Arriving at the outer walls of Haven

moirasfinnigan

moirasfinnigan

Adept
You didn’t know what to expect when you came here, the tall walls towering over you sure, but not the friendly faces of people smiling at you as they had the gates opened to you. Those dressed in fancy clothing helping an elderly woman walk forward, another handing out sweets to children. You take one for yourself as you walk by, if only to be sure that there is nothing wrong with the convections, and tase things that your grandmother once told you stories about.

On the other side of the wall you see volunteers rushing around. There is a large pavilion set up and you curiously wander over to it and look inside. Two large tables overflowing with food and drink are before you. The pavilion was starting to fill with those who were grabbing plates of food and moving to one of the smaller tables and enjoying a meal that they could never hope to finish. The smells make you want to stay a bit and eat but you move on.

Outside there are other tents being set up and there are earth casters tending to people.

Up the road a bit there is a large barn that looks as if it was recently cleaned out. Inside are rows of beds. You move to the nearest one and sit down. An actual feather mattress is below you. And for a brief moment, you feel safe.
 
A lone figure walked from the Healer’s hastily set up tents, and slowly began making his way around the camp. In one gloved hand he carried candies, which he offered to any child he passed… though no one seemed to take them. This was likely due to his ‘striking’ ensemble. The first thing anyone saw about him was a brown leather birds mask, and that was all they really needed to see. The rest of his clothing was plain and black or grey. His hands were covered by thick black gloves and not an inch of his skin was visible.
The plague doctor was avoided by the people of the caravan, and they have him a wide birth in spite of his offers of sweets. He seemed to take their rejection well, however and merely shrugged at those who refused him.
Those that were from Haven, smiled and waved to him, though they also gave him space. There were a few that greeted him with a simple, “Hello Doc” as they passed by. He would nod or wave back to them, a hello given in kind. Those that seemed to hold some position of authority in the little camp would pause and give him a quick “Good day Sentinel,” or a “Thank you Sentinel.” All of which he seemed to shrug off and continue his exploratory walk.
 
A construct slowly makes it's way down the path from the city towards the caravan as they entered the outer city area. It had a stack of papers in one hand and stopped a few feet from the group and made an announcement in a monotone voice.

"Welcome to Haven, I am H.O.W.I.E. and I am available to answer any and all questions or queries you may have about Haven. Please enjoy the prepared food and drink, and rest if you need it. I will be here."

The construct stands in the spot, unmoving, waiting for anyone to approach.
 
The construct looks the badgerkin up and down.

"Greetings potential citizen. How may I assist you?"
 
Seraphina would wake up late today, having had an interesting dream last night. She seemed uneasy to anyone watching her, if they looked closely enough. They might be able to see worry, confusion, and distress if they were noticing her enough. Was this because of the upcoming trials, and because Seraphina had yet to make a party/team? Maybe. Was it due to her dream this morning? Maybe.

Seraphina looked around, and would try to find someone to ask about joining an afternoon party for the gauntlet. She wanted 2 things: an afternoon party, and Bambo not to be in the team. Nothing personal, but she didn’t want anything to escalate at the time it mattered most. While doing so, she would pull out some jerky, and eat it for “breakfast,” despite it being noon.
 
Shandra awoke that morning with a loud startling yowl. She had disturbed a few others near her & she immediately felt incensed at having to apologize for disturbing them. She hadn’t meant to. It was an off-putting dream. She didn’t think it was even her dream, it came from something else. Yes, that’s it. It wasn’t her fault.
Straightening out her fur, she did her best to clean up. But she was never very good at it. Having lost her parents young, & survived wild until Isso found & rescued her, she never quite figured out how to properly take care of herself.
Along the the trek to Haven, Shandra kept an eye out for side paths that would lead her & her tribe back north where they all wanted to return, Home. Haven is a foreign entity & the people from there left a bad taste in her mouth. They asked rude, weird questions. She doesn’t trust them. The closer the group gets to Haven the more nervous Shandra gets until she is reacting like the path is burning hot & jumping at everything.
By the time they reach the gates, her short fur is as puffed as it can get. Her ears are laid back, her puffed tail is lashing & Isso won’t touch her to even attempt to mollify her. She won’t touch any food or liquid. She sniffs it all from a distance & trusts nothing. She gives low growls at the sentry-statue-thing & gives it a wide berth.
Once her tribe settles in an area, she paces restlessly as if caged, keeping an eye on the open gate, the sentry-statue-thing & all the surroundings, expecting an attack.
Home! She wants Home! She is only here as it’s a matter of survival & Tamra, the idiot, feels some obligation to be here & get in. These Haven-people are not Tribe. We owe them nothing. They gave us nothing. Life is good back Home. That is where we should be going.
 
Tamra looks around at where his tribe had settled just inside the gates. Seeing his family here willing to partake in the gauntlet mostly because of him made the Sulinari smile. Was it the smart thing to stay here in this city? With the rude and stuck up envoys and the sentinels that seemed to not care about the rest of the world. No, the smart thing would be to head home, away from here, away from Ted and the other sentinels, away from the cannibals. The smart thing would be to return to our own mountain city. But the right thing to do is stay and help fix the problem and mistake that was inadvertently made.
Looking across the fields of farmland between here and the mountain city that was Haven proper Tamra was actually at peace. Sure it was warmer than he would have liked, but these people did not know the hardships that they did, they won't be ready for the Mrihra or Ted.

Standing up, Tamra walks to the construct that had come to a stop. "Yes hello, Howie was it? I was wondering what those papers you have there are for, also, does Haven have any hotsprings like Mount Arborough does?"
 
The construct looks at the badgerkin as she turns to eat her lunch.

"Please try the apples, they are good this time of year."

It turns to face forward again, watching the catkin as she eyes it up.

"Greetings, my name is H.O.W.I.E. may I be of assistance?" It waits for a response. After a few moments of not getting one it returns to its original positioning.

It turns to the selunari speaking to him.

"Yes, my name is H.O.W.I.E. what is your name? These papers are the laws of Haven, I was assigned to post these up so that the potential citizens of Haven will know the laws. As for hot springs, I apologize but I do not have any information on the hot springs of Mount Arborough, but I can assure you that Haven does contain it's own hot springs within the mountain city. It also has a deep underground river where we are able to obtain the drinking water for our citizens. I hope this information is to your satisfaction. Do you have anymore quesions for me?"
 
"My name is Tamra, Would I be able to take a copy of these laws?" And after a moment of thought he adds "would you be able to tell me what might be involved with the gauntlet?"
 
"Greetings Tamra, Of course you may." The construct hands over a piece of paper from its stack. *please see other forum post*

"I do apologize, but I am unable to disclose what the gauntlet entails. That would be against the spirit of the gauntlet."
 
"That is most fair, I figured there was no harm in asking. Thank you for this," I say holding up the laws, "if I have any more questions, I will bring them to you."
 
"I am glad I can be of assistance as that is why I was created. I will continue to be here if you..."

The construct stops speaking suddenly, turns to the left, and looks off into the distence.

"I have detected another seismic occurrence..."

It then turns back to the selunari

"have any more quesions for me. Please enjoy your day."
 
A flutter of a black skirt is the first you can see until the rest of a body emerges from behind a tent. Ristec the Biata makes her way through the throng of people, making sure tents are properly constructed along the way. A small group of children catch sight of her, and a chorus of "Miss Ristec!" can be heard from them as they run over. Their caretakers tsk, and attempt to heard the children out of the way of the sentinel Biata.

With a wave of her hand and a small smile, the hesitant care takers give a small nod, before going about their business. The children rush to her skirts and talk about their day so far. A more insistent tug from a young wolfkin gets Ristecs attention. She gathers the boy up and props him on her hip, all the while listening to the children talk nonsense.
 
Tamra sighs as he sits back down at their little camp, and growns as he stands back up remembering another question that needed to be asked. Howie, seemed to be a friendly statue thing so he walks back over.
"Hello, me again, another question came to me as I was just sitting down. Are there workshops that we could use to be able to better prepare our selves for the upcoming gauntlet?"
 
The construct turns its head over to see Ristec walk by, and slowly raises a hand yob greet the biata.

"Greetings sentinel Ristec."

It then turns back to face the re approaching selunari. Listening to his quesion the construct answers in its usual monotone voice.

"Greetings. I do apologize but there are no workshops available to those scheduled to take the gauntlet. It is a task based on skill and preparation. However, Haven does contain workshops within the main city available to envoys of the sentinels. If a citizen finds themselves on the envoy path they may be granted use of said workshops. I hope I was..."

The construct looks off in the same direction it did a few minutes before.

"Detecting another seismic occurrence. Multiple occurrences within minutes, unusual...."

It turns back to Tamra

"Helpful."
 
"You where quite helpful, thank you Howie." Tamra walks once again back to his camp, this time, he lay flat on his back, trying to see if he can feel these 'seismic occurrences' that Howie had mentioned.
 
"I am glad I can be of continued assistance, as that is what I am programmed for."

The construct faces forward, waiting for its next interaction.
 
Seraphina is snapped out of her thoughts when the construct interrupts itself, and turns to it. Worried about this now, she asks, “Wait, what did you say- Howie, is it? What’s causing the seismic occurrence? Is that an earthquake? Is it natural?” Seraphina would have several things on her mind now, and is worried something might be wrong. Did it have to do with them?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top