Thread: Pynti-Peldot

Name Nickname Teemu Race Human Lossoth Attire Hooded Jkarhu skin cloak with a silver clasp. Furred coat, pants and boots , made of Poro skin, trimmed with Hylje skin and fox fur. Weapon Hunting Bow on back, Hunting Spear, Long Knife in belt. Location Pynti-Peldot Tagging Everyone Time TA 3018, March 1, evening Ice and snow. Such was the Lossoth world. To survive, you must be harder than ice and colder than snow. That was what Teemu's father used to say. The soft and the gentle were culled by the harsh environment, as mercilessly as a herd of poro being chased by a pack of susi. His wintry homeland wasn't a cruel world, no more than a susi was cruel for wanting to eat to live. But it was a harsh one. His father, Ukko, though, he was both harsh -and- cruel. Teemu had endured his harshness, that was to be expected as Ukko was the Suri-Maja tribal chief and all chiefs were harsh. But his cruelty, legendary in the Lossoth tribes as the source of the Suri-Maja's warlike reputation, that had proved a tougher trait to handle. Teemu had suffered that cruelty his entire life until two days ago, when he had left his tribe behind. You thought me weak, Father. A coward. Softer than my brothers. Well, if you could see me now! Homeless, tribeless and alone, but not afraid. Some part of you must be proud of me, Father, as your other sons would not have been brave enough to defy you in public. Teemu's mittened hand absently rubbed the bright white fur of his half-wolf dog, Reko, as his mind shifted back to the odd landscape before him. One of Reko' ever alert ears swiveled briefly towards Teemu, but the dog was focused on the strange sights and smells of Pynti-Peldot. The village was Lossoth, but one very unlike the traditional villages Teemu was used to living in. Besides the familiar yurts, snow huts and long tents that were scattered in the tracked snow, there stood actual wooden houses! And even the yurts had the look of permanent structures that were built with no regard whatsoever for needing to break them down to travel to another hunting camp. Teemu's villages were much further away from the corrupting influence of the warmlanders and he gazed at the strange buildings with both unease and some curiosity. Teemu had sold the rest of his dog sled dog team, but he'd had to spend nearly the full day trying to find a fair price. Paid in strange coins instead of barter, Teemu had little comfort in what the prices meant until he'd gotten a half-dozen offers to compare and negotiate against. The fact that he was Suri-Maja, as clearly shown by the threads on his coat, had not helped. The Pynti-Peldot had little love for Teemu's tribe and no doubt the village had been the victim of many raids in years past. Likely anytime a hunting party didn't return or a maiden disappeared gathering firewood they blamed the Suri-Maja. And Teemu all too well knew the truth that indeed his people were not afraid to raid and take what they wanted from other Lossoth. They were the hardest and the coldest. Ice and snow. But, his father had been holding off on a large raid and Pynti-Peldot itself had not been touched in years. Despite the relative peace, the distrust still ran deep. For a Suri-Maja traveler arriving in Pynti-Peldot there was no offer of fire or bed, nor even a spare yurt to be found. Without a dog sled, Teemu had no means to carry a yurt so buying a new one would be foolish. The icy advice he had been given had been to go to the largest wooden building, they called it an Inn, and pay with coin to sleep under the roof. The insult riled Teemu's pride and he had to restrain himself from demanding a duel from the first Lossoth who had suggested it. Killing a villager so soon when he was a tribeless guest would garner few friends and he begrudgingly knew he had to make friends to find a welcome somewhere. But, it seemed that unless he wanted to make a snow hut with Reko tonight and sleep cold, the Inn was indeed the only choice at this late hour. With a sigh, Teemu walked the trampled snow of the village to the strange wooden building and steeled himself as he stood before what seemed to be the entrance. There was no hide flap, but rather a large piece of wood that appeared to swing open when pushed. He'd watched several foreigners enter, but he still felt nervous as his mittened hand touched the worked wood. With a grim set of his jaw, he finally pushed the door open and entered with Reko close on his heels. The bright light of the large room blinded him coming in from the dusk outside and the din of conversation seemed loud at first, but suddenly dropped to near silence. As his eyes adjusted finally, Teemu realized that nearly all the foreigners in the Inn seemed to be staring at him as he stood by the doorway. Scattered around the odd wooden room were tables and chairs, luxury items that old people used in his village, and most of the strangers appeared to be eating or drinking while sitting. A large fire burned in the far wall and Teemu was surprised to see that it had been cunningly trapped in stone so as to not burn the wooden walls or floor. The foreigners had unusual clothing, thin and terrible for the wintry Forodwaith, but very colorful like their strange hair and eyes. Teemu had seen fewer than a dozen foreigners in his lifetime, mostly male traders, and his eyes widened as he noticed several women in the crowd. Were they wives of the men? They looked too old to be maidens. The shocked looks the foreigners gave him seemed to be partly because of Reko, who was showing his teeth and growling slightly as he sensed the unease their appearance had created. Frowning slightly, Teemu lifted his chin and gave a haughty glance around the room. He had, of course, learned the trader common tongue as a child and he spoke out in a commanding voice, annoyed at the reaction his entrance had caused in these outlanders. Who were they to look at him like he didn't belong? This was -his- homeland. They were the ones who had brought this curse of eternal winter on his people. They were the guests here. I am Teemu. I need food and shelter for the night. I have coin.