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Entry 2 The Journal of Kai Aynsthil {Continued}
31st day of Midsomner, 166A.S.
... And the hands! Where do I even begin with these weird, gangly appendages? I can't grip a sword, scratch my back, deepest damnations, I can barely hold this quill! It is no wonder so many Skalds wear little to no clothing whatsoever and what they do wear is merely slung over their bodies like sheets. I couldn't fasten a strap if my life depended on it! And, come to think of it, it might. Gods take me, I feel so useless! Well, at least I have one thing I can count on...
***
Allyn sits on the edge of one of the cots mending the wound that he had received back at the trade house, he seems pretty worse for wear so it would seem you made the right choice to rest up here.
"Gonna be alright...?" You awkwardly try to strike up a conversation. It's hard getting used to your new voice, one of the reasons you practically refused to talk for the entire walk here. The other reason is... You don't trust yourself. You don't believe you can keep it together anymore between your sudden departure from your humanity and the visions that still plague you like waking nightmares. A new life indeed, with all the baggage of the old one...
"Ah, it's nothing really, just another scar I can tell the ladies about, eh? Ah ha...uh," Allyn cuts off his mirth early, realizing what he just said and tries to recover, " W-what I mean is... sorry, I just made this more awkward, didn't I?" Yes. Yes you did, Allyn. You let out a little sigh, you can't keep things this tense between you and your only friend.
"Hey, don't worry about it, if anything, I should be the one who is sorry. I've just been trying to deal with this..." You gesture at yourself, "On my own and... Well, it isn't working." Taking a deep breath and, swallowing what tiny shred of pride you have left, you say, "I... I really need you with me on this, Al. I need to know I'll always have you at my back, just like before, just like it's always been... What do you say?" You look at your long time companion with a hopeful expression.
A smile graces the lips of your best pal as he moves off the bed to kneel next to you, "You know I'll be there for you, Kai. You keep forgetting that I owe you my life after what you did for me..." You stare back at Allyn, trying your best at a smile with your new snout. You think it comes across as more of a toothy snarl.
"You say that, but if I hadn't made you come with me-" You begin, but Al is quick to cut you off.
"No, I went with you because I wanted to. Not because you made me, besides, where would you be if I hadn't followed?" Allyn says with a smirk this time. You admit to yourself that, no matter what decisions were made back at the gorge, neither of you would have survived without the other.
Tears start brimming at the corners of your eyes, "*sniff* Ah, these stupidly big eyes of mine! Allyn, what kind of lizard needs to be this damn emotional?" A large drop escapes your eye and slides down your muzzle to drip on the floor. All of a sudden you're wrapped in a tight, warm embrace.
Your eyes go wider than they already are in surprise. Al pulls you close to his chest, stroking your feathered scalp and along your mane. You relax into the much needed hug, feeling safe and secure. You can't remember the last time you had one, he feels so nice on your scales. Your tail flicks from side to side, the feathery tassel on the end makes a swishing sound.
Your moment is interrupted by a knock at the door to your room. Extricating yourself from your friend, you let him answer it. As he moves away, you blush when you realize that you still aren't technically wearing any clothes. It's not like you have anything 'hanging out' as it were, but your sense of propriety is kicking you for giving your best friend a naked-hug.
Allyn comes back with a large chest, "Well, these must be the provisions we were promised..." He sets the trunk down on the floor. It looks quite big, but so does everything at your height. Al rifles through the assorted goods, "Dried beef, salt pork, preserved veggies, some bundles of hard tack..." He pulls out rope, torches, new clothes...
"Hey, throw some of those over here!" You motion to the bundle of cloth in his hands, Al tosses it your way. He keeps sorting and cataloging the equipment as you get dressed. As you cinch the knots around a piece of clothing resembling an ornate loincloth, you get the impression that everything about the clothes were designed with a Skald's lack of claw dexterity in mind. All the fastenings are loose and require little more than a tug to make them snug once you've donned the article and most of the pieces can just be thrown on, hitching to either your claws or horns.
Embarrassingly enough, if you didn't appear very feminine before hand - without the feathers there wouldn't be much to distinguish you from a male Skald - it'd be hard to mistake you for anything else now in your brightly coloured and form fitting attire. You look down at yourself and smile at how the clothes accentuate your natural figure and compliment your beautiful scales... You blush at your thoughts and shake your head. This transformation doesn't seem to be done with you, it might be having an effect on your mind.
Allyn interrupts your thoughts, "Woah..." You turn around to see him holding something, a strange device made of metal and wood. "What do you think this is? Some sort of magic artifact?" You take a closer look, the wood appears intricately carved and inlaid with silver, no doubt this was commissioned by House Sologuard as his crest is embossed on the end. Partially shrouded by the wood is a tube of metal, also carefully engraved, and this is secured to the wooden frame by a couple bands of brass. To one side, you see a small dish, a cover with a flat, metal protrusion and some sort of holder that contains a piece of flint. It's small enough to fit your grip comfortably and you wonder if it's just a gaudy flint-striker, you are perfectly adept at starting your own fires without such fanciful aid.
"There's a note in here as well..." Your friend starts to read it, his eyes going wide, "Gods, look at this." He hands you the paper.
Mr. Aynsthil, Mr. Burbridge
I hope these supplies find you in good health and I do wish you the best of fortune on your journey ahead! However, due to the nature of your mission and the unique state of Mr. Aynsthil, I cannot in good conscience leave your successes up to luck alone. Among your supplies is a prototype for a new weapon being developed by the Sologuard Trade Partnership, we call it a Hammer-Locked Firebrand, or hammerlock for short. You would be among the first to ascertain its efficacy in combat, so below I've included the safe practices for the effective use and care of the weapon...
Yours sincerely,
Galden Cisero Branbarth III
You find the propellant mentioned in the dispatch, it appears to be a satchel filled with paper tubes. In each tube is a coarse, red powder - something they call 'dragon-sand' which is supposedly a by-product of refining magic deposits - and a lead sphere, which is meant to be propelled out of the hammerlock and at the intended target. In essence, it acts like any ranged weapon - bow, ballista, sling - just point and shoot.
"Well, at least I have a weapon that fits my hand now and, if I'm to believe the sales pitch, it is a powerful one at that..." You pull the striker back and it locks in place with a satisfying *click* then you test the trigger *clack!* sparks shower from the piece of flint hitting the metal striker. "Alright, let's get some sleep and head out in the morning, we've got a lot of ground to cover and I've got to find away to return to my old self..." You set the weapon down by the trunk and sling the satchel of shot into a far corner of the room, not really trusting its contents.
"Heh, it's good to hear you talk like that again, just like the Kai I remember! There's always a plan. Also, you seem to be getting the hang of that tongue of yours, if you can master that I'm sure nothing can stand in our way!" You and Allyn share a good-natured chuckle.
"Well, if I can't kill something with my weapon, I suppose I can finish it with my sharp wit! Ah, anyway, let's get some rest. Today has been all too much for me, g'night." You say as you fall into your cot.
"Amen to that... night." Allyn is quick to pass into a land of slumber, while you fidget around trying to find a comfortable way to nap. Eventually you give up and roll to your side and hope your dreams will be merciful to you tonight...