I'm on my way from misery to happiness today

[itookashot]

WHO: Jesper Fahey, Ciri, Claude von Riegan, and Gideon Nav
WHAT: It's Quest Time Baby
WHERE: Throughout the journey to Solvunn's Supply Run
WHEN: September
WARNINGS: Eventual violence!



With Solvunn providing aid, the leaders of Thorne and the Free Cities have asked some of their trusted Summoned to travel to an agreed-upon meeting point to retrieve the supplies, check them, and bring everything back safely. This will take two weeks out of Cadens to do. While portals will be utilized to cut down on travel time, they will still need to cover the remaining distance of some miles to reach their final destination each way.

The Free Cities will ask the Summoned to accompany some soldiers to help guard the supply transport. They will be taking the southern trail (shown by the dotted lines) across the desert, traveling west to the forest that sits between the Solvunn and Free Cities border. While a portal will take the transport team as close as possible, characters will still need to make the rest of the journey by horse, ensuring the wagons come through the portal safely. They will also need to watch for the usual beasts and bandits, as well as take into account weather, terrain, and other hazards. To complete the assignment, they must successfully bring the supplies back to the waiting portal and into Cadens.

Comments

[godshattering]

"Something like that." In response to experience, that is, and purposefully aloof in what's more of a deliberate omission of the full truth for what ears may be around listening besides who he's speaking to. One more look over his shoulder into the camp might offer a clue there's more to it than mere wartime alone, but before sharing he'll have to consider how to phrase it to not end up in this military. Something he'd rather avoid, despite the cooperation on taking on this trip.

"As for the desert - yes, some of it. I grew up in and around deserts, so much of where we've traveled feels oddly familiar to me though nothing else about here particularly does. Later on I moved into a port city which was a completely different experience, and though Cadens lacks the sea part of that the markets remind me of ones I used to walk through."

A breeze rustles what dry grasses are nearby as it blows in some of the night chill, and Claude turns his gaze to the sky above next. Tonight's sky has some clouds but fortunately nothing that indicates poor weather on the way. It takes a few more seconds but he does end up locating some of the constellations he's learned, and that process is as centering as always.

"In that war - I was a commander," he says after some time passes, voice much lower to avoid it carrying as he looks back out to the land once more. "In between planning strategies, I often stayed awake to keep watch to let others rest. Old habits die hard by being here, I suppose."

[wiedzminka]

There is something to be said about being out here in the desert, sparse and low vegetation and rocky hills the only things blocking the horizon: without the buildings and the lights of the city, the sky above shines brilliantly with stars. It's not a sight that's unusual for Ciri, but it remains a beautiful one.

"I grew up in a port city, myself. The desert isn't a place I thought I could enjoy. But perhaps I've grown used to it -- or I'm coming around to some of its particular charms."

She glances over at him again to see his face, what is visible of it in the moonlight, when he drops his voice. Ciri nods once, similarly quiet.

"That sounds like a lot of responsibility."

[godshattering]

"What was your port city like?" Curiosity, as usual, gets the better of Claude and he offers an ever so slightly apologetic smile after if that was tactless. "If you don't mind me asking, that is. Mostly because I know Jesper's also from one that sounds a lot like mine, and I'm curious if those similarities hold true even across worlds."

Always looking for a chance to learn more about where everyone's from means that applies here, too, but not all nostalgia is good nostalgia. Something Claude knows well himself as not all memories are positive ones. Asking about homes is generally a safe enough topic, he's found.

At the mention of responsibility, Claude simply nods. "It was. There were a lot of things to keep in balance and they could shift at any second depending on weather, bandits, what our enemies planned to do - you name it, I had to account for whatever could happen. But I was good at it." A pause since, well, that's rather close to bragging and that wasn't actually his intent in talking about this. "My main goal was to make sure everyone always came back safely and I never failed it. That's really the marker I cared about the most."

Something that's also their main goal here; one he takes seriously despite his generally unruffled attitude, which is why when there's a sound nearby that not produced by the wind Claude pauses with his hand automatically going to the collapsible sword secured at his waist. This time, fortunately, it's only a small animal that scurries out of hiding on the way to somewhere else.

[wiedzminka]

"Big. Busy." She waves a hand, gives a vague shrug. Realizing she's the one who sort of led the conversation here, Ciri doesn't say she minds him asking, but she doesn't seem to be particularly eager to share details either. "I haven't been back in a long time. Don't know what it's like these days."

She listens as Claude keeps talking, letting him lead the conversation. He seems chatty, but Ciri doesn't find it unpleasant. He knows when to shut up.

Her shoulders tense, attention snapping to the movement at the same time as his.

"...rabbit," she mutters, when the source of the sound becomes apparent. Her eyes fall to Claude's hand, and the weapon he was reaching for. She recognizes it, even folded up.

"That one of Jayce's?"

[godshattering]

For all his chatter, Claude recognizes when someone responds with what answers the question and at the same time also says don't beneath it. While his younger self would've latched right onto that and kept running with it, he simply nods at Ciri's response about where she once lived. Not having been back to somewhere in a long time: something else he can relate to too well.

Something he might've said aloud were it not for that soon revealed as unnecessary alarm over a rabbit of all things. Said rabbit's unlikely to injure them any time soon, and even with all the strange occurrences he's seen since arriving Claude doubts it's going to transform into anything larger out of nowhere.

It takes him a second to piece together Ciri's question with realizing his hand went to the sword without fully recognizing the action, and Claude blinks down at it and withdraws it with his hand on the hilt to show her even though he's also assuming she's familiar with it by knowing whose handiwork it is.

"Sure is. It's the first weapon I picked up here since bows were a bit out of my price range until recently. Jayce recommended this one to me. I've never seen a collapsible sword before since the ones I'm used to look more like yours." Said with a nod to Ciri's own weapon as he replaces this sword back at his hip. "Swords aren't my specialty even though they're the first weapon I trained with when I was a kid. But - if I had to guess - I'd say they're yours."

[wiedzminka]

Ciri nods. Cracks a bit of a smile.

"I told you I'm no good with a bow." At least, not in comparison.

"As a secondary weapon, that's not a bad choice." She nods toward the collapsible sword. "Lightweight, easy to carry. Good in a pinch. Jayce made me one too."

Obviously, she doesn't use it on a regular basis; she doesn't seem to be visibly carrying it. The sword she's got on her back is also Jayce's handiwork, but it's a solid steel blade.

[godshattering]

"I'm not sure 'no good' is the right description there since I still say you're rather good with one, but. I get it a little more after seeing you with a sword." Said with a faint smile since Claude hasn't forgotten Ciri's deflection of that compliment what feels like long ago now thanks to everything that's occurred in between, and he follows that up with a slight nod in regards to Jayce's work."I figured it was better to have more options on hand than relying on just one. A bow, a sword - all I need now is an axe and that'd about cover most of what I trained in. Except then it'd mean I'd have to drag an axe around, and that'd probably stand out for the wrong reasons."

Not as easily disguised as swords and lances, and far more foreboding than a bow in terms of what'd likely get some askance looks from the guards these days. If they're lucky, maybe participating on this supply run will mean some goodwill extended their way upon their return.

"Forgive me if I've already asked this," he says after some quiet's stretched on for a bit and the night remains calm, "but back in the hunting grounds I got the impression that wasn't your first time taking down large creatures, for lack of a better way to put it. Are you someone who also hunts in the desert as well?"

He's heard a bit about what lurks out there between other Summoned and his own research, and knows a couple others who'd be interested in exploring around out there. Needless to say, it'd help if they knew what they were walking into beyond what Claude's observed on this particular trip so far.

[wiedzminka]

Ciri gives him a bit of a funny look. She'd thought it was obvious by now.

"It's my profession. It's why the military sought me out for this escort job."

Which is to say, she'd agreed to the request, but she hadn't freely volunteered. Ciri's not sure actually how the others wound up here. The request had been up on public notices, so she assumed that the others simply showed up for it.

"Why? You're looking to be my competition?"

This is mostly a joke. Plenty of monsters out in the desert and merchants looking for guards. At least... there had been, before. Ciri's not sure yet what new patterns the burgeoning war will encourage, but she suspects it won't be a need for fewer protections.

[godshattering]

That gets a bit of a raised eyebrow from Claude, both for the confirmation of it being her profession - something he'd suspected but figured it wouldn't hurt to not assumed - and the added tidbit of the military seeking Ciri out for this. He studies her for a second or two longer then offers a smile over going from working together on this venture to being opponents in the loosest sense of that word.

"No, not competition. Or more like not exactly if I can avoid it, since I think I'd be leagues behind." Said lightly enough, but: seriously. He mostly knows his limits even while acting otherwise. "I have a couple friends who I think wouldn't mind having something to do with regularity once things have calmed to whatever they will be. None of us are unfamiliar with taking on missions, so to speak, so they're both more than capable of it."

Monsters, on the other hand - that'll take a bit more learning of what's here compared to what they know from Fodlan. That he has no problem believing is vastly different, if only because Cadens and its desert entirely match what he knows and Claude's fairly certain it's completely different for both Petra and Sylvain.

"I volunteered for this," he adds, that statement its own variety of volunteering now as well. "It seemed like a good way to see what's out there beyond Cadens, aside from being able to help a bit more beyond what's... happened in Libertas."

[wiedzminka]

Ciri frowns slightly when he mentions his friends. It feels like every other Summoned who pops up thinks they're ready to run into the desert and hunt monsters.

After a moment, she only shrugs.

"If you think they can manage it without losing a limb or a head. Better work near the roads." Where there are fewer and usually more familiar monsters, she means.

As for his reasons for traveling out here... Ciri snorts.

"Oh, you came to sightsee? Bet you're enjoying the view. Rocks and dirt. Eventually, we might see a tree."

[godshattering]

Staying near the roads is a good tip and he nods, both to that and what's he's hearing as implied in it. "I'm not concerned about their abilities, so to speak, as I've seen them work firsthand. But I don't think any of us are eager to take on more than we've experienced before, so sticking to more explored areas is fine by me."

Another reason for being out here even if he hadn't quite thought of it that way at first, though when Ciri's quick to point out this scenery isn't exactly thrilling Claude can't help a grin. And because he can, he'll make a show of contemplating this like she's presented him with a great mystery. "A tree would break things up rather nicely out here, but desert itself is nothing I haven't seen before so it's kind of nice on its own." That's followed up with a shrug, since - "I'll still take rocks and dirt meant to be here over the kind that shouldn't since it's from from collapsed buildings any day."

Just a reality and nothing more to it, and it's something that includes much more than Abraxas. "I used to have the same thought after leaving a battle. Suddenly even seeing the emptiest field while traveling felt like an absolute vision in comparison, probably because then it's less about what there is to see and simply being somewhere else."

[wiedzminka]

What a positively morbid spin on optimism. Ciri's eyebrows raise, and she seems to consider this. Then, she simply shrugs.

"That's certainly one way to learn how to appreciate your surroundings. Fair enough."

She doesn't provide her own thoughts on this, though by her lack of any sort of horrified reaction, it's probably clear enough she knows what he's talking about. Fields full of bodies are something she's seen before enough to take his appreciation of empty ones seriously. Whatever gets him through the day.

we can wrap this one here if that works!

[godshattering]

One more shrug from Claude happens at her response, this time just with one shoulder as he keeps his eyes out on the horizon they're meant to be watching. He's aware of how it sounds, just as he's every bit as aware only those who've experienced something along the same lines are the only ones who don't have some kind of physical or verbal recoil over it. Asking if that's the case for Ciri, however, is decidedly not his business at this point.

"Made it easier to get by is all it was. I'm sure it says more about me than anything else."

And it is far easier to stare at desert with nothing in it rather than thinking about the collapse of Libertas, or how working those rescue and infirmary shifts pushed him to team up with the military when he'd worked to avoid them for months. Here they are, and they'll return to what they left behind soon enough.

Maybe it's for that reason Claude doesn't feel the need to find anything else to say for a change, and why he doesn't bother break the quiet which falls between them after until it's time for other, lighter subjects to come up eventually. There'll be time enough for other talks later without soldiers overhearing whatever else might be said.