Gliding and Hang-outs
W03: Druid Grove
It's Kesenday, Eatonis 09 17:20:04 1020. The full moon isn't up. The tide is high and ebbing. Everything is grey, veiled by mist. It's cool and the air feels damp. There is no wind.
A dark and dreary day with mist making it hard to see the ground. The fire is bright and cheerful, as always, and this is where Tawyse has settled. Her armor is tucked away and protected from the potential rain, and she sits huddled on a log in her gambeson, and wrapped in a blue blanket. She concentrates on sewing, stitching a few fresh strips of leather onto one of her mount's bags, repairing holes and rot. The Gnomish woman has one foot crossed over a knee, her brightly painted toenails a small splash of colour in the grey.
A master ranger in his favored terrain can be pretty nigh undetectable, then on top of that figure the added concealment from thick fog and intensely focused labor. In a mild, clear tenor, the increasingly familiar voice of Ga'Elian suddenly says, "Are you cold, Tawyse? I can do something about that if you'll permit me."
Tawyse comes close to punching a new hole in the bag she is mending, she looks extremely startled. The Gnomish woman peeeeers up at Ga'Elian for a moment, before letting out a long breath. "I'm going to have to put bells on you, Ga'Elian Faravanilas. You came close to having me wet myself." Her voice carries a tone of irritation, but she soon smiles and shakes her head. "You are lucky I am young, and not at the age where peoples' hearts give out when startled." Tawyse looks at the blanket she wears, and shrugs. "I'm not particularly cold, else I'd have my boots on. What would you do to warm me up, though? A spell?"
Ga'Elian sits about a 4 feet away on the dewy grass, his legs folded in front of his torso. He nods, and says, "Aye. A spell. Quite useful it is. I tend to use it almost daily, especially if I'm going to go flying at an extreme altitude or a great distance. You see, not only does it compensate for extremes of temperature, it also maintains a bubble of clean, breathable air around you, whether in high altitude, under water, in the vicinity of green dragons, or anywhere else."
Tawyse looks thoughtful for a few moments and then rolls her shoulders. "Would it not be a waste to cast it upon me, though? I am not planning on flying to high altitudes or fighting green dragons." She begins sewing anew, and chuckles. "What is the spell called? I wonder if I may learn it in time?"
Ga'Elian shrugs, "Life Bubble. Of course there is another which deals solely with the temperature issue, but always upon only one person, and always for exactly one day. 'Tis called Endure Elements, and uses less magical power."
"I have heard of those.", she says quietly. "They do sound useful, certainly." The little woman looks to Ga'Elian and smiles. "But I think I might be alright without them. You could sit closer, hmm? While we talk. So what have you been up to, today?" Tawyse pulls tight the leather strip that she is using to sew the bag, and ties it in a knot. "Hmm, there. Like new!"
Ga'Elian scoots closer, and removes one of his leather bracers. Holding it out, "It's tedious work, but I'm currently spending most of my time adding to the enchantment upon these. He holds it out. I, too, am a leatherworker." He smiles. "Recently, I've given up the use of armor entirely, and these bracers go some way to replacing it."
Tawyse eyes the bracer curiously, and reaches out to gently touch it. "Are they magical, then? It must make it easier to move around if your armor needs can be satisfied by two such simple things." She grins. "I am not master leatherworker though. I can mend bags, but armor is out of my reach for the moment."
Ga'Elian nods, "Yes, magical. And as for movement, that's precisely it. I found that even armor as supple as a mithral shirt severely cramped my ability to use my own agility as a defense."
Tawyse pulls her hand away and nods. "I can understand. I think I will stick with the leather that I have and trust in the Goddess to keep an eye on me." She smiles then. "Or I'll just have to smite things before they get close enough to hurt me."
Ga'Elian puts the bracer back on. Says, "That's the spirit!" Then, "So, your beetle friend there, I've rarely seen such creatures as mounts. You have an affinity for such creatures, do you? Or just this one?"
Tawyse suppresses a shudder and shakes her head. "Just him. He's not so bad. I don't like creepy crawlies much. But he's not so creepy or crawly."
Ga'Elian nods. "I see. And what's his name?"
Tawyse smiles brightly, "His name is Chaucy. He's a good beetle. He can glide too, he's hiding big wings under that carapace of his." She sets the bag aside, and sits cross-legged on the log, hiding her feet under the blanket. "I'm hoping he'll get strong enough to fly with me on his back. That will be such freedom."
Ga'Elian leans back and gets a faraway look for a moment, then says, "Aye, there is nothing like flight. Before Erithamiel could fly, I used to take him up on the high peaks of the Redridge Mountains from time to time and let him glide down to the river or the forest below. From that altitude is was very like flight."
Tawyse nods to the elf. "I have done some decent gliding with Chaucy. But not from a mountain top. That must be quite nice." She pulls her knees up and rests her chin upon them. "Lots of things I want to do. Just have to be patient."
Ga'Elian nods. "I'm sure you'll be able to accomplish many things. Do you know what finally enticed me to venture into the big City? There was an awful influx of demons into this world, and such creatures are not only destructive for the sake of their own pleasure or for the nefarious ends of those who bind and summon them, but they simply don't belong in Ea. They have no place in our ecology. So since Alexandria was being overrun by them, I opted to go there to fight to protect the wilderness from them ere they ever spread beyond the confines of the City."
"I don't really like the city, though. It's smelly. Too close together. Too many people. You might notice that I am a Gnome. Everyone would just tower over me." Tawyse lets out a breath. "Though I suppose if there was a big problem that needed me, I would go."
Ga'Elian shakes his head. "I can't blame you for that. It does smell, and is crowded. Still, I have business there quite often now, and a couple friend, too."
Tawyse looks away and lays her head on her knees. "It's nicer here.", she says quietly. "And you have friends here too."
Ga'Elian grins, "Yes, as do you. This is a special place, for sure."