The Shayenne Plot [Open]

Subject: The Shayenne Plot [Open] Thu May 09, 2019 12:45 pm

Freki was wandering through the streets of Shayenne, trying to avoid being constantly bumped into. It was a challenge. People were too inconsiderate and most of them were in a hurry, which already implied that they did not watch out where they were going and shouted at every one for being in their way. He wiped away a strand of his white hair that kept falling into his face. The shoulder length hair was usually kept together by a blue band; however, a few strains always seemed to manage to escape. Hanging after his thoughts while trying to stay out of the main rush of people, and thus as close to the walls of the houses as possible, Freki was contemplating his life. Lately, he had been feeling a bit off, like he was wasting his time, his complete life basically, though he could not put his finger on why that would be so. Of course, being a gardener and taking care of his little household was a lot of fun but somehow it was not completely fulfilling anymore. He loved nature and everything about it. The special connection to his natural environment, the way it was talking to him, was the reason he had become a gardener in the first place, even though it did not pay too much. It was also why he was known to be good at his job, hence getting a lot of assignments. He simply had wanted to do something he loved for a living instead of forcing himself to do a mediocre job he hated simply because it paid some money.

It was only when he was slammed against the wall that he noticed the elderly woman that was shouting at him. “Just watch where you put your feet!” The grey hair knob on her head seemed to be nodding in accordance with what she was saying, none of it nice. She had shoved her overly huge shopping basket into his stomach, trying to get him to pay attention, only so she could shout at him. Finally realising that she was wasting her breath on him, she shot him an evil glance as if she wanted to say ‘the youth of today.. no respect for older people’ and shuffled on. Freki couldn’t help but wonder what this little scene had been about, a simple angry shout would have been enough if she thought it that necessary to vent her anger. He shook his head. People weren’t who they used to be. It seemed that friendliness had disappeared. It was everyone against everyone else, individual for individual, without an apparent sense of community. Which was rich coming from a community that praised the way it held together and praised those who guarded the people against outside threats.

Freki had learned to hate the village and he especially didn’t like it when it was as busy as now, much preferring his little settlement a little further out. But grocery shopping needed to be done and market day was the best time to get some decent deals and nice items. He couldn’t care less about groceries at the moment though. His amber eyes were fixed on the newest attraction in town – the new dragons that had been rounded up at one end of the market place. He hated the fact that wild animals, creatures that were supposed to roam the wild, free and unbroken, were sold to serve others, to serve as slaves and cannon fodder against attacks from bigger, nastier things. It simply was not right and most people knew it but nobody dared do anything against it.

A shudder snaked down Freki’s spine and he tried to walk away. However, something kept him there and he could not look away, keeping an eye on the dragons to see their reactions to what was about to happen to them. It was like a seeing a murder victim, despite the revulsion, one’s eyes could not be averted. The creatures knew exactly what awaited them though they did not seem eager to do anything about it. Some were fighting back but most were apathetically standing there, waiting for their doom to unload upon them. It made him angry, so so angry.

Subject: Re: The Shayenne Plot [Open] Thu May 09, 2019 3:28 pm

If Odary hadn't already been keeping track of the days, then the sheer number of people out on the streets would have told her straight away that it was dragon market day. Not every week did the dragon catchers come in to Shayenne to sell their creatures- and a good thing, because ethics aside, it filled the city streets to the brim with gawking tourists and rich, callous buyers. There were always the commercial buyers who wanted the larger beasts too making things worse with their huge converted prison carts, and a few silly teenagers with money burning holes in their pockets to gawp at the gossamer dragons and butterfly dragons who wanted to hold the creatures like pet hawks and show off to their friends a pet for the day. And the bloody idiots always stood far too close to the cages. God, the screams once she'd heard all the way from her forge when an unfortunate young thing had been caught by a whiptail. It had been all people had talked about for days.

After that, she'd had enough of the fools being allowed to be morons. If last time hadn't been bad enough to put them off, someone'd be eaten next. At least she could be flexible enough with her own work that it gave her the leeway to shut up shop on days like this and make her way down to the market to put a stop to anything really awful. Within magical limits, of course.
Pausing to dip her head into a hot snack shop and grab a cone of sweet honey-dipped nuts, Odary mooched her way over to where the dragon catchers always parked up their cages. Already they were drawing a crowd, a couple of children cooing over a scroll dragon in a cage. This time they'd taken the 'cute' dragons to one side for that sort of attention, leaving the larger dragons to steam and stew for the general public. Gods, they'd gotten an ebony hunter from somewhere. A wolf dragon howled from behind it, and... they must have been down to the south somewhere, because there was a pair of antler dragons and, most surprising of all, a black blade seething from beneath a mountain of chains. This one she kept a close eye on as she dug her hand into the cone of nuts and crunched away, the crowds flowing around her.

The beast growled and pulled at the chains around her, tail whipping back and forth as the crowds agitated her more and more. In turn the other dragons inched away from a dragon obviously more highly strung, known for their poor temperament.
Who on earth had decided that it was a good idea to catch one anyway? What were you going to do with a black blade? It wasn't as if it had a use like a ramshorn or an antler. The air practically crackled with tension, then the dragon was opening her mouth and fire was gathering in her throat, eyes locking on to the crowd swarming along the nearby street.

Odary's snack went flying as she shoved aside a pale-haired man to block the blast of fire, feeling the tug of magic in her gut as she deflected it up into the sky with a sweep of her arms, hands shaking at the adrenaline of it as the dragon ran out of breath. She slowly lowered them as the road went silent around her, then shrugged, a self-depricating grimace on her face.
"Y'all walk too close. Dragons are dangerous."

Subject: Re: The Shayenne Plot [Open] Thu May 09, 2019 3:56 pm

Holy dragon shit! That he had not expected!

All of a sudden, Freki found himself on the ground, panting hard while the Black Blade stomped her clawed paws in her cage, uneasy, on edge and lusting for blood. An odd silence had fallen over the square as people tried to get their bearings and understand what had just happened, or maybe they were just stunned by the display of fire, having forgotten that not all dragons were content to just wait around in a cage to be bought by some idiot. Maybe it was just Freki who was trying to get his bearings, his trajectory having abruptly altered as someone had shoved him, hard.

When he looked around, he saw a woman standing not far off in a defensive stance and hair the exact opposite of his; black and curly, whereas his was almost white and ruler straight. When she admonished the onlookers, he realised that she was the one who had pushed him out of the way of the fire.

Getting back onto his feet, he looked at her briefly and said “thank you” in a low voice before self-consciously dusting off his trousers. Not that a little dust was going to change the fact that there was dirt on them anyway from where he had spent an hour in the garden early this morning.

He was curious how she had done whatever it was she had done, but he wasn’t really wanting to ask her since he didn’t know her, and her stance and general appearance, especially the fact that her arms were bare and spoke of physical work, didn’t really invite for anyone to question her. Others weren’t as polite and more than one person insulted her for telling them off. Though she was absolutely right and he grumbled a “Fools” under his breath as he watched them move back towards the dragon cages again as if nothing had happened, as if they hadn’t almost just gotten barbecued.

Subject: Re: The Shayenne Plot [Open] Mon May 13, 2019 9:17 pm

A long breath slowly escaped Odary's mouth as she held her stance for a beat longer, then dropped her hands and relaxed, brushing the soot from her arms. Belatedly she realised her snack was thrown all over the floor around her, nuts scattered into the dirt and completely inedible now.
"Aw nuts," she grumbled before realising the irony of her words. The private laughter died on her lips as those around her began to pick out the perpetrator of the disruption, slinging insults as her as they continued on their way as if they hadn't almost been fried to a crisp. As she was shoved to one side by a pair of silly boys intent on racing towards the black blade cage as fast as their fool legs would take them, her temper began to fizzle.

"Hey, you're welcome! For not being dragon dinner right now! Why do I even bother?" Her raised voice seemed to fall on deaf ears. At the dragon's cage, two handlers were wrestling to get the beast under control, with pikes and metal boards to 'protect' the amassing crowds. Not that that'd do much for them at such close proximity- Odary was staying right back. If anything, the fire had only attracted people closer. She rolled her eyes, then noticed a man staring at her, looking a little more worse for wear. She wasn't entirely sure, but she might have shoved him in her haste to get in the crossfire of the dragon.
"I'm sorry, did I knock y'down? Wasn't paying attention. Kinda had bigger things to worry about." She pointed with a thumb towards the dragon, which happened to let out an almighty roar that was eye-wateringly loud.

Subject: Re: The Shayenne Plot [Open] Tue May 14, 2019 7:41 am

Fixedly staring at the dragons and the people milling around in front of their cages, another shiver ran down Freki’s back and he couldn’t suppress it. His fingers balled into fists, released the tension before immediately returning to the shape of a fist. He hated market day. Why had he come here? He should have just sucked it up and paid more and gone to Shayenne on any other day, just not market day.

He couldn’t do anything about the bigger dragons, not in the least because some, like the Black Blade were seriously pissed off, but maybe he could do something about the smaller ones, the gossamers and butterflies.

Freki almost cocked his head to the side as he wondered where that sudden thought and urge had come from. What did he think he could do to help them? A mere gardener. He was no dragon tamer. He had no idea what to do with the beasts once he had them. Though of course, that was exactly it, wasn’t it? He didn’t want to use them for anything. He wanted to free them.

Just as that thought was swirling around in his head, the woman addressed him. It took him a moment to realise what she was saying as his mind was somewhere completely different but when her words finally penetrated, he looked at her and attempted a half-hearted smile. “Don’t worry about it. I’m usually covered in dirt and crawling around on the ground one way or another.” His gaze immediately went back to the dragons and he couldn’t help the sigh that escaped his lips. Some kids were poking sticks at the smaller dragons to try to get them to act all dragon-y like the Black Blade, or so he assumed. They were pissing him off.

Unaware he was doing so, he began moving even closer to the cages, briefly throwing over his shoulder in the general direction of the woman: “I’m going to do something stupid now, no doubt.” It was going to be incredibly stupid, but he just couldn’t help himself.

Just as he reached the cages, two of the dragons that had been poked at, cried out in pain and one of the butterfly wings was drooping to the floor now. The kids were giggling in triumph as they kept poking. What on earth was the fun in this?! Freki felt a cold rage take hold of him, him, the person who had never been able to hurt a fly. But these kids, he wanted to take them and wring their necks.

Instead, he turned his now enraged face towards the vendor. “Is this how you let people who are clearly not going to buy anything treat your wares? I might have been interested in buying one or the other but now……” Freki trailed off, letting the disgust he had for the man and his business clearly show on his face, only that the man read it as disgust in the way things were being handled and scrambled off his high horse immediately.

Subject: Re: The Shayenne Plot [Open] Tue Jun 04, 2019 8:49 pm

Usually covered in dirt on the ground anyway? What a weird hobby. Odary raised one eyebrow as the strange man turned back towards the dragons again. Maybe he was one of those naturalist folk interested in plants and bugs Or was that naturist? Probably the second, she decided; it sounded more plausible. Either way, it seemed he, like every other brainless Shayennese, felt the need to converge towards the caged dragons.

"I mean, you're kinda doing something stupid right now," Odary quipped back as he closed distance on the cages, abandoning the thaought of getting more snacks, over having to protect all these morons a second time. Black blades had a lot of juice in them when it came to angry rages. She'd probably rank them up near the Tribal battle bloods, which were just legendary- everyone knew about them. There were probably a few other breeds up there too, but she wasn't sure of them. Black blades thought, she was sure she didn't want anything to do with them.

She trailed after the dusty man, readying herself to prevent themselves (and everyone else) from becoming extra-well-done meat snacks,

She hadn't taken him for a buyer of dragons, and her mood instantly cooled towards him. Maybe she should have let him get singed... Meanwhile, the seller was immediately prostrating himself.
"Awfully sorry sir- out Black blade is causing a bit of distraction today. Obviously I wouldnt want to sell you a defected product at full price..." He grabbed the offending stick from the child and smacked it at the little rat's reaching fingers. "Get out of here, you scoundrels."

Subject: Re: The Shayenne Plot [Open] Mon Jun 24, 2019 8:54 am

“Stupid is the right idea,” Freki muttered under his breath in response to the woman’s comment, unsure whether she heard him or not. What was important was that the vendor hadn’t heard him but the latter was busy chasing away the kids, who were shooting disappointed and angry glares at him, hurrying back to their mummy and daddy to complain. He could just…. Eurgh!

“That one has a stiff leg,” Freki began pointed at each of the smaller dragons in turn. “That one has a broken wing. That one is missing scales all over his body.” The dragons were slowly beginning to come to attention in their cage, one of the gossamer cocking its head before howling and licking its tail like it was hurt. The gardener took his cue from the animal and pointed at it: “That one has a bloodied tail. The other one over there can only see out of one eye.”

He turned towards the vendor. “Do you want me to continue? Do you want me to comment more on the poor state your wares are in? They’re useless.”

“Oh, no, no,” the vendor wrung his hands, eyeing the curiously listening crowd around them. “I assure you they are all perfectly healthy” – more moaning and howling from the cage that made the vendor glare at the beasts before turning his attention back to Freki – “and able to do their work.”

Freki just shook his head and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “And don’t blame the Black Blade for riling up the other dragons when it clearly was the kids who are responsible for it and who injured at least some of these butterflies. Though in the meantime, I do have to wonder whether they haven’t already been in a terribly poor state before you even set up shop here.”

In the background, the Black Blade was roaring again, preparing to launch some more flames into the people who were crowding dangerously – and stupidly – close to its cage.

There was muttering and grumbling from the crowd, some in agreement of Freki’s words which made the vendor even more nervous, some angry because he blamed the kids which didn’t exactly appease the vendor, and suddenly they were all screaming when the Black Blade spit fire again.

Subject: Re: The Shayenne Plot [Open] Fri Jul 05, 2019 8:37 pm

Spying an opportunity to make the most of the commotion, and look far better by comparison, Hansou's voice struck up amid the market, with every bit of confidence in his words.
"Yes my friends, why indeed have a rams horn at all? Strong, certainly. Works for days? Absolutely! But if it's protection you want, then they're no good at all. Nobody is frightened by a rams horn, they eat with the sheep." The man swatted his cane in the air, a dark and oiled wood with a wrap of dark emerald green where he held it, the same colour that bound the upper half of his garments. On his chest was emblazoned the insignia of the traders company he belonged to; Rose.

"Here I bring to you on this day, one spine dragon, a magnificent whiptail and the jewel in the plains known as a male lion maned dragon, and in his prime too." He lightly struck the tip of his cane to the jaw of the lion maned dragon. It hardly did so much as move, its eyes glazed over as if it had vacated all thought for the present.
"A dragon of low arcane such as this one is not fit to reckon against a suitable master, and what makes a suitable master?" He asked rhetorically, gesturing then to the sprawl of wares beside him, with more loaded into his cart.
"Arcanics! Superb arcanics to control your dragon, and you'll never have to fear man nor beast again." The lion maned dragon, around its broad neck and hidden beneath its glorious mane, bore an iron collar. It was not a terribly close fit, but it was also soundly in place. To briefly demonstrate Hansou seized a dainty wooden poles from the cart and jabbed it quickly to the side of the lion maned's cage. Immediately the dragon hissed yet, without any sign of retaliation, it receded further into the corner of its cage, away from the dreaded pole. Point made, Hansou set the pole down again where it had come from.

"And that is what makes the difference my friends. Why buy a poor, wretched creature with all of its strength drawn from it, its wings clipped, claws removed, teeth shaved and legs bound, when you can have a mighty beast at your command? We traders of Rose understand this, and bring you the means to tame dragons for yourself. We also bring to you the finest of dragons, too."
Patron dragons indeed, what was the use in them?

Having amassed a small audience, he half bowed politely.
"Come and see for yourself. He will not bite, as he obeys." He beamed. "I will negotiate and as I see it, each dragon begins at five gold, or a herd." Extortionate, and yet, the business never stopped.

Subject: Re: The Shayenne Plot [Open] Sun Jul 07, 2019 7:12 pm

Odary hadn't taken the time to actually look properly at the dragons in the cages in front of them, more preoccupied with making sure nobody was about to get roasted, than looking at the sellers' 'wares'. In all truth, whenever the dragon market came around, she didn't want to see the poor dragons- that meant acknowledging their fates, and what had been done to them by the Shayennese. It was morbidity and a sense of duty to those idiot Shayenne children that insisted on turning up for the spectacle, even if she didn't like the way they acted. In the long term she probably would find herself questioning why she couldn't bare to look at the creatures properly, but for now she pushed away that unwelcome guilt. Especially as the dusty man busily listed each injury and insult to just the small dragons in front of them, let alone the larger ones.

There was a sliver of unconscious relief within Odary as the black blade started to become restless again, it's roaring and anger only drawing in the larger crowds. Odary shoved her way to the front- almost- as fire crackled at the back of its throat and spat through the air, the woman taking the second hit with a grunt as she redirected it harmlessly up into the air, a rush of heat billowing out through the crowd enough to sizzle the fine hairs of her arms. Sweat beaded across her brow this time, and she wiped the back of her arm over it as the dragon fixed her with a glare that spoke volumes of hatred.

Skies above, and there was no let-up from the vendors. Almost as soon as the black blood had quietened, a new voice was piping up from someone else, peddling their cognizant wares.
Odary felt something inside her snap with sudden frustration, the pot boiling over.
"Don't ya think the jewel in the plains shouldn't be in the plains?" What was a tone of outrage arrived a little hysterical from the height and volume of it. "Don't ya think they're poor wretched creatures not out where they're supposed to be?"

Subject: Re: The Shayenne Plot [Open] Tue Jul 09, 2019 1:11 pm

There was a burning sensation all over his arm, but Freki gritted his teeth and tried not to howl like a banshee at the pain. It had been quite a while since he had sustained a burn and he had effectively forgotten how much it hurt. And that had not been a burn by an angry fire-spitting dragon, it had been on the stove. Two completely different things.

It was lucky though that the woman, who clearly had some kind of fabulous fire magic skills, had not left the market yet and once again deflected the worst of the fire away from anyone stupid enough to be standing too close, including him.

From somewhere else on the market, a different voice suddenly piped up, bellowing over the general noise to hype dragons and ways to make them obey. Freki growled under his breath, the knot of anger in his stomach growing ever tighter. It seems he wasn’t the only one feeling this way as the woman yelled back, the anger clear in her voice, even if it came out at a slightly odd pitch.

Seeing his chance, Freki made to move towards the new voice but the vendor he was standing next to immediately started haggling again, afraid he’d lose his only proper customer. Somehow, despite all the theatrics and the many children poking at the dragons, there wasn’t all that much actual interest in buying his wares.

“Last chance,” Freki grudgingly said. “Make me a really good offer or…” He motioned behind him to where the other vendor was continuing to showcase his perfect specimens of obeying dragons – or maybe he was having a shouting match with the woman, he wasn’t exactly paying attention to what was being said.

“Alright, alright, fine,” the vendor growled. “But you’re flat-out robbing me. Robbing me!” Freki just looked at him without commenting, handed over a few gold pieces he could technically not afford to spend, and grabbed the cage with the large handful of small dragons.

Subject: Re: The Shayenne Plot [Open] Sun Sep 15, 2019 10:58 am

As much as Hansou enjoyed rolling in would-be customers, it was a rare man or woman that could actually afford his wares. He wasn't about to let his commerce be ruined by a heckler.
He raised a pointed finger to her, as if scolding a child.
"My good woman, you are aware of where you are? What brings you to the greatest dragon market in all the land?" He raised his brows in questioning.
"If you would not like to make a purchase, or scorn those that do, please do not disrupt the good folks here today. However. I'm sure you have a good soul." He began, seeing a moment to speak to his onlookers, maybe discard any of their doubts.

"A jewel in the plains, is even better as a jewel in hand. But it's a shame you believe they are poor and wretched. An awful shame," he wagged his finger to the crowd. "The bond that forms between a dragon and his master is something that protects them both, you should all know, there is nothing like it. So here, you have a strong dragon that will fight for you and with you. Better than either the human or a dragon to be alone, left to the mercy of those behemoth creatures from the north."

He waved his hand again, his feather-like weight shifting to his heels as he continued, in a flow.
"Like all good things, it takes time. I present the best of tame dragons, those with the best nature for having such a bond. Superior to any mercenary you will find." He shrugged, amused by himself. "Tell me when you find a mercenary that chars your enemies without hesitation and then doesn't quibble the cost of it."

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