The monster surveyor – Chapter 1

The middle of the sixth month eta-Spirinta (Breath), the last month of summer, 151 years after the impact of the Fallen Black Star

Summer has been burning hotly across the continent for weeks at this point. This is a foundation which is ever the most notable within the central and southern regions, due to their placements closer to the warm sea, and to some, that they are the foremost blessed by both Renu’bal and Amakko. Eyren, who is presently cruising through northeastern Saraspoyor, the western province, has absolutely taken note of this. In spite of that her beloved companion Razz is firmly delighted by how the good weather from Dezasha presses on, and in some cases grows fiercer, Eyren can’t be one-to-one with her in that respect. Whereas the raptor was born for this degree of heat and gleam, Eyren sprung among milder or outright chilly climes a thousand kilometers away. Sure, her body has over the years dampened how blisteringly the heatwaves might impact her, but she still wouldn’t name it a ‘decent’ ordeal.

Saraspoyor is a province which Eyren has nestled in on a couple chapters in her life, even if not a massively, which implies she’s not unaware of its makeup. Then again, she hasn’t had a heap of jobs here recently, and a number of years have marched by following her latest run-through of it. Moreover, her current traversal isn’t the most common in her previous list of experiences, as she only got here on account of a call received through Malkiz. The agent had obtained a request from one of their exterior assets, who Eyren was enlightened is a category of scholar. Well, scholars, philosophers and intellectuals are smack-dab what Sarapoyor is predominantly celebrated for, a fact which can be gleaned in its denomination. ‘Saraspoyor’ derives from the major tongue Torundi in the western quarters, and evidently translates to ‘Wisdom’s first step’. Although a fair volume of schools and academies can be traced to several regions, it’s really to this province anyone with a cerebral mindset has pilgrimaged to for centuries.

The terrain is not invariably the most inviting, albeit it would hinge on who is asked. Much of it is tropical woods or steppe, while not ignoring the massive mountain range stretching across the west, making that direction of the land more rugged. To the south, vast swamps cut across the border to the southwestern province, Enaryun, whereas in the east lies a share of the most massive body of water in the continent, Lake Quetumfa, which mostly protracts into Shaim Xil.
The region she’s riding through right now is likewise fairly tropical, except given that it’s a farmland, the woods are quite sparse and further off from where she’s riding, giving way to wide fields and the occasional river. The roads are somewhat neatly cut out, and even if she’s tumbled to bandit attacks and some form of conflict which takes place towards the border in the north, the ongoing scenery is pleasantly serene.

To be specific, this domain she’s debarked at is styled Bisakho-Shivot, a territory in the northeast belonging to a minor noble that Eyren has no prior awareness of. There’s a town a couple of kilometers to the west of where she’s riding and which she can spy from this distance, where trade in this tract is conducted, but it’s not where she’s headed. The destination she was instructed to reach is in the outskirts, closer to a few of the farming fields, where a minor estate is located. This estate in truth belongs to the noble who equally owns this spot of land, but the building is not their main one, or so she’s told. In light of it’s tinier size in comparison with some quite massive palaces in other highbred properties, maybe she can register this. Perhaps it’s a vacation place? Eyren doesn’t rightly know how the upper class operates, but she’s been told they normally own multiple houses. Some of this she did witness immediately when she was in squireship amid the Rittmark.

Once she rides on the road up to the estate, the environment is astoundingly quiet and undisturbed, besides the buzzing of insects and the gentle wind. A body of house guards are positioned in the vicinity of her goal, who supervise it from the walls and by the gate, but she can’t count any signatures of existent conflicts. The building lies on a marginal elevation, borderline a short plateau, which overlooks the enormous farmlands. If she turns around, she can estimate that it’s mostly rice, wheat and maize grown here, much like they are in the majority of the central latitudes. Even though she doesn’t mind this level of placidity, Eyren is nonetheless fairly unsure of what it is she’d be brought in for. In these quiet pastures, distant from any Herdbrand presence, what use would a lordling have for a Shadow Herd advisor? Then again, if it pays generously, maybe that matters less.

Upon approaching a handful of the sentries in the neighborhood and relaying the name of her contact in Ahteron, she’s conducted past the walls and to the exterior of the estate. It’s a fine white-stone construction, two stories tall, with a minor porch just beyond and a small garden that she can observe in the backyard somewhere. Razz is allowed to pass with her into the premises, but requested to hold outside. Not that Eyren gets much further, for the second she’s inside, she has to remain in the lobby. She doesn’t disapprove of this by itself, given that she’s permitted to get seated on a nice and fairly soft set of pillows whilst she hanging about.

Thinking on who to expect, Eyren really hasn’t been able to identify the personage. The sole note she has on this person is that they’re apparently called ‘Imtoryat’, one that she can’t categorize either. Is the name in a Saraspoyori style? It’s unclear to her and her fairly lacking local knowledge, not to mention that occasionally, people do borrow names from other regions. Against the fact that it’s a scholar, though – and a high-class one at that – chances are this’ll be a middle-aged or older man. She’s maneuvered missions for that character of people in the past, and it does happen that they keep interesting commissions for her. Be that as it may, mostly it’s the impercesm she’s intrigued by. That gotta have been what Malkiz dispatched her here for, right?

Having had this mindset, when someone new steps inside the room, the visage which enters her sight isn’t what she had presupposed in any capacity. Being escorted in by the guard who fetched them, this person is not only taller than her, but far younger than she had foreseen, probably being in Eyren’s age range. In addition, this is unarguably a woman and not the old man she’d banked on.
Eyeing her up and down, the first aspect noted is that she’s clad in high-quality robes which come in a rather dull grey color, but since she holds a red sash around her waist, Eyren can correspondingly glean the fairly neat and slim figure. Especially around the chest area, the knight would judge her as very…well, busty. Above her head and long purple-black hair sits a pair of canine ears, matching a wolf’s. Her hair is in fact exceptionally elongated, both on the front and the back, covering one of her dark brown eyes, but the light brown-grey skin below doesn’t escape Eyren’s notice. This lady’s nose is quite thin, but with full lips and behind her dangles a wolflike tail which is mildly lowered at this moment.

Standing there by the opening to lobby, this lady studies Eyren quietly for a couple of seconds, prior to speaking.
“H…h-hello”, she stutters in a soft tone, speaking in Ahteron, but with an accent that doesn’t reliably sound local. What it also does is unmask that she has canine fangs.

Homed in on this extremely pretty albeit withdrawn lady, Eyren clears her throat when she comes to terms with that she’s been staring for a spell, and she rises to her feet.
“Heh, hey there. Are you…Imtoryat?”

“I…I am, yes.”

“Lady Imtoryat Kohja namek Zawósk”, the guard behind her accentuates with a stern face at Eyren.

“Ah…of course. Nice to meet you, my lady! My name is Eyren, Eyren Katlattar. Was sent here quite newly for an assignment.”

With Eyren talking considerately, and once Imtoryat has studied her visually some more, it would appear her cheek faintly flush and her tail starts wagging.
“Hmm…Eyren…t-that name sounds a bit…familiar.”

“Maybe you heard it from a common contact of ours? Lady Zarqui was the one who sent me.”

In a flash, realization floods Imtoryat’s gaze and she looks back at the guard to nod at him, even if he still sports a skeptical face. He swaps to Berautl, a northeastern regional tongue which Eyren can only barely comprehend.
“Are you certain, my lady? This is clearly a mercenary. Lady Shayuri would likely instruct us to shield you from such individuals.”

“It…i-its fine”, Imtoryat replies softly. “Lady Zarqui is a good friend of mine. I…would trust her implicitly.”

“Ah, I see”, the man tells her and offers her a bow. “Excuse me, then”, he goes and strides past Eyren to leave through the door.

After the two of them are left alone, silence fills these quarters for multiple seconds, mainly as Eyren is holding for the lady to speak first. In time, Imtoryat clears her throat and she fidgets with her hands whilst she attempts to come up with a way to address her. Eyren stands there mostly wondering what the cause could be. Is it that she’s nervous to be around Eyren specifically, or just shy around people generally?
“M…Malkiz told me that um…y-you aided her with something of great value?”, the lady mumbles.

Scratching her head, Eyren smiles crookedly.
“Well, whether it was or not, I’m not decided on really, but I did kinda pitch in with a problem she was tackling, sure. And we fought a Herdbrand together. In a city too, which was new to me.”

In a flash, Imtoryat’s old expression is overridden and she widens her eyes.
“You did?! In…in a city as well? How?”

“Uh, it’s…kind of a long story, I guess? I could tell you the details, although I dunno how interesting it is, an-“

“Oh, that’s perfect!”, Imtoryat exclaims, which jumps out at the northerner. Her voice abruptly soars in volume and her stutter has temporarily vanished. “I was pursuing the possibility of recruiting someone with proficiency regarding the Shadow Herd, who could resolve a number of questions I hold.”

“I…see. Is that your topic of study, then?”

“Correct, it is! I have even written a number of papers on the subject, although they have all been academical and mainly modeled after the known compendiums on the Shadow Herd. I have located scarcely any individual with field experience to converse with..”

“Heh, well, luckily, I got expertise there. Tends to happen as an Anti-Shadow Herd Specialist, I suppose.”

The lady blinks her lupine eyes and cons Eyren’s stature once more.
“That is…your official title?”

“More or less. It’s the one I give people when they ask anyhow, hehe. I mean, I snatched it for myself, so yeah.”

“Vuah”, Imtoryat radiates in the local tongue. “I have never hit upon anyone who deals occupationally in such affairs. Is your…mastery in this for hire?”

“Hah! I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t.”

“Splendid! This would be absolutely ideal for my latest work. Please, come in and let us deliberate on it.”