The Road to Tullybrook

It's what I'm supposed to do.

"I know," Rally said, with a sympathetic sigh. They didn't stay on the horse any longer than they had to - once they'd made it across the water, it was time to hop down and hand over Abryxia's lute again, which left them free to explore. They didn't stray too far - never out of sight, but always off to the side or the front or the back, peering under leaves or turning over rocks to see what might be lurking in the mud underneath.

The answer was usually more mud, but they had found some very satisfying centipedes and a number of worms. It had started to rain again. Since Rally Rose had a rather large hat, they didn't consider this to be too much of an issue. Besides, they had skin and stuff to keep their skeleton the right amount of wetness, anyway.

Eventually they reached a tower, except that it was falling over and covered with ivy. Rally Rose was fairly certain it hadn't always been like that. The others were talking about fire, maybe they just wanted to get rid of it? But it was sort of nice.

"How much fire did you want?"
 
The wet rope found itself attached to the back of her pack once they were all across the river, with some hope that it might dry some by the end of the day. That hope didn’t pan out, of course, with the return of the rains, but there was always tomorrow. The last few hours had been slow going as the road took its toll, with perhaps Miss Abyrxia being the most obvious as her merrymaking slowly slipped into plucking at strings. They certainly all needed to settle in for the night.

Well, little Rally seemed like she still had energy to spare, but she seemed to be of that age, not that Sae herself was particularly good at making out the differences.

“Don’t worry dear, I think that’s enough walking for one day, and I’m feeling peckish all told.” Sae said to Lady Viviane as the elf slid the pack from her shoulders and placed it down onto a dryer looking stone of the abandoned watchtower. She opened her pack and after a bit of sorting withdrew a few pinecones from an oilskin pack as well as a hatchet from the side.

“Aye, that tar sounds like it’ll be quite helpful Miss Dim. I say we see if there’s a nice place in the ol’ watchtower here to make the fire. Just need a nice dry spot, a little higher than the rest. That should help keep the fire alive even if the rains pick up.” Sae said, poking her head into the room.

“How much fire? Something big enough for a pot starting off I think. Ah, Miss Rally.” Sae turned and gave the girl-under-the-hat a smile. They liked to feel helpful didn’t they, the younger ones, that’s what great great great gram always did say. “I’ve noticed you’ve got quite an eye for things, do you think you can go around the tower to find us any dead and dry moss? Be good to have kindling so we don’t use too much of Miss Dim’s tar. While you do that I’ll go fetch us some nice logs.” With that said, Sae stepped away from the watchtower, and back to the woods, whistling along with the notes Abyrxia plucked.
 
The watchtower? It made sense, Viviane supposed. It provided shelter from the rain and wind, walls to hold the heat of the fire... she was beginning to slump in her saddle just thinking of it, her bones becoming heavier by the moment. Her eyes began to match in weight, and she followed the rest, and finally, after a long day of riding, she slid down the side of her horse and down to her feet. Sae directed the rest of everyone to do something, leaving her free to tie her horse to a tree, somewhat sheltered from the rain, somewhere he could graze and rest.

The Lady took a moment to sweep pointlessly at a spot on the ground, clearing some of the dust away before promptly collapsing to the ground, hunched over herself in decidedly unladylike fashion. The rain sounded nice, hitting even a ruined stone ceiling above her, rather than pelting her head and shoulders. Gods, she was cold. It would take hours for her clothes to dry.

Someone else hadn't been given a task, though. The bard. Abryxia. Viviane raised her head enough to look to her, weary as she was, and spoke. "I'm afraid I'm not great with my maps, and I don't know that my map would tell me where we are anyhow. How far do you think we've made it, today? I would like to think it was... considerable."
 
Abryxia made for the tower ruin, setting down her satchel and lute on the ground and settling down beside them. It was a sad place, walls pocked with gaps from time and tendril, but there was a roof overhead and a mostly dry floor beneath. She set about stripping off her boots, wincing a bit as she peeled them back, then fiddled a bit with the knotted cloth holding one of the soles on.

At Viviane's words, she sat up quickly, plopping her boots beside her and shrugging off her traveling coat.

"Er. Din think I can say, m'Lady. Ten miles, mayhaps? Was slow goin', for it, what with tha road all soddy." She pulled a bundled cloth from her bag, unwrapping it to reveal a few pieces of hardbread. Frowning, she picked away the molded spots on the edges and took a bite. "By that, I'd say we got another week or so ta get to Tullybrook?"

She glanced up, tail flicking.

"Not that my word's ta go by. Better ta ask Miss Sae. I'm green ta the whole - travelin' thing. Walked more in tha past few days than I have me whole life, I did."
 
The Lady gave Abryxia a blank stare. Between her accent, and the overall exhaustion, deciphering what had been said took longer than she'd like to admit, but once realization set in, one could see her shoulders slump.

Ten miles. Another week. Perhaps it would have been better to never ask. She would have to ask Sae, to be sure- by Abryxia's own admission, she wasn't for certain either. She would ask when she made it back with the firewood. "I... see. I'm afraid I am in the same situation." Viviane took a moment, then continued. "I haven't left home until today. The furthest I'd been before was Villeuveport."
 
Abryxia laughed.

"Villeuveport? Passed by there on tha way down. Whole place smelled like fish, was half-afrait I'd never get it out of me clothes."

She paused, as if suddenly remembering who she was talking to and who's title the city fell under, and promptly shrank back a bit, holding up her hands.

"Not that it's not a lovely spot! Lotta culture! Loved - loved tha culture. An' lots of really nice - buildings. Good, strong types, sorta buildings yer proud ta live in."
 
Viviane nodded, hardly seeming off-put by the mention of the smell. It was a fishing city, after all, it was bound to carry the smell. If it weren't for the fact that she and her father had stayed more towards the city part and less towards the docks, they might've been in the same situation. "It is a beautiful city. I hope I have time to see more of it, next time I visit."

She began to undo her crown braid, hoping to let her hair down to dry, and as she did so between shivers from the cold, she asked another question. "What is Fuddle like? I hope to see it one day, but you grew up there, yes? What kind of place is it?"
 
Seeing Viviane wasn't upset by her remark, the tiefling visibly relaxed - and at the mention of Fuddle, she even grinned.

"Honest-be, it's a bit of a shite - er - craphole, m'Lady. Long past tha hayday o' trade through tha Erdgate Pass. Lotta empty buildings, lotta crumbly walls, lotta old-blooded folk too stubborn ta leave. But -"

Stretching out, she fell back, laying on the floor with her hands behind her head as she stared wistfully at the stars between the cracks in the ceiling.

"S'nice. Good weather, if ye don' mind snow in wintertime, an' good folk too. Sorta folk who look out for each other. N' tha Gumhills!" She sat up a bit, rolling over, tail swishing faster as her smile widened. "Best damn - er - best darn view y'ever saw. Big rollin' swathes o' green far as ye can see, with tha Snaggletooths loomin' above, like - like a city themselves, with towers tall as tha sky!"

Her energy faded, a little.

"Gonna miss it, honest, but - no fancy patrons that way. Best hope fer a player's ta score a few wogs at tha local inns off passin' merchants an' soldiers. Me ma an' pa - they owned one of 'em, got me start there, bless, but if they had their way I'd be bussin' an' servin' til I own the place meself, an' that's not me."
 
Her hair was cold against the back of her neck, but it was never going to dry done up like it was. Viviane was absolutely positive she looked ragged now- at least, compared to how she was supposed to look. Frankly, though, she was too tired to care at this point, and the sooner her hair had dried out, the sooner she could get back to keeping up appearances.

Fuddle sounded like a quaint little spot, to be certain. It almost had a certain charm to it, the way Abryxia described it, a charm she never would have found in Duleis. Things were put together there, a crumbling wall was never left crumbling for long. It seemed they shared the people, though, and weather.

"Back home," she began, letting her eyes drift up towards the stars as well, "performers and musicians came through town quite frequently. They never stayed for long, so I never did get answers to all of my questions, but I did get the impression that they were all well traveled. I can't imagine any patron forbidding you from travelling, unless you were playing for court- but I don't believe there to be courts in Tullybrook." The Lady shrugged, at that. "I could also be wrong. I've never been. But... perhaps, once my schooling is done, I could pass a message along for you. If you'd like."
 
Abryxia shook her head.

"Travel or not, s'all the same. Jus' wanna - do somethin' with me life, y'know? Be somethin' more than..." She gestured at herself. "This."

At Viviane's offer, Abryxia fell silent for a moment, simply staring up. When she finally spoke, her voice was quieter, almost a whisper.

"That'd be right kind of ye, m'Lady. I - ye don' gotta do that, don' got no way ta - well." Another moment of silence, and then she sat up, hand settling on her lute. She glanced at Viviane, edge of her lip curled into a slight smirk. "Got a favorite song? S'all I got ta give, an' tha gods know the best way ta keep spirits high after a dreadful day is a spot o' music."

She strummed a finger across the strings, notes rising.

"Bet y'got a good voice. Ladies always do."

At least, they did in stories, but Abryxia decided to leave that bit out.
 
Viviane pulled her legs up to herself as Abryxia spoke, and she responded with a shake of her head before resting her chin on her knees. She tried to keep a small grin from rising at the compliment, but it would be rude to not show appreciation, and it wasn't like she was winning the fight anyways. "You don't have to. We're all tired," she said, but already she was trying to chose a favorite.

It took a minute. She'd heard many, but she'd only truly listened to few. It was always the stories of adventure, of bravery that caught her attention. Of course, those songs were probably romanticized versions of events, played up for the grandeur of any given adventure, but... she couldn't help herself. Viviane always let herself get swept up in them. "Do... you happen to know the Song of Saint Samuel? It was... popular, at home. I would understand, if you didn't, or didn't want to play it."

The truth, of course, was that she would be quite disappointed if she didn't get to hear it, and she'd been curious to hear Abryxia play since their chance meeting at the broken bridge. She held her breath and waited, eyes locked on the stone wall opposite her.
 
The bard nodded quickly, adjusting her grip on her lute. Closing her eyes, she started to tap her foot to a tempo only she could hear, and - two, three, - began to play. It wasn't exactly a jaunty tune, but it wasn't a slow one either, and her fingers flew out and across at the end of every bar in a twanging flick.

Opening one eye and smiling sideways at Viviane, she began to sing.

"Where lo-fty winds do tell, do tell,
across a plain afar -
I hope and pray, dear Samuel,
you show me who ye are,
I bid the day, Saint Samuel,
do show me who ye are."

Her accent diluted, voice clearer, though there was still a slight twinge to it still. It wasn't perfect - not even really professional - but it was warm, and it was honest, and it hit the notes, so it was good enough.

"He was born twin time of peace,
and in that peace he grew
but rumors came in from the east
as rumors often do -
speaking of a danger there
we knew it to be true.

Oh, dear sweet Samuel,
you were so free and young
if only you as a child knew
what hero you'd become
Oh, dear sweet Samuel,
where others fall, ye rise,
blessed with yer father's strong right arm
and yer mother's kindly eyes."

She played on for a good long bit, hopping up off the ground, even leaning in to let out a decidedly silly roar in the bit about the dragon. By the time the song wound down, she was laughing and skipping around the tiny tower room, long walk and tired bones all but forgotten.
 
The song broke out much quicker than Viviane expected, to the point she was nearly surprised. She picked up on it quickly, though, and though she didn't sing, as Abryxia hopped around their slowly coming along makeshift camp, the Lady watched and smiled and hummed along. She didn't jump to her feet- much too tired, and very unused to this kind of thing- and she didn't sing, but she did sway with the tune, and thought out the words along with the tiefling. It was fun.

Abryxia played well. She'd thought she would, she seemed so passionate about it, it was hard to see how it would have been bad. Of course, she'd heard better, probably, but the people her mother hired to perform in court typically were recognized and known, not just leaving home. They also didn't roar mid song, and if it weren't for how tired she was, she certainly would not have giggled like she did.

As the song drew to a close, she rolled her head to the side to rest her cheek on her knee, as opposed to her chin, and promptly realized she may be grinning like a fool, so she did her best to turn it into a more dignified grin befitting the Heir of Duleis. "Miss Abryxia? I don't think you'll have anything to worry about in Tullybrook."
 
Abryxia gave a flourishing curtsy. It was just as awkward and unpracticed as her earlier one, but more at ease, as if that was an intentional part of it and she was simply playing the fool. Grinning back, she plopped cross-legged onto the ground, setting her lute aside and folding her hands in her lap.

"Kindly words, m'Lady, fer a hope as mine," she replied, "good knowin' even highborn folk as ye've got giggles in their guts. Maybe if I can get 'em laughin' at me enough, they might think I'm actually funny."

She settled back, spreading her hands behind her as she arched her back in a stretch.

"Ye - said ye were headin' ta Tullybrook fer learnin', aye? First time out this far, too. Were ye parents frettin', sendin' ye off alone?"
 
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Viviane replied with a nod, then a second nod, and finally, a shrug.

"Mhm, schooling. Tradition of all the baronies to send their lineages to Tullybrook to learn," she responded, rather matter of factly given the mood she was in just a moment ago. Frankly, the prospect of the schooling she was travelling for just felt like more of what she'd been doing for the last several years of her life.

"But, no. Or, at least, I don't think. I asked them if I could make the journey alone, and they agreed. Mother believes the Road to Tullybrook to be safe. She comes from the region, somewhere along the family tree, and father trusted the security of Duleis. I... hm." The Lady stopped to think for a moment. "I... suppose I wanted my own adventure. And I assumed the supervision wouldn't be needed, especially once I made it to Tullybrook. Some adventure it's been so far, but I'm hopeful."
 
Abryxia whistled.

"School in Tullybrook? Bet that's tha sorta place they teach ya - magic, an' - an' ancient secrets, an' how ta make a billion choruses in a night."

She gestured in a broad swoop. "Makin' it rain with a wave o' yer hand -" then she looked at the cracked ceiling. "Or, er, sunny, maybe. Sunny's a better bet, right now."

She shifted, unfolding her legs to lay on her side, facing Viviane with her head propped up on her palm.

"Went ta tha local schoolhouse meself until t'was - twelve or so, then me parents taught me a bit more. Jus' life skills an' such. Begged me mum to learn magic as a kid, but she an' me pa don' really trust the stuff, much."

Pressing her other hand to her hip, she puffed out her chest.

"Ye din' fin ta learn that, young missie! We got all the magic we need from spell peddlers!" Pointing at Viviane, she waggled her finger. "Non' use blowin' yerself up ta scour pans when ye can get a twin-dozen one-use cleanin' spells from 'em fer a couple wogs!"

The tiefling laughed.

"Then I'd ask 'im, why don' we buy 'em, pa? An' he'd say, doin' dishes by hand builds character! An' trust me, Miss - er, m'Lady, I built so much character."
 
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"It's... I'm afraid it's not that kind of schooling. At least, I don't believe so. I've never had much aptitude for magic, though mother says it runs in the family. Must've skipped a generation. Father says I don't need it to lead, though, so that's what I'm going for." Viviane shrugged again. She was beginning to feel a little warmer, curled up like this.

The imitation brought on another laugh, quick and short but no less genuine. It only faltered, and only briefly, when Abryxia mistitled her. It wasn't that important, but the Allard name was something to be proud of. She was a Lady, through and through, and though she appreciated the company of miss Abryxia, it wasn't something to forget.

She nodded nonetheless, though her smile fell to a more neutral expression. "I'm sure. It must have been very hard work. Hopefully you won't have to do any more dishes, now that you've started off on this, hm?"
 
"None but me own," Abryxia replied, still smiling. She shifted, though, rolling onto her back and staring upward once more. Whether or not she realized why Viviane had cooled, the change in tone was evident, the free-spiritedness giving away again to cold, wet, tired reality.

"Well. Wish ye the best o' luck with... leadin', much as that's worth," she said quietly. "Couldn' begin ta imagine how much - much all that is."

She fell silent, after.
 
There wasn't any response Viviane could give, really. She couldn't imagine how much it would be, either. The only thing she knew is it was what she was supposed to do, and she was going to do it. Part of her didn't want to do it. A pretty large part of her wanted to go off and have adventures and explore the world, but...

"Thank you. For the song. It was nice."
 
"Dry moss, dry moss~" Sae seemed like she knew what she was talking about, so Rally skipped off in search of dry moss, which was apparently part of fires. They were learning things all the time!

Of course, it had been raining quite a lot. Moss was easy, dry moss, not so much.

"What do you think?" The question had been addressed to Cricket, who did not seem to have much of an opinion on moss, either way. Rally decided that was valid. Well, maybe they would just collect moss and then dry it out. After all, something interesting might be happening in the tower, and they didn't want to miss it.

They removed their hat, which was definitely large enough to hold quite a lot of moss. The hair underneath was red and yellow, not reddish yellow so much as a mixture of the two. It wasn't more than a few finger-lengths long, and looked... well, very much like hair that had been stuck under a hat all day and was now determined to escape in any one of the six directions.

Rally paid little attention to this, instead plunking a few good sized chunks of moss into the hat, one at a time. When the hat was full, they assumed that was going to be enough, and returned to the tower proper. Everyone else seemed to be waiting or talking, but maybe they'd needed the moss. Rally climbed in through what had probably once been a window, into what was sort of a room, maybe, though it didn't have a roof or anything complete in the way of walls.

Perhaps that was for the best. They upended the hat in the center of all of it, atop a bit of stone rubble. It made a satisfying squelching sound, and started dripping down through the rocks. Rally put the hat back on, raised a hand, and went fwoompf, the sudden fireball expanding through the sort-of-confines of the room and stretching up to the sky, leaving scorch marks behind on the rubble - and, for that matter, on Rally. The glove was a complete loss, and they'd have to redo the fleshy bits, because their skeleton was showing, and people got all weird about that, even if it was a very nice skeleton, all carved with roses and thorns. They tucked it, for now, in a fold of their sleeve, turning back to rejoin the others.

"Okay it's all dry! Now what?"
 
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