dysproslogs | ⚔ 2 - Colonial Rite

Who: Haytham Kenway & OPEN
What: Giving the gate guards a greeting
When: Dusk
Where: Ironwall, near the main gate
Rating: PG for snark

"Still guarding the gate are we?"

Haytham spoke casually as he approached the pair of guard blocking the main gateway out of town. It was a wonder that they bothered with the pretense of keeping them inside at all. It wouldn't be too difficult to find the weakness in a wall defense in a city of this size. There was too much area to protect and no where near the man power necessary to oversee everything.
But, this was only a test. How they would react to him was something Haytham very much wished to find the answer to.

"You're doing a fine job. I doubt it has moved an inch since you started."

As expected the guards raised their weapons at him as he came too near for their comfort, but from here he could catch a glimpse of the world beyond the wall. It looked, well, a bit pastoral actually. At least until the woods rose up in the distance.

"You do realize your efforts are entirely futile? If some one wished to leave it would be simple enough to do so."

Though Haytham made no move for his own weapons one of the guards took issue with his statements and moved close enough to give the smug man a shove. Hmm, not so well trained that they were above making a mistake it seemed. That move would have left the guard open to attack... again if the Templar really had any desire to attack.

"Shove off! Unless you want your eyes blackened!"

Haytham raised a staying hand, "I have no intention of initiating a battle. Fortunately for you, I have a few others things to see to today. However," his voice took on a slightly dangerous edge, "If it did come to blows you would suffer more than a simple black eye."

With his curiosity satisfied the Grand Master stepped away from the gate., allowing the guards the opportunity to relax again.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Given the the woman had a horse with her it was a safe bet to assume she might have taken on the role of a Lancer here. He had previous experience with mounted soldiers as well, but again... this wasn't a day where he was really looking for a battle.

"Minor disagreement with a few of the guards, nothing to worry over."

No one had died after all so Haytham dismissed the exercise as a 'disagreement' when really it had been a test of the strength of the city's defenses.

Well, at the very least, Haytham had a nice accent going for him. Amazing how a superficial trait could affect a first impression, so she frowned at the guards in attempt to assess the surface of the situation. They were more relaxed than they seemed during their confrontation with Haytham, sure, but they didn't look happy.

"Actually, I think I'd like to know." She was going to worry, anyway. If the guards were going to mistreat the people who didn't want to be here to begin with, then there was a big problem. Her hand clutched the reins a bit tighter.

It wouldn't be too amazing to Haytham. He was well aware that words held power, if accents gave those words even more value then that was all the better for him.

"They are under orders to see that none of the new arrivals are allowed to leave the city."

He looked over at the guards when the lady he was speaking to did and the more aggressive of the two again raised his weapon to show that returning to the gate was a bad idea.

"I was testing their resolve on that order."

"You were testing them?" A kneejerk reaction as she gives a slight tug on the reins. Chewy lurches forward and gives his head a sharp shake.

"I'm not sure provoking them is going to work in our favor. If anything they'll start reinforcing the gate."

Haytham raised a steadying hand to give the startled horse a friendly pat to calm him down again. He hadn't been so gentle with the guards but horses were another matter. He did love animals.

"It wouldn't matter much if they did."

Guards could be distracted, killed, or avoided entirely. One could always climb the wall and bypass the gate altogether, or at least he could.

"If some one truly wished to leave this city they would find a way to whether the guards were there or not. But thus far, everyone seems quite content to go along with the guild system and integrate themselves into this new city so I doubt it would be much of a problem for them."

For now.

"I don't think it's so much that we're content around here, but that the castle is our biggest lead back to where we came from." Her voice lowered as she continued, "Besides, some of us aren't as powerful as we used to be. Going out into the unknown completely unprepared would be a bad idea. Maybe the guards know that."

She couldn't believe she was advocating for the city, but she certainly didn't want to imagine Korra or Mako launching themselves out where they couldn't practice their usual bending. It sucked, but that was the way it had to be for now.

"I find it far more likely that we are simply not trusted enough to be allowed to explore outside the city gates by ourselves."

But she did have a good point about the castle. One he had to concede, that was part of the reason he didn't leave either. That castle did seem to be the center for their arrival... There was something about the castle that pulled others to it.

"Have you explored any of the castle yet?"

Asami decided the first point wasn't worth an argument, because really, who was actually certain? She also couldn't help but think he might have been right. It was hard to tell for sure.

She idly pet the horse's nose as she spoke. "A little bit. It became a little too much for me to handle the further I went, unfortunately. Have you?"

"Only the main room we found ourselves in when we arrived."

He'd climbed up into the 'rafters' of that receiving room looking for another way around, but there hadn't seemed to be one. It wasn't much of an exploration really, but he wanted to find out as much about the town and the castle itself before he mounted a more in-depth investigation.

"I'll give it a better look before too long."

Asami nodded, and she wore a look of consideration. She only knew other archers and mages, so maybe it was time to expand her acquaintances to people from other classes. They could come in handy.

"Good idea." She extended her hand to shake his. "My name is Asami, by the way. I'm a gunner. What's your name?"

"Haytham Kenway." And he would never get used to this... "A member of the assassin class."

Her offered hand though... He looked at it, in a way acknowledging that she would like to shake his hand but he did not return the favor. His hands remained relaxed at his side. Haytham wasn't much of a tender person, especially not with those he had only just met. He would never even have given Charles's hand a shake if the man hadn't reached out and grabbed it without its being offered, and Charles had turned out to be one of his most loyal followers.

"If there were to be a group who decided to enter the castle to see how far we might make it inside, would you be interested in going?"

"...Nice to meet you." Asami couldn't say this had happened before. Her hand was left hanging between them until she got the picture, and then she awkwardly withdrew it.

It actually put her off a bit. She was just trying to be polite.

"Yeah, I would," she said tersely, and she ended up petting the horse's face. It was a good idea, either way.

Of course it did. It put most people off, as it should. Haytham just preferred to keep people at a distance... at least until he came to know them better. It was safer not to get too attached too quickly. One never really knew who could be trusted.

"I was considering forming an expedition like that in the future. We could use more people with combat experience."

⚔ 2 - Colonial Rite

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject