Not-so-stealthy Escape from the Abbey
RW Abbey: Pond
The abbey pond is practically the place to go for relaxation. The orchards that settle onto one side of the water hole provide decent shade for the more heated months to come. Various types of wild flowers grow about the edge of the ground that lightly overhangs into the pond. The pond seemingly invites one into its cool depths, which holds its fish life and multiple species of shrimp and other water dwellers.
Spring has come. Due to the rains, the abbey pond is just gently lapping at the edges of the ground. Soon to overflow lightly if the spring rains don't let up soon. Plant life seems to explode here in a variety of colors, sizes and aromas.
Exits: [F]ire [P]it, [R]edwall [E]ntry, [P]ath by the [G]reat [H]all, [Dive] in the pond, [O]rchards
Leon is at the pond, back from an herb hunt that for once went well and the herbs are drying in teh infirm,he right now is angleing his footpaws in the water.
Shandar comes up quietly. She's in an odd mood. It isn't bad, but she's thinking about some stuff that's making her feel wierd. She sits next to Leon, not saying a word, and oddly, doesn't give him a hug. She stares at her reflection in the water.
Leon nods "Hey Shandar, whats the matter..tried or feeling ill?"
Shandar shakes her head. No, she's neither of those things. As Leon speaks, she watches his refelction in the water. She leans back on her paws.
Leon asks, "Then why do you seem down?"
The little mouse shrugs. She doesn't know. After a moment, Shandar picks up a flat stone, brown in color, with red ribbons. She rubs her paw over it, hefts it, and tosses it. It skips twice before sinking. The ripples spread out, making her reflection waver. She watches it. "Dunno." her voice is flat.
Leon thinks "Is this about not coming with me?, Didnt want anyone hurt as it seemed other times I went to get herbs, something happen..this time luckly nothing did"
Shandar smirks a bit. "No." She doesn't mention what happened right after he left.
Leon nods "Ok, then what?"
Shandar shrugs again, her dark eyes still on the water. "I don't know. I said that, didn't I?" she's not trying to be isolent, she just wants to make sure she actaully did say she didn't know.
Leon sighs "Alright...know what in a few weeks I will be a brother in the order"
Shandar smiles, though it may not be very convincing. "Great." She's happy for him. She slides her paws back and lies down on the grass, now staring at the sky.
Leon nods "Guess more resposibity for me, but its alright"
Shandar closes her eyes. "Of course it's more responsiblity. You have to act like Brother Benar all the time."
Leon chuckles "No, I act like myself, just more chores and maybe get to be in charge of a few novices even"
Shandar opens her eyes again. She's a little restless. She watches the clouds drift past as she replies in a mostly toneless voice. "Which novices?" she's always got questions, and she usualy asks them, but she doesn't always care.
Leon shrugs "Don't know, ones that want to learn healing maybe"
"mm." Shandar makes a noise, somewhere between a grunt and a 'hm.' "Have you always liked healing?"
Leon says, "I like helping beasts, also like playing the lyre, use to just wander everywhere, no real place ta be""
Shandar nods, understanding what it's like to not have a place to go, to just wander about all day. "Aren't all abbey beasts supposed to be healers?"
Seth entes the area of the pond and quickly climbs one of the trees and travels by branch, to branch to move and looks down at anyone down below.
Shandar's to absorbed in her mind to notice Seth. She's barely able to talk to Leon, and Leon happens to be a beast that she likes and knows. The dibbun's eyes seem a little glassy. She really needs to find a quiet, empty place to play her mandolin and work on her song, but there are beasts everwhere. And she'd never be allowed to go on the ramparts, which is where she /wants/ to go. She racks her mind for a question to ask Leon. "When did you learn to play the lyre?" She thinks that somewhere in her mind she knows the answer to this, but she can't recall.
Leon frowns "My father knew some, and my mother, my mother also knew healing, also a little self taught guess could say"
Seth snorts slightly from his branch.
Shandar scan's the trees. Seth is fine enough, but she's not up for fighting him. If anyone was to attack her, she'd probably stand there and let them for a moment before getting her act together.
Leon looks up at the noise and blinks, "Hello" he says with a nod.
Seth glares "Don't say hi to me, didnt say hi to you." Ok he is a little moody today.
Shandar sighs, hoping that Seth isn't looking to argue. She sits up and draws her knees to her chest. Oddly, her mind is deviod of all the qestions she had for Seth, but that's probably a good thing, given his current mood.
Seth comes down from his tree, "So whats up and what does one need to do to leave?"
Leon blinks"Umm..exit the gate, then again its possible you would need an adult, you are a dibbun"
Shandar grunts. "Get a weapon you can use, food for a few days from the kitchen, and pick the lock on a wallgate. It isn't hard." She shouldn't know this, but she does. Then again, there are a lot of odd things about her, and this is the least of it.
Leon looks at Shadar and frowns" Do what? You pick locks?"
Seth starts chuckleing and rolls back and forth on the grass, "This is funny, the widdle girl be in trouble now...hee heheheh"
Shandar closes her eyes, but opens them again quickly. She doesn't want to see the things in her mind. "Can't escape from a locked room unless you can pick the lock."
Leon shakes his head "You shouldn't know how to..and locked rooms? And what are you gigglelinging at?" He looks to Seth and sighs, "How did Oz ever handle a group of dibbuns..."He frowns a little.
Seth listens, "Who is Oz?some dum beast who watches dibbuns, sounds boring to me."
Shandar buries her head in her arms, wrapped around her knees. "I had to learn how to. Pick a lock, I mean." Seth's laughing doesn't mean anything to her, but it is a little distracting. And she doesn't really care to explain who Oz is. Leon is going to be a brother, so he can do it.
Leon tilts his head "Why would you need to pick a lock for?" He looks at Seth "And you behave please or go inside"
Seth glares and walks over to kick Leon in the leg,"No one tells me to do something"
Shandar tries not to be short, and sighs again. Hadn't Leon heard? "To get out of a locked room." She doesn't want to say more. Already, she feels as if she's said too much. In her head, she wants to Seth to just /go away,/ but she knows it probably wont happen, unless..."Do you want to get a snack?" She wants Seth to get her meaning, that she can help him leave. The kitchen staff know her, and love it when she comes to get snacks, insisting that she's much to small, and she should take more! They may not want Seth to be there, so she could be helpful. She also knows the perfect time and place to escape. She stands and brushes off her tunic. Even if Seth doesn't get it, she doesn't want to be near him.
Leon gasps as he is kickd and shakes his head, "Ouch..why ya do that?" He mainly asks Seth, and shakes his head "I think I will go inside."
IN THE KITCHEN
Shandar enters boldly. A kitchen helper comes over and gives her a slightly floury hug. "What can I get for ya t'day, Shan?" Shandar shrrugs. "Picnic stuff. Maybe...biscuts and stuff like that." The helper knows what the dibbun means, and she knows exactly what Shandar likes. She dissapears into the pantry
Seth peeks into the kitchen and looks around.
Shandar turns and looks at Seth. "Anything in particular you'll need? After this, we'll have to stop by the guardhouse. We'll go on the pretense that I've been required to return my sling." She has clearly thought this through, and it has probably been on her mind for a while.
Seth nods and smirks "Starting to like you alot more...your sneaky, and I am fine on just some bread and maybe water, I Can find nuts and berries and wild greens in the woods"
Shandar shakes her head and turns away again as the cook comes back. "Here ya are, dearie. Anythin' else?" Shandar smiles and thanks her, taking the haversack and tossing it over her back. The helper waves and goes back to her chores. Shandar goes back to Seth. "You'll carry it when we get to the gatehouse. Until then, I'll take it."
Seth shrugs"If ya say so." He goes to follow her
AT THE GATEHOUSE
Shandar unties her sling from her belt and holds it up at the glaring guard. "I have to return this." The guard nods, and goes to take it from her. She pulls her paw back. "Don't touch it. It's mine." She tries to be more like a young mouse. her plan depends on them getting inside the gatehouse.
Seth stays close to the mouse and waits to see what happens next, he is quiet also
The guard scowls more. "Give et up, little one. Ye aren't allowed in th' gatehouse. Ye could hurt yerself." Shandar scowls back at him. "If i was to hurt myself on a weapon, wouldn't I have done so already? I /own a sling./"
The door creaks open and Zarok clambers up into the Abbey's gatehouse. He wasn't allowed to keep the sword that he 'borrowed' to take on the journey to hunt Vladmir Stormfeather, so now he'll occasionally sneak up here to 'visit' the blade.
Seth stays by Shandar and waits, he rolls his eyes some at the guard but dosnt say anything.
The guard relents. He isn't used to dibbun's like Shandar, and she does have a point. "I'll be watching. Don't do anythin' stupid." He warns. Shandar smiles disarmingly and enters, looking around at the consficated weapons.
Zarok trots over next to Shandar, waving a bit with his tail.
Seth looks at the monitor and "Whoa...a liazard, in de abbey?"
Shandar looks at the lizard and nods. She has more or less gotten used to him. "Yeah...Don't ask." She doesn't know Zarok's story, and she doesn't feel as if she wants to hear another sob story right now. She dumps the haversack on the ground, and turns to Seth. "What's your favorite weapon?"
Seth answers, a simple answer "My sling"
"I hadda sword once," Zarok says proudly. "It in here zzomewhere."
Shandar also happens to be very fond of her own sling. She looks at it, and lays it gently on a box. Benar would be very disapointed if her caught her with it. "A sword? Can you wield it?"
Seth sighs, he leans on the doorway and waits, sliently as he could always get another sling if need be"
Shandar studies Seth. "Is that all you are gonna want when your in the woods? Another weapon could be useful." She holds up a little dagger. "Like this. These liddle things are easy to use, and can be very handy. Do you have your sling with you?
Zarok nods. "Yeah, I wieldzzz d'sssword." Glancing furtively to the guard, he adds quietly, "I sshow you if wantzz?"
Seth sighs "Took my sling, and a dagger may be useful,dont know, who's it belong to?"
Shandar looks over the weapon. "nobeast. It's just an extra, belonging to the abbey. Look for your sling. Should be in here. And sure, Zarok. But not too loudly."
Seth looks around and grins as he finds it and his pouch of rocks and puts the pouch at his side and the sling as well and looks at the doorway and back to the others, "So..now what?"?
Shandar opens the haversack, tossing the dagger in. "I advise you put the weapons in the bag. Otherwise the guards will see them. And Zarok is showing us his sword." She sighs, a tad wistful. "Wish I had my own sword. Have yet to find one my size, though."
Zarok trots over to the weapon locker and rummages through quietly, until he finds a tattered bundle of stained, worn, cheap burlap, which he walks back to the other two Dibbuns with. "Wonder where cloth-zzack came from?" he asks nobeast in particular as he begins unwrapping it.
Seth shrugs, he hides his sling and then looks at Zarok again listening.
Shandar watches the guard's back. "Hurry up. He may be getting suspicious."
Zarok nods. "C'zerk!" he mutters to himself, unwrapping quicker and quicker 'til he's going like a machine, or a madbeast, or both, and the burlap softly drifts to the floor, and.../Ting./ The monitor lizard holds up the contents of the package: A short iron sword, blade about thirty inches in length, with a conventional black crosshilt, and no stone set in the pommel, but there's an elegant, worn-out carving in the swordblade--/Sleepbringer./ However, apparently its previous user couldn't read...Fresher, if cruder writing next to this reads /Biter/, or rather /BITR/ with the 'R' facing opposite to how it is usually written. The markings are wild, jagged, strange...Is it possible that they were made by /fangs?/
Seth looks it over "Where ya get a blade like that, not here thats clear"
Shandar narrows her eyes at the writing on the blade. "Did /you/ do that?" She seems a little astonished.
"Um...yeah...couldn't read old ssscribbley marks, zee?" Zarok scuffs his footpaws on the floor. "Thought it zzzaid Biter, an' wan'ed it to be writ' prop'ly."
Seth hmmms "Intresteing, so..can we like..slip off yet?"
Shandar nods. "Bye Zarok. Nice blade. maybe someday you can keep it." She picks up the haversack and tosses it over her shoulder again. She gives her sling one last look before leaving the gaurdhouse, giving the suspicious guard another smile as she passes.
Zarok waves goodbye to the mouse.
AT THE GATES
A fairly large family of beasts are chatting with the guards by the abbey gates. From overheard snippets of conversation, Shandar knows that these creatures are going home, after staying at the abbey to avoid Vladmir Stormfeather, while he was alive. A baby crys in its mother's arms, as a sour-looking child hangs to his older sister's skirts. Shandar turns o Seht. "You'll be leaving with them."
Seth nods, he can slip in with them,they are squirrels after all and the guard that was on duty when he came is not on duty now, he walks over towards them staying close and looks over at the mouse a few secounds.
Shandar hands him the haversack, happy that he goes unnoiticed in the crowd. "Good luck."
Seth nods as he grins.
Zarok smiles and buzzes something in his language, perhaps a good-luck mantra of some sort. "rekchak nyarkt!"
Shandar manages a smile, too. Some part of her wants to be leaving the abbey as well, but more of her wants to stay. She stands back with Zarok as the gates slowly open.
Seth slips out with the family of squirrels, he can walk away from them after he is on the road
