15th of Searing, 120
The day started out like any other; she woke in her tent, packed away her camp, woke Khan, then set off on her travels with the Chameleon man and horse in tow. But, it wouldn't end like the rest. They were close to Hopsfel now, a city, from what Khan told her. She'd not been to a city before but knew of them. The idea of visiting one put her on edge, but not entirely in a negative light. Something about the thought excited her, it was a new experience after all. Her hands had nearly completely recovered from her half-assed tree felling job just a few days prior. It only stung a little when she fully flexed her digits. Khan's wound had healed too, for the most part. It was scabbing nicely and would flesh over in time.
"Magna?" Asked the Rathari while they walked beneath the rising sun. The sound of her name being called was almost startling; Khan rarely started conversations with her. "Yeah?" She rose a brow as she turned to face him for a moment, but continued walking the dirt road. "Why do you... not carry a... arfae?" he asked slowly and clearly in the Ithmi tongue she'd been studying. Almost every word he spoke, she recognized and understood, except the last. Did she know the last? Had she just forgotten it? Such things were typical but it didn't sound familiar. "Arfae?" She quizzed in response, tilting her head. "Ahh, you not learn that word," the Rathari spoke in common, and cleared his throat. "Weapon," came his explanation, "like sword or hammer." Yes, she knew what a weapon was.
Magna nodded a little while she thought, then answered with a question of her own, "Do need Wipohn?" She was almost certain she'd butchered the pronunciation, but Khan understood all the same. "Weh-pun. Weapon," he spoke a little more clear, ""Yes. You need... A weapon... Here. Atinaw... Is... Paryglos." "Paryglos?" She knew the word, she'd heard it before somewhere, perhaps while Khan was speaking with the Glendrav just the day prior? She was unsure. At the look of confusion on her face, the lizard parted his lips to clarify "Dangerous," I the common tongue again. To that, Magna furrowed her brow. Atinaw had been fine so far. How was it dangerous? ""How?" She voiced her thoughts. "Archenvill," he replied. Bandits? She hadn't encountered any. "Monsters," clarified the rathari. At first, Magna furrowed her brow, then remembered that Archen was bandits. Archenvill, despite sounding similar, was monsters.
"What munstas? Not seen none." Again, she butchered the pronunciation and the wording too. With so many new words flooding her head, it was difficult to keep track of them all. "Munsters?" She asked to correct herself. Khan gave a small wobble of his hand from the wrist to indicate she was close but offered no further instruction. "You were... Lucky." The lizard turned over his one hand while he maintained his calm, clear Ithmi. Still, it was difficult to say something so plainly without sounding aggressive or condescending. Meanwhile, Magna worked with the thought in her head and came to realize that she did not want a weapon. "I not... Want," she answered when the option to evade was no longer feasible. "I do not want," corrected the Chameleon, and his beady eyes half glared at the tall woman for a moment or two before he shook his head in dismissal. "Why not?" he asked without his slow, deliberate tone.
Magna furrowed her brow for a moment, as she'd almost missed what he said. She knew the words, but unraveling them from the faster talk was difficult. "I not... Uhhh... use before." She didn't know of a better word to put in place of 'use', so Khan would just have to work with it. The phrase made the lizard tilt his head. "Use... a weapon?" He asked with something of a trail to his tone, indicating that he was guessing. Magna looked to her forehead, then nodded. That worked. "Yeah, I not use a weapon before," she spoke, mixing her common with Ithmi at the start of her sentence. Khan merely pursed his lips and raised both his brow ridges. "You are... A... choetmyn.. By trade, yes?" What the heck is a choetmyn? she thought. At the look of confusion that plastered her face, Khan rambled "Uhh... Tree chopper..." as a guess. "Lumberjack?" Offered the giant. Khan nodded.
"Yes, I am," answered the half-giant. Her brow remained fully furrowed as she continued to guide Pacheco along by his lead, and Khan by extension. Where was he going with that? "An ax is... a weapon, Magna." She squinted a little as her thoughts ran, and she tried to translate his words in her head. When the meaning hit her, her eyes widened a little. Khan was right, of course, but to imagine an animal in place of the trees she'd chopped through in her hometown, just hacking away at chunks of a living creature... She might as well have seen a ghost with how pale her skin turned on a dime. "Y-yeah, but I've never been in a fight before!" She spoke in common and halted her walking to turn and face the lizard. He'd assumed a similar expression to her; unsure, working out what she'd said. "Fight," she spoke again slowly and clearly. Khan immediately reeled and put his hand up as if to put distance between himself and her.
Magna appeared confused at first, then realized her wording and immediately stammered a "wait, no! I mean... I. Haven't. Had a fight. Before." Khan seemed to calm a little before exhaling a shaky breath. "Magna not fight in past?" He asked in the common tongue, and she nodded her answer. Khan appeared to think for a moment or two with firmly pressed lips, then shrugged. "So what?" Magna shook her head a little, and assumed a look of bewilderment as she stared down the Chameleon "So, it wouldn't make a lick o' difference even if I had an ax. I can't just chop down a monster like I would with a tree! That's nuts!" Khan had been ready for her slurry of common. And while he didn't understand all of what she'd said, he got the gist. "Khan teach," he offered with a sly smile. Magna's heart sank.
Did Khan know how to fight with an ax? Why did he have a sword then? Was he just so capable that he knew both or was it not so different? Cornered without an escape, Magna rose her voice and spoke her earlier point. "Well, I don't want a weapon! I don't want a teacher or lessons or an ax to hit things with!" Again, the chameleon reeled, but fear didn't claim his eyes as it normally did in the face of a loud, larger threat. Instead, he took a more stern, pressing expression. "Magna..." He persisted. Something about the way he spoke knocked the wind from her sails, and she withdrew from her aggressive defense some. "...What?" Still, her voice was uneasy, tense. "...You know that I am right," he spoke with a distinct certainty, and his words stuck. "You might not have to use it... But it's better that you're ready... Just in case."
The half-giant hesitated as she processed his words, and eventually found his meaning, the intent of his Ithmi speak. However unreasonable her dislike of weapons, Khan had a point. What if she found herself against one of these monsters with no combat training? Would she wind up its meal without fighting back? Perhaps, if it came to it, she could use whatever Khan taught her to wound it and run to safety? Still, it felt wrong, and she couldn't discern why. A sigh coupled a shake of her head, and Khan called her again. She looked to his beady eyes in defeat before he spoke "You can think about it... No need to decide now..." Magna nodded and returned her gaze to the ground while the gears in her head turned. Khan looked to the horizon, and his eyes widened before he called her again, then pointed toward the mountains.
Magna looked to his direction, then to where he pointed to find the city in the mountains, built into the range as though it were carved from the same rock. Hopsfel? Had they made it? "Is that...?" She asked in his tongue, and Khan bowed his head to answer. "We're here,"" answered the lizard. "Croesaw to Hopsfel, Magna." It didn't take much of an imagination to work out that Khan had welcomed her, but it was a word that she'd not heard before all the same. To look upon such tall walls, such grand structures that were so clearly manmade robbed her of her breath for a moment or two. Could people really build something like that? Over how many lifetimes? "That's... Awesome, Khan," was all she spoke, and continued to drink in the view for a moment longer.
With a smile, the lizard asked a quick "Ready?" And adjusted himself to hold the saddle firmer. Magna snapped from her awe-inspired daze, nodded, and continued along the dirt road to ascend the hill to the city's main gates. They'd made it at last.
The day started out like any other; she woke in her tent, packed away her camp, woke Khan, then set off on her travels with the Chameleon man and horse in tow. But, it wouldn't end like the rest. They were close to Hopsfel now, a city, from what Khan told her. She'd not been to a city before but knew of them. The idea of visiting one put her on edge, but not entirely in a negative light. Something about the thought excited her, it was a new experience after all. Her hands had nearly completely recovered from her half-assed tree felling job just a few days prior. It only stung a little when she fully flexed her digits. Khan's wound had healed too, for the most part. It was scabbing nicely and would flesh over in time.
"Magna?" Asked the Rathari while they walked beneath the rising sun. The sound of her name being called was almost startling; Khan rarely started conversations with her. "Yeah?" She rose a brow as she turned to face him for a moment, but continued walking the dirt road. "Why do you... not carry a... arfae?" he asked slowly and clearly in the Ithmi tongue she'd been studying. Almost every word he spoke, she recognized and understood, except the last. Did she know the last? Had she just forgotten it? Such things were typical but it didn't sound familiar. "Arfae?" She quizzed in response, tilting her head. "Ahh, you not learn that word," the Rathari spoke in common, and cleared his throat. "Weapon," came his explanation, "like sword or hammer." Yes, she knew what a weapon was.
Magna nodded a little while she thought, then answered with a question of her own, "Do need Wipohn?" She was almost certain she'd butchered the pronunciation, but Khan understood all the same. "Weh-pun. Weapon," he spoke a little more clear, ""Yes. You need... A weapon... Here. Atinaw... Is... Paryglos." "Paryglos?" She knew the word, she'd heard it before somewhere, perhaps while Khan was speaking with the Glendrav just the day prior? She was unsure. At the look of confusion on her face, the lizard parted his lips to clarify "Dangerous," I the common tongue again. To that, Magna furrowed her brow. Atinaw had been fine so far. How was it dangerous? ""How?" She voiced her thoughts. "Archenvill," he replied. Bandits? She hadn't encountered any. "Monsters," clarified the rathari. At first, Magna furrowed her brow, then remembered that Archen was bandits. Archenvill, despite sounding similar, was monsters.
"What munstas? Not seen none." Again, she butchered the pronunciation and the wording too. With so many new words flooding her head, it was difficult to keep track of them all. "Munsters?" She asked to correct herself. Khan gave a small wobble of his hand from the wrist to indicate she was close but offered no further instruction. "You were... Lucky." The lizard turned over his one hand while he maintained his calm, clear Ithmi. Still, it was difficult to say something so plainly without sounding aggressive or condescending. Meanwhile, Magna worked with the thought in her head and came to realize that she did not want a weapon. "I not... Want," she answered when the option to evade was no longer feasible. "I do not want," corrected the Chameleon, and his beady eyes half glared at the tall woman for a moment or two before he shook his head in dismissal. "Why not?" he asked without his slow, deliberate tone.
Magna furrowed her brow for a moment, as she'd almost missed what he said. She knew the words, but unraveling them from the faster talk was difficult. "I not... Uhhh... use before." She didn't know of a better word to put in place of 'use', so Khan would just have to work with it. The phrase made the lizard tilt his head. "Use... a weapon?" He asked with something of a trail to his tone, indicating that he was guessing. Magna looked to her forehead, then nodded. That worked. "Yeah, I not use a weapon before," she spoke, mixing her common with Ithmi at the start of her sentence. Khan merely pursed his lips and raised both his brow ridges. "You are... A... choetmyn.. By trade, yes?" What the heck is a choetmyn? she thought. At the look of confusion that plastered her face, Khan rambled "Uhh... Tree chopper..." as a guess. "Lumberjack?" Offered the giant. Khan nodded.
"Yes, I am," answered the half-giant. Her brow remained fully furrowed as she continued to guide Pacheco along by his lead, and Khan by extension. Where was he going with that? "An ax is... a weapon, Magna." She squinted a little as her thoughts ran, and she tried to translate his words in her head. When the meaning hit her, her eyes widened a little. Khan was right, of course, but to imagine an animal in place of the trees she'd chopped through in her hometown, just hacking away at chunks of a living creature... She might as well have seen a ghost with how pale her skin turned on a dime. "Y-yeah, but I've never been in a fight before!" She spoke in common and halted her walking to turn and face the lizard. He'd assumed a similar expression to her; unsure, working out what she'd said. "Fight," she spoke again slowly and clearly. Khan immediately reeled and put his hand up as if to put distance between himself and her.
Magna appeared confused at first, then realized her wording and immediately stammered a "wait, no! I mean... I. Haven't. Had a fight. Before." Khan seemed to calm a little before exhaling a shaky breath. "Magna not fight in past?" He asked in the common tongue, and she nodded her answer. Khan appeared to think for a moment or two with firmly pressed lips, then shrugged. "So what?" Magna shook her head a little, and assumed a look of bewilderment as she stared down the Chameleon "So, it wouldn't make a lick o' difference even if I had an ax. I can't just chop down a monster like I would with a tree! That's nuts!" Khan had been ready for her slurry of common. And while he didn't understand all of what she'd said, he got the gist. "Khan teach," he offered with a sly smile. Magna's heart sank.
Did Khan know how to fight with an ax? Why did he have a sword then? Was he just so capable that he knew both or was it not so different? Cornered without an escape, Magna rose her voice and spoke her earlier point. "Well, I don't want a weapon! I don't want a teacher or lessons or an ax to hit things with!" Again, the chameleon reeled, but fear didn't claim his eyes as it normally did in the face of a loud, larger threat. Instead, he took a more stern, pressing expression. "Magna..." He persisted. Something about the way he spoke knocked the wind from her sails, and she withdrew from her aggressive defense some. "...What?" Still, her voice was uneasy, tense. "...You know that I am right," he spoke with a distinct certainty, and his words stuck. "You might not have to use it... But it's better that you're ready... Just in case."
The half-giant hesitated as she processed his words, and eventually found his meaning, the intent of his Ithmi speak. However unreasonable her dislike of weapons, Khan had a point. What if she found herself against one of these monsters with no combat training? Would she wind up its meal without fighting back? Perhaps, if it came to it, she could use whatever Khan taught her to wound it and run to safety? Still, it felt wrong, and she couldn't discern why. A sigh coupled a shake of her head, and Khan called her again. She looked to his beady eyes in defeat before he spoke "You can think about it... No need to decide now..." Magna nodded and returned her gaze to the ground while the gears in her head turned. Khan looked to the horizon, and his eyes widened before he called her again, then pointed toward the mountains.
Magna looked to his direction, then to where he pointed to find the city in the mountains, built into the range as though it were carved from the same rock. Hopsfel? Had they made it? "Is that...?" She asked in his tongue, and Khan bowed his head to answer. "We're here,"" answered the lizard. "Croesaw to Hopsfel, Magna." It didn't take much of an imagination to work out that Khan had welcomed her, but it was a word that she'd not heard before all the same. To look upon such tall walls, such grand structures that were so clearly manmade robbed her of her breath for a moment or two. Could people really build something like that? Over how many lifetimes? "That's... Awesome, Khan," was all she spoke, and continued to drink in the view for a moment longer.
With a smile, the lizard asked a quick "Ready?" And adjusted himself to hold the saddle firmer. Magna snapped from her awe-inspired daze, nodded, and continued along the dirt road to ascend the hill to the city's main gates. They'd made it at last.
Wonder what Magna's plans are in Hopsfel this season...