[ She's never cared much for the seaside breezes prevalent to the Peninsula, in truth. Horrid, beastly, corrosive stuff - laden with salt, seeping between buckles and rivets, necessitating vigilant upkeep to stave off rust. It's difficult to say if the instinctual annoyance comes from old, half-remembered fastidiousness of the nobility, or the weary routine of a soldier, but the distinction hardly matters in the end anyway.
To say she's very glad to spy the lonely shack standing by the western beach would be understatement indeed - guiding her horse with a brief tug on the reins wound around one fist, the other holding her spear loose and relaxed by her leg.
Both mount and knight circle the shack warily, waiting for some salt-streaked monstrosity to come howling out of the rotten wood, only coming to a stop once she's relatively sure there isn't an ambush lying in wait. One can only fall for the same trick so many times before learning their lesson, after all. If the hoofbeats and the merry chime of her armor isn't warning enough of her presence, the ominous shadow falling over the threshold and the jangling of spurs fixed to her heels heralds Alix actually poking her head into the shack proper. ]
[ A shadow is a shadow. Even when expecting friendly company, there is always a foreboding dread that looms when one realizes they are no longer alone. A feeling most unique to surviving the Lands Between. Familiar as the appear to be and the gentle clinking of plate, Rogier waits with his hand rested at the gilded handle of his rapier. Just in case.
By the time Alix's shadow shifts, the sorcerer's white-glove has shifted to mark his place in a small journal pinned open in his other hand. He does not seem to look up from under the heavy brim of his hat. Leaned gently near a farther entry. As though he might have needed to slip out just in case.]
Scarcely. [ Tucking the journal away, his smile can be gleaned from underneath the shade of his hat as he rights himself. ]
I was beginning to wonder if you'd been waylaid on the journey. No trouble, I take it?
[ She's not late, time doesn't matter much to tarnished. To the denizens of their shattered land as a whole. It all tends to muddle anyhow. He muses so anyway, because when is the sorcerer not musing? Someone here has to keep up the good spirits. Only better when he travels with someone keen on keeping up with him. ]
[ Such is the sorry state of the hut's wooden timbers, Alix has to slouch a bit to ensure she doesn't smack her head into the sagging doorway on the way in, making a dismissive noise that resonates queerly in the acoustics of her helm. ]
Trouble enough with the Night's Cavalry patrolling the main road at dusk to dawn, taking a detour near doubled the travel time. [ Yes, Alix does indeed sound very sour about it, because part of her relishes the idea of mounted combat. It's almost certain she plans to return and test her mettle once their expedition concludes and her time is once again her own.
In the meantime, she selects the driest portion of the room to lean against with her spear propped against her shoulder at a jaunty angle, studying Rogier from the deep shadow of her slitted visor. ] But hardships aside - I'm here, and in one piece, for the most part. That's what matters.
[ Pause. ]
I take it you have no objections to riding second? Unless you prefer to run alongside my horse, I suppose.
I'd prefer to save my energy. The riding is no issue.
[ A charming change of pace. Though he doesn't intend for them to make the leg all the way up north. That much should have been clear, otherwise he might have chosen a more opportune meeting place.
All settled on his end with a light dusting of his gloves. The sorcerer meanders. Not much left to this little shack. Not even a remnant of his stay remains, if he had even been there for long to begin with. A brief glance outward the entrance from which she'd come. Remarking on otherwise an unremarkably eerie stretch of beach. Better unremarkable than trouble. ]
I suppose I should have been more forthcoming in this plan. As we'll be using a portal to get where we need to.
[ The horse will need to sit this one out once the going gets going. Of course, unless hers is of the spectral variety. ]
[ Under her hood, Alix's head jerks slightly - like the idea of using portals to cross the vast distance didn't even occur to her... because quite honestly, it didn't. Here she was resigning herself to a long and awkward ride interspersed with the occasional melee here and there if they were unlucky. That also means leaving her horse behind is a foregone conclusion, which she isn't so thrilled about, but sacrifices must needs be made in the name of alacrity. The knight sighs heavily... but concedes the point with good grace. ]
That does seem like the best approach.
[ A shaft of dim light filtering through the skewed slat siding of the little hut falls over her face as she shifts her weight from one leg to the other, the brief suggestion of eyes gleaming behind the slitted visor, there and gone again as she turns aside, motioning out the door with a casual cant of her head in open invitation.
Adventure awaits. ]
You're likely better acquainted with esoteric travel, so I bow to your expertise in this matter. Shall we get moving, then?
[ Ah, yes. Definitely should have said something. What should he have expected? That she had footed the journey or mayhaps followed the guidance of grace? Though the latter he has found has become more troubling, as the favor of the Erdtree has grown more and more resigned.
Ah, well. Though he cannot adequately surmise any sort of look of disappointment on her face. The sorcerer is not unfamiliar with the troubles of obtaining such a treasure. ]
Soon enough. I would be remiss to subject your mount to the land octopi. Since you've so kindly volunteered your time.
[He withdraws something from his pouch and scrawls a few symbols along the shack's inner wall which seem to glow and fade as soon as they're written. ]
There. With any luck, the wanderer who often combs this beach should come fetch your horse. Keep it safe for your returning.
[Better than leaving it to pure fate. He gives the wooden frame a kindly pat before stepping outside.]
[ Alix hesitates briefly - regarding the marked wall in quiet contemplation for a moment - but follows his lead in turn, slinking along in his wake like some mercurial shadow of faded velvet and ancient silver. He's asking a lot of her to extend trust to a stranger that may just make off with her horse altogether, but now's not the time to get squirrelly about transport!
Instead, the knight wordlessly strips the spurs from her heels, tucking them away somewhere they won't make a horrendous amount of noise while they're enroute. ]
So... tell me more about this wondrous portal you've found. [ What a pair they must make. Rogier, with his spellblade's silks, and then her, looking like a haunted mansion setpiece, peaceably plodding along. Companionable chatter hardly goes amiss in this sort of atmosphere.
Her head tilts slightly in his direction as they walk, a subtle invitation to expand on their destination. ] Been shinning up and down the walls in the past, have we? You must've used it before to be so confident in where it leads.
[ Speaking on a purely tactical basis, it would be helpful to know what to expect, or at least get some insight on his thought process; it often pays to know how to adapt to a magic user's personal quirks if glintstone starts flying, whether as an adversary or ally. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Death detective adventures!
To say she's very glad to spy the lonely shack standing by the western beach would be understatement indeed - guiding her horse with a brief tug on the reins wound around one fist, the other holding her spear loose and relaxed by her leg.
Both mount and knight circle the shack warily, waiting for some salt-streaked monstrosity to come howling out of the rotten wood, only coming to a stop once she's relatively sure there isn't an ambush lying in wait. One can only fall for the same trick so many times before learning their lesson, after all.
If the hoofbeats and the merry chime of her armor isn't warning enough of her presence, the ominous shadow falling over the threshold and the jangling of spurs fixed to her heels heralds Alix actually poking her head into the shack proper. ]
Knock, knock... anyone home?
💀✨
By the time Alix's shadow shifts, the sorcerer's white-glove has shifted to mark his place in a small journal pinned open in his other hand. He does not seem to look up from under the heavy brim of his hat. Leaned gently near a farther entry. As though he might have needed to slip out just in case.]
Scarcely. [ Tucking the journal away, his smile can be gleaned from underneath the shade of his hat as he rights himself. ]
I was beginning to wonder if you'd been waylaid on the journey. No trouble, I take it?
[ She's not late, time doesn't matter much to tarnished. To the denizens of their shattered land as a whole. It all tends to muddle anyhow. He muses so anyway, because when is the sorcerer not musing? Someone here has to keep up the good spirits. Only better when he travels with someone keen on keeping up with him. ]
no subject
Trouble enough with the Night's Cavalry patrolling the main road at dusk to dawn, taking a detour near doubled the travel time. [ Yes, Alix does indeed sound very sour about it, because part of her relishes the idea of mounted combat. It's almost certain she plans to return and test her mettle once their expedition concludes and her time is once again her own.
In the meantime, she selects the driest portion of the room to lean against with her spear propped against her shoulder at a jaunty angle, studying Rogier from the deep shadow of her slitted visor. ] But hardships aside - I'm here, and in one piece, for the most part. That's what matters.
[ Pause. ]
I take it you have no objections to riding second? Unless you prefer to run alongside my horse, I suppose.
no subject
[ A charming change of pace. Though he doesn't intend for them to make the leg all the way up north. That much should have been clear, otherwise he might have chosen a more opportune meeting place.
All settled on his end with a light dusting of his gloves. The sorcerer meanders. Not much left to this little shack. Not even a remnant of his stay remains, if he had even been there for long to begin with. A brief glance outward the entrance from which she'd come. Remarking on otherwise an unremarkably eerie stretch of beach. Better unremarkable than trouble. ]
I suppose I should have been more forthcoming in this plan. As we'll be using a portal to get where we need to.
[ The horse will need to sit this one out once the going gets going. Of course, unless hers is of the spectral variety. ]
no subject
That also means leaving her horse behind is a foregone conclusion, which she isn't so thrilled about, but sacrifices must needs be made in the name of alacrity.
The knight sighs heavily... but concedes the point with good grace. ]
That does seem like the best approach.
[ A shaft of dim light filtering through the skewed slat siding of the little hut falls over her face as she shifts her weight from one leg to the other, the brief suggestion of eyes gleaming behind the slitted visor, there and gone again as she turns aside, motioning out the door with a casual cant of her head in open invitation.
Adventure awaits. ]
You're likely better acquainted with esoteric travel, so I bow to your expertise in this matter. Shall we get moving, then?
no subject
Ah, well. Though he cannot adequately surmise any sort of look of disappointment on her face. The sorcerer is not unfamiliar with the troubles of obtaining such a treasure. ]
Soon enough. I would be remiss to subject your mount to the land octopi. Since you've so kindly volunteered your time.
[He withdraws something from his pouch and scrawls a few symbols along the shack's inner wall which seem to glow and fade as soon as they're written. ]
There. With any luck, the wanderer who often combs this beach should come fetch your horse. Keep it safe for your returning.
[Better than leaving it to pure fate. He gives the wooden frame a kindly pat before stepping outside.]
no subject
Instead, the knight wordlessly strips the spurs from her heels, tucking them away somewhere they won't make a horrendous amount of noise while they're enroute. ]
So... tell me more about this wondrous portal you've found. [ What a pair they must make. Rogier, with his spellblade's silks, and then her, looking like a haunted mansion setpiece, peaceably plodding along. Companionable chatter hardly goes amiss in this sort of atmosphere.
Her head tilts slightly in his direction as they walk, a subtle invitation to expand on their destination. ] Been shinning up and down the walls in the past, have we? You must've used it before to be so confident in where it leads.
[ Speaking on a purely tactical basis, it would be helpful to know what to expect, or at least get some insight on his thought process; it often pays to know how to adapt to a magic user's personal quirks if glintstone starts flying, whether as an adversary or ally. ]