Ryzom

The pendant.

It was a sunfilled day in Tryker lands as the sky was, as it usually is, clear
blue with the occasional cloud here and there. It had been a warm night so there
were quite a few more Trykers up and running at this early time in hope of
getting a refreshing bath before breakfast and work.
It was not unusual that some were awake at this early hour, specially those with
guarding duties, but also those with more common chores were awake. There was
the Stable Master that was giving the Mektoubs the morning meal and care before
they were let out into the compound, the different Ambassadors from the other
lands that made themselves ready for a travel back home, and most likely the
most on time one of them all; the barman. It had not been a morning that passed
that she had not seen him standing there polishing the glasses or putting down
the chairs from the tables.

“So what are you up to today Daeny?” The barman asked as soon as he saw her
approaching. She smiled.

“I am going for a morning bath, with a twist” The joy was apparent in her eyes,
they glistened.

“Really, a twist you say. Now I wonder what that can be. You know I have heard
some ominous rumors about the waters” This seemed to have gotten her attention.

“Oh, are there any dangerous animals lurking around Fairhaven?” She asked with
curiosity.

“No, no animals or such. Perhaps something far more worse; carelessness. You
see, I have heard of those that have jumped from the cliffs into the water and
hurt themselves, badly!” He almost broke the glass he was holding.

“Well, I know the perfect spot for that, so you do not have to worry!” Daeny
shouted as she ran away from the bar onto the sandy beach.

“Youngsters today, always after danger to soothen their minds, what will happen.
Not even a white lie seem to be able to stop them these days” The barman mumbled
to himself, or at least he thought as Daeny heard some of it before she was on
the beach. Hearing it made her smile even more.

As she ran from the wooden bridge onto the sand she nearly bumped into one of
the Karavan Teleporter Guards that came to replace another one at the teleporter
at the beach.

“Sorry” Was all that Daeny could utter before she increased her speed and was
almost half-way up the hill already. The Karavan guard stood there for a moment,
staring at the little girl disappearing over the hilltop and somewhere behind
the trees and stones before he walked further.


This place was the perfect spot for a morning dip, even though the water was
about 20 meters down from the cliff. Daeny dropped her little bag along the
mountainside and prepared her for the jump when she heard a familiar noise
behind her. It was another of the curios Yubos that probably had followed her
from the slope leading up from Fairhaven. It stood there looking at her with big
curious eyes and its ears pointing upwards. It made a small twitch as it was not
ready for what happened when Daeny jumped over the ledge while saying “See you
soon!” to the curious four-legged little creature that had followed her.

The sensation and touch of water has always been special to a Tryker, there is
an unexplainable bond between the life of a Tryker and the waves of a sea.
Someone could even say that they were related in such way, that life could be as
a wave on the ocean; slowly traversing forward towards the future that lies
behind it. So when Daeny splashed into the water it was not only a refreshing
feeling of having cold water surrounding her body, it was also a soothing
sensation. As she opened her eyes she realized that she had reached a little
more then halfway down towards the bottom, this was almost a new record for her,
and just moments before she turned to swim up to the surface she thought that
she saw something glimmering at the bottom. But she could not be certain that it
was something, it could have been a reflection from the strong morning sun that
reached deeper into the waters then usual. But it was enough to awaken the
Tryker curiosity in her, a feeling that is easily awakened but harder to stop.
She swam up to the surface and towards where her bag had landed and then she
removed her clothing so that she was only wearing her undergarments (she was
usually wearing a skirt or leggings and something to cover her torso when
running to the cliff, and mostly she did not have time to remove it before she
jumped).

Now she was more agile and could move better in the water so she swam out to the
point where she thought that she had seen the glistening. She held her breath
and placed her head below the surface and looked around but she could not see
anything from where she was, she must be too far away, to close to the surface
to be able to separate the rays from the sun from anything else.
Daeny took a deep breath and prepared herself to dive straight down from where
she was in hopes of finding what her curiosity was yelling for. She turned her
body downwards swiftly and started to paddle down through the clear water. Soon
it got a bit darker, but not as dark as the waters in other lands, or so she had
heard that Tryker water was the bluest and brightest even several meters down
compared to the lakes of other lands. Slowly she moved downward whilst paddling
with her legs and arms.

She looked around to the best of her ability in order to see what it was that
had caught her eye just moments ago but it seemed hard to be able to find
anything here, perhaps she was on the wrong spot she thought and started to look
for another place to swim to from below. Just as she turned around she saw the
glistening that had previously caught her attention, she was not far form it.
But she was also not far from being out of breath so she returned to the
surface, this time more encouraged as she was on about the right place and a
new, deeper, dive should make her able to reach whatever it was lying there on
the bottom. She took one of the deepest breaths she had even taken and plunged
herself below the surface downward, towards the now glimmering object in front
of her. Once she had laid her eyes on it, she would never let it got and it was
the only thing she could see. More and more she paddled with her legs and arms
and soon the golden item was almost in her grasp. As she was about to reach out
and grab it she felt that she would soon need fresh air again so she, in an
somewhat desperate attempt, made an effort at pushing herself downward while
trying to grab it before she had to return to the surface.

As she came close enough to the shore to be able to stand on her feet she slowly
opened her right hand, from it some seaweed hanged swirled with something gold
like. As she opened her hand she could see that it was something glistening
even stronger then it had done in the depths of the waters. She slowly lowered
her hand and let the water wash away the sand that was surrounding the item,
what she was holding in her hand she would soon be able to see.

It was a pendant.





To be continued..

The Pendant, part 2.

“You found this at the bottom of the waters nearby you say?” The barman gave
Daeny a surprised lock as he held the pendant in his right hand. Daeny nodded
intensively to answer his question.

The barman had now put down the glass he was holding in his left hand and
grabbed the towel on the desk and started to clean the pendant more. Perhaps it
was due to experience that he managed to remove some hardened dust from the
yellow ring that was surrounding the center of the pendant; making it reveal
something that looked like odd carvings. Daeny lifted an eyebrow when she saw
the dust come off and the carvings appear. From the distance of the other side
of the bar desk she tried to make some sort of sense of them, but she could not
even start to guess what was written on it.

“Hmm, sure looks like some odd things around it here, but I don't have the
slightest idea of what they could mean, or even what they are..” The barman said
as she held the pendant near the light of a hanging candle on the pillar nearby.
“Perhaps it is some sort of good wish or something, or its just the turn of time
showing itself.”

“Are you sure that you cannot read it?” Daeny asked curiously.

“Read it? I am not even sure what it can be, I just said so didn't I?”

“I know, its just that it seems like its something special, something important
for some reason. Don't you know anyone that could be able to make sense out of
it?” Daeny asked almost begging.

“Now listen young lady, knowing you you would probably be rushing out the door
the instant I were to mention a name or place that might be even remotely
located to this pendant. Also knowing your lust for adventure it would be more
dangerous then you would understand. And I don't want you to get yourself
involved in something dangerous young lady, you hear me?”

Daeny smiled a little to herself, even if she was an orphan she did not lack
parents it seemed.
Even though many Homins looked after her since her parents were lost in a Kitin
raid years ago (in fact it was so long ago that Daeny was not sure herself when
it happened) and she felt home just about everywhere, there was always something
telling her that there is so much more out there then just a plain and ordinary
life for her. There is something, which she could not put her finger on, that
was almost calling her from time to time. And now it was this little jewelry in
front of her that was telling her that it was not just something you could find
at the nearest vendor, no not at all, it was telling her that it had things to
reveal to her, things to show her. It had history.

“Awh! Don't give me that look will you, you know it won't work on me!” The
barman seemed a bit uneasy all of a sudden. “Alright, alright, you win... again.
There is a traveling Matis that usually stops by every now and then. He goes by
the name of Gaedeus. Now he has been around Atys a lot, some even claim that he
have been everywhere; that there is no place on the entire surface of Atys that
he has not visited. I cannot say if that is the truth or not, just that he might
have an idea or two about this little item here. But..”

“But what? Tell me!” Daeny said with expectation.

“Well, I am not sure where he is, no one really is. As I said he is a traveller
and that he usually stops by here now and then. His stories are always popular
in the bar, and sometimes he even brings news. But I don't really know him more
then that. But wait a minute....” The barman said and started to count to
himself silently, even though he was still moving his lips while counting.
Daeny looked at the barman counting but when she thought that it took too long
she gave the pendant a closer look. As she slowly tilted it forward and backward
it seemed as when the light from the small candle the letters changed a bit. But
it was too swift for her to notice the change fully, just enough for her to just
take notice of it. She decided not to tell the barman though, perhaps she was
tired from all the excitement.

“Are you still here Daeny?” The barman asked.

“Uhm, what?”

“I said that you might be lucky today, it seems as Gaedeus might be passing here
sometime soon, but I cannot guarantee it though”.

Daeny had trouble sleeping that night, but it was not due to any horrible
nightmares that was hunting her or anything like such. No, what was keeping her
eagerly awake was the hope of an old Matis traveler to arrive, and a small
pendant.

The Pendant – Part 3

It seemed as the morning did not come fast enough for Daeny. She lied in her bed
trying to get some rest but all that she could do was to hope that perhaps
tomorrow Gaedeus would appear somewhere in Fairhaven, or at least some place
near Fairhaven, as she would quickly be running to see him and show him the
pendant. Suddenly she realised that she was lying awake in the middle of the
night ,after a day of much labour, thinking about an old Matis. And all this
because of a small pendant she found earlier when taking a bath? How come this
little item had caused her such efforts? There are plenty of pendants, rings,
jewels and so to get at the local vendor. Still none of them had recognized the
pendant when she showed it to them, some had given her a, fairly good it would
seem, price for it while others had refused buying it (she had just asked them
for fun, she had no intention of selling it. Not until she discover its origin
and why it was interesting her so much anyway.)

The more she was thinking about it, the more she wanted to find out about the
pendant. She somehow knew that Gaedeus would find it to be an interesting and
remarkable piece of craft. Perhaps he could tell her its story and lighten her
interest for it enough so that she could get back on focusing her mind on her
daily life. Those materials wasn't going to dig themselves up and walk to the
vendors anyway. Hopefully her life would get back to the same old rhythm soon,
hopefully. Still she could not entirely let the thought of the pendant go away
so that she could sleep. Daeny was awake for another hour before she finally
gave in and fell sound asleep.

Somewhere a voice echoed softly, barely noticeable “Recall the past to teach the
future”

Daeny woke up with a quick sensation of being very late to something. She gave a
quick look out through the window in her underwater apartment in Fairhaven and
noticed that the rays from the sun was leaning slightly to the right, which mean
that she had well overslept for her work!
She rushed up from the bed, fast enough to also make the pillow take a short
flight landing some metres away from the bed itself. She quickly put on her
Trykoth Light Armour Caster Pants, specifically designed to increase Focus, and
was reaching for the vest as she saw the pendant hanging on the handle. Then she
realized that this was her day off! It seems as the night played more then one
trick on her; first not being able to sleep, and now making her think that she
was late! Or was it the pendant?

She knocked of the silly thought of it being the little thing hanging on the
handle that was the source of this. It was not the first time that she had had a
hard time sleeping, usually bringing the normal side effect of her waking up
later (not something that was liked by some vendors as they valued punctuality),
or waking up in time but being half absent minded the rest of the day due to
tiredness. She changed her choice of clothes to something more lighter and
headed outside hoping to run into an old Matis sometime soon.
She was hoping that he might have arrived already, or at least was so soon, so
she made up her mind to see if he had or not- With determined steps Daeny
started walking from Lorias towards the stables outside Fairhaven. Perhaps the
man there would know, or someone around the stables (for some reason it was
quite the meeting place for many, if not all Homins) could tell her of Gaedeus
whereabouts. She already knew that the barman would let her know the moment
Gaedeus entered the vicinity and he saw Daeny, so she decided to take the way
around the bar to ask, and to get some breakfast. That stinga soup he sold was
the best!

Said and done and so she made sure that the pendant was hanging around her neck
and off she wandered. It didn't take her many minutes to reach her destination,
the bar was just nearby and it seems as it was the time of the day where most
Homins were already busy with their own doings. She also remembered that there
would be some travels through Atys this day, where those that are young and not
entirely able to travel on their own would have a chance to finally see Atys and
travel to the other lands. Much like Homins like herself. She had always wanted
to travel outside Aeden, but first things first. When she had arrived to
Fairhaven she had quickly noticed that the local vendors was lacking some
special kinds of crafting materials and so she had taken it as her job, of some
sorts, to provide them with such materials. Likely she had stuck in that pattern
for some time as she had already become quite good at harvesting the materials,
and also being able to spot them in the ground without too much searching. Guess
she had forgotten about her wish to travel a bit in the midst of her work.

Daeny shook her head, now was not the time to divide over that, first things
first. And that was to get to the stable via the bar for some information, and
breakfast.
And so she set off down the wooden lane leading from her apartment in Lorias
Rise onto the left one to the plateau where the trainers were having their shops
and studies. Past the trainers and now forward to the centrepiece of the
platform straight ahead where one of the bars were located, and a good meal.

“Good morning Daeny, how are you this morning?” The barman asked her as soon as
she entered the bar. “Anxious I bet”

“Hello, why would I be that ?” She asked him and sat down

“You are probably waiting for Gaedeus and I am sorry that I have no good news to
tell you. I still have not heard from him, or that he is nearby.” He said as he
put a glass of Messab Milk on the bardisk and started pouring some soup.

“Yeah, you're right. I was actually going to ask you if you had heard anything,
although I already knew the answer I suppose. I am going to give the stables a
try after this breakfast delight.” Daeny replied as she went up to get the bowl
and glass.

“For being so young you are quite grown up young Daeny, you always bring a fresh
breeze wherever you go and delight should be your second name.” The barman said
with somewhat of a poetic voice.

“What do you mean?” Daeny replied with a bit of childish wonder as if she had
not fully understood what he just said.

“What I mean is, that even though the days are dark and damp you make them
bright and warm Deny. You always have a smile on your lips and a resolution to
never give up. The more resistance you meet, the more do your wish for success
grow. It is a good thing to be able to see the opportunities everywhere. But
beware so that you will not take water over your head.” He said with a smile.

“I am a Tryker you know, we like water! By the way, are you sure that you are
really a barman? That sounded quite profound and wise for being a man of your
profession?” She said as she sipped up the last of the milk. The soup had been
finished already.

“Serving grogs and the occasional meal is what I do ma´m, its what I do and
nothing more. Now hurry over to the stables, there seems to be some sort of
gathering there!” He replied with a wink in his eye.