[EG to ST] Trial by Glassware

[Genuvah]

Saun 1st 717th arc

"I'll be in your debt."

"And what good is the debt of a pauper?" Liza quirked an eyebrow at the man in front of her. Genuvah sighed, "Mr. Rioghsson, in the time you've been here, you've done little other than rack up a tab at the Lemon Messy, and that Twin Queens establishment. Why not just sell that nice armor and sword, and..."

"That's why I'm here, I'm selling my sword, and at a bargain price" He tapped the pommel of his longsword, an heirloom of sorts, the weapon his father had gifted to Sir Cormier, which in turn was passed to him.

Her face twisted into a smirk, "Nice play on words, but I wasn't suggesting..."

"It's just..."

"And if you keep cutting me off..."

"Hire me, and I'll cut off the arms of any pirate that gets within spitting distance of your caravan." Genuvah faked an amused smile. In truth he wasn't feeling humorous, but she was giving him opening after opening, and he couldn't help but make some feeble attempts at wit.

"I'm a man of my word, I won't let any harm come to that caravan, as long as I'm breathing." Of course, Yludih didn't breathe, not like the other mortal races, but she didn't need to be bothered by petty semantics.

"Very well," She sighed, "You may report to the caravan master, he'll be giving you orders. I know you, though, don't make a big deal out of your joining. You're simply a freelancer to bolster his already adequate attachment."

"I didn't know you and he were an item."

She paused for a moment, then gave him a thin smile, "Not what I meant by 'adequate attachment', and watch yourself, Cowle. Go find the caravan master."

Having secured his employment, which was more tiring than the prospect of risking his neck on the road, he took his leave of her with a thanks and farewell.

The caravan master could be found where the beach met the grass, where a well-trod path could be found. He nodded as Genuvah approached. "Another sellsword? I thought I made it clear to Liza we're enough as it is." He took Genuvah in, looking him up and down. "Nice chain armor there, though..." He turned his back on Genuvah then.

"Liza made a special deal, she said she would put my fee on faith to accompany you. If my sword is not needed, she will pay me herself."

The master turned around again, crossing his arms and smiling, "I'm not one to turn away free steel, then. Welcome aboard. Don't expect much excitement here, though. The land pirates aren't all that active the way we're going." He waved a hand, motioning for Genuvah to follow.

"We're enough to match or scare off any threat. Half a dozen seasoned watchmen, I hired from the Union." Genuvah nodded, keeping his feelings about the Union to himself. He'd had a stint with them, but when they failed to represent him or offer him work, he'd set off on his own. It hadn't gone off much better, finding work on his own.

"Good, then this will be easy money, for both of us."

The caravan master cackled as he jumped up onto the pilot seat of the carriage that held their cargo, which clinked as the whip snapped, driving the horses forth. Obviously a shipment of glass. Idly, Genuvah wondered if Pirates celebrated the Trial of Glass, by any chance. He sighed, as he marched behind the carriage, along with the rest of the crew.

[Genuvah]

A trial or more passed. The first night they set up camp, there was no sign of trouble from the wilderness. Sometimes they'd hear the sound of the local fauna, or catch the rustle of vegetation from the wind. Otherwise there were no disturbances to experience this close to Egilrun.

For his part, Genuvah was restless. His hand played with the pommel of his longsword in idle anticipation. His eyes played upon the treeline to the north, watching and waiting for any sign of trouble. He felt sure they would soon find buccaneers on the shores of the island. If not tonight, then tomorrow. They might be waiting for them to be on the move, or near a bottleneck shrouded by vegetation or other obstacles. Genuvah would be on the lookout for these pitfalls, ever vigilant, like Cormier had taught him.

He didn't sleep much that night, despite his exertions. He took sips of the lemon liquor that filled his wineskin. The alcohol combined with the lemon juice spread a warmth of energy through his crystal body. It was enough to keep him up through his watch, which was uneventful.

Morning came soon enough, and the caravan made ready to move on. The men who'd been on sleep donned their arms and armor. Those who'd been on Genuvah's watch rose to their feet. They patrolled the perimeter while their comrades armed themselves.

Genuvah thought he glimpsed a sail on the horizon, beyond the treelines, on the ocean beyond the beach. Could swear he heard the sound of rustling sails. It might have been nothing. When he looked again at the same spot on the waters to the north, he saw nothing.

Shrugging to himself, he helped the caravan master gather his faculties. Then, they drove the wagon forward.

----------------

Soon enough, the seventeenth bell arrived. And with it, the fading of the sun in the distance. They prepared to slow down, to make camp beside a rocky basin to the side of the road.

"I'll have a look around the area." Said a Union scout. The caravan master gave him a nod, and sent him along.

Genuvah walked down toward the basin, hand still resting on the pommel of his longsword. He cast careful glances all about, thinking this would be a great place for them to get cornered.

He related as much to the caravan master, saying, "You shouldn't stop here. If my map reading is up to snuff, there's a clearing of the forest about a break ahead of us. We ought to push on... This seems like the perfect place to set up an..."

"Ambush, Incoming!" Came the voice of the scout who'd departed, which turned to gurgling. Genuvah didn't have time to wonder after the fate of the scout before his sword was out of its scabbard. The rest of the Union militiamen drew their weapons, which were for the most part clubs and spears. Serviceable enough weapons, but who knew what they were up against.

A few moments of deadly silence passed, if someone was coming, they were coming slow. And still no word from that blasted scout. Then, Genuvah felt the force of a rock hitting his helmet, and the clang of metal as it rebounded off of it.

"They've got slings, charge!"

"Wait!" Genuvah tried to warn the chargers, who made for the sheer outcropping of rocky terrain. They climbed with all the energy they had, brandishing their clubs. Most of them were either shot down by the slings wielded by the buccaneers. Those who weren't shot down from the sheer rock wall weren't much luckier. The buccaneers struck these men with the butt end of their slingstaves.

Genuvah ground his teeth as he watched their obvious incompetence. With little to wait for, he rallied the few who still stood on their feet. "Get behind me, use me as cover, we're going around the perimeter." So saying, he unslung his shield from his back. As they moved, he attempted to deflect what missiles he could with his shield. A few of them landed on his armored legs and arms, or his helmet, but the round shield did its job well enough. It covered their advance from most of those stone and leaden bullets.

Soon enough Genuvah and his company caught them, engaging in this skirmish in earnest. There were about eight of them altogether, compared to Genuvah's six. But he and the Union men were better equipped by far. All these buccaneers had to defend themselves at close range were their sling staves.

Genuvah moved his shield to the side, giving a path to his sword as it cut down on the first buccaneer assailant. The frantic pirate brought his staff up to block the blow. The hard wood of the staff absorbed much of the force of the sword, but not before the sword split it. The sword made it through this guard, and found purchase on the pirate's shoulder. The Yludih knight drew the blade back into his guard, slicing into his opponent's shoulder. It left a superficial but painful gash across the pirate's flesh.

Genuvah returned his blade to the a guarding position in front of his, his shield returning to the front.

Meanwhile, the rest of the men insinuated themselves into the melee. The shower of sling bullets ceased as they all had to engage in close combat with their staves.

The man in front of Genuvah went into a rage. He wielded both sticks with fury, advancing on the Yludih squire. The sticks fell with meager force against the shield, while the other met with the blade of his sword. Genuvah took the initiative to exploit the center opening with a solid kick to the man's solar plexus. At that point, the pirate crumpled to the ground, inert in his pain.

The squire advanced to the next assailant, who sent a bullet flying as Genuvah disengaged. With a swift motion he deflected the bullet with his shield, using it to obscure his advance with the sword. In no time at all, the shield lowered to reveal that he was swinging the flat of his longsword across the man's skull. Too late for the pirate. The blade met with the staff's middle, but the blow was too forceful and unexpected to deflect. Genuvah smashed the flat of his blade into the man's temple, sending him to the ground, stunned. Genuvah looked for his next opponent once he was sure the buccaneer wasn't feigning.

Instead, he found that the rest of the men had cleaned up well in the meantime. They'd dispatched the buccaneers or else incapacitated them.

Now, all that needed doing was to decide the fate of the rest.

[Genuvah]

Along with the rest of the Union Militia, Genuvah gathered up the wounded buccaneers. He roped their hands together in a chain style formation, allowing them to follow the train. Before long, they'd situated the wagon back on the road, and carried onto Scalvoris Town. Luckily, none of the men they'd attacked were dead, at least not yet. The one that Genuvah had cut had his wound bound with a gauze they had in their supplies. Some of the Union warriors had wounds from the sling bullets but were able to move with the wagon.

Within a half a trial, they arrived at the outskirts of Scalvoris. The caravan stopped the wagon once they reached the gates, and approached Genuvah. He handed the Yludih a note. "This will tell Liza you fullfilled your obligation to us. Best be on your way."

Genuvah shrugged, "Thanks? I'm going to stick around and see if another Caravan headed for Egilrun wants to hire an extra hand..."

So saying, he left the Caravan master to his devices, and went to busy himself with finding more work.

It didn't take much time, and a word of recommendation from his former employer to get him more work. Finding a caravan headed back toward Egilrun wasn't too difficult. The seal on his letter was convincing enough to show that he had proven himself as a caravan guard.

So without waiting more than a trial, he hitched along another Caravan. Before the cycle was out, he was back home in Egilrun.

[Pegasus]

Genuvah

Overview

"This seems like the perfect place to set up a..."..... "ambush incoming!" I chuckled at that. A nice thread, well written and I like the way that you write Genuvah. He's quiet and yet he watches / sees a lot. Interesting character, lots of nice use of dialogue and description and you handled combat well too! I really enjoyed the thread. Enjoy your rewards, let me know if I've missed anything

Points

XP 10 (solo)

Renown: 10 (small - caravan helper, warned the guy, worked well.)

Loot

You get paid!

Knowledge

Blades (Longsword): Using the blade as a bludgeon, to spare your opponent's life.
Shield (Roundshield): Providing cover for others from missile fire.
Shield (Roundshield): Obscuring your opponent's view of your other weapon.
Unarmed Combat: Kicking a man directly in the solar Plexus can stun them.
Persuasion: Using humor to make a point.
Detection: Finding the perfect place to get ambushed.

Non-Skilled Knowledge:

Scalvoris Wilderness: A quick route from Egilrun to Scalvoris overland.