Lori Lo

Sorry, wanted to write a short CD, but was carried away...

Name: Lori Lo
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Tribe : Stratanian
Height: about 3 fores, quickly growing
Weight: about 50 hebs
Age: 8
Ocuppation: Thief
Title: Little Brat

History, recent events

Not many travelors know, that halfway from Strata to the Thirsty Herald a waterhole exists, with not much than a tiny swallow pond, some grasses and mil‘no plants growing around it. No seed of a tree has found its way to this place, which is hidden behind some rocks you pass while traveling from or to the Herald.

Two men are heading to this place, coming from Strata. They are both dressed in brownish-grey clothes which look like they are past washing and tending. Their hair is dark, their faces deep tanned and their expression alike as their appearance: They look grim, but confident, a bit insecure. The only thing what distinghuishes them is their height, one is fairly tall and slender, the other more short and sturdy. When talking to each other, which isn‘t the case very often, they are using the dialect of Thalambath. The tall one carries apart from his few belongings a bundle in front of him , thrown half over the neck of his horse, hanging down on both sides.

When reaching the waterhole, the one carrying this bundle lifts it from his horse, laying it in the shade of some mil‘no plants.

„What shall we now do with her?“ the tall one asks his fellow.

„Nothing, we just wait some hours, and then we ride to the Herald, wait till the morning and when this fat guy of an father gives us the ransom at sunrise we tell him where his daughter is and vanish to the Yar‘Dangs. This money will pay this dirty Shendar to lead us through the rocks and in no time we are in Thalambath.“

Some time passes, the men are sitting in the shade, the bundle nearby.

„Shouldn‘t she be awake by now?“ The long says furrowing his‘ brows.

„Well, don‘t know, how strong that stuff is you gave her to inhale, doesn‘t matter. If she is quiet, she will not scream and bother us!“
But the long one isn‘t comfortable, so after some more time passing and the bundle not moving he asks again.

„And what , if she is dead?“

„Oh don‘t be stupid!“ his fellow grumbles, „Go and wrap her up then and have a look, if your deary is alive!“

The long one goes to the bundle and unwraps it.

„Ahhh!“he shrieks.

Appearance

Grey eyes are staring at him in an intense way which causes him to shiver in the mids of the hot desert. But he picks up courage: It is just a litte girl!

The grey eyes are sitting in a small, sunburned face with freckles on the short nose. The lips, dry and fissured are currently pressed together and the dark brows are furrowed . Dark brown hair with a touch of red is falling in uncombed curles in the face and to the small shoulders.

This angry looking young face doesn‘t go at all with the beautiful dress the girl wears. White linen trousers cover the thin legs, the long wide sleeves of a thin white shirt are bound together at the wrists. Above that the girl wears the most beautiful tunica-like dress the both men have ever seen. It is made out of a silken looking fabric, has a light skyblue colour and is embroidered with a white floral design. It falls gentle down to the knies of the meanwhile standing girl. Her feet are however bare and dirty.

History, recent

„What by all stinking demons of the underworld and their slags have you done with me??“ she asks the men with a voice so full of anger that the uneasy feeling comes to the men, that something has to be wrong. Welleducated young kids don‘t talk to men looking like them in such a way. They shouldn‘t even know the words the girl uses.

„Calm down“, the short one says this time, „tomorrow afternoon you will be back home. Your father will come and fetch you.“

„My father? I have no father! Never had! Nor a mother!“ the girl replies.

The two men look at each other horrified.

„Are you not the daughter of Tomran of Strata?“

„I am the daughter of Tomran of Strata, one of the richest merchants of Strata? Are you fools?“ The girl laughs. Then she looks down her beautifull gown and her face gets a bit paler.

„You wanted to get his daughter and press money out of him!“ she states, staring again at both men.

„Who are you then? To whom do you belong?“, the short one asks.

History, childhood

„Oh, I‘m Lori Lo, called Lookout, and I‘m belonging to nobody, I‘m living all on my own, sometimes here, sometimes there. Sometimes I sleep and work with Jason Quickfoot, but not always.“

„Don‘t tell such nonsense, you may be a clever girl, and try to fool us, but you can‘t have lived on your own all your young life long. Why do you just sit down and keep quiet? What do you want to achieve with denying your father, he has to get you out of here, or do you want to grow roots? Look, we don‘t want to do you any harm, just help your father to get rid of some his money, which is a burden to him anyway, ok? “the long one says angrily.

„You two are so silly! Of course there was somebody who looked after me, when I was small, but my grandmother died last year and now I live on my own, just helping out the boys now and then.“

„Your grandmother? Who has your grandmother been? And the boys, which boys?“

„My grandmother? You surely knew her, she was the one sitting at the Southern Gate to Baveras temple, just inside, and it was a good place to get some coins from the passing people, they were mostly generous there and we had quite a good life. And the boys, well, I surely won‘t tell you all the names, I‘m not stupid, but some are really good at snitching purses and even getting other stuff out of houses. Well, and I help them by watching out, so they call me Lookout.“

„You are really a clever girl, the most clever one I ever met, but you can‘t foul me. I don‘t know, why you don‘t want to go back to your father, but look, as a litte thief as you want to tell me you are, you would never wear those clothes!“ the short one makes a last attempt to save his sanity. They couldn‘t have been so misfortunate as to catch the wrong person.
„Otherwise“ he continues, „we just dump you here and then you can walk back to Strata on your own. Maybe you even lucky enough to meet a Rahaz-Estar, then your death will be short and agreeable!“ he adds with a smirk in his face.

Loris thoughts are racing. She didn‘t realise until now, that she was dependant on these two to get to a safe place. The little waterhole seemed not visited very often. Maybe she had to play the rich girl whose dress she wore quickly to not get left back in this desolate place. What a foolish idea from her to climb over the wall and take this clothes, just for the fun of wearing them once for a little while. She had observed quite often the daughter of the merchant. Sitting in her hiding place high up in the Darii‘Tree she had seen the girl playing, quite alone, seemingly bored, always dressed as the daughter of the King - if the king had a daughter, that was. She was of her age, had about Loris height and even her haircolour, but that was all what they had in common. Apart from the name. The merchants daughters name was Lori as well, as a short form of Loreena. Therefor she had reacted and turned round, even answered the two when they wanted confirmation, that her name was Lori. Oh dear. So now, what should she do now?

Lori looks down at her clothes, and as if she realises, that the two kidnappers have rumbled her, she pretends to break out in tears and sits down in the sands, holding her face betweeen her hands, trying to weep as convincing as she is able to.

„My father“ she sobs, „my father will hit me and not allow me to go outside anymore, because I left the garden without permission and without being accompagnied!“ She splays her fingers a bit to see how the two men are reacting to her and is satified to see a broad , relieved grin on their face.

The long one even tries to comfort her, giving her the waterbottle and asking:

„Is your father so hard with you?“

Lori starts, still with tears in her eyes, to tell the men tales about her loneliness in the garden as a single child, and about her longing to get outside. Maybe the other Lori feels really this way, she wonders. As soon as she thinks, that she was now convincing enough , she asks:

„What are you planning to do with me?“

„Well, we leave you here and ride on to the Thirsty Herald this night. Next morning your father will be here with the sans and then we will tell him, where he can find you. And we will be away then, furlongs away!“

Lori gets worried - nobody will look for her, because the merchant won‘t come with any sans, having his daughter at home.

„That won‘t work, „she tells the men, „he won‘t give you the money, if he doesn‘t see me - alive! You have to take me to the Herald!“

„And what should we do with you when we are there, telling the folks there, that you are our daughter?“ the short one laughs out loudly.

That was really a problem, but there are no problems which can‘t be solved with a little wit of a small thief. And soon Lori proposes:

„You could tie me up and keep me in the stable with your horses, nobody will ask what is in your package, and with a gag I can‘t scream anyway.“

Lori is afraid, that the two might give her again that stuff which caused her to pass out in Strata. So she better provides the men with something she could more easily get rid of.

The two men look at each other, both are shrugging their shoulders, and then they agree.

After Injérà has descended her path for some time already , the two men are getting up to continue their way to the Herald. Lori uses her wit again and persuades the long one to take her into the saddle in front of him, in a more comfortable way than the first part, and he agrees. Only short before they are arriving at the Thirsty Herald, they bind her, tie a cloth around her mouth and head and cover her with a sack. After some time, Loris finds herself lying in some corner, hears the noises of horses and is relieved, that her plan has worked. Now she has just to get rid of her gags.

Belongings, Strenghts, Weaknesses

Lori, the young thief, has arrived at the Thirsty Herald. With no other belongings than a fine dress.

Being a small girl with a strong will, a good portion of wit and intelligence, agile, fairly healthy, and with the knowledge how to thief without being caught, she has mastered her young life quite well till this day.

Though, she is still a small kid , unexperienced in many aspects, illiterate, with nobody who cares for her or protects her apart from some other kids who are not much older and who are not avaiable for her now.

Personality

Her life so far hasn‘t made her hard, she likes to laugh a lot, is friendly to those who are polite towards her, she trusts her friends and is loyal to them. However, she likes teasing them or playing tricks at them as well, as she does with everybody. Her perception of ownership of goods differs a bit from most other people, but she is not really aware of that. Sometimes she is sad, though not knowing what the reason is, as if she misses something she never knew...then she burst out into tears, but only if she is alone.

Edited by: Mina Aylwin at: 12/27/03 17:45