Difference between revisions of "Logs:Storytime"

It's late, late enough that the kids and the old folks are being shuffled off to bed. In fact, most people are retiring to their caves or their little huts to take refuge from the cold, damp night on the island. The fire's gone low, but Raum lingers beside it, one knee propped up while he watches the glowing embers.

Instead of going off to a cozy cave, Rhaelyn is coming into the settlement all bundled up in raggedy layers with a basket swinging from one little hand. She makes a swift path to the fire and Raum might be able to hear the clickity-click of her chattering teeth. Living here her whole life hasn't made her impervious to the awful cold. The newcomer is looked over in silence as she cuddles in closer and closer to the coals. "Hello. I have heard so much about you." Unaware that you likely don't know anything about her.

Pulled from his reverie by the greeting, Raum peers up at Rhaelyn, though his eyes are slow to adjust to the darkness after the glow of the fire. "Have you." It's not a question. "I suppose I should expect to be gossip fodder for many more turns, no more than goes on here. Come warm yourself up, girl."

Rhaelyn holds out the basket to offer out her bounty of berrys, taking one herself. "I was told not to talk with you." She grins to be breaking the command as she scoots in closer to the warmth. "What has you up so late anyway?"

"And yet here you are anyway," observes Raum, watching Rhaelyn now instead of the fire. He reaches in to take one of the berries, popping it into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. "Age, and occupation," is his answer to the question. "I was a guard before--I'm sure you know. We keep odd hours. Why are you here? Other than they told you not to."

Rhaelyn smiles and meets Raum's gaze and holds it, very interested in the stranger, as though she might find something different about him than others bred on the island. "What do guards do?" It seems an unusual title from her outlook on life. She chews on another berry before answering his question, "I couldn't sleep so I went to get berries." A small shrug, "This is just an added bonus, running into you like this." A look around to indicate not many people to drag the girl away from danger.

A lift of his shoulders, and Raum answers, "We watch things. You don't ever have to guard your supplies here? We guards stores, tithes, whatever else is valuable. Once some commoners were unhappy about the Lord so they threw dead animals in the well, and then we guarded that." A beat; while she looks around at the empty camp, he does not, taking another berry in the meantime. "Mostly, I guarded the Lord. Man like that--powerful men--they have a lot of enemies."

Rhaelyn breaths out a thoughtful little 'hhmmm' about the job of a guard. "I don't think we have much things to 'guard'. We watch our own things." She makes a face and admits, "Although seeing as a lot of our things were piled up in the open not so long ago, perhaps we -should- have guards." The idea of things that a guard might do is aluring for the girl, "Did you have to fight these enemies of the Lord?"

Raum's frow is thoughtful for a moment. "Not as such, not often," he admits. "Sometimes we'd go run the holdless off our land again, but that wasn't much of a fight. Sometimes we'd round up the latest convicts and take care of them. But the Lords themselves--it's all politics. Who's in favor, who's out. Who thinks they could be Lord if something unfortunate happened to the currentLord. They don't like to get their hands dirty, the Blood; they like deals and bribes and accidents."

Rhaelyn holds up one of her hands at the reminder of not liking to be dirty and holds it to the fire to check before picking out another berry to snack on. "You run the holdless off?" Her eyebrows gather together as she tries to piece together the idea of this outside world. "Do the Lords only let the blooded family stay in the holds then? Are you Blood too?" There's a little grin about 'accidents' but she hides it by looking through the berries in her basket.

"No, there's a few thousand unBlooded in the hold proper, too," replies Raum. "Not to mention in the outlying holds. The holdless, though--At best they're lazy vagrants and thieves, at worst, criminal scum who'll do anything for a mark. I'm no Blood, myself, but I was captain of the Lord's guard--at least as good, and maybe better. Though it makes a target of you as well."

Rhaelyn's nose crinkles, "That sounds awful. So dangerous. I think I'd want my very own guard too." She lifts her chin and then giggles and asks, "Does the Lord's children get guards to look out for them? Or are they sent to the Harper? Why do the holdless think they have such rights? To be lazy and steal and not pull their weight." She sniffs delicately, if anyone is going to be lazy, it's going to be someone with a right to the highlife.

Raum swipes another berry. "Oh, they've guards too, of course. Wouldn't want them to get hurt or stolen, either. But by and large, it's peaceful; the conspirators know they have to go through us first and that's impossible without a man on the inside. Which we also take pains to guard against." As for the holdless? His brows knit slightly. "Why not? They've discovered it's easy, and it works, and so of course there's always somebody who'll exploit the system. You don't have that here?"

Rhaelyn frowns as she thinks this over, "I wish my great grandparents would have had guards...then maybe they could have killed the dragonriders who came for them." The mainland might think that thought is outragous but not so for this young lady. "Maybe that is why it's like that now...maybe the know people just....'vanish'." She shudders at the thought, "I wonder how many other islands there are..." A little sigh then and she's distracted by the qustion, "Oh, the elders make sure to punish anyone who doesn't pull their share. unless you're Blooded. Although I've been in trouble plenty for not doing work. It just isn't 'fair'."

"Riders are a different story. One doesn't just charge into a fight with them," is Raum's even observation to that. He leans over to take a branch and stir the fire back into more life, the better to take the chill off them. As to the latter-- "Have you. Well, that's just a shame, that they don't see the merit of you sitting around uselessly while we slave."

Rhaelyn laughs prettily, "Oh, don't sound so sour. Everyone is expected to be productive here. So, you should be happy that we have no holdless criminals for you to fight off." She watches the fire blaze up as the stick pokes at it. "Why can't the holders just...take over the Weyr? Do they really have that much power? Mind control right?" She taps the side of her head.

Raum shrugs. "It'd be a nice change of pace," he admits. "Something to do. It's boring out here, with no scheming rivals and Blood vendettas. I don't know how you people stand such lives. --The Weyr, though? You can't take the Weyr, and you certainly couldn't hold it. They could lay siege to you, burn your fields, eat you, even, I expect. If you're going to start a war, you want them fighting with you, not against you."

Rhaelyn makes a sour face, "They are horrible. They are the reason we're here. I know you'll hear other stories but ...." she bites off her words and sighs, "At least that is the story that my father tells me. I would rather have nothing to do with them. How could you trust them? Burning holds to the ground and killing people." The girl makes a face as she pulls her blankets around her tighter, "I think you'll find we have our own flavor of rivals and vendettas...you just have to nose under the right rocks. Anyway, I should be going. Enjoy the rest of the berries though." As she hands over the basket she adds, "I'm Rhaelyn by the way. Not accustomed to people not knowing me." And with that she strolls back into the darkness to find her way home.