farsickness | (no subject)

(no subject)

WHO: Jon Snow
WHEN: The first few days of the month
WHAT: Arrival and settling in
WHERE: Around Gazin
WARNINGS: Just blood for now but it's Game of Thrones, who knows what might come up

[Arrival]

This wasn't exactly what Jon had meant when he wished that he could be somewhere else -- he hadn't enjoyed being in the middle of a battle against a seemingly endless army of the dead, but he knew that he had to be. All of Westeros was depending on the outcome.

It had been a throwaway thought in the face of impossible odds, and then here he was, staring at a sign labeled "Gazin." He has never heard of such a place, but then, he's never been outside of Westeros. There must be a lot of places he's never heard of.

What a sight he must make -- sword drawn, his face and armor covered in dirt and sweat and even some blood. His immediate vicinity is deserted. There's no one to give him any answers, or any other indication of where he is or how he got here. There's only one thing for it. He sheathes his sword and heads in the direction indicated by the sign, in search of someone who can provide some answers. Or a stream to wash off the grime. He's not picky.

[Around town]

He's been here long enough to have discovered that in many ways, this place is similar to Westeros. Similar enough that it hadn't taken him long to get used to the place, anyway. He has also discovered that living as far North as he did in Westeros, he had missed out on things, like markets and taverns. Even the life he would have had without Robert Baratheon's meddling wouldn't have been of those sorts of things -- it would have been sheltered for different reasons. But here, freed from all of that, he can live the life he truly wants to live. Whatever that life is.

Right now he's enjoying that freedom and lack of responsibility by wandering through the town, going wherever his feet take him, before ending up in the tavern at the end of the day with a pint of mead. He's not relaxed enough however to go around unarmed; he's got a sword at his hip and a knife tucked into his belt.

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The white wolf with red eyes reminds him of Ghost, and he wonders if he'll ever see the direwolf again. He hopes so, but also knows that Ghost's chances of survival north of the Wall, with all its dangers, are slim.

"Something like a sword, or do you mean something else?"

She takes her hands back and looks him over again.

"Then whose blood is all of that?" she asks, her gaze flicks back in the direction he just came. The same direction she came from and she's willing to bet the others that did not belong here also came from.

"...it's from your own Earth," she says to herself. Then corrects, flicking her attention back to him, "your world. Your...kingdom?"

His relief is slight for that very reason. This man says that dragons exist, so of course he believes him. And he hasn't been here long enough to know all of its creatures. Maybe they will one day just show up. It almost sounds like that's what happened on this man's world, for them to be gone for so long and then suddenly appear.

"They must make fearsome pets. I always wanted to raise chickens."

There's a soft smile on his lips. He's serious though.

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"Something like that. I don't know how to wield one, but I need some form of protection." It seemed like her abilities had been dampened, much to her relief. It meant though that she couldn't rely on them to heal her or protect her from outside attacks. She needed steel and it needed to be sharp.

"I saw a blacksmith that was offering blades, but not as nice as this."

He figures that Daenerys's dragons must have recognized something in him, something that told them of the connection that used to exist between his ancestors and the dragons, and that was why they'd tolerated him. He wonders if there were dragons in this place, if they too would recognize whatever it is about him.

"I don't know that pets is the right word for them. Not in the same way as chickens, at least." He wouldn't call those pets either, but at least he grew up with those underfoot.

"I've been told that I may be able to find a place at the inn, but I haven't been there yet."

"Yes," he agrees, "although it won't be anyone's kingdom if we don't defeat the army that's invading it." Which is what he had been attempting to do before arriving here. Not by himself, of course; that would have been impossible.

"I've got some bumps and bruises, but I think that's all at the moment."

"Blades like this are difficult to come by." In Westeros, at least. He doesn't know what sort of blades might be available here. "Until you know how to use one, you might want something more like this." He reaches into his belt and pulls out the knife tucked there, which he places on the table.

"It's smaller, easier to wield, and just as effective at stabbing." He's got personal experience to back that statement up, too.

"Yes, our lands could simply be very far away," she agrees, nodding thoughtfully. "We have knowledge of foreign countries, and cultivators who travel to those and return with cultivation techniques and other knowledge gained there. But I'm a physician, and I've never cared much for adventure stories." Which she now wishes she had, maybe some of these tall tales had been about Westeros. "You might have better luck with other cultivators. Wei Wuxian maybe, he seems like the kind of person who would eagerly listen to stories about faraway places."

Edited 2020-02-15 15:54 (UTC)

"Perhaps I'll look into that." Or maybe not. Truth be told, he's never been that interested in places beyond Westeros, although he never expected to visit any, and lately he's been more concerned about what's north of the Wall than anything else. He doubts it matters much anyway, unless there's a way to get back to either one of them.

"Either way, there is no hurry. I haven't found any leads at all yet on how to return and I've been searching since the day I showed up here."

She slows her pace, once again sizing him up. But he seems to be true to his word, he doesn't look like he's about to pass out or anything. Maybe he's actually more reliable in his self-assessment than what she's used to. "Would you like me to point you to the tavern or take you there?"

She lifts the knife, testing the weight in her hand. She had managed something like this once or twice before, but she was in a different form then, far from herself. Now, it didn't seem like such an ordeal to handle the blade, even if she doesn't know what she's doing with it.

"You still need to learn how to protect yourself, even if the blade is small and durable." That just went without saying. "I guess any form of protection is better than nothing, even if you don't know what you're doing."

"Would it help to know how we got here?" He's just making an observation. He has no idea how to answer that question any more than anyone else does.

"If you point me, I should be able to make it on my own. If you're busy, you don't have to come the whole way."

"You could find someone to show you how to use it. It would be less involved than learning how to use a sword." And then she'd be able to protect herself until she learned how to use a sword, if she wanted to do that too.

"It's true. If you stay on the path that you're on, it will take you right there. The marketplace is near enough. You can find me there if they don't have any available lodging. I can at least provide a roof over your head."

Well, Xue Yang can. But he shouldn't be too surprised if Xiao Xingchen brings home an injured stranger, after all he did the same thing with him.

"An invading army?"

Caitlin took a mental note at that, maybe...there had to be something that brought them here.

"What was the very last thing that happened before you came here?" she asked.

"Yes," she says firmly, "it would help me a great help." Her voice is sharpened by her urgency. "I must return as soon as possible, the more I know about how we got here, the better my chances of being able to figure out how to get back." She gives him a sharp look. "I was rescued from prison. My brother was left behind in that cell."

"Then if I hear of anyone who has answers, I'll send them your way." He's not sure how much help he can be in figuring that out, but at least he can connect people to each other when possible.

"If we don't defeat the Night King, there won't be any of Westeros left for anyone to fight over. I don't know how much difference I as one person can make, but after putting everything together, it would be a shame to miss the rest of the battle."

"The marketplace." That's good to know too; even though he has no way of paying for anything yet, he should at least get a feel for what's available, and the layout of the town. "I'll make my way to the inn then, and I may see you later in the marketplace."

"An army that no one believed existed." The watchers on the Wall had been watching the wrong thing. Although after more than a thousand years, who could expect things not to get a little muddled up?

"Battle. It was hard to tell one thing from another."

"Then our situations are similar enough," she says, nodding, "we both need to return as soon as possible. If I come across any worthwhile leads, I will inform you, and I hope you will do the same for me."

But that's, sadly, not a problem to be resolved today.

A little more tentatively, she adds, "I think I would like to hear more about your Westeros... not now, of course, but once you have settled in." She's starting to realize, after all, that the world is a lot larger than she had ever cared for to consider. Maybe it's time to start taking an interest.

"I could, though I take it they will want to be paid?" That was how this worked right? She would have to trade for the commodity and knowledge. "Unless you offered to teach me? You seem to know your way around a blade."

Battle. She had just finished a battle.

"And you were suddenly here? Or rather, over there where the crossroads were?"

"I wish you the best of luck."

Xingchen smiles, though the man sounds like he has an idea of what he's doing and what he needs to do. He may adjust more quickly than most.

"I'll be there for awhile. It takes me some time."

To find the things he needs and navigate the crowds.

"Yes. With no indication of how I had gotten there." That kind of travel is not possible in Westeros, even to those very few who can use magic or something like it.

"I do." One of the advantages of his childhood. He might have been a bastard, but he was raised in one of the great Houses and given the same instruction as the trueborn children. "I would be glad to teach you."

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