cruz (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
schweigsam) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
gurabad2019-01-06 08:14 pm
schweigsam) wrote in gurabad2019-01-06 08:14 pm
054 » drop tears in the morning
[he wouldn't say it where anyone could hear — not as a fledgling-in-training, freshly knighted, with no feathers in his cap nor authority to his name — but privately, cruz doesn't think it's such a good idea for feendrache to be so reliant on the services of the greatest skyfaring crew in the realm, even if sir lancelot and sir vane are on first-name terms with its captains. it's just not a good look for a nation, cruz thinks, as he clips his sword to his belt and makes sure that the tabard of his uniform is crisp against his chest. as a country, feendrache should be able to defend itself without assistance from outside forces. it shouldn't need skyfarers to supplement its military, even if half of its veteran knights have fallen sick with a mysterious illness that has left them all feverish and bedridden.
but cruz does not decide feendrache's military policy, and the solution that lancelot and vane have come up with is to pair each rookie knight with a skyfarer from gran and djeeta's crew for the time being. apparently, djeeta herself decided some of the pairings, and for the most part, cruz doesn't disagree with her choices. he's not sure where arthur is, but mordred appears to be getting along well with a tall blond knight from irestill named naoise. tornelio seems to be somewhat cowed by the older harvin man he's been paired with — a man named yodarha with a mustache as impressive as his blade — but cruz can see right away that his friend will improve greatly under the tutelage of someone his own size. it'll be good for him. he'll be fine.
cruz himself has been ordered to patrol the western territories with a strangely pale man named cassius. this matchup doesn't seem to be based on anything that he can immediately discern; cassius wields a lance, which won't be of much benefit to cruz's skills in swordsmanship, and he doesn't have the innately soothing aura that seems to make naoise an ideal role model.
so what's this guy's deal? he wonders, as he lowers his eyes and politely bows in cassius's direction.]
...Cruz. Nice to meet you.
[they have their orders.]
but cruz does not decide feendrache's military policy, and the solution that lancelot and vane have come up with is to pair each rookie knight with a skyfarer from gran and djeeta's crew for the time being. apparently, djeeta herself decided some of the pairings, and for the most part, cruz doesn't disagree with her choices. he's not sure where arthur is, but mordred appears to be getting along well with a tall blond knight from irestill named naoise. tornelio seems to be somewhat cowed by the older harvin man he's been paired with — a man named yodarha with a mustache as impressive as his blade — but cruz can see right away that his friend will improve greatly under the tutelage of someone his own size. it'll be good for him. he'll be fine.
cruz himself has been ordered to patrol the western territories with a strangely pale man named cassius. this matchup doesn't seem to be based on anything that he can immediately discern; cassius wields a lance, which won't be of much benefit to cruz's skills in swordsmanship, and he doesn't have the innately soothing aura that seems to make naoise an ideal role model.
so what's this guy's deal? he wonders, as he lowers his eyes and politely bows in cassius's direction.]
...Cruz. Nice to meet you.
[they have their orders.]
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Cassius.
[ He doesn't extend any similar pleasantries, because this is just a first meeting and it doesn't make sense to jump to conclusions about whether it will be 'nice' or not. But exchanging names is fine, they will need to identify each other if they are expected to work together. ]
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[someone else might have bristled at cassius's comparative brusqueness, but cruz shrugs it off. he's equally blunt at heart — the performance of pleasantries is simply something he's learned to do because it goes over well with people like vane and arthur. with nothing further to add, the young knight turns and proceeds down the forest path they've been ordered to investigate.
is there anything else related to their mission that cassius needs to know about? after a moment's pause, it occurs to cruz that it might be helpful for the skyfarer to have some background information about the area, at least.]
Villagers reported several incidents. Signs of trespassing, broken fences, slain livestock... We're expecting some kind of wild beast.
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Are these incidents common for that village?
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[that's... quite genuinely all cruz says in response as he pushes his way past a low-hanging branch. briefly, he glances over his shoulder, but whatever he sees, he doesn't comment on it as he continues hiking up the path.]
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[ Cassius's questions continue. Books about Fossil never really touched too deeply on heavy conflicts between fossildwellers and their ecology. He's curious to see an example of it firsthand. ]
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[well, cruz knows, if he’s being honest. there’s any number of answers to cassius’s question — habitat disruption, seasonal behavior changes, human interference — all of which are too complicated to explain in the span of one breath, which is why he opts for a non-answer instead. easier to just not bother. talking is more effort than it’s worth, sometimes.]
I think —
[cruz stops short in his tracks. he looks around; he frowns. again, it seems something has caught his interest, though he appears to be staring only at dirt and broken twigs.]
I can speculate. But I’m not sure... not yet.
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[ Cassius pauses as well, watching Cruz. He still doesn't understand why an individual would want to present a hypothesis with little evidence to support it, but his observations so far don't point to Cruz being the completely illogical type. The young man hasn't started running around like Beatrix, at least. It might not be a complete waste of time to take a moment to listen. ]
If your theory is supported by the information we have, I will hear it.
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[cruz is beginning to get the sense that he knows exactly why djeeta chose this man to accompany him today — most people are content to let his vague comments and monosyllabic responses lapse into silence, whereas cassius, it seems, will not let a matter rest until his curiosity is sated. is this the kind of partner she thinks i need? flickers through cruz's mind, and then — what if she's right, actually?
he leans against a nearby tree to explain his reasoning. he watches cassius's expression as he speaks.]
The villagers told me they suspected wild beasts because one of their milk cows was found in pieces. Torn limb from limb, they said, and the scene was bloodied. But I've been looking at the ground as we walk, and I haven't noticed any animal or monster tracks large enough to explain the dead cow. Squirrels and rabbits, mostly. No wolves... nothing like a wyrm or a griffin.
[again, cruz turns his eyes toward the dirt, nodding at things one would need a keen eye to see — an oddly-broken twig, strange indentations in the soil.]
...Also, there are recent tracks that shouldn't be here. Human-sized footprints, and they didn't bother to conceal themselves. Too many to be the villagers, but too few to be other knights on patrol.
I think we're dealing with people, not beasts. But I don't know why a group of people would tear apart a cow.
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But Cruz did before they even set out searching for the beast proper. Cassius doesn't quite follow the logic that inspired Cruz to do so, but at least it isn't something that will impede with their mission. If anything, it will only expand their search for a possible beast or fossildweller. ]
If we don't have enough evidence to make a sound assumption, then we should not waste time thinking of one. Our time will be better spent searching.
Can we follow the footprints?
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[he doesn't move right away. cruz breaks his careful study of cassius's expressionless face to survey the woods again; a movement catches his eye — but it's only a bird. the boy's jaw sets as his hand tightens around the hilt of his sword.
his eyes flick back to cassius's face. but should we? goes unsaid.]
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Why are you hesitating?
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the thing is that he doesn't know if he can trust this cassius, not really. and if things go sour, cruz can't predict how things might play out.
...well, that's something i have to get over, he decides, after a pause. in the end, he steps forward, responding only somewhat belatedly.]
...Nothing. Let's go.
[they continue through the woods in silence for a time, cruz dutifully following the footprints into a part of the forest where the canopy is thicker and there isn't quite so much sun — and then, abruptly, he comes to a halt. it isn't hard to spot what's caught his attention. off in the distance, two men seem to be talking to one another, hunched over, shuffling strangely.
at first, cruz sees what he expects to see: two farmers, perhaps, foraging for wild mushrooms or something equally innocuous. then one of the farmers turns, cruz's eyes adjust — and he realizes, all too late, what he's seeing as both shambling corpses spot him and lunge.]
Zombies — ?
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Flesh falls off the corpses as easily as fabric. Cassius makes a face as he watches the bodies struggling to regain their footing. ]
What happened to them?
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...well, one is staggering to its feet. cruz doesn't have time to think; he decides to take the question at face value.]
They're reanimated corpses. Shouldn't be here. Either there's someone using magic to control them, or there's something else at work, like a primal beast.
[the young knight draws his sword.]
Decapitate them.
[he reminds himself that he needs to work on his speed — but he's in like a flash, leaping in to lop off one of the zombie's heads to render it useless and still.]
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Fascinating. He didn't know he had this kind of instinct within him.
Cruz doesn't need to issue his order twice. Cassius is swinging at the other target just as the boy finishes his sentence. The length of his spear gives him a little distance to work with; he only needs the one strike to cut through the decayed neck.
When all is still, he speaks again. ] Their flesh is weak. What purpose would someone have to use these corpses as soldiers?
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...People have to be convinced to take up arms. But zombies don't have a will of their own. And one person with the right spell can raise an army of hundreds of weak soldiers like this. They can be effective, if terrorizing the populace is the goal.
[already, cruz's mind is buzzing with theories, connecting dots. it's possible that this could be part of a larger plan, and maybe the strange sickness that passed through the ranks of the elite knighthood wasn't just a virus going around. on the other hand, this doesn't bear the hallmarks of a coordinated attack so far — two zombies, wandering around by themselves in the wilderness, killing cows? this seems more like a single person's experiment, some rowdy youth that picked up the wrong magic tome.]
...Necromancy is outlawed. And there should be more than this. Let's press on.