RP:Cartographer

Summary: Meri and Caltarok meet and chat, mainly about him joining the Adventurer's Guild.

Split Path

Meri was dressed to combat Frostmaw’s bitter cold, even if it seemed like her attire was a bit light. The black jacket that the blonde wore was enchanted, you see, making it considerably warmer than most that are similar in style. She also wore thick gloves to help keep her hands warm, and a very furry black hat to help protect her head and ears from the cold. Despite being dressed appropriately for the cold, there was really only so long most could survive out in these wilds. So it was -maybe- not an entirely good thing that Meri stood in the clearing looking a little bit confused. If one were to assume she was lost? They would not be entirely incorrect. That is to say, she knew exactly how to get out of the wilds and back to the city of Frostmaw itself. What sort of Ranger would she be if she could not manage at least that much? Or Adventurer for that matter? No, the current issue was that Meri could not entirely remember where she was going. She had only been there once, and so very long ago. So there Meri stands in the middle of the clearing, looking north, then south, then west...Every direction but the direction she actually came from. Meri was trying very hard to remember.

Caltarok dressed in his winter-wolf pelts which shows some dirt and the hard use of having camped out in the wilderness of Frostmaw for a few nights. He had been tracking a herd of Frostmanes to practice his archery and to work on his hardiness in his human form. Caltarok had been trying his best to learn how to act more human-like by carrying his bow always partially notched in the wilds and his short sword clear of anything for quick drawing. He decided today he would move further west to do some hunting than normal knowing few merchants or travelers came out this far. Figuring this would be a good time to get a few more kills and stock up on provisions before beginning an ardous journey to climb down through the mountains to the south west. As such, he was surprised to see anyone and the black clothes standing in stark contrast of the white landscape around them… well he couldn't understand why anyone would do that. Any sane hunter in these parts knew better than to stand out… and well dress heavier to avoid the cold. This person… he thought a woman but not fully sure with their back to them was dressed to lightly. Stepping lightly up the path, he begins to wipe off the white face paint that he had applied to conceal himself better from some of the more dangerous beasts that prowled the lands. "Why hello there! Did you lose your prey or lose your way in this white starkness?", he calls out hoping not to spook the person.

Meri was far from spooked, she could hear the sound of feet crunching in the snow far better than one might expect. Appearances would lead most to believe that Meri was a human, but there were a select few who might have the ability to identify her as the lycan that she is. While Meri might have chosen to wear black, causing her to be hard to miss against all the white snow, the psion is still armed...but not readied for a fight. Her own bow rests lazily across her back and her sword rests idly at her hip. Neither are drawn then the stranger both speaks and approaches her. Instead an easy going smile curves at her red lips and a shrug is given to the other, “Neither. I am not currently up here for a hunt, and if I wanted to find my way back I could assure you. I was hoping to find my way to Aira and Orikahn’s home. I know it is out here somewhere....” The blonde turns her light blue eyes away from Caltarok to once more survey the expanse, as if it might still be hiding some sort of clue as to the direction she should go. It does not, and she gives up for the moment, instead letting her gaze return to Caltarok. “Who are you? I have never seen you before. You new to these parts? You must be.”

Caltarok thinks about the question as he has been haunting the Xalious mountains and Frostmaw for a while. But the mention of Orikahn caught his interest immediately as he originally made the journey to these parts from Kelay forest having found a response to an inquiry written in deerskin given to him by a messenger. Thinking that maybe this person was who he waited on, he responded with the same false name he placed in the letter. "I am Caltarok the White. A simple hunter that was told to come to Frostmaw and decided that while I waited on someone called Kahn that I would hunt and draw maps of these parts. I only arrived two weeks ago and only been in town a few times to re-supply on those things I couldn't get readily out here in the wilds as I waited." He places his arrow back into the quiver. "May I enquire as to who you are? I am not sure if the Kahn I am waiting on is this Orikahn you mentioned. But I have been planning to head south west for a bit and leave a note in town for Kahn."

Meri :: Caltarok is going to have to pay attention to that impish smirk that has formed wide on Meri’s lips, for in response to his inquiry she states, “No, you may not ask who I am. Why would you even think that is appropriate? Totally rude of you.” Jokes, the lycan is more than aware of the fact that she had literally just made the same demands of Caltarok...and that it is a perfectly acceptable social norm to ask such things. Which is why after she shamelessly and needlessly harasses this total stranger on this subject matter? Meri promptly puts a gloved hand out for Caltarok to shake. “As far as I am aware, Orikahn and Kahn are one in the same. Good luck finding him though, he is one very elusive cat.” This is not meant negatively, there was a benefit to rangers having a certain sneak factor. “As for my own name? Meri Rochester. Not one to normally throw titles around, but if you are looking for Kahn? I bet you want in the Rangers guild. Fellow member here. I am also the leader of the Adventurer’s Guild.”

Caltarok blinks as the person denies the request and then shares not only their name but who they are as a member of the adventurer and ranger guild. He chuckles and shakes his head before going to clasp her wrist in greeting/mutual respect. He hadn't realized she meant just to shake his hand, nor did he understand the whole idea of shaking a person's hand. To him, it didn't concede the mutual respect or deference between comrades/strangers. "Adventurer's Guild? Hmmm… I can't recall hearing about that one from the merchants… always been the comment of ranger or warrior guild. But it is great to have met you.. I been hoping to find employment somewhere as I journey to see the world and all her people within." He guesses it was probably due to the fact of the gear he carried or bought that the shopkeepers kept thinking he was in one of those two guilds. Though there may have been some storyteller once in tavern in Kelay that mentioned something about brave adventurers and their exploits; but he had been to focus on watching the people around him to pay attention.

Meri is considering the lands and contemplating what sort of job openings she might know of. Alas, it does not really help that she does not know Caltarok well. What sort of skills did this man even possess? “Well I am afraid that I don’t know how much work you will find with the Rangers guild. I have never been paid for any of my exploits with them.” Again, this is not something that is meant as a complaint. Anyone who has gotten to know Meri soon learns that she is a bit of an adrenaline junkie. “Lionel has tried to pay me for my time with the warrior’s when I was apart of it.” Meri presses her red lips together for a moment as she considers. “Sometimes I am able to pay those who accompany me on various missions, but that all really just depends...There are too many variables for me to be able to promise any steady gold.” Meri gives pause a moment, but not for long. Rattling on was helping Meri to keep her mind off the cold and how much she hated the place at least. “What sort of work exactly are you looking for?”

Caltarok smiles and shakes a little with laughter at the lady before getting a hold of himself. Looking at Meri with a glint of amusement still in his eyes, "I fear you misunderstand. I don't care about gold. For me… my payment is the thrill of the hunt… the traveling to new places… meeting of people… and learning of both the new and old things. Sure, money has its place to get me that which I cannot get myself. But what sort of work… I do not know. I am quite skilled with my bow, drawing maps, studying my prey's habits, and setting traps. I hope to learn the sword better and find someone that can teach me some spells to help improve or cover up my short-comings. Beyond this, well I doubt I could do much. Most of what I traded the merchants for has been precious stones or herbs that I found, but mostly I been a guard for them when I can or trade what extra I have." He knows too many of the merchant guards that he trade 'war' stories with that they all thought he was crazy for not taking money from the merchants just as the merchants were pleasantly shocked as they got to keep a tight-hold on their purse strings. Only a few of them had been decent enough to look offended and rarer still those good ones that kept insisting they just had to pay him more than the heat of the fire he got to share and the stories they given.

Meri was for a moment perplexed. She was the one misunderstanding the word employment? It is alright, Meri does not seem interested in debating the semantics of the word. She passed it off to a difference in ways of living, Meri was definitely one who preferred the luxuries and comforts of civilized things. The blonde listens to what Caltarok is explaining of himself. As the conversation goes on, the woman begins to get fidgety. Not because the subject matter is boring? But because it is cold, the woman trying to keep her limbs warm by moving and shifting around. “Well the Adventurer’s Guild is always looking for more people. You are more than welcome to join up with us as well, if you think that it might be of some interest. Based on what you are saying? I should think that it might be. However, if you are interested? There is a bit of a test...And what I want could vary anywhere from combat to...” The blonde shrugs, the only real limits are her own imagination.

Caltarok thinking this could be a while looks around a bit and not seeing anything readily available. He had already learned from others that the cave to the west he some creatures he wasn't ready to face just for the sake of hiding his abilities. He didn't want to admit the extent of his magical knowledge or prowess. But it seemed for the sake of the person in front of him getting fidgety and the cold pressing on his exposed face that something needed to be done. At least if he wanted to avoid getting frostbitten on his nose and ears again… he learned that lesson already the hard way once and didn't dare wish to repeat it anytime soon. Whispering to softly to be heard by normal means, "Slyphrena… Pyra…". The fire sprite flickers to life between him and Meri on the ground immediately melting and licking the nearby moisture from ground. Caltarok gestures to the fire that begins to burn between them as the second sprite remaining hidden begins to spread the heat out quickly to encompass the two, "Perhaps we should sit by the fire and you can explain this test to me? I would indeed be interested in joining and assisting on any 'adventures' that may come." Within 30 minutes, a space of four foot diameter circle would be cleared allowing comfortable sitting on a some-what dry/warm ground.

Meri has absolutely no complaints with the notion of moving closer to a source of warmth, but the blonde does not claim a seat. She does not have plan to linger for too dreadfully long, just enough to explain Caltarok’s test and thaw out. She did say she was trying to find Aira and Kah, afterall. At some point the blonde will need to be resuming that task. “Well the Adventurer’s Guild is definitely one that uses maps, and we use them often. While I am quite the artist and more than capable of doing map work myself? I don’t have time to explore the lands so freely like I used to before I got married and had a child. But terrain is constantly changing due to nature, battles, spells, whatever. I want to make sure our maps remain as up to date as possible.” Meri holds her gloved hands out to the fire. They might warm faster if she removed her gloves, but she does not. “So what I am going to want from you? Is to work on this map project. Bring a map of Frostmaw down to the Adventurer’s Guild Museum when you have completed it and then I will assess it against other existing maps to determine your skill. If you pass, I will happily welcome you into the guild as our resident Cartographer.”

Caltarok nods, "I can easily do that. But pray tell, where is this museum? As I have not heard of your guild before now, I have no idea where the museum is located. Of course, if you want to test my ability to find/research its location. I have not a problem doing so. Just the map may be completed far sooner than I am able to locate it. But you'll find multiple copies of a single place from me. Migration routes of wildlife, notary of where certain herbs can be found, and many other aspects. I presume you will want all this? Perhaps even the patrol routes of the Frostmaw city guards and of the frost giants?" Caltarok pats his bag having already some of the map designs mentioned already in progress of Kelay, Xalious mountains, and the nearby towns. But he didn't want to mention that as he planned to visit the forest to the north after having ventured down to Venturil and to the keep, Semper Vigilanti. He needed to learn the sword soon before venturing to deep into that forest with only his bow no matter how confident he was that he could go undetected. He didn't want to rely on his birth form in fear of others learning who he really was. It was bad enough that he meet Kailani and others as his true self. But he didn't think they knew him as Caltarok the human and planned to keep it that way for now. "Oh, what is the time limit for these maps that you want?"

Meri bobs her head in a nod to confirm most of what Caltarok was saying, but she gives him no solid specifics of what she wants. In her mind, that defeats the point of the assignment. Besides, he was already listing off several things to track that Meri would not have thought if. Does Meri really care where herbs are? Not truly. But it still might be useful to know. “All of this sounds great. I have no specific time period in mind, that is up for you to decide? But the sooner you are able to produce something, the sooner we will be able to make your position within the guild official.” Does it seem like Meri is ignoring the request to know where the Museum was? She confirms this with, “Do you have any other questions for me outside of where the Museum is located at?” A brow is lifted again. “Which I am not going to answer. I feel a proper cartographer should not have an issue locating us, even if he has not heard of us before. The only clue that I will give you is that it is in the Xalious area.” Meri takes a step or two away from the fire, intent on leaving but first waiting to confirm Caltarok has no additional questions he needs answered.

Caltarok smiles watching Meri as she turns to leave. "I have no further questions at all. Have an idea of what I will provide and am sure I will find the Museum easily enough. As I do not have to worry about a time frame, I can ensure that I provide quite a few detailed maps for you and the adventurer's guild. Just was concern that you expected maps in two or three days and me to find the Museum as well. Which would be a tall order and would interrupt the quality of maps." He knew he could have easily accomplish an aerial view of the surrounding area at risk of the Frostmaw guards. Not that it would have bothered him completely, but it would have been a big inconvenience for breaking the queen's foolish rule about dragons taking to the skies like she owned them or something. These foolish mortals seemed to think that they could own the sky, land, and water when it all truly belonged to everyone; but he wasn't going to waste his energy on all that. But perhaps he would at least get the topography anyways and work on finish the initial sketch on his way to Venturil noting landmarks, caves, scarring of the land. Then the minute details that he used to quickly find the ingredients for medicine, poisons, and game trails could be added afterwards. Yes… that be the plan to work with. It did mean avoiding the guards and bending those rules. But surely if he avoided flying directly over Frostmaw during the day none would be the wiser.

Meri :: It seemed to Meri that the two had come to an understanding! And so without further adieu, the blonde issues a lazy salute to Caltarok before pivoting about and resuming her search for Aira and Orikahn’s lodge. She was sure it was here somewhere! “We will be in touch then. I will see you soon.”