A horse, of course [William]

[Slaine]

If there was anything that her study had impressed upon her it was how vast and grand Khy'eras truly was. Though her resolve was strong, her muscles were less so, and the idea of tackling the vastness of the Khy'erasian wilds on foot gave her considerable pause. It had been, perhaps, one of the reason she had put her departure off for so long.

Once they had owned a horse, a large and surly thing with a habit of biting whenever you tried to pet him. Her father had been a huge man, unusually tall and strong, iconic among his peers in the Fellsgard guard when he had still served. Boar had been a gift initially in the early days of his career, though Slaine had only seen the creature when she was a child where the titanic bulk of the creature had impressed upon her that horses were terrifying gigantic, practically the size of buildings. Arriving at the stableyard, however, she wasn't so sure. The horses were disappointingly small, infact, and though still much larger than her they did not hold up against the mental comparison to the poorly socialized thing that had offered to take her fingers off several times before she learned not to present him with anything by hand, even with an open palm.

Leaning against the railing she watched for a while, resting her chin in her palm, using this lull in her pre-travel activities to attempt to reconcile the equine reality with her own memories, slogging through her innate misgivings before arriving at the conclusion that, regardless of her prior experiences, a mount was practically mandatory for seeing the world. Cecilia probably had a horse. This was enough to get her moving, skittishly avoiding a curious mare that had come to see if she might have treats, never once turning her back on the creature for fear that it might have a better range of reach than she remembered. Once safely out of biting distance (several yards away), she entered the stable, struck by the warm smell of animal baked into the very structure by years of use. In the low light she found herself lost, unwilling to approach the rows of stalls further down the way for fear of becoming a snack still. "Uh- hello? Hi? Can I buy a horse?" She really hoped she wouldn't have to go looking for help.

[William Spurr]

He had been in the city before. Several times, in fact. Yet William was quickly reminded of the fact that the city consisted of more than the harbour and its closest alehouses.
He had asked directions to the stables beforehand, predicting the predicament he was now in. Being lost.

William retreated towards a nearby wall, belonging to one of the houses lining the fairly trafficed street as he tried to figure out where he was and where he was going.

Cities were confusing. There were so many people. How clould you know anything about them? His thoughts reflected momentarily back to his own childhood, where everyone was familiar with one another and the news about a stranger would spread like wildfire. His blue eyes warily scanned the passersby, trying to decipher their lives from just their appearance. It turned out to be a rather silly endavour, mostly because he was not very good at recognising the subtle clues hidden in a persons visage. He had spent most of his time with the same people, a few dozen at most, crewing different ships. He couldn't tell a blacksmith from a carpenter unless they straight up told him. The lives of people living inland was still rather unfamiliar to him.

Inland. William suddenly remembered why he was trying go navigate this damn maze in the first place. He wanted inland. There was gold and fortune to be had, all he had to do was find it. Yet his own two feet could only take him so far. He needed a steed. Galloping down a lonely forest path, with danger trailing him and the sack full of plunder. That's where he would be, soon enough.

William smiled slightly at the daydreams, as a passing cloud stole his attention by casting a shadow over the street. He reached up, finding the edge of the dark bandana tied over his hair, tugging it slightly further up on his forehead and thusly readjusting the knot in the back once more. It was time to get moving.

A few turns, a couple of them swiftly undone, and a some length of walking later, William found the guide he needed. The smell. He followed his nose, hands clutched in his pocket to make sure his coin was still there. He stepped closer, determined to get this over with. Yet a thought made itself reminded in the back of his head:

He was not very good at riding.

Whatever, he thought. He had been on a horse before. Maybe even a couple of times. It wasn't that hard, right? Besides, all those heroes of legends? Would they be stopped by something as small as this? No!

William sauntered, bolstered by this new confidence, the last few steps to the doorway and peeked his head in, a hand held on the doorway. "Hello?" he asked the inside, hoping to garner some response.

[Slaine]

Morons that had no business riding anything appeared to be the theme of the day as the arrival of William spurred her back to reality, her posture straightening as she turned away from a sign claiming there to be a sale of some sort that she'd found fixed to the stable walls. He was tall and interesting in the way that new people tended to be in Slaine's eyes as she turned to look the stranger over. "Hello," she parroted, stepping out from behind a rack of tools that had done well to conceal her.

Squinting against the harsh light of the midday sun she raised a hand to shield her eyes and get a better look at the fellow who looked like one of those adventurers that had accompanied Cecilia in her journey - he looked too grimey to be a healer (at least her healer) and magic, being "unheard" of in Fellsgrad she doubted him a mage. A swordsman! A grin tugged at her lips as she lowered her hand, clutching the staff to her chest. Her gaze slid to the knife and sword sheathed at his belt and she scoffed with a note of self-congratulatory laughter. "You don't look like a stable master - pity." He did, however, look like someone who had more experience with this adventuring thing than herself - if scars and "character" meant experience he certainly seemed to have a fair number of both. It was for this reason that her comment (insult?) was not left to be dwelt upon for long. "Are you looking for a mount as well?"

[William Spurr]

William had just popped his head inside, peering in as he tried to overcome the darkness and make sense of what he was seeing. However, as a voice answered his from inside, his head turned sharply to find Slaine emerging from her hiding place. His eyebrows loft slightly in surprise, considering what he was seeing. She was dressed poshly, more expensively so than he could afford. However, the odd overfilled satchel that she carried with her added a certain comical element to her appearance. William sensed that whatever plans this woman had, they might well end in humorous disaster. Nevertheless, she didn't look threatening, so he took another step to enter the stable with a mild smile on his face.

"Not one of those stable lads at all, looking to get me something myself, yes", he answered her question and seemed to mostly ignore her judging eyes and scoffing. "You know whereabouts any of them are?", he then asked in return, hoping the woman would at least prove somewhat useful in his quest and not just be a scoffing nuisance. Typical rich folk, he reckoned. Coming down here with their fancy clothes and trinkets and having nothing better to do than make snarky comments about people trying to make something of their lives. His eyes trace the inside of the stables again, a slight furrow to his brow as his thoughts dwell on the injustices of life, but they soon return to Slaine as he expects an answer.

[Slaine]

"Only arrived myself," she admitted, passing the staff between her hands as she nodded toward the 'sale' sign. "So I haven't yet met any of them myself, no. There is a ten copper sale, however." Her attention turned toward the long hallway of stalls that led further into the building, most empty though it didn't sound as though all of them were. Apprehension creased her brow as she continued to stare, only to be shake from her thoughts yet again by remembering she was no longer alone and should show some of the manners Nigel had spent so long teaching her, especially when he still thought a firm handshake and plenty of eye contact could solve a lot of her problems, if not all of them. Oh, how he must have missed the days before she dabbled in her first bit of magic, before her issues had become a lot more complicated than anything the single father could have imagined.

"I figured they must be on an errand - they'll be back in due time, surely. Until then..." She trailed off, drumming her fingers on the staff as she followed his movement into the stable. "I'm Slaine- where are you going? Or do you have a destination?"

[William Spurr]

Nodded slightly at words, eyeing the sale poster. "Ain't we lucky then?", he remarked in turn as he kept his attention on Slaine as she started asking questions. What was she after? Was she making small-talk, or was there something more sinister behind her intentions? One can never be too careful, after all. However, the odd shapes reminiscent of books protruding out of her satchel had eased him slightly. What sort of criminal or ill-doer would bother bringing their library along with them? Why would anyone, for that matter? Books were heavy, and not really useful for anything. Maybe to start a fire! He chuckled slightly as he came to answer her questions. Most probably she just needed a horse to prance in fancy gardens with. "Name's William. I'm just going out and about, really. What you looking for, eh?" He rolled his shoulders backwards, settling back slightly as he looped his thumbs through his belt.

[NPC]

The stables had been silent and unoccupied for two reasons: on the day of Slaine and William's visit the place was short-staffed and the remaining pair of loyal stable hands were busy wrestling with an unruly mount on the far side of the barn. The two travelers were left to make busy chatter and eye each other up until a crash was heard from the end of the barn. This noise was enough to divert anyone's vision and if Slaine or William looked fast enough towards the commotion, they would see a stable boy sailing through the air in an arch, as if he had been kicked out of the way. After the sound of a thud (the stable boy had made impact with the ground no doubt), the second boy poked his head around the large open doors, finally noticing Slaine and William.

"Oh, hello there!" he said, voice laced with nervousness, and offered a slight wave. The youth looked over his shoulder as if expecting an attack. "Seeking a mount are both of you? Well, it just so happens we have two trusty steeds available, but no horses. I'll bring them to you."

He disappeared around the corner. For the most part, the Fellsgard stables specialized in less exotic mounts such as horses or steer. On the occasion though, they got in rented mounts from Ajteire, with the intention that a new person in Fellsgard would request the same mount and return it back to its home city. It was a system that worked, though there were instances where mounts were never returned and mercenaries were hired to hunt down the stolen mounts.

When the uninjured stable boy came back, he was struggling to pull an animal by a lead rope, a beast that gave off the impression of stubbornness. As the creature came into view and was led towards Slaine, she might be surprised to discover her ride was a stout and beefy looking warthog with magnificent curled tusks, about three and half feet tall. The animal was equipped with a saddle and when it reached Slaine, it lowered its stomach to the ground with a loud snort, intent on taking a nap. It paid Slaine no heed what-so-ever, as if it could care less what was going on, unless food was involved. It was ironic that Slaine had known a horse named "Boar" in the past. Now, out on her own and choosing where to go and what to do, fate circled back and gave her a boar yet again.

"Here you go ma'am. His name is Oscar. He can be a bit unwilling a times, but just give him an apple everyone now and then and you'll be best friends for life," the stable boy explained. Oscar grunted in agreement. The worker then turned back to William, eyed the man up, and gave a confident nod. "Sir, you appear to fairly capable, therefore I have just the mount in mind for you."

The stable boy ran back from where he came. "Patrick, get up. I need your help. Can't do this alone," the kid said, trying to rouse the employee who had flown threw the air earlier.

Another five minutes or ticked on, a struggle could be heard, feathers flew into the air, and the boys returned pulling William's mount in tow. It was an ostrich. A tall, uneasy looking thing with beady and slightly crazed looking eyes that kept rustling its feathers as if wanting to get into a fight. The stable boys made it over to William with the bird without getting hurt. One of them handed William a lead while the other cautiously gave the ostrich's saddle a very light pat.

"You won't find a faster mount around," the stable boy said and added with a grumble, "if you can get on him. We heard his name was Big Arse. Not sure why."

Patrick, the dazed boy pointed to a box at the end of the hall. "Good luck with them. You can deposit the copper in the box down there."

With that, the two boys left Slaine and William to their devices and new "friends". Big Arse craned is gangly neck down, inspected William, and then gave the sailor a poke on his chest with his beak.

[Slaine]

"Much the same-" The girl's attention was drawn by a sudden crash, her eyes widening as a body sailed through the air, grimacing at the bodily thud of his landing. That didn't sound pretty. With eyes wide and alert she glanced toward the second face, a meek grin creased with worry dominating her expression as she found herself herself still anxiously looking for a second face to come from the direction of the landing. "Yes - um - well-" Beginning to have second thoughts on the matter, though the stable hand's nervousness and the hurried clip at which the scene progressed left the socially inexperienced woman at a loss for words, turning a questioning look toward William as if to ask "is this normal?"

With much struggle and much delay, and much to Oscar's apparent dismay, he arrived. Slaine could scarcely believe her eyes, the surreal nature of the interaction leaving her somewhat dazed as she took to examining her new companion without it so much as occurring to her to even attempt to negotiate. Haltingly, she approached the warthog, reaching out a tentative hand to stroke the broad flat of his nose, nearly jumping out of her skin when the beast gave a grunt and shifted abruptly on his belly, leaning more to the side, the saddle no deterrant to the boar when getting comfortable. Exhaling a softer, dismissive grunt the warthog appeared to have capitalized on the idea of a nap, allowing her to cautiously stroke his nose, finding the texture of the coarse hair that sprouted from leathery hide rather suited for the bristles of a brush, scraping her hand like fine, soft wires. "Apples-" she had not accounted fully for provisions yet and mentally added 'apples' to her grocery list, turning a dismaying glare on the stable hand as he referred to William as "capable". As if she wasn't? Crouched next to her sleeping mount, she watched him hawkishly, wanting to see this "challenge".

It was somewhat reassuring to see that Patrick had survived his flight, a testament to the resiliency of the Fellsgrad youth, though she was hesitant to see him marched off to the scene of the initial struggle again so soon, opening her mouth to argue only to again shut it, pressing a hand over her face as she exhaled through her nose and dug her elbow into the inside of her knee. She was up in a split second anyway, climbing to her feet as the boys returned, their Big Arse in tow. Those legs looked properly deadly, picking their way past the sleeping warthog who simply couldn't be Arsed to care, heaving a snort as he stretched out a bit more, sticking a stout, muscled leg out in front of him.

Almost as soon as they arrived, however, the boys were gone - Slaine, certain that Patrick required medical care, felt some duty to complete the transaction though the mounts did not quite line up with her expectations. Fishing out ten copper into her palm, she tucked her money purse away and glanced toward the point of their departure before turning an uneasy stare back on William and his friend. "Do you think he's going to be okay?" Never mind William - she was certain he was going to be anything but, the bird beautifully unique to all the things she had ever seen, and also just flat threatening. "Say, you don't have an apple, do you?"