and that was this merchant used magic of some form. The next challenge was rather fearsome. The rest immediately stepped back and away from the massive tiger. Kagiso thought momentarily, as she had never ridden a horse. On the islands she had never needed it. On Imythess proper she always took carriages or caravans. It seemed like a test she was doomed to fail. Either way Kagiso stepped forward, before any other bothered. She undid her helm's clasps. To no one's surprise there was a girl beneath the mask. Her eyes roved about quickly, and she tied the helm to her hip. Kagiso stepped towards Umbriel, allowing the large cat to snuffle at her open palm. She stepped around the cat, keeping her hand in its fur so it would know where she was. Kagiso mounted the saddle calmly, and slowly squirmed into what approximated comfort for her. With a light press on the cat's shoulders she tried to tell it to go. Umbriel did not budge. She tapped her heels into the cat's side. Powerful muscles tensed beneath her as the cat rocketed forward, leaving Kagiso behind dangling in the air. She fell and rolled a few times, ending her crash against a straw dummy. The cat looped back around to pick up the second sucker. Kagiso watched as the same thing happened again before forcing herself to her feet, bruised and incredibly unhappy. She affixed her helm with furious gestures. He had warned her, but she rather hated being so thoroughly surprised. |
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| Vyse | Sun Oct 30, 2011 1:57 am Post #9 |
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Vyse sighed as he saw one person after another fall off, only three managed to stay on her back and flew off as soon as she suddenly stopped, if they all failed he got no one, that wasn't a good idea. He took a step forward and whistled for Umbriel, the dire tigress rushing to his spot and stopping only inches from her master, Vyse mounted Umbriel, holding onto her slightly with his legs, he turned to the other people, he would have to teach them a trick. He pointed at his legs, "Watch, this is how you control the speed of a mount, dig in your knees while you cling onto the rest of the body with your legs, slowly press in so the mount doesn't leap forward as strongly, like so." Vyse barely pressed in, sending Umbriel forward at fast pace, but it had far less speed, to most people it would still seem fast, but to Vyse this was slow, he could go so much faster. He dug his knees in, sending Umbriel to top speed, neither of them bucked or bumped around, Vyse was at home here, as they started to come back to the group, he swung his leg around so he was sitting side saddle, hopping off into a roll, popping back up onto his feet, something he had learned while training to be a Charger. Umbriel came back around, the sudden speed shift having tired her out a bit, making it slightly easier this time around, if at least half of them passed this time, he would be happy, he smiled at the recruits, "Anybody want a second chance?" |
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| Kagiso | Tue Nov 1, 2011 4:43 am Post #10 |
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Kagiso needed the job more than she needed her dignity. The little black haired woman mounted the tiger once more, mimicking the man's stance. She still had no idea how to actually ride such a creature, or even something as tame as a pony. She pressed her legs in gently and the dire tiger shifted forward with a speed she still wasn't prepared for. She clung for a few seconds before one of the powerful forward motions rocked her off the tiger. Kagiso struck the ground, rolling until she collided with an archery target. The spindly structure flopped over, crashing into the battered merc. Pain lanced through her shoulder. She rose from beneath the straw and walked past the merchant without a word, her eyes on fire. She walked into the tent of the doctor. He glanced up quickly, appearing to be pleased to have something to do. It had no doubt been a slow day prior to this. "Ah! Look at that, you got your shoulder dislocated. Be sure to visit a mage to repair the socket properly, or else it'll pop out easily for the rest of your life." The doctor said. With a smile she seized her arm. The merc felt revolted at the sudden contact. The pain was a mild discomfort in comparison with that. With a sudden movement he jammed her arm into the shoulder socket, sending pain lancing up her arm. She winced and curled her body in, releasing a long, pained sigh. Kagiso stood up stiffly and left the doctor alone with a pained gait. The merc managed to return to the field as the final trials were finishing. She ducked her head down and quietly awaited word on her fate. |
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| Vyse | Tue Nov 1, 2011 5:29 pm Post #11 |
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Vyse watched the woman again, she fared far better then last time, but still went tumbling to the ground, she was an archer, physical strength wasn't as important, but focus and paying attention was, she had followed his instructions to the letter and tried her best, he needed people like that in his company, mercenaries who would keep on trying, keep on fighting, like himself, discard pride and win at any cost. He smiled as watched the others, some of the warriors had the necessary leg strength to barely hang on, but it looked like even without his magical enhancements Vyse was hands down the strongest man here, he frowned when he saw a few hopefuls just walk out without waiting for his decision, giving up was instant failure, he didn't need those men to join, but now he only had fifteen men and women standing in front of him, enough to guard three caravans at most. He sighed, he needed at least enough to guard four caravans, he had on heading to Taras, one to Kellen, another to Norwood Village, and the final one was heading to Istan City, by far the farthest one. He sighed, he would let Qadaj lead the one to the Istan Desert, Ratterung always wanted to travel, he would send the little shadow spy to Taras, he would go with the group to Norwood Village, and finally his other adviser would take the usual mercenaries he had to Kellen. He didn't like the mercenaries he hired, but they got the job done at the very least. He nodded to them, "Well since there are only fifteen of you left, you're all going to take the final test, your first job with Noclan Merchants, if you do well you'll be counted as part of our preferred mercenaries can expect work whenever you ask for it since we're always looking for more people to hunt down bandits in dangerous areas and guarding caravans. Now, you will be split into three groups of five and will be taken on caravans lead by my close friends Qadaj and Ratterung. Ratt is probably already in the area, spotting out who he wants to take, Qadaj will be taking five of you to Istan City, it'll be the highest paying job but also the longest. Ratt will be taking some of you to Taras, we donate supplies there to help with the rebuilding effort along with healing supplies for the sick. I am going to Norwood Village apparently some bandits tried to burn it down, it will be half guarding the healing supplies in the caravan and half slaughtering the bandits, remember, we won't fight them, fight means they have a chance at winning, when I step into the field I will not give them any mercy, I expect the same from all of you." He looked at the remainder, seven archers and eight warriors, good enough, he raised a hand, pointing at two of the archers, "You, the woman with the rapid fire crossbow, red head with the longbow, you'll be coming with me, state your names please and come stand by me." The red head gave his name as Bosly, it was an odd name, but the same had been said of his own name, Vyserial, he shook the boy's hand and waited for the woman to say her name, extending his own hand to shake hers. Once she was standing behind him he looked at the warriors, pointing to two of them, "The man with the hammer and shield, and the man with the spear and shield, you two come with me, Qadaj and Ratt will be along in a few minutes." He learned the man with the hammer was named Archie and the spear-wielder was called Gregorn, he shook their hands and turned to see his troop, "You four meet me at the southern most check point for an aircart down to the bottom, it'll be hauling our supplies down to the ground, meet me there at the crack of dawn, dismissed for now." Vyse turned, walking away from the four, one the next day he would be riding Umbriel and judging four fine fighters, but for now, he was go and do the most dreaded thing of all... paperwork for all of the mercenaries so he can actually pay them. His head hung low for a moment, before realizing the people could still see him, he straightened out and kept his head high, he needed to show pride, power, and kindness, that was the only way to gain respect, he walked on, Umbriel at his side. |
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| Kagiso | Sat Nov 5, 2011 7:05 pm Post #12 |
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Kagiso had passed, but only by elimination it seemed. It didn't fill her heart with hope, it just made her realize how much farther she had to go. It was at this point she learned her boss was somewhat sadistic and blood thirsty. Kagiso had not been a merc for long, but she didn't particularly enjoy killing. She was also thrust into the job that would involve the most killing. Kagiso only hoped they could keep the enemy away from her, she wasn't much use against melee weapons. She stepped up to him. "Kagiso Cha'ne," Kagiso stated with her rarely head soft voice. She nodded curtly and didn't shake his hand, instead choosing to keep her arms behind her back. He left them after explaining their orders, and Kagiso quickly left the field to find a medical mage somewhere. Sunlight filtered through the slats of her blinds, and Kagiso reflexively rolled over. It was dawn. Time to start her first steady job. Well, at least she hoped it would be steady. She stood and quietly undid the bandages from the day before, experimentally moving her arm around a few times. It worked perfectly and without pain. Satisfied with her initial experiments she got dressed, quickly preparing herself in the same gear she did every day. She stumbled out of her hotel and rushed down the street, fully dressed and crossbow in its case. Her backpack and satchel traveled bounced against her as she ran towards the southern checkpoint. Was she late? These northerners used such imprecise measurements of time. The slight woman stumbled into the southernmost checkpoint, and nodded quickly to her new boss. |
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| Vyse | Sat Nov 5, 2011 8:53 pm Post #13 |
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Vyse woke up before dawn, he always did, he went down the stairs to his office, looking over the paperwork he had not finished the night before. He stretched his four arms before getting to work, all four of his arms signing papers and putting them into a pile, he thanked whatever gods were still out there that he was ambidextrous, though doing all of this at once took up all of his concentration. He frowned when it was almost dawn, he still wasn't done with the paperwork... he would finish the endless paperwork when he got back, he shrugged on his jacket, buttoned up his vest and donned his sword belt and leather holster, holding his four maces, he was ready for bandits, he would not wear his helmet or armor this day though, he wanted to be as light as possible for the journey. He walked outside to see Umbriel waiting, her armor already on her back, Qadaj probably had it done while he was doing paperwork. He smirked as he mounted her, Umbriel shooting off into the streets, making for the southern checkpoint. He was the first to arrive, he smirked as the caravan came a few minutes later, perfect, he was just in time. He nodded to the four men in the caravan, the driver, and the muscle for unloading crates. The caravan itself was one of the larger ones he had, even with the crates of supplies and healing products there was enough room for the three men to sit down, another person could sit with the driver, and another two people could sit at the back. He watched as the people he hired one by one came to, the one named Kagiso came last. He nodded to them, "Take a seat, there's to in the back and one in by the driver, if you have any questions about what we're doing please say it now." He waited, once any questions were out of the way they would begin the descent to the ground. He enjoyed the descent, it gave him the feeling of flying, he couldn't wait for it. |
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| Kagiso | Tue Dec 6, 2011 7:44 am Post #14 |
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There was a whole caravan of the air vehicles, loaded with a variety of supplies. For a moment doubt seeped into Kagiso's mind if they could really guard such a large shipment. She quelled such thoughts with overwhelming confidence, both in the weapon her sister had crafted for her, and in her own skill. Vyse told her to take a seat, which she did, and right next to the driver. The man glanced at the woman in the mask, but didn't bother asking any questions. Kagiso had turned silencing others with posture into an art form over the years. The vehicle started forward and immediately dropped with a roar of magical engines. Wind tore by them, sending Kagiso's scarves into the air and her hand gripping both her mask and the scarves. She leaned forward slightly, observing the ground around them and the rapid descent of the airship. It was a joy she hadn't expected, a feeling of weightlessness. Just as suddenly as it began it stopped, the craft rolling to a halt in a specially made area. Before Kagiso could even begin to leave the craft, the caravan was being unloaded by a horde of dockyard workers. She stumbled out and stood beside the other mercenaries, idly wondering where exactly he would like to arrange them on the caravan. In the meantime she began checking her crossbow's mechanisms for anything knocked out of place during the move. It wasn't a delicate weapon, and her sister's craftsmanship was flawless, but she still worried about what would happen if anything ever went wrong. |
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| Vyse | Tue Dec 6, 2011 8:51 pm Post #15 |
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Vyse called out to people, instructing them as needed before climbing onto the airship meant to take them to the ground, Vyse stood near the edge as Umbriel was let on, he felt the surge of the drop towards the ground, he enjoyed flying almost as much as riding Umbriel. He walked on the ship while he saw some of the mercenaries holding onto the caravan for support, if they worked for him their lower bodies would be worked hard and soon enough they would be able to walk around like himself. When he felt them slow to a halt, it meant they were ready to disembark and keep on moving. He instructed them down as the planks were set for the caravan to roll off, Vyse donned his helmet and kept on giving orders to the men. He looked to the mercenaries, "Alright, Kagiso sit in the front, me and you will be the frontal force while the other two will sit in the back and protect our rear, now lets move." He mounted Umbriel as the mercenaries got into their own seats, he barked out the order to leave and kept Umbriel up close to the front, riding beside the caravan on Kagiso's side. Vyse knew there would be no bandits or the like for a few hours ride, so he might as well start to do something. He hummed a few lines from an old song he had learned from his times studying under his only teacher and master. He heard Umbriel purr, he looked to see her looking at Kagiso, her purr deep as she walked and put her head closer to her, Vyse chuckled, "Seems Umbriel has taken a liking to you. Since we've got some spare time do you have anything you'd like to talk about?" Hewaited for her answer, he knew it would be a while before anything of note happened, so he might as well try to talk to his mercenaries, find out a bit about them. |
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5:45 PM May 22
