Nicholas
Mozi'ach Blutgerinnsel
Azariya

"Aye, it's bloody cold. My youngest brother didn't survive one night. It was a shame, he was promising in being a smith too." He sipped his tea, before taking a slice of bread and fruit preserves from the cupboard. He ate in silence until he was finished.

He stares to outside, It was just at that moment where they began riding through the first outcrop of the forest. Not quite dense, but can easily hide some predators. He scans the trees before easing back into his seat.
Wendie
Ludmilla Monette
Azarya forests

Ludmilla nodded solemnly. "It sounds like your life has involved quite a lot of tragedy," She said. She felt sad for him, having lost so many when she herself still had her family out there. She took another biscuit, slowly taking bites while she looked out the window at the slowly thickening landscape. 

Ludmilla thought of her farm, and it brought happiness to her. She would be glad to be back to her solitude and hear the bleating of her herd. And on her loom, a beautiful picture she had been working on awaited her skillful hands. It used five colors, and was a picture of the town at sunset. She was excited to finish it. "I wonder, you must spend a lot of time traveling, does it get lonely?" She asked of him. A sort of out-of-the-blue question, but it had just came to her.
Nicholas
Mozi'ach Blutgerinnsel
Azarya forests

He sighs, setting his cup down. "Plenty of tragedy to go around, we were a big family." He sipped again, dipping a biscuit into the tea and eating for a moment. He wipes his mouth of crumbs and shifted.

"Yes. It gets lonely, You are the first person I have met who has shown me more hospitality than the rest of Azarya-Amaranth. They throw rocks at my carriage, cry out in anger at my executions. You... Are a breath of fresh air." He chuckled, setting the cup on the table. He sets a cloth onto his lap, pulling some oil from a little pouch on his body. 

He unsheathed his blade, complex engravings on the metal shone in the natural light. He dribbles some oil onto the blade and began rubbing it in with a used cloth. He's cleaning it.
Wendie
Ludmilla Monette
Azarya forests

Ludmilla smiled at his answer, then shrugged. "I suppose I'm more interested in the person behind the axe. The job, well, that's just something you do to get by, like the rest of us. I see no reason to throw rocks or yell if one has no harm done by the act, unless of course the one being killed was their own kin." She sipped her tea. "I am glad to be unique." 

Ludmilla watched Mozi'ach intently as he began to oil down his blade, and the engravings that became clearer as he did. She wondered if they were a family crest, or something meaningful to him. She gestured to them and asked, "What do they mean?"
Nicholas
Mozi'ach Blutgerinnsel
Azarya forests

"I'm glad to hear that." He rubbed the sword down the length, then eyed it cautiously. He lifts his head at the question. He stops, looking at the runes, reading them. "Our family crest is situated here." He points at a circular shape in the blade, a lion with a bird head, spewing out fire and holding a chalice. 

"And the other runes are made for magic. I never use it unless necessary, since it is illegal." He brought the sword down, letting her look at it. "It's the symbol of fire. The other runes are wards to make sure this sword never breaks. The magic is pulled from the life source of the wielder, or the opponent once in contact with their flesh."

"It's a shame though, it's been long since I fought." He inspected the runes, and sheathed the blade.
Wendie
Ludmilla Monette
Azarya Forests

Ludmilla watched him as he cared gently for the sword. He seemed to really cherish it. She was impressed by the intricacy of all the runes. She wondered if his brothers, the blacksmiths, created it, or if it was some mystical magic-user. Those kinds of people she'd only heard about it stories and whispers on the street, from people you didn't want to know. "Wow.." She said, leaning in to admire the work with her gaze. "Did your brothers carve these?" She asked. 

Ludmilla wondered whether the sword worked for whoever wielded it, or only those skilled in magic. She supposed she probably shouldn't ask, it was illegal, after all. She didn't want to get mixed up with such things. Ludmilla was fine with her simple life, even if she was curious about the finer points of magic and such.
Nicholas
Mozi'ach Blutgerinnsel
Azarya forests

"No. My mentor gifted it to me. The lucky bastard." He sighs, looking out. His gaze darkens. "I had to execute him. He meddled with dark magic, he... Nevermind, It's not important." He finished his tea, and the sun was about at it's peak.

The forest became thicker, and the carriage kept moving, a little bumpy due to the stray rocks on the path. He thought he saw something, but brushed it off.
Wendie
Ludmilla Monette
Azarya Forests

Ludmilla listened, the look on her face showed concern as well as apprehension. This part of the story, well, was difficult. "That sounds quite horrible, having to execute someone you cared for..." She took another sip of her tea. 

Ludmilla looked out the window and was reminded of home with the thick forest around them. The light from the sun was mostly filtered out through the trees, leaving the landscape with a damp, dim feeling. Enough to see ahead of you for a ways, but not light enough to give much warmth. "I think we are not far, now," She said while looking out the window, with a smile. She thought she remembered from before she left, she might have some stew in a pot in the furnace she could heat up again. Yes, she was fairly certain of that. "I hope you like stew, it has some meat from town, and fresh vegetables from my garden."
Nicholas
Mozi'ach Blutgerinnsel
Azarya forests

"That would be wonderful, thank you." Then the carriage stops... And goes into full speed. The cups fall and clatter, and the cupboards creak in complaint. He curses, peering to the side. He swung open the door and hung out. He stares.

"Bandits! Get your spear ready, we're in for a bumpy ride!" He tied his belt to a bar that hung from the inside, grabbing a quiver and bow from under the seat and aimed.

Three black horses came charging, battered looking people on there, holding flaming arrows. He began shooting at them, aiming for their steeds.
Wendie
Ludmilla Monette
Azarya Forests

As the carriage stopped abruptly Ludmilla held on to the seat's edge to brace herself, but was still bumped against the wall and felt the air knocked out of her as they sped up again. Her hand went immediately to the spear as she followed his gaze to the bandits coming along their carriage. She set down her tea cup on the floor in the corner, although she knew it would probably get knocked over. She was lucky it hadn't already. 

Ludmilla pushed her torso out of the window flap on the opposite side, it was just large enough. As one of the horses came riding up to that side from behind to try to sandwich the carriage between them, she thrusted her spear out at the man riding, and almost hit him but he avoided her at the last moment. He started shooting an arrow at her, and she ducked in right as it hit above the window. Ludmilla tried again with her spear, and managed to hit him in the arm, but it quickly dislodged itself and he rode farther away. Ludmilla hoped Mozi'ach was having luck on that side, only one of the enemies had came over to hers.
Nicholas
Mozi'ach Blutgerinnsel
Azarya forests

He scowled, ditching the bow and grabbing the sword. He shouted a spell and pointed it at a horse, a flaming arrow shot out with dead accuracy and impaled the horse through the head, tumbling down. He climbs the carriage and balanced on it, the one bandit turned tail and left, after seeing the magic.

The other one had a death wish. He stood there and looked at the man dead in the eye. He raised his sword, the runes glowing a soft umber. "Burn." He lets out a wicked laugh, another flaming arrow shot into the horse, setting the steed and rider ablaze. He kept laughing until they were out of sight. He turns, pointing at the road, it cuts back to some plains.

There it was, Ludmilla's home.

He hopped back into the carriage, collapsing onto the seat and groaned. "Haven't used.. Magic in a while, ooh.." He rubs at his face, looking like he had run a mile without breaks.
Wendie
Ludmilla Monette
Azarya Forests

As Mozi'ach finished his opponents, Ludmilla got another jab at the bandit in his stomach, and he abandoned the bow to hold his hand to where she had hit him. He fell back as the carriage bounded away. Ludmilla slid back inside and sat down, as well. She picked up her tea cup, having spilled, and placed it on the table. "Sorry about that, might leave a stain," She looked down at the spilled tea. 

She placed her spear back to lean against the side, the metal gleaming with blood. She watched him rub at his face, and asked, "Is it tiring, using magic, then?" She hadn't know it took energy to use it, she thought it was just an immediate effect. 

Looking out the window, seeing her home, Ludmilla smiled and picked up her spear and bag. She opened the carriage door and hurried to the ground. It felt good to finally be back. She went to untie her horse, who looked tired and was pawing at the ground.
Nicholas
Mozi'ach Blutgerinnsel
Azarya forests

Mozi'ach walked out, holding his sword. "Joel, bring the carriage next to the house, we will stay here until dawn." He gave a harsh wince, finally noticing the arrow lodged in his shoulder. 

He gripped at the arrow, wiggling it. *Barbed*. Must be cut out. He could barely move the arm, it was painful. Joel came running up, holding a primitive medicine kit. Mozi'ach stumbled inside and onto a seat, stripping himself of his armor and letting Joel cut out the arrow.

The horses whinnied and tossed their heads. Looks like they've been coaxed out of their bindings earlier, but were tied to a nearby post.