New Beginnings

[Caellach]

It did not take much to wake Caellach on the chilly winter morning. He had been sleeping on a hastily gathered bed of leaves, with only his cloak to cover him, so the cold temperature hadn’t let him sink far into a dream. He had been woken up by a slight rustle of leaves not far from him, likely caused by a mouse, or rabbit, or other small forest creature. The sun was not yet up, but one could just barely make out a few rays of light just starting to breach the horizon.

He had stopped in a small clearing the night before. He was in a forest near Underwood, with tall oak trees and other trees he did not know the name of off-hand. The trees branched out above, so the sun was never fully visible, but enough light shone through that it was not at all dim during the day. Leaves, vines, roots, and other foliage covered the ground, providing a dense level of mulch through which small bushes grew. The animals of the forest must not be fully awake yet, as it was fairly quiet, but an occasional chirp or rustle was audible around Caellach.

Caellach’s breath was turned into small, crystalline fragments of ice as he stood up from his cot of leaves. He yawned and stretched, breathing in the crisp morning air. There was a pleasant forest aroma all around him; he felt quite at home surrounded by trees and undergrowth. He had covered himself with his cloak during the night for warmth, and now he readjusted it then fastened it and flipped the hood over his head to try to shield his ears from the cold. He had slept with his sword close at hand, and now he sheathed it and replaced his bow on his back as well. Finally he put his belt back on, buckled it, and stretched one last time.

He took out his small pouch of gold, hidden beneath the slightly moist foliage, and fastened it to his belt. He glanced around the small clearing to check for any out of place, and when he was satisfied he was alone he began to cover up his campfire. He had put most of the hot coals under his mat of greenery for a more pleasant sleep, but there were still a few cinders and patches of scorched earth. He kicked dirt over the campfire remains with slow, purposeful swipes of his boots; he was awake but had no need for urgency, so he acted unhurriedly and methodically. After the traces of the fire had been eradicated he set about scattering the leaves of his pallet. He had no real reason to leave no trace of his camp, but as he spent many nights in the forest he felt it was his duty to do his part in keeping the place clean.

[Caellach]

As he finished dispersing the leaves, he noticed the bottoms of his pant legs and boots were rather damp. He had noticed that the pile he had slept on was slightly moist but hadn’t realized quite how wet it was. Rolling his eyes with a trace of annoyance, he reached over his shoulder to grab his bow. He had left the string untied from the top part of the bow, as leaving a bow stringed damage the wood, but had left the string wound around the wooden arc. Taking the string between his fingers he rubbed it back and forth, and sighed when the fibers began to fall apart. The moisture during the night had ruined the string; it would likely snap if he drew an arrow all the way to his cheek. No matter, he thought, I will have plenty time to craft a new one today.

He began checking the trees around the clearing until he found the one he wanted, marked by an X he had left the night before. He had left the lightly scored letter so he could more easily remember in what direction Underwood lay, and he began to walk in that direction. He was not as familiar with this part of the forest, and did not know any nearby landmarks, so he had to rely on leaving signs of his own before sleeping.

As he walked his boots crunched small twigs beneath his feet and sank into the undergrowth, leaving footprints that would likely be visible for hours if not days. He felt he was in no danger and had no reason to cover his tracks, but more importantly his mind was too heavily occupied for him to bother worrying about anyone following him. Perhaps I should just return home, he thought dejectedly, I could become a Sentinel and settle down with a wife… The Sentinels were a small group of highly trained warriors from his home town that protected the village from thieves and beasts. He had been offered acceptance into their ranks, but he had failed to protect a merchant he had been assigned to escort, barely escaping with his life. The fact that he had been accompanied by a fully-fledged Sentinel that was unable to protect the merchant either was of no importance to him; he felt he had failed and was not worthy to be known as a protector of the town.

[Caellach]

What else would I do? Shifting his shoulders and slouching a bit, he decided he had no idea what he should or even could do with his life. He had left his village years ago, the merchant who had died under Caellach’s watch had been a cherished story-teller and well respected member of the community, and while no one blamed Caellach for the merchant’s death, Caellach couldn’t seem to face the village out of shame. I’m headed to Underwood anyways, perhaps I could just become a guardsmen there, he thought, although he knew he would never do any such thing. He was sure there were plenty enough guards in the Underwood, and he wouldn’t feel like he was living a very worthwhile life serving as one part of a great many people.

As he walked he pulled blades of grass off of the ground, as well as parts of bushes and some vines off of trees. He wiped them on his tunic to dry them, and slowly began the methodical process of stripping the pieces down to the individual plant fibers. As he walked and pondered his future, he slowly mended the plant fibers together, weaving them together with miniscule knots, forming a small but strong string. He continued adding fiber to fiber, making the string longer and longer, as well as reweaving parts to find any weaknesses. His hands repeatedly tied knots from memory; he had done this many times before.

Finally, when he had nearly five feet of woven fiber, he took his bow off of his back. He paused for a moment to lean against a tree, and tied one end of the string to the bottom of the bow. He then held the top of the bow in his left hand, and the string in his right, and stepped with his left leg through the gap between the two. Bracing the bottom of the bow between his two legs he bent to bow to measure the fiber. It was a good deal longer than he needed, despite the fact that he’d need a good six inches just for wrapping around the bow to insure a tight knot. When he was satisfied with the length he released the tension in the bow, untied the string, and replaced the bow onto his back. He finished the bow string by tying one end into a circle, so that he could slip it over the top of the bow into a notch in the wood to easily string the bow.

Satisfied with his work, he pocketed the string and continued walking, delving back into his thoughts. He was not one for trade or craft, at least not as a profession; he had forged his own sword under the careful guidance of the village blacksmith, and while he had enjoyed the process he did not think blacksmithing or any other trade skill was where his destiny would take him. Fletching arrows and weaving bow strings were a means to an end, not a way for him to make his living. Maybe I should just wait until my path is made clear to me, he thought, but quickly shook his head. He was not one to trust to heavily in destiny, he preferred to think through his actions and forge his own path. He thought briefly about finding out how one joined the Corone Rangers; he had heard a little of them from merchants who had come to his town to trade, but he decided it would be only slightly better than joining the guard in Underwood.

His mind deep in his thoughts, he nearly walked into trees multiple times. However, walking into trees was not the only risk he took by not paying attention to his surroundings; his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the jarring sound of a low, menacing growl.

[Caellach]

As his train of thought stopped, he became aware of his surroundings. The sun had made its way higher into the sky, and while it was obscured by trees the forest was visibly lighter than when Caellach had woken up. The trees themselves had changed, there were fewer oaks and more trees he was not sure of, but more importantly the air was rich in the smell of wolf. It was not a bad odor, but the musty scent was certainly powerful, Caellach decided quickly he must have walked very near to a wolf’s den. Reaching for his sword, he turned to his right to face the direction the growl had come.

He held his sword in front of him and dropped to a ready stance, eyeing his foe; an adult male wolf that looked almost as furious as he looked powerful. Caellach guessed the pack had recently had cubs, and that they were somewhere nearby, unseen. And that this wolf was none too happy about Caellach being so close. Slowly, he began stepping away from the wolf, trying to show he did not want a fight. Along with loving the trees and scent of the forest, Caellach was fond of the fauna; he did not want to slay the wolf unless he had to. Not to mention I might not be the one doing the slaying. The dark gray wolf was heavyset and long; powerful muscles rippled along his back and down his hind legs, and his snarl showed rows of razor-edged fangs. Caellach slowly began to turn so that he could face forwards while he walked, hoping the wolf would let him pass.

Lady Luck obviously wasn’t on his side at that moment, as he realized that the wolf aroma was growing stronger. He figured he must be walking directly towards the den, and finished turning his head quickly without thinking to look in front of him. Cursing his mistake immediately, he started to turn back to face the wolf just as he heard another growl and the undergrowth crunching beneath the wolf. Reacting to the sound, Caellach immediately dived forward. He spun around as he got up to see the wolf land; the wolf had jumped – his powerful legs digging into the ground had been the source of the crunching sound – and his fangs would have easily grabbed Caellach’s neck had the novice swordsman not gotten out of the way.

[Caellach]

Not wasting time Caellach took a quick step forward and then lunged, bringing his sword down in a wide arc with both hands. The wolf hopped sideways, dodging the blade with ease, and quickly began to circle around Caellach for a better angle. Switching to a slightly more defensive stance, Caellach brought his sword up to a blocking position and turned, watching the wolf and waiting for the beast’s attack. He was not sure what good trying to block a wolf’s leap would do, but he thought he might be able to slash at the wolf’s belly as he evaded if he kept this stance. However, the wolf seemed to realize a direct jump would not be effective, and quickly spun around, darted the other direction a few paces, then turn and charged towards Caellach’s legs, likely going for the hamstring.

Caellach had been holding his sword at an angle with the blade up, he was caught off guard by the low charge and had to awkwardly spin his sword downwards as he stepped back. He now had the sword blade down around his left knee, hilt up in front of his right shoulder. He took one more step sideways to dodge the wolf’s attack and brought the sword upwards and outwards, slashing at the wolf’s flank. His blade connected, but his left hand had powered the strike, not his dominant right hand, and it caused little damage. The wolf’s fur began to mat with blood as the creature began to circle Caellach once more, but the wound did not seem to affect him.

The wolf had managed to get slightly behind Caellach as the warrior repositioned his blade, and the animal rushed forward, raising his front paw to strike at Caellach’s lower back. Caellach turned and moved back in time to avoid the full brunt of the assault, but he grunted in pain as the wolf’s claws raked his side, just above his hip. Deciding he would not be able to defend well enough against the hunter’s agility, he ignored the pain in his side and brought his sword down in a powerful strike as he took a step back with his left leg to face the wolf.

He had acted swiftly and the wolf’s leg wasn’t completely back on the ground yet.
Once more his blade connected with his powerful gray foe, and this time he had achieved the wanted effect. His sword slashed down into the wolf’s left shoulder, ripping through flesh until it hit bone. Caellach quickly brought his sword back and slashed again, this time going for the beast’s head, but the wolf managed to take a small jump backwards and avoided the attack altogether. Caellach’s strike had seriously wounded the wolf however, the animal’s shoulder muscles had been damaged enough that he did not seem to have much control over his front leg anymore.

Rushing Caellach to strike with claws would no longer be possible, as the wolf could not strike with his left claws nor support himself long enough to slash with his right paw. Taking one more step back, the wolf instead used his potent hind legs and launched himself forward, going for Caellach’s neck once more. Caellach was ready and dropped down to a crouch, but as he ducked he brought his sword up in a wide slash.

Hearing the wolf land behind him, Caellach stood and spun quickly, ready to defend against another attack, but saw there was no need.

[Caellach]

The wolf lay on his side, entrails peeking out through the deep gash on the beast’s underside, bleeding profusely. The gray hunter made one more attempt to stand to face his prey, but barely got off the ground before collapsing again. Caellach took no pleasure in killing the wolf, but he did not want the animal to die in pain. Bringing his hands up above his head, he drove the sword downwards towards the wolf’s heart, plunging the blade deep into the wolf’s chest. The beast’s head jerked up to look at Caellach as the sword struck, and then fell back to the ground. The wolf lay still on the ground, dead.

No longer consumed by the adrenaline of battle, Caellach took inventory of his injuries. He had thought he had avoided the wolf’s last leap, but he now became aware of pain in his shoulder, the wolf must have swiped at him with his one good leg. Caellach was less concerned with his injury than with his cloak; the wolf had torn the cloth coming over Caellach’s shoulder to shreds, it would likely not hold for more than a few days. He removed his cloak to inspect his wounds, both the gash on his shoulder and the cuts on his side were clean and not very deep.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he began to channel energy towards his wounds. He had not received much training in magic in his village, but he was proficient enough with frost magic to perform small but useful spells. Feeling the chilly magical essence flow through his body he began to concentrate it on his shoulder and side, numbing the wounds. His arms and legs felt fatigued from battle, but he was still fully awake and channeling his magic was not a difficult task. He placed his hand on his shoulder and slowly pushed the frosty essence out of his palm, creating a small coating of ice over hid wound. He repeated the act for his side, and then carefully released the flow of magic while maintaining the make-shift icy bandages.

The forest was not very warm, but certainly not cold enough for water to freeze; however, this ice was not natural, and while Caellach was not able to create much of it at any one time, he would be able to keep it from melting.
The ice felt good on his skin; it numbed the pain and stopped the bleeding, but was not quite as uncomfortably cold as natural ice would have felt.

When his first aid was finished, he looked back towards the wolf’s carcass. He sighed ruefully, regretting having to slay the graceful wolf. At least I’m alive, he thought, but did not draw much solace from the thought. He decided he would carry the wolf back to town; he would sell the meat and pelt. Then, glancing at his ruined cloak sitting in a pile next to him, he decided he might instead have a new cloak fashioned from the pelt.

[Caellach]

Tying one end of the cloak tightly around the wolf’s neck, he crouched down and lifted the heavy animal onto his shoulder. The wolf had had powerful muscles, and weighed quite a lot. Caellach wasn’t sure how far he’d be able to walk without resting. He pushed the untied end of the cloak between the wolf’s belly and his shoulder so his clothes wouldn’t be drenched in blood, and held onto the cloak near the wolf’s neck to keep the carcass from slipping off.

Shit, Caellach though suddenly, I have no idea which direction it is to Underwood… He had been walking in a straight line, but had spun around numerous times during the fight with the wolf, and was now disoriented. However, he remembered he had been travelling in the direction of the wolf’s den, and began looking all around him. At this time of day the pack would be out hunting, the male had likely stayed back to guard. As long as he did not get much closer to the den he should probably be safe, there would likely be a female wolf with the pups.

After turning around twice, he spied a strangely shaped tree that he had remembered seeing just as he realized he was walking towards the den. He began walking in that direction and the odor became slightly stronger. He decided this must be the correct direction, but took off going slightly to the right so as to avoid the den. After a few minutes of walking the smell had almost completely dissipated and he turned a bit to correct his path. He figured the town would be large enough that he did not have to be walking in the exact direction, just close to it.

The carcass was heavy but Caellach was strong; despite the battle he thought he would be able to walk for at least a couple hours before needing to rest now that he had started. He started to continue his earlier train of thought, about what he should do with his life, before quickly realizing that was how he had gotten into the fight with the wolf in the first place. I’ll think on it tonight… The carcass should have enough meat to easily buy me a room at an inn or tavern.

By now it was likely about mid-day, while the skirmish had seemed to last hours it had really only been minutes. He had already released his hold on the icy bandages he had formed earlier, and let the ice melt away. His wounds were no longer bleeding, and he had numbed them enough that neither caused him great pain. He continued to walk at a steady pace, calmly sniffing the air and looking around at all the trees.

[Caellach]

He continued for another couple of hours before he decided he’d take a brief respite. His right shoulder, supporting the wolf, was beginning to ache. He knew he could keep walking if needed, but he figured the town shouldn’t be more than a few hours away now, and that he’d have time to rest and still get there while it was light out. He had no food with him and was not in the mood to go hunting, so he just sat against a tree, carcass at his side, and relaxed.

He decided he’d make good use of his time and practice his magic while he rested. He calmly extended one of his hands and let an icy flow of power travel down his air to his hand, and then to each of his fingers. He slowly formed icicles on the end of each finger, only a couple inches long each, and sharpened each to a point. He wiggled his fingers and bit and pantomimed slashing as if the ice were claws. A useful trick if I found myself without my sword, he thought, but he realized that he likely wouldn’t be able to keep the frosty claws from shattering or melting if he struck something. Whereas normal ice would maintain its form, or only shatter, Caellach’s magic would very likely melt if he tried to strike a foe with these claws, even if he hit the enemy’s flesh. However he could tell that daily exercises were helping, and that it probably wouldn’t be long until he could channel enough energy to keep his ice from melting as easily. It would be a while before he could maintain something as big as a sword, or at least maintain it while attacking, but something as small as icy claws were not far out of his reach.

He realized then that he had only ever tried creating ice from his hands, and that it never left his hands. While this certainly had its uses, he decided he should try forming the magic into an object not connected to his body. He held his hand out, palm out, and began to build a small ball of ice in his palm. Then, concentrating on keeping the sphere of ice still, he slowly lowered his hand. To his satisfaction the ball stayed put, although some of the outer layer melted a bit as his hand left. He let go of the flow of magic and let the ball melt, the drops falling and then disappearing; just like how his ice wasn’t quite like natural ice, the water created by his ice melting wasn’t normal either, and usually vaporized rather than making anything wet. He raised his hand again, and this time concentrated on forming a ball without it ever touching his hand. The first time he had build the sphere into his hand and then let go of it, this time he wanted to create a hovering ball without it ever caressing his palm.

Dropping his palm, he sighed. There wasn’t any orb in front of him; he simply couldn’t form it without it first touching his hand. Then he was struck with an idea, and stopped thinking about spheres of ice. He wasn’t sure how much training it would take before he could channel objects from a distance, or if he could hold such an object together for any length of time, but he thought it seemed like a good idea nonetheless. He was planning on making a sloped block of ice, with two flat sides and one diagonal side connecting them into a triangle. The slope would be very slight, and possibly slightly curved, because he intended to shoot it with an arrow. However, he realized that while he may be able to make the block with only a little guidance or experimentation, he didn’t think he’d be able to hold the block together against the impact of the arrow, at least not for quite a while.

[Caellach]

As he shifted to a crouch and began to lift the wolf back onto his shoulder, he decided that he at least had a goal to work towards now. His idea was that if he shot an arrow directly at a block with a gradual slope, the arrow would follow the slope instead of shattering the block. In effect, he could curve his arrow’s trajectory. He doubted he’d be able to create a block so fast that he could make it midflight, at least not yet. But if he were trying to hit something behind a tree he might be able to create the slope to the side, and then fire and have the arrow curve along the path to hit the target.

Damn it, pay attention, he thought as he realized his mind was drifting to think of all the possibilities. Thinking so hard and paying so little attention to his surroundings had already got him into one bind; he intended to reach Underwood without meeting any more obstacles. He continued walking for a few more hours, listening to the songs of nearby birds as he travelled, pondering what they might be saying.

Eventually he saw the town come into view, not far now in the distance. He walked the rest of the way and made his way to one of the city gates. He guessed that most merchants and travelers must come from other directions since there was no one else entering the city through that entrance. The city had low walls around it, and seemed to be built more for directing the flow of traffic rather than defense. It looked like most of the buildings, as well as the wall and gate, were made of wood. A tall guard sat on a stool outside the gate. He stood up as Caellach approached, long dark hair streaming down his neck and past his shoulders. Caellach thought it odd to see such long hair on a man, especially a guard with a helmet, but passed no judgment, he only grinned and nodded acknowledgement.

“Greetings, traveler! It looks like you have yourself quite a kill there,” the guard said in greeting.

Caellach’s smile dropped a bit but didn’t fade, “I fear I’m none too proud of it. Wolves are graceful creatures, I killed it in self defense. Is there any toll for entering the city?”

The guard seemed visibly confused, as if this were a silly question, and replied, “Why yes, it’s twenty gold coins, have you not come through here before?”

“Twenty gold coins?” Caellach burst out in surprise; he had enough gold but that seemed a very steep price for a toll.

A large grin appeared on the guard’s face as he said, “I’m only kidding. It’s free passage for any folk not looking to cause trouble. May I ask what your business here in Underwood is?”

Smile returning in relief, Caellach nodded assent and replied, “I come looking for any kind of employment. And to sell the carcass, I guess.”

“You look handy with that blade of yours, and if you felled that mighty beast I’d guess your appearance doesn’t deceive. You should consider joining the city guard if you need a job, it’s decent pay.”

“I’ll think about it but I fear I won’t be staying quite that long, I’d likely only have time for a few odd jobs. By the way, could you give me directions to a nearby inn? And a butcher too, I suppose, if you know of one.”

The guard nodded hastily, “You should stay at the ‘Crusty Loaf,’ many guards spend their time there, maybe they could change your mind. Just walk straight along this road until you see it on your right, you should recognize the sign. As for a butcher, you can likely find one anywhere you go, but the inn keeper would likely take the wolf off your hands for the meat as well. In any case, you’re free to go, enjoy your stay and think about the offer.”

Caellach said his thanks, and passed through the gate to head down the street. He might get a better price at a butcher’s shop, but he had no real need for gold, and an inn keeper would likely give him free food and board. He walked for about five minutes down the street, and he was worried he might have passed it before he saw a building with a picture of a half-eaten loaf of bread painted on the side. He went in and saw that it was indeed an inn, and scanned the room for the keeper. He saw a stout man with a large belly wearing an apron, and headed over.

“Is this the crusty loaf?” Caellach inquired.

[Caellach]

“Indeed it be, young master, and I be the keeper. Geoffrey’s the name, fine room and meals the game. What can I be doing for ya?” the portly inn keeper replied merrily.

Caellach was not used to the man’s manner of speaking; either the inn keeper or the guard wasn’t from around here, as the guard had had no real accent. Gesturing towards the carcass, Caellach said, “I was looking to sell the meat of my kill. The guard at the gate seemed to think you’d be interested.”

The inn keeper chuckled. “That’ll be old Norty who directed ya here, he do be sending everyone who comes through his gate here as of late. As for the wolf, he’s a beauty, I haven’t been seeing such a pelt in quite a while.”

“Actually I wanted to keep the pelt for myself if possible, the beast destroyed my cloak in the fight and I’ll be needing a new one. Would you be willing to give me a room and a meal in exchange for just the meat?”

“Be giving you just a room and meal? Why that wolf is a big’un, he do be worth quite more than just that for the meat,” the inn keeper said generously.

“I’m not greedy, the room and meal will be quite fine. Oh, and directions to a leatherworker if you know of one.”

“Ay, here’s a deal for ya. My brother do happen to be a leatherworker, ya tell’em I sentcha and he’ll be doing the work for free for ya. That’ll be covering the extra debt I do owe for the meat if ya insist on not being paid.”

Caellach had to pay careful attention when the inn keeper spoke to make sure he understood the man’s heavy accent. He grinned and replied that that would work just fine, and stuck out his hand to shake. The inn keeper wiped his hand on his apron and shook Caellach’s hand, and then escorted him back towards the kitchens. Some kitchen hands took the carcass from Caellach, and the inn keeper informed him that he’d have it skinned and the pelt returned in the morning. Caellach thanked him and returned to the common room, settling down among some other men at the bar. He wasn’t thirsty at the moment, and instead just mingled with the men, who ended up being guards exactly as “old Norty,” had said.

As night settled over the town and Caellach headed up to his room he thought over the conversation. He had had a great meal and a few drinks, but was still sober. Talking with the guards had almost changed his mind; while he had no interest in guarding gates there were sometimes scouting parties to look for thieves and outlaws outside the town. He decided again that he didn’t want to be one of many, that he’d make a name for himself elsewhere. He didn’t care a great deal about becoming a part of history, but he thought it’d be nice for to know people occasionally recognized his name. The question, was what they would recognize him for. He still hadn’t figured that out by the time he fell asleep in the comfortable bed.

[Caellach]

His room was a simple affair, it had a bed, a night stand, and a basin for washing. It was one of the better rooms in the inn though; Caellach had glanced through an open door the night before at a room on the ground floor – he was on the second floor – and had seen that the bed was lumpy and the room nearly half as small as the one he was in now.

He woke the next morning to sun streaming through his window. This was probably one of only a few rooms that got any sun this time of year; the inn keeper was certainly taking good care of Caellach. He roused himself and began getting dressed. He had bandaged his wounds with cloth supplied by the keeper last night, and they seemed to be healing rapidly. He channeled a little energy to them to numb them, as they still hurt a little, before putting his arm through the strap on his sword sheath. He placed his bow on his back, and strapped on his quiver, and began reaching for the hood of cloak. He smirked as he realized that he not only didn’t need a hood in the city, but he had no hood in the first place. Stretching and checking back over his equipment, he left the room and headed downstairs.

The inn keeper rose to wish him a good morning, and said, “If ya head on over to the kitchens, the servants there should be giving ya yor pelt. I did have them be keeping it whole so as not to be ruining it for a good cloak.”

“Thank you, you’ve been nothing but helpful. Could you give me directions to your brother’s store?” Caellach replied, yawning halfway through.

“Of course. It’s not too far from here, ya just be going out the front door, walking about twenty paces, and you do be there already. It’s right across the street.”

Caellach thanked him again and headed for the kitchens. The hands had done a superb job skinning the animal -- they had even left the head intact. He thanked the head cook there and took the pelt. It had been washed clean of the blood already, so Caellach headed back to the common room and after nodding to the inn keeper, he headed out into the city. Sure enough he saw a building with a sign with a hide on it just across the street, and headed for the door.

He entered the small store and glanced around at all the leatherworking equipment. It looked like the building was made of just two rooms, a bedroom in the back and a room in the front for all the craft. The room had two giant windows in the ceiling Caellach noted with surprise, and he wondered what they were for. Then he realized the sunlight shone directly down on the tanning vats, and decided they not only lit the room up, they likely helped with the tanning process.

[Caellach]

“Well, son, are you going to be looking around my shop all day or do you be having some work for me?”

Caellach looked up startled to see a man not far from him, and noted the man had the same accent as the inn keeper. “Why yes, actually. I was wondering if you could fashion this pelt into a cloak for me, the animal ruined my old one. Your brother across the street said you might do it for free.”

“Yes, yes. He did say something last night about him meeting some young’un who did be looking for a cloak. I understand ya sold him the meat for merely a room and meal, so I’d gladly be making a cloak for ya,” the shop keeper replied hastily, walking over and stretching out his hand for the pelt. Caellach handed over the pelt and began describing how he wanted it crafted.

“If possible I’d like you to keep the upper jaw and head, perhaps make it into a hood. The front paws could come around over my shoulders to fasten in front. I want it mostly just to cover my back so you can keep the extra hide on the underside of the pelt if you’ve any use for it. Keep the hind leg parts on too, to cover the back of my legs. Is that all doable?” Caellach asked.

“A man who knows what he wants, I be liking that. Most people do come in here just saying make me this or make me that, they rarely do describe what exactly they want. I don’t be having much work to do today, so it should be ready by nightfall, likely a little sooner depending on how long the tanning takes. I can tell you’re not from around here, you should go explore the city a bit, be having yourself some fun.”

Caellach nodded his thanks and left. The streets were more crowded than yesterday afternoon, all kinds of people, human or otherwise, running this way or that. He loved the solitude of the forest, but Caellach found that he was enjoying the city as well. He set off down one of the many broad avenues, not really caring where he ended up. He thought he might seek out a magician and pay for some training, and see if he could actually curve his arrows like he wanted to. Whatever he ended up doing, he was happy for now; he would return and get his cloak in the evening, likely stay another night at the crusty loaf, but he was enjoying himself at the moment. He didn’t even stop to consider what he should do with his life, he had never been in a city before – his town was rather small – and he just wanted to enjoy the day.

[Caellach]

Spoils Request:

I'd like to upgrade my swordsmanship from average to above average, perhaps 1.5x as good as your run of the mill swordsman. Caellach can now block and execute attacks better than before, as well as having better footwork and balance while wielding swords. When wielding a longsword this effect is slightly increased, to say 1.75x as good as most swordsmen, and when wielding swords much different (say a broadsword or rapier might not be far off, but a scimitar or dagger would be) he would only be about 1.25x as good.

I would also like the cloak described in the quest, made of Pelt, of the highest degree of workmanship deemed earned. It would have a hood made of the wolf's head/upper jaw, the pelt and claws of the fore legs would come over my shoulders to fasten in the front, and the rest of it from hang down my back. It would reach approximately to my ankles, given that the pelt of the hind legs was left attached to cover my legs.

If I can only get one thing, I'd prefer the cloak to the swordsmanship upgrade.

[Revenant]

Full rubric, full commentary requested.

STORY

Continuity (4) – The biggest question I have is: why? Caellach wakes up, kills a wolf, practices some magic, and then gets a cloak made. From the requested spoils it seems like there was no purpose to this thread other than to mechanically increase your sword skill. This thread almost felt like it could have had it written for any character, there was nothing that really made it feel unique to Caellach. To get a better continuity score you need to make the thread feel like it has a purpose within your character’s story.

Setting (6) – I really enjoyed the vivid world that you created in the beginning of this thread but after that initial wave there was nothing to go by. Once you had come to Underwood Caellach jumped from place to place quickly, giving little description or clarity of the world around you.

Pacing (6) – Decent thread pace and all of your posts flowed naturally from one to the next. The section of the story where you stop to practice your ice magic really felt like it slowed the thread down however. You had an intro, a build up in the fight with the wolf, then a delay in your magic practice, and then forward with the plot to the finale.

CHARACTER

Dialogue (5) – Aside from the intro of your meeting with the guard, the dialogue in this thread is flat. There is no real emotion and none of it really stands out. The issue with dialogue in short stories is how to make it dynamic. Keep that in mind for future threads.

Action (6) – Good action in the scene fighting the wolf but action is more than just fighting. Take the following exerpt:

He grinned and replied that that would work just fine, and stuck out his hand to shake. The inn keeper wiped his hand on his apron and shook Caellach’s hand, and then escorted him back towards the kitchens. Some kitchen hands took the carcass from Caellach, and the inn keeper informed him that he’d have it skinned and the pelt returned in the morning. Caellach thanked him and returned to the common room, settling down among some other men at the bar.
This is an example of action within the story, and this is a fairly bland selection. I really liked the bit where you gather the various strings required to remake your bowstring. You had just the right amount of flair in that portion that made it seem more than just “this is what happened”.

Persona (4) – There wasn’t much personality to Caellach in this thread. There were a couple of points, when he realized his bowstring was broken and when he was remembering his failure to protect the merchant, that he showed some annoyance, but even then there wasn’t much there. Aside from those brief moments it felt like Caellach was a blank slate, wandering around the world just here and there. Breathe life into your character.

WRITING STYLE

Technique (3) – There was no real technique in this thread, no surprises, no foreshadowing, no suspense, it was a straight line. You have the basics down pretty well, don’t be afraid to throw in a twist or take the thread in an off direction.

Mechanics (7) – No real issues with your writing mechanics grammar and spelling wise, but you use a lot of passive writing, which really brings your writing down. Work on making your writing more active to get a higher score.

Clarity (8) – Pretty clear writing. There was only once or twice that I found myself having to reread a section of the story. Take your time and try reading your story out loud before posting to find any area that doesn’t flow so well. Otherwise, good job.

WILD CARD

Wild Card (5)

TOTAL: 54

Caellach receives 575 exp and 260 gp and a fancy wolf pelt cloak.

Swordsmanship may be upgraded at level update pending RoG approval.

[Taskmienster]

Exp and GP added.