What A Wonderful, Normal Day!

[Leeson Andaris]

10th of Ymiden

There's something to be said for normalcy.

There's something to be appreciated about the tranquility of solitude.

It hadn't been until recently that Leeson had begun to fully recognize the value of getting up early. He had, of course, gotten up fairly early in the past, but more out of necessity than out of leisure.

Now, however, as Leeson sat alone, watching the sun rise from the staircase connecting Rharne's quarters, comfortable knowing that Kepler was safe at home, and Vivian was definitely okay, he felt content.

Granted, the steps hurt his ass a bit, but that was all fine well and good.

There were a few other individuals around, mostly travelling to and from the Sky Quarter, but by and large, Leeson, for the first time in a long time, was alone. Or, at least, comfortable being alone. No running from a violent homeland, no recovering from an unfair fight, no running from a bar fight, just sitting, calmly, nicely.

Leeson had never truly understood what people had meant when they mentioned a "clear mind". Now, however, he was completely at ease letting himself set into quiet inactivity.

And as the morning breeze, chilled with the echo of night time's subtle cold, brushed lightly across Leeson's facial features, he, at long, long last, felt the necessary ease to relax his shoulders and allow himself to breathe in the air that had far too often passed through his lungs in rapid, panicked breaths.

Leeson had used to be a creature of routine.

He had used to wake up in his Andaris estate, completely certain of any and all events he would face that particular day. Who he'd speak to, where he'd go, when he'd get home.

Coming to Rharne, a city openly praised for its freedom, he had tried to search for beauty in its unpredictability, and perhaps he had found momentary murmurs of its value, but what Leeson desperately needed was routine. Something simple.

Like watching the sunrise.

There's something to be said for normalcy.

Today would be a good day.

[Aegis]

Date

Today would not be a good day.

Or at least that's what the man that stumbled out of the Scarlet Oak, while the tavern maid chased after him with a broom, thought. It wasn't an uncommon sight in Rharne, still drunk men and women kicked out of bars, pubs, taverns, watering holes, and the like, so that employees could finally get some cleaning done.

"Orright, orright, damn. Ar'm goin'!"

He turned away from the woman, only to stumble over a particularly dirty child, long hair though its gender was hard to discern, playing with a wooden horse in the street. He nearly fell, dancing about from heel to toe in order to maintain his balance. The child began to cry, having been lightly knocked over, "Ahr, shart. Plerse dorn't cry, dorn't warnt yar murm kickin' mer terth in." The man presented a silver nel to the child, who stopped crying at the sight. He then began flipping it over between fingers, making it disappear and reappear, before finally telling the child to check underneath the horse, where it found the coin. Smiling and giggling, the child took it and seemed quite pleased with itself. Grabbing the horse, the dirty child stood up and ran off, up the stairs toward Leeson, tripping on his foot. Stifling tears, the kid picked itself up and continued to run off.

The still drunk man, was a bit confused and disoriented, now holding a hand up to block out the rising sun. Once he got his bearings, he walked over to Leeson, still squinting out the sleep and drunken daze from his eyes, which now fell on the nobleman. "Or, mate. Yar gort a silver ar carn borror? Gayrve mer larst one tor thart brat. Arnd ar need ar drank." He stood there expectantly, as if he already knew he was going to get the coin, and the question was merely a formality. "Or yar carn bur mer a drank? Ar corld gor for ar Rharniarn Surnrise, 'owr 'bourt yar, mate? D'ere's ar gord lil' joirnt dowrnwind, makes thart arnd ar mearn Yari Blarckourt."

The man was smiling a charming grin now. His eyes were blue, his breath reeked of booze, his face covered in a few trials of stubble. He had a few minor scars upon that grinning visage, but nothing to write home about. His hair was kept short, close cropped. He was wearing combat leathers, and had at least five visible weapons on his person, including a longsword, a hatchet, two knives, and club. The extended hand was far more scarred than his face, as was his forearm. But the smile appeared sincere at least.

"De narm's Rhary."

O Rose thou art sick.
The invisible worm,
That flies in the night
In the howling storm:

Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

[Leeson Andaris]

"Oh, um... Hello Rhary - am I pronouncing that right?" Leeson asked, taking the man's hand. The warning signs were there. The scars, the early morning inebriation, and Leeson's comfort being in the man's vicinity should have decreased exponentially with every weapon he brandished, but it did not. Leeson apparently lacked the common sense, either through his sheltered upbringing or his abundance of faith in humanity, to recognize the potential danger in this situation. Any man with common sense would have made himself scarce, but instead of that, Leeson said "I go by Lee, it's nice to meet you. Uh, hold on..." He said, standing, patting himself down for coin. "Uhhhh... I think I may have enough for one single drink. I'd be happy to buy you one if you like," he offered, upon the discovery of a single silver. "I'm not sure where this tavern is, though, you'll have to show me."

If Rynlism was at all correct, if there were spirits of creation watching him, if his passed ancestors were observing Leeson's actions, all of them were surely regretting the considerable amount of incest they likely engaged in to someday produce someone as gullible and as genuinely unwise as Leeson Andaris. They would be nearly certain to absolution that natural selection would claim him today, on the tenth of Ymiden, in 718.

"I'll follow your lead, Rhary. I like your accent, by the way. Where are you from?"

If there were spirits watching him, disappointment wouldn't begin to cover what they would feel towards Leeson.

To them, Leeson, at this point, would be a lost cause.

[Aegis]

Date

"Ar! Rhary." The man positively beamed and clasped Lee on the shoulder, his grip one of pure steel, and yet with no malice behind it. "Wornderfurl mate. Thart's roight good arf yar. Farllorw mer." The man started down the steps with a slight stagger to his gait, seemingly drunk, and yet his footfalls were completely devoid of sound. "Its roight dorwn 'ere. Yar'll lurve it, Ar prormise."

He was whistling loudly, and hollered back at the man. "Ar'm frorm Yaralorn, aren't it orbviours? Yar frorm Rarnmer aye?" He continued to stumble along toward the bottom of the steps. Down there was a small family's bakery, and a boy carrying a sack of flour had spilled some behind him, not enough to be noticed by him until later. As Rory stepped in the flour, there was no footprint left behind. "Roight... are it t'is war? Or thart war?"

He paused for a bit, looking around, when the baker's wife moved to the front of the shop. She was a particularly curvy woman, especially in the hips, "Roight, t'is war. I aren't erver gorna forget an arse like thart. Whartchyar t'ink mate? Roight beaut." He didn't catcall or whistle at her, but his eyes were locked on her posterior as she put a cake into a shelf up until the alley he disappeared down prevented him from doing so. It was a narrow alley, empty save for Rory, and darkened from the height of the buildings it squeezed between.

"Roight urp 'ere mate."

Right at the end of the alley there were no turns, simply a wooden door with an extremely tall and muscular man guarding it with a particular lack of caring upon his face. "Ey dere Snurggles, yar'll orpen fur breakfarst?" The man grunted, and Rory continued, "Are yar still arse'urt orver mer kickin' yar arse der udder triarl? Ar sard Ar'm sorry mate, Ar bourght yar ar beer didn't ar?" The large man grunted again, "Oy, jurst curz she yar sirster durn't mean yar carn sar whose murg she carn drank frurm." The large man just nodded. "Artaboi. Shoiny dere's wit' me." Rory looked back at Leeson, "Wurne sirlver ar head. Pair de marn."

The door was opened, though Leeson would be stopped until he paid the cover charge. Rory slipped right on in and from outside the door, it could be seen that Rory hopped on a barstool, and held up two fingers to the barmaid there. Then the door shut.

[Leeson Andaris]

“Wait, I don’t have enou-” Leeson struggled to choke out, calling out to Rhary as he entered the tavern, somehow bypassing the entry fee. Within a moment, the door was closed, Rhary had disappeared, and with him Leeson’s security had as well.

And thus, Leeson was presented with a problem. Had he been an individual with any logical sense of self interest, he would have claimed that the nel he had was his, not Rhary’s, and he should gain entrance instead. Or, perhaps, he would have run back up the stairs, found the child who had run by, and confiscate the nel they had obtained. Perhaps, even, if he were desperate, he may have stolen it from the bakery he had just passed.

Leeson, however, considered himself something of a paragon.

Leeson wanted to explore his options.

And so, Leeson looked up at the man who could easily remove the testicles from Leeson’s body.

“Hello.” Leeson offered. “I feel like no one ever asks you how you’re doing, how are you doing today?”

The large man grunted, never casting his eyes down at him.

“It’s a nice morning, yeah, I agree! I actually, um… I got up early this morning to watch the sunrise. Have you ever watched a sunrise?”

The man’s eyes slowly slid down to find Leeson’s with a pointed glare. No grunt came with it, just a glare.

“That’s actually how I met that man, the one with a lot of weapons? I think his name is Rhary. From uh…” Leeson snapped a few times, trying to recall. “Yaralorn? Yererlern? Something? I’m not sure, sounds like a sweet little village. I won’t lie to you, he seems a bit, uh… Presumptuous, I guess. I don’t know. But I told him I only had enough nel for one drink, and that’s one silver nel, and he kinda just walked past you without paying a silver nel, so I’m assuming that I have to pay his silver nel. Now, here’s the issue,” Leeson leaned against one of the walls of the alley, speaking with his hands just a bit. “I only have the one nel. And I don’t want to convince you to go against your job description, I fully intend on paying my dues, and I’m not one to acquire debts, so… If I can only pay for myself, is there something I could, I don’t know, trade you? Or, I don’t know, work off the wages? Somehow? I really only have the one silver, and I want to pay you, yknow? I’m just not sure what to do.”

The man’s glare softened just a hair, and the thin lips curled into a partial smile. He opened the door, “Punch Rory in the face.”

“Wh-... Like in a friendly way?”

The man snorted, “No.”

“Like in a… Kinda like… ‘Hey this is from the guy in front of the door’ kinda way?”

The man’s grin disappeared and he slammed the door shut, his glare regaining its sharpness.

“Hey, hey, let’s not be hasty, I’m not saying no! I’m just, yknow, tryna… Feel out my parameters here. You’re sensible, you understand.”

He opened the door just a crack, then returned his arms to being crossed over his chest, glaring, nodding once at the door.

“Oh my gosh. I’ve been so rude I’m sorry, hi, my name is Lee, it’s nice to meet you,”

In a blur, a backhand slammed across the left side of Leeson’s face, throwing him into the wall across the alley. The guard then proceeded to shut the door all the way, and returned to crossed arms, staring further down the alley.

Now, in all fairness, Leeson was no stranger to punishment. It’s how he made his living for the past two arce. In an alley four feet across, getting backhanded by the man who stood taller than the door he guarded, feeling his skull bounce between the concrete walls, however.

It wasn’t fun.

And as Leeson stood up, feeling his jaw, he felt as if the man had made his point.

“Alright,” he said, clicking his jaw a bit, standing back up. “I feel as if you’ve made your point. Punch Rhary in the face. Yep. Okay. Got it.”

The man just grunted and subtly nodded toward the door.

“Thanks. I love you. I mean thanks. I’m sorry. Goodbye. Thanks.” Leeson said, all in a jumble, as he entered the tavern.

He didn’t have time to absorb the scenery. He was on a mission. And immediately, Leeson walked up to Rhary.

“Hi Rhary. Lee. From outside. I came here with you. Here’s the situation, the guy outside only let me in if I promised to punch you in the face, and I don’t want to punch you cause I like you Rhary, but also I’m in here and I’m very scared of the man at the door. So as a recap, the big man wants me to hit you, but I don’t want to, but I’m scared of him, and he hit me and it hurt a lot. What should I do?”


The drinks hadn’t arrived yet, and Rory turned on his barstool to face Leeson. He looked at the man, then at the door, now being closed by the doorman. Then quick as a snake, his fist struck Leeson in the gut.

“Purnch mer.”

Leeson coughed, caught completely unaware, buckled over. “Bu-” he attempted, cut off by another cough. “But you’re really nice,”

“Ar dearl’s ar dearl. Purnch mer.”

“Alright, you know what?” Leeson said, pushing himself up. “I really don’t want to.” He said, rearing himself back. “But you’re right.”

Leeson, with not all the force at his disposal but enough to carry a hit, threw his fist at Rhary. His knuckles, unaccustomed to actually make contact, immediately began pulsing.

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry,” Leeson vamped, “I didn’t want to I had to I’m sorry are you okay? Do you need medical attention? I can get you medical attention if you need medical attention. I’m sorry. You said it was okay I just…”

“I’m sorry.”

[Aegis]

Date

Rory's head hadn't even moved when the fist caught him the jaw. But he knew what the big fella out front wanted. So he faked it, poorly. He was "sent" stumbling backwards into the stools behind him, falling over in a pile of wood. The barmaid, whose back had been turned, "Oi, it's too early for that bullshit." Rory pulled himself upright, fixed up all the stools, and plopped down upon it. "Roight, thart were furn. Ferl bertter mate? Ar sure dur."

The two Rharnian Sunrises arrived, mostly orange and pomegranate juice and a locally vinted, particularly strong, sweet red wine, with a mint leaf and an orange slice for garnish. Rory reached inside his jacket and plunked down a fairly heavy coin purse, plucked out five golds onto the bar, "Kerp d'em comin' lass." He put away the coinpurse once more.

He turned on the stool, slouching against the bar on his elbow as he drank heavily from the first glass, "Nurthin' bearts surm jurce in de murnin'. Nay bertter 'arngorver cure 'round." He was staring at the noble, waiting expectantly for him to drink, "Yar Rarnmerens are surch ar surft burnch. Nay wurnder yar 'ire urs sur orften."

Rory drained the rest of his drink, and went to set the glass on the counter, only to find the barmaid there waiting with another. His grin broadened, and he pumped his eyebrows once at the curvy barmaid. "Wrhy tharnk yar lass." Looking back to Leeson, "Ar durn't t'ink it's arn arxidernt wer mert 'ere. Yar's wurn arf dem norbles, aye? 'ow's come yar's 'ere in Rharne? Bursinerss or plursure?"

Rory drained the glass again, and once more, found another waiting on him. "Ahr'm 'ere orn borth. Burt urs Yari dorn't live orn varcayrtion loike yar norbles. Arlwayrs workin'." Rory turned in his barstool again, watching the barmaid's backside as she bent over to dig some cleaning supplies out from under the bar. "Ar t'ink yar moight ber arble tuh 'elp mer. Arnd ar yar. Burt gorta see if yar urp tuh it furst."

He leaned backwards in the stool seemingly lost in thought, sipping at drink, side eyeing the barmaid as she put clean mugs up on a high shelf. Then he got a sly smile, "If yar intererstered in 'elpin' mer ort, Ar carn mayrk it worth yar whoile." The barmaid went into the backroom, "Foind ourt 'er plarns arfter work. She were orn noight shurft, nerxt wurn come in soon. Mayrk 'er plarns martch our plarns. T'ink yar carn do thart?"

[Leeson Andaris]

"Wh- Okay, hang on." Leeson said, still recovering. "Maybe it's the fact that I was just hit by two different very strong men in the past couple trills, but I don't think I completely understand what's happening right now Rhary."

Leeson shifted his chair, apparently not having learned his lesson about talking too much from the alley outside. "Okay, firstly, I don't know what you're talking about with that whole 'Rarnmarn' thing, but if you mean 'Rynmere', I've genuinely never heard of the place I don't know what you're talking about. Secondly, I have no clue what you're trying to get me to do with this barmaid situation. Thirdly, I tripped a child earlier and I still feel awful about it."

Leeson looked at Rhary, looked down, looked at the barmaid, and sighed.

"Alright. I'll trust you. Only cause I like you. And I only like you because you shook my hand and I don't get that common courtesy very often. The bar is nice too, you have good taste." Leeson said, standing from his stool, and approaching the nice lass who seemed to be working today.

"Hi," he said, approaching her. "My name's Lee, it's nice to meet you," he said, holding out his hand.

After retracting it back in, he said "I was just wondering what time your shift ends, if that's okay. I'm not sure if the tavern closes at any point, but I feel like leaving after your shift is the healthiest option, yknow? Makes sure I don't spend too much time here." He laughed. "Not sure if getting too drunk is good for my health." Leeson, the only sober man in Rharne, said. "But uhhhh... Yeah! What time is your shift up?"

[Aegis]

Date

The barmaid turned, casting a stern eye upon Leeson. "Customers ain't sposed to be behind the bar." But her gaze softened on his soft looks, realizing he was the furthest thing from a threat. "Ah don' mind me love. Just grumpy, long night. My name's Hildy, nice to meet ya Lee" She took his hand and shook it firmly, her grip stronger than one might expect from a standard barmaid. But, she was a Rharnian barmaid after all.
She continued to clean mugs, while listening to the young chap, "Should be done any trill now, if Lagoria would get her ass here. She left last night with that bastard," nodding at Rory, "And she ain't ever late for work."

She cast an ugly glare at Rory, who just smiled and raised the glass that had been Leeson's, and drained that one too. "She lives right up the alley, apartment over the bakery. Stairs are inside. Quicker she gets here, the quicker we can leave here. If ya wouldn't mind that is. She probably just overslept after riding him into the morning. Just beat on her door and tell her Hildy sent ya." She gave Lee a peck on the cheek.

"Oy, lazy fuck. Ya want another?"

"Kerp therm curmin' larss."

Hildy sighed loudly, and went into the back room, presumably to fetch more supplies for Rory's drinks. "She's ar roight pearch aren't she? 'eard it arll. Gert tor it mate. Rurde tor kerp ar lardy wairtin'. Ar'll ber 'ere."

Outside the bar, the doorman was grinning like a fool. He'd heard the commotion inside, and assumed that someone had gotten punched. Violence always made him feel better. Though he was getting concerned, for Lagoria had yet to show up. He could see her window from here, normally thrown upon this time of season for Ymiden's mild heat, coupled with living over top a bakery made for an extremely warm home. He knew something was wrong, and was fairly certain it had everything to do with that Yari bastard.

The bakery was busy, with the father and young son in the back, mother and daughter running the front of house. It was both a bakery and a small cafe, though only had enough room for two tables and four chairs. It smelled heavenly. There were stairs behind the counter leading upward, but the women were in the way, as was a dog that was sleeping at the foot of the stairs.

Two customers, a human man and woman, were sitting at the table, sharing scones and tea, talking about how Rynmere was such a vile place anymore. Burning people alive in the streets, hunting down innocent people in their homes. Absolute barbarism. The woman commented on being so ashamed to be from a place so uncivilized. The man shook his head, "King Cassander is an absolute idiot. He's just going to make things worse this way. Someone should just assassinate him already. I'm surprised none of those thirsty nobles haven't succeeded."

[Leeson Andaris]

A lot happened very quickly. So much, in fact, that Leeson barely had time to register the events that transpired and translate them into something that reliably made sense to his inexperienced thought process.

So, he did what he always did when he was having trouble.

He stopped for a second, and he regained control of the situation around him.

Rory wanted him to find when Hildy was leaving, unsure why. Maybe so he could see Lagoria again.

Hildy maybe wanted Leeson to hold her hand. Romantically. Which was frightening, but Leeson wasn't sure why. That felt like a rush of emotions that should be decoded at a later date.

Lagoria was above the bakery they passed earlier. She and Rory did the thing Peake did a lot last night, probably. She hasn't come back. She's also the sister of the very large very strong man that kissed the same cheek Hildy kissed but with the back of his hand.

Hildy was very nice but Leeson felt nothing for her. Except perhaps guilt that he didn't feel anything for her.

He had to find Lagoria. For Hildy so that he could do a favor for Rory. He didn't know why he was doing a favor for Rory. But he knew he was doing it.

So as he was jogging out the front door, turning to wave at the man out front and say a curt "I'll be back in just a second I need to find Lagoria," all he could find himself thinking was how urgent his new errand was.

He jogged out from the alley and around the corner, dashing towards the bakery and to the owner of said bakery with such focus that he could hardly hear the conversation of the two at the table. The words "those thirsty nobles" had barely registered to him when he ran up to the owner.

"Hi!" He said. "My name's Lee I just came from the bar around the block a large man hit me a nice man asked me to talk to Hildy and Hildy said to find Lagoria and kissed me and I don't know how I feel about that but -" he stopped, finally running out of breath. He took a deep gasp and continued. "But I promised I'd find Lagoria upstairs so I'm just... Just gonna do that... Real quick." He said, bounding up the stairs near the back end of the bakery. "You have a lovely store!"

As he reached the top of the stairs, he was surrounded by a short hallway of doors, any of which could be Lagoria's room, but only one of which was closed, lucky for him. He walked up to it, knocking quietly, but loud enough to be heard by anyone inside. "Lagoria? You're being asked for at the tavern, I was sent to come get you." He said. "Lagoria?"

[Aegis]

Date

The lovely family that ran the bakery were Rharnians, born and raised. They owned the apartments over top them, and were very much protective of their tenants. After all, it was a small alley neighborhood, and people had to look after their own, especially these trials. The world was a crazy place, and people could only trust those that were family and true friends. And so, when some fast talking man rushed into their establishment, ran behind the counter in a flurry of words, stepped over the dog, and up the stairs, hollering for Lagoria, their absolute favorite tenant.

The first to take offense to it, of course, was Rufus. The mixed breed mutt, was barking the moment the man had taken off up the stairs. He was the first to reach him, biting Leeson around the ankle, and dragging him back down the stairwell, roughly, snarling all the while. There was screaming from the family that owned the shop. In a blur, Leeson was clubbed in the head by a rolling pin, roughed up a bit, and soon was being held in a headlock by the matriarch, while the youngest girl ran out into the street, all the while the dog was keeping a firm grip on his leg.

"Just you wait til the guards get here. Comin' in here, trespassing, talkin like a crazy person. Just who do you think you are?"

The woman was a lot stronger than she appeared, her arm a steel bar around Leeson's neck, holding tight enough so he couldn't wriggle about, but loose enough so he could breathe. Barely. She dragged him out into the center of the shop, while the other customers looked on in surprise. Soon, her daughter came back, with a Guardian Lightning Knight in tow. The man was adorned in all the garb, with a large helmet that showed little more than annoyed pair of eyes.

"I take it this is him? The trespasser?" He pulled out a pair of steel cuffs, moving behind Leeson, while the woman held him tight. He wrenched Lee's arms behind his back and worked the cuffs around his wrists. "You can let him go now." The woman did so, and called off her dog. The guard stood Leeson up, "You can talk while we walk. We don't take kindly to those who trespass, Lola's is one of the finest bakeries around. She is a delicate, sensitive woman, and we don't need you upsetting her." The woman handed the guard a bearclaw, as he started to march Leeson out into the street.

"Now talk. You have five bits before we get to jail, where you will be held for your trial."

As the man led him along the road, a glance up at the apartment over the bakery would show closed windows, one of which was tinted red. Everyone was staring at the man being led by a guard, the man with the bleeding leg. They joked, wondering what such a man did to get himself arrested. The pair stopped for a moment, next to an alley, as the guard raise his helmet up a bit, to eat on his bear claw. He ate loudly, without any decorum, getting crumbs all down the front of him and into the street. When he was done, he wiped his sticky fingers on Leeson's shirt, and continued the march toward the smaller jail.