The pounding heart of Aquilo

JP with Winteroak and Bandorchu
Aquilo

Finding the main forge was as easy as following the sound of heavy pounding, being quite literally the heart of the settlement.

Alexis approached mindful not to disturb its current occupant during a potentially crucial process. She waited patiently until the man she assumed to be Markus was finished with his current step of procedure before speaking up.

“Greetings and pardon my intrusion. Am I right to assume you are Markus Norixius?”

Markus stopped hammering the metal and stood back, handing is hammer to one of his apprentices. Sweat poured down his head, face and bare muscular chest. He nodded looking at the newcomer. Wisps of heat seemed to radiate from the man's body. He moved out in to the open beckoning the woman to follow him. She had the look of a clanswoman from Garrah.

Markus grabbed a bucket of icy water nearby and doused his hands and face. "Yes that's me. Beannachdan." He said greeting the newcomer.

Alexis smiled hearing her home tongue.

“Beannachdan. My name is Alexis Greyriver. Our group is visiting your settlement, so I figured we might at least announce our presence.”

Markus eyes widen in surprise. "THE Alexis Greyriver??" He asked. "Word of your exploits are on everyone's mouths." He said both impressed and genuinely. He had not imagined the Slayer of Slivikhi to be so young. In fact he had imagined some veteran gray shield-maiden. Nothing could be further from the true as he looked at Alexis. "Welcome to Aquilo, Alexis Greyriver. Well met." He said and extended his strong hand to her.

Alexis bit back a groan. She really had hoped those ridiculous rumors would have stopped by now, or at the very least stayed in the streets of Ostiarium. No such luck, apparently.

Regardless, she gave a pained smile and grabbed the offered hand in a firm handshake.

“Well met. Stories of these exploits are highly exaggerated, I assure you. In fact with Voah Sahnsuur you are hosting another participant in the events just as if not more deserving of renown.”

She looked around, eager to change topics.

“You have made good progress given the short time you have been here. I’ll admit though, I had expected more of a military presence here, given the significance for the upcoming war.”

Markus stopped himself short of smiling. Alexis was obviously not comfortable with attention. He made a note not to bring it up again.

They walked a short distance to the main well where Markus haved a bucket of fresh water up and offered a ladle to the mercenary.

" We are in Aghul territory. The largest of the clans. As far as we can tell the Plains Natives aren't organised enough to be able to threaten is here." He said pondering is words. "Plus some of the tribes are allied to us..." He revealed.

“I see.”

Alexis gratefully accepted the ladle, but waited for Markus to refresh himself first.

That could very well have been part of whatever deal Zane had dragged them along to haggle about all these months ago.

She cast a critical eye to some of the loitering clansmen.

“And they are… watching you while you work, or something?”

"The Aghul have brought almost all clans under Koshnem banner. Allied with Ostiarium and a few of the Plains Tribes, only a fool or someone very desperate would attack us here. They let us mine here in exchange for better weapons. Plus there are 40 Odonine miners here." He said looking at her in the eyes wondering what she was doing here so far up north. "Not that they have been doing much mining lately." He confessed.

“The Duke puts a lot of trust into his agreement with the Aghul then.”

Alexis mused. He’d better be, given with these odds, the Odonine could just go and take the settlement hostage if they felt like it before anyone could do as much as draw a weapon.

“I can see that.”

She answered to his admission.

“How come?”

Markus droped some more water on his chest and ran his hand over his tense neck kneading the knots in his shoulder.
"One of the shafts we were mining lead to a void. A huge chamber and ever since the clansmen are refusing to go back to the mine. Something about a curse or a disease." He said shrugging.

"What brings you to Fang, milidh?" He asked curious why so many people were flocking to Aquilo.