| To shine or not to shine |
| Summary: | Nedra & Daryl talk of current events and other things. |
| Date: | 24/12/12 |
| Related Logs: | Current events in the cape |
| Players: |
  |
| Worn Road ~ Wilderness |
| A point of land between Terrick's Roost and Stonebridge, one can travel to either of the two from here, by travelling west or east, while north takes them to Highfield and south to Seagard. |
| Mon Dec 24, 289 |
Set upon the neutral point of land that serves as a connecting point between several different holdings is a large stretch of mostly flat grass covered field upon which a farmers market is sometimes pitched. The current market has drawn farmers and merchants from the nearest holdings, the tents snapping quietly in the breeze, banners proclaiming goods and services. Animals are fenced or tied to picket lines at one end of the market while the other boasts the food and other fresh goods being sold. Say one thing about the food, it's either bloody good or it's bloody awful.
Accompanied by one of her armsmen and her maid, Nedra is strolling through the far end of the market, a small basket at her side holding some fresh fruit purchased, a handful of wrapped parcels, and is currently drawn to a booth where cloth is displayed.
Daryl is out on the trail again, casually looking about as he grips the reins of his horse and steers it northward, attention locked on a couple riders who's horses have been packed with looks to be medicine, food and the like. "Head north down the trail, two of my men will meet and escort you. I will be following shortly." A nod and the two riders head that way at a trot, leaving an Ashwood noble who seems rather distracted. Strangely, there's a tear- almost like a large claw mark…On his leather armor near his upper arm. Where the holes in the studded leather are shown, a bandage can be seen underneath.
His attention is soon grasped by the farmer's market, and he gives a 'why the hell not' kind of shrug, dismounting his horse and leading it along the field and finding a spot to tie the horse some ways from the fair, continuing on foot. He looks at a stall which claims to have some sort of medical salve, but he seems unimpressed. "Where is the alcohol?" He inquires of the vendor, and its then he notices Nedra, not too far from the stall he stands at. He gains a faint smile, and whether his answer is given or not moves to intercept the woman with a confident sort of swagger. "Fancy finding you here, M'lady. I do hope your not making a habit of me." Theres a small chuckle at that as he asks, "How has the day treated you?"
Examining the bolt of cloth that Nedra had asked for, Nedra is smoothing the edge of the material with her fingertips, a pensive expression on her face as the merchant - sensing a profit - extols the virtues of the threads, the lineage of the sheep, etc. etc. Nedra lets the words roll over her, weighing the merits of purchasing the material here or purchasing similar cloth at a market in town, possibly at a higher price but - equally possibly - of higher quality. She opens the bidding once the vendor pauses for breath and a brief - but lively - exchange commences. Mindful of the actual coin in her purse Nedra is just as sharp to keep the small coins as the vendor is to acquire them. Eventually a agreement is made and the request length is cut and wrapped, the agreed upon coins are exchanged, and once again all is well in the world. The vendor turns to the next customer as Nedra folds the length of cloth into a smaller parcel and tucks it into the basket at her side.
Turning away from the stall, and toward the now-familiar voice of Lord Daryl Ashwood, Nedra gives a polite curtsy of greeting, "Good day to you in return, Lord Daryl," said as she straightens. Her head tilts back slightly so that her eyes are more level with his as a amused smile tugs at her lips, "One would have to be aware of your schedule, my lord, and calendar of events and duties in order to properly make a habit of spotting you. The day finds me well, however. Yourself?"
"And -that's- why i'm so impressed, M'lady." Daryl counters with a charming grin, by chance glancing at her basket, that grin forming more into a smirk as he half teases, "Nice cloth." At that, he does a little half shrug and looks around the market some, "I'm doing alright, you know…A bit tired with all my duties, the extra shifts…Got attacked by a bear the other day." His tone is casual, and if one weren't listening that last part about being mauled by a wild animal would've sounded just right with the sentence. "But i'm not one to complain," Theres a glance around and he adds, "I….Am afraid I may not be able to brave this market myself, if you…Would be so willing as to be my guide?" He tilts his head a touch at the offer, smile still barely tugging at his lips.
Nedra laughs quietly, "I'd hope so, otherwise I spent perfectly good coin on bad cloth," she remarks in return, a touch of amusement making her eyes light. The amusement fades as she sends a more thoughtful glance over the Ashwood nobleman, "A bear? Good grief, I would have thought that they'd learn by now to stay clear of humans, we aren't particularly friendly when startled," she says with a slow shake of her head. At his slow glance around she turns slightly and glances around as well before turning back. "It is a rather daunting prospect, I quite agree. There's all these vendors, and goods and food and at the far end there's a leather worker and a tanner and, blessed gods, there's even horses for sale. Never fear," she offers one arm lightly to Daryl, "I'll protect you, my lord."
"I was hoping you would," The Deputy says with a good natured chuckle and looping of his arm with hers, "Well, leather worker would be nice, wouldn't it? Get this all patched up, maybe get a nice shine to it?", He small talks so nonchalantly, as if they'd been friends for a long time. His emerald hues examine her and he grins a touch, "Do you notice 'the shine'? Or am I just wasting coin?" As she speaks of the bear, he just chuckles and nods, "You would think. We did scare the living daylights out of it though. Fired a crossbow bolt right into a tree beside it."
Nedra's maid and armsman fall in step right behind Nedra and Lord Daryl as the two nobles converse, "That all depends, my lord, on whether the shine is intended to frighten your enemies or blind them," she wonders, the gleam of amusement in her eyes matching the tone of her voice. "Now, on the one hand, the shine is nice and it does cut rather the dashing image, but I'm not entirely sure that the bear - or any wild animal for that matter - is going to be terribly awestruck. However, if you do make it so shiny that sunlight reflects off of it in a blinding sheen? It would, I imagine, be a benefit to have any enemy at a disadvantage, what with the squinting, tossing up a hand to shade the light, the crying out of 'ah! blinded! my eyes!' " she suggests.
Daryl laughs in amusement, perhaps impressed at her sense of humor as he looks down at her (because of they're height difference) thoughtfully. His gaze doesn't linger to long as they step up to the leather worker, the Ashwood smirking her way as he decides, "Shine it is then. I'd get the blinding one but I fear it would draw back that creature from the abyss. We weren't able to slay the beast and it seems to dislike us greatly." He begins to unstrap his leather armor, nodding his greeting to the leather worker as he hands over his lighter set of armor to the man. "With the shine." He adds, as if it was obvious. His under shirt is decent enough, but it bares his arms and muscular physique in a way, sleeveless and the first couple buttons undone. He folds his arms patiently, and…At the moment, he's quite a sight. There's a rather nasty cut thats healed some on his forearm, a bandage near his upper arm on the other side, and she may be able to discern some bruising from the open V of his shirt. "I'll likely have night terrors the rest of my life." He jests.
"Hmm, a logical decision, my lord. It's one thing to have your armor nice and shiny, but you don't want to glow like a beacon just in case the create decides to return. Bright and shiny might be a lure, like a bit of metal to a trout," she agrees with another slight shake of her head, a mix of wariness and amusement conveyed in her expression. "So the beast wasn't slain, but it was wounded," she muses, "and a wounded animal is always more dangerous, or so the saying goes. What, my lord, is to keep it from coming back?" is wondered as she reaches out to examine a length of leather cording that's wound around a large spool.
Daryl nods his agreement, that winning smile of his naturally comes along with it. "That's what I was thinking. Don't want to give it any reason too." As she queries whats stopping its return, the Deputy gains a bravado sort of aura about him, absently shrugging a touch. "The memory of my sword cutting it. And Ser Jast's spear, for that matter. It may be crazy but I hope it doesn't have a death wish." A wink and he watches as his armor is tended too, waiting patiently, "Besides. We're staying right where we're ordered too. So not much can be done about it."
“I would imagine that tracking it back to the hell from which it came is, generally speaking, considered a bad idea. On the scale of one to ten, with one being not a bad idea and ten being the worst? I would imagine that the use of exponents would be required for a proper rating," Nedra suggests, her tone conveying a dry sort of wit. "You know, we are all very grateful for what all of you did. Not just finding Lady Hafwen and returning her to her family, but all of you for going to face that . . thing. thank you."
Daryl laughs at first as she speaks of the mathematics that would need to be involved to portray the stupidity of such an act, however as she thanks him, he's caught off guard some then, his head falling some as he recalls the ordeal, and despite the success, was disciplined on return to Highfield. He lets guard down only a second, his weariness shown briefly. "…Think nothing of it, M'lady." His gaze lingers a moment before he dons a smile and peers at the leather armor currently being fixed. His countenance is returned to that confident demeanor. "I'm glad we were able to bring her home." His tone seems genuine, and he seems about to say something else, but holds his tongue at the last second, looking her way.
"It's important to think on these things, my lord, so that they are not forgotten," Nedra says quietly in return. She draws breath to say more only to have her armsman calling for her attention with a gesture through the crowd. "Good heavens," she says, sounding appalled, "it's my mothers courier," and now she looks appalled. "Forgive me, my lord, I must away," she says, giving a quick curtsy before she starts to move through the crowded market.
