Quinten Log 15 - 03 11 2005

Salamandastron: Crater

• -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Salamandastron *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

You are on the very top of the mountain of Salamandastron: a large, bowl-

shaped crater. The crater is not smooth, quite the contrary in fact.

Numerous boulders and large chunks of rock are strewn around randomly,

making the crater top just as craggy as any of the mountainside. The

crater provides an outstanding view of the surrounding country. The sea

sprawls off to the west as far as the eye can see, and north and south

along the endlessly rolling sand dunes. In the distant east, a tinge of

green is just visible from this height, marking the vegetation in the

foothills of the Western Mountains.

• -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Darklett ascends to the crater from the secret passage leading below.

Darklett has arrived.

Zoe_Lang ascends to the crater from the secret passage leading below.

Zoe_Lang has arrived.

Quinten is stood on the crater rim, leaning on a javelin and peering down at the coutnry side far below, doing a slow circuit of the mountain top watching the country side and sea in each direction for any signs of well anything, its a lonely boring posting but after yet another late turn up to a lesson he's wound up on the crater top posting.

Darklett emerges from the mountain, up into the Salamandastron crater. He squints against the evening sun for a few seconds, before his paw raises up to shield his eyes from the light. Spotting Quinten, he smirks, and steps out further, watching his step for rocks and other jagged points on the surface underpaw.

Unlike Quinten, Zoe hasn't been banished up to the mountain's crater - rather, she's there for the sight-seeing possibilities. Not that she hasn't seen this particular sight many times before. The Colonel comes out into the open air with a satisfied up-tilting of her head, breathing in the crispness of the fall air. So far she hasn't acknowledged the other two.

Quinten hears the approach of two other beasts and turns around to see who they are, he's sees Darklett first and swallows then he spots the Colonel and yelps, snapping his heels together he fumbles with his javelin, tangling it with his knees..

"Colonel....Lieutenant..." he staggers and lands on his scut with a thump, javelin bouncing down into the crater, dust encircling him

Darklett stops walking once the recruit notices him, and winces as the young hare fumbles around, and eventually drops the weapon he was wielding into the crater. His eyes moving to his side, he watches the javelin fall, the lieutenant raising onto his toes, then rocking back towards his heels. "Recruit Quinten. Glad to see you showed up... On time, even."

Zoe_Lang's moment of peace is interrupted by the fumbling and then the clattering, and finally the unsure greeting. Her gaze rolls around until it falls upon Quinten, looking vaguely exasperated. "Recruits..." Mutter-mutter. She turns on her heels, wandering over

Darklett and Quinten's way with a casual salute.

Quinten scrambles back up to his feet, trying to brush dust off his tunic, he snaps to attention and salutes Darklett "Yes lt. on time lt. sorry for the other day sah, aye cleaned that room from top to bottom sah.." he tails off as he watches the colonel get closer.

Darklett nods. "Yes, I saw that. Good work cleaning the place up, it needed a good dusting." He looks over the recently dirty uniform, and chuckles. "Now it seems -you- need a good dusting." The lieutenant turns around to Zoe, and straightens up, offering her a stiff, and quite proper, salute in return to the casual one. "Colonel."

Zoe_Lang eyes Darklett's sharp salute and merely grins. "Lieutenant." Her attention shifts to Quinten. "What's this about cleanin'?"

Quinten winces at the tone in that voice stayin at attention he answers her question "I was late for sentry duty ma'am, the Lieutenant sentanced me to clean the sentry room and pull double shifts on sentry duty."

Darklett just stands by, letting Quinten explain himself. Regardless of whether that -was- the actual punishment he handed out or not, he nods in affirmation, before adding in. "And if you're wondering why he's up here, an officer put him on duty for being late for class." Pause. "...Again."

Zoe_Lang glances at Dark out of the corner of her eye. "Oh he did now, did 'e?" She listens curiously to both accounts, an eyebrow raising at this last bit of information from

Darklett. "And what, young recruit, is keepin' you from arrivin' on time?"

Quinten bites back and whimper and closes his eyes gripping his tunic "I...keep...getting lost Colonel, and and i am trying ma'am, really i am"

Darklett actually starts to feel sorry for Quinten. He looks -so nervous.- Still, though, he leaves it between the Colonel and the recruit, his paws resting behind his back, one clasping over the other's wrist.

"There're only four levels 'n' all main areas c'n be reached off o' those four levels. It's not that difficult, m'lad." The doe's words aren't spoken unkindly, but the content might not be exactly encouraging for Quinten. She quirks a brow at the youth. "Still, instead o' pilin' on more duties. Recruit, aftah yer dismissed here, I want you t' jog back 'n' forth to the main places that you go in this mountain, includin' all yer classes, the dinin' hall, the dormitories, 'n' the trainin' room, until you feel that ya won't forget it. Undahstood?"

Quinten lowers his ears, trailing them down the back of his head and sighs "yes Colonel i will do so....but...i did it before twice so far...and still i get lost...i'm sorry Colonel i'm just no good at memorisng things" he twists his paws together before her

Darklett still stands by as the Colonel works out business with Quinten. His eyes go up, and he sees a dark blotch on the darkened sky, a bird. He follows it with his gaze, until he realizes he'd just been zoning out. So, bringing himself back to attention, he turns to the recruit, and suggests, "Maybe twice wasn't enough. Just jog your route until you could do it with your eyes closed, then there's no way you'll miss anything."

"Practice makes perfect, m'lad." No pain no gain might also apply, but she'll stick with the first. Darklett is looked around at. "Anythin' to report on the day, lieutenant?"

Quinten salutes and sidles left "yes Ma'am, scuse me..." he scrambles and slides down the slope getting dustier to get his javelin back

Darklett's brow furrows as he watches Quinten inch down into the crater to retrieve the javelin. He almost says something about not having to worry about it, but keeps his mouth shut. The Colonel's asking him a question, anyway. "Report? Well... The only report I have is that today was suspiciously a lot like yesterday." He grins at this, shrugging to Zoe.

Zoe_Lang rolls her eyes as the dust rises upward as he descends. "This," she concludes, "is why I don't teach weapons trainin' to the new recruits. I'll stick t' healin'." At the report - for what it's worth - she nods. "As I expected. Bettah that you have nothin' t' report than somethin' disastrous, I s'pose."

Quinten has his Javelin and quickly heads back up tot he top of the crater to resume his patrol around the crate lip, looking out at the countryside, now that he's not being adressed by the officers he's trying to clean his tunic off but failing

Darklett nods in agreement. "I can't say I disagree with you there, Colonel. Though I have to admit, I think somethin's better than nothin', sometimes, but I'd never want disaster for anybeast. Eh, I haven't even seen that -badger- around... At least he mixed things up for me on occasion."

Zoe_Lang looks around at darklett, eyeing him incredulously. "Ya'd think you /liked/ bein' stabbed through in various places or somethin'..." The doe shakes her head, smirking just slightly.

Quinten slows down as he passes them both, cocking an ear to listen at that comment but then he hurries off again, he's in enough trouble as it is at this rate they'll be throwing him out of the training programme

Darklett chuckles at this, shrugging again. "...Hey, I don't get hurt -every- time something happens, Colonel. The badger just got lucky a few times, is all..." He doesn't even sound like he believes his own words, but he smirks confidently, anyway. "I'm a fighter officer, Colonel. Training can only hold me over for so long."

Zoe_Lang smirks Darklett's way. "I used t' be a fightah officah s'well, lad. You'll get bored o' it, too." She, too, doesn't sound quite like she believes her own words. Fighter to the end and all that.

Quinten shifts his javelin to the other shoulder and swings past the officers again, eyes fixed on the countryside, he stops and peers down at the beech below

Darklett shrugs a third time, looking doubtful at the Colonel's words. "We'll see, I guess." He watches Quinten as he continues to speak, ears perked at the recruit as he follows him with his neck. "I've been practicing boxing a lot. I think I'm gettin' pretty good at it."

Zoe_Lang 'coughs' into her paw to cover up a smile, turning away somewhat. Ahem. She clears her throat, glancing back. "Oh, yeah? Well, that's good. Goin' t' stop by the meetin' this week?" Her ears perk as Quinten passes on by.

Quinten is still stood still peering down at beech still he takes a few step back and moves down the crater to pick up a telescope then back up again to place it against his eye and peers down

Darklett nods a few times. "I planned on it, anyway. I never really thought about how much boxing would help me with my weapons combat until it actually started working, you know. I'm a lot faster than I was before."

A gust of wind comes up and Zoe tucks her paws into her pockets, hunching her shoulders somewhat against the sudden chill. "We really ought t'have boxin' bea required class fer new recruits. The weaponless combat's good, but..." But? She's biased towards boxing.

Quinten looks back at the colonel and smiles "I've been having Boxing lessons already Colonel" he lowers the telescope it was just some hares "Howard gives them to me"

Darklett keeps his paws folded against each other behind his back, though he does shiver at the sudden strong breeze. The lieutenant thinks about Zoe's statement for a few moments. "...So, what's keeping you from making it a required class? It's a good idea, in my opinion..."

Zoe_Lang's shoulders shake, but not with cold. She's chuckling, quietly. "Who d'ya think'd have t' teach it?" The Colonel herself, of course. "'Course... mayhaps I could make Oxeye teach it. He's just about s'good s'me." Eh hehehe.

Darklett grins at this, chuckling along with the Colonel. "The teacher doesn't -have- to be the best... After all, these are recruits, you can't expect them to be good enough to really learn from masters such as yourself before they ever become officers, can you?"

Quinten stops his patrol, listening with interest now, hoping they'll decide to make it a required class, he likes boxing and is eager to learn more

Zoe_Lang considers this for a moment. "Well, mayhaps we'll do it, then. Might do t' offah a basic class s'well as a more advanced 'un." The colonel scritches absently at a flopped-over ear. "Might bolster more interest in the club, at that."

Quinten leans down and salutes "Permission to speak ma'am?"

Darklett nods. "Sounds good, I know it'd probably be best for the recruits to learn a thing or two about boxing before they're full patrollers..." He stops talking here, at Quinten's request to speak.

Zoe_Lang blinks, looking around at Quinten. "Of course, lad. Speak as ya wish."

Quinten fiddles with his paws "I just wanted to say ma'am, i'd love to learn more about boxing" he smiles then salutes "But my shift is done and i've got alot of rooms to run through" he looks over at his replacement as they appaer "So if you'll excuse me ma'am, sir"

End of Log -

Salamandastron: Sentry Room

• -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Salamandastron *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Once one has ascended the stairs, they would come upon this room, the sentry room. Along one wall, thee are small, slitted windows, which look no more than cracks in the mountain wall, from the outside, and it looks down upon the niche, outside the mountain, where all creatures entering the mountain must pass. The room, sparse and basically un-furnished, while comfortable in the summer, is often quite cold in the winter, save for a small fireplace in one corner. During the winter, you had better believe that is kept alive most of the season long, by the sentries on duty who wish to remain unfrozen. There are always two hares on duty in this room, one to always remain and the other to sound the alarm to the rest of the mountain, if need be. Two chairs are situated beneath the slitted windows in the wall.

• -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

With:

[IIC] Niveus

There is a scrambling pattering of paws at the stairs and then Quinten stumbles into view, tunic on crooked and a terrified look in his eyes

Sorrel has arrived.

Niveus rapped his paw against the seal of the window in an idle fashion, he craned comfortably against the stone wall aside it. With the entrance of the fellow hare, he muttered and slipped into an upright posture. "Wot is it?" he inquired, brow giving a raise.

Quinten looks at Niveus then around the room and sighs "I thought...i was going to be late again.."

"Oh!" Niveus chortled, head shaking from side to side as ears flopped in turn. "Jolly well aren't, chap. I'm just early-- you know, eager and the lot to stand here and stare at the shoreline."

Quinten unbuttons his tunic and begins to do it up again properly "I was afraid i had slept in late....again."

Niveus ushered him over with a sway of a paw. "No matter, no officers on the prowl to chide you!" He moved away from the wall, reaching to twist the hare's collar back into place with a solid tug.

Quinten grimaces and nods "Thanks..... Niveus...i'm in enough trouble as it is"

Niveus room-pages, "He'll be bored and chat for a while. That sort of thing.".

"No problem, chap." Niveus gave the recruit a slap upon the back, extending his opposing paw to point toward the viewpoint. "Nothin' to it, jus' stand and gawk at the sea for a couple hours."

Quinten nods and moves to look out of the window at the shore "I've been doing alot lately....lots of extra duty up at the crater"

Sorrel runs her fingers through her paws as she trudges up the stairs to the sentry room, paw wraps still on. She's not exactly in uniform...well, okay, just -not- in uniform. She wears her normal sleeveless white tunic, but is sans the jacket, and sans the pants, wearing instead a pair of green britches and wraps for her footpaws.

Niveus followed beside the younger hare, situating in place before the vantage point. "Why's that, chum? Punishment detail?" he questioned. With the entrance of Sorrel, he cast a look toward the entrance with a smile. "'Ello there."

Quinten looks over at Sorrel and salutes, not sure if he's meant to or not "Yes.....i was late for lessons....and well just generally late for everything"

Sorrel merely nods. she pants a bit and rests her paws on her hips. why did those stairs seem so long every time she came up from boxing?

"Ye'll have to work on that, mate. Going to wind up scrubbing pots and standing detail until your right sick o' it," Nivues smiled, his attention flicking back and forth between the pair.

Quinten lowers his ears, draping them down his back "I guess...i'm trying...i really am...i'm just not very good.."

Sorrel all of a sudden snaps back into the present. "Oh, late? well mat,e y' can't get worse than I was when I joined th' patrol. bloody well sent people into panics, forgettin' kitchen duty an' th' like."

"Forgettin' kitchen duty is a sin second t' none, gel." Nivues' features were drawn into a smile as he stepped aside from the window, offering the place. "Ye'll get the hang of it, Quinten. Don't fret."

Quinten shivers "I've....already missed kitchen duty twice...it is not nice...and every time i see the Major its with a ragged or dirty tunic...."

Sorrel blinks, tapping Niveus on the shoulder. "Not en th' 67th, it ain't. almos' fergot. m'ere t'relieve ye."

"Wot?" Niveus turned to the tap before bending his ears forward. "Oh, roight so! Good egg, getting a bit hungry myself."

Quinten looks at you both and turns back to look out of the shore line, peering through the window

Sorrel looks at the windows. "Any sign o' danger, sir quint?" she asks dryly.

Quinten looks over his shoulder "No Sorrel ma'am.... and i am no sir, just recruit"

Niveus's shoulders shrugged as he leaned against the walls aside the stairs down, scratching at the base of one of his large ears. "I say, there hasn't been a smidgeon of interesting sort out there all day."

Sorrel crosses her arms. "yehve been out 'ere all day?" she goes to stand near Quinten's chair, stretching the muscles in her face.

Quinten is still stood up stiff at attention, ignorhing his chair it seems, he doesn't want any more punishment if he can help it

Niveus nodded plainly, arms folded over one another. "Jus' about, this is my second hurrah for the day. Had a detail earlier in the morning."

Sorrel shakes her head. "goos thing I came for ye then."

Quinten looks up at Sorrel and sighs "I'm on detail all day...with hour long trips to run back and forth aroudn the place to familiarise myself with it"

"Yer a right charm, gel." Niveus flashed a smile, turning his attention to the recruit. "Is that so? Wot else do they have ye' doing?"

Quinten sighs and shuffles "Boxing first thing in the morning and before bed..."

Sorrel raises a brow. "Y'sound as though ye don' like et, quin."

Quinten smiles "Oh i love boxing...i just hurt"

"Hurt?" Niveus chuckled. "The point is not t' get hit!"

Sorrel grins. "well, tis more hit yer opponent more'n he hits you if'n ye can do that, then ye work on dodgin."

Quinten shrugs his shoulders "I'm just sore....it is very very hard work"

Niveus squelched a yawn with the back of his paw, shaking his head in the aftermath. "Phew! Roight so. But it'll make ye' stronger and happier in the end, chap."

You say, "I hope so...seems they've decided where they want me i think...javelins and boxing....""

Sorrel grins. "Oh aye. I got th' reputation o bein' th' hyper one when I joined. I do 'ope tha's worn off though... Makes some people avoid ye."

"Javelins!" Niveus exclaimed. "I right love those things. Not much I like more than hurlin' a pointy stick at somethin, heh heh."

Quinten smiles and shuffles his paws "I do like Javelins my da taught me how to use them, i like throwing em, and boxing"

Sorrel smiles , "M not gonna pretend to be an expert on javelyns now."

Niveus chuckled softly, giving his rapier sheath a pat. "I like 'em, but I'm in right love with m' sword."

You say, "I have no luck with swords.....i cant use them""

Sorrel rolls her eyes. "TIme for th' bucks ta brag about their weapons."

Niveus quickly pulled his paw from the hilt, not wishing to fit the offered stereotype. "Not so, gel! Not so!"

Quinten frowns at Sorrel "Heeey i do not brag...that gets me in trouble"

Sorrel smiles in the disbeleiving way. "o' course. twas just saying..." she was trying with all her might to resist talking about boxing.

You say, "besides at the moment i am doing boxingg then javelin throwing""

Niveus stepped forward, pulling away from the wall as he stretched in an over exaggerated manner. "I say, chaps. I need a bit of tucker before I shrivel up and dissolve into a heap of fur, all this combat talk is making me hungry again."

Sorrel furrows her brows. "What? Wot does food 'ave ta do wit' swords, pray tell?"

"Nothin', really." Niveus admitted, grinning from ear to ear. "Just an excuse to go scrounge up something to eat. Ye' know, wot, wot?

Quinten grumbles and frowns at Niveus "Lucky you, you get to pick meal times"

Sorrel stretches her arms. "Tis a luxury I find I don' 'ave that often either."

"Comes with the long hours," Niveus waggled a paw to the two.

Quinten sighs and nods "My fault for getting detailed then"

Sorrel shrugs. "Off wit' ye then, go eat, ye lucky idiot."

Niveus puffed his chest out. "Steady on, ol' gel. It's tough work filling one's stomach after a long day of patrol," he mused. With a jaunty salute, the hare stepped aside and entered the stairwell.

Firrom has arrived.

Quinten looks at Sorrel after NIveus leaves and smiles "So boxing?"

Sorrel has left.

End Log -

Salamandastron: Level Two

• -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Salamandastron *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

You are in a medium-sized circular 'room' from which several passages

branch off. Each passage fades off around a twisting corner, winding

around in the bowels of the mountain. One passage, however, hardly more

than a short, straight hall, ends abruptly with a large wooden door - the

forge room.

• -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

With:

[DYN] Taye

[DYN] Not just any hare, (Darklett)'s a Long Patrol Lieutenant!

[DYN] Dandelion

Looking left and right, Dandelion spots something, and quickly tugs Dana off in some direction. Trust a recruit to know where /all/ the closets in the the mountain are...

Quinten is coming up the stairs, finally relieved from sentry duty and looking worn out, he's been run ragged all day by every officer he's been under"

Darklett heads into the intersection, still smirking from what happened before, heading for the stairs and bumping into Quinten. "Ah, recruit Quinten."

As he usually does, Taye is hurrying to his next location - up the stairs. However, his pace is slowed by Quinten ahead of him. Peering over the other recruit's shoulder, he spies

Darklett, to whom he salutes. "Sah."

Quinten blinks and looks up at Darklett then back at Taye "What....oh Taye..." he looks back up "Lt.Darklett....sah....Recruit Quinten reporting..."

Darklett nods to Quinten. "Recruit, how did the schedule go today? Get your route down and everything?" To Taye, he gives a grin, and returns the salute. "Evening, private Taye."

Quinten looks at Taye "Private...." then he turns back to look at Darklett "It...was kind of ok sir....i managed to get to my lessosn on time...and didn't get lost....but i was almost late for sntrey duty again"

"Good, good. Almost is better than actually late, just keep trying to improve, is that understood?" Darklett lowers his glance and raises his eyebrows towards the recruit, making sure he's clear. :P

Quinten hangs his head and scuffs his foot paws "I was...late for mess this morning and missed it...had to clean up after Howard's boxing lesson....and then well that wasthe only thing i missed sir....gues i deserved ta miss the tucker"

Taye shifts somewhat impatiently from one foot to the other, looking past Quinten who still stands unfortunately in his way. Nonetheless, his ears perk at the present subject. "Late, huh? What's all this about?"

Quinten groans, everyone is going to hear about his terrible time keeping at this rate.....he's on a one way ticket to being sent off back to the family farm at this rate he just knows it.

Darklett nods. "Well, from what I hear, that's an improvement!" The lieutenant nods approvingly to Quinten, then notices Taye... He steps backwards, letting Quinten follow him to stop the blockage of hares into the intersection. "Keep working on it, if you have time tonight do the same as last night to try and memorize your way through your day."

Quinten whimpers slightly and moves out of the way, standing next to Darklett, the thought of having to spend two hours running around the mountain again trying to memorise everything terrofying him "ye...yes Sir...i'll try honest..>"

Taye looks grateful at the opportunity to pass, and does so. Still, he lingers, ears perked at Quinten's unfortunate situation. "If ya evah want some help or anythin', Quinten, I'll be more than willin' t' run around with ya."

Darklett looks between Quinten and Taye, grinning at the volunteering words of the runner. "Well, there you go, Recruit! Looks like you've got a buddy to run along with, eh?" The lieutenant gives a quick, solid nod of approval in Taye's direction.

Quinten salutes Darklett "Aye sir that i have....not sure how good it will do me...i'm not very good at this rmemebering stuff....."

Taye reaches around to slap Quinten comfortingly on the back. "Aww, Quin'. Don't worry, we'll have ya rememberin' in no time." The buck notes Darklett's nod of approval and ever so slightly nods in return, dropping a wink to the elder hare. Why a wink, who knows. But there you have it.

"Of course you're not gonna remember if you keep thinkin' like that, Recruit. Gotta be... Positive, or somethin'." Darklett, hypocrite. :P Indeed a bit confused at the wink, the lieutenant simply shrugs it off. "Taye'll help you out, maybe show you a few tricks about getting through crowds, and such."

Quinten nods "Thank you sir...taye...i need all the help i can, i want to be in the patrol....i really do, i can do it...i'll work hard"

Taye rolls his eyes from behind Quinten, smiling. "Don't worry about it so much, pal. We'll getcha set right this evenin'."

Darklett nods a few times, gesturing to Taye with a nod of his head. "Just make sure you're not late for your meetin' with -him,- eh?" He chuckles, and indicates that he's about to continue down the stairs.

Quinten smiles at taye "Thank you taye...for offering to help m eout....i need it"

Taye salutes Darklett at his indication of leaving. "Evenin', sah. And don't worry, I'll make sure he is." He turns to Quinten, then. "No problem, buddy. I've got t' run up to the infirmary fer a bit, but I'll meet ya down in the dinin' chambah in a few minutes. A'right?"

You say, "Ok see you later Taye""

Darklett returns the salute, and then does the same to Quinten. "Good luck, you two." At that, he turns, and heads for the stairs-- Gotta get down to the boxing chamber. :P

Quinten watches Darklett go and sighs softly "I'm so going to get chucked out i know it" he mumbles

Taye shakes his head - rather confidently, I might add. "No yer not. Recruits're s'posed to have a lot to learn. If they didn't, they wouldn't be recruits." Grin-grin.

Quinten looks at Taye and smiles thinly "I guess your right Taye....i'm just a bit tired it's hard work here...especially being on detail all the time"

"You'll get used to it, Quin. Trust me." Taye begins moving off towards the stairs, and waves a paw. "See ya latah."

Quinten nods and heads down towards the dining hall "See you soon Taye, and thanks"

Log Ends -