ROLEPLAY HQ - sleeping-giant

The slow sound of hooves of the South Road announced the arrival of Buliwyf. His large grey spotted horse bore the large Nord upon his back, his red hair and beard blowing in the gentle cool autumn breeze. Both the man and his horse were exhausted, and seemed relieved to have made it to Riverwood just before nightfall. In the dim light of evening, he could just make out his destination: the Sleeping Giant Inn. It had been many years since he visited the small lumber town. He had come then to help Lod and Gertrude with the mill. He was barely a man back then, not quite to his twentieth winter. He remembered going to the Sleeping Giant to have drinks after work. A woman named Delphine owned it then, but he has heard that she left it to someone else a few years ago. But there he was, back in Riverwood. At least for a night. With the Temple of Kyne having demanded he stop cutting lumber outside Riften until the forest heals, he had temporarily disbanded his lumber crew, and they all scattered to make their coin elsewhere for the time being. Buliwyf had tried his hand down in Bruma in Cyrodiil, then back up in Falkreath. But other than a few odd jobs, he could not make enough coin to survive. So he had set off that morning, heading for Whiterun. Riding all day, barely stopping to eat, he had finally reached the halfway point of his journey: Riverwood. Hopping off his mount, he gave her a few comforting pats on the neck. "We made it, girl. You rest up," he said softly before leading her to a small grassy knoll nearby, where she promptly plopped to the ground. "Yeah...me too..." Buliwyf muttered, leaving her to nap. Rubbing his bearded face, he meandered across the muddy street and up the stairs to the door of the Sleeping Giant. Time for a hot meal and a warm bed, he thought, pushing the door open and stepping inside. (edited)

22:12

@Mimzy

Riverwood had been a godsend to Maveah, her taller Nord frame bustled around the inn. Her long golden blond hair pulled back into a long braid that flowed down her back. Her skirts flowed about her legs as she worked. Handing out ale, stoking her large fire in the middle of the inn. Her pale skin warmed against the flames as she poked about within it, turning some of the logs. As she worked her eyes scanned the floor, watching customers as they drank and sang their songs. Not long ago it had been, where she was only a worker in an inn out in Winterhold. She worked out there for many winters. Her heart missed the bustle of a large hold. Constant moving, always breaking up fights and throwing out drunkards was only a small part of her day. But as she worked she saved her coin. When she heard through travelers that Delphine had transferred her ownership to Orgnar, she jumped. A traveler’s call pulled her out of her thoughts. She grabbed the empty bottle from him and walked around the bar, boots tapping against the wood floor as she grabbed a new one and popped off the cap. Her fingers wrapped around the neck of the bottle as she walked, one of the other customers she had been serving all day began to stumble and waver. As he almost lost his balance he bounced into her arm. Maveah reached out and steadied him. “Steady on, Juargyn.” He went back to drinking as if nothing ever happened. Maveah shook her head and sighed as she handed the new ale off to its owner. “Nord men.”She mumbled as she went back to stoking the fire. Her back towards the door as it opened. The fire light burned against her fair skin as a figure stepped in and she saw his shadow against the wood floor.

23:40

“Welcome to the Sleeping Giant.” she said brightly as she turned around, her ice blue eyes shined as she looked at her new customer. She righted her skirts against her legs, the apron having become skewed. “What can I find for you?” She smiled at him kindly as she started walking towards her bar where Orgnar still stood as her barkeep. As she awaited for him to decide her eyes skimmed the surface of this new strange man. His red hair and beard stark against his skin she noted she had not seen many with the hair coloring of fire for a long time since she took over the inn.

23:40

@The Xen Reaper

Buliwyf's eyes took a moment to adjust to the different lighting within the Inn. The sounds and smells instantly took him back to that time he was last here, over a decade ago. It's just like I remember. It was that very familiarity that gave him, for the first time in a long time, a feeling of peace. He knew, in that moment, he would sleep soundly that night. Or so he thought. When the woman addressed him, his own blue eyes fell upon her. For a fleeting moment, he could have sworn she was his-...No, she's dead, Buliwyf. After rubbing his bleary eyes, he could see that this woman was not the ghost he thought he saw, but a stranger. Must have been a trick of the light. Yet, her blonde hair, tied back like that, her apron, her warm smile- No! Stop it! His fist tightened beside him for a split second, a practiced ritual ever since she died, whenever he felt that long lost feeling start to rise. He pushed it back down where it belonged, somewhere deep within himself. When he finally spoke, his voice was flat and fatigued. "A meal, a drink, and a bed. In that order." His order placed, he took his woodcutting axe from his back. "Do I have to hand over my weapons here?" he asks, holding the handle towards her. "I have not been here for many years. I can't remember what your policy on weapons are."

00:49

@Mimzy

Maveah shook her head as he tried to hand over his axe. “ I do not require such unless you have given me problems in the past.” She gestured for him to keep it. “Please feel free to find a seat, I will bring you ale and you can give me your order.” She smiled brilliantly at him. Her soft skin wrinkled by her eyes and mouth as her smile reached her blue eyes. She was told before her smile could light up even the darkest corners of a room. And some days she believed them. Many travelers would come to her at the inn in Winterhold, She would hear the endless stories of the ongoing war. But she never tired of it, they would tell her the stories of how they got scars. Or how they came to be a thane of a hold. She learned more then she dared to dream, being in an inn and she has come to love that. She would be complimented for hours, asked to bed many men who seemed to desire her. But she was still waiting. She knew someday one would come who was for her, someone she could bring light back into their life, with her smile and they would be grateful of it. Not only because she would warm their bed for the night. Maveah turned her skirt flowed gently with a poof of air as she walked back to the bar. She reached under the lip and pulled out a bottle of ale and popped off the cap as she turned and walked back towards him. Her blond braid now draped over her shoulder as she set it down in front of him. “What would you like to eat?” She asked him, her blue as the sea eyes still smiling at him.

If Buliwyf was pleased about being able to keep his axe, he did not show it, though he silently placed the axe in its holster on his back. Not feeling particularly social, he moved to sit at an empty table. As she handed him his ale, he reflexively reached into his coin purse and laid two coins on table beside it before picking up the bottle. His eyes flicked over to hers for the briefest moment before looking away. Before answering her question, he brought the bottle up to his lips and took a long, slow draught from it. The bitterness and smoothness of ale was a taste he has not had in some time, as mead made from honey was the drink of choice around Riften; the Black-Briars made sure of that. But he still enjoyed the flavor, and it eased some of his tension. At least enough to answer her question. "When I was here last, at least ten winters ago," he began in his deep baritone, "Orgnar over there was trying to perfect his venison stew recipe. If that is the aroma I smell, I will have a bowl of that." He reached into his coin purse once more, fishing out another few coins. It was then that he quickly counted the coins by touch, and closed his eyes to do some quick mental math. With a sigh, he added, "Just one bowl." (edited)

00:39

@Mimzy

Maveah watched him take a drink of the ale she had delivered to him. She slid her hands into her apron as she waited patiently. She took the time to let her gaze wander very slightly. She noticed that his face had soft worry lines as he lifted his ale. He also had bigger hands then most of the Nord’s who came into the inn for her services. As he finished taking his long sip, he spoke. She listened to the tone of his voice and found she rather enjoyed listening to him talk. She took the two coins he laid out on the table for the ale and she slipped it into her pocket. As he told her he wanted the venison stew, she grinned widely and looked back to Orgnar and held up her hand showing she wanted one bowl of his stew. He held his hand up to her to signal he saw and went to work getting it ready for her. She looked back to her customer and nodded, smiling softly. “ He is very proud of his stew now, everyone loves it.” Orgnar brought over the bowl and set it in front of him, before walking back to the bar as a customer had come up to it. “Was there anything else I could do for you?” She asked him and continued smiling.”If not I can go ready your room for the night.” @The Xen Reaper

Buliwyf allowed himself a small smile, more than he has smiled in some time. "Is that right?" he asked rhetorically. "I suppose we shall see." He gave Orgnar a silent nod of thanks before picking up the wooden spoon and idly stirred the stew to let it cool a moment. As it cooled, he addressed the smiling innkeeper. "No, I do not need anything else, miss. A hot meal, a warm bed, and a full night's sleep is all I want right now. I will be out at dawn on my way to Whiterun." He finally took a bite of the stew, getting a rather large hunk of venison on his spoon. A moment later, he nodded in approval. "Seems he got it right. A damn fine stew, it is." It was very difficult to keep the pain out of his eyes as he ate. It tastes like...hers... Just as before, he pushed it down within himself and continued to eat in silence, trying to distract himself from his own thoughts. So distracted was he, in fact, that he had not noticed a small book had fallen from his pocket onto the floor behind him. A well-worn copy of Lost Legends. @Mimzy

Maveah nodded her agreement.”He worked on it a long time, but it was well worth it.” She pulled off a wet rag looped through her apron and cleaned off the table next to her customer. A few other customers sat by just chatting aimlessly. She nodded to them and asked if they needed anything. They both shook their heads and went back to talking. She turned and started to walk back towards the bar to tell Orgnar she was going to go and make up his room. As she started to pass behind him, she noticed something on the floor. Maveah bent down, her dress pooling around her legs as she couched. She gently picked up the book, not wanting to damage any of the well-read pages. She pushed herself up off the ground gently, steadying herself. Maveah stepped forward and laid a very gentle hand on his shoulder to get his attention. She whispered very gently to him. “You dropped something…”She took the book from her other hand and slid it onto the table for him. She wondered to herself why the pages were so worn. If it was his favorite or if maybe it was passed down to him for some reason. She shook her head lightly, smiling to herself. She didn’t need to know these things. Customers are customers and that is it. They come in, they leave. It's just how it is. Maveah busied herself folding his blankets and getting his bed sheeted. As she finished up in the room, she lit a couple of candles to give the room a soft golden glow. She turned and admired her handy work before she slipped back out into the busy floor, needing to take care of other customers. She stopped by him towards the end of the night. “Still doing alright?” She asked and then she added. “Your room is ready for you also. When you're ready I can show you to it.” She smiled at him and waited to see if he needed anything else. @The Xen Reaper

Buliwyf looked up from his bowl to see his book being offered to him. A mix of emotions crossed his bearded face before he gently took the book from her. "Thank you," he muttered, setting the book on the table. "That book is very important to me. I...like to read before I go to sleep." Nord men reading was not that common, aside from historians and mages, and he wondered for a fleeting moment if this woman would judge him for it. Just as quickly, he shook the thought from his mind. Why should he care what a woman he met minutes ago thinks of him? But...yet... He quickly finished his stew in a few more bites while she prepared his room, then stood up from his seat right after Maveah's question. "I am ready to see what room I rented. But before I retire, I need to take my horse to Lod's home to keep her from wandering off. He may not be able to hire me right now, but he has told me in a letter that would keep my horse if I needed." He gestured towards the room Maveah had been in while he was eating. "After you, miss," he said politely, albeit tiredly. (edited)

20:29

@Mimzy

Maveah smiled at him kindly and turned around, her skirts billowed softly as she walked away towards the rooms. Her mind worked quietly as she led the way. How frayed his book was, he's been reading it for a long while. “Why it was that book, there were many other ones he could read.” She thought she turned her head back to him, making sure that he was following her. “I wonder who taught him to read..”her mind continued to work as they walked. She turned the corner and gestured to a quiet candle-lit room. “This is your room for the night,” she turned to him, meaning to tell him good night and to wish him well. “Who taught you how to read?” She turned away and started to walk away when her mind clicked it all together. She turned her head back to him and faced him, her face bright red. “I am so sorry, you don’t have to answer that. I was only curious because my late father taught me how to read when I was very young. It’s why I was able to own all of this, coming from almost nothing.” She tried quickly to explain her mistake. @The Xen Reaper

Buliwyf followed the cheery woman to the room he rented. She was strangely alluring; more than once in the few seconds it took to walk to the room, he caught himself simply watching her movements. And, as before, a feeling of guilt quickly rose, and a clench of his fist forced the feelings down. Upon entering the room, he gave it a quick look before nodding in approval and setting his axe down beside the door. Her question, however, took him completely off-guard. He was still trying to process the question through her hurried apology. Eventually, he help up his hands to stop and reassure her. His palms were heavily calloused, the hands of a working man. "Your question did not offend me, so relax," he said, barely able to keep from chuckling. A laugh...When was the last time I laughed at anything? "My father also taught me to read. He was adamant that I learn to read and write at a young age, so that I will have more of the world open to me." Setting his book down on the bedside table, he said, "I don't think I caught your name, miss. I am Buliwyf, son of Tömmer, of the Rift." @Mimzy

As he held up his hands, she couldn’t help but admire how strong and masculine his hands were. For a very brief moment she wondered how they would feel against her face or skin. Her body visibly relaxed as he assured her he was not offended. Her pale blue eyes looked at him as he spoke. Her smile crept upon her face and into her eyes once more as she replied to him. “My father felt the same. He once told me that the whole world is open to you as long as you can read the map to take you there.” Her eyes lost some of the smile she wore on her face as she spoke of him. Her eyes brightened very slightly as he introduced himself. “Maveah, daughter of Magyar, of Eastmarch.” She poked her head out of the room and glanced around her inn which by now was dwindling down to minimal customers. She turned to him and spoke. “If you would like, I could accompany you on your walk to Lod’s home. I am sure Orgnar can handle the inn for a few moments. I could use the outside air.” She offered to him kindly, wanting to continue speaking with him for some reason unknown to her. @The Xen Reaper

Buliwyf was relieved to see that Maveah had calmed herself. Yet, in her eyes, for the briefest moment, he saw something very familiar...and very relatable. The pain of loss. "Your father was wise," he commented with an approving nod. "Would it be that more Nord fathers shared that view." The sound of her name was...pleasing to Buliwyf's ears. A soft sound. A comforting sound. Though he was very aware of that feeling, he could not place why. He has never met someone with the name before, so why would he feel that way upon hearing it. "Maveah," he repeated. "I will remember it well." At her offer to join him, he raised his red eyebrows. He was certainly not expecting that, but the though of them walking together...soothed him. "Of course, you may," he agreed. "Come. We should have my horse stabled before it gets much later." With that, he gestured for her to lead the way outside, as she was in the doorway. It was rude to push past a woman, after all. @Mimzy

Maveah nodded her agreement to his statement. “My father was a good man.” As they spoke she could see an emotion cross his eyes for only a moment before disappearing behind his blue eyes that almost mirrored her own. When he spoke her name, she couldn’t help but smile as it passed his lips. His voice gave a different sound to her name, one she hadn’t heard in a long time. She smiled even wider as he agreed to her joining him on his walk. When they left his room she walked over to Orgnar and spoke quietly to him, letting him know she would return shortly and was going to take a quick break outside, then he could leave for the night as it was her turn to watch over the inn tonight. Once he nodded his agreement she turned toward the inn’s front door to meet up with Buliwyf. “So how do you know Lod?” she asked as they walked out of the doors. @The Xen Reaper

Buliwyf held the door open for her, allowing her to walk out first, and closed the door behind them. It had become dark outside since his arrival, and various torches lit by the few guards offered dim lighting along the roads of Riverwood. Or "road" would be more accurate. Unless a guard or someone else was walking along the paths behind the Sleeping Giant Inn where the residents' homes were, it was quite dark. But in the dim light, he could still see his horse right where he left her, sleeping on her side in the patch of grass by the south gate. "I met Hod years ago, a few times as a boy when my father would bring me here to visit during his business dealings, and a few times since," he answered Maveah. "He and Gerdur were always nice to us." It only took a moment to reach his sleeping horse, and he knelt down beside her to give her a few hard pats to rouse her. "On your hooves, Cookie," he said, "It can't feel good sleeping on your saddle like that." Cookie snorted in irritation at being awoken, but dutifully gets up to her hooves as instructed. Buliwyf quickly grabbed the reigns before his stubborn mount got any wild ideas. With a few clicks and a tug on the reigns, Cookie started to follow him. As they walked slowly towards Hod's home, probably the furthest homestead within Riverwood from where they stood, Buliwfy asked of his walking companion, "So, what convinced a woman from Eastmarch to run a tavern all the way in Whiterun Hold? Surely Kynesgrove would have been closer." @Mimzy (edited)

“Kynesgrove definitely would have been closer, you are correct.” Maveah responded to her companion as they walked. “My brother and myself had wanted to start an inn all of our own. And had been saving up to do so.” Maveah paused her voice going softer and more emotional. “And then the battles started happening more and more, and he wanted to help…” she paused again as she shrugged her shoulders sadly. “He ended up not coming home..alive and well plans changed. I couldn’t be in that part of the world anymore. I needed out.” Maveah glanced up at the stars that glittered the sky, offering a gentle light to their walk. “It’s been a couple of years since I have talked about him.” She cleared her throat a bit and looked at Buliwyf. “Cookie is a very beautiful steed. “ She offered as she changed the subject, the pain of her loss clouding her eyes. She did not feel like crying while with this man, but somehow she felt that he would have understood her pain. She remembered seeing such pain flash his eyes as they talked inside the inn. But as of now she wanted to give a good impression, who knows maybe he would continue to come visit her and they could become friends and she didn’t want to ruin that chance by crying now. @The Xen Reaper

Even in the dim twilight, Buliwyf recognized that sad look in her eyes, a similar look to when she mentioned her father earlier. "I understand," he said softly in his deep voice, guiding Cookie along the dirt path. "It is good to go somewhere, start anew. I am sure he is proud, Maveah." His grip tightened on the reigns, giving Cookie a little tug when she tried to stop and sniff some grass. The weight on his soul mirrored hers, and it only felt right to let her know, at least a little. Maybe hearing his own similar tale would ease her mind, knowing that he does understand and is not simply saying so. Clearing his throat, not looking at Maveah's pretty features, he tells her, "My daughter named her. She said that her hair color reminded her of the cookies and biscuits sold in the Riften markets. That was years ago, though." His own gaze looked to the heavens, and his paced slowed a bit. "Her name was Sigrid. She and my wife, Tofa, they..." Another breath, with a hint of a shudder audible. "...they were...at Helgen...visiting my wife's family, when..." His voice trailed off, not wanting to say the World Eater's name out loud. "Anyway...I just want you to know that I understand your pain." @Mimzy

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